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01-24-2009, 03:08 PM
Great storry about what is going on at summerfield
Allegations Made Concerning Board’s Right to Spend without Community Vote
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Jan 22, 2009 - 11:01:33 AM
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By Penny Fletcher
penny@observernews.net
RIVERVIEW - A group of Summerfield Crossings residents claims their homeowner’s association board has exceeded its authority and has circulated four petitions, each garnering more than 300 signatures, in an attempt to recall four of its seven members: board president Roland Santiago, Donald Huggins, Brian Dwyer and David Jasper. [Only Registered Users Can See Links.] Residents filing a petition alleging improper spending by the Summerfield Crossings board of directors say the recent additions and renovations to the clubhouse, and changes to the list of future expenditures, should have been approved by a resident vote. Penny Fletcher Photo
The resident activist group includes some former directors, one of whom resigned when what she believes was an improper spending decision was being made.
The petitioners claim the board is making decisions on its own that should be made by a majority of resident votes in a community referendum.
The board, however, says it has done nothing improper.
“In every case, we relied on the opinions of experts, our attorney, and our community manager,” said board president Roland Santiago in a telephone interview Jan. 15.
That, however, was the same day that community manager Joan Hennly resigned and did not return calls asking for an interview to include in this story. An employee of the community’s managerial company, Rampart Properties Inc. of St. Petersburg, Hennly will stay on until February and help train a new community manager Santiago said.
The developers, Lennar and U.S. Homes, had five members on the board until 2007 said former recording secretary Diana Finch. “They (the developers) really prepared us for taking over after they left,” Finch said. “They did a good job setting everything up correctly.”
Finch sat with the board for 15 years (although she was not a member) as a paid employee for the HOAs management companies; first University Properties Inc. and now Rampart.
A study was done and amounts earmarked for future spending before the developers left, but the numbers were changed when a new study was done in 2008 under a new all-resident board, Finch said, showing me the paperwork for both studies.
Florida Statutes affecting homeowner’s associations state that if Operating and Reserve funds are set up by developers, which they were in Summerfield, then spending is done differently than in associations where specific funds are not set up before a developer leaves. (Readers may check the exact wording of this by reading Florida Statute 720, and many of its subsections, which covers the legal aspects of homeowners’ associations.)
The new future expenditure list cut nearly $500,000 from expenses, and new projects, including additions and renovations to the clubhouse, were added.
“According to the statutes, this should not have happened without a vote,” said Finch, pointing to line items that differed on the two spending studies she spread out on the table. “And now, on Jan. 27, there’s a vote called ‘Save our Ball Fields’ but the area in question (between the Summerfield Clubhouse and Summerfield Crossings Elementary School) is 11.5 acres and the ball field takes only a small portion of that. Here they’ve been spending our money in this bad economy like it’s water and they still want to spend more. The price of the field is $253,144. This is money we just don’t have.”
“We worked really hard going from door to door gathering signatures,” said Lorraine Pinette, who helped spearhead the petition effort. “It’s really hard to get a quorum here, because so many of our residents are not registered to vote. A lot of owners (of rentals) live out of state, there are many homes in foreclosure, and some people just don’t bother to register on the voting rolls.”
Still, according to Florida Statutes, the group did achieve enough signatures to file a petition to remove board directors.
The board, however, says the petition may have been prepared improperly and has sent it to Tallahassee, to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s homeowners’ and condominium association division, where it was assigned to arbitrator Glen Lang.
Although Lang was not permitted to speak for this story because a decision has not yet been rendered, the department did send the following statement: “The Department of Business and Professional Regulation has no jurisdiction over homeowners’ associations in general but there is a current review being conducted over the recent election proceedings at Summerfield Crossings.”
The department also said the losing side pays for the arbitration. So far, arbitration and legal fees surrounding this incident are just under $10,000.
“The community loses either way because it’s our dues that are being spent, whether the board pays the arbitrator or the petitioners have to pay,” Finch said.
When asked, the spokeswomen at the department in Tallahassee that sent the statement did not say whether signers or only petition organizers would be liable for fees, should they lose.
What makes the waters even more unclear is that the community’s attorney for 14 years, Anthony Duarte, was let go in April and a new attorney brought on in August, said former treasurer Lee Ann Daley, who resigned during a meeting.
“I resigned from the board because I felt it was not following proper procedures according to Florida Homeowner’s Statute 720 when it funded additions and renovations out of the community’s reserve fund. Statute 720, No.6, under ‘Budgets,’ states that if a project budget includes reserve funds, members of the association must decide how it is spent, not the board,” Daley said.
The board’s answer to this was again given by Santiago.
He says he feels certain the petition was done improperly, and that is why it has not been brought up at a board meeting or before the community as a whole.
“We question the signatures,” he said. “With so many people out of town, or renters who shouldn’t have a vote, the petition may not even have a proper number (of signers).”
As for the board’s recent addition and renovation spending, he added, “For one thing, we had to make certain our facilities were handicap compliant. No matter what the outcome, at least our handicapped residents will get to use the facilities.”
The other three directors on the recall petition did not return telephone calls, but one, Brian Dwyer, has resigned. His “Open Letter to the Community” in the January-February issue of the community’s newsletter did not express ill will.
Resident Jeannie Irwin – one of the petition organizers – said she wants to make people aware of how little power Florida law gives residents to direct their homeowner’s association boards. “To get anything done, you have to file a lawsuit, and then, if the board uses community money for lawyers to represent its members, well- that’s even more of your money being spent!” Irwin said.
Whether the ball field issue will pass depends upon how many residents register and vote, she said. Resident activism is the only remedy where Florida statutes seem ambiguous, or if elected officials overstep their bounds.
“How can resident owners protect their financial interests in a homeowners association when there is no enforcement of Florida law?” asks Pinette in an e-mail. “In fact, more people voted to recall the board than voted to elect them. Eighty-six days have now passed in arbitration with no remedy while the board continues to have a free hand with residents’ money.”
If the ball field purchase goes through, an assessment of approximately $100 per household is also expected to be charged along with any expenditure made by the board.
* Reporter Penny Fletcher is a resident of the Summerfield Crossings community but is deliberately not registered to vote on community issues and is not personally affiliated with any of the parties who were interviewed for this story.
What follows is a public comments section. This is not from the Observer News staff - it comes from other people and contains their opinions and theirs alone. The Observer News does not control the material that follows. We do, however, reserve the right to remove objectionable material at our discretion. By that we mean that we will edit or delete any content that we deem is inappropriate. By posting your comments, you are stating that you agree to these terms.
Allegations Made Concerning Board’s Right to Spend without Community Vote
By
Jan 22, 2009 - 11:01:33 AM
Email this article (?subject=Allegations%20Made%20Concerning%20Board%E2%80%99s%20Right%20to%20Spend%20without%20Community%20Vote&body=[Only Registered Users Can See Links.])
Printer friendly page ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])
By Penny Fletcher
penny@observernews.net
RIVERVIEW - A group of Summerfield Crossings residents claims their homeowner’s association board has exceeded its authority and has circulated four petitions, each garnering more than 300 signatures, in an attempt to recall four of its seven members: board president Roland Santiago, Donald Huggins, Brian Dwyer and David Jasper. [Only Registered Users Can See Links.] Residents filing a petition alleging improper spending by the Summerfield Crossings board of directors say the recent additions and renovations to the clubhouse, and changes to the list of future expenditures, should have been approved by a resident vote. Penny Fletcher Photo
The resident activist group includes some former directors, one of whom resigned when what she believes was an improper spending decision was being made.
The petitioners claim the board is making decisions on its own that should be made by a majority of resident votes in a community referendum.
The board, however, says it has done nothing improper.
“In every case, we relied on the opinions of experts, our attorney, and our community manager,” said board president Roland Santiago in a telephone interview Jan. 15.
That, however, was the same day that community manager Joan Hennly resigned and did not return calls asking for an interview to include in this story. An employee of the community’s managerial company, Rampart Properties Inc. of St. Petersburg, Hennly will stay on until February and help train a new community manager Santiago said.
The developers, Lennar and U.S. Homes, had five members on the board until 2007 said former recording secretary Diana Finch. “They (the developers) really prepared us for taking over after they left,” Finch said. “They did a good job setting everything up correctly.”
Finch sat with the board for 15 years (although she was not a member) as a paid employee for the HOAs management companies; first University Properties Inc. and now Rampart.
A study was done and amounts earmarked for future spending before the developers left, but the numbers were changed when a new study was done in 2008 under a new all-resident board, Finch said, showing me the paperwork for both studies.
Florida Statutes affecting homeowner’s associations state that if Operating and Reserve funds are set up by developers, which they were in Summerfield, then spending is done differently than in associations where specific funds are not set up before a developer leaves. (Readers may check the exact wording of this by reading Florida Statute 720, and many of its subsections, which covers the legal aspects of homeowners’ associations.)
The new future expenditure list cut nearly $500,000 from expenses, and new projects, including additions and renovations to the clubhouse, were added.
“According to the statutes, this should not have happened without a vote,” said Finch, pointing to line items that differed on the two spending studies she spread out on the table. “And now, on Jan. 27, there’s a vote called ‘Save our Ball Fields’ but the area in question (between the Summerfield Clubhouse and Summerfield Crossings Elementary School) is 11.5 acres and the ball field takes only a small portion of that. Here they’ve been spending our money in this bad economy like it’s water and they still want to spend more. The price of the field is $253,144. This is money we just don’t have.”
“We worked really hard going from door to door gathering signatures,” said Lorraine Pinette, who helped spearhead the petition effort. “It’s really hard to get a quorum here, because so many of our residents are not registered to vote. A lot of owners (of rentals) live out of state, there are many homes in foreclosure, and some people just don’t bother to register on the voting rolls.”
Still, according to Florida Statutes, the group did achieve enough signatures to file a petition to remove board directors.
The board, however, says the petition may have been prepared improperly and has sent it to Tallahassee, to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s homeowners’ and condominium association division, where it was assigned to arbitrator Glen Lang.
Although Lang was not permitted to speak for this story because a decision has not yet been rendered, the department did send the following statement: “The Department of Business and Professional Regulation has no jurisdiction over homeowners’ associations in general but there is a current review being conducted over the recent election proceedings at Summerfield Crossings.”
The department also said the losing side pays for the arbitration. So far, arbitration and legal fees surrounding this incident are just under $10,000.
“The community loses either way because it’s our dues that are being spent, whether the board pays the arbitrator or the petitioners have to pay,” Finch said.
When asked, the spokeswomen at the department in Tallahassee that sent the statement did not say whether signers or only petition organizers would be liable for fees, should they lose.
What makes the waters even more unclear is that the community’s attorney for 14 years, Anthony Duarte, was let go in April and a new attorney brought on in August, said former treasurer Lee Ann Daley, who resigned during a meeting.
“I resigned from the board because I felt it was not following proper procedures according to Florida Homeowner’s Statute 720 when it funded additions and renovations out of the community’s reserve fund. Statute 720, No.6, under ‘Budgets,’ states that if a project budget includes reserve funds, members of the association must decide how it is spent, not the board,” Daley said.
The board’s answer to this was again given by Santiago.
He says he feels certain the petition was done improperly, and that is why it has not been brought up at a board meeting or before the community as a whole.
“We question the signatures,” he said. “With so many people out of town, or renters who shouldn’t have a vote, the petition may not even have a proper number (of signers).”
As for the board’s recent addition and renovation spending, he added, “For one thing, we had to make certain our facilities were handicap compliant. No matter what the outcome, at least our handicapped residents will get to use the facilities.”
The other three directors on the recall petition did not return telephone calls, but one, Brian Dwyer, has resigned. His “Open Letter to the Community” in the January-February issue of the community’s newsletter did not express ill will.
Resident Jeannie Irwin – one of the petition organizers – said she wants to make people aware of how little power Florida law gives residents to direct their homeowner’s association boards. “To get anything done, you have to file a lawsuit, and then, if the board uses community money for lawyers to represent its members, well- that’s even more of your money being spent!” Irwin said.
Whether the ball field issue will pass depends upon how many residents register and vote, she said. Resident activism is the only remedy where Florida statutes seem ambiguous, or if elected officials overstep their bounds.
“How can resident owners protect their financial interests in a homeowners association when there is no enforcement of Florida law?” asks Pinette in an e-mail. “In fact, more people voted to recall the board than voted to elect them. Eighty-six days have now passed in arbitration with no remedy while the board continues to have a free hand with residents’ money.”
If the ball field purchase goes through, an assessment of approximately $100 per household is also expected to be charged along with any expenditure made by the board.
* Reporter Penny Fletcher is a resident of the Summerfield Crossings community but is deliberately not registered to vote on community issues and is not personally affiliated with any of the parties who were interviewed for this story.
What follows is a public comments section. This is not from the Observer News staff - it comes from other people and contains their opinions and theirs alone. The Observer News does not control the material that follows. We do, however, reserve the right to remove objectionable material at our discretion. By that we mean that we will edit or delete any content that we deem is inappropriate. By posting your comments, you are stating that you agree to these terms.