John F. Kennedy once said that the time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. Rainy season is now upon us, but we may unfortunately have to ignore that sound advice. In order to reinstate the clubhouse’s wind insurance coverage before the heart of the hurricane season, Citizens Property Insurance insists that we do something about the clubhouse roof. That could be either completely replacing the roof or removing only the damaged parts and covering it with a new roofing system. In terms of cost, the difference between these two options amounts to about $70,000 if we go with the lowest-bidding roofing company, which would provide the same 20-year warranty regardless of which of the two options we choose. It’s rare for a business to urge a potential customer to take the less expensive option, but that’s exactly what this roofer is doing. In the words of the contractor: “There is no sound reason to remove any more of the existing roof than is necessary for the 20-year warranty.”
With a cost of anywhere from just over $100,000 to over $200,000, the clubhouse roof is the biggest ticket item the Board of Directors will take up at a special meeting tomorrow (Monday, June 10 at 7 p.m. in the clubhouse). Others include approximately $30,000 for tree-trimming, between $15,000 and $30,000 for speed humps, and about $11,000 for repairs to part of the Grenoble building’s brick façade. Considering that only about $400,000 remain in our special assessment fund and many more projects still have to be addressed, I hope we end up either voting down some of these items or tabling them to examine less expensive alternatives.
Tree trimming is being described as necessary to prevent extensive property damage from trees during a hurricane. But in 2010, the Village paid Lawn Logic $15,750 to perform extensive community-wide tree-trimming. Why should we pay nearly double that amount only three years later for similar work?
As for speed humps, it’s a bit disturbing that a proposal to install 24 speed humps throughout the Village is appearing on the Board’s agenda after the Projects Committee overwhelmingly rejected the idea at its May 22 meeting. Why is the committee’s recommendation being ignored? At its most recent meeting on June 8, the committee again rejected full-fledged speed hump installation, recommending instead that only a couple of speed humps be installed as a demonstration project to determine their effectiveness. It’s worth remembering that the Village installed speed bumps a number of years ago but was forced to remove them at the fire department's behest because they were slowing down emergency vehicle response times.
As I have reported previously, the issue with the Grenoble brick façade is strictly cosmetic. Part of the façade facing the Orleans is delaminating (coming unglued), but this is a decorative – not structural – element of the building. Behind it is a solid concrete wall. One member of the Projects Committee, which voted Saturday to table the repairs, suggested simply removing the damaged part of the façade and repainting the underlying wall as a far less expensive alternative to repairing it. We need to determine whether such a change to the building’s appearance constitutes a “material change,” which would require a vote of unit owners to approve.
As I have reported previously, the issue with the Grenoble brick façade is strictly cosmetic. Part of the façade facing the Orleans is delaminating (coming unglued), but this is a decorative – not structural – element of the building. Behind it is a solid concrete wall. One member of the Projects Committee, which voted Saturday to table the repairs, suggested simply removing the damaged part of the façade and repainting the underlying wall as a far less expensive alternative to repairing it. We need to determine whether such a change to the building’s appearance constitutes a “material change,” which would require a vote of unit owners to approve.
On another note, I would like to thank everyone who participated in or helped organize the very successful and well attended International Village Food Festival party on Saturday, June 1, which was sponsored by owners and free to the association. Events like this help build community spirit by bringing neighbors together in a positive way. International Village could use more of that.
We will have a very active year with hurricanes this year, why don’t we hold on to the little bit of money we have, so we are able to repair any damages that may occur. Many home owners of international village are not able to endure another heavy assessment as we had in the beginning of this year (2013).
ReplyDeleteHi All -- The cameras constitute a material change in living conditions in International Village to one of constant surveillance. A material change requires a vote of the owners. In addition, what happens to our privacy should Homeland Security come demanding these tapes for some issue it is investigating?
ReplyDeleteAccording to an article in the Sun-Sentinel, Florida Law is inconsistent about what constitutes a material change to the common areas, and a board should be sure that what is doing is not cause for owners to seek redress at http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/condoblog/2010/04/florida-cases-that-address-the-issue-of-what-is-or-is-not-a-material-alteration.html. My particular set of skills includes research, and I have not been able to find any conclusive evidence that cameras decrease crime, either on the Internet nor in paid databases to which I have access such as Westlaw. Perhaps the money would be better spent on background checks for residents before they move in. Heck, with the money we are spending on cameras, we could set up a fund to reimburse anyone who has a package stolen outside his or her door. As for the clubhouse thefts, these are often an inside job and that's why no one sees anything. Two campuses where I work have had expensive projectors stolen, even though they were ceiling mounted and hard-wired. There was no evidence of break-ins, again pointing to inside theft. It sounds as if the board is bored and engaging in some shopping therapy.