Play area issues

No basketball court at International Village: That was the verdict from the recent community meeting to discuss the installation of a children’s play area in the Village.

About a dozen residents – mostly owners – turned out on July 13 to talk about whether and how to address the recreational needs of the community’s growing number of children, although the day’s rainy weather may have kept many parents away. (See video here.) Several owners pushed for a playground for small children, but they strongly rejected the creation a basketball court.

“We’re definitely not for the basketball court,” said owner Jennifer Moloney, the mother of a toddler. “That’s just going to bring obscenities and a different dynamic... No one wants that kind of trouble.”

Most of those attending the 37-minute meeting appeared to back a plan to convert one of the condo's underutilized tennis courts into a tot lot with key access and parental supervision required. Parents said a playground is needed to keep children out of the street and safely away from cars. Left unresolved was the issue of how to pay for it, but one suggestion called for interested parents to put up the funding.

According to the association’s property manager, converting one of the tennis courts into a children’s play area would not raise the association’s insurance costs because it wouldn't require a change to the condo's existing insurance policy, which already covers the courts.

But a playground could be a long way from becoming reality. International Village President Marvin Tow, who attended the discussion, said the meeting was only the first stage in a four-step process that may present some significant hurdles to the proposal. The idea next heads to the Projects Committee, which will discuss it once its new chairman, Sidney Schulman, schedules a meeting. The committee’s recommendation will then be forwarded to the Board of Directors, which still might not have the final say. Mr. Tow believes creating a tot lot would constitute a “material change” to the condo’s common elements. Under Florida law, that would require putting the idea to a vote of the owners, 75 percent of whom would need to approve the change.

Clubhouse roof update and more

It’s been quite a peaceful past several weeks. The Board of Directors is on hiatus. We’re taking July off and probably won’t meet again until August 19, unless something urgent comes up. But some of you have been asking me for an update about the clubhouse roof, so for those who have not had a chance to check out the video of our last meeting on June 10, which I posted several weeks ago, here’s a recap…

We approved a $117,000 contract with Todd Knapp Inc. to install a Durolast roof, for which we will receive an $8,000 FPL rebate. We didn’t really have much of a choice, because as I previously reported, Citizens Property Insurance is refusing to reinstate the clubhouse's canceled wind insurance coverage until a new roof is in place. The new Durolast system will cover the entire flat roof area, but we saved about $65,000 by going with the contractor’s recommended option of removing only the damaged parts of the old roof instead of the whole thing. The new roof will come with a 20-year warranty. While working on the roof, Todd Knapp Inc. also will install an $18,900 new air conditioning system to replace the current failing system. Work on the new roof is expected to begin by around the end of next week and take about three weeks to complete.

At the same meeting, the Board approved a $30,000 tree-trimming contract with National Property Services, arguing that it will reduce the risk of property damage from trees during a hurricane. I voted against the contract because I never got an explanation as to why it’s costing nearly twice the $15,750 we paid Lawn Logic to perform comprehensive community-wide tree-trimming in 2010.

The Board also OK’d a $3,925 contract with Atlantic Southern Paving to install four speed humps at strategic locations around the Village as a pilot project to test their effectiveness. Although I was glad we shot down a much costlier plan to install 24 speed bumps at a cost of $14,500, I voted against the final contract because I think we should be saving as much money as possible for more critical projects, since by my calculations our special assessment fund will soon be down to only about $250,000 after accounting for the aforementioned projects plus the recently completed $10,350 clubhouse termite-tenting.

Finally, we put off discussion of an $11,000 plan to reinforce a delaminating portion of the Grenoble building’s brick façade while we explore other alternatives including removing the affected section and applying a paint-like material to the underlying wall to match the look of the façade.

In other news, the Association will host a meeting this Saturday, July 13 at 2 p.m. in the clubhouse to discuss the possibility of creating a play area to address the needs of the community’s growing number of families with children. All residents, whether owners or tenants, are invited to attend or send an email to admin@internvillage.com to share their ideas about what type of recreational facilities should be installed and where. Among the ideas currently under discussion is converting one of our underutilized tennis courts into a basketball court. Funding options under consideration include asking our current owner-investors to pay for the changes, since the tenants they collect rent from make up the majority of the Village's families with children.