For weeks, proponents of a $150,000 project to install almost 300 "security" cameras throughout International Village have declined to consider the option of letting the owners decide by putting the issue to a vote.Now they may be forced to do so.
Earlier this month, an arbitrator with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) – the agency that regulates condos – ruled that the installation of cameras by a condo association constitutes a "material alteration," which under Florida law requires the approval of unit owners.
The ruling was in response to a petition by a group of owners of the West Coast Vista Condo Association near Tampa, who complained that their association’s Board of Directors had failed to get owners' approval before installing cameras in the condo's pool area. The arbitrator sided with the petitioners, rejecting the Board’s argument that the cameras were an emergency "security" measure, since they don't actually prevent incidents from happening (the deterrent effect being purely speculative). The association has been ordered to schedule a vote on the cameras and – if the owners decide not to approve them – to remove them within 30 days after the vote.
I have been in touch with the lead petitioner in this case, and he's eager to offer his assistance to ensure that proper procedure is followed in our case. He also informed me that the DBPR was so helpful in guiding him through the process that he didn't even have to spend any money hiring an attorney. On the other hand, the West Coast Vista Association spent about $1,800 in attorney fees in its unsuccessful attempt to defend its actions.
We don't have to make the same mistake, needlessly wasting $150,000 on a camera system we would later have to remove, along with associated litigation expenses. We can handle this the right way by simply agreeing to hold a vote. This will cost us nothing if we combine it with the mailing of ballots for our upcoming Board of Directors election in January (thus saving about $500 in additional mailing expenses). Let the owners decide if they want a massive surveillance system paid for by either a $200-per-unit special assessment or a permanent increase in maintenance fees – which would be on top of another potential special assessment to pay for about $1 million in various other "priority projects" discussed at our last Board meeting, in which the Board ironically approved new procedures for the installation of personal security cameras by individual owners in front of their units. (See the 10/21/13 VIDEO.)
A special Board of Directors meeting to discuss and vote on the $150,000 camera proposal has been scheduled for next Monday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. in the clubhouse. I, with the support of many like-minded unit owners, am putting the International Village Condominium Association and Board of Directors on notice that if the proposed camera installation project is approved without the required vote of unit owners, we will file a petition with the DBPR and the Florida ombudsman for arbitration to challenge the illegal move.
Please encourage all members of the Board of Directors to do the right thing. E-mail them HERE now to let them know how you feel, and be sure to attend our Nov. 4 meeting to make your voices heard. When enough of you have complained in the past, it's made a difference. Here's your opportunity to turn things around once again!
Thank you.
Hi John -- Thank you for your efforts to collect the signatures.
ReplyDeleteI have just notified our managers that the lobby and mail room ceiling in Orleans is leaking again. The water comes out of the AC vent in the mailroom, putting residents at risk of slipping and falling on the cement tile floor. It also certainly looks bad for any prospective buyers who see garbage pails under leaks and a flood floor. If I were shopping for an apartment, I would cross IV off my list if I saw that.
Insofar as at least one leak comes through an AC vent, I question if we are at risk for a potential electrical outage or fire.
This leak has been around for a few years. I don't remember whether it started after Wilma or was there before that hurricane.
Why are cameras more important than attending to routine maintenance such as leaks? That's a rhetorical question, of course.
It was a pleasure to meet you and several other nice IV residents the Halloween get together.
Enid Sefcovic, Orleans
What an unpleasant person Mr. Weiss must be. His letter is vicious and nasty, accusing Mr. Labriola of various miss deeds.
ReplyDeleteWe residents of the village should be grateful that Mr. Labriola informs us of ongoing issues and may I say in a respectful way, and he deserves our thanks for that.
When I moved here the Maintenance was $208.00, now it has risen almost $100.00 higher, including an assessment of $77.99 which seems to go on and on and seems to have no ending date. Most owners in IV are not as financially solvent as Mr. Weiss seems to be, so we have to watch our budget and can not at the drop of a hat sue people because we do not like them or for whatever reason Mr. Weiss thinks it is necessary. CUT IT OUT MR. WEISS. Your reasons are transparent and at best uncalled for!