COMING SOON –
IS AGI (AQUARINA GOLF INC) THE ONLY WAY TO MANAGE OUR AMENITIES?
OUR CURRENT SITUATION
As has been explained in this Blog, the State of Florida’s legislature has recognized an HOA’s potential power over its Residents with the extreme latitude the HOA Directors can exercise with its community’s By-Laws. More transparency and access to the HOA’s records were cited by the legislatures to be more enforced, and failure to adhere to the transparency and accessibility to HOA records can result in misdemeanors and felonies for the non-compliant HOA Directors.
There are two issues to address. They are 1) The vetting process for Director Candidates needs to be more than a social gathering to “Meet the Candidates”. What would be better for an understanding of a potential Candidate’s character and beliefs than direct questions from an audience on such a question as “Do you believe the Residents should have a discussion and vote for expenditures that cost 100’s of thousands of dollars, e.g. an over $1,000,000 restaurant renovation, and an unnecessary closing of the Lakeside Pool for going on and approaching three years, and an unneeded pool renovation that will probably approach $400,000?
And 2) The current Aquarina By-Laws do not address discretionary unlimited spending, where spending up to a price point needs to be discussed where spending over the price point requires a Resident vote. What we have now is unlimited spending and discretionary placement of the Resident Funds. These funds can be spent on “Betterments” (community discretionary improvements, e.g. the expanded and renovated once Brassie Grille) or placed in the Reserves Account for expected repairs and replacement of community assets. Guess what gets funded first.
Further, if the AGI has shareholders, as apparently it does, then please explain this business arrangement that the AGI has with its shareholders and the Residents. Remember, AGI shortfalls with paying expenses, have fallen on the Residents funds, or if this is not so, than does the payments for the shortfalls come from the shareholders? This arrangement needs to be disclosed. Show us the arrangement documents. Show us the full tax returns, and where the Residents’ funds appear.
The current Aquarina HOA reality does not provide for Resident discussions and voting on high-cost items, and no Director Candidate Meetings with queries to those running as Candidates to determine their positions on community matters. Further, we have an HOA Board of Directors that solely decides how much will be spent from the Residents’ Funds, and what items will be these expenditures.
We have had a few elected Board Directors that were hoped to bring a change to the past and present HOA Board policies; however, those Directors served and left, and probably determined that a cabal majority existed, where their voice was not heard or they were voted down. What followed in the recent last Directors’ Election, three Director positions were available where Director Candidates could have run; however, no Candidates emerged. This was a windfall for the then present Board, where one Director ran unopposed, and the other two positions were filled by Board appointment. What a better way to solidify the current Board’s majority, with a complacent and compliant Resident response where no other voices were heard.
On another matter, real estate in Brevard County has taken a pause in activity, where just a year or so ago there existed a near frensy of buying and selling activity with rising prices not seen for some time. Buying and selling activity still exists, but at a more restrained pace. Yet other conditions unexpectedly evolved to add further brakes to the buying and selling, as explained below.
Aquarina has not escaped from this changing real estate activity, where condominiums and townhouses make up most of the buying and selling, and represent the majority of available housing in the community. It is these two sectors that have been impacted the most with our changed market. Unfortunately, these two sectors have been burdened with new Florida State required funding laws, i.e. assessments for accelerating and rising insurance costs, and further assessments for new roofs, and reserves. These recent and unexpected costs are in addition to the Aquarina maintenance fees, and have virtually grinded Aquarina to a near halt with selling and buying. As maybe a consolation, Aquarina is not alone with these crushing circumstances. All of Brevard County is also under siege with its condominium and townhouse inventory.
Because of all this unforeseen increase of ongoing expenses, why would an HOA Board of Directors, foist further financial burdens on its Residents? These were burdens of pure discretionary indulgence that were placed on the Residents without interactive discussion or a majority vote; actually, no voting existed. Why? The cabal majority on the current Board has had no forceful resistance to its ways, revels in this situation, and is fed and encouraged to flourish with the current Residents’ compliance and complacency.
CAN AN ALTERNATIVE PATH BE CREATED TO STIFLE WHAT’S BEFORE US?
This situation of Resident bullying occurred in the past years when Aquarina was held hostage by a rogue new owner, who bought the development from the Germans.
A patriot Resident established and drove a movement under the auspices named the Aquarina Residents’ Association (ARA). Some of you reading this Blog may remember that group, which provided an organized voice to interact with the then bullying rogue owner. This owner eventually went bankrupt as a result of his irresponsible actions, and an HOA was established and took over the Aquarina development.
Before the rogue owner’s demise, the ARA offered a unified unit to address the owner’s actions when the Residents felt they were impacted in a possibly negative way. The ARA had Resident meetings to discuss the community and how any owner plans may impact the Residents. The ARA had, in addition to concerned Residents, spokespeople who would request to meet with the rogue owner to discuss concerns. The ARA’s political base and voice demanded to be heard, and it was.
May the current Residents of Aquarina have an interest to be heard in an organized manner to address the current Board of Directors, rather than have individuals, one at a time, stand up for three minutes, and be stifled if their point of view that was contrary to the Board of Directors? I have seen where Directors perp-walked Residents back to their seats to not be heard.
This is all politics. The Board of Directors have had a majority hold on Aquarina now for several years. They’re well established and organized, and as a result, they have marched forward without any strong resistance to do exactly as they pleased. There have been a few Residents, including this Blog writer, who have spoken out; however, fractured individual announced concerns rather than a unified group of concerns are not apparently effective to cause change. In politics, numbers are important to exert any change.
The historic Aquarina Residents’ Association was a catalyst that united like voices to be heard. It was built with like minded Residents, who together made a force with which to be reckoned. The Lakeside Pool fiasco is a current example, and fertile ground, where an effort should be raised among the Pool Neighborhoods, as a unified voice, to rein in the Board of Directors with their ongoing bungling of a Pool Area renovation.
A seed has been planted. Are we in need and ready to resurrect the ARA, where civil and honest discussions can occur, and where Residents’ concerns can be deliberated with the Board of Directors?