However, a pause for faith, peace, and family. Have an enjoyable Holiday Season.
OR
AND LET’S TAKE A VOTE TO SPEND OVER A LIMIT OR NOT
As we know, an HOA is a political stage where those that have assembled a like kind group of followers, will seize this stage for their theatrics, and control an HOA community, as we have seen here in Aquarina. What follows is that many times the typical selfish results of the theatrics will disclose an underlying existence of a compliance and complacency, which further feeds the selfish theatrics.
Two recent incidents of these theatrics were the total renovation of The Brassie Grille, and the total renovation of the Lakeside Pool, which were both thrust upon the Aquarina Residents without a community discussion of both need or cost. If our Bylaws or our Amendments had a threshold amount of spending, where a proposed spending amount could be limited at a threshold line, then a vote could be triggered to allow a higher amount of spending or deny the higher amount of spending.
Apparently, it appears that our Bylaws and existing Amendments do not currently provide such a control mechanism on spending. The ACSA Board obviously knows this flaw, and rather than providing a prudent mechanism for stifling this abuse, it ignores this process of spending control, since it would not enhance its selfish and condescending actions with the Residents. The tragedy in all this becomes more apparent when the ACSA Board uses this flaw in our documents for indulgence to serve a few or the cabal. The renovated restaurant, at a cost of $1M plus, was fine as a comfort food sports bar, as it was intended to be. And the Lakeside Pool’s noted deficiencies, which were mostly untruths, could have been fixed per code within a month at a third of the now cost agreed to by the ACSA. In addition, the ACSA agreed to a three year period for the renovation to its paid up front contractor, to complete this unneeded renovation. These exorbitant costs, in a bullying manner, were foisted on the Residents. The Lakeside Pool’s three neighborhoods were especially bullied and abused, since they voted with a majority vote for a contractor plan of a cost effective one month repair. Further, even though these three neighborhoods have exclusive use of the pool, have total liability for the pool, and have all the maintenance and its costs for the pool, their input was stifled and ignored, and those few Residents, who protested, were banished from any pool discussions, in favor of ACSA selected Residents, who were both compliant and complacent following the ACSA Board’s and its spokesperson, from the management company, demands to this crafted Resident Pool Committee.
The restaurant renovation, in addition to the enormous cost, was certainly a stage for the cabal group’s theatrics, where a prudent restaurant business model could not be established, as turnover after turnover of employees and managers have occurred. The Residents have been paying for the restaurant and its amateur management, i.e. as overseen by the cabal perpetrators. The solution here is to search for a professional restaurant or food service business to occupy, through a commercial lease, to generate some income to pay for this now unnecessary asset for which we now have to continually pay.
This Blog’s appeal for a Bylaws’ change for spending through amendments is provided in the Bylaws for an amendment process to occur, and having a limit or threshold amount to spend followed by a Resident vote for or against an amount over the threshold can be considered a sensible change to the Bylaws. It would provide a structure that would prevent a Board, for which we have been currently subject, to perform reckless discretionary spending without Resident input. This discretionary spending, for what the Bylaws describe as Betterments, again exemplified by the restaurant and pool renovations, could be put to a Resident vote to determine if a requested exceeded cost amount is acceptable or not. Further, this amendment(s) would enforce the fiduciary responsibility that the Board members pledged with their oath to the community per Florida Statutes.
When elections come up again for Board Directors, hopefully, candidates for directors will emerge that support this change to the Bylaws, which will certainly provide a check and balance system to curb this exorbitant discretionary spending. Other communities have this system, and Aquarina should have it too, especially with the reckless and bullying behavior that the Aquarina Residents have experienced with the current Board majority’s free-wheeling spending.
Discretionary decisions in favor of spending on Betterments needs to be overseen when a Board of Directors’ focus appears to be feeding its cabal of followers with selfish perks. Having a Spending Limit process in our Bylaws would function as a legal overseer of possible irresponsible Board decisions with spending, and other non-fiduciary actions.
An example of the Board’s lack of focus with community priorities, and its blindness to its, by Florida Statute, fiduciary responsibilities, has been clearly demonstrated with the Beach Club lift, i.e. elevator, and the beach access ramping. Both these projects, which should have been driven and recognized by handicap demand, were put off and ignored for years, with the ramp access nearly losing its permit for construction because of Board apathy. The renovated restaurant and Lakeside Pool were the Betterment priorities while handicap matters became an afterthought. BTW – is the lift operational? We are constantly emailed about more entertaining events and restaurant menus, which appear to be the Board’s focus, through its in-house and social organizer arm, AGI (Aquarina Golf, Inc.).
The Residents have the means to control the direction of its community, and its Board’s spending. A limit for spending with discretionary costs would make sense by providing the Residents a voice and control of unnecessary and unneeded spending, yet it’s never been broached to the Aquarina community. Why?