2014 July Minutes

You're half right!  The board can meet in a quorum only under 2 specific circumstances:  Personnel issues to be discussed and pending or actual litigation WITH attorney present.

Note to AK:  Consult FL Statute 720 on Minutes:  Minutes MUST be made, by law, of this Board Meeting.  It is a Board Meeting.  There is no such meeting under FS720 named a Special Privileged Meeting.  That pompous name could have only come from the mindset of 499 (in the style of "Security Force"). 

And, while you're at it, you might want to specify exactly where the "Board Room" is.  I don't recall ever seeing a resolution or reference to a special meeting area on SLohA property designated as "the board room".  Anyone know about this "board room"--is it the meeting room at 499 used for all meetings of staff, employees, visitors, police officers, management company personnel etc?  (Or, could it be the locked Poker Room E in the new Annex?)

AK:  The Minutes must outline the general intent of the meeting and name the attorney present, if one of the matters discussed concerns litigation.  You forgot to do this on September 4, 2013.  Please don't forget again or say you don't have the manual on how to be a Secretary. 

720.303

(2) BOARD MEETINGS

(a)...A meeting of the board of directors of an association occurs whenever a quorum of the board gathers to conduct association business. All meetings of the board must be open to all members except for meetings between the board and its attorney with respect to proposed or pending litigation where the contents of the discussion would otherwise be governed by the attorney-client privilege.

(b) ...Notwithstanding any other law, meetings between the board or a committee and the association’s attorney to discuss proposed or pending litigation or meetings of the board held for the purpose of discussing personnel matters are not required to be open to the members other than directors.

Reminder to AK:
(c)(1) Directors may not vote by proxy or by secret ballot at board meetings, except that secret ballots may be used in the election of officers.

(3) MINUTES.—Minutes of all meetings of the members of an association and of the board of directors of an association must be maintained in written form or in another form that can be converted into written form within a reasonable time. A vote or abstention from voting on each matter voted upon for each director present at a board meeting must be recorded in the minutes.

Interesting question.  This is my guess:  YES BOD can invite others because neither FS720 nor our documents forbid other people from attending board meetings.  As I recall, the limitation is on the right to speak at a board meeting if you are a non-SLohA member.  This limitation can be waived by BOD, as it was in March 2014 when several non-members spoke at a BOD meeting.  

The law only speaks to MEMBERS who are legally excluded from the board meeting!  So, outsiders can be privy to information considered to be client-attorney--but the people who pay for this do not have the right to this information beyond the Minutes that must be made available to Members.

GET READY SADDLEBAGGERS FOR THE WILDEST FINANCIAL RIDE OF YOUR LIFE.  ALL IN LEGAL FEES.  YEP, YOU GAVE THE WEASEL THE KEY TO THE CHICKEN COOP AND WHILE YOU WERE GONE THEY COUGHED UP NOT ONLY CHICKEN FEATHERS BUT A BIG PART OF YOUR QUARTERLY ASSESSMENTS TO "PROTECT" YOU FROM UGLY GARBAGE STUMPS AND PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED THE RULES AND WERE GIVEN WRITTEN PERMISSION, BUT IT WAS NOT WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR.  

MONEY IS NO PROBLEM WHEN IT IS NOT COMING OUT OF THEIR POCKETS.  LET'S SEE....HARASSMENT SUITS;  CIVIL RIGHT SUITS; DEFAMATION SUITS;  LEGAL BILLS; MEDICAL BILLS, ETC.   WILL SLohA INSURANCE PAY ALL THIS AND MORE?  DOUBT IT.

RAMBO SAID IT BEST:  "THEY DREW FIRST BLOOD."

That's a good point about insurance.  SLohA insurance carrier already has a covenants expiration lawsuit that is being handled by their attorney.  BOD is currently instigating a second lawsuit against an owner over a non-problem--a perfectly nice carport sited appropriately on unusual property (there is no street frontage for parking).  That's two and we're only halfway through 2014!  Tower Hill handled two potentially crippling lawsuits in 2012 by an employee who was fired without cause; fortunately for SLohA, that employee settled and SLohA paid the settlement.  Three!  Then there was the dog mauling involving another  employee in 2013; that was also settled and SLohA paid.  Four!   Is this a concerning pattern?   What happens when the 5th monster lawsuit for breach of covenants (commercial activity) is filed in the fall?  Is that an ominous pattern?  BOD is now sabre-rattling and threatening yet another owner for (gasp) bringing a beautiful new home into the community with a porch on the front!  Numero six!  In two years...

How many more BOD-provoked lawsuits before Tower Hill cancels the D & O part of the policy--or the entire policy--and gets outta Dodge?  Or, raises the premiums so high that assessments go through the roof?  And, with SLohA track record, a future insurer could refuse to issue a D & O policy at any price.  With this "leadership" in control, that could break the bank.  Is that what MANBOD is trying to do?

I should have added to the discussion about the "Priviledged" Special Board meeting held on March 13, 2014 with the attorneys.  This meeting was never entered into the Minutes but was referred to in passing under the President's report at the regular BOD meeting on March 19, 2014:


Apparently, this meeting, which was properly-noticed but for which NO Minutes were produced (but a passing reference made not sufficient under FS720), was the launch of the current reign of terrorism and persecution on Owners.

The players involved recognized that there was no legal authority to "give variances to R & R" but failed to recognize that there was no legal authority to statutorily "enforce" any R & R and especially no expressed or implied legal authority to enact rules and regulations regarding structures not mentioned or permitted by the three (3) Declaration of Covenants. 

Not to mention the absence of underlying authority to even speak to owners of parcels whose covenants have expired...

What was the Emergency in SLR? Anyone have Info?

Oh please.  If there was an emergency you would have heard about it!  DB was out golfing as usual, CM was hiding from the sheriff under a mattress, Peet is tootin' around in his new moho with his email on auto-response, Cliffy is probably in China hiring a pre-teen hack to break the forum quarantine and AK is too busy writing up all those Minutes she forgot to make.

The others--hmmm who were they again?  No emergency--just the usual absent BOD.