Meeting Last Night

First, apologies for forgetting to give you advance notice here of last night's HOA meeting. The board did post notice at the mailboxes, and had the signs out yesterday, but I will try to do better here.

Here is some of what you missed.

We still chip away slowly at the amount of delinquent dues, down 3 percent last month. Almost three-fourths of our delinquent dues come from our 17 largest in debt accounts. The board got reassurance from our property manager John Calcagni that we continue to do all that we can to collect what people owe the HOA. A lot of it we'll lose through foreclosures, and some to bankruptcy.

Speaking of foreclosures, we had 16 in May, two fewer than the previous month, so that situation continues to improve. But many of the units recently have sold to investors who rent them out, and that changes the character of the community.

In the open forum for owners, one had several questions. She asked about efforts to police the dumpsters, which have seen much more dumping, and general messiness from people unwilling, or unable (use smaller trash bags!) to get their trash into the dumpsters. The board has looked at, and still awaits prices for, a camera system that would keep watch on the dumpsters.

It also approved a new janitorial services contract that will bring cleaning crews here five days a week to clean up after us. That comes at double the cost of the previous contract, but the board judged that we can't live in a mess, and if we won't clean up after ourselves, we'll have to pay someone to do it.

On the cleaning front, John Calcagni expects a second bid on the pressure washing service that the board recognizes has gone neglected too long. It hopes to have a regular schedule of cleanings going again soon. Doors for the dumpster enclosure at the east end of Kensington Park have been removed for repair after someone apparently ran their car into it.

Finally, the inquisitive owner wondered about more steps the board can take to enforce parking restrictions in the community. We're not allowed to park on the streets here, but people still either do not know this, or do not care. She suggested painting curbs red to indicate no parking on the streets.

We still await installation of the new security system at the pool, approved by the board several months ago now. When that happens, the HOA will mail the new key cards to unit owners. They would have the task of getting the cards to their tenants, if they rent their properties. Only owners current on their dues will get key cards. The HOA can deny use of amenities for owners who do not pay their dues.

Violation notices went out to units that have either unapproved satellite dishes or rear patio/deck enhancements. Owners who want to alter their properties must fill out an ARC form. And the HOA must approve it. If you can't find it here, you can email John Calcagni or the board to get one. Those who bought a unit with an unapproved dish or addition still have responsibility for either requesting permission for its construction through the ARC process, or removing the unapproved device or addition.

The engineering company the HOA hired to inspect the soundness of our building construction has done its inspection. We await its report. We hired the company to see if the water intrusion and other building issues we've had (fortunately fewer than many) come from subpar construction by KB Home when it put up our buildings. If so, the board will try to work with Attorney General Pam Bondi's office, which has indicated that it is going after KB Home for shoddy construction in more than a dozen communities in Florida.

The board plans to move forward with removing oak trees that stand too close to our buildings. This is another gift from KB, which planted them when they were small because they would grow quickly as they tried to sell the units. Unfortunately for us, those trees will grow so large that they will tear up sidewalks and possible damage the foundations of our buildings, so we have to cut them down and replace them with something that won't cause such a problem.

Our next meeting is June 24 at River of Life Christian Center on Krycul Ave. I'll try to remember to post another notice here closer to the date.