Community Living
Prepare carefully for hostile board meeting
By RICHARD WHITE
Published October 18, 2003
Question: Can our association board hold a meeting to discuss issues that are creating hostilities within the board? There seems no way to address these problems without washing our dirty laundry in front of our unit owners.
Answer: The board can hold such a meeting, but unless it is carefully structured, it can only make matters worse. It helps to depersonalize these "hot-button" meetings by using only unit numbers or lot numbers rather than names, or by addressing each other formally as Mr. or Ms. instead of by first names.
Make sure that all board members have the agenda and backup information before the meeting. Enforce a rule prohibiting raised voices and profanity. It takes work and a desire to change for these meetings to be effective, but without them, no meeting to air out difficulties will help.
Board may use reserve fund
Question: Severe wind damaged the roof of one of our buildings. Our insurance carrier paid for the damage, less the deductible. Can the board use funds from the roof reserve account for this deductible without approval by a majority of unit owners?
Answer: Yes. That is why the reserve fund has been collected. The board has the responsibility to maintain the common areas and the right to spend reserve funds to pay for the repairs. The board has three choices to fund the deductible: pay from operational funds, approve a special assessment, or use reserve funds. No other choice exists, certainly not a vote by the members: This is a board decision.
Cleaning up Mom's act
Question: My elderly mother lives alone in a condo, and my name is on the title. I received a call from an acquaintance, also an owner in the complex, about the condition of the interior of my mother's unit. Some other unit owners have complained because she refuses to allow the pest-control people to service her apartment. I'm the first to admit the interior is deplorable. Clothes and clutter are everywhere. I've told her the place is disgusting, and she replies that she doesn't have the energy to keep it up. This is untrue, because she is physically able and could seek assistance but refuses. This has been going on for years. What can I do?
Answer: You'll have to hire a housecleaning service. It's time to be a good son and repay your loving mother for all she has done for you. She may put up a fight and complain that you are invading her personal life, but you need to be forceful and get the job done. If you can't afford a service, you may have to do it yourself. If she really cannot live on her own, it's time to start thinking about moving her to assisted living.
- Write to Richard White, c/o Community Living, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. Sorry, he can't take phone calls or provide personal replies by mail, but you can e-mail him at CAMquestions@att.net Please include your name and city. Questions should concern association operations; legal opinions cannot be offered. For specific legal advice, contact an association attorney.
Readers may call the state Division of Condominiums Bureau of Customer Service at toll-free 1-800-226-9101 with questions or requests for materials. Access the Bureau of Condominiums Web site at http://www.state.fl.us/dbpr/lsc/index.shtml or write to Bureau of Customer Service, 1940 N Monroe St., Northwood Centre, Tallahassee, FL 32399-1032.
Please note that this office provides no information about homeowners' associations. The state has no bureau or department covering those associations.
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