The best friend on earth of man is the tree. Frank Lloyd Wright

The Venetia Community Association Board of Directors takes full responsibility for removing the mighty Washingtonian trees at the 41 entrance to Venetia.

Ronnie Hotz and George Sperry have taken charge of the grounds, the treasury, the street lights, and the general running of the community. They have let us all down by not including the membership a vote approving the dissolution of an asset - approximately 100 mature trees. The board did not as much as display a site map or proposal of what trees would be removed, what trees would replace them, nor the location of the trees.

It appears at present, we are in an unfavorable position with the contractor. Not all trees have been replaced, and those that have been are small and do not have any of the grandeur that lured us to Venetia in the first place.

As owners, as dues paying residents of Venetia, and as members of VCA, a Florida Corporation, we were entitled to have a part in this very large undertaking. The Board did not listen when concern was expressed. A community vote would have been the best approach.

This is the "after" result of our entrance on US 41.






And where are we now? Well, not in a very good place. It is quite understandable that with the economy coming to practically a halt, so will the replacement of the trees. To date, you will notice that only the "choice" trees have been removed, leaving the very tall, and the very short trees. It is doubtful that this can be corrected in the near future, surely not in the time the board will still be seated, leaving the mess to the next board.

The contract that was written with Sammy Mizzel is not definitive, and it has a termination date of March 28, only three months away. Perhaps it would have been a good idea to have had our attorney look over the contract before Sperry and Hotz had signed it.

AND THE WINNER IS . . . .

NORM HOTZ!!! Kind of.

Florida State Representative Doug Holder attended the most recent VNAone board meeting. Before you feel good about that, know that it was not to congratulate us on a well run community, but to defend one of our residents for being proud enough to have a TV commercial taped at his home in Venetia.

In response to the hysterical rantings and in receipt of a three page letter listing violation after violation, a six page statement prepared by a Republican committee lawyer was presented to the Board Meeting in defense of the MacLellans.

It was determined that the Board itself was not in compliance with the Covenants in serving the violations and fines. A motion was made by Sperry to forgive the fines if Mr. MacLellan said he "was sorry".

The Republican Party was an invited guest to the MacLellan's home. They did not have any idea that this 3-hour visit would end up by having to defend themselves at a Board meeting by a congressman and a lawyer. What they did innocently turned into something very ugly.


Does this mean that every one of us has to ask permission from the Board or check with a lawyer before we invite certain guests? Do we need a lawyer to live our lives in our own homes?

DID YOU KNOW?

Although the following list was written to encourage homeowners to understand their rights before they buy, it also applies after the purchase of your home.

According to Richard Thompson of "Realty Times", members of HOAs have the right to inspect the following records:

Correspondence
Mailing Lists
Management Notices
Newsletters
Resident Manuals/Handbooks
Annual Budget
Assessment Information
Auditor Reports
Balance Sheets
Bank Statements & Reconciliations
Bank Deposit Slips
Cancelled Checks
Financial Statements
Income Tax Returns
Inventory Lists
Investment Account Statements
Invoices-Assets
Invoices-Supply/Services
Petty Cash Vouchers
Purchase Orders/Journal
Reserve Study
State & Federal ID Numbers
Supply/Service Invoices
Articles of Incorporation
Bylaws
Declaration
Resolutions
Rules & Regulations
Insurance Accident Reports
Insurance Claims-Open/Settled
Fire Inspection Reports
Insurance Policies
Safety Records
Correspondence
Legal/Litigation Files
Blueprints & Specifications
Contracts
Plat Maps
Warranties-Expired/Unexpired
Work Orders
Election Ballots
Meeting Notices
Meeting Proxies
Meeting Minutes
Committee Reports ADA Complaints (Disability)
OSHA Records
Procedure Manuals

See Realty Times

THE USUAL SUSPECTS

Does anyone know who's running for election this year? It's coming up pretty soon, and it sure would be nice to know about the candidates, unless of course, it's all the usual suspects.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Every once in a while, opportunity knocks. Sometimes though, you have to listen very carefully. It may be a tap, tap, tap. It may be a whisper. This morning, I heard . . . . . . psssst, this is it.


Harold Bubil wrote in his column from the Herald Tribune the following:

The Florida Community Association Journal has announced a call for entries for its 2008 "Florida Communications of Excellence Awards," which will recognize 10 communities in the state. The purpose of the competition is to "identify and promote innovative solutions and best practices in maintaining and improving the quality of life for residents of community associations," according to the FCA Journal.

Imagine how real estate brokers, association lawyers, management companies will be offering their services and buyers will clamoring at our gates to buy, buy, buy if Venetia wins. This is your chance to SELL, so I implore you to run, go to the Florida Journal site, and report how well run this neighborhood is, how welcoming the board is, how beautifully maintained our common areas are. Whatever you do, don't let them know how the Venetia Community website displays their vindictive behavior, their poorly written contracts, the shouting matches at the meetings, the budget practices our auditors disagree with. Whatever you do, don't let them know how many houses are up for sale and can't be sold, or how we have lost the Venetian theme of our once beautiful, now plain and unappealing clubhouse.

This may be your chance, so RUN, do not walk. The deadline is January 15, 2009. Let your fingers fly. Their website is http://www.flcaj.com/coe.

Look for Higher Fees Next Year

King George and Prince Norman have conquered and taken down the walls of the Scolaro's fortress. With the help of the sheriff's department, and without warning, the association entered their property and ripped down the cage from their beautiful home, devaluing their property and putting yet another smear on Venetia. How destructive, how appalling, what abusive use of power. What is even more despicable, is that the association is not going to replace the cage, leaving their house exposed to all the elements.

Note the "before" and "after" pictures above, and below, George Sperry sitting in a lawn chair enjoying the destruction of a resident's home, and Norman Hotz by his side. AND FOR WHAT PURPOSE??

Make What Reasonable?

We live in a gated and deed restricted neighborhood in Florida. When we first moved here, the developer still had control of the Covenants and Deed Restrictions. The people in the neighborhood were friendly and we were always happy to come home. After the first year we were here, the developer turned over the HOA to a few volunteer homeowners. Since that horrendous evening of the first meeting, when the newly named president stepped up to the mike and demanded people to "shut up and sit down" for asking about things such as "where is the budget", this is a different neighborhood. The BOD hired a lawyer and a management company and soon we were getting letters for having flowers hanging from our lamp posts or wreaths on our doors. As a matter of fact, over 500 letters were sent the first year, and there were approximately 300 single family homeowners at the time.

It is apparent that the local governments welcome these Planned Urban Developments (PUDs) because the developers construct the infrastructure, build and sell the homes, then gate the people in and the police, highway and other services out. If the homeowner wants a new home, and especially one with the current hurricane codes, then they must sign a 150 page, or more, legal document of covenants, codes and restrictions. If you don't sign, you can't buy. This nonsense about having a choice is getting narrower and narrower as the majority of homes are now in PUDs.

Because of these issues, it is almost impossible to have a HOA that conducts business for the sake of the community, instead of for the benefit of the Board of Directors. It is a miserable situation that I think will be given more attention sometime in the future. But for now, for the sake of people's constitutional rights, these BODs need to relax, realize it is only a volunteer position, and MAKE IT REASONABLE to reside inside these gates!