Homeowner association president's mailbox explodes

A Seminole homeowner association president's mailbox has exploded following a notice sent to association residents who were non-compliant with a brick mailbox requirement.

Pinellas County Sheriff's detectives responded to the home of Wind Tree Oaks Home Owners Association president Gerard Esposito after receiving a report that his mailbox exploded around 1:45 p.m. Friday.

According to deputies, HOA management company sent notices to residents who were non-compliant with the HOA requirement of having a brick mailbox.

Officials said Esposito's wife, Deborah Esposito, heard a loud explosion outside their home. When she looked outside, she saw their brick mailbox was partially blown away. 

Deputies said they smelled black powder when they arrived at the home.  No one was injured and there was no other property damage involved.

Officials have not determined what type of device was used. Deputies have not named a suspect at this time.

Do Home Owner Associations Need Regulation?

I came upon a description of Fascism, and some of it sounds painfully familiar.

1.  Disdain for the Recognition of Rights - The people tend to look the other way.

2.  Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - Example, putting pictures on the association website of a home owner's violation in the Preserve.

3.  Obsession with Crime and Punishment - liens, foreclosures, fines, often without first discussing it with the homeowner or without giving an opportunity to defend oneself.

4.  Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability.

5.  Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against opposition candidates, or use of legislation to control voting numbers. 

One example was Neighborhood One kept a vote for the revision of the Covenants open until there were enough votes to pass it.  Apparently there never were enough votes because the quorum required to pass it was revised from 30% to 20% which enabled the new document to be passed.

HOA BOARD DISAPPROVES DISABLED VETERAN'S HOME

Knob Hill Property Owners Association President Rick Trump said Homes for Our Troops did not receive approval for the house it wanted to build for paralyzed Afghanistan veteran Sean Gittens. The builder also made untrue statements about discussions before their plan's denial, Trump said.

"They're saying we blocked this," he said. "We're not blocking them from building a house; we just blocked what they've submitted so far because we don't know all the details."

Read more:  http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2011-06-23/neighborhood-says-it-never-approved-design-vets-home

BULLY BOARDS

Association Rules Lead to Homeowner March in Las Vegas.

That is the headline in a Nevada newspaper. It isn't only Florida, or Texas, or California where homeowners are getting angry at the association's overreaching boards who use bullying tactics against their next door neighbors, but neighborhoods built in the past decade across the country.

Brigitte Porter was fined $3,110 by Heather Ridge Homeowners Association because the color of her driveway paint was a different shade from the previous color.

Doris Vescio of Sun City Anthem has been fined $100 a week since November for a fence that's more than 6 feet high, even though it was approved by the HOA architectural committee.

Joseph McCauley complained that the Mount Charleston Golf Estates board illegally approved a $2,500 special assessment without putting the item on a meeting agenda and under false pretenses to intimidate owners.

More than 50 homeowners fed up with community association "bully boards" gathered Monday at Sawyer Building to rally against what some perceive as abusive power, harassment and exorbitant fines.

Sound familiar?  
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