Las Vista Blog - April, 2016
Hello Fellow Bloggers,
Greetings from sunny Florida where the hard-wood trees are losing their leaves (all over the place, but it seems like new growth arrives within a week!), where the ducks are parading around with their ducklings, and where new sod, mulch and flowers are being planted on our property. Spring is here and summer is coming very soon to South Florida.
Time flies and we have already had two Board Meetings since I last wrote and here is the update for sales and yearly rentals that were approved by the Board in March and April - 1 Bedroom in J Building for $66,000; 2 Bedroom in A for $50,000; 2 Bedroom in J for $63,000; 2 Bedroom in C for $103,000; and a 2 Bedroom in L for $75,000.
We approved 8 annual leases but I should mention that these are not necessarily new renters. We are reviewing our records periodically to remind renters for whom we have no renewed annual leases, to provide us with copies for our files. We are finding that many renters have renewed their leases with their landlords, but forgot to provide us with a copy. As these renewed leases come in, they are brought before the Board for approval. For those whose leases have expired, we issue notices requiring them to do so immediately. We will be seeing more and more lease renewals in our updates, and many of them are just the result of bringing our records up-to-date at long last.
At the March meeting, the Board elected Clifton (Kip) Ballast as a Director at Large and we are continuing our search for three Resident Directors for buildings L, M, and P. Shortly before the April meeting, I received a letter of intent from a candidate for the P building (Gene Palazzo), and the Board agreed that since we have to run the election for the P building, that we will run an election for the other two buildings as well. Our process includes several steps beginning with issuing a notice to the buildings involved that we invite candidacy for the position of Resident Director. If only one candidate submits an intent to run for the one position, then there is no second phase that requires balloting and that candidate is accepted. If there are two candidates, then we continue with balloting, electing, etc.
In early March, we had a donation of wall mirrors for our gym and they have been installed. To update you on the K building cardroom (previously flooded due to the old roof leaking), we passed inspection for the drywall installation and are now awaiting the inspection for the carpeting, baseboards and painting. The City of Lauderhill appears to be backed up a bit with inspections, but we are hopeful that within a couple of weeks, the residents of the K building (especially those earnest domino players) will have their cardroom back! Speaking of roofs, during the March meeting, the Board selected a vendor, Innovative Roofing, to replace the roof on the L building. This is the same vendor who replaced the roof on the K building. Work permits were received this week, and machinery is now on site and the work has begun.
Last month, I appointed a Telephone Directory Committee whose goal was to contact all unit owners to confirm the best telephone numbers to be used in a new directory, as well as reminding folks that we need an Emergency Contact Form (for those who did not yet submit one). We also let unit owners know that we have a key vault now and can store copies of keys to be used when emergencies occur, etc. My thanks to Judy Schalow, Linda & David Bollech, Elaine & Jerry Flora, Gloria Orlando and Dora Campanella who helped survey 8 of our buildings. We will continue to survey the remaining buildings over the next few months and of course, welcome more volunteers.
One of my most important updates concerns the results of the voting on the 15 amendments to our by-laws/rules and the 1 proposition for alteration to a common element (floor of the Recreation Hall of the Clubhouse). We are thrilled with the results and the participation of 246 unit owners (57% ) in this process. Our unit owners have spoken, and every amendment and the proposition was approved with approval rates ranging from 81% to 91% of those who voted. As amendments require approval by both the unit owners and our Board of Directors, and because the Board now knows of the approval vote from the unit owners, we can begin the second part of the process. I announced at the April Board Meeting that the Board of Directors will be asked at our May 16, 2016 Board Meeting to vote on these amendments and proposition. This advanced notice is necessary as some of the amendments relate to unit use rights and 14 days’ notice must be given to unit owners before the vote. Under separate cover, unit owners will shortly be delivered this notice in person, via e-mail or via the postal service. Hopefully the vote results of unit owners will be endorsed by the Board. As usual, notices will also be posted at each building and in the Clubhouse.
Our Security and Gate Committee has been busy and has recommended, and I presented to the Board in April, special identification items that we can use for parking by unit owners and guests. Samples of a decal for the rear side widows, and a rear-view mirror hanging guest pass were exhibited. In addition, a violation notice that our security firm will use when seeing cars parked in violation of our rules (e.g. without a visitor’s pass in a guest spot), has been created that allows for follow-up with the cars involved. We will beta test the decals and visitor’s passes over the next couple of months, and once we get the kinks out, we will disseminate them to all unit owners. THESE ARE NOT YET IN USE OR EVEN ORDERED, so please do not request them. I will advise everyone when they are available, and let you know how to get them, etc. Many thanks to the Committee (Bernard Ratneiya, Luc Riendeau, and Larry Kenline) for their continuing efforts.
I am attempting to keep our website updated and have recently made additions to the Forms and Documents page. I would also like to remind everyone that, if you would like to advertise the sale or rental of a Las Vistas unit, we have a Community Bulletin Page on our website as well. I was happy to announce at the April meeting that we now have a Las Vistas Social Society which will coordinate much of the social activity for our community, including parties and special events, BBQ’s, bingo games, card/game parties, concerts, and ladies luncheons. The Society’s board includes Claudette Hinds as Director, Bernard Ratneiya as Assistant Director, Fay Rosenblatt as Treasurer and Janet Longsworth as Secretary. They announced a card party planned for May 13th, a ladies luncheon on May 24th, and an upcoming casino trip to the Mardi Gras Casino (date to be determined). Most likely, there will also be a Memorial Day BBQ.
The Board has also approved the hiring of a new law firm, Becker & Poliakoff to represent us. You may remember that Robert Rubinstein of this law firm made a presentation at our February Board Meeting.
My picture for this blog is of the Broward Women’s Chorus which performed for us at our St. Patty’s Day function. Many thanks to Claudette Hinds for bringing them to us, and these women were wonderful with their voices entertaining us for over an hour. I hope we have them back again and I know that those of you who attended this function would agree that it was a great time for all.
Lots of calls must have gone out to the City of Lauderhill, because yesterday they began to clean our canal. They usually do this twice a year and it generally takes at least three days to get the job done.
On this note, I end this blog with my usual wish that the sun shines every day for all of us.
Rose Iannicelli
President
