BOARD OF GOVERNORS REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES
Tuesday, March 18, 2003 – 7:30 P.M.
Tournament Players Club
President Larry Molina called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Those also present for quorum being, Larry Molina, Ira Josephson, Nancy Frank, Mickey Berk, Joan Casagrande, Dennis Levin, and Ted Scatcherd.
Absent: None
Management: Lou Brawer
Frank, Weinberg and Black PA – Attorney Steve Weinberg
Mr. Molina opened the meeting by thanking everyone for attending.
Mr. Molina and Mr. Brawer presented two special awards. The first went to Lt. Tom Weygandt an employee of Wackenhut Corporation who was very instrumental in keeping the streets flood free during the recent heavy rains.
The other award went to Mr. Frank Miele of Miele Brothers who provided manpower to help clean up the massive leaf drop at no charge to the community.
Mr. Molina praised both these gentleman for their service to Eagle Trace. Mr. Brawer then presented them both with plaques.
The floor was turned over to Mr. Weinberg who presented his legal report.
Mr. Weinberg started his report with a review of collections. He reported that there are presently eleven legal bank collection matters:
7 units are in bank foreclosure
3 residents have filed for bankruptcy
1 unit is working with a payment plan
There are also 11 other units that are in collection with Mr. Weinberg’s office:
6 units have paid in full including legal fees
3 units have paid in full but have not paid the legal fees
2 units have had liens placed on the units
Members of the Board then asked Mr. Weinberg questions about specific collection issues and they were answered using only the unit I.D. number.
Mr. Weinberg then discussed the unit owner that had refused to replace his mailbox. It was reported that Mr. Brawer had The Beautiful Mailbox Company install a new mailbox. The bill was forwarded to Goldman and Juda for payment with a copy of the bill going to Mr. Weinberg’s office. After one final collection attempt a lien will be placed on the unit.
Mr. Weinberg started to bring up the fountain issue but it was decided that this discussion would be tabled till after the public meeting so the Board can recess into a legal meeting since this issue could result in litigation.
Mr. Molina turned the floor over to Mr. Brawer who gave an update on the Sawgrass Berm issue. He first reported that he had a conversation with Mr. Warren Craven of W.C.I. Communities. Mr. Craven said that his staff is ready to complete the clean up of the berm once the necessary permit is received from the Florida Department of Transportation.
Mr. Brawer then introduced Mr. Frank Miele of Miele Brothers Landscaping to discuss plans for the berm.
Mr. Miele started his presentation by showing the Board and the audience pictures of different sections of the berm and what the current condition is. He then went on to explain why it was not possible to plant on the face of the berm. These reasons included:
The fact that working on the berm’s slope could cause safety issues to the workers.
The amount of rock that now exist on the slope of the berm. This has been caused by the erosion of the soil.
Mr. Miele went on to explain his plan, which includes the planting of Ficus plants along the top of the berm that will create a sight and sound buffer with the Expressway once the plants start to grow. He showed a picture of what a Ficus hedge looks like once it grows. He explained that Ficus is a good plant choice because of its quick growing time and the fact that it does not require maintenance once it starts to grow. It was also pointed out that Ficus do not loose their leafs.
Mr. Brawer explained the scope of work, which includes:
The planting of 1500 3 gallon Ficus plants along a 3000 linear foot area at a cost of $8.00 per plant.
The removal of the entire existing PVC irrigation pipe at a cost of $1500 including disposal.
The watering of the plants for the first two weeks after planting. The plants will require 6 waterings at a cost of $2,700. This could possibly be reduced if there is rain during this period.
The total cost of the project is $16,200.
A MOTION was made by Mr. Berk to accept the proposal made by Mr. Miele but there was no second since Board members still had questions.
Mr. Molina opened the floor up to the audience for questions or comments. One resident asked that all the holes in the southern end of the berm also receive plants. Mr. Miele said he would make sure this is covered.
Mr. Berk again made his MOTION to accept the proposal from Miele Brothers for $16, 200 to plant Ficus along the top of berm, remove the old irrigation pipes, and to apply up to six applications of water. The MOTION was seconded by Mr. Scatcherd. The MOTION PASSED 7 votes FOR and 0 AGAINST.
The Board then instructed Mr. Weinberg and Mr. Brawer to start working immediately on getting the necessary permits and to work on getting some money from C.S.I.D.
Mr. Molina asked that a MOTION be made to accept the Minutes from the Regular Meeting held on February 20, 2003.
A MOTION was made by Mr. Levin and seconded by Mr. Josephson to approve the Minutes of the meeting. THE MOTION PASSED 7 YES and 0 NO.
Mr. Molina presented the Financial Report since Ms. Eskew of Goldman and Juda could not be present.
For the month of February, 2003 the Master Association was under budget by $7,432 and the Tennis Center was $4,270 under budget.
Year to date the Master Association was under budget by $29, 491 and the Tennis Center was under budget by $6,146.
The Community Reserves as of February 28, 2003 are $738,365.
Mr. Brawer presented his report, which was presented to each Board member in written form. A copy of Mr. Brawer’s report is attached to these Minutes and will be placed on the web site for residents to review. Some of the key points that Mr. Brawer reported on included:
1.) Mr. Brawer reported that inspections have not been completed yet since the month of February was a short month and it is necessary to give residents 30 days to complete work. The Board meeting was also moved up by two days. Inspections are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday March 19 and 20, 2003.
2.) The next issue that Mr. Brawer reviewed was the different landscaping projects that were worked on during the last month. These included:
i. The completion of the hedge work along Eagle Trace Blvd. East.
ii. The completion of the planting of the Ficus hedge along the berm along Eagle Trace Blvd. West behind NW 126th Drive.
iii. The renovation of the cul-de-sac located on NW 126th Drive.
iv. The planting of a Bismarkan Palm in the cul-de-sac located on Las Colinas Way.
3.) The next issue was the Tennis Center Membership numbers. As of today the Tennis Center Membership stands at 145. This is up one member from last month. Mr. Brawer also reported that two new tennis pros have joined the staff of Eagle Trace. They came to us from Broken Woods and have a large following.
4.) Mr. Brawer then reported that the new streets signs for Eagle Trace Blvd. North and West have been relocated.
5.) Finally, Mr. Brawer reported that he met with the owner of The Beautiful Mailbox Company and is expecting a written plan for the repair of the mailboxes by the end of the week and will forward copies to all the Board members for their approval.
Mr. Brawer presented the ARC report for the Committee and explained the different applications.
A MOTION was made by Mr. Josephson seconded by Mr. Scatcherd that the ARC report be approved as recommended by the committee. MOTION PASSED 7 YES and 0 NO.
Mr. Brawer then reviewed the Architectural Violations that have been turned over to the attorney.
Mr. Brawer presented a report on the results of the recent rainstorms and the heavy leaf drop. He showed pictures of the aftermath of the flooding and explained the amount of manpower that was needed to clean up the property. He then presented a proposal for the mechanical power sweeping of all Eagle Trace streets, which is needed to do a through cleaning that is not possible with our staff and equipment. The cost of the project will be $1,975.
Mr. Brawer also reported that he is getting proposals to have a company come in and clean out the catch basins. He explained that at the present time our sewer lines are all clear and that this project will help prevent future problems. Preliminary estimates show that this project could cost up to $90.00 per basin. Mr. Brawer recommends that we look at the worst areas this year and then to budget the remaining areas of the community over the next two or three years. A more specific proposal will be brought to the Board at the next meeting.
It was also suggested that the engineer that looked at the drainage system several years back be brought in again to possibly redesign one or two basins as a test. Mr. Brawer will contact the engineer and get a proposal.
A MOTION was made by Mr. Josephson and seconded by Mr. Scatcherd to spend $1975.00 from Reserves to hire Facilities Cleaning to power sweep the entire community. MOTION PASSED 7 YES and 0 NO.
Mrs. Frank suggested that the Board look into having an adult party on the Sunday evening of the Memorial Day weekend. The party would be held at the Tennis Center and would include food, drink, and music. The party would have a patriotic theme. Mr. Brawer and Mrs. Frank will work on a proposal to be presented at the next meeting.
Mrs. Casagrande asked that the houses that back to Eagle Trace Blvd. West from NW 19th Manor be told to allow their hedges to grow and to not keeping cutting the. These hedges belong to the Association and not the homeowner.
Mrs. Casagrande also asked Mr. Brawer to check the house on NW 126th Way that needs landscaping attention and to send them a violation letter.
Mr. Joe Hofer from Highland Place asked that the Board look to see if the “art work” that a resident has placed on the wall outside their house be allowed to stay. Mr. Brawer will forward pictures of the house to all the Board members.
A resident asked that the guards at the East Gate to not feed the ducks. Mr. Brawer said that he would talk with Wackenhut about this.
The next regular Board of Governors meeting will be held on Thursday, April 24, 2003 at 7:30pm at T.P.C. Clubhouse.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:10pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Louis Brawer
Property Manager