Rally for Camino Garden Homeowners
Donation protected
Our Goal is to raise $3,000 to retain a Highly Knowledgeable HOA Attorney to be our lead speaker and to educate CG Homeowners on HOA governance laws that will help ensure the CG Board is more transparent and represents our best interests.
Camino Gardens is a golden treasure in the heart of Boca Raton. We, the homeowners, wish to ensure that our community is beautifully maintained and professionally managed and when our Board makes major decisions our opinions are valued and considered.
Unfortunately, HOA laws are difficult for homeowners to understand and the monthly meetings do not seem to be having a positive impact, leaving homeowners feeling discouraged.
This meeting is not intended to be combative, nor accusatory, but rather, enlightening and informative on how to interact with the board and ensure their decisions represent Homeowner preferences. We want to encourage everyone to attend meetings. We want our interaction with the board to be positive and constructive rather than feeling intimidated, bullied or dismissed when voicing our opinions. Being informed will help break down these barriers and make for a more peaceful, considerate dialog.
Our goal is simple. Our HOA Attorney will review HawkEye's managing contract, advise and answer questions that include but not limited to:
1. Past, present and future matters that concern the Camino Gardens homeowners
2. How to interact with the board during meetings to ensure their decisions represent Homeowner preferences
3. Inform us of the 2018 community laws and bylaws that are governed by the state of Florida and how HOA Board members and Property Management Companies need to comply.
4. When is a quorum (percentage) needed to recall any Board member(s) and/or to revoke Board decisions
5. Advise and show what financials should be given to every homeowner upon request and time frame throughout the year and at the end of the fiscal year.
What’s your question?
The agenda is as follows:
The meeting will be held at the community center and recorded for members who can’t attend. You will be welcomed with food and drinks. Every homeowner will be allowed 5 min to ask their questions. Everyone's opinion counts. The meeting will wrap up with our attorney advising and giving suggestions on how to move forward in a positive direction. The information given will be priceless.
Change starts with us, but we need your help whether you give $5, $10, $25, every dollar counts to meet our goal and would be greatly appreciated.
Let’s make Camino Gardens Great Again! Stay tuned for meeting details. See you in the winning circle!
- Friends of Camino Gardens
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[*** If you want more background information on what neighbors are concerned about.....please scroll down to see some of the questions homeowners have been asking over recent months ***]
Possible Questions To Ask:
1. The board, under pressure from homeowners, issued competitive bids for an HOA management company (see #4 below). Only 2 board members offered names of competitive companies while the remaining board members voiced their choice for bid documents to go to Hawkeye. When such a clear bias toward keeping the existing management company seems to dominate the board, how can the homeowners be assured that the selection process will be legitimate and objective? What control do the homeowners have over this selection process?
2. What financial information must the board and/or the management company share with the homeowners? What rules or guidelines govern how and when the information is shared? Does the board or management company need a qualified accountant and how does an HOA board typically oversee their fiduciary responsibility to the homeowners?
3. What is a quorum and when is it used? It appears that the board, after several years of NOT getting an annual quorum to elect replacement board members, operated without oversight from anyone in the community. Failing to obtain a quorum over several years, the sitting board members selected replacement board members and assigned positions without involvement from the community. The community was not aware of this activity and was not aware that their annual elections/ballots did not count. Homeowners received no notification that the necessary quorum had not been achieved to actually count the ballots or to conduct a vote. Thus the board continued to operate for a number of years with little involvement from the community. How can this happen? Is the board required to notify the community that the annual meeting itself, the elections (and homeowner votes) were voided? Was the management company obliged to report to the homeowners that the ballots were nullified?
4. Amidst homeowner apathy and non-participation, this same board granted nearly a 50% increase in fees paid to the management company - not based upon the competitive analysis, but rather, based upon the fact that the company offered a discount to keep the contract from the competition several years prior. Homeowners balked at this excessive increase, lack of fiduciary accountability and disregard for what may be best for the community. Compounding the situation and homeowner outrage was that the large increase was authorized to the management company when the community was suffering from severe neglect by the same management company regarding maintenance and rules enforcement. The community could see no justification for this action and called for a competitive bid process to authenticate the fee increase. Can the owners recall this increase?
5. Amidst homeowner non-participation and lack of board transparency, this same board membership increased the annual fees by $100, an increase of 33% from $300 to $400. No explanation or notification was given to the owners other than an invoice for a different amount. No justification was provided to the owners for the budget increases or the need to increase the assessment. Does the board have the authority to increase HOA fees at will? Are there regulations that require notification or public forums? Are homeowners allowed to participate in these decisions?
6. The board is investigating the purchase of a $1.2M property near the entrance. What conditions must be met by the board in order to authorize this purchase? Does this require a vote by the homeowners?
7. Several homeowners have expressed an interest in modifying the community rules. How is this done? What homeowner participation is needed to restructure the rules?
8. What is your question for the attorney?
We look forward to a lively discussion, a friendly meeting and lots of homeowner participation!
Help spread the word!
Camino Gardens is a golden treasure in the heart of Boca Raton. We, the homeowners, wish to ensure that our community is beautifully maintained and professionally managed and when our Board makes major decisions our opinions are valued and considered.
Unfortunately, HOA laws are difficult for homeowners to understand and the monthly meetings do not seem to be having a positive impact, leaving homeowners feeling discouraged.
This meeting is not intended to be combative, nor accusatory, but rather, enlightening and informative on how to interact with the board and ensure their decisions represent Homeowner preferences. We want to encourage everyone to attend meetings. We want our interaction with the board to be positive and constructive rather than feeling intimidated, bullied or dismissed when voicing our opinions. Being informed will help break down these barriers and make for a more peaceful, considerate dialog.
Our goal is simple. Our HOA Attorney will review HawkEye's managing contract, advise and answer questions that include but not limited to:
1. Past, present and future matters that concern the Camino Gardens homeowners
2. How to interact with the board during meetings to ensure their decisions represent Homeowner preferences
3. Inform us of the 2018 community laws and bylaws that are governed by the state of Florida and how HOA Board members and Property Management Companies need to comply.
4. When is a quorum (percentage) needed to recall any Board member(s) and/or to revoke Board decisions
5. Advise and show what financials should be given to every homeowner upon request and time frame throughout the year and at the end of the fiscal year.
What’s your question?
The agenda is as follows:
The meeting will be held at the community center and recorded for members who can’t attend. You will be welcomed with food and drinks. Every homeowner will be allowed 5 min to ask their questions. Everyone's opinion counts. The meeting will wrap up with our attorney advising and giving suggestions on how to move forward in a positive direction. The information given will be priceless.
Change starts with us, but we need your help whether you give $5, $10, $25, every dollar counts to meet our goal and would be greatly appreciated.
Let’s make Camino Gardens Great Again! Stay tuned for meeting details. See you in the winning circle!
- Friends of Camino Gardens
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[*** If you want more background information on what neighbors are concerned about.....please scroll down to see some of the questions homeowners have been asking over recent months ***]
Possible Questions To Ask:
1. The board, under pressure from homeowners, issued competitive bids for an HOA management company (see #4 below). Only 2 board members offered names of competitive companies while the remaining board members voiced their choice for bid documents to go to Hawkeye. When such a clear bias toward keeping the existing management company seems to dominate the board, how can the homeowners be assured that the selection process will be legitimate and objective? What control do the homeowners have over this selection process?
2. What financial information must the board and/or the management company share with the homeowners? What rules or guidelines govern how and when the information is shared? Does the board or management company need a qualified accountant and how does an HOA board typically oversee their fiduciary responsibility to the homeowners?
3. What is a quorum and when is it used? It appears that the board, after several years of NOT getting an annual quorum to elect replacement board members, operated without oversight from anyone in the community. Failing to obtain a quorum over several years, the sitting board members selected replacement board members and assigned positions without involvement from the community. The community was not aware of this activity and was not aware that their annual elections/ballots did not count. Homeowners received no notification that the necessary quorum had not been achieved to actually count the ballots or to conduct a vote. Thus the board continued to operate for a number of years with little involvement from the community. How can this happen? Is the board required to notify the community that the annual meeting itself, the elections (and homeowner votes) were voided? Was the management company obliged to report to the homeowners that the ballots were nullified?
4. Amidst homeowner apathy and non-participation, this same board granted nearly a 50% increase in fees paid to the management company - not based upon the competitive analysis, but rather, based upon the fact that the company offered a discount to keep the contract from the competition several years prior. Homeowners balked at this excessive increase, lack of fiduciary accountability and disregard for what may be best for the community. Compounding the situation and homeowner outrage was that the large increase was authorized to the management company when the community was suffering from severe neglect by the same management company regarding maintenance and rules enforcement. The community could see no justification for this action and called for a competitive bid process to authenticate the fee increase. Can the owners recall this increase?
5. Amidst homeowner non-participation and lack of board transparency, this same board membership increased the annual fees by $100, an increase of 33% from $300 to $400. No explanation or notification was given to the owners other than an invoice for a different amount. No justification was provided to the owners for the budget increases or the need to increase the assessment. Does the board have the authority to increase HOA fees at will? Are there regulations that require notification or public forums? Are homeowners allowed to participate in these decisions?
6. The board is investigating the purchase of a $1.2M property near the entrance. What conditions must be met by the board in order to authorize this purchase? Does this require a vote by the homeowners?
7. Several homeowners have expressed an interest in modifying the community rules. How is this done? What homeowner participation is needed to restructure the rules?
8. What is your question for the attorney?
We look forward to a lively discussion, a friendly meeting and lots of homeowner participation!
Help spread the word!
Organizer
Camino Gardens
Organizer
Boca Raton, FL