ROAD RESTRIPING

Left click to supersize

Hi all,

Here is a heads up on a major Village Project.

Dave Israel

DON'T TUNE US OUT - YOUR CABLE COMMITTEE RESPONDS

Hi all,
The following has been submitted as a draft article to the UCO Reporter; it may or may not be published, depending on the decision of the Editorial Committee. In any case our BLOGGERS will get first chop:

Dave Israel
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DON’T TUNE US OUT – YOUR CABLE COMMITTEE RESPONDS
By Dave Israel

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It is interesting to note that the signer of the “Mail Bag” letter, don’t tune us out, cannot be verified as a Unit Owner in Century Village and hence the article is Un-attributable. The letter shows misunderstanding of the process, but we have chosen to respond to it nonetheless, as an information vehicle for our Unit Owners. The responses will be intermixed with the original and my entries will be in a Bold blue type.

I went to the last Delegates Meeting and sat through a tremendous amount of discussion about the Cable Committee’s review and decision about the need to sign a new cable contract. I had attended previous meetings where there was discussion about why we needed a new contract — but for the life of me, I can’t remember why. Our current one doesn’t expire till 2011.

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When the original cable contract was signed with Adelphia Cable in 2005 we had a channel lineup consisting of 74 channels, over recent years, arbitrary removal of channels by Comcast has reduced this to 67 and Comcast advised that this removal to the digital tier would continue. If we simply let the current contract play out, by 2011 we could be facing a channel lineup of 30 channels or less, with consecutive increases of 5% in January of 2010 and January 2011. When the contract expired, we would have no other competitor ready to pick up the service, as there would be no time for them to place their new infrastructure. We would have to simply rollover the Comcast contract with ever reducing service and there would have been no signing bonus.

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I can understand us not liking Comcast removing stations at will — theirs, but if you read the disclaimer at the bottom of the sheet that was handed out at the meeting, nothing has changed in that regard; they can still remove stations at their own discretion.

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Actually, we have had language inserted into the contract stating that Comcast may only remove channels from our lineup, if they remove the same channels from all customers in our Franchise area. This effectively precludes arbitrary redaction of content from Century Village product only.

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Do we really think they’re going to add programming and not charge us?

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Actually, if indeed they add programming, there will be no change in cost; the most probable course of events will be a swap of equivalent programming. This has already occurred; Comcast has taken away “Movieplex” and substituted “Lifetime Movie Network”. I would call that a reasonably equivalent swap.

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What I think was that decisions were made at committee meetings that no one knew anything about. It seems to me that there was a royal stink a few months ago about transparency and openness. I’m a regular viewer of Channel 63 and always read the Reporter, but I saw no notification of Cable Committee meetings. I can go to Security, Maintenance, Transportation, Delegates, etc. meetings as a resident and time constraints considered, be heard or question any items discussed or commented on. Why no notification of the Cable Committee? We are talking about a new contract, worth a tremendous amount of money to Comcast and us and we were told take it or leave it, without as much as a clue of what was going on. I am not complaining about the new contract. How could I? I have no idea what the other companies were offering. But I was told that this was the best. What am I? Am I a child that won’t understand the big words?

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Yes indeed there was a major brouhaha over “Open Meetings”, of which I was a major proponent. However, your Cable Committee was hearing from four major providers simultaneously, and none of them wanted the other to know what they were offering. This is very typical in contract negotiation, the offerings and proposals are all marked “Proprietary and Confidential”. The Cable Committee made every effort to release information in as timely a manner as possible. Every meeting that could be open was open, but some had to be limited to the principals involved. Some of our Unit Owners have come to the UCO Office to inquire about the other Companies and their proposals; and the Cable Committee has prepared a Decision Matrix chart showing the key components. This chart is available to any Unit Owner of Century Village, drop by the UCO Office and ask for Dave Israel; just do not blab it to Golden Lakes.

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From what I can see, UCO will be getting a $2.3 million signing bonus, plus $27 thousand for the loss of the two remaining HBO channels — they already looted the third one.

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Actually, the exact numbers are confidential and UCO has signed a Contract with a specific confidentiality clause. However any Unit Owner may have the numbers if they so desire; just come in to UCO and ask for Dave Israel. To correct one misconception, we were compensated for the loss of one HBO channel from the time it was pulled by Comcast in September 2008; it is virtually unheard of for Comcast to pay compensation for Channel realignments.

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If you read the Treasurer’s report, you can see that the signing bonus is one year’s budgeted amount. So we get one year free basically. For the remainder of the time, we’ll pay an additional $4.12 per unit x 7,500+ units x 12 months x 5% annual increase. That’s a lot of money without residents’ input and hoping that Comcast will keep their word and not remove channels because they’ve got a newer and cheaper technology.

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Actually there was extensive opportunity for Unit Owners to be heard at the Delegate Assembly; and many came forth and were heard. The issue of the cost is of course important; the initial cost of the new Bulk Cable Contract will be $22.95 per month plus Taxes and fees; this will be reduced by approximately $18.00 per month for the first year. The same product off campus at retail rates would cost $55.00 per month, and in some markets more. This is a bargain in any market. Our new lineup brings us back the missing channels, except for HBO, and adds some 18 additional channels. In particular, we will receive the Video on Demand channel which includes some 200 free movies, and other programming from HBO, Movieplex, Lifetime, Sundance and other major providers. In addition, our Bulk Channel Rate includes a Standard Set Top Box and two additional special Digital Converters. The concern over a new technology is a good one, common sense would suggest that if such new science or art were to emerge, that Comcast would deploy it at their discretion; there would be no impact on our cost during the contract period. It is the considered belief of the Committee that when our Unit Owners become familiar with the new channel lineup and with Video on Demand, they will be very pleased with the entertainment value available to them.

Shred to Protect your ID

What a nifty idea from CVE Deerfield, Blogmeister can you pass this to our Safety guy G. Franklin at UCO. After many phone calls I could find nothing comparable in WPB.
Century Village Paper Shredding Event
Date: September 12, 2008
Description: The Recycling Division wants to help CV residents securely and safely shred their personal documents. Century Village resident would need to show their owner I.D. to participate. The paper will be shredded on site in the City-Shred truck.
Address: Century Village Clubhouse, Deerfield Beach, FL 33441
Hours: 9- 11:30 a.m.Contact: 954.480.4454
Cost: Free for 1 box or bag, $10 check for 2-10 boxes/bags.

Cheaper Than Speed Bumps

Rafting on Big Muddy

Hi Andre, have you been to Northampton lately, geotube work in progress to repair erosion.
I think panorama will enlarge if you click on it.

UCO REPORTER ON THE BLOG

Hi All,
Please let us know if you like the UCO Reporter in this format:
Dave Israel


To view full screen left click once on little grey square at the right end of the top of frame: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

5/09 UCO Reporter

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Magazines & Newspape florida retirement

CV FUND GOES GLOBAL

Hi All,
Sue Cohen has produced a wonderful Video about the CV Fund.

We have uploaded the Video to YOUTUBE:




This will give the fund Global reach exposure.

Can you help?

Dave Israel

WHO IS LORETTA SKELLY?

Hi all,

A letter in the UCO Reporter(The Mail Bag) May 2009, Page 6; castigates the Comcast Contract negotiation process, for not being more open. There are many questions asked, which will in due course be answered, both here and in next months Reporter.

The letter is signed by "Loretta Skelly"! Does anyone know who Loretta Skelly is? She appears nowhere in the records of Palm Beach county as a Unit Owner in CV. Can anyone tell us who she is???

Of greater import, anyone who has been involved with Contract negotiations with multiple bidders in the game knows that there are many issues of a confidential and proprietary nature. So it was in this case; every bit of information that could be released was released in a timely as possible manner.

Every meeting that could be Open, was open.
The service rendered by the Committee and the Officers of UCO in this effort was an Exemplar of how a UCO Committee should operate in serving the Unit Owners of CV.

So Loretta Skelly; step up and volunteer, see how the sausage is made.

Dave Israel

The Politics of Hurricane Shutters

Hello all! I was thrilled to come upon this website/bloggers site. 'Well done' to the Editor.

I am a snow bird and have owned in Century Village East (Deerfield Beach) for 6 years. Like many (too many) we suffered damage to our condo on the porch side as a result of Wilma. We have been talking about hurricane shutters each year and finally arranged with an installer (who's ad was in the CVE Reporter) to do the work for us. We neglected to get a building permit, which we are rectifying - and that is fine with the Building Inspector who I have talked with - they are built to code, so no problem. However, we also failed to get the permission of our Board President. We had talked at length with a neighbour and former board member and the red flag of "president's permission" was just not raised. Yes we should have known better!

Now the City of Deerfield has no problem, but we may not get the President's/Boards approval. He has ordered us to remove them; says an Engineers Report was needed before installation, AND that Florida condominium law says that shutters can only be on the front of a condo, not the back.

Our logic said we were protecting our investment and the investment of the whole building. Yes we did not follow the steps properly. We apologize. We are trying to do the right thing now. Can a President refuse to give permission because his authority was overlooked (that is the real issue here, I am sure) or can we supercede that permission now that they are actually installed?

Any insight would be most welcome! Oh, and to complicate things.. we are back in Ontario now! Thanks in advance....

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The BLOGMEISTER replies.

This one is such a baltant example of Condo Kommando-ism that I must reply here rather than in the comment stream.

Let's start with Florida Statute FS-718:

REF: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0718/ch0718.htm

FS 718.113

(5) Each board of administration shall adopt hurricane shutter specifications for each building within each condominium operated by the association which shall include color, style, and other factors deemed relevant by the board. All specifications adopted by the board shall comply with the applicable building code.

(d) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in the condominium documents, if approval is required by the documents, a board shall not refuse to approve the installation or replacement of hurricane shutters by a unit owner conforming to the specifications adopted by the board.

So, while a dedicated autocrat may throw obstacles in your path, he/she cannot refuse to approve a Code Compliant installation.

The requirement for an Engineer is ludicrous for the installation of hurricane shutters, as is the claim that they are prohibited on rear decks and patios.

Dave Israel

PS: Welcome aboard Deerfield Beach!

WHO IS FRIEDA

WHO IS FRIEDA????

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Freida, dear friends, is a representation of all of those in CV who are in financial need. These people passed the financial test to move here but through many different circumstances have lost part of their income.

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In these economic times, it could be any of us. If we can pay our bills at the end of the month and feed ourselves, we should feel lucky. ......Yes, we will make certain that each applicant needs the help we will provide and we will not hand out money but will pay either WPRF or Maintenance for them....depending on need, maybe both.

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We are also investigating the vehicle to reclaim monies advanced if the person leaves the Village and sells their property. One of the attorneys helping us is working on the best way to achieve this.

We hope to also help by directing the recipients to other services to help. If there is another need and there is a service in place already, we certainly will help them to receive that service.

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My heart warms by the people who have given their time or money and hurt by some who are hard hearted and criticize our efforts. One even wrote that she hopes that Freida dies.

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By-the-way, Freida does not exist, she is a face from an internet service. We would not embarrass anyone in the Village by publishing their story or face. Freida represents all of those real faces.

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We are an incorporated non-profit organization in the State of Florida. As for taxes, even though we are a non-profit, we had to pay internal revenue $300. We do have a Federal ID number so if you need it for deductions, please call and I will give it to you.

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If you have any other questions, please call and I will answer them.The last thing that I want you to know is that this help for individuals, will also help associations because if we help someone to pay their condo fees, then the condo does not have to go to lien or foreclosure.

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My phone number is 640-7606. Remember when we have enough money, we can start helping those who are in need so give what you can.

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Thank you.

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Posted by Jean Dowling

Internet Throughout CV

Is it possible to contract with an internet provider to install Wi Fi towers throughout CV that would make all 7k units internet capable? I assume it would be a lot cheaper than every unit being connected individually as is required now. This might not be worded correctly but I hope you techies get the drift. Mike

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The BLOGMEISTER replies:

Deploying WiFi across the entire of CV is no major Technological problem. The total area of CV is about 1.1 Square miles.

Typical costs to WiFi such a space by a firm such as Motorola would be between $25,000.00 and $100,000.00.

However there are firms such as Meraki that would do it for circa $10K.

Please See: http://meraki.com/solutions/business/municipal/

Be sure to see the case studies in the right Sidebar.

Another approach might be to WiFi all of the pool areas, or to place equipment in a number of strategically located Association buildings, with their permission of course.

Dave Israel

Condo Construction Work

Does UCO or CV have any Construction time work rules, beginning time, ending time? Can construction be done on the weekends and at night? Or is it all up to the Assoc? Mike

Finance Committee Meeting

Did anyone go to the Finance Committee Meeting on Friday to find out what was going to happen with our money from Comcast? I was unable to attend.

Lakeshore beautification

04/17/2009

Century Village West Palm Beach

Lakeshore beautification and water problem

My name is Andre Veilleux and I am a Century Village snowbird at 140 Wellington H. Before moving here 3 years ago I was at 262 Chatham M on the lakeside.

I have live through the devastation of our lakeshores and the empty promises from UCO of recycling water, restoration etc...

Since January 2007, WPRF is collecting $5.31 a month from all of us, to create a fund of at least $2,000,000 for restoring the lakeshore. This project will last at least 3 years according to the UCO/WPRF Plan. Meanwhile nothing is happening and the devastation continues.

I became concerned with this Plan when I learned that the Wellington area would be among the last sectors to be done. I submitted then a Beautification Plan to the UCO Federation to proceed as soon as possible in our area and get a reimbursement later from WPRF. This is still under consideration at the Federation.

An engineering study produced to UCO by ELSAT 1LLC in February 2008 estimated the cost of restoration to be in between $4,000,000 and $ 8,500,000.

UCO/WPRF Plan is to cover the total lakehore 32,000 linear feet with geotube and sloping the banks to a 1:4 ratio. Furthermore the study warned about properly using Geotube which is not the technique adopted by UCO.

On 04/13/2009 I submitted to UCO an Alternate Plan which would cost $1,000,000 dollars and be completed by the end of 2010. Our monthly payment of $5.31 would stop at the end of 2009 instead of running into 2011 and maybe more in view of the engineering study numbers

The Alternate Plan is simple in its design and its goal of beautifying the lakeshore.

The basic assumptions are that water level will always be a problem in South Florida. As in the past there will be good years and bad years. Trying to control this natural element plus the impact of the hurricanes, tropical storms, rainfall and drought periods is pouring money into a black hole. Century Village does not have the financial capacity to do that.

The Alternate Plan design eliminate this consideration by eliminating one of the two components ( Water line vs Grass line ) that is hurting the beauty of the lakes and lagoons. When the two don't meet it leaves open an area of sand and dirt or weeds that is a sore for the eyes. Having grass and aquatic plants meeting all the time with the water line eliminates the need to have the water line at a given level.

Control and maintenance of the lakeshore becomes then the critical elements of the Alternate Plan and this is achievable within affordable costs.

I am sending you this Memo so that you are aware of this important debate. If you agree with me I appreciate your support. Please forward a copy of this Memo to as many people you communicate with in the Village and let UCO know of your preferences. You can also post or distribute this message to your building Association or post it on the bulletin board.

The attached pictures shows the difference between the UCO/WPRF Plan and the Alternate Beautification Plan.

Andre Veilleux
140 Wellington H
561 682 1068

Umbrellas at Club House Pool/Smoking at satellite pools

Can someone tell us why the table umbrella's haven't been replaced yet at the Clubhouse pool? I know it's been at least two years since they blew off.

Also, why isn't smoking prohibited under canopies at satellite pools (as it is at Clubhouse pool area)? Many people smoke under the canopy (especially cigars) and the smell is trapped under there.

Thanks

WILL YOU HELP FRIEDA

click to supersize

Frieda is a composite of some of our neighbors here in CV.

Can you help?

If so, please print out the poster and send your donation to the CV Fund.

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Dave Israel

Britain You’ve Got Talent

. . frumpy British cat lady blows away the judges in Britain's "you've got talent" search:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Then a take off on that preening Michael Flately Lord of the Dance, Stavros Flatly ROTFLMAO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gHvATmUsSg

UCO INSTALLATION LUNCHEON

Hi all,
We have put the wonderful slide show, of the Installation luncheon, produced by Ken Graff in the sidebar.

I note that it takes lots of CPU cycles while booting up.

Please let me know if this is inconvenient, and we shall remove it.

Dave Israel

A NEW CV BLOG SITE - HAS THE TIME COME?

Hi All,
There is some talk in the BLOG about the CV Q & A, and how it should be used for asking questions of UCO.

Can anyone in an authoritative position in UCO come to the CV Q & A and unambiguously repudiate the oppressive draconion controls that caused the Forum to dry up?

Will ALL Officers of UCO, led by President Loewenstein, commit to answering valid questions on the Forum channel?

Will they publicly abandon the absurd philosophy of "Banning for Life" when someone criticizes a UCO person or policy.

Where is the change that would lead to this call for revival of the Forum?

I have another idea; how about a totally open BLOG Site for CV?

Please see:

http://ucoloyal-opposition.blogspot.com/

Does anyone want to help flesh out this new BLOG?

let's hear from all in the Comment Stream on that BLOG.

Dave Israel
VP UCO

Are you aware?

When your Association approves any occupancy for any unit, the approved new resident completes an information sheet that is added to our UCO database. On that form is an emergency contact section that is then loaded into our database for use by the Village Security team.

Recently, a family member needed access to her parent’s unit to enable the discharge of said parent from a rehabilitation unit permitting her return home after recovering from a fall. Security was contacted and the decision was made by Security to allow this “emergency contact” into the village 5 days before the date access was necessary without any effort to confirm the circumstances, of which they had absolutely no knowledge. No effort whatsoever was made to seek authorization from the Association, assuring water would be turned-on, keys would be available, or even the facts of the required access.

The procedure under which Security operates is a standard operating procedure commonly known as “Post Orders”. In reading those procedures, I have not found any specific authorization where the 309 Associations have granted any power to approve occupancy, under any circumstances.

When this was brought to the attention of the Security committee, they felt they need to permit those “emergency contacts” to have access to enter the Village and look-in on residents they have been unable to reach, for whatever reason. I believe those arriving at the gate should be escorted into the village and when the resident is found to be ok and authorizes the guest entry, security’s job is completed. I do not believe they should usurp the Associations authority to permit someone to enter and occupy any unit unless they are unable to reach the Board of directors for such Authority. The Rover vehicle has a “Presidents” book that should provide the names of the Board and would permit the rover complete access to seek the mandated approval to permit unescorted guests, in emergency situations, into occupying a unit.

Since no effort was made to: verify the facts of the case or to contact the Board for approval, consider the alternative. Suppose this authorization was an emergency contact that was abusing this action and now both the Association and Security could be liable for enabling potential criminal behavior or requiring the Association to expel this unauthorized guest.

How would you respond to this matter??

Ed Black

CV Q&A

Did I actually close the "Q&A"? I no longer am able to access it.....has it been
eliminated, or is this a technical error? Thanks...

Daily Show

(R-rated not for prudes) You may wish to prepare a rebuttal for your grandchildren if they watched the Thursday night Daily Show which threw back the sheets on FL seniors’ sex practices. The men interviewed were boastful, crass, and unsafe.
On the safer side a JCC group produced a Claymation video “Sex and the Seniors”. The links are on

http://www.rp-author.com/Newman/

that is the website of Sonny Newman prolific creator.
More - Related video is on

http://www.miamiherald.com/486/story/898187.html

Miami MetroZoo communications director Ron Magill shared his 'Sex and Animals' show with seniors attending a health expo at the Michael-Ann Russell JCC in North Miami.

FORE!

Dave is on the golf course committee. I'm sure he read today's Post. I'm for saving the course, but not to the extremes advocated in the front page story. Yes, I pay for the health club, even though I don't use it. Yes, I pay for the clubhouse, even though I don't see the movies. But there's a reason why we sold the golf course when we originally owned it. Too bad we couldn't negotiate some sort of partnership, like the in-Village drugstore (do they pay royalties to us?).

BOOGIE

Music Meld

A nice music meld from around the world, play to the end.
Click header or

http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2539741

you need adobe flash player I think
Holiday gift from Blogami – love it.

INVESTIGATION REQUIREMENT AND THE LAW

Hi All,

The following discourse is NOT legal advice; merely researched opinion.

The following appears in a Comment Stream in the BLOG:

Apr 8, 2009 8:33:00 PM
Anonymous said...
Is this in(v)estigation really a CV law as Cerabino says or is it just a rule which any association can ignore if it wants to.

---------------------------------------------------

An interesting question; let's have a look at some relevant aspects.

It has been common over the years to insert articles and blurbs in the UCO Reporter stating in various ways that everyone who lives in CV must be investigated. Some of the Blurbs ascribe this"requirement" to the Florida Condominium Act; FS - 718.

Following is a Reference:

See the UCO Reporter, Page 5, Investigations column.



Which states that all CV residents must be investigated!

http://www.scribd.com/doc/11482923/Reporter0902


Additionally, we can all remember endless insertions in the UCO Reporter that stated:

Page two...UCO Reporter...September 2008...." No person shall be permitted to occupy a unit without a certificate of approval per Florida statute 718 "

This is simply not correct!!!

I suggest to our BLOGGERS that all of this depends on your Association governing documents.

Nowhere in FS - 718 is there a requirement to investigate any person as regards Sale, Purchase, Lease, sublease or Mortgage of a Unit.

So, where Does this "requirement" come from?

The following extract from FS - 718 is probably the kernel from which springs the great Investigations tree:

i) Transfer fees.--No charge shall be made by the association or any body thereof in connection with the sale, mortgage, lease, sublease, or other transfer of a unit unless the association is required to approve such transfer and a fee for such approval is provided for in the declaration, articles, or bylaws. Any such fee may be preset, but in no event may such fee exceed $100 per applicant other than husband/wife or parent/dependent child, which are considered one applicant. However, if the lease or sublease is a renewal of a lease or sublease with the same lessee or sublessee, no charge shall be made. The foregoing notwithstanding, an association may, if the authority to do so appears in the declaration or bylaws, require that a prospective lessee place a security deposit, in an amount not to exceed the equivalent of 1 month's rent, into an escrow account maintained by the association. The security deposit shall protect against damages to the common elements or association property. Payment of interest, claims against the deposit, refunds, and disputes under this paragraph shall be handled in the same fashion as provided in part II of chapter 83.

So, it is upon the requirement to Approve the Sale, Mortgage, Lease, Sublease or other transfer of a Unit; that investigation requirements probably derive.

All of this , must be spelled out in your Declaration, Articles or Bylaws to have any force of law whatsoever.

It is important for all to understand that UCO can levy NO requirement to investigate anyone. The Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) promulgated by UCO, apply only to those Associations who wish to use UCO as conduit to enable your Investigations. These SOP's have NO FORCE OF LAW whatsoever.

Furthermore, any Association is perfectly within their rights to carry out their own Credit Checks and Criminal Background Checks; using any number of professional firms who are in the business of Investigations. Or of course to amend their Bylaws and not require any Investigation whatsoever.

Is this a good idea? probably not; as you may want to know if you are approving a Felon or a Credit Deadbeat who will not pay the Condo fees.

The only point to the preceding screed is to separate Law from local doctrine. The right of Associations to Investigate prospective Unit Owners is well established in Florida Court Cases and Arbitration procedures; just make sure your Governing documents provide for the process.

Dave Israel

Background Check on Assoc Prez

See Cerabino’s latest, CV again.
Click header or -http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2009/04/07/a1b_binocol_0408.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=76

48 Seacrest Hours

When you place an order with Seacrest they will say “we will get back to you within 48 mumble hours”.
I just found it is ‘48 BUSINESS hours’ i.e. 5 days or with weekends and holidays 8+ days. Relax. Let’s have a nice cuppa tea.

OPEN MEETINGS - REDUX 2

The following is extracted from the CV Q & A:

Author: Bettie L. Bleckman
Date: 04-06-09 17:12

Could not one of the Executive Board Members, since there are 20 who were recently elected, take on the responsibility of either posting directly all of the scheduled meetings, or contacting the web master to do so?

Am I to conclude "on line" postings, are eliminated, with only ch. 63 or bulletin board postings, now the only source? By bulletin boards, I am referring to those at Hastings, Club House & UCO bldg.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Bettie,
It is my understanding that Mary Patrick Benton keeps CV Site Webmaster informed of the Open Meetings and that he posts them to the Open Meeting tab.

I shall inquire of Mary tomorrow, if that is the case.

Meanwhile, please see:

http://www.centuryvillagewpb.org/dates.htm

I note with interest that a very important meeting of the Finance Committee is not posted at the above referenced Site namely:

Friday, April 17th. at 2:00pm in the 2102 conference room.

This is in no way meant to be critical; as the fact of this meeting was just made know today
04/07/2009.

Agenda

1. Legal Fund
2. $$$ remaining from HBO Grant
3. Comcast $$$ re. new contract


Dave Israel

WHO IS IN CHARGE - THE BYLAWS BE DAMNED

Hi all,
Well, I guess the Honeymoon is over! As the President of UCO left the Office he announced to me and another VP that during his absence for Passover, that Treasurer, Dorothy Tetro, would be "In Charge" of UCO.

Let's look at the relevant portions of the UCO Bylaws as regards duties of the various Officers:

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A. PRESIDENT — The President shall be Chief Executive Officer of UCO and shall preside at all meetings of the Delegate Assembly and the Executive Board, except that he may designate a Vice President to preside at such meetings as he may deem necessary.

B. VICE PRESIDENTS — The Vice Presidents shall have such powers and shall perform such duties as may be recommended by the President and approved by the Executive Board, including, from time to time, the designation of one of them to have all the powers and perform all the duties of the President during his absence.

C. TREASURER — The Treasurer shall keep a full and correct account of all cash receipts and disbursements and deposit all funds in banks, or financial institutions, in the name of and to the credit of the organization.

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So, the conclusion is simple; the appointment of Ms. Tetro to "take charge" is a direct violation of the Bylaws of UCO, and is not to be recognized. I am advised, that this is not the first time that the current UCO President has appointed the Treasurer to preside in his absence. It was illegal then, it is illegal now!

The second VP I mentioned above advised the President of the violation of the Bylaws inherent in the appointment; this admonishment appeared to carry no weight.

Dave Israel
VP UCO

Blog For Dining

To all who were not invited to the Blog Dining let me tell you
ElaineB was in charged and according to her CV BlogandChat
only has 4 bloggers that she invited and a guest of honor that
has not blogged in over a year.

BASTET'S CURSE

Hi all,
As a result of my blasphemous treatment of the Cat, the mighty Egyptian Cat Goddess BASTET has delivered a curse upon me which can be seen above.

How may this curse be removed? research is in progress, but if any of our BLOGGERS knows how to remove the curse, please provide the process in the Comment stream.

Dave Israel
Cat Person

COMCAST CARES TWITTER FEED ADDED TO SIDEBAR

Hi All,
We have added a Twitter feed in the Sidebar.

It is a communications channel from Frank Eliason, Director of digital care at Comcast.

Let me know if this interests you and if so, we will keep it.

Dave Israel

Comcast email/internet Outage.

Comcast CEO receives $24.7 million compensation.
Yesterday I could not send or reply to email (repetitious security window popup) so I phoned Comcast. The automatic system told me there was a problem in Boynton. I took a run at the menu loop and eventually got an ‘account executive’ who considered my problem, then laughingly said “Comcast is experiencing a NATIONAL issue”. Could they have put that message up first. By then the internet was also out. She did not think it was the conficker worm.
Out again this morning. They should not laugh when they lie to us. Today I was told there had been no national problem.

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Your Blogmeister replies:

This was the real thing: check out:

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/162623/comcast_email_outage_sparks_twitter_updates_galore.html

Dave

SO IT SHALL BE WRITTEN - SO IT SHALL BE DONE

Hi All,

Due to the predominantly negative reception by our BLOGGERS, I bow to the majority will and have removed the offensive cat BLOG.

Please remember the CV Q & A and use your power carefully.

Thanks,

Dave Israel

THE GOLF COURSE

Hi All,
Previously in the BLOG a number of questions were raised by an A Nony Mouse of sorts about the Golf Course, which after some thought, I feel I should answer to the extent that I can. The questions were about the Pro-Active Committee and what is going on in regard to the Golf course. Before proceeding, and in the spirit of full disclosure; I must state that I am a member of the Pro-Active Committee. The Chair of the Committee is Phil Shapkin.

Let's begin:

1) Was there a meeting of the Committee? .....Yes.

2) Who is on the Committee:

a) Phil Shapkin...............Chair
b) Barbara Shapkin
b) Honey Sager
c) Sandy Cohen
d) Jeanette Veglia
e) Dave Israel

Perhaps one or two others whose names escape me.

3) Is the Pro-Active Committee an Official Committee of UCO? .....No.

4) Was the owner of the Golf Course at the meeting? .....Yes.
-
The Owners of the Golf Course; Andrew Waldman and his wife
were at the meeting. Along with them was a member of their team
named Robert Golber, an expert in thematics and branding.

5) What did they have to say:

They intend to terminate operation of the golf course, as a money losing proposition, and develop it by placing 550 dwelling units thereupon. They will take the form of single story and up to 4 story buildings.

6) Why is this information being kept from the unit owners of CV by an AD-Hoc "Committee" That represents no one except themselves?

Wow, that is a front loaded question.! While it is not clear just who the Pro-Active Committee represents, it can be said that it may well have some constituency. I as a member do indeed feel that there should be a broader representation of the entire Village on this Committee. This is not advocacy for the Developer, but I would like the entire Village to hear the story and Then let the Developer hear the majority will.

It is my take, having heard Mr. Waldman speak, that he and his team are not "going away". If this situation is not dealt with by the entire Village, it could become adversarial in the extreme.

I feel "we" should be broadly involved while we still have the opportunity, before we wake up one morning to the sound of bulldozers.

I hope this answers some of the questions, and I am sure there will be more questions; it is time to get involved on this very important issue concerning all of our unit owners.

Dave Israel

DELEGATE ASSEMBLY MEETING, CABLE and CHANNEL 63

Hi All,
The Delegate Assembly meeting of April 3, 2009 was very important to our Unit Owners. Extensive discussion was had about the Cable Contract, and a vote was taken.

Due to the ongoing efforts of the Channel 63 Committee, a Video of this meeting is being broadcast on Channel 63 each day for the next 10 days.

Please look for this Broadcast on Channel 63 twice daily, at 9:00am and 6:00pm.

Thanks in particular to Ed Black for filming and loading this meeting.

Dave Israel

TED for discussions at the pool

Try http://www.ted.com/ lots of topics, military robots, cloud computing, better living.
Inspired talks by the world's leading thinkers and doers.

BLOGGER GROUP MEETS TO DINE

Hi all,
A few of our avid BLOGGERS met last evening, April 2, 2009.

We gathered at Bellante's (Pizza Buffet), along with our honored guest Chris, was Elaine, Mike, Ed and yours truly, the Blogmeister.

We all encouraged chris to be more active on the BLOG, as we miss her commentary.

A good time was had by all and the price was right.

We all look forward to future gatherings.

Dave Israel

Senior Housing News

Click Header

Veolia Plows

Any suggestions for Veolia?
This is W. Falkirk St, along the N canal. When the trucks lift the dumpsters they gouge the ‘grass’ into dust. When it gets bad they move the dumpster to an undamaged spot and damage that too. Repeat, repeat.

MOJO FOUND

Hi all,
Thanks to Elaine, MOJO has been found. He has been co-opted by mere money and is a mascot for a Party Goods company:

SEE:

http://mauimoeparty.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=38&products_id=230

So he is back, until we get pinged for Copyright violation.

Needless to say; Poll cancelled!

Dave Israel

Washout, concavitated irrigation

When the pipe breaks, the banking will fall, down will come … For those who think the banks look ok, this is on the west side of CV. A rush of water removes a lot of our sandy foundation.
First pic 3/16, second pic 4/1 the mills of god grind slowly.

A little humor today

Reminds one of the CV brain trust , with a few exceptions like Dave , Randall and a couple others.