At yesterday’s UCO executive bd mtg Sal Bummolo was asked to put lake info in the next UCO Reporter. It should include info that: Water used for irrigation approx equals the reclaimed water inflow. The lake water level is ruled by the water table in the sandy neighborhoods in and outside CV. We cannot control our water level unless our lakes are lined (not gonna do that). We have a company that is treating the water with chemicals to inhibit algae. Shore erosion repair may begin after May in the rainy season, the better to grow required new areas of sod.
My opinion - The Infrastructure Cmte needs someone interested in communicating their activities every month to the residents.
----------------------------------------
Your BLOGMEISTER replies:
I also was at the Ex. Board meeting referenced above.
As usual we were treated to the standard UCO pap; partial information, secrecy and "We know everything and you know nothing and you would not understand if We told you"
Very sad affair.
The presentation that came nearest to ground truth, as regards to Lake levels, was delivered by Pat Blunck. "
"The Water Table is down and the lake water is passing through the permeable substructure into the dropping Water Table"
The problem with this statement, is that this issue, while very complex was well understood by the County when we signed the Bulk Water Reclamation Agreement, and to put it bluntly, The Palm Beach County Water Utility Department PBCWUD misled UCO in spades!
OK; if you lie to me shame on you - but if I fail to research the issues prior to signing an Agreement that has no chance in Hell of meeting the "as advertised" goal of keeping our lakes at a "desired level" and furthermore commits us to a payment in excess of $3000.00 per month, whether we take a single drop or not; Shame on us.
This is yet another example of egregiously bad judgment by UCO.
A few words about Water problems in Florida are in order.
Palm Beach County draws the majority of it's potable water from the Surficial Aquifer
http://aquat1.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/aquifers.html
We have punched hundreds of wells into the Aquifer and we are withdrawing Billions of Gallons of water from the Aquifer. As a result the Seawater - Freshwater interface, creeps ever further across Florida.
REF: http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/fs/65-99/
In short; the Chloride levels (read SALINE concentration)
is rising steadly, to dangerous levels, in some areas.
The Reclaimed Water should have been pumped directly into a Closed System and used exclusively for Irrigation.
The concept of keeping our lakes at unrealistic levels was just one more improperly investigated UCO pipe dream.
Dave Israel
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Infrastuck Communication
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
32 comments:
Thanks Elaine! At least now we know something.
Did we, or did we not have an engineer evaluate the lake erosion and issue a report of options?
The late Larry Kall said (here) UCO did have such a report...
Hi All,
Most definitely; A report was done by a senior team leader with the Army Corps of Engineeers.
UCO has consistently refused to make this report available for Unit Owners to read.
This is unconscionable, but typical of the secret keepers who think we are all fools and would not understand anything.
Your money paid for it; try to get it!!!
Dave Israel
Dave:
See the report on getting info through 617 written by someone called the blogmeister.
Do you think Levy is going to spend any of the money we're sending him to repair the banks?? HA !!
He is going to put the millions in his pocket and you people will do nothing because Levy gives money to Israel.
Hi A Nony Mouse
Feb 3, 2009 2:58:00 PM,
Good luck,
Go get it and tell us all what happens!
Dave
As I also recall, the late Larry Kall repeatedly mentioned (here)that the canals/lakes are UCO's reponsibility--not Cenvill-Levy, et al. The Milennium Agreement transferred that in 1999.
How about US getting together and hiring a new management company to handle Security, buses and cable.
We can meet at Picnic Island. Bring pencils and papers. ( No UCO o-fish-alls allowed ) Let's set a time.
To Anymus of today @3.02PM....
Personally am sick and tired of your anti-semetic remarks!
which you have made every effort to
include in all of your posts..
One has absolutely nothing to do
with the situation at hand...
As previously stated, it is our
responsibility, so stated in the
Milleniumn Contract...The Engineer
s report must be made public.....
as should all evaulations we are
entitled to see what we have paid
for....
It seems to me that the Canal and Lake banks can be shored up with perhaps plugs of Bermuda or equivalent grass.
The water level always seems to be well below ground level leaving a large area of bear ground.
Years ago I witnessed experiments with this grass which has roots that go over 12 inches deep. Bermuda grass is almost beyond destruction.
Hi Dave: Is there any way "back" for this situation??
Hi Anony Mouse
Feb 3, 2009 7:27:00 PM,
Great question;
The Engineer that did the "Secret" study of our lakes and canals is named Amir Gamliel. (Army corp. of Engineers)
He was on the team that did the great Everglades Restoration study of 2004.
REF:
http://www.evergladesplan.org/pm/pm_docs/imc/031504_imc_pmp_final.pdf
It's a tough read, but if you have a bit of technical background give it a scan, it is fascinating.
This Engineer knows the ground and should be consulted on this specific issue of revamping the Reclaimed Water into a closed system.
We would probably run into incredible resistance from PBCWUD and of course the SFWMD (South Florida Water Management District)
The problem of salinization of the Aquifer is incredibly complex and in the end may be insoluble.
We may all end up paying for major de-salinization bolt on infrastructure as part of our State Wide water processing systems.
Dave Israel
This needs to be made known to all of our unit owners not just those that look at this blog. It should be addressed at the Delegate Assembly on Friday 2/6/09 and reported in the UCO Reporter.
George R. Pittell
So if Emerald Dunes golf course, and Cypress -- and Tennis Towers guzzle too much irrigation water from their lakes and water table OUR WATER will seep and flow TO THEM.
Then there is also the aquifer problem.
Re previous post about US. I requested Infrastructure Cmte minutes at UCO, I was informed that there was only one person at the last meeting so there were no minutes. They should be delighted to have people volunteer. If contractor stuff is not your history you could still research, learn, and take minutes and be the cmte communicator. Infrastructure issues are key to our quality of life here. Bummolo and Blunck are doing a lot but do not communicate enough.
BUMMOLO AND BLUNCK ARE RUINING CENTURY VILLAGE
Cypress gets reclaimed water also. Someone should go next door and see how it's working out for them..Elaine??
Things normal society would not even think of doing:
1. Stealing sugar packets from restaurants.
2. Walking down the middle of the street.
3. Picking up your entertainment brochure at the clubhouse.
4.Having to beg to get an insurance policy when you're paying $25,000
5.Putting a mechanical engineer in charge of a complex civil engineering project.
6. Having a president resign and then run for re-election..and get re-elected!!!
7. Paying the developer for the use of a clubhouse we couldn't use.8.
Allowing anything UCO onto the private property of each association.
9. Claiming " Levy owns the land under your building"
10.Having a bi-polar, disfunctuinal, underage painter rule on the law.
11. Having a blogmeister who censors everthing that makes him look bad
12.Claiming to pay $600,000 for the use of one room at Levy's clubhouse
13. Spend $600,000 for a lawyer when Rosen had a law firm on contingency basis
14. Allow the poster child for insurance fraud to dictate policy in CV
Anonymous 2:21
You've made some very valid points.
But, if you were making reference to me in #10, permit me to clarify that I never "rule on the law", but only share relevant facts and rulings by authoritative sources.
Furthermore, I've been called a lot of names in my life, but never could I imagine that I would be called "disfunctuinal"!?!
P.S.
I am always open to constructive criticism, if and when you have any to offer.
Randall
BULK RECLAIMED WATER AGREEMENT
This contract was signed on July 15, 2003 by Vivian Walsh, President of United Civic Organization with Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners. (Vivian's signature was witnessed by Phil Shapkin and Robert Fogelman)
There is a claim in that contract that UCO is the master homeowner association in Century Village in Suburban West Palm Beach.
According to Exhibit B in the Millenium Admendment, UCO is expressly authorized as agent of Association. Our Association cannot authorize UCO as the agent for the canals and lakes because they are owned by Benenson.
The legislator tried to pass in 2002 a bill ( HB 831 ) to create a master condominium association in Chapter 718. However, that bill never passed, and therefore, there is no such thing as a master homeowner's association.
UCO may have had plans to be a master homeowners association , however, to this day they are barely an "umbrella organization" with no rights whatsoever over any association.
So it appears UCO was not truthful with the County, and the County did not check out UCO's claims.
You can get a copy of the water contract at the County; you can look up who owns the lakes and canals with PAPA; and you should have Exhibit B in your documents.
This is to let you know what UCO calls conducting business, and then they sell it to the delegates, and the delegates believe what is being told to them and enthusiastically vote YES.
Anonymous 6:25,
You stated, "The legislator tried to pass in 2002 a bill ( HB 831 ) to create a master condominium association in Chapter 718. However, that bill never passed, and therefore, there is no such thing as a master homeowner's association."
Master Condominium Associations are alive and well in Florida... we just don't happen to be one of them.
(Circa 2004)"A recent decision of the State of Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums and Mobile Homes, holds, in accordance with Chapter 718, Florida Statutes, that the Board of Directors of a Master Condominium Association must be elected, not appointed. This decision is applicable only to condominium associations. It
does not apply to homeowners associations.
Since membership in UCO is not a mandatory condition of unit ownership (rebuttable), it does not meet the definitional requirements of “Association” 718.103
2) "Association means, in addition to any entity responsible for the operation of common elements owned in undivided shares by unit owners, any entity which operates or maintains other real property in which unit owners have use rights, where membership in the entity is composed exclusively of unit owners or their elected or appointed representatives and is a required condition of unit ownership".
I would imagine that all of our contracts are subject to attorney review? The reference to UCO as being "the master homeowners association in Century Village in Suburban West Palm Beach" is very creative. Vivian was always very creative. I would like to think there was a 'reasonable' explanation for using such language...
There are always so many unanswered questions. Who did (is doing) what... and why? Never stop asking, but beware of jumping to hasty conclusions when the answers may not be easy to uncover.
Randall,
As per usual, you are missing the point.
PS to the recent anons. Levy-Cenvill-Beneson (they are all the same for this point) do NOT keep up the canals and lakes! UCO took them (for better for worse) on behalf of all us CV owners in 1999. Can we get beyond that point and now worry about how to maintain and repair them??
I agree with the latest point (Anonymous ) that we should be worring about maintaining and repairing our lakes and shores instead of reopening old battles.. I have read all the posts and I feel that we are taken for a ride by UCO. Lake Okeechobee is a few feet higher than it was for many years, the summer was very wet here and our neighbbours lake are not in as a bad shape as ours.
I feel the problem is that UCO does not understand that maintaining the lakes is of equal importance to the owners as maintaining security, the bus system or cable. Why neglect the environment and its beauty, proper maintenance of our lawns and of our trees and plantings while spending money like a drunk sailor for a new UCO building, buses running empty, paying for cable 100% of the year while people are here less than 50% of the year etc?????
The answer is easy, we need professionnal management to spend our money wisely ..Andre
Hi All,
The Bulk Reclaimed Water Agreement may be read at the following URL.
Simply Copy and Paste it into your Browser window.
It is at Book 15769
Page 0756
http://oris.co.palm-beach.fl.us/or_web1/details.asp?doc_id=13489450&file_num=20030515561
Dave Israel
Once again Dave, you only reported one half the story, but this time it's not your fault.
The executive summary was not included in the filing. The fraud occurs on this executive summary, where UCO is called a master homeowners association controlling 100 acres of common area.
Who benefits most from this reclaimed water "deal" ??
Vista??
Which contains many, many, many County buildings ??
What's the best way to "sell" this project ??
Claim it's benefitting the poor elderly residents of Century Village ??
Conclusion??
Draw your own
The key is how did the pipe get across the turnpike??
Hi A Nony Mouse
Feb 5, 2009 3:31:00 PM,
Just when you think you have reached the bottom of the barrel new depths of perfidy are revealed.
As I said elswhere in this BLOG; it is about time that "insiders" start talking.
For a start, PLEASE publish the referenced Executive Summary on this BLOG!
I shall, of course follow up on the leads you have provided; my God! If what you are suggesting is true; is there enough sunlight in 100 galaxies to purify and legalize the UCO record.
Dave Israel
Dave:
I have put a copy it in the snail mail: you should get it in a couple days.
Hello all anons, Dave, Andre and Randall: Whatever happened in the past(with Vivian, George, Pat, Sal, etc. etc. etc.) the canals, banks, lakeshores all need attention and repair. Is CV capable of self-governance? Can we get our act together and do something other than threaten investigations and lawsuits??
Hi A Nony Mouse
Feb 5, 2009 5:33:00 PM,
Interesting questions; the record would put some of your issues in doubt.
Just one thing I can respond to now and definitively; I have NEVER threatened any sort of law suit, nor will I.
That is the province of litigious children.
Dave Israel
To anonymous 5:33
It has been my experience that if you turn the other cheek in Century Village, you get knocked out. That's why we are posting as anonymous.
But on the other hand, I believe in miracles.
Post a Comment