THE CLEAR CHANNEL
NEWSLETTER of theFUTURA YACHT CLUB ASSOCIATION
ISSUE EIGHT WINTER, 2011
IN THIS ISSUE
Page 2 HOA PRESIDENTS ARTICLE
Page 2 BOD MEETING MINUTES NOV 12, 2011
Page 3 HOA TREASURER’S REPORT
Page 4 TOWNHOUSE REPORTS
Page 5 CONDO REPORT
Page 6 NEW MARINA RULES AND REGS
Page 7 CONDO REPORT
Page 8 FINES COMMITTEE REPORT
Page 8 GETTING TO KNOW YOUR BOARD
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION
January 14, 2012 at 1:00 p.m.
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE CONDO ASSOCIATION
January 14, 2012 at 9:00 a.m.
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE TOWNHOUSE ASSOCIATION
January 14, 2012 at 10:00 a.m.
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MARINA ASSOCIATION
January 14, 2012 at 11:00 a.m.
HOA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
January 14, 2012 following annual HOA meeting
ANNUAL WINE AND CHEESE PARTY
Hosted by January 13, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.
Futura Pool House
All owners and guests welcome
A MESSAGE FROM HOA PRESIDENT – Bob Brockhaus
Winter is now officially here and many of FYC owners are back to their winter homes in our community at FYC. Others will join them after the first of the year in time for the annual meetings on January 14, 2012.
All of us will have the opportunity to meet and welcome on board our new security guard, Cory Cummings. Please make him feel welcome and support his efforts to provide us with security and enforcement of our FYC rules. Speaking of enforcement of rules, I want to thank all of you who have adhered to the guidelines for the advance registration of guests and the one week rental minimum for owners with Village licenses and 30 days without a license. Owners in violation will be fined. To avoid fines, please refer to the FYC website that lists all of the rules that make our community a pleasant place to live.
On a more pleasant note, I believe you will like the new roof on the club house and the new internet system that will allow many locations near the club house and pool to receive emails. With the large unexpected expenses of last year (which were met without an assessment) behind us, your board looks forward to new improvements to our campus this year.
As you know, Andersen Financials was acquired by another firm and the person who handled our accounts elected to leave and start her own accounting firm. The transition has been smooth and thanks to all of you who made the necessary changes in your payment processes.
All board members for the three entities were unopposed and will return to office for the 2012 year. This is a hard working and talented group of owners who truly care about FYC.
The condo and the marina have successfully completed major improvements. And the townhouse owners will have the opportunity to approve the formation of a Townhouse Homeowners Association during next year as all of the preliminary legal work is completed. Please read the articles submitted by the other entities and the officers of the FYC HOA for more detailed information.
Finally, I wish each of you a great holiday season and many pleasant days and nights at Futura Yacht Club in 2012.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
November 12, 2011 9:00 AM
Marianne Clark, secretary
Meeting was called to order by President, Bob Brockhaus and after roll call was taken in which all board members were present it was determined there was a quorum.
Guests present were Mary St.Ville, Frank DiTommaso and Bob O’Connor.
Motion made by Dave Magee and seconded by Jim Sentyrz to waive reading of minutes and to approve minutes. Motion passed unanimously.
Reports of Presidents of Condo, Marina and Townhouse associations.
Dave Magee:Nothing new to report.
Bob Gabrielle: Working on rules for the marina
Bob Brockhaus:Townhouse meeting today to approve documents for the Townhouse Assoc
Reports of officers:
Vice president Dave Magee:Nothing new to report other than there are four new condo owners.:
Treasurer Bob Moser: Change of accounting firms from Anderson Financial to Kathy’s new firm. Secretary Marianne Clark: Nothing new to report.
Committee reports:
Bob Gabrielle:Nothing new to report. Don Schneeberger: Nothing new to report.
Don Lindenberg:Nothing new to report. Don Doherty: Nothing new to report.
Frank DiTommaso:Nothing new to report. Jim Sentyrz: Nothing new to report.
Old business:None.
New business:Motion made by Bob Moser and seconded by Dave Magee to approve the HOA budget for 2012. Motion passed unanimously.
Motion made by Bob Gabrielle and seconded by Don Schneeberger to adjourn meeting. Motion passed unanimously. Immediately following the board went to a closed session.
Next meeting will be immediately after the January 14th annual meeting.
HOA Treasurer’s Report
By Bob Moser
This last quarter was a flurry of activity for the treasury due to structure, ownership and personnel changes at the accounting firm used by the Futura Yacht Club associations. We were informed that the business was being partitioned and that our business was being sold to another accounting firm. Further we found that the accountant who has been handling our accounts for many years would not be going to the purchasing firm due to unreasonable and unacceptable contract terms. This accountant would be forming a new accounting firm to continue to provide her services to her clients.
We needed to decide in very short order (one week) whether to allow our accounts to go to the purchasing firm without the accountant, or to go with the accountant to her new firm.
In a round of telephone calls the Presidents and Treasurers of the FYC associations discussed the pros and cons of either direction, as well as the eventual need to market test accounting support. Understanding that the Boards of the FYC associations are comprised of volunteer members with varying degrees of expertise and time availability, the associations have always relied heavily on our accountant to be aware of Futura issues and the laws relating to our accounts. Our accountant has extensive background knowledge of our financial affairs and has always helped to keep us on track. All four associations chose to stick with our accountant rather than let our accounts be sold off to another firm that would lack that knowledge.
That decision then exposed some other issues relative to the bank that we have been using and other security issues at the previous accounting firm. While we rely on our accounting firm for support and guidance, we do not want FYC accounts to be unduly exposed to control by any outside firm. So along with changing accounting firms we have done the following:
- Obtained a post office box for the receipt of all payments to FYC that is controlled by FYC, rather than an accounting firm,
- Opened banks accounts at a new bank that provides relationship flexibility that can accommodate association boards that are not local residents and that provides the ability for the treasurers to monitor account activity remotely,
- Closed the accounts at the previous bank,
- Instituted a two signature requirement for all association checks with bank controls assuring the two signature requirement,
- Transferred the accounts of the associations into QuickBooks software that is usable by the treasurers and can be shared via email rather than having the accountant using proprietary software that was only available to the accounting firm.
Our goal was to make all these changes as seamless as possible for owners. The only visible impact to owners has been the need to change the address that owners send their payments to. The more important impacts are less visible, with FYC funds now being under fiduciary practices that are sound and less exposed to risk than before.
With these changes in place, in the future should we decide to change accounting firms, or again be forced to change accounting firms, we will able to do so without all the extra work.
As a reminder, all payments to the Futura Yacht Club associations need to be mailed to this address;
Futura Yacht Club
P.O. Box 1865
Tavernier, FL 33070
TOWNHOUSE COMMITTEE – BOB BROCKHAUS, PRESIDENT
At the end of November, you received the proposed three documents for the incorporation of the Townhouse Homeowners Association. If you have not yet studied them, please do and forward any questions to me. A vote will be taken at the January 14, 2012 Townhouse Owners Committee meeting to approve them. If they are approved by the majority of the owners, then we will begin the process of having each owner of record and holders of any mortgages sign forms agreeing to the incorporation, its bylaws and declaration of restrictions. Once completed, the incorporation will allow the townhouse owners to have an association similar to the condo and marina associations. And it will allow the association to then legally function as it has for many years until it was discovered last year that it was not a legal entity.
If you will not be in attendance at the annual townhouse owners meeting, PLEASE prepare a proxy document with your votes for the two measures (incorporation and roll over of excess funds) noted or instructions for your proxy to vote on your behalf.
The townhouse owners who filed for positions on the board of directors were all incumbents. Therefore, there will not be a ballot for elections of board members as the number of nominees equals the number of positions to be filled.
Those will be the major items for consideration at the annual owners meeting. I look forward to seeing you then.
TOWNHOUSE SECRETARY’S REPORT
Don_Schneeberger_November 25, 2011
We are operating within the Townhouse budget Year to Date with the exception of legal expense. Legal is over budget due to our efforts to create the necessary documents required to make the Townhouse an Association rather than the current status as a Committee of the HOA. The Townhouse board has voted to take the needed funds to pay for the legal fees out of the Interest Reserve Account rather than assess the Townhouse members.
Looking ahead to next year (2012), our Townhouse budget will increase from$300/mo. to $302/mo.. In the 2012 Budget, I have provided for an increase in our Legal Expense Account to cover anticipated costs to finalize our Townhouse Association efforts. This expense accounts for the $2/mo. increase in the 2012 Budget.
TOWNHOUSE REPORT
Don Lindenberg
The townhouse board has been working on the documents that will be the foundation for the new Futura Yacht Club Townhouse Assn. We have had several reviews of drafts from our attorneys, and will be presenting the results of all this to our members for their approval at the annual meeting in January 2012.
MARINA NEWS
NEW RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR MARINA SLIP OWNERS
Rule #1 New boat size
- New boat lengths allowed in slips 1 to 46 and 51 to 53 will be 36 feet in length. Only the manufacturer’s LOA will be accepted as the deciding factor to determine the vessels size. No extension of the boat will protrude into the common area.
- Boats secured in slips 47 to 50 will be of such length as to neither impact the footprint of the ramp nor protrude into the common area.
- All boats must be approved by the Marina Board.
Rule #2 Securing boats
- All boats will be secured in their slips in such a manner as not to rest on the finger pier regardless of tide or wind conditions.
- All lines attached to the boats shall be secured to the cleats and the pilings that accommodate that particular slip. At no time shall any line be made fast to the finger pier or any part thereof.
Rule #3 Boat protection in slip
- Any additions to the slip (bumpers, Etc.) will be allowed to remain at the discretion of the Board. If any be deemed unsightly or damaging to Marina property, the owner shall be requested to remove same at their expense.
- All replacement of boat protection such as fenders, fender brackets, etc. shall be limited to examples provided by the Board.
Approved attachment methods shall be limited to wedge anchors using stainless steel hardware.
- At no time shall any addition be secured to the concrete posts located at the leading end of the slip.
- Additions permitted to the slip will be limited to three vertical bumpers, one fascia board and corner guards as per the example provided by the Board.
- Vertical bumpers are 4” x 4” x 5’ composite bumper with white FA50 Fend-All bumper, thru bolted to concrete finger pier with aluminum angle brackets and ½” stainless steel threaded rod.
- Fascia boards are 22’ pressure treated lumber secured to the finger pier with ½” stainless steel wedge anchors.
- Concrete endcap corner protection is 2’ of FA300 Corner Guard bumper attached with ½” stainless steel wedge anchors.
- Examples of all the approved hardware can be found in the FYC office.
- Any changes to Marina property must be approved by the Marina Board. Any damage to Marina property will be charged to the slip owner.
The Marina Board is striving to insure consistency and harmony in our Marina, which will in turn improve our experience here along with increased property values. We encourage all members to contribute any suggestions.
New Marina Rule in Process
It has been called to the Marina Board’s attention that more than a few slip owners rent but fail to provide water to the renter. This creates an intolerable situation as the renters seek water from other slips. As of January 2012 all occupied slips must have their own individual water supply including sufficient hose to reach slip end.
The final draft of the resolution pertaining to this issue has not yet been finalized. All members will be provided with same before the Annual Meeting.
CONDO REPORT
Dave Magee
The Elevator Modernization project was completed with a complete & satisfactory inspection by the Florida State and the Village Inspectors. The project was estimated to require eight weeks of field work during Sept. and Oct. and was completed on Nov 3 taking two months and three days. The project was estimated to cost $ 130,000 and resulted in a cost of $ 131,263.81.The board also ordered mats to protect the side walls of the elevator cab. The mats are to be installed on a temporary basis when condo owners have new furniture, appliances, etc to protect the cab walls.The Condo Board of Directors requests all owners to notify Rob when they will be moving bulky
Items.
Modernization of the building fire alarm system has also been completed project. The Condo Board thanks Don Doherty & Pete Roell for donating the use of their condos to house the two Thyssen contract project workers during the field work.
A report was received about a hole in the building outside wall above the window of unit # 206. Rob will investigate the price of renting a lift and then patch the stucco.
Due to the recent extremely heavy rain storm, Irene, Water leakage occurred in condo units # 501and # 301. We have contacted a local structural engineer to evaluate the integrity of the building east wall. We have just received the report from Blue Water some solutions with no guarantees for a complete solution. Hillson Roofing Contractor has also inspected the roof for possible water leakage from the roof. He has not found any roof leakage.
The following is a status report on the three condo units that the Board is pursuing with Becker & Poliaoff---- # 504 Vega—Final Judgement Hearing scheduled for Dec. 7, 2011 at Plantation Key Courthouse , # 203 Dworsky & # 106 Kane both are in the lien process.
The Condo building trash rooms on all six floors have been accumulating items whose ownership is not identified. Items to be TEMPORARILY stored in the trash rooms, must be marked with your name and unit number. Any items that are not marked will be discarded to avoid a violation from the Fire Marshall.
FINES COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON – Don Lindenberg
An important reminder regarding all guests, including family members and renters.
As the chair of the fines committee, I can report that in general you members have
been good about following the rules. But there still seems to always be someone who doesn't pay attention! We are still having problems with registration forms, either not sent in at the time the guest arrives, or improperly filled out ! Remember your guest will NOT be allowed to enter the gate until a PROPERLY FILLED form arrives! You must include a 24 hr emergency phone contact. This applies any time the registration form is required.
An incident report follows any of the above mentioned problems, and is entered into the owners file for future reference and consideration.