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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 10-14-2009 ST. LUCIE COUNTY PROPERTY AND HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION Minutes of Meeting October 14, 2009 Convened: 10:00 A.M. Adjourned: 11:25 A.M. The meeting of the Property & Homeowners Association was held Wednesday, October 14, 2009, in Conference Room 3 of the St. Lucie County Administration Building Annex, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida. Members Present: Craig Mundt, President North Beach Association HOA Toni Trabolsi, Coalition of Sandpiper Bay HOA Andrew Stark, Palm Grove HOA Bill Hammer, Reserve/PGA Walter Fauth, South Beach HOA Reverend William Bradley, Pres. Sunland Gardens HOA Godfrey A. Adams, President Port St. Lucie North HOA Also Present: Commissioner Doug Coward, Chairman Charline Burgess, Aide to Commissioner Coward Adam Fetterman, State Representative for House District 81 Thomas Rehyansky, Executive Secretary to Rep. Fetterman Tangie Jennings, District Secretary to Rep. K.G. Rader, District 78 Swendy Ariyanayagam, St. Lucie County Code Department Deputy Gary Gonzalvez, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s office Ed Boslow, Oleander Pines HOA Charlotte Wollenhautte, Oleander Pines HOA Dennis Ring, Lake Forest Pointe HOA Tom Haldane, Vineyards HOA Mike Morganstern, Vineyards HOA Dave Caloia, Port St. Lucie North HOA Aris Atoa, Lake Forest Point HOA M.G. Hahn, Oleander Pines HOA Darlene Dougherty, Lakeside at St. Lucie West HOA Al Rivett, Resident Property & Homeowners Meeting October 14, 2009 Page 2 ITEM 1 ~ CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 10:00 A.M. Commissioner Coward led the Association in the Pledge of Allegiance. The Homeowners’ Representatives and visitors in attendance gave self-introductions. ITEM 2 ~ APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commissioner Coward asked for a motion for approval of the September 9, 2009 minutes. A motion was made by Craig Mundt and seconded by Bill Hammer to approve the minutes of the September 9, 2009 meeting. The motion and second carried unanimously by voice vote. ITEM 3 ~ ST. LUCIE COUNTY SHERIFF’S REPORT: Commissioner Coward introduced Deputy Gary Gonzalves with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s office. Deputy Gonzalves stated that high crime is still an issue. Residents need to secure their vehicles, homes and valuables. He gave some examples on how to protect yourself. He also said there are many scams going on. If you want to verify whether or not an e-mail is a scam, and you have access to a computer; go to www.snopes.com enter the name in the subject line to find out. He closed by saying that if you ever hear or see anything suspicious, please call 911, that’s what they are there for. He said citizen involvement is the number one key to catching the “bad guys.” He said that due to the resident’s calls, they are making arrests. Deputy Gonzalves closed by announcing that they are doing free Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) etching on windshields for residents on October 17, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the St. Lucie County Court House Annex at 250 NW Country Club Drive in Port St. Lucie. Commissioner Coward thanked Deputy Gonzalves for being with us today. He asked if anyone had any questions for Deputy Gonzalves. There were no questions. ITEM 4: ST. LUCIE COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT REPORT ~ CATHERINE CHANEY, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER (PIO) Commissioner Coward stated that Ms. Chaney had a scheduling conflict, and that she was not going to be with us today. Property & Homeowners Meeting October 14, 2009 Page 3 ITEM 5: GUEST SPEAKER AND TOPIC OF DISCUSSION ~ Adam Fetterman, State Representative for District 81 to speak on what’s happening in the Legislature at this time: Commissioner Coward then introduced Representative Fetterman and thanked him for being here today. He praised Representative Fetterman for being able to “juggle” two careers and doing a good job at both. He said that one of the key issues that this group was interested in is an update on past and forthcoming legislation issues. A lot of the associations have been dealing with the foreclosure issue and some of the state laws that limit the time in which banks have to make contributions toward those association dues and then when that time frame ends, it leaves the remaining owners to have to subsidize and fight to keep making payments. He said that is one of the key issues that has been discussed for many months by this committee. Representative Fetterman thanked Commissioner Coward and the committee for inviting him here today. He introduced his District Secretary, Tom Rehyansky. Representative Fetterman began by telling a story about spending a whole day with third and eighth graders the day before. He emphasized how important an education is to children in this day and age, and how it is one of his goals to make sure kids stay in school and that the schools make sure kids get a good education. Representative Fetterman said that he does have two jobs that he loves waking up to every morning. One as a State Legislator, and the other to legal counsel for St. Lucie County Sheriff, Ken Mascara. He said that the budget legislative session this year that passed was a difficult one. He said there are three resources that the State has and that is property taxes, sales tax, fees and surcharges. He said that he voted against the budget because of the excessive raises in fees. There will be a 2.4 million dollar projected shortfall in the upcoming session. He went on to explain that a number of representatives wanted to have an open conversation about the tax structure here in the State of Florida, the sales tax exemptions which have been given to big businesses, the method and manner in which we tax property, but that conversation was not allowed to take place. He said that was very frustrating for him as a freshman representative. He said that is a conversation that they should have and are expected to have on their constituent’s behalf. There was no conversation about the structure of property taxes. Finally, what did happen was an increase in the fees. He said that he voted against the budget because it balanced the budget on raising fees and surcharges against Florida’s residents. Property & Homeowners Meeting October 14, 2009 Page 4 Representative Fetterman said that there were some homeowner and condo association bills that came before them last year, but none of them passed. He said the main focus is on the budget shortfall, and that’s where he wants input from constituents. He said you can e-mail him or call him or his staff at Adam.Fetterman@myfloridahouse.gov or my website for names and numbers is: http://www.myfloridahouse.org/Sections/Representatives/details.aspx?MemberId=4457 &SessionId=64. He said that all Floridians expect a certain level of service from their local or state government, but all of that does cost money. He said that some things have to be cut, or we have to generate more revenue, or we have to do a little of both. He said that he believes that responsible government works on both sides of the ledger, so he asked for help from constituents on these issues. Where do we cut? Where do we find more revenue? He said he doesn’t have all the answers, he has some ideas, but the best ideas come from residents, and he welcomes their input as they go into the next session. Representative Fetterman restated his earlier comment about the homeowner and condo association bills that did not pass. It tried to deal with some of the foreclosure problems and (in his opinion) the irresponsibility on the part of these banks who have taken on these properties and yet take no responsibility for them. He said there are a few men and women in the legislature, who really are the experts at this, and a new bill is being crafted for this year but it is not out yet. He said to get with Tom and they would put together a homeowner’s presidents and leaders e-mail list, so that when this bill comes out they can send it to whomever is on the list. He said that it will probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 to 1000 pages. He said that he did not know what that bill is going to say, but he said he does sit on a Civil Courts and Policy committee that these issues will be brought before. He said that at this point their hands are tied as to what they can require the banks to do. Representative Fetterman asked if there were any questions. He stated that if he doesn’t have the answers to their questions, his office will find out and get back to them. Mr. Bill Hammer brought up the issue about unfunded state mandates. He said that is a major problem for local jurisdictions to raise that money. A prime example this year is the state giving the school district the right to raise taxes without having the residents vote on that issue, so that needs to be looked at. Representative Fetterman stated that he agreed with Mr. Hammer. He said the year before, the state legislature mandated that your school districts raise taxes. He said that he is one of the few people that stands up in Tallahassee on behalf of local governments. He said that it is easier to sit on an “ivory tower” in Tallahassee and talk about policy; it is much more difficult to be a county commissioner and have to deliver Property & Homeowners Meeting October 14, 2009 Page 5 services to residents on a daily basis. He noted that working for the sheriff has educated him on unfunded mandates. He gave the costs at the jail as an example. Walter Fauth said that in looking at the situation that we are in with the foreclosure and delinquencies, it doesn’t seem like our court system or our banking system have any concept of how to deal with this situation. Federal rules do not get close to what is going on with potential sales. As an example, a home could be sold and put back on the tax role, but the banks won’t let them. Discussion ensued. Representative Fetterman explained that the banking issues are only going to be worked out in Washington, D.C. He said that he does not understand why we have given billions and billions of dollars to banks and yet they are not lending money; they are not trying to make deals. It does them no good to hold onto these houses that are worth nothing or less than the note on them. He then explained the court systems and how they are backed up. There was a discussion about foreclosures where renters pay, but the home owners are keeping the money and not paying the mortgage, and working with current laws and the costs involved with numerous court cases. Representative Fetterman stated that there may be an answer and that is with trust funds. He said the State of Florida has about 367 trust funds. Trust funds are created for the benefit of another or yourself. It is done for a reason, to segregate monies from others to hold them aside for a specific purpose. Some are for funding sources for the courts, what’s happening is those trust funds get “swept” which means taking all the money out and moving it into general revenue and the money is spent for something else. He said that he is filing a bill this year that will be put before the legislature, that would then be put before the residents on a ballot. A constitutional amendment that will prohibit the “sweeping” of trust funds for any purpose other than what the trust fund was created for. Discussion ensued. There was a lengthy discussion between Representative Fetterman and some of the members regarding the shortage of judges to cover such a large area and why the money can’t be provided to fund another judge by Tallahassee. Craig Mundt asked Representative Fetterman what his area of expertise would be in the legislature. Representative Fetterman said that he sits on many committees and the environment is very important to him. He mentioned the Inland Protection Trust Fund which is funded by gasoline revenue for keeping gasoline contamination out of our drinking water. There was a lengthy discussion regarding the lobbyist and their role in Tallahassee. Property & Homeowners Meeting October 14, 2009 Page 6 Commissioner Coward mentioned the re-districting because of the upcoming amendment on the 2010 ballot. He said that he has asked Representative Kevin Rader to come and speak at an upcoming Commission meeting on this topic. Representative Fetterman pointed out his district on the map provided by staff. He said that because of the districts being so close, they all work together. He said that even if the districts were not close, they would still work good together. He said that the “Fair District Amendment” constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2010 makes sense. He said every ten years we have a census, and then they go through the process of re- districting. It is driven by the party in power at the time. He explained the process of re-districting. Commissioner Coward said that he wanted to publicly thank Representative Fetterman for voting against Senate Bill 360 and standing up for the taxpayers. He then thanked Representative Fetterman and Tom Rehyansky for being with us today. There was a round of applause for Representative Fetterman and Mr. Rehyansky. ITEM 6: OLD BUSINESS: Commissioner Coward stated that contact information was supplied about the Airport Master plan meetings. He asked whether or not there was any old business to discuss. Seeing none, he moved to Item 7. ITEM 7: NEW BUSINESS ~ PRIORITIZE FUTURE TOPICS OF DISCUSSION Commissioner Coward explained the re-organization of the board committee’s changing every year, so they will be shifting committee appointments in November. He stated that this will be his last meeting, which is unfortunate as he very much enjoys this committee. He said that Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky and his Aide, Terri Palumbo will be this committee’s liaison for next year. He also said that due to the November meeting falling on Veteran’s Day, that meeting will be canceled. The next meeting will be December 9, 2009. Commissioner Coward asked for future topics of discussion that he could pass on to Commissioner Dzadovsky’s office. He mentioned the update of the Airport Master Plan and going there for the meeting. He brought up a new topic, Economic Development projects coming into Port St. Lucie and Ft. Pierce and how the incentives work. He said the public really needs to be educated about how the process works. After a discussion between Commissioner Coward and the committee regarding future topics, it was decided that the group would like an update on the status of Martin Memorial Hospital in Property & Homeowners Meeting October 14, 2009 Page 7 Tradition in western Port St. Lucie and the transportation of patients to the new St. Lucie West Emergency room. He said that we could possibly get Fire Chief Ron Parrish and an official from Martin Memorial to come speak to the group. After that they could have the airport master plan discussion with the airport staff and the consultant; then the TPO Director to speak on current & pending FDOT projects. A suggestion was made for future topic to have someone in from Indian River State College to talk about Homeland Security. One person said that Foreclosures need to stay on the list. As things evolve, he said that we need to be kept notified. Commissioner Coward asked if there was any other business to discuss. Mr. Hammer asked if FDOT or whomever, could be contacted about synchronizing the red lights on two roads, Port St. Lucie Boulevard and then on Crosstown Parkway. Commissioner Coward that we would ask. Commissioner Coward thanked the members and commended them for helping him with their feedback and information that has been beneficial to him as a public official. He also thanked the public for coming to the meeting. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:25 a.m. Respectfully submitted by Charline Burgess, Executive Aide to Commissioner Coward.