TEE Time

News

from the GREENS at PINEBROOKVol. 3 No. 3 June, 2009

Roofs

We are excited that our buildings are

going “green.”

By using a highly reflective coating to repel the sun’sUV rays, we will get a rebate from FPL of almost$15,000. The coating will be a brilliant white to bemore reflective. The coating we are using is verybright and could damage unprotected eyes withexposure. Residents on the top floors will see somesavings in electricity.Once each roof is complete, we will be

changing thelocks to the roof doors

to a Medico system. Therehas been some concern expressed over access tothe roof. We are responsible for keeping people andthe roof safe. This is a 600K investment and wehave some insurance restrictions. We have had kidsrunning on the roof, evidence of pot smoking,damage due to lawn chairs and heels poking holes inthe roof. We have had contractors do

damage to ourroof

and scrap left on the roof for us to clean up. If you or a contractor need to be on the roof, you willneed to make arrangements with Action Mgmt tocoordinate when they are here on regular business.We have established architectural standards for therepair and replacement of air conditioners. Eachcontractor will have to follow these guidelines. Abuilding permit is required. All people on the roof willneed to wear

eye protection

and

sign a waiver

each time they request entry. They will need to beaccompanied to assure no damage takes place. Ihave been assured that other condos restrict roof access with this system and are doing fine.Action Mgmt, your board and roofing volunteers willhave forms and keys to the roof. (We are asking for roofing volunteers to make access easier andquicker. Please volunteer.) As a board, we havestruggled with this one but in the end, we think theinconvenience is worth the cost savings of thisprocess. We are trying to protect you and your investment. The alternative is a roof replacement at$600K, liability law suits or additional costs.

Plan ahead for the replacement and servicing ofyour air conditioner. Yes, we will be able tohandle emergencies but don’t make everythingan emergency. Schedule specific times.

Hot Water Tanks –

The Board issued an advisory lastyear that owners of Condos still using the original(twenty plus years) hot water tank would be

liable forany water damage

. We are worried about you. It hascome to our attention that a number of owners continueto retain these old units. Your tank may not be leakingbut to not take action until it leaks, is an act of neglectthat makes you liable for damages. Plumbers tell us

Twenty year-old tanks are far beyond useful life

andare likely to leak. Please out of respect for your neighbors and to save yourself grief, arrange to replaceyour old tank immediately.

Keys –

Roughly 50% of all Greens owners have turnedin a unit key for the management lock box. There havebeen some questions about the legality of lock boxes.You can request a letter prepared by our attorney sothat you know the law if you wish. Your Mgmt and Boardmembers appreciate this law and your key. Too manytimes a Board member or our manager has had the

heart stopping

responsibility to run down a neighbor,who may or may not be at home, for a key to a unitwhere water is running into a neighbor’s unit. This lawenables management to better

protect your asset

andyour neighbor’s asset especially during your absence. Aleak in a house damages only your possessions. A leakor emergency in your condo is very likely to affect your neighbors. Know that only two people have access tothe lock box. Your President, our CAM – Stacia. Both of us are insured and bonded. Having said all of the goodreasons to use this system, your board has

statedpublically that giving us a key is up to the owner.Painting

We will

be painting all three buildings

and all railingsthis summer. We will be doing one building at a timestarting with Building 1. We will be doing the carports aswell. We will need the ability to move your car for safekeeping. Make sure your keys are available on your kitchen counter or a neighbor.

Pool

Please do not slather on sun tan oil then jump in thepool. We are getting a

bathtub ring of grease

aroundthe pool. It looks bad and is difficult to clean. That iswhy you should

shower before entering

TEE Time

News

from the GREENS at PINEBROOKVol. 3 No. 3 June, 2009

Pool

(continued)Also please use a towel on chairs. We are alsoconsidering

turning off the heat

during the very colddays in Dec., Jan and possibly Febdepending on the weather. Our heater cannot keepup during these cold spells and it is costing us afortune to heat a pool no one is using. We do have aheated pool at the clubhouse for those who want toswim in below 65 degree weather. During this lastcold spell we doubled our electricity due, in largepart, to the pool. We are trying to

save money

spentwithout value.

Driveway

We have identified areas that need work on thedriveway. Most of these areas are where a tree roothas lifted the pavement. This work has beencompleted. We are also experiencing driveway

damage from

cars leaking oi

. Please check tomake sure yours is not. You can buy kitty litter toabsorb excess oil. If the asphalt is damaged, we willrepair the spot and bill the owner.

Stuff

Our

minimum rental for a condo is three months

.No one can occupy the condo during this time exceptthe approved renter. If your renter goes home early,the unit must

remain empty

. It cannot be occupiedby a sub-leaser or the owner during this period.If an occupant (visitor, relative) is in a unit more than30 days in a 3 month period, they are deemed to bea

tenant

and must go through the approval process.Please let Action Mgmt know if you have anyonemeeting this qualification.

Starting July 1

All common areas will becleaned out. These areasare not to be used for personalstorage.(

Of concern is the back of the cagedareas on each floor.)

rientation Procedure Changes –

All condo unit salesand rentals must include the completion of aninformation form, an interview of the prospective buyer or renter, a review and a sign off on condo rules. Unitsales or rentals cannot be concluded until the orientationprocess is complete. The orientation fee of fifty dollars($50) remains the same.

•

Sale/Rental Information Application forms areavailable through Action AssociationManagement, Inc. 1282 4

Street Sarasota, Fl34236, Phone: (941) 373-0008 or www.actionmgt.biz , Manager: Stacia Scofero.Please call Stacia first. She handles the legalpart of the transaction.

•

Interviews are conducted by Myrtle Overby, VicePresident, The Greens at Pinebrook, Board of Administration, following receipt of a completedsale/rental information application.

Hurricane Season –

The

hurricane season

begins inJune and ends on or about November. Please removeall items, plants, etc. from benches and entranceways.Flying objects in high winds are damaging anddangerous. Board members and neighbors are too busystoring recycling bins and pool furniture to care for individual units. Besides, where can we store your stuff?

We will discard what is left on benches andentranceways.A Final Word

Please make an effort to attend the posted monthlyBoard meetings and urge your neighbors to do so. Your elected representatives appreciate owner interest andinput. It is better for you to hear Board business andaction yourself rather than rumors. It also allows your board to hear and respond to your concerns. Readposted notices as well.We hope you have a great summer. We look forward toseeing our “snow-birds” in the fall!

TEE Time

News

from the GREENS at PINEBROOKVol. 3 No. 3 June, 2009

President Editorial

Your board has worked tirelessly for you this year to maintain your condominium, as this is our key job.It is made up of business people who make

gooddecisions

, well-thought out and in the best interestof all of you. Both the roofing project and the paintingof our buildings have required extra

commitment

from this board. They are big-ticket items. We havehad open meetings for five months to discussingthese projects. While I think disagreement is anormal part of living together, I would hope peoplewould take the time to learn about an issue beforethey get excited about it. The recent petition to get akey to the roof is a good example of this behavior.Your President offered to hold a meeting with thoseconcerned before the petition was created to informthis concerned group about the insurance and liabilityissues. The petition does not clearly state what is infront of us. However, that said, we have beendiscussing these problems at board meetings for 5months. If you are concerned, where have youbeen? On top of that, this petition group has gonefrom door to door harassing people to agree withtheir point of view. It

harassment when they goback 2 and 3 times to try to bully people intoagreeing with them. You can’t go to the pool withoutbeing harangued. Let’s set the record straight and

clarify what we are facing

so that everyone is onthe same page.1. The

world is not the same place

it was 20 yearsago. We all know that.

Florida law has put manymore restrictions

on us. People go to court over themost frivolous issues.2. Our buildings are

22 years old

and requireentirely different maintenance than even 10 yearsago. AND everything

costs a lot more

. You canexpect your fees to continually rise. Insurance inFlorida is tricky. We got a great price through our current agent. Citizens insurance covers our property. It is the only insurance we can get. Oncean agent bids the insurance, Citizens will not bid itwith another agent. We have who we can get at

thistime. We have

liability issues with an open roof.

Everyone with a key is considered an open roof evenif the door is locked. (How many times have wefound it unlocked!!) Lets cut through the drama andtalk hard facts. An

open roof will cost $$.

WouldDo you still want to be on it?? Read on….If we allow everyone to have their own key, we havebeen advised that

our insurance will be cancelled

,with or without reflective white paint. To reinsure with an“open” roof will

cost a substantial amount of money.

We may be required to increase our liability insurance.Our documents state that no one person or person cando anything to increase our insurance costs. That putsus in a Catch 22/ need to and can’t. Any additionalinsurance costs would have to be assessed to theowners as our budget is already set and we do not haveadditional money to pay for it. I would recommend to theBoard we return the $15K Florida Power and Lightrebate and use a different reflective paint (a cost of $110.29 to each owner) to reduce risk. Is this thedirection you want your board to take? No one is talkingcosts are they? Another issue is we our liabilityinsurance would not cover us at all if we have anaccident up there. Of course this discussion is

theoretical.

We’re not sure we could insure this way.We cannot accommodate the request of a select groupof people to continue to have a key to the roof. We justcan’t. Remember with the new system, all owners canstill get on the roof. They just can’t have their own key.3. We have a warranty for our roof that is wonderful. Itis warranty for “light traffic.” Our

roof warranty is indanger

if we have a lot of people on the roof. We havehad damage to the roof before. We have to givecontractors architectural standards to work on the roof and we have to assure everyone has protective sun-glasses on to protect their eyes. How many residentswill understand/ follow through with these restrictions?4. Condos have

rules and regulations

. These ruleswere drafted by attorneys, who are much smarter thanus, to cover situations we can’t foresee. You agreed tothese rules when you bought here. We will enforcethese rules because we have no choice. If we keepinvolving Action Mgmt constantly to enforce our rules,they will

increase their management fee to us.

Unlikeyour board, they do this for a living and are paid for their work. They have a

24 hour policy

of answering calls ina non-emergency situation. You are unlikely to get acall-back in an hour. Be patient. Even your Presidenthas to wait.6

. Insurance is not going to go away.

Our documents and the state of

FL requires casualtyinsurance

. We will be in contact shortly with residents