Commission candidate forum in Ponte Vedra

July 12, 2008

The Ponte Vedra Beach Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Ponte Vedra Recorder, holds a forum for candidates running for election to the St. Johns County commission.

The Forum takes place 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23, at The Players Senior Community Center. It begins with a 15-minute candidate introduction followed by a question-and-answer session.

Angela Spears, an anchor reporter with First Coast News, NBC 12 and ABC 25, is the moderator. Spears, who has been with the station for 10 years, reports for Good Morning Jacksonville and anchors First Coast News at Noon. She grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelors’ degree in journalism.

The panelists are Grace Hayes, editor of the Ponte Vedra Recorder, St. Johns County Business Ledger and First Coast Register; Beau Halton, editor of the Florida Times Union/Shorelines, and Peter Ellis, editor of the St. Augustine Record.

Candidates currently confirmed include incumbents Cyndi Stevenson, District 1, and Ben Rich, District 2. Stevenson’s challengers in the Aug. 26 primary, Al Abbatiello and Merrill Paul Roland, and Rich’s opponent Mark P. Miner will attend.

Randy Brunson, Ken Bryan and Gary McMahon are running for Jim Bryant’s District 5 seat vacated by Bryant’s decision not to run again. All will attend with the exception of Brunson, who will be out of town and will send a representative.

Visit the Ponte Vedra Beach Chamber of Commerce website for more information on the forum or call 285-2004.

Written by Freddy · Filed Under Local Events

Comments

3 Responses to “Commission candidate forum in Ponte Vedra”

bbelar on July 15th, 2008 3:26 am

Ask Ken Bryan, HOA Prsident, why he has hired attorneys to threaten the vacant lot owners in the community he lives in with ’significant financial consequences’ for failing to build.

This HOA has been incorporated since 1991 or 1992. The rules have never been enforced. Now he wants to make people pay to fatten the coffers of his community.

Bryan is out to make a name for himself at the expense of his non-resident neighbors. Ask him how he justifies this in this economic climate, with people at risk of loosing their homes and their banks accounts and unable to put gas in their cars to get to work!

Don’t vote for this man. Democrat one year, republican the next.

Go back to Washington Mr Bryan.
Mike on July 15th, 2008 4:05 am

Pelican Reef has been around since 02/13/1991, to be exact.

I understand that developers want to require lot owners to build as soon as possible — since it enhances their ability to sell other lots.

Those who have already built also want to see lot owners build as soon as possible — since it enhances the value of their home.

I know of several other communities, besides Pelican Reef, where there are deed restrictions requiring lot owners to build within a year or two. At least one other has relaxed the requirement to build in light of the incredibly soft real estate market.

If I were a lot owner, I would probably be trying to build today because the contractors are hungry for work and the construction costs are running about 15% or more below average.

I believe MAY Management is your community association manager. Perhaps they can advise your Board about the hardship this demand has made on you and there may be other members of the Board who will be more understanding.

Best of luck.
Editor on July 17th, 2008 10:23 am

Actually this is a behavior that is observed often.

In a recent article that appeared in a trade publication for Community Association Managers, Linda Alexander, CMCA®, PCAM® who is an Account Executive with Certified Management, Inc. located in Oahu, HI, writes about homeowner’s association board members who try to be too “controlling”.

Alexander writes:

How many of us have experienced the board member who wants to control all aspects of his or her community association’s operation from finances to personnel to housekeeping? This controlling person just doesn’t want to accept that there is a division of responsibility in the operation of an association.

How do you handle such an individual and keep the association out of trouble? The answer lies within legal and insurance purviews. A controlling director may volunteer to serve as the manager without compensation. As such, he would not be covered by the association’s workers compensation insurance in the event he is injured. If he were to receive payment for his services, then many governing documents and state statutes require that he no longer serve on the board. The board’s decision should be easy: do not allow a board member to serve in an association-related role that is in any way connected to employment, and approve a resolution agreeing not to hire board member to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.

In the absence of a professional manager, this controlling director may feel that the janitorial and maintenance staff was sadly lacking. Thus, the director could be on hands and knees scrubbing the lobby floor or hammering away at a loose fence board. There would still be no workers compensation coverage to protect him in the event of an injury. Even worse, a resident could slip on the wet floor and the association would be liable for the injury.

From the legal perspective, a controlling director could micromanage every decision, every action of his colleagues on the board and of the manager. Rather than respecting the expertise and knowledge of the manager, he insists that he knows more about everything and demands that things get done his way. He micromanages every decision and action of the manager and the onsite staff, interfering with the manager’s contractual and fiduciary obligations and creating an environment of suspicion, fear, discontent and apathy. Homeowners, contractors, suppliers, the management company, even other board members could sue him for improper employment practices, inappropriate directions, and failing to act in the best interests of the community.

How does one handle the controlling directors of the world? The other board members need to understand the legal and financial ramifications of allowing this type of behavior to continue. The manager should address the facts and the issues, focusing on the harmful effect on the community and the board if the controlling director’s unreasonable demands are allowed. It’s certainly a sensitive issue, and either a private meeting among board members or an executive session would be the appropriate venue for conversations with the controlling director regarding his behavior. After all, he thinks he’s acting in the best interests of the community, so his fellow board members need to be cognizant of his mindset and address him with respect and appreciation for his sincere albeit misguided efforts.

If the controlling director does not heed his colleagues’ and manager’s entreaties to reform, the other board members should ask for his resignation. If the controlling director refuses and continues to behave inappropriately, the recourse of last resort is to call for a special meeting for the purpose of removing the director from the board.

Controlling board members may not realize the detrimental impact they have on their community, but their actions can result in litigation, a dysfunctional board, and the owners ready to revolt. Understanding the unique role and responsibilities of community association board members is absolutely essential to ensuring the successful operations of the association.