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From The Observer News
(www.observernews.net) Top Stories By Melody Jameson
In the new process, each unit owner in every district involved in the annual election is to receive through the postal system a color-coded paper ballot at least two weeks prior to that unit’s annual association meeting, said Pat Boussie, elections committee chairman and a current board member. Two matching color envelopes – one bearing the Sterling Management Company mailing address and one in which the secret ballot is to be sealed – will accompany the ballots, she added. Unit owners, whether part of a couple or a single, are expected to mark one ballot to indicate candidate choices, seal the ballot in the “inner” envelope, place the sealed, ballot-containing envelope in the “outer” envelope and then sign that second envelope. The envelope packages subsequently are to be taken to the appropriate association annual meetings in January where election committee members will validate the vote as legitimate based on the signatures on outer envelopes, then remove and collect the sealed secret ballots in the second envelope for storage under locks until the votes are tabulated in March. The outer envelopes will be retained separately, but after separation from the ballots, could not be again combined accurately with ballots, thereby ensuring secrecy of the vote, Boussie explained. The elections committee hopes that most residents in those districts where there is voting this election season will follow the procedure as outlined, the chairman asserted. However, in any extreme cases where a voter cannot attend his or her association’s annual meeting, the properly marked and sealed ballot can be mailed in the signed envelope addressed to Sterling Management, she said. Kings Pointers during this election cycle will be choosing among candidates for board director in two districts. The announced candidates in District III are Sam Cook, Bob Greene and Cliff Seder. Cook has not participated in community work. Greene is a current board member and its treasurer. Seder previously was a board member and served as board vice president. Candidates seeking the District VI seat on the board are Mike Anderson and Richard McCormick. Anderson has been active in community volunteer efforts but is a newcomer in a board election. McCormick previously was a board member. In addition, two other district seats are up for grabs. However, because the candidate for each did not draw any opposition, each man will be elected automatically. Paul Hunt, a current board member from District IV seeking reelection to a second, two-year term, will retain his seat. Robert Sitzer, long active behind the scenes and a member of several board committees, will take the District V seat for an initial two-year term. Six of the seven candidates recently took advantage of a candidates’ forum sponsored by the Condominium Owners Association (COA) to express their views on a range of subjects important to the community – and exhibited the differences between them. Cook did not appear or participate in the forum. The most hotly contested race is in District III, pitting Greene, for 19 years a manager in the community during the 1980s and ‘90s, against Seder, a former board VP who repeatedly asserted he was kept out of negotiations related to the $53 million purchase of community amenities during his term in office. The several points of disagreement included use of the “2020 building” currently occupied by Prudential Real Estate, replacement of the Clubhouse Drive bridge over Cypress Creek and tapping the $1 million reserve fund built into the amenities purchase – all of them related to money. Hunt and Seder suggested the two-story structure occupied by Prudential could be better utilized if the firm were evicted and the building leased. The current $1 per year the community gets in rental could be replaced by leasing the structure to a professional practice for $100,000 or $200,000 per year, they said. Greene pointed out that WCI and Prudential now pay the real estate taxes and maintenance bills which have to be assumed by the community, that costs of refurbishing the structure would be prohibitive, including imperative installation of an elevator for access to the second floor, and questioned whether tenants interested in the building actually are available in the troubled real estate market. Similarly, the candidates exchanged barbs over construction work on the Clubhouse Drive bridge on Cypress Creek which occurred several years ago. Seder suggested that because of his opponent, Greene and Greene’s management company, Florida Lifestyles Management (FLM), the replacement was not properly handled. Green countered that FLM was out of business in 2000 and that the bridge was replaced at a later date in 2003. Seder retorted the replacement took place in 2002. Another money matter over which the candidates sparred is use of the $1 million reserve built into the $53 million plus cost of purchasing the amenities. Seder suggested tapping the reserve for other uses. Greene responded that any monies so appropriated would have to be paid back. In the same vein, Anderson suggested keeping in mind the $1 million plus bonus promised as part of executing a new Bright House cable contract. The candidates generally agreed their immediate objectives include maintaining the current level of monthly fees paid by unit owners, particularly in connection with amenities purchase payments. They also voiced mutual commitment to taking control of the Master Association now funded by the community but controlled by a developer in bankruptcy proceedings . While Anderson, Greene, Hunt, McCormick and Seder took part in the discussions, Sitzer declined, saying he wanted to learn more about the issues. As Green and Hunt are up for re-election, Anderson and McCormick are vying for the seat being vacated by Karen Jean Renzi and Sitzer is taking the position left open by Paul Monnette. Renzi and Monnette are leaving the board due to mandatory term limits. The newly re-constituted federation board will be officially seated on April 1, 2009.. ©2008 Melody Jameson © Copyright 2008 by The Observer News Publications and M&M Printing |
