Month: April 2020

A discussion of this question shall be Posted very soon. BTW – Resident visits to AnAquarinaVoice.com is nearing 50,000 visits in the last 18 months to date.

Brevard County has directed that there shall be no socializing on its beaches, other than walking, swimming, paddle boarding, surfing, fishing, etc., i.e. individual activities, which do not encourage a gathering, and no use of chairs to encourage a gathering.

Yesterday, a beautiful beach day at our Beach Club, appeared, right below the south stairway to the beach, a group of 10 or more young folks, their chairs in a snug circle, with a tent nearby for more folks to congregate. These young folks, more than likely guests or children of our Residents, were actually and selfishly putting the Residents at risk by not practicing a quarantine procedure, i.e. social distancing, especially since their selfish behavior was right at the beach landing of the stairway access where the beach goers enter the beach.

Have these young folks not heard of social distancing to avoid the spread of possible infection from the ubiquitous Virus?  Are they aware of the Virus?  And if they are aware, then do they realize their act of insouciance behavior is not only selfish, but disrespectful.  Where are the parents and hosts for these youngsters?  Aquarina Beach is private for its Residents, and we deserve to control our environment for the well-being of ourselves, especially from non-residents, who have not been schooled to proper community and now a humanity protocol.

We all know the Board, with its tunnel vision for golf, considers the Beach Club a secondary, at best, amenity. Its appearance of neglect and its lack of oversight, has long been detailed in this Blog. The irony is, that among our amenities, it is used by more of the Residents than any of our amenities. How about the Board posting a notice at each of the beach accesses that no chairs and no socializing are permitted on the beach during the quarantine? Haven’t all the chairs been removed from the deck area?

Coming soon – why we need to remove the Board from its direct involvement in AGI, i.e. golf, the restaurant, and tennis, which results in a fertile ground for Board collusion with these entities, and where some Board Members have apparently hoped to gain back their “Glory Days” or to try again for “Glory Days” which they never were able to attain, with their bullying and selfish control of the AGI operation at the Residents’ expense.

The disservice to the Aquarina Residents continues with the non-elected and “appointed” candidates to the Board of Directors. Anyone, that espouses and participates with the current and now known future Board, submits themselves into the devil’s den, where “transparency” with the AGI financials continues to be Board ignored. The current Board President’s use of the alleged attorney opinion of not requiring transparency with AGI funds, is used as justification for this non-transparency.  As has been discussed on this Blog many times, and which now has become a Resident’s lawsuit against the Board to force AGI financial disclosure, the Board refuses to provide the detailed financials of AGI.  By Florida HOA Statute, All Residents’ funds spent are subject to disclosure to the Residents, i.e. from a penny to thousands of dollars, especially upon request,which has been denied.

The irony here is that the Residents fund AGI with 100’s of thousands of dollars every year.  Anyone who serves on the Board, and who remains silent on this financial abuse or agrees with this alleged attorney opinion, has taken the side of the current Board cabal, and its selfish and undisclosed use of the Residents’ funds. Whatever a candidate says or does is muddied by this Board’s transgression of non-transparency to the Residents, which makes each silent Board member complicit.  

Remember, a Board for a Community, has a fiduciary responsibility to all the Residents with the Residents’ funds. Why would a Board seek an attorney opinion to avoid and circumvent this fiduciary responsibility?  It is so blatantly obvious that there is spending occurring that is known to be disputably wrong, and untoward means have been created to hide this arguable transgression. BTW – the alleged attorney opinion to not disclose has never been revealed, even when there is a request for its existence.

A last word, the current Board and soon the new, yet in essence, same Board, has been emboldened to do what it wants, i.e. carry out their own selfish agenda with the Residents’ funds, regardless of the fact that this agenda serves a few and not the whole of the Aquarina Community, and, unfortunately, the Board’s self-serving behavior is encouraged by Community complacency and maybe denial. The Board knows this, and will continue with its unhindered and selfish policies, smiling among themselves in self-satisfaction and smugness.  

It’s obvious, from the candidates for the Board of Directors, that all were, as their submitted self-summaries attest, advocates of the previous Board’s policies and behaviors, i.e. where Board “Developer” actions take precedence over Board “whole Community” actions.  Vacancies for the four Directors will be filled with the four only candidates, who obviously were selected and groomed by the previous Board majority.  No election is required. The agenda of “Developer” projects the new Board will tout for the Residents will not be for the whole Community, but for the Board and its disciples and acolytes. Maintenance, repair, and reserves, which serves the whole Community, and is the Board’s fiduciary duty, has been continually neglected for, instead, Board “Developer” projects, i.e. golf, and AGI subsidies for parties and events.

The once and previous Community Pool, was taken away by a previous Developer for selfish reasons. Will this occur again?  Not one candidate mentioned the Community Pool, which is the biggest project Aquarina would have for the WHOLE community in decades.  A signed agreement is in place for the deposited funds, about $350,000, for the pool to be done. This is an exciting event for the whole Community.  All Residents would benefit from the pool, even if some did not use it, since it would become a whole Community attraction.  Certainly the pool would be the most popular amenity other than maybe the Beach Club House area. Yet not one word from the four candidates about them looking forward to it, supporting it, and making it a priority to have it completed as soon as possible.  Not one word.

Instead, these candidates proclaimed how great the current Board has been, and how they hoped to continue its agenda, i.e. the agenda that recklessly spent our funds on selfish and “Developer” focused projects. Trust me, they’re salivating on that $350,000 sitting in our bank account. Other than the pool, the focus of our Board of Directors should be, foremost, maintaining the existing community it serves, and building reserves to repair and replace our amenities and infra-structure. We have a wonderful opportunity with the pool and its ready funding, but not one word of its existence from the candidates. Why? It could be because of a Board “Developer” agenda for self-serving spending rather for whole Community spending, and the taking of our $350,000.

If this signed for and promised Community Pool is Board ignored, it will be the hardest slap in the Residents’ faces yet.  This Pool can be a great way to bond the whole Community.  Weekly or bi-weekly announcements on the Pool’s progress would create a Community commonality of anticipation for this new pool amenity, though once taken away, it will now be returning. A rendering of the coming Pool and its Pool area could be displayed at the Community Club House, and this rendering emailed to the Residents. The Pool will uplift the whole Community, and it would be the best action for the whole Community the Board ever accomplished.

Next Post – the failure of the four current Board majority’s groomed and selected Board of Director candidates.

We are very fortunate to be located where we are, basically in the middle of a coastal barrier island preserve area, a rather remote place overall for Florida’s coastline region. I can tell you, after being here since 1979, not much has changed from the Town of Melbourne Beach to the 510 Causeway in Vero Beach. The beachside and riverside preserve areas have remained intact, all owned by USA Fish and Wildlife, the State of Florida, and Brevard County. Actually, the future density growth for this region has all been condensed to one place between the ocean and the river.  Guess where that would be?  Yes, Aquarina.

The current bubble we live in here, is manageable, park-like, and mostly secure.  It’s not a bad place to be in quarantine, and we are fortunate. Look at New York City, where the extreme density of its population has become deadly because of precautions that came too late. The Residents here, it appears, are practicing a good protocol of behavior, keeping their distances from others, and staying inside, except for exercise and acquiring necessities.

Unfortunately, a Resident is awaiting the results of the test to determine if he or she is positive for the Virus.  We all wish this Resident the best for a healthy recovery if there is an affliction, and are thankful if the Resident is clear from the Virus. This situation brings up some complicated matters with disclosure if there is an affliction. There is certainly the privacy matter, and there certainly is the public matter. The maybe better road to go down here, if there is an affliction, would be for that person to privately disclose having the virus to those with whom that person had recent contact. We all await how this will be played out.  What will the Board’s suggestion be here? We all have been email inundated with Coronavirus data by the Board, which is nice, but a more important action by the Board, with this possible Virus situation in Aquarina, is how any possible Virus disclosure will be addressed by the Board or not, which could impact the whole community.

Our governor has just announced for all to stay inside other than participating in non-group outdoor exercise or traveling for life essentials until near the end of this month. However, all is fluid, and changes to any order can be expected to occur. It’s best for all to stay informed as we move forward. BTW – something to keep in mind is that two locations in our area can be considered an epicenter for any possible presence of the Virus, i.e. Publix, at Driftwood Plaza, and the supermarket on Ocean Avenue in the Town of Melbourne Beach. Both places are the main source for grocery shopping, and therefore, the two places where most folks will gather.  Use caution, if and when you go to these locations, e.g. wear gloves, masks, etc., and sanitize the packaging before bringing these packages into your home.

Stay safe fellow Residents. There’s hope on the horizon.