They (ACSA) Say, and the Pool Residents Pay – with No Voice

ALSO COMING SOON – THE CURRENT ACSA BOARD NEEDS A CHANGE. ELECTIONS ARE THE ANSWER.

COMING SOON – COULD THE ACSA FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES BE MORE TRANSPARENT?

Can we really call The LSP Committee, a working committee, with dialogue and a back and forth interaction, which would be expected from a “Committee”?

It appears that the Lakeside Pool (LSP) Committee number three, where volunteers were required to submit a resume and then be chosen, has turned into a shell committee, where Pool Area decisions are made and then disclosed afterwards to the committee. No meeting has been called since the first orientation meeting though a meeting is allegedly scheduled (which did occur), and yet Pool Area events move forward, as disclosed at the last monthly ACSA Meeting by the now apparent sole source of Pool Area information, an ACSA Non-Resident employee. It would seem that this committee, in its now third transformation, would participate in decisions regarding the Pool Matter.  After all, the Pool Residents have exclusive use of the Pool Area, are expected to maintain and repair the Pool Area, and pay 100% of the resulting costs. It certainly could be expected that these Residents should have a say in decisions to restore the Pool Area, therefore, the expected reason for an LSP Committee, including the 30-year track record of maintaining and repairing of the Pool Area. However, the past 30 years of caretaker diligence and the current LSP Committee are being ignored, as the ACSA railroads its Pool Area agenda through the Pool Residents, where the costs are not considered, because the cost decision makers do not pay. The Pool Residents pay.  

We have a non-Resident, who is an ACSA employee, and to whom we pay this employee’s salary telling us what will be occurring at the Pool Area. The salary BTW, it appears, is beyond a clerical pay grade. Check the ACSA budget for the Administrative Office’s expenses. Ironically, we pay this employee to short change us with the LSP Committee, where discussions and dialogue are expected, yet eliminated, and its resulting purpose is to listen and abide to what ACSA will be doing with the Pool Area through this employee spokesperson. It’s unfortunate for the LSP Committee Members, where the expected ongoing meetings to discuss the Pool Area does not exist, at least with public announcement. These meetings are to be posted and disclosed for the Pool Residents. I have not seen or heard of one.  One Pool Member, when I asked about the next meeting, replied the Members were waiting to hear, and another one stated that a meeting may be coming up. Who is running the LSP Committee? There are Chairpersons and Members.

This employee, has shown, in all Pool Matter instances, that the employee is in control of all Pool Matters; however, we don’t know how the Pool decisions are justified other than coming from the employee.  No discussions ensue. Decisions are disclosed as events that will occur without an explanation as to the decision.  A dictatorial behavior could easily be concluded from the optics of the employee’s actions. Let’s review what has evolved with this employee and the Pool Matter.

• The employee submits a Timeline of events, at each monthly ACSA Meeting, that shall occur in the Pool Area restoration. Who decided on these events to occur? The past and current LSP Committees had no participation in these called for events. BTW – The Pool Residents pay for the cost of these events.  We’re still waiting for a paid Soil Test from months ago; it’s still being held by this employee. Why?  Maybe because it doesn’t concur that the Pool is sinking; we only hear the news that supports the agenda to lay waste to the Pool Area, i.e. demolition of the Bathhouse and shelved up Pool pavers.
• A statement from a County Health person, who was told that the Bathhouse had been condemned, squelched a Pool Member request to open the Pool Area, after some repairs could be completed, per a Florida licensed Building Contractor. Did the ACSA employee disclose this condemnation to the Pool Residents? – NO. Further after investigation, no County condemnation had ever occurred or existed.  However, the belief of condemnation was left to remain, which supported the employee’s reply statement, when asked if an opening could be something to address, which was that the temporary opening of the Pool Area is “Not supported”, with no employee explanation.
• The employee stated an ACSA Meeting that the Pool had a County Code Violation and the violation was being addressed. The violation was never disclosed except for a Chapter from the Code Book.  That Chapter has 15 possible pool requirements, which one needs to be addressed?
• The employee stated that the architects were finalizing the Bathhouse building. Were we ever shown a rendering of a proposed Bathhouse and told of its amenities? – NO. However, there are drawings of the proposed bathhouse on the Aquarina website. Why not disclose that to the Residents or the Pool Neighborhood Presidents? Pool Area information is vague and is not forthcoming unless it is searched and found.

The ACSA contrived, and so far, has succeeded, with, astonishingly, the assistance of a few Pool Residents, to take control of the Pool Area away from the three Pool Neighborhoods.  A shell LSP Committee of ACSA selected Members was formed as an audience to hear from the ACSA employee what will be done with the Pool Area, and for the Members to then relay back to the Pool Residents what was told to them at the meeting.  Members are expected to assist the ACSA with its Pool Area agenda. The Pool Residents have their exclusive use (maybe, hopefully) with the ACSA directing the Pool Residents with the responsibility to maintain and pay what the ACSA decides for them, i.e. the type of Bathhouse, and any cost the ACSA elects to create in the renovation of the Pool Area, whether it’s a necessary repair or not, e.g. the Pool gutter being replaced and the pavers being shoveled and re-sloped. No explanation is provided on whom decided that these actions need to occur.  There is documented information on the Pool gutter and pavers, which could avoid these repairs, but it has been ignored.

Yes, the ACSA has come to dictate and direct to the Pool Residents what they’ll accept and for which they’ll pay. It’s obvious, that after the Pool Residents set the predicate of maintenance and repair of the Pool Area over these past 30 years, the ACSA decided it wanted complete control of the Pool Residents limited common area (the Pool Area), and schemed for an excuse to take it away. The excuse was that the Bathhouse was neglected and near collapse. A theatrical and fear mongering presentation was made to the Pool Residents of the Bathhouse’s near demise by non-professional and unlicensed laymen. The first LSP Committee had been working on a business plan for this committee as requested by the ACSA, though this committee was shortly disassembled by the ACSA at the completion of the business plan.  An ACSA ordered engineering report on the Bathhouse noted, at the worse, that the outdoor supported overhang needed to be shored up with probably replaced support beams. This first LSP Committee after the alarmist presentation on the Bathhouse ordered a building inspection from licensed building inspector to inspect the Bathhouse; however, the ACSA cancelled the LSP Committee inspection order, and requested their own inspection, i.e. the engineering report. This report suggested Pool gutter and paver issues and speculated to the causes of the issues. Where did the decision for gutter replacement and shoveled up and regraded pavers come from, a licensed pool or building contractor?  We don’t know. Further did a licensed building contractor provide approximate cost estimates for both demolishing or repairing and restoring the Bathhouse?

Since the Pool Residents will be responsible for maintaining and repairing, and paying all the costs of the Pool Area, it would be expected that they would be part of the decision process, and be informed of licensed building and pool contractors’ suggestions and recommendations for the Pool Area renovation, especially the costs expected with these matters.  The ACSA, and its employee and non-Resident spokesperson, need to have a dialogue with the Pool Residents, and not dictate what will occur with Pool Area.

Bottom Line – The ACSA decided it wanted to take control of the Pool Area, which the ACSA ignored for maintenance, repair, and costs for 30 years.  The Pool Area had been tended by the three Pool Neighborhoods, and its presentation and use was  consistently maintained to its maintained condition today, as it was from its conception in the late 80’s.

However, some drama and politics evolved, which the ACSA apparently saw as an opportunity to ignite a rebellion within the Pool Neighborhoods with assistance from a few Pool Residents. Unlicensed and non-professional findings with the pool Area were embellished to appear with more negativity than positivity to right any correctable problems.  30 years of successful and dedicated care of the Pool Area with no incidents or accidents were ignored, and the ACSA set the stage for its Pool Area take over.  It selected its new Lakeside Pool Committee Members, with its second attempt, to assist it with its plan to upstage the Pool Area with its own design, AND have the Pool Residents pay for the costs of the design.  After all, the Pool Residents who have exclusive of the Pool Area, maintain the Pool Area, repair the Pool Area, and pay all the costs for the Pool Area, have NO voice at all on the direction that Pool Area will take per the ACSA.

With the ACSA control of the Pool Area, the Pool Area could have been repaired for use within two weeks, but the repair was ignored for months, and was ACSA stated to be “Not Supported”.  As a result, and because of this ACSA non-action, the Pool Area was abandoned and closed for over a year now.  It never appeared in the neglective state that it is now. 140 Pool Residents request a discussion for a Pool Area repair, the Residents that will bear all the responsibilities and costs. The ACSA ignored this request.

The Pool Area was taken, the Pool Residents are suffering with a paid and taken amenity for which they still pay. It could be said these failures occurred.

• There was no sit-down discussion with the ACSA and the three Pool Neighborhood representatives to determine what were the Pool Area issues and how they could be resolved.
• The ACSA took control and of the existing Pool Committee, and after two unsuccessful ACSA attempts to assemble a new committee, the ACSA decided to assemble its own Pool Committee.  It selected the members it wanted from the three Pool Neighborhoods, ignoring any Pool Neighborhood endorsed Residents for the committee. The ACSA was determined to have control.
• A previous ordered inspection of the Bathhouse by the existing Pool Committee was cancelled, and the ACSA ordered their own engineering report, for which the Pool Residents paid. The report disclosed areas of the bathhouse that needed repair with two choices, i.e. make the repairs for the existing bathhouse, or if it was decided to bring the bathhouse up to code (which was a choice and not a requirement), then replacement would be more cost effective.  Further, it was speculated that the Pool may be settling, and a Soil Test was ACSA ordered, for which the Pool Residents paid. That report results were never disclosed.
• No discussion with the Pool Committee on how to address these inspection matters ever occurred.
• An ACSA spokesperson, came up with how these matters would be addressed with no explanation.  Who made the decisions for the addressing of these matters, Licensed Pool and Building Contractors?  Do we have these decisions to review? NO. We have an ACSA non-Resident employee, telling the Pool Residents what will transpire with the Pool Area with no substantiation or explanation.

Costs for the ACSA directed Pool Area renovation have estimates up to $7,000 per unit based on what has been heard in the Aquarina Community, with completion by year end. Repair and restore could be up to one half of this cost, and a fraction of the time for completion. These estimates need to be disclosed and discussed, and not just directed at the Pool Residents for what has been decided for them.

The Pool Residents have been usurped, ignored, bullied, and neglected, which have caused personal suffering and economic injury. We know who is the responsible party. The majority of the folks that were surprisingly voted to be where they are sitting, with the fiduciary responsibility to represent their Residents, have arguably failed in this responsibility. However, in their minds, they have succeeded in capturing what they wanted, complete control of the Pool Area of which they ignored for 30 years.