The Board meeting was held on May 14, 2002.  Present were Gary Lee, President, Kenny Batch, Secretary, Susan Diresta, Treasurer, and Kathy Martyka.  The new management company was represented by Mike Barnett, Property Manager, Maxine, Resident Services (who was also taking the minutes) and Gary Palombi, the owner of the company.

The minutes from the Board meeting in March were approved unanimously without being read out loud to the assembled homeowners (about 18 people).  The special meeting held in late March or early April with NO homeowner notification did not have any minutes recorded in clear violation of State law 720.303(3).

The April newsletter didn't come out because of the change in management companies, but they hope to have a newsletter out in a month to six weeks.  Since the old management company was

After Gary Palombi was introduced, he made the statement all homeowners just love to hear, "We're going to be starting violation runs tonight!"

Julie Anderson, Vice President, showed up late, in time to take part in a lively discussion about the new signs.  It appears that there is an objection from the county.  A homeowner had previously complained to the county that there were no permits for the signs  and, because of this complaint, the county sent a certified letter to Gary Lee, telling him that Palmetto Pines was in violation but, because the old signs are "temporary", being made of wood, nothing was done and the Palmetto Pines file was red flagged.    Because the new signs are going to be concrete, permits had to be pulled, and the county, faced with 13 permit requests and seeing the red flag on the file, said that they  will be sending out inspectors to check out the situation.  Gary Lee said that he had it in writing that those signs are on Association common land.  He did not read that statement nor did he cite who had written it.  Obviously Gary hasn't looked at the plats, which clearly show homeowner's property and county property with no Association land listed anywhere, except as canals and under the power lines.  

Gary Lee said that he called Lake Worth Drainage District about the canals and was told that all water west of 441 is private.  Mr. Lee doesn't believe that.  He said, "Lake Okeechobee is west of 441, so that's nuts!"  Gary Palombi said that the feed canals are higher than the main canal because Lake Worth Drainage District controls the gates and won't open them.  He didn't bother to say where the gates were or which canals were the "feed" canals.  If these meetings are for the Board to get information to make good decisions on behalf of the homeowners, this Board has a remarkable lack of curiosity as to where things are placed and how they affect us.

The management company and Gary Lee reported that the new landscaper has done another irrigation check and found 10 broken sprinkler heads which he will fix for free.  Can someone tell me where we have all these sprinklers?  I noticed the land at the end of Emperor Street had sprinklers at the back edge, watering Oriole Homes land.  I hope this landscaper isn't repairing those sprinklers.  I think this Board should tell the homeowners where all the sprinklers are, since we are paying to maintain them - in violation of number 25 of the Deed Restrictions!  It also appears that the landscaper missed cutting entire sections (of what?  County Right of Way?  FPL land that is cut down to the dirt, but we are paying to bush hog it monthly?  FYI - a bush hog is a large cutting tool, towed behind a tractor, or put in front of a tractor, to cut down tall weeds and saplings.  We are paying for nothing!)  The landscaper plans to use Palmetto Pines as a showcase for his business.  How nice that we will be paying him to advertise his business!

The representative from the C.O.P.S. program was unhappy because only 10 people are active.  I don't know what she's complaining about.  This Board demands money from us in violation of number 25 of the deed restrictions, forecloses on houses right and left, sends out violation letters for breaking rules that the Board has no right to make (Florida law 720.304(1)), hauls people into court in violation of numbers 7 and 8 of the deed restrictions, and yet only 18 people show up at a Board meeting.  Nobody cares what happens unless it affects them!  However, if you read the crime report in the West Boca Times each week, you will see that Palmetto Pines is hardly ever mentioned, so the C.O.P.S. program works.  We need to take a more active interest in ALL parts of our Association!  The C.O.P.S. people spent 60 hours in February and drove 304 miles.  In March they spent 60 hours and drove 192 miles.  Where is the report for April?  The 60 hours each month included driving time to the office and time spent doing paperwork there.  How many hours are really spent going around here?  The C.O.P.S. lady said that she mailed in the gas receipts, but got nothing from the management company.  Gary Lee said that he had her check.

The Board discussed more landscaping around the signs.  The damaged sign at the west end of Section 9 hasn't been replaced yet because they wanted to put in the new sign there, but the county has them on hold.  There was very little consensus between Julie, Kathy, and Gary Palombi about the landscaping and after several minutes of lively discussion they decided to keep looking into it.

Gary Palombi brought up about collections.  He wants to use a collection company rather than an attorney.  A collection agency wouldn't go after anyone owing less than $500-600 and there would be no cost to the Board.  Gary Lee thought that would be a great idea.  Gary Palombi suggested sending a letter after 30 days to ask where the money is (if you are late in paying your assessment which is in violation of number 25 of the deed restrictions!)  You would receive another letter after 60 days and a fine of $60.   After 90 days, a lien would be placed on the property and after 120 days the property would be foreclosed on.  The Board would pay an Attorney a filing fee for the lien and foreclosure.  However, if you, as the homeowner, find that $65 a quarter (or however much the Board wants to illegally raise the assessment) is too much to pay all at once, the management company is willing to put you on a payment plan, with the stipulation that if you miss a payment, foreclosure would follow with NO notice.  Gary Palombi mentioned the name of an attorney, Larry Marofino, and the name of an agency, Collect All.  Nothing more was said about either.

At this point a homeowner got up, in tears, and told about her experience.  Her husband was out of work and they couldn't pay the October payment.  She called the management company and told them her problem and asked if she could pay both quarters in January.  They agreed and she made the payment. However, with the previous management company, when you send in your check it did NOT go to Coral Springs, but to a "lock box" in Alabama, where it could sit for up to a month.  When Coral Springs finally received it and noted the date, you would be charged for being late, even though you sent it in in a timely manner.  This is what happened to this poor woman. Sometime after, she received a letter telling her that she owed $90 from the previous payment ($65 for October and $25 late fee - which, in October was waived by the Board at the Board meeting as long as a homeowner protested in writing - check out the last section on the Questions page) and was being handed over to the attorney.  She called the attorney several times (at $200 a call) and now, to fend off foreclosure, owes $1400 for an assessment that she already paid.  At this point, Gary Lee apologized and said that the attorney was acting without the Board's direction, but no mention was made of giving her back her money, or stopping the demand for the final payment (she had already paid $800!).

Apparently the old management company was doing things without the knowledge of the Board because Gary Palombi said the liens and releases will be signed by Board members.  He said that his company has been going over the records for three weeks and is still working on it.  He reported that the old management company had the wrong number of houses, missing four and had one property marked pre-paid and delinquent at the same time, but that was OK because that property didn't exist!  The old cases that mistakes were made on or that were overcharged, where the attorney was supposedly acting without guidance, will not be dropped.  There will be case by case review between Palombi and whatever lawyer the Board selects.

In old business, the lawyer was told to cease and desist (but he was still filing releases in late April).  A motion was made to use the collection agency and passed unanimously.  Gary Palombi suggested using Becker & Poliakoff as the attorney.  It will cost the Board $150/year as a retainer and they charge $165/hour.  They will be used to interpret documents, not for collections.  They write a Wednesday column in the Palm Beach Post.  An article they wrote in 2000 about rules and regulations will be reproduced under the Questions page on this site. (It's interesting that they will be interpreting the documents.  Our deed restrictions (numbers 7 and 8) say that the developer is the only one who can enforce the deed restrictions.  Florida law 720.301(5)(b) says that the rights of the developer must be transferred to the Association through a written document.  A judge in 1995 said that there didn't appear to be any written transferral - Elaine Gatso's letter and Wrabel case.  By the way, Becker and Poliakoff were retained by the Association about 15 years ago and walked away quickly.  Let's see how long they last this time, if they even agree to represent the Association.)

A motion was made to accept the attorney, but before the vote Palombi suggested that contact with the attorney should be limited to one board member and one management company representative.  Susan Diresta immediately objected, saying that since all Board members are paying the attorney, all Board members should have access to the attorney.  WHOA!!!  I found out what is the problem with this Board!!!  They think that the money they collect from the HOMEOWNERS magically becomes THEIRS!!!  When are the HOMEOWNERS, whose money is paying the attorney, and who are part of the ASSOCIATION that the Attorney represents, allowed to contact the Attorney?  Susan Diresta, and anyone else on the Board who thinks her way, needs to understand that SHE is not paying the attorney.  The Board is taking OUR money to pay an attorney to sue US.  Isn't this the reason why the previous Board was thrown out?

Susan said that she hasn't called the attorney herself, but she doesn't want that privilege taken away from her.  Gary Lee wants to be a party to everything going on (especially since he's the president).  Kathy agrees with Susan, and Kathy had already contacted the lawyer once, but she thought Gary Lee knew about it.  Gary Lee suggested that anyone could call during the transition, as long as they called Gary first with the question they had.  (Well, this is a quick way to rack up attorney's fees.  An attorney will charge $165/hour for talking on the phone, whether he calls you or you call him.  This board has no idea how to work as a team, with a president delegating authority and the other members doing their assigned jobs and making reports.  But, hey, it doesn't matter, it's only your money.  Each board member pays $260/year but they can spend over $150,000/year.  What a racket!)  The motion was amended and passed.

Julie Anderson asked the management company to contact SunCoast Waste Management Co. to have them change their pick up of lawn clippings and tree trimmings from Thursday to Monday.  (That's a nice thought, but I don't think we have enough influence to make a company change their schedule just for us.)

Gary Palombi said several times that the community is too large and needs to be broken up to do a violation blitz.  (If the job is too big, maybe the management company should back off.  Actually, we went around once in section nine, looking only at fence violations and found 75 out of 165 homes.  If this company goes after all violators, just about every homeowner will be targeted.  And to think, the Board doesn't even have the authority to enforce the deed restrictions!)  If you get a violation letter, just contact the management company and tell them when the violation will be fixed.  If the violation is fixed, there will be no further contact.  If the violation is not fixed, then the management company will begin the fine process.  WHERE IS THIS WRITTEN?  THEY HAVE NO AUTHORITY.  WHY ARE WE ALLOWING THEM TO DO THIS TO US?  WHY ARE WE PAYING THEM TO ILLEGALLY FINE US FOR VIOLATIONS THAT ARE NOT PART OF THE DEED RESTRICTIONS?  

Gary Palombi and Mike Barnett said that there is another community interested in buying the old lights that we owned on Palmetto Park Road.  If they are sold, Gary Lee said that the money would be put into the General Operating Fund and maybe get butterfly plants with it.  Did you know that butterfly plants are ratty looking weeds?  Where are they going to plant them that isn't on county right of way?  We have NO common property except one piece of land that is platted as a canal and the land under the power lines.  If they plant on the banks of the canals, the grass cutters will just cut down the plants because they look like weeds.  Will the homeowners opposite these "gardens" be given a say as to what they will be forced to look at?  If Kathy Martyka wants a butterfly garden so badly, let her use her own backyard, instead of someone else's land!

Gary Palombi went back to the subject of violation tours and the definition of trucks.  He said they would get an opinion from the lawyer.  Gee, didn't we get an opinion from Tamar Shendell (three lawyers ago) that stated that pick up trucks were NOT trucks?  Also, read the deed restrictions carefully.  The word "commercial" in relation to truck is NEVER mentioned!  The new management company is also going to use code enforcement to solve problems.  It is interesting to note that our original deed restrictions go along with code enforcement.  Why would the management company need to use code enforcement if they had the authority to enforce the deed restrictions on their own?

Gary Palombi gave his resume, saying that he has managed condo associations and homeowner associations.  The two are vastly different and even have their own individual sections in the Florida State Law.  Although he mentioned that he manages about 50% condos and 50% homeowner associations, he only mentioned Saturnia as an association.

Julie Anderson asked about on-street parking.  Gary Palombi said that there must be a 20 foot clearance between cars on each side of the road, since an ambulance is 14 feet wide.  Therefore, no on-street parking should be allowed.  Did you know that former Board member Don Hulse told the Board this same information, but was told by Gary Lee that he didn't know anything!  Did you know that the first newsletter written by the Board, published in Feb. 2001, was to have an article in it about a state law that forbids parking on the street when a grassy shoulder is available, but former Board member Tom Galiotti said that we couldn't tell people to park on their swale because it wouldn't make the neighborhood look nice and Julie Anderson went along with that reasoning.  Gary Palombi said that the county would not enforce the law against parking on the street, but would bill the car owner for damage to the fire trucks.  As a point of reference, parking violations on county roads or county right-of-way is the responsibility of the Sheriff's office and our roads have, from the very beginning in 1973, been county roads and not private.

Gary Palombi said that his company is too small to do all the violations at one shot.  He claims a shingle roof can be pressure cleaned. (Is he willing to spend his money replacing the roof if he is wrong - as the manufacturers of every shingle roof have stated?)  He said that he uses a third party company to do work that has not been done by the homeowner and is not opposed to sending in contractors and billing the homeowner.  He has done this elsewhere.  That is all well and good if the governing documents allow him to do that.  Unfortunately, our documents allow only the DEVELOPER that right, so Mr. Palombi will be opening himself, his company, the Association, and individual Board members up to a lawsuit if he trespasses on anyone's property.  Remember Domenic Muccicciaro and the trespass upon his property to remove his dock (which was NOT a deed restriction violation!)?  The same day that the management company trespassed on Domenic's property, they tried to get on Gary Lee's property to remove his dock.  Mr. Lee, our President, threatened to shoot them if they set foot on his land and they left and went to Domenic's.  That act of trespass resulted in a new Board.  We know that Gary Lee is against trespassing on his property.  Does he think it is all right, without a court order, to trespass on anyone else's property, or is he willing to protect all our property as vehemently as he protected his own? 

Mr. Palombi is willing to list the violations and the number of letters that have gone out in the newsletter.  I think that is great.  Now we will know whether or not these violations follow the deed restrictions, which they don't have the authority to enforce anyway.  Mr. Palombi believes that above ground pools are a violation and Mr. Lee said that he has seen pools like that around for years that look terrible.  If your sensibilities are that delicate, MOVE!  You have a dark brown wooden fence in violation of the deed restriction.  Be careful who you criticize.  You are NOT perfect!  

Gary Lee said that he believed that wooden fences have been "grandfathered in" and are now allowed.  Gary Palombi didn't agree, saying that if something was legal once, but later on a new rule was made making it illegal, whatever was once legal and was still in place would be grandfathered in and allowed to stay.  Wooden fences were NEVER legal and could not be grandfathered in.  Kenny Batch said that the book that was recently sent states that wood fences must be maintained.  Is he referring to the book sent in August 2000 which includes rules made by the previous board, which were never voted on by the homeowners.  Does he think that that Board or any Board has any right to tell a homeowner what he can do on his own property without the homeowner agreeing to it?  Gary Lee ended the discussion by saying that this issue is finished.  Could it be that Gary doesn't want the violation letter he so richly deserves?

Gary Palombi said it is the homeowner's responsibility to alert the management company about violations, but the management company will not go into anyone's backyard.  Individual homeowners better not go into other's backyards either, without risking arrests for trespassing.  

Mike Barnett has a friend in the area who is a deputy who likes to write tickets, so Mike told the homeowners to write down the license plate numbers of "speeders" and call them in to Mike, who would then alert his friend to go and write tickets.  This is totally illegal.  Those tickets would never hold up in court since the policeman writing the ticket never witnessed the infraction.  Also, who among us is capable of judging the speed of a passing car and then getting the license number as the car drives away?

Just about everyone attending this meeting wanted speed bumps on the internal roads.  It is assumed that speed bumps will be coming on Keystone eventually.  Did you ever see a fire truck racing to an emergency go over speed bumps?  Did you know that if the fire truck slows down on Hammock Street to 25mph to go over the two speed bumps there, that the people in the B section and the A section off of Hammock Street could have critical minutes added to the response time of the fire truck.  If your house is on fire, will you be glad that the fire truck has to proceed at a safe speed?

A homeowner asked what a truck was and nobody wanted to answer it.  Gary Lee will ask the attorney.  Commercial vehicles with magnets that cover up the words seem to be left alone.  The management company is looking for apparently abandoned cars, knows about the sheriff with the RV in his driveway, and is looking at parking on the grass.  The management company is going to be offering "bulk bidding" for trimming trees.  You will get a letter in the mail from a company offering a discounted rate to trim your trees, palm trees, bushes, etc.  It is up to you to accept or reject the offer.  Gary Lee said that the homeowners should check out other companies and compare rates, but that it would be to the homeowner's advantage to use this service.  I trim my own trees to the way I want them to look.  How long will it be before Palmetto Pines Homeowners' Association starts collecting money to landscape everyone's home, like Logger's Run, and we are left with no say in how our homes look?

At this point the meeting was adjourned.  No mention was made of when the next meeting will be.

Last modified: June 13, 2001

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