Members@grandinlakeshores.info
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2024
The boat ramp area is being used by the public and has been for many years. The combination to the lock on the ramp is ‘1927’. If it happens to be locked, set the numbers on the tumblers then push together as locking it and pull apart.
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President Wolf has announced that he will not seek another term on the Board of Directors in March. Along with a director replacement they will need a new puppeteer.
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Treasurer Martha Cahill will not seek re-election in March. The new treasurer will need to spend a lot of time correcting the problems caused by his/her predecessors. Those problems are both State and Federal and they aren’t aware of all of them yet. Anyone considering the treasurers position better demand an outside audit or at least do your own audit before accepting the position and the figures you are given. There are discrepancies with the monthly reports that the directors blindly accept. The current one is the December 2023 report she presented at the January meeting. At least that blunder is very minor compared to other reports she has presented.
Using the treasurers’ figures, voluntary 2024 lot fees for 65.5 lots have been paid. That’s about 16% of the member owned lots.
The board desperately needs assistance but they still haven’t found a manager or attorney with HOA knowledge. Time and money were wasted on their last choice. Donald Bell, who is a member and he is an attorney, was at the January meeting and had a few things to say about HOA’s. Maybe the board will engage him for that assistance.
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2024 lot fees update.
Approximately 30% of the lots have paid.
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In the world of a homeowner’s association (HOA), the only constant is change, particularly in the realm of legislation. This evolving landscape underscores the importance of annual certification for the association’s board members. Read the Article
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You have until March 1 to send in your letter of intent if you want to be a director. It was extended two weeks because there haven’t been any new applicants. If they don’t have at least five directors the governing documents will have to be changed before they can conduct business or even hold a directors meeting. The board will just ignore it anyway, if they even know about it.
Don’t be shy, step up and be a director. Or do something much more exciting and be the treasurer. As the new treasurer, you will have about 30 days to complete the annual financial report and mail it to each of the members using the addresses specified by Florida State Law (hint: you can’t get them from the county and the secretary is clueless). Don’t count on the current treasurer, Martha Cahill, to have done it or even be able to help. She doesn’t have a clue about 1099’s either, you will need to make a decision on that mess too. Yea, there’s more, much more.
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The minutes for the December 2023 Board Meeting stated Director Moore “wrote a letter to be sent out (after corrected and enhanced by Troy) to encourage members to pay the dues as being in an HOA increases their property values.”
Then the January 2024 meeting minutes stated “Richard’s letter - Gary is covering the cost of postage and will be mailing out letters soon.”
It’s now the middle of February. Has anyone received the letter yet? Normally, it would be the secretary doing the mailing.
By-Laws: “The Secretary shall record the minutes of all meetings of the members and of the Board of Directors, discharge all notice requirements of the Corporation and secure custody of all Corporation documents and records except the financial records.”
Florida Statutes: “Each officer has the authority and shall perform the duties set forth in the bylaws or, to the extent consistent with the bylaws”.
Secretary Sabrina Thomas, a paid employee, completes the minutes and newsletter each month and nothing else. The directors don’t know what their responsibilities are either. It’s taking the board almost three months, so far, to mail a letter to the members!?! This extremely dysfunctional HOA is mostly an illusion.
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The Board is advertising the Hall rental to the public. Be aware that the building is not ADA compliant or insured. It’s $300.00 per day and $100 deposit that is refundable at their discretion. However, all owners of property in this subdivision have use of the Hall at no charge (that includes any deposit or cleaning fee).
By-Laws, Article II, Section 4 a. Members shall be entitled to use the facilities of the Corporation without additional charge, in accordance with procedures established by the Board of Directors.
Florida Statutes state if you’re a property owner then you are a member and all members are in good standing at this time. The Directors are aware of this and we want the members to know also. Call or text Kathy Smith at 386-222-9172 to make a reservation.
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Despite the February 2024 Treasurer’s Report that shows an expenditure of $491.02 as “Building Insurance”, we are standing by our earlier post that the Hall is not insured. You can’t take anything they say at face value. They have decades of experience with misleading statements and have proven they have no problem with outright lies.
The March meeting was the second in a row that a quorum was not attained and the Directors refuse to acknowledge it. Instead of amending the Governing Documents they chose to violate them and any other laws/rules that don’t align with their needs.
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Treasurer Martha Cahill set up association debit card use and the Directors went along with it just as they have with her other dumb ideas on money management and reporting. All this HOA’s money is kept in a checking account and now they allow debit cards to be attached to it. Using a debit card is extremely dangerous. No matter what is purchased the money is sucked right out of the association's coffers—there are no checks and balances in place. It will be interesting to hear what the new treasurer has to say, when they find one.
The Board of Directors that is put in place March 16 should put a stop to this debit card nonsense or the State may force them to stop. Yea, this place is a colossal mess.
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The Annual Meeting was held, 12 vehicles were parked at the Hall. As in past years, there was not a quorum of members so there wasn’t an actual membership meeting. It’s impossible to call a quorum anyway, they still don’t know who the members are. The Board was put in place, seven of the nine seats were filled and three of them are new to this board.
This is the breakdown of the current board;
Troy Weaver - President
Karen McCarthy - Vice-President
Kathy Smith
Glenda Woodard
Nichole Chauncey
Helen Curtis
Theresa Wilson
Scott Duever will be the Treasurer.
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The first meeting of the new Board of Directors is April 1. Let’s hope that doesn’t turn out to be apropos.