Florida ROC : Florida Mobile Home & RV Lawyer & Attorney : Scott Gordon : Lutz Bobo Telfair Eastman Gabel & Lee Law Firm : FL Condo & Homeowners Associations

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) just issued its predictions for the upcoming hurricane season, which begins June 1.

If NOAA's forecast is correct, we'll have a very busy summer tracking storms in the Gulf and the Atlantic:

According to NOAA, there is a seventy per cent chance of the following:

• 14 to 23 named storms (either tropical storms with top winds of at least 39 miles per hour or hurricanes)
• 8 to 14 of those storms will reach hurricane status (with top winds of at least 74 miles per hour)
• Of those 8 to 14 hurricanes, 3 to 7 will become major hurricanes (with top winds of at least 111 miles per hour)

I've posted on hurricane preparedness before but this is certainly a good time for ROC managers and board members to review their existing hurricane preparedness plans and to remind their residents (snowbirds and full-timers alike) of a few important points:

• Residents should not wait until the last minute to evacuate their communities--especially those in need of special care or with pets
• Do not leave lawn chairs, tables, etc. outside when a storm is on the way.  Anything that can become a projectile should be brought inside or be otherwise safely secured.
• A mandatory evacuation order means just that: evacuate your community.  Unless your clubhouse is a Red Cross certified storm shelter, it should not in any event be used to "ride out" the storm.
• Make sure all contact information for residents is readily available
• Appoint one or two "full time"residents (not the manager) to serve as the "information centers" in the event that a storm hits the community.  All residents should be advised to contact these residents rather than the manager or other board members for updates on conditions at the community.   The manager and the other board members will have their hands full in dealing with the challenges facing any community in the aftermath of a storm.

We all hope that this hurricane season will be as quiet and uneventful as last year's but, as always, taking the proper steps to prepare for the worst is the best course of action for managers, board members and residents in our communities. 

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I'm posting two very different articles for the education and enjoyment of my blog readers:

• A horror story from a recent edition of the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel about a ROC board's disastrous decision to forego insurance coverage.
• A much lighter report from the May 16, 2010 edition of the St.Petersburg Times about the "Airstream Ranch" now featured along I-4 in Hillsborough County.

I hope you'll find these stories interesting and informative.  

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Most ROC managers and board members know that Florida statutes governing condominium associations and cooperative associations allow directors to attend a board meeting by phone.  

While the statutes governing mandatory homeowners associations don't provide for an HOA board member to appear by phone at a board meeting, if the HOA is a not-for-profit corporation (and most are), the provisions of Florida Statute Section 617.0820(4) may apply and allow HOA directors to participate by "any means of communication by which all directors participating may simultaneously hear each other during the meeting".

The statutory provisions governing condominium and cooperative associations focus on the ability the directors not attending the meeting in person to hear and be heard by the board members attending in person as well as the unit owners present at the board meeting.  Both statutes (Section 718.112(2)(b)5 for condominium associations and 719.106(1)(b)5 for cooperative associations), in contrast to Section 617.0820(4), specifically refer to a "telephone conference" and the use of a "telephone speaker".

But what about Skype?

Many of my blog readers may know that Skype is a free computer program that allows its users to speak at no expense with other Skype users through their computers via the internet.  

One of the manufactured housing cooperatives we represent was thinking about using Skype as a substitute for phone conference calls for directors who could not appear in person for board meetings.   At the time, I hadn't sampled Skype and felt that the process might be too cumbersome and was concerned about statute's specific reference to the use of a telephone.

That was several months ago--before I retired the old but trusty laptop that my younger daughter had handed down to me and purchased a new laptop with a built-in web camera feature.   I thus had an excuse to try Skype and was very impressed with the audio and visual quality of the connection (no doubt to the amusement and mild annoyance of my daughters and one of my nieces who were the first three recipients of my Skype "test run" and who of course have used Skype for several years).

I visited Skype's website and it appears that Skype users can easily arrange for conference calls that will allow everyone on the call to hear and be heard.   I can certainly picture board meetings where there will be a laptop (rather than a telephone speaker) in the center of the table at the ROC clubhouse where the meeting is being held--all at no cost to the association other than the ongoing monthly charge for internet service and, if a member's laptop is not on that clubhouse table, the one-time charge for the association to purchase a laptop.

While using Skype rather than a telephone speaker may not technically constitute a "telephone conference," I would certainly hope that as long as all board members and unit owners can hear and be heard, a board meeting where some directors attend by Skype would meet the statutory requirements.

I'm can't wait for my next chat with that forward thinking ROC.

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I received an email earlier this week from Jim Ayotte, the Executive Director of the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, about a bill passed last week by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill is H.R.5019, the "Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010," and contains an amendment that promotes the purchase of new "energy efficient" manufactured homes by providing a $7500 rebate to homeowners of mobile homes or manufactured homes built before January 1, 1976 who purchase a new "Energy Star-qualified" replacement manufactured home.  The bill also provides an additional $2500 grant for decommissioning the older home.

Jim's email advised that the U.S. Senate could be considering this legislation as early as this week and stressed the importance of contacting our Senators immediately to urge them to vote in favor of the Senate's companion bill, which is S. 1320 and to include the Manufactured Housing Energy Efficiency provision.  

Since the FMHA estimates that there are about 350,000 manufactured or mobile homes in Florida that were built prior to 1976, the passage of this legislation could significantly benefit both homeowners and ROCs.

I am including a link to a sample letter that can be signed and then faxed or mailed to your Senators.   Jim's email noted that this letter must be faxed or mailed because emails with attachments will not be delivered.

If you wish to send this letter to our Florida Senators, their contact information follows:

The Honorable Bill Nelson--716 Hart SOB, Washington, DC  20510 Fax: (202) 228-2183

The Honorable George LeMieux--356 Russell SOB, Washington, DC 20510 Fax (202) 228-5171

Of course, letters sent to Senators in the home states of our "snow birds" would certainly be appropriate. 

This is a great opportunity to make a difference and benefit our communities.

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