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MINUTES OF GMCA ADVISORY BOARD MEETING
  JANUARY 17, 2013
The meeting was called to order at 11:15 a.m. by President Pio Ieraci at Nick�s Italian Restaurant.
Board Members present: Ieraci, Berkowitz, Glickfield, Hamaker, Nesbitt, Surdovel, McBride, Adams, Bendis, Bindler, Casier, Cohen, Dawson, Freismuth, Friedman, Hashek, Katkin, Katz, Lyons, Miller, Pohan, Prickett-Zenni, Solewin, Swanson, A.Tripoli, G Tripoli, and Vega.
Guests present: City of Fort Lauderdale District 1 Commissioner Bruce Roberts; District Director John Newstreet of Broward Commissioner Chip LaMarca�s office; Rick Lassiter, Vice President/Managing Director, 360 Premium Seating with Florida Panthers and BB&T Center (arena); Regina Skane and Sandi Fein, Broward Art Guild.
Approval of Minutes - Minutes of the December 20, 2012 Advisory Board meeting were approved.
Old and New Business
Galt Mile Wine & Food Festival
The event, which has been approved by the City, will take place on Saturday, March 2, 2013 from 4:00 p.m. � 8:00 p.m. from 3351 � 3531 Galt Ocean Drive; everything is included in the ticket price: $40.00 per person. Our role includes NO liability or expense. Flyers will be distributed to buildings. The Festival website is: http://GaltMileWineandFoodFestival.com
Beach Raker
They are back to regular duties.
Legislative Update
HB 78, Representative George Moraitis� Omnibus Association bill, has been filed and has begun the committee process in Tallahassee � so far so good. Eric described SB 182, a bill that would pay mercenary whistleblowers to sell out Homestead tax cheats. Unfortunately, it would also force associations to report their owners� prior year�s leasing activity to the Property Appraiser�s office. Since the bill doesn�t address liability, associations � and individual board members � may have to defend themselves against legal actions by their own members. Compliance would require board members to violate their statutory fiduciary responsibility, potentially excluding them from protections provided in governing documents or through D&O insurance coverage.
Galt Ocean Drive Street Landscape � Chepo Vega
Chepo shared the following:
Strong winds are causing trees to lean into the sidewalk
Sidewalk across from CVS is in bad shape � unsafe for pedestrians
Trees on Playa del Sol property are leaning toward the sidewalk
Galt Security Patrol
They respond to an inordinately high number of incidents at Ocean Manor; and Ocean Manor has not yet paid their bill.
Galt Mile Web Site � Newsletter � Eric Berkowitz
- December Web Site Stats: 633,895 hits, 22,773 Unique Site Visits (First Timers)
Articles posted during the past month include:
December 17, 2012 - Presidents Council: Sea Turtles & Sandy - On December 3, 2012, the Galt Mile Community Association convened a 7:30 PM Presidents Council Meeting at Plaza East Condominium. After thanking Plaza East President Glenn Rollo for hosting the final meeting in 2012, Presidents Council Chair Pio Ieraci announced that the agenda was predominated by two issues that are critically important to Galt Mile residents and their associations. To address a growing community anger stemming from abusive and enigmatic Sea Turtle policies, an authoritative forum was configured to explain how these concerns will be resolved going forward. Since our future, both individually and as a community, is inextricably tied to the fate of our beach, we needed to know what remedies were being considered to restore Fort Lauderdale�s collapsed coast, 4 soggy blocks of A1A and what�s left of our Galt Mile beach.
December 25, 2012 - Long & Short: A1A & Beach Fix Plans - On December 10, more than 300 local residents, their elected officials from the City, County and State, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) bureaucrats and representatives from environmental, business and civic organizations converged on the Beach Community Center. While the public officials were there to float long and short term A1A recovery proposals, residents who packed the SRO Monday night event were passionately preoccupied with the future of their beach. In FDOT�s $3 million short term solution, after punching steel sheets 45 feet into the ground to isolate the 4 blocks of rebuilt roadway, the County will extend the adjacent beach by 20 to 40 feet with 50,000 cubic yards of sand. Longer term, FDOT envisions the temporary 2-lane A1A configuration abutted with a third �left turn� lane, bike lanes and a long-planned Greenway. After 47 years of frivolous renourishment delays, apprehensive residents were relieved by Eric Myers� confirmation that neither project will impact the December 2013 start date for the Segment II beach fix.
January 7, 2013 - The Bad Blood at BSO - The Broward Sheriff�s Office is an Oligarchy, an agency where every scrap of power resides with the elected Sheriff. As such, voters reasonably assume that the agency�s integrity depends on the Sheriff�s character. In the past decade, BSO has struggled to shed its reputation as an ethical sewer. As demonstrated by both campaign teams in the recent election, voters select a Sheriff based on the candidate�s ability to dodge or shed mud. As long as the Broward Sheriff is a partisan Constitutional Officer, survival at BSO will remain focused on politics, with re-election as its Holy Grail and public safety relegated to an afterthought. The problems plaguing BSO have less to do with the Sheriff than the political culture that drives the institution. Promotions and jobs are bartered for votes and lucrative contracts go to campaign contributors while demotions and pink slips await anyone unwilling to serve as a political asset. Whether incoming Sheriff Scott Israel can overcome BSO�s pathological susceptibility to corruption remains to be seen.
January 17, 2013 - Sarasota Senator�s Mercenary Squealers Brigade - On June 17, 2010, as a two-hour Advisory Board meeting with Broward County Property Appraiser Lori Parrish came to a close, GMCA President Pio Ieraci expressed concern about a notice sent by Parrish to Galt Mile associations requesting that they �turn over any information about unit owners that may have improperly applied for a Homestead Exemption.� Pio said �I am disturbed by this request. Not only are we being asked to do your job, I believe that it�s wrong to violate the confidentiality of our members� information.� Following a heated defense of her request, Parrish relented, conceding that associations are obligated to safeguard their residents� confidentiality, while casually observing that �Nobody likes a rat.� Two and a half years later, Sarasota Senator Nancy Detert (District 28) is looking for a few good rats. On January 7, 2013, she filed SB 182, legislation drafted to deter abuse of Florida�s local homestead exemptions. While the legislation�s objectives are laudable, its provisions range from poorly conceived to openly dangerous. By using a bounty to incentivize mercenary snitches and forcing association�s to rat out their members, the bill would unproductively overwhelm the Property Appraiser�s limited verification resources while immersing associations in a maelstrom of legal jeopardy.
Other Business
Fred Nesbitt: Traffic lights are now working; thanked Bruce and Robbie. There is glass in the bike lanes causing tire problems.
Discussed new bike lane markings on A1A.
Eric was commended for the informative articles he writes.
Pio was commended for his dedication and work.
Treasurer�s Report - Leah Glickfield
The treasurer�s report showed a balance of $13,248.20.
Next Advisory Board Meeting - The next regular Advisory Board Meeting will be held on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at Nick�s Italian Restaurant.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.
Fern McBride
Fern McBride, Secretary
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