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MINUTES OF GMCA ADVISORY BOARD MEETING

JANUARY 19, 2012


The meeting was called to order at 11:08 a.m. by President Pio Ieraci.

Board Members present: Ieraci, Berkowitz, Glickfield, Freismuth, Hamaker, Oppert, McBride, Abruzzino, Adams, Bazerghi, Bendis, Bibace, Bindler, Gonzalez, Kendig, Kessler, Kravit, Lyons, Pyatt, Short and Vega.

Guests present: Bruce Roberts, City of Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner; Mary Graham, Fort Lauderdale District One City Commission candidate; Jack Atwell, Moments in Time Catering and Gourmet.

Approval of Minutes - Minutes of the December 15, 2011 Advisory Board meeting were unavailable.

Old and New Business

  • Jack Atwell of Moments in Time (3429 Galt Ocean Drive) gave a presentation describing their custom catering services.

  • Mary Graham, who is a Fort Lauderdale District One resident, presented her qualifications as a District One City Commission candidate.

  • Rebecca Kendig, representing Il Lugano, explained their services, the on-site restaurant�s new ownership and discounted charges for Galt residents

Pio introduced Bruce Roberts, City of Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner:

  • Bruce wished everyone a Happy New Year and expressed appreciation for our support, especially at election time.

  • Addressed the unacceptable patchwork of pink aggregate on Galt Mile sidewalks, which the City is correcting.

  • The budget is staying tight; the City has the second lowest millage rate of Florida�s 25 largest municipalities; the same rate for the last three years.

  • Working to increase efficiency in City operations.

  • The Sun Trolley will soon be running on weekends; and will be connected to all other Sun Trolley routes. Pio thanked Bruce for his part in salvaging the Sun Trolley when it was almost discontinued. Ridership is up 33 percent.

  • Spoke about the CodeRed Alert system and enhancement of the emergency notification system and the 911 emergency service.

  • Answered questions about early retirement of City employee, the DROP program and other pension issues.

Bruce will follow up on this issue.

Galt Drive Street Landscape - Chepo Vega

Chepo gave an update on the landscaping, sidewalk, etc. He also expressed appreciation for feedback from Robbie Uptegrove, Bruce Roberts' Commission assistant.

Galt Mile Web Site � Newsletter � Eric Berkowitz -

  • December Web Site Stats: 649,520 hits; 14,523 unique site visits (first timers)

The past month�s articles:

  • December 13, 2011 - The 2012 Omnibus Association Bill - The 2012 Omnibus Association bill is House Bill 319 (HB 319) � filed by District 91 Statehouse Representative George R. Moraitis. Building on the legislative momentum initiated by then Representative (now Senator) Ellyn Bogdanoff in 2010 (SB 1196) and Representative Moraitis last year (HB 1195), this year�s incarnation impacts Condominiums, Cooperatives and Homeowner Associations. Its sister bill in the Senate was filed by our District 25 Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff. Although their work product delivers relief to associations across the state, members of Galt Mile associations vote in the districts that sent them to the Statehouse and Senate in Tallahassee. After meeting with the GMCA Advisory Board to solicit their legislative wish list, Moraitis incorporated into his bill a list of statutory glitch repairs, the retrofit deadline for elevators, foreclosure fixes, and an amendment conforming laws governing cooperative associations more closely to those governing condominiums. See next year's law today ...

  • December 22, 2011 - Roberts: Neighborhoods, E-911, Budget - In his last newsletter of 2011, District 1 Commissioner Bruce Roberts reviews the many neighborhood initiatives brought to fruition in 2011, highlights the City�s budgetary achievements, offers a defense against a recent crime trend, describes a city ordinance enacted to clamp down on Pill Mills that fuel the street drug trade, welcomes residents to share their concerns at his twice monthly pre-agenda meetings and thanks constituents for their input and his opportunity to serve the District - and the city. Roberts also brings focus to a long-awaited breakthrough in Emergency 911 dispatch service. Finally complying with a 2002 voter mandate to consolidate a dozen disjointed call centers into a unified system will shave precious minutes from emergency response times. The county-wide initiative will enable many more of our family, friends and neighbors to survive heart attacks, sudden cardiac arrest, deadly force assaults, fires, and a wide range of other time-critical emergencies. It�s about time...

  • December 30, 2011 - A Tale of Two Bad Bills - Association bills that abound at the outset of the legislative session are soon identified as productive for or damaging to Condos, Co-ops and their members. Anti-association bills are generally propelled by one of three motivations; money, political capital or ignorance. In 2012, Bradenton Senator Michael Bennett filed a bill on behalf of some extremely generous construction industry trade organizations. Senate Bill 1196 seeks to protect developers who sell properties afflicted with critical common element construction defects by squelching their common law exposure to implied warranties. In short, the bill would severely limit homeowner rights and remedies for substandard construction or outright negligence. In contrast, another bill that was not motivated by greed threatens to cripple associations plagued with foreclosures. The bill is one of dozens filed annually by misguided lawmakers who wreak havoc when trying to address problems they don't understand.

  • January 7, 2012 - Dammit... Where�s the Water? - By 8 PM on Christmas Eve, board members in Galt Mile associations began fielding complaints from neighbors asking why their water was off. Along with the understandable blend of panic and anger were recriminations by the usual suspects - every building�s small but vocal group of goofballs who blamed their downstairs neighbor, the building manager, global warming, NAFTA or the United Nations. Since the City switchboard was seemingly on a prolonged lunch break, local residents without water spent Christmas Eve in the dark about their predicament. While City Manager Lee Feldman plans to cure the worrisome communications lapse, the City recommends that residents take advantage of a service that reliably provides emergency notifications. Also, if your curiosity was piqued by the City�s near-magical two-hour recovery from a 42-inch water main rupture, read on...

Other Business

  • Mayor John �Jack� Seiler is running for re-election; it was suggested we need to get people out to vote on March 13.

  • Ron Laffey (editor of the Coral Ridge Association Newsletter) passed out information announcing the grand opening of the North Beach Art Gallery (3334 N.E. 34th Street) on January 20th.

  • Spoke about the �Green Your Routine" recycling project sponsored by the City. Having participated in the city�s Recycling Incentive Grant (RIG) program, Regency South manager Michael Gonzalez accepted a check initially awarded to the Neighborhood Association on behalf of Regency South. Regency South resident Leah Glickfield announced that her association is the second Galt Mile association recognized for their recycling efforts � after Playa del Mar.

  • After lamenting the difficulty of deterring panhandling contributions by residents, some of the homeless individuals on the Mile were discussed.

Treasurer�s Report - Leah Glickfield

The treasurer reported that we have a balance of $12,491.63.

Next Advisory Board Meeting - The next regular Advisory Board Meeting will be held on Thursday, February 16, 2012 at Nick�s Italian Restaurant.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:42 p.m.

Fern McBride
Fern McBride, Secretary

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