Voting in a Virtual World

The September Issue Includes:

Voting in a Virtual World
Vote for Clayton & McCulloh - Florida Community Association Journal
Ask C&M - Questions From Our Readers
Ding Dong! Association Calling!
Limited Extension of Mortgage Foreclosure and Eviction Relief
CM On Demand Board Certification Classes
September 24th Webinar - "Stranger In Paradise"
October 8th Webinar - "Everybody's Somebody's Fool"
October 22nd Webinar - "Oh, What a Night!"
Rescue Your Budget!
What Do YOU Want? Win a Gift Card!
Follow Us and Win a Gift Card!
Birthday Celebrations
Guidance
About The Green Marble
Valued Business Partners

Disclaimer: Formatting and images may appear differently on your device based on the device settings.

When replying with a question or a statement, please include your full name and legal name of your Association, if you are a Board or Committee Member and/or Resident, and if you are a manager, your name, name of the your Management Company or if you are an independent manager, the name of the Association you manage. No acronyms, please unless your legal name is an acronym, This will expedite our reply to you as our database is by Association or Management Company.

Voting in a Virtual World

By Partner Brian Hess

If you are like most Americans at this moment, voting is at the top of your mind. While most local governments have not instituted electronic or online voting for governmental elections, Florida law does allow community associations, specifically including condominiums and homeowners associations, to conduct their elections for Board members by way of electronic means. However, in much the same way as we are seeing on a governmental level, moving from voting by an in-person or paper ballot system, even for associations, brings its own host of challenges.

As alluded to above, Florida law, specifically, Florida Statutes 718.128, 719.129, and 720.317 allows associations to engage in voting by electronic means, including an online system. Among the requirements for an association to institute online voting are for the system to be able to: authenticate the member’s identity, authenticate the validity of each electronic vote to ensure that the vote is not altered in transit, transmit a receipt from the online voting system to each member who casts an electronic vote, permanently separate any authentication or identifying information from the electronic election ballot (keeping it secret), and store and keep electronic ballots accessible to election officials for recount, inspection, and review purposes. Such can be enacted, by statute, by vote of the Board of Directors at a properly noticed Board meeting.

However, the current Florida Statutes require for each owner to specifically agree to participate in online/electronic voting. Therefore, unless your community can receive 100% approval of the members for online/electronic voting, your Association would need to conduct not only the in-person or paper balloting system in place within the Association’s governing documents and/or Florida Statutes for those not consenting, but the electronic or online voting as adopted per the statutes written above. As such, for most communities, the effort and expense involved in conducting the election will not decrease, but may in fact, increase. Even in light of COVID-19, there is no change to this statute. Moreover, while the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) allowed associations to use some emergency powers (including regarding elections meetings) back in March, the state rescinded those powers effective June 1. From the state’s official perspective with regard to association elections, business is as usual.

As seems to be the case with most elections nowadays, there is no simple solution. While electronic voting may be a solution for some of the problems in some communities, for most communities, especially those of small or medium size, electronic voting is no panacea.

Please Vote for Clayton & McCulloh

The Florida Community Association Journal's

Readers' Choice Award

We’ve been nominated once again for the Florida Community Association Journal’s Readers’ Choice Awards! If you think we are deserving of your vote, we would greatly appreciate it if you took the time to vote for us. Simply click on the button below, and follow the instructions on the page.

Ask C&M

Ask C&M is a monthly column from the firm that Embraces Community. Each month, we take a question from one of our readers.

This month features an excellent question raised by Carolynn Crist of Granada Homeowners' Association and others in the past. Her question is:

"Which kind of e-mails does the law require an Association to keep on file?"

Partner Brian Hess, provides this answer:

It may be surprising, but Florida law does not clearly place a limitation on the types of e-mails that an Association would receive or send that would be required to be kept. Per F.S. 718.111(12) (for Condos) and F.S. 720.303(4) (for HOAs), …“All other written records of the association not specifically included in the foregoing which are related to the operation of the association”… are considered official records and are required to be kept. As such, while the statutes do not specify that e-mails are to be kept, as e-mails are in writing, any e-mails related to the operation of the association must be kept on file.

Additionally, while the Association is not necessarily required to keep printed “hard” copies of the e-mails available; nevertheless, an association is generally (some exceptions are listed in the statute) required to provide access to such e-mails within ten business days after receipt of a request for same from an owner. Access can be provided in electronic format or by “hard” copy. As an association is generally required to keep e-mails related to the operation of the association, we would recommend that Board Members and the association consider communicating via e-mail accounts that are separate from each board member’s personal e-mail accounts and transferable to future Board Members.

Want to Ask Us a Question?

If you have Community Association questions that you would like an answer to, please submit your questions using the button below. We regret that we cannot answer every question and cannot answer a question that requires us to review your Association's Governing Documents.

Ask C&M

Ding Dong! Association Calling!

By Arlene Ring, Director of Public Relations

Starting a new resident off in your community may be one of the most important tasks you do as a Board Member. If a resident is welcomed into the community and in a warm, friendly manner advised of their responsibilities as a member of a deed restricted community, it can pay off in dividends to the community. They can be a friendly resident and supportive of the Association’s rules and regulations and a productive, involved resident. Or they can become one of your worst nightmares.

To make a positive impression on your new residents, consider forming a Welcoming Committee. It will be one of the most important committees your Association can establish. The Welcoming Committee may very well be the very first person to establish contact with new owners. They can make or break the new resident’s relationship with the Association. We would suggest one Board Member either head up the Committee or serve on it and report back to the Board of Directors. The Association should then put together a “Welcome to Neighborhood” package (approved by the Board). We suggest that the package consist of the following items (depending upon your neighborhood):

The Association’s Governing Documents - Declaration, Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Rules and Regulations, Architectural Guidelines, or any other pertinent documents including any amendments to the these Documents.

A listing of local schools, churches, utilities, doctors, hospitals, urgent care center, veterinarians, and kennels.

The Board of Directors’ contact information.

Your manager’s (if you have one) contact information and perhaps some information about the management company and/or manager.

Consider obtaining coupons and/or information from local businesses such as a dry cleaner, AVON lady, hair salons, spa, and fitness centers. You might even be able to persuade the vendor to pay a small fee to be part of this package. Consider adding in in-community vendors such as handymen, lawn services, painters, etc. Don't recommend any one particular vendor. Just list those that reside in the community and their services.

Copies of your Association’s newsletters. If you have a digital newsletter, run a copy off to put in this package and then you can request their email address to receive the newsletter.

Information about your Facebook page (if you have one);

Your website (if you have one). Include what type of information you will find on it.

A schedule of the Board or Members Meetings so your new resident can attend.

A short form to determine if they would like to serve on a committee or in the future, the Board of Directors.

Once the Board and/or Committee learn of a sale of a residence, you should call the Realtor and ask for the new owner’s name and move-in date. Contact the owner and set up an appointment to speak with them for fifteen to thirty-minutes. During these challenging times, rather than an in person visit, you might consider using a virtual meeting (through Zoom or GoToMeeting, etc.).

When the pandemic is over, consider bringing a basket of fresh homemade muffins or cookies or loose flowers with the Welcoming Package. This creates a more friendly and inviting visit. You might even have a resident who sells products such as Mary Kay cosmetics, candles, soap, etc. and would provide you some samples to add to the basket with their contact information. In the interim time, you may want to change this package to an electronic package. Or perhaps, you can drop by and leave the paper items on their door step and then meet with them virtually.

After the Welcoming Committee has visited with the new owners, follow up with the committee person to see what transpired. Perhaps the owner wanted to become involved with the Association, and you could contact them and get them involved. Every Association needs more positive resident involvement.

Make the Association’s first contact with a new member a positive one. Some Associations unfortunately get off on the wrong foot by having their first contact with new members be one of a confrontational nature (i.e., a covenant violation). If there is a breach of the Association’s documents, follow up with the new members on that issue after the Welcoming Committee has made their visit. Don’t ask the Welcoming Committee to be the “bad guys.” You always want the door to be opened wide for them.

First impressions count! We all know this. So, make the Association’s first impression with the new member a positive one by establishing a friendly and informative Welcoming Committee.

Limited Extension of Mortgage Foreclosure and Eviction Relief

By Senior & Founding Partner, Ken Clayton

On the night of August 31st, Governor DeSantis executed an Executive Order, extending the moratorium on evictions and mortgage foreclosures until October 1, 2020.

Executive Order 20-211 contained no substantive content other than to extend Executive Order (No. 20-180), which did significantly change the Governor’s previous mortgage foreclosure and eviction relief orders. The following changes from EO 20-180 remain in effect through at least October 1, 2020:

Now a property owner may initiate a mortgage foreclosure or eviction process in any situation allowed by existing Florida Statutes. The Executive Order only halts the final action of certain foreclosures and evictions (i.e., a foreclosure sale and resulting transfer of title ownership in mortgage foreclosure situations or the physical removal of the occupant(s) of a property in an eviction situation for non-payment of rent).

The protections of halting final action of certain foreclosures and evictions are only available to persons affected by the Covid-19 emergency. To avail themselves of the Executive Orders, the non-payment of rent or a mortgage payment must be caused by the Covid-19 emergency. Such situations have been clarified to mean “loss of employment, diminished wages or business income, or other monetary loss”, for which the non-payment of rent or mortgage payments are attributable. The Executive Order does not cover tenants whose lease expires or when non-payment occurs due to reasons other than the Covid-19 emergency. Nor does the Executive Order excuse the person’s non-payment. In other words, though the eviction and mortgage foreclosure remedies are delayed, the owner or tenant is not excused from the obligation to pay.

The Executive Order applies only to residential tenants, not to commercial evictions.

Notably, the Governor’s foreclosure moratorium is also still limited to mortgage foreclosure actions, meaning that community associations’ foreclosure actions may still proceed to be filed and final action taken, unless a local (county-wide or District-wide) administrative order says otherwise.

If you should have any questions, clients should contact Senior Collection Attorney Alan Schwartzseid, and non-clients should contact the Public Relations Department.

CM On Demand Is Off to an Incredible Start!

Our CM On Demand Board Certification Classes are off to a roaring success! As of August 3rd, you can now take your Board Certification class at your convenience! You do not have to wait until we have a live webinar or an in-person class. You can take the class in the convenience of your own home - On Demand!

To our knowledge, as of this date, we are the only law firm in Central Florida, or even the State, to offer complimentary Board Certification classes “on demand.” These classes are open to all Board/Committee Members and Residents in any Florida Community Association on a complimentary basis. (These classes are not being offered for manager credit at this time.)

We offer three separate classes:

Let the Good Times Roll: The Mobile Home Park Board Certification Class

Great Balls of Fire: The Condominium & Cooperative Board Certification Class

I Walk the Line: The HOA Board Certification Class

As this is an automated service, please do not share your link (or the information in your Instructional email) with anyone else. Each person must make their own reservation, take the class individually, and complete the survey individually. Your Manager or another Board Member cannot register for you and you must listen to the entire class and complete the required survey within a specified amount of time to receive your Certification. You will receive your Certificate within twenty-one business days (not calendar days and excluding holidays).

Once you receive your Certificate, provide a copy to your Board Secretary or Manager for the Association's records. Remember, you must take this class within 90 days of being elected to the Board (or execute an Affidavit).

If you would like to take another type of Board Certification class, you must make another reservation and the Association you list should be the type of Certification class you will be taking. For example, if you register using a condominium association name, you cannot re-register for the HOA class unless you are also with a HOA and use that HOA association name to register.

So, pop the popcorn, pour your favorite beverage, grab your pen and pad, settle in your easy chair, and view this class on your computer, smart phone, or tablet!

To find our new CM On Demand classes, click on the button below. Then simply select which class you want to take. Upon completing a short registration form, you will receive an instructional email with the link to the class and instructions to how to receive your Certificate of Attendance.

Another personalized service from Clayton & McCulloh, the firm that Embraces Community. Shouldn't your Association have a law firm that puts you first?

If you prefer not to take the class, please use the button below to request an Affidavit "opting out" of taking the class.

Request Affidavit

Free Live Webinar!

Stranger In Paradise: Regulating the Rental Process

Featuring our Litigator-in-Chief and Partner, Russ Klemm

Thursday, September 24th

Class Starts: 6:30 p.m.

While regulating rentals has never been a simple process, it has gotten more complicated with the coming of Airbnb and other similar short-term rental companies. Can an Association restrict the rental process in any way? Does restricting rentals take away the vested rights of an owner? This class will address the myriad of tricky issues and assist you in finding solutions for your Association.

Pre-submitted questions are invited. To submit your question, select this link.

Free Live Webinar!

Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool: How to Handle Difficult and Abusive People

Thursday, October 8th

Class Starts: 6:30 p.m.

At one time or another, every Board Member and Manager encounters a difficult person – whether it is another Board Member, Manager, or a resident. Sometimes, the situation becomes abusive. So how do you handle these delicate situations? Our featured speaker will go into various methods of defusing these volatile people before it escalates into something perhaps more substantive.

Pre-submitted questions are invited. To submit your question, select this link.

Free Live Webinar!

Oh, What a Night! Elite Vendor Panel Discussion

Thursday, October 22nd

Class Starts: 6:30 p.m.

This very special presentation features a panel of an elite group of our Partner Vendors and one of our attorneys. This is your time to pick the brains of the leaders in the Community Association industry. Attend with your entire Board of Directors, Committee Members, and Managers.

Pre-submitted questions are invited. To submit your question, select this link.

Rescue Your Budget!

As part of Clayton & McCulloh’s mission of embracing community and maintaining long-term relationships with our Clients, we are mindful of the budget restrictions for our Association Clients. We address this common dilemma of having important work to do with only limited resources in many ways -- with one of the most popular being our Annual Legal Package.

The Annual Legal Package (ALP) is a pre-purchased plan which reduces attorney hourly rates down to $225 on most matters over the course of 12 consecutive months. With this program, Boards can substantially reduce attorney fees for such common issues as amendments, contract reviews, document interpretation, and the hundreds of little questions that pop up during the day-to-day management of your Association.

These packages are arranged in two hour blocks up to 24 hours, to be used over a 12-month cycle starting at point of purchase. Clients continue to receive invoices, but applicable attorney time is zeroed out as the ALP’s applicable lower rate is used. Also, invoices will include a running tally of time used and time remaining so the Board can best plan its further use.

Over the years, Association Clients of Clayton & McCulloh have saved hundreds to thousands of dollars each year with this package, so clearly it is very popular. But what’s more, it very easy to use. And during these extraordinarily complex times, saving as much as you can is on everyone’s mind. Please contact Dave Batan in Client Services (ext. 151 or dbatan@clayton-mcculloh.com) for more details and to discuss how our ALP offer can best be used to save your Association money and help you stay within your budget.

What Do YOU Want?

It is that time of the year where we start planning our 2021 Schedule of Seminars and Webinars. If you would like to help shape our forthcoming season and be entered into a drawing for a gift card, please complete our Suggestions for 2021 Seminars by midnight September 30th (we have extended the deadline listed on the survey due to internal deadline changes).

Some of our initials thoughts for topics are:

How to Handle Bad Board Members;

Websites for Associations;

Dealing with Wildlife (Coyotes, Cane Toads, Snakes, and other destructive wildlife);

Handling Acts of God;

Using Social Media to the Association's Advantage;

Rehabilitating the Association Image to Owners and the Public;

Advice from the Experts (Association Vendors);

plus many other topics.

Tell us what you want. We base our selections on your suggestions. And the kicker? Be entered into a drawing for a gift card!

Winners will be announced next month!

Complete Survey

And Be Entered into a Drawing for a Gift Card!

Now through September 30, 2020, if you elect to follow us on our Social Media Accounts, you will be entered into our Social Media Gift Card Drawing. We feature three different Social Media accounts:

Facebook - be the first to get important updates on the law, trends, seminar/webinar invitations, and other information affecting Community Association! Follow us by using this link.

C&M LinkedIn - follow us on our LinkedIn page to receive legal information and updates for Community Associations, Licensed Community Association Managers, Vendors servicing Community Associations. Follow us by selecting link.

Our Director of Public Relations' LinkedIn Page - She features a very popular series of informative articles on the non-legal side of Community Associations such as how to conduct an annual meeting, ways to increase owner participation, and much more. Follow her by selecting this link.

So take advantage of these three great resources for Community Associations and a chance to win a Gift Card. Drawing closes October 31st. Follow us now!

Celebration:

Important Industry Leaders'

September Birthdays

In this issue, we will be celebrating Birthday wishes to our friends born in September. Drum roll, please . . . . here they come!

September 1st - Amber Ucci of Leland Management

September 4th - Holly Flinchum of Sentry Management

September 4th - Carolyn Powers of Ormondy Condominium

September 7th - Steve Gresley of Suntree Homeowners

September 7th - Kristina Renick of P&R Housing Management

September 8th - Ann Marie Rebello of Sea Gull Landing Homeowners

September 9th - Van Moore of Advanced Property Management

September 9th - Nancy Campbell of Belmont Residential

September 15th - Greg Buehler - Manager

September 17th - Charles McCarty of Bermuda Walk Homeowners

September 21st - Mike MacCulley - Manager

September 22nd - Toni Petersen - Manager

September 23rd - Jerry Albert of Townhomes at Paradise Park

September 23rd - Martin Edenbaugh of Lake Juliana Landing

September 27th - Russell Reinke of Plantation Bay Community

September 27th - Julia Gasano - Manager

September 28th - Helen Kiner of Southway Villa Homeowners

September 29th - Cindy Warrick of West View Edge Homeowners

September 30th - Elizabeth Walsh of Seaport Master

If you would like your birthday to be featured in our newsletter and/or Facebook page, please provide that information using the button below.

Give Us Your Birthday Here!

Guidance

We do not know the authorship of this post taken from NextDoor, but the text is indisputable and should be shared with our youth. This post is about what happened in a typical middle class home.

The son did not like living in his father's house. This was because of his father's constant "irritating comments" listed below:

"You are leaving the room without turning off the fan!"

“The TV is on in the room where there is no one. Disconnect!"

“Keep the pen in the holder; dropped down."

The son did not like his father to pester him with these little things. He had to put up with these things as long as he lived his in father's house. But today, he received an invitation to a job interview. "As soon as I get this job, I am moving out of my Dad's home and leave this city. There will be no complaints from my father,” he told himself.

When he was leaving for the interview, the father advised him "Answer any questions that are asked without any hesitation. Even if you don't know the answer, mention it with confidence." The father gave him more money than he really needed to be able to attend the interview.

The son arrived at the interview center. He realized that there were no security guards at the gate. Although the door was open, the lock was protruding outward. It was probably a nuisance for people entering the door. He put the lock back on correctly, closed the door, and entered the office.

On either side of the path he could see beautiful flowers. Unfortunately, the gardener left the area and left the faucet running flooding the flower beds and onto the walkway. He lifted the hose and placed it near one of the plants and went further.

There was no one in the reception area. However, there was a notice stating that the interview would be on the first floor. He slowly went up the stairs.

The light that went on last night was still on at 10 a.m. He remembered his father's warning "Why are you leaving the room without turning off the light?" He could still hear that his father as he climbed the stairs. Even though he was irritated by this thought, he reached for the switch and turned off the light.

Upstairs, in a large hall, he saw more people sitting, waiting for their turn. He looked at the number of people and wondered if he had any chance of getting the job. He entered the corridor with some apprehension and stepped on the "welcome" mat placed near the door. He realized that the mat was upside down. He straightened the mat with some irritation. Habits are difficult to die.

He saw that many people were in the front row waiting for their turn. While the back rows were empty, there were still several fans were running over those seats. His father's voice echoed in his head "Why are the fans on in the room where no one is?" He turned off the fans that were not needed and sat in one of the empty chairs.

He saw many men entering the interrogation room and leaving immediately through another door. So there was no way for anyone to guess what was being asked in the interview. When it was his turn, he went and stood before the interviewer with some apprehension and concern.

The employer took his certificates and, without looking at them, asked, "When can you start work?"

The son thought "Is this a trick question being asked in the interview or is it a sign that I was offered the job?" He was confused. "What are you thinking?" asked the employer. “We don't ask any questions here. We are unable to assess a potential employee's skills just by asking questions. Therefore, our test was to assess the person's attitude. We did some tests based on the candidates' behavior and observed them all through CCTV cameras. Nobody who came today did anything to fix the door lock, the hose, the welcome mat, the fans or the lights working uselessly. You were the one who did it. So we decided to select you for the job," explained the employer.

The son used to be irritated by his father's discipline and demonstrations. Now he realized that it was only the discipline that got him the job. His irritation and anger at his father disappeared completely. He decided that he would take his father to work as well and returned home happy.

Everything that our fathers tell us is only for our own good, aiming to give us a bright future!

A stone does not become a beautiful sculpture if it resists the pain of the chisel that chipped it. In order to become a beautiful sculpture and a human being, we need to accept admonitions that sculpt the bad habits and behaviors of ourselves. That's what our father does when he disciplines us.

The mother lifts the child around the waist to feed him, caress him, and put him to sleep. But the father is not like that. He lifts the child on his shoulders so that he can see the world that he could not see.

We can perceive the pain that the mother suffers by listening to her; but the father's pain can be perceived only when others tell us about it. Our father is a teacher when we are five; a terrible villain when we are about twenty and a guide for the balance of our lives.

Mothers can go to their daughter or son's house when she is old; but the father doesn't know how to do that. There is no point in hurting our parents when they are alive and remembering them when they have passed away. Treat them well always. This is an example of guidance.

Get The Latest Trending News!

Like us on Facebook and you will receive:

Late Breaking News on topics affecting Community Associations
Seminar Invitations
Legal Updates
Human Interest Stories
Much more

This isn't your parents' Law Firm Facebook Page. Like Us on Facebook!

About the "Green Marble"

The Green Marble is a monthly digital newsletter, a complimentary service for our Association Clients and Managers. C&M also features an additional monthly digital newsletter, "C&M Update," an annual "Community Chat" (delivered to your home via USPS), and "C&M Special Editions." These publications are published by our Public Relations Department. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about this newsletter, please contact us at pr@clayton-mcculloh.com.

You are receiving this e-mail as you fall into one of the following categories:

*You are currently a client or client's manager;

* You have requested to be on our mailing list;

*as a former member of BCAM and NECAM you are

provided a complimentary subscription to the C&M mailing list;

*By attending one of our seminars, you agreed to be part of our Confidential Mailing list.

If you elect to be removed from this e-mail service, we will no longer be able to send you seminar invitations, information on changes in the law concerning Community Associations, newsletters, or any other information regarding the Community Association industry. We sincerely hope we can continue to assist you with the challenges that face Community Associations today through this service.

When replying with a question or statement please include your name and the legal name of your Association or Management Company (no acronyms, please, unless your legal name on the Article of Incorporation lists an acronym.)