Board General Duties

Our residential community operates under a rules based system. Members in good standing share interest in the common area A.K.A park. Commercialization of the shared facilities is forbidden by regulations and government decree. No member may rent the common area, use it to run a business i.e. charter boat, nor market it as a draw for tourist or short term rentals. GTTSHOA serves 106 homeowners in the BayHaven subdivision Section 1,2,3 who are subject to the HOA covenants. The HOA is closed to any new members. Therefore, any new development ( properties) will be external with no rights to the common area. References to the rules and regulations are found on our Website. In General the following information provides an introductory guide to the Boards collective duties and by what authority the HOA BOARD operates to maintain and protect our common interest. As well as some of the general concepts and law related to the powers and duties of the association board.

The HOA strives to comply with Governing Documents and the Florida State Statutes Governing HOA’s. Each member should be familiar with governing documents of the association and know where to reference the sections of Florida law that apply to HOAs http://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2019/Chapter720

Board members must be familiar with the Declaration of Restrictions, the bylaws, and other controlling documents which form a contract among the homeowners within the HOA. These documents can be found on the Website and or county public records.

The declaration of restrictions generally rule over conflicting provisions of the bylaws, and the bylaws generally govern over conflicting provisions of any rules and regulations or house rules adopted by the board. In practice there are times that we may require professional assistance in understanding the legal ramifications of the rules. Our registered legal agent is Victor Rones, Esq. He is familiar with our issues and his office takes care of processing Estopel Letters. The HOA Board of the Directors is NOT the neighborhood police. Neighbor to Neighbor disputes are handled between the neighbors.

The principal function of GTTSHOA is the maintenance of the common areas and facilities. The maintenance responsibility for the association is established in the declaration and or bylaws. Responsibility for member property over which an owner has an exclusive right to use or possess fall’s upon the individual owner.

The difficult task for the board of directors is to prioritize tasks and decide how and when the various tasks are to be performed. This means that the board must be familiar with the property and what is needed. Then, the board must carefully consider what are its budgetary restraints. Finally, we develop a plan for meeting the tasks that have been outlined. The HOA is essential to protecting and retaining our interest in the Common Area.

Inspection of the dock, pump, beach area is performed on regular bases. As well as the monitoring of the security and park access platform. There are various monitoring, repair and maintenance tasks that require money, time, and man power. A plan for emergency expenditures is also important. If the board does not plan adequately, it become subject to a breakdown of various components and an onslaught of emergency expenditures and potential loss to our riparian rights. Our common area is nest in Government Reserve Land and subject to a decree.

The Board is responsible and has the duty to maintain and adopt budgets and collect assessments from the homeowners. The HOA is a conduit for the members to pay for the various expenses of operating and administrating the HOA .

In order to determine the budget and monthly assessment, the board must decide what are the necessary expenses and costs of operation and administration, including the funding of a reasonable surplus reserve. The annual assessment is determined by dividing the annual budget among and between the homeowners, whether or not they use the park( the park enhances everyone property value). There are 106 member properties that are subject to HOA Covenants and it closed to any new members.

The budget process involves a review of past budgets and the actual costs, plus examination of anticipated costs and expenses, including obtaining bids for various services . In determining the budget the board must also consider the amount of money that can reasonably be collected from the homeowners. GTTSHOA annual dues were set at $500 in 2010 and a periodic credit is distributed when and if the surplus account gets to our goal of $100K. A credit was issued from 2014 to 2019 and removed in 2020 in order to meet the incremental expenditures for the improvements to the park. i.e. electronic gate, security system.

The $500 annual assessment is not to high or to low. The HOA Board works to meet its basic responsibilities for managing, repairing and maintaining the common area, to keep it in fair condition for the enjoyment of it’s members. There is a goal set to be able to set aside a surplus for unexpected emergencies and future repair or replacement to avoid additional assessments in response to an unexpected crisis including but not limited to major repairs to the dock , ramp, and parking lot. The goal for a surplus is not necessarily achieved from year to year. Yet, it is an important goal.

Historically the issue of reserves was neglected in leu of lower dues which lead to a significant crisis situations. It is not enough for the board to budget for the existing costs and expenses, and strives to also establish a surplus for three prmary purposes.

1. Emergencies - Unless the board has a fund from which to handle emergency or unexpected costs, the association will be vulnerable. The board must assume that some unexpected expenditures will be necessary.

2. Deferred Repair or Replacement - The board must works to find out the estimated useful life of its structural and mechanical components in the common areas. Frankly, current assessments fall short of covering the potential cost of loosing the pier or ramp from a major event. So, a risk to probability case is taken into account to establish a reasonable amount for the HOA dues.

3. Bad Debt – We do not have "deep pockets." The only money received is the assessment payments of the owners and the purchase of extra keys which is a nominal amount. If some of the home owners do not make payment, there is the potential for a budgetary shortfall. Fortunately, the collection process we have implemented has substantially reduced delinquencies and having a surplus can offset some of the short fall for a limited period.

Those homeowners who refuse to pay their assessments will be pursued in court, and every reasonable action should be taken to compel payment. We provide adequate time for homeowners to submit their payment before the collection process is turned over to the HOA agent who proceeds to collect and if necessary, even have a lien placed on a property and as a last resort, can foreclose, or garnish the wages or bank accounts of the delinquent owners. Florida law also allows for the recovery of dues from tenants occupying a members property. The costs of collection, including attorneys' fees and legal costs are included so cost of not paying HOA dues can be substantial. In addition, because it is unfair for some owners to pay on time, and others to cause the association to incur expense from late payment, it is appropriate for the board to charge a reasonable late charge (in accordance with its governing documents and applicable law).

The board makes decisions for the collective interest of its members and owe them a fiduciary duty to manage and operate the association using the care that an ordinarily prudent person would use under the same or similar circumstances (The Business Judgment Rule). This means that the board must exercise business judgment in making decisions while operating or managing the association. Business judgment involves making rational, informed decisions in good faith. The board follows the law and its governing documents and apply and enforce them in a fair and uniform manner. The board obtains relevant facts and circumstances, identifies the possible options available to the board, and carefully weigh which course of action would be in the best interests of the association and its membership as a whole. We have an accountant and an attorney, to consult them when appropriate.

The board has a duty to uniformly enforce the governing documents against the owners and other residents of the property. The board does not have the authority to waive or excuse compliance with the requirements. The board of directors has to reasonably interpret its governing documents, and to adopt rules and regulations to supplement, explain and administer the enforcement of the basic rules of the association. In 2019 we adopted provisions and supplemental regulation to comply with our government decree on the common area and stop the abuse and commercialization of our common area facilities.

In deciding how to enforce the governing documents, the board considers the nature and scope of an infraction and try to address the situation in a manner that is reasonably related to the severity of the violation. In general, the board first tries an informal approach to obtain compliance ( phone call or email) and then increase the severity of the consequences to an owner who continues to violate the rules. The purpose of all enforcement activity is not to punish the violator but only to encourage and obtain full and permanent compliance. Where the violation threatens the safety of person or property, or when there is a flagrant violation, the board may have no choice except to take the violator to court and seek a court order requiring compliance. Our By Laws allows for fining to help enforce the HOA rules.

The homeowners are entitled to be informed of the major issues faced by the community. With today's technology, The HOA website is the central platform for communicating the issues with the Members. It falls on the members who are encouraged to use Message Board to check and stay informed. The simple checking of the notification box on the member profile will trigger an email when an announcement is made on the website.

Our annual meetings are another opportunity for the board to communicate with the home owners and to obtain input from the members. The Board Members meet quarterly to review relevant matters and collaborate on planning. Notices are posted at the parks bulletin board and Website Event Tab. The board is empowered and is the decision-making apparatus on behalf of the members common interest. There are some cases where a decision may require the collection of votes from members. Understanding those instances is important. Therefore, Board members should be familiar with HOA governing documents and statutes. When in doubt seek the advice of our attorney.

The purpose of the board is to represent the collective interest of owners as a whole, as these interests relate to the common area property. In general, any matter that affects the collective interests of the unit owners (as opposed to the individual rights of an owner) is appropriately handled by the board.

All amendments to the governing documents, easements, concessions, licenses, and dedication of the property must be handled by the board (although as previously mentioned in specific instances the approval of the owners may be necessary). In addition, the board must ensure that all tax obligations of the property as a whole have been met, and that the property has the necessary and required insurance. The board should insure the property against casualty and loss and should obtain liability coverage including directors’ and officers' liability insurance, and bonding for safe guard.

The board uses the HOA Website as a central repository to keep important documents. This includes copies of the HOA's... Bylaws, Rules and regulations, Minutes of all board and owner meetings, Current list of the names and addresses of the members. If a document is not on the website they are kept in paper form available for review. The members have a responsibility to maintain their profile and relevant information up to date and notify the HOA when changes have occurred.