SO WHAT'S NEXT FOR IV????

Disclaimer: Please note that this blog is a forum for concerned unit owners of International Village and is not meant to represent the official views of the Association and/or its Board of Directors.

Fellow  IV Unit Owners,

There has been much turmoil in the Village since the election.  The new Board majority selected themselves as officers:  Marcio Jaspan, President; Duv Wolff, Vice President; John Labriola, Treasurer; Wendy Hernandez, Secretary.  Resident unit owners have witnessed disturbing actions by one or more Board officers.  These included:

- Selection of a non-resident as Association President in direct violation of Section 6.1.1 of our Bylaws.

- President Jaspan coerced the Association's IT specialist into hacking into the our management company's (AMG) data platform.  Fortunately a responsible Board member was able to intervene before an actual crime was committed.

- Three Board officers, the President, Treasurer and Secretary, tried to get access to all unit owner's personal files.  This effort was thwarted by the refusal of the V.P. to participate in this unprecedented intrusion into the personal information of all unit owners contained in our records.

- The President ordered Clubhouse lights to be turned off in order to save electricity.  One result was that a realtor came into the Clubhouse, noticed that it was dark and asked the guard whether the Village was going bankrupt because it couldn't pay it's bills.

- The President ordered the lights leading up the steps to the Salon be turned off.  This presented a slip and fall liability to the Association.

- Since the President appointed Secretary Wendy Hernandez as the head of the Sales and Leases Committee approvals have virtually ceased.

- The President followed through on his public promise to have our maintenance employees make repairs to badly damaged balconies.  This action led directly to the City violating the Association for illegal repairs, issuing fines, and ordering that proper repairs be made totaling over $20,000.  The City also ordered the 40-Year Re-certification, before it would have otherwise been due.

- Back room deals were and are being arranged by one or more of the new officers without the participation of the entire Board in a Noticed meeting, in violation of Florida Statute 718 and our Governing Docs.

Most unit owners agree on that the extraordinarily short sighted and counterproductive decision by the officers to get rid of AMG, by far the most effective management company the Association has ever had. (See the attached discussion of AMG's record as our property management firm.)  They blamed the illegal balcony repairs on Jason Levy, our former and exceptionally talented property manager, and used that story to justify dismissing AMG.  

One of the advantages AMG brought to the table was their comprehensive list of experienced contractors and vendors.  They also provided invaluable relationships with lenders, most notably (Banco) Popular Community Bank.  Just at the time when we really can use AMG's contacts and valuable experience they have been forced out.

This is all happening when our loan agreement with Wells Fargo, often called the 'Wilma' loan with a balance of about $2 million, is due and payable by the end of this month.  Former Treasurer Marc Richman and AMG worked closely with Wells Fargo to get the loan account back on track after more than three years of non-compliance.  (Please see Dr. Richman's statement attached.)

Wells Fargo has expressed concern about the stability of the Association now that we have the added burden of the mandatory 40-Year Re-certification projects which could total about $1/2 million this year and over $2 million next year and 2016.  Wells Fargo has also expressed disappointment in the fact that AMG is no longer our management company, and Marc Richman is no longer Treasurer.

The subject of a recall has been raised by large number of unit owners concerned about the events of the last couple of months.  They are worried that these arrogant individuals with virtually no business experience are now making rash decisions about the operation of our $4 million dollar community association.  They point to the officers' early actions as a predictor of the types of decisions that will ultimately cause the Association excessive and unnecessary expenses in the near future.

Please let us know your thoughts.  Would you support a recall at this time?  PLEASE COMMENT TO THIS BLOG.

Note that the number of CIVOC supporters has tripled since we formed last month.  Please let us know if you would like to add your name to the growing list of unit owners who want clear, accurate, dependable information shared with the Membership.

Respectfully,

CIVOC (Concerned International Village Owners Committee)

Charles Addison, Zurich

Jill Becker, Nottingham

Lilo Beigel, Marseilles

Sandy Best, Interlaken

Israel Bruch, Orleans

Elaine Campbell, Yorkshire

Joan Clemente, Cabana, Edelweiss

Marsha Curliss, Marseilles

Geoffrey Edwards, Cabanas

Joe Frederick, Heidelberg

Richard Goodheart, Bordeaux

Miriam Gordon, St. Moritz

Collette Goslin, Grenoble

Harriet Handler, Edelweiss

Robert Hoffecker, Yorkshire

Raymond Jean, Orleans

Louis Kornbluth, Yorkshire

Abe Landau, Zurich

Alice Large, Yorkshire

Marty Lattanzi, Marseilles

Phyllis Lloyd, Edelweiss

Betsy Mendelson, Nottingham

Frances Mesirow, Yorkshire

Marilyn Navarre, Bordeaux

Irene Pressner, Yorkshire

Marc Richman, Bordeaux

Ray Rizzo, Bordeaux

Judy Rosen, Heidelberg

Norman Sackin, Nottingham

Helene Scharfman, Yorkshire

Sid Schulman, Bordeaux

Larry Topolowski, Edelwiess, Heidelberg, Orleans

Marvin Tow, Zurich

Ilan Weiss, Zurich

Miriam Leher, Zurich