Pavilion from the Ocean

Pavilion from the Ocean

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This forum, by owners for owners, provides useful information for owners to view and discuss.

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Ricky Arriola for Miami Beach Commissioner

RICKY’S VISION

When you announce you’re running for elected office, you immediately begin fielding questions like, ‘why are you doing this?’ and ‘are you nuts?’ Both happen to be fair questions, even when they’re coming from your mother, but rest assured, I didn’t take the decision to run lightly.
I’m running for Commissioner because Miami Beach has arrived at a critical moment with real, generational challenges at our doorstep, and I want to be a part of the solution.
As you will learn, I have an ambitious agenda, but together we can do it!  It’s a pivotal time in our City’s history.  We are 100 years old.  We need to start securing our future for the next 100 years.  The decisions we collectively make over the next few years will have a significant role in our City’s future for the next several decades and will chart our path for the next 100.  We are redeveloping our Convention Center, upgrading our water and sewage infrastructure to deal with flooding and sea level rise, deciding on mass transit solutions to deal with growing traffic congestion, and beginning the economic redevelopment of North Beach after decades of neglect by City government.
I strongly believe that we have a civic duty to give back to the community and to help improve the lives of others.  For me, I feel that the best way that I can do that right now is to run for public office.  I want to take bold, visionary action that allows Miami Beach to secure its place as an iconic international City.  Miami Beach will set the standard for what it means to live in a world-class City.  Our City will take pride in, and rightfully boast of, its world-class local government.  We will deliver world-class government services with a hometown, local government touch.
"This is my vision for our City's future. Please join my campaign and together we will succeed!"

HEADS UP: Critical Mass to ride through Miami, Miami Beach Friday night

Thousands of cyclists will fill the streets Friday night in Miami and Miami Beach for the monthly bike ride known as Critical Mass.
Friday’s ride will start at 7:15 p.m. at Government Center in downtown Miami, 150 NW 1st St., and move through East Little Havana, Overtown, Allapattah, Liberty City, Little Haiti, Upper East Side, North Bay Village, North Beach, Miami Beach, Venetian Islands, and then back downtown.
The Miami Bike Scene blog posted this route for Friday’s Critical Mass ride.
The event is not sanctioned or permitted by local governments. Miami Beach police say they will have officers at several intersections, and motorists can expect traffic to be affected for up to three hours.
It will be the last Critical Mass to ride through the Venetian Islands for a while because the westernmost part of the causeway will be closed to all traffic for an estimated nine months starting Monday for a rebuild of that worn-out stretch of bridge.
For more information, visit the Miami Bike Scene blog.




Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article22562244.html#storylink=cpy

THE LAWYERS V. THE MANAGERS --- SO WHO WON?


By Eric Glazer, Esq.

The long awaited decision by The Florida Supreme Court is finally in regarding what a licensed community association can do, without being accused of practicing law without a license.  The Florida Bar tried hard to curtail what community association managers can do without a license to practice law, while the community association managers argued that most tasks required of community association managers certainly do not require three years of law school and passage of the Bar exam.  Here is how the court ruled:

The Court first spoke about what generally is considered the practice of law and said:
In determining whether the giving of advice and counsel and the performance of services in legal matters for compensation constitute the practice of law it is safe to follow the rule that if the giving of the advice and performance of the services affect important rights of a person under the law, and if the reasonable protection of the rights and property of those advised and served requires that the person giving such advice possess legal skill and a knowledge of the law greater than such possessed by the average citizen, then the giving of such advice and the performance of such services by one for another as a course of conduct constitutes the practice of law.

The practice of law also includes the giving of legal advice and counsel to others as to their rights and obligations under the law and the preparation of legal instruments, including contracts, by which legal rights are either obtained, secured or given away, although such matters may not then or ever be the subject of proceedings in a court.

The Pavilion: offers online


Thirteen family condos available:
1 / 1.5, 950 sq ft, Sleep 6-8,
1 / 2, 950 sq ft, sleep 6-8,
2/2. 950 sq ft - 1450 sq ft, sleeps 6

Rent Weekly or Monthly



MIAMI BEACH ANNOUNCES TRAFFIC LOOPS, BARRICADES, AND CHECKPOINTS FOR MEMORIAL DAY


Despite continually dropping number of arrests during the weekend, despite having a new police chief, and despite a recent racism scandal in the department, Miami Beach is once again turning itself into a mini-police state during Memorial Day weekend this year. The traffic loops, barricades, and checkpoints are all coming back. 

Here's the basic rundown on the city's plans: 
  • Ocean Drive will be closed to cars from 7 a.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Tuesday
  • Collins and Washington Avenues will function as a traffic loop from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Friday through Monday nights, with Collins handling northbound traffic and Washington traveling southbound traffic. No street parking will available on the streets from Fifth Street to Lincoln Road. 
  • Many areas will be closed of to residents only, and they may be asked to show ID proving their Miami Beach residence, that includes residential areas and parts of Alton Road. 
  • Barricades will be set up to keep visitors out of residential areas. 
  • The Venetian Causeway will only be open to residents. 
  • License plate scanners will be set up on the off ramps of the Julia Tuttle and MacArthur Causeways. 
  • DUI checkpoints will be set up on the causeways from 7 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. on Saturday morning. DUI saturation patrols will also be in full effect throughout the weekend. 

Elevator Pits are the Pits!


The elevator maintenance person removes lots of debris every time he comes to maintain the elevators.

In the picture see the number of wire clothe hangers that some residents throw between the gaps on the elevators.

This is very dangerous since this garbage can interfere with the electrical controls of the elevators.

Hold on to your wallet - More increases of over 55%


Now parking has gone from $55 to $85 (almost 55%) on very short notice.

Who, when and where were these increases approved?

Why were the owners not invited to these meetings as required by the Florida Statute 718?



Pavilion Condo Docs Section 15.18

Declaration of Condominium
establishing
the pavilion, a condominium
submission statement

 Page 25 Section XV. Sale, Lease or Transfers

                15.18 Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, no lease shall be for a period of less than thirty (30) days.


UPDATE: MIami Beach - Rent for less than 30 days and no sprinklers in each unit, the Condo could be closed down



CBS' Michele Guillen Report: If unit is rented for less than thirty (30) days, the unit must be equipped with automatic fire spreinklers inside each room in the units and in the halls.

If not Miami Beach might close the building down!

Welcome to the new lifeguards


We now have lifeguards closer to the Pavilion. 

Make sure you check the color of the flags.

In this picture is yellow – Caution Rip Currents.



Short Term Rental Crackdown in California. A new Trend?

City comes down hard on Airbnb, will crackdown spread?
California: Santa Monica's City Council voted quickly and unanimously Tuesday night to enact some of the nation's strictest regulations on the booming short-term rental industry.
The measure, targeting Airbnb and other tourist rental websites, explicitly bars renting units for fewer than 30 days. The measure legalizes home-sharing – the rental of a couch or spare bedroom, for instance – as long as the host registers with the city and pays taxes.

UPDATED: Miami Beach craking down on short term rentals



 CBS Channel Report: If unit is rented for less than thirty (30) days, the unit must be equipped with automatic fire extinguishers inside the units and in the halls.

If not Miami Beach might close the building down!

The law says that: A unit owner may videotape the BOD meetings


(718.112(2)(c) Board of administration meetings.Meetings of the board of administration at which a quorum of the members is present are open to all unit owners. Members of the board of administration may use e-mail as a means of communication but may not cast a vote on an association matter via e-mail. A unit owner may tape record or videotape the meetings. The right to attend such meetings includes the right to speak at such meetings with reference to all designated agenda items. The division shall adopt reasonable rules governing the tape recording and videotaping of the meeting. The association may adopt written reasonable rules governing the frequency, duration, and manner of unit owner statements.

Community Associations - Another Look at Fraud


Written by  Gary Porter
In my professional career as an auditor of community associations I have been involved in the investigation of approximately 20 embezzlements (embezzlement being one form of fraud, the most common form in the community association industry) over the years.   Most frauds are not discovered by auditors, but are found based on internal reviews or tips from employees. Contrary to what many people believe, discovery of fraud is NOT the primary goal of an audit; the audit is intended to determine the (relative) accuracy of the association's financial statements.  CPAs performing audits have an obligation to consider the possibility that fraud may exist in the performance of our procedures.  
At the core  of any form of fraud are three underlying factors referred to as the "Fraud Triangle."
·         Incentive to commit fraud
·         Opportunity to carry out the fraudulent act
·         Ability to rationalize fraud
The incentive to commit fraud is normally caused by personal financial pressures that can't be relieved by ordinary, legitimate means.  Such pressures are often caused by divorce, health issues, bad investments, gambling, or addictions.
The opportunity to commit fraud exists where there are weaknesses in financial processes; internal controls over financial transactions.  
Rationalization of fraudulent activity takes place where an individual thinks they are justified in taking money because they are underpaid or under-appreciated,  or because it is for their family, or because it's just temporary and they intend to pay it back.
Exposure to fraud, or risk of fraud, differs depending on type of organizations and processes used.  
1.        Smaller, self- managed associations that depend on directors/members to process transactions have a higher degree of risk because there is usually no one reviewing the transactions.  The association is completely dependent on the honesty of the member.  Risk is reduced if an outside contractor performs some or all of the accounting function.
2.        Larger, self-managed associations that employ staff usually have the issue that no more than one or two people are involved in the accounting process, so there is little, if any, segregation of duties, which is one of the cornerstones of strong internal controls.  Use of outside lockbox and payroll services help reduce risk.
3.        Associations that employee an outside management company enjoy some level  of automatic protection against internal fraud risk.  Most management companies have a sufficient number of staff in their employ that they can achieve an adequate segregation of duties.  However, use of an outside management company exposes  the association to risk of fraud at the management company level.  Fortunately, that occurs very infrequently.
In all instances, the association should make sure that they have adequate insurance to mitigate losses.  Consult with your HOA insurance specialist, as different kinds of insurance policies may be required depending on which of the three categories above that you fall into.
Regular review of association financial statements by a knowledgeable board or finance committee member is another action that limits ability by anyone to divert funds.  Consistently late delivery of financial statements to the board or finance committee is another potential sign of problems.  Make sure that the association gets an annual audit or review of financial statements.  Even though those engagements are not specifically designed to detect fraud, discovery can occur during this process.
Weaknesses in internal financial controls cover a very wide range of activities, but there are a few generalizations that exist.  
Money can be diverted from either the billing/cash receipts cycle or the purchase/cash disbursements cycle of financial transactions.  One of the "tracks"  that perpetrators often leave are "journal entries" in the general ledger to cover up funds diverted.  Example - assessment payments received in the form of cash can be diverted, but a journal entry must be made to show the account as "paid" in the receivables listing.  Reviewing general ledger accounts for cash, assessments receivable, and accounts payable should normally not show any general journal entries, as all entries to these accounts should come from billing journals, cash receipts journals, purchase journals, or cash disbursement journals.  General journal entries in these accounts are a red flag.
Using an outside bank lockbox system is one of the best ways to reduce risk on the billings/cash receipts cycle of transactions, as it eliminates the most common methods of diverting funds

Have a Complaint? In Florida contact the DBPR

DIVISION OF FLORIDA CONDOMINIUMS, TIMESHARES, AND MOBILE HOMES


Division Complaint Forms

Online filing is not currently available. All division forms are in PDF format. DownloadAdobe Reader to view and print PDF documents. If you encounter any problems downloading or viewing PDF documents from our site, please review these instructions.

Condominium / Cooperative - English version

Florida Statutes say: "Let the Sunshine in"


Board members often gather socially for dinner.  Is this considered a board meeting if condominium matters are being discussed?
A condominium board meeting is defined as any gathering of the members of the board of directors, at which a quorum of the members is present, for the purpose of conducting association business. Meetings of the board must be properly noticed and the unit owners have the right to attend the meeting.
Condominium: Rule 61B-23.001(1)(a), Florida Administrative Code
Cooperative: Not defined in Chapter 719, Florida Statutes