Amended And Restated Documents

Dear Wildewood Springs Residents:

Some homeowners have been confused regarding the WWS
Amended documents you recently received.

To clarify some questions you might have to please keep in mind the following:

There are 3 separate sections to be voted on. It is imperative that you take
the time to read each and every section and absorb the impact the written changes may have on the owners.

Please be aware that your vote is either a YES or a NO vote on EACH
Section;

If you disagree or have concerns about any section of the
By-laws, Articles of Incorporation or the Declaration of Condominium the section
Cannot be changed at this time. What you have received is what
the new Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws and the Declarations will be.

If you vote YES and 60% of the owners (present and via proxies) are
in favor then the amended documents will be recorded and these will be the new legal revised documents for the Wildewood Springs Condominium Association. Every owner will have to agree to abide by the revised documents.

If you vote NO because you do not agree with any part of any of the revised amendments and if 60% of the owners (present and via proxies) vote no on that part of the amended documents, then the majority will not pass that portion of the documents..

Keep in mind it is an ALL OR NOTHING vote on each section. You cannot pick
and choose which items you are in agreement with or disagree with: Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws and Declarations. You will vote No or Yes on each section.

If you disagree with any part of any of the package and elect to cast a NO vote and that section does not pass by majority vote, then the Association will have to reconsider that failed-to-pass section at a future date.

Again, please take the time to thoroughly read and understand the revised documents before you vote. If you have any questions concerning this very important issue, please take the time to contact your village Board Director now.

The committee, your fellow owners, worked long and hard to update these documents and you owe it to yourself and your fellow owners to vote on this important issue. Take the time to read the revised documents, to vote and be an informed participating member of our community.

Bob McDevitt
WWS Association President

Looking Up

There's been much activity recently at Wildewood Springs. But unless you're accustomed to looking up, you may have missed it.

Tim our roof specialist has been working on the most recent round of roof cleaning. As you may recall, Tim was hired to provide a constant monitor on the new roof coating that was completed in 2007. Under his watchful eye, potential problem areas are identified and given appropriate remedial attention on a proactive basis. The result; we've had no billable roof maintenance since Tim has taken over this task. Plus the incidence of plugged gutters and has fallen virtually to zero.

The palm tree trimming has recently been completed. This is done each year in the mid summer. Removal of the dead fronds, flowers and seed pods eliminates debris that fall on the sidewalks, stairs and roof and may become projectiles during any high wind. The tree contractor also removed a number of dead trees and trimmed a a few problem trees on the grounds. The grounds look beautiful.




Special Meeting Information

We've finally been able to establish a date for the Special Meeting for the Documents Revision Mini Project. The Special Meeting is set for November 10, 2009 at 2PM. The location is not yet established.

We've also set aside two dates for workshops on the two amendments we'll be voting on.

• October 12, 2009 9AM Workshop Bylaws 4.3 Director Terms
• October 19, 2009 9AM Workshop Article X Insurance.

These workshops are established to help owners understand each amendment and ask related questions. More information will be published regarding these meetings as the dates approach.

Setting the Record Straight Part 2

or Everything you wanted to know about the Insurance Amendment

The Board of Directors has voted to submit two proposals to the members for a vote. The purpose of this entry is to discuss the reasons why the Board of Directors felt that the adoption of those two proposals would be in the best interests of the community.

This entry will also rebut and reject certain erroneous statements made by an anonymous author in the July 2009 Owners to Owners Community Newsletter.

This is part 2 on the upcoming Documents Revision. This article deals with the proposed Insurance Amendment.

Insurance Amendment

This is a difficult subject. The WWS Association Attorney recommended that we amend the Declaration to better address insurance. Excerpted at this link is a portion of WWS Attorney's Letter of January 14, 2009. That excerpt explains the risk associated with staying with the current Documents and the reason for the change to our current Documents.

The following section will address the OTO errors in regard to the insurance article.

Excerpts from the July 2009 OTO Newsletter will be in “italics”:

The OTO Newsletter article states that ”condo owner insurance is now the responsibility of the condo owners. The Association is not responsible for buying condo insurance for owners that do not have coverage”.

This statement is true. See Section 10.2(a) of the proposed amendment that lists the specific items that must be insured by each unit owner. The type of property insurance policy issued to a unit owner is typically referred to in the insurance industry as an HO6 policy. The Association has no intention of buying a property insurance policy of the contents of any unit if an owner fails to do so.

The OTO Newsletter article also states that “If in our documents we just say “per the 718 statute” we could not have to change our documents every time the state of Florida changes the law”.

This gross oversimplification misses the point entirely as to the significant underlying reasons why we want to rewrite our insurance provision. The statute does not supersede a poorly conceived documentary provision that requires the use of an insurance trustee, or approval of a mortgage holder to the insurer or settlement of a claim. We need to amend our Declaration to get rid of these undesirable provisions. Further, we need to be consistent with the many complex statutory requirements. Simply citing to a statute is not going to provide the necessary direction to management, board members and owners and there are some discretionary issues under the statute that will be determined by our documents, not the statute.

Now let's consider a scenario. Assume that for 558 units, there are 50 banks represented as mortgage holders. Assume we have taken the OTO advice and voted 'no' on Article X. In September 2010, Hurricane Pistachio blows Oakview Village into Palm Tree Village. 15 of the 50 banks challenge our current Documents because we don't have pre-approval by mortgage holders for the Insurance proceeds distribution. From this point we can expect a lengthy court process as 15 banks and their lawyers demand an Insurance Trustee to protect their interests before any reconstruction effort begins. Is this what you want?

If you vote 'no' based upon the erroneous OTO advice consider the following:

A 'no' vote on Article X gives control of our Insurance Proceeds in the event of a catastrophe to bankers and bank lawyers not WWS BOD and owners. A 'no' vote is shortsighted, irresponsible, and dangerous.

Aside from the fact that the anonymous OTO author has clearly made a number of inflammatory and false remarks with intent to damage my integrity or question my motives, the anonymous OTO author's material regarding the Documents change is inaccurate and misleads, misinforms, and misguides the readers.

The source material for FS718 is readily available online. We have reviewed both Articles in open WWS Committee and Board meetings within the last four months. What excuse explains the inclusion of such blatantly inaccurate material as the basis for the OTO recommendation?

You be the judge.

If you wish to vote 'no' on these items, make a well informed decision based upon the correct information, not the OTO propaganda. Understand clearly, the ramifications of your choice. Since the Special Meeting is not yet scheduled and voting materials have not been distributed, ask OTO Leadership why they have intentionally provided erroneous information about FS718 in lieu of waiting for the official materials and explanations.

The Special Meeting (date TBA) devoted to these Documents items will include a presentation about the two items to be voted upon. At least two weeks in advance of that meeting, voting materials will be provided to all owners regarding the two items. There will be ample opportunity for owners to ask questions.

Documents Revision Mini Project

By now, I'm sure you're heard that we are in the midst of a Documents Revision Project. Here's a quick review. Last year Florida Statute 718 was significantly changed by the Legislature. As a result, the changes required in our Documents were extensive. Our attorney, Chad McClenathen, recommended we do a complete update of our Documents to incorporate all 35 previous amendments as well as the new law changes into a new revised document. You can imagine the work this entails.

An Ad Hoc Document Committee led by Mr. Bob DeBruin was charged with the huge task of reviewing of the proposed document package and presenting a working revision to the BOD for consideration. During the past few months, Mr. DeBruin and the Committee have completed their task. The next step would be for the BOD to begin the review process. This step is also expected to take a number of months and won't begin until the BOD convenes again in the fall for regular monthly meetings. But some strategic issues have come to light at this juncture of the process.

The Document Committee has identified two sections of the proposed Documents which will require special consideration in advance of the remainder of the project. The first section, By-Laws Article 4.3 deals with the election of Directors. Director terms will continue to default to one year until this section is approved. This section must be approved by the BOD and 60% of the owner voting interest before mid December 2009 for it to be effective for the 2010 election.

The second Document section to be considered is Article X and pertains to insurance. This section is being handled separately because it must also be approved by the mortgage holders. This means that after the BOD and 60% of the owner voting interest have approved this section, it must be sent to all mortgage holders of record for a final acceptance. We anticipate this to be a lengthy process.

The BOD has considered and voted on these two named sections in a meeting on May 28th in the WWS office. Later this summer, a Special Meeting will be convened for owner consideration of these items. Owners can expect to receive information regarding these two amendments and the announcement of a Special Meeting sometime in the next month or two. You will receive updates via email as the dates of the mailings and meetings are announced.

BOD Meeting & Update

Here's a quick summery of some high points from the 4/27 BOD meeting and what you might expect during the summer months. A number of projects will be in progress during the summer break.





Pools
The BOD gave bid approval for work to address the Federal Portion of Virginia Graham Baker Act (VGB). Work may begin as early as the week of 05/04/2009. The pool upgrades will be done by divers while the spas will be drained for the grate installation. Pool down time will be minimal. Watch for the notices.

Documents
The Document revision will be separated into 3 parts:
1-Election of Directors
2-Insurance - requires mortgage holder approval
3-Remainder of changes

The BOD will be reviewing the document sections relating to election of directors and insurance. The plan is to have these sections approved by the BOD and distributed to unit owners for review and vote during the summer. Our goal is to have the section relating to elections approved in time for the 2010 BOD elections. The portion relating to insurance will require an additional approval step from all mortgage holders. The remainder of the documents will be addressed when regular meetings resume in the fall.

Summer Meetings
Regular monthly meetings are suspended for the months of May, June, July and August
There will be BOD workshops and meetings during summer for the Document Revision project and other business which may arise. The dates will be announced.
A Special meeting will follow later in the summer for the owner vote on the first two document revisions

Cluster Advisor Door to Door Distribution
The Cluster Advisors will distribute the Red Cross Vial of Life Materials during the month of May.


Have a great summer!