Mark Zeltser – Aquarius Condo Candidate – part 2

Second part of Mark’s ideas on improving Aquarius Condominium

Low Cost / High Impact Ideas

♦ Broken Windows Policy – have small items fixed immediately. Keep Aquarius beautiful. 

♦ Contract Improvements – Secure most favorable terms available to obtain most value for association 

♦ Kids Play Nook – create an indoor area specifically for young children where parents can take them securely on the property.

♦ Honor Quiet Hours – There are constant deliveries outside quiet hours/days by the restaurant and others. Restrict late night and weekend deliveries to respect our neighbors.

♦ Lobby Update – Lobby has been neglected. Needs modernizing. Too old and filthy. Bad first impression for visiting family, possible new buyers/renters, and for ourselves. We should have more pride in our property. No large assessment, we can try to find money in operating budget. In any case I would seek a vote before proceeding with all facts and figures at that time available to all owners. 

♦ Respect Our Quiet Hours – Deliveries are occurring at all hours. This means the office is allowing it, or worse, not taking an elevator deposit to protect the association from damages caused. Everyone sees the condition of service elevators. Who is paying for the damages? Us? Also, why is housekeeping allowed to use the regular elevators with their carts? Things are getting damaged and us owners are again left with the bill.  

♦ Business Lounge – meeting room with wifi. First come first serve. 1 hour limit if someone is waiting, renew time at 45 minute mark (15 minutes left)

♦ Long term Secure Package Storage – locate and use storage locker(s) for out of town owners still not arrived. Currently left unattended in north tower storage room blocking owners storage units. 

♦ EV charging station(s) – secure beneficial contract for association. Place in West Lot. 

♦ Plumbing/AC contract – Inquire in regards to a building wide contract with professional plumbing?AC company (i.e. Total Plumbing and Repairs, etc.), Convenience, group savings, and problem prevention.

♦ Reduce Utility Waste – Lights are on and off not at optimal times. Same story with our sprinklers.  

♦ Recycling/ E-Waste Dump Days – twice a year dumpster for owners to conveniently dump their trash items. Schedule accordingly to maximize owners on-site availability to take advantage of this amenity. (November&April/May). 

♦ Emergency Preparedness –  Help the residents and employees go over several important security items such as local evacuation plans/routes and important locations (AED, etc.) Help our owners, especially elderly, be prepared.

♦ Monthly Morning Coffee – 2 hours among neighbors; Lobby area once a month.

♦ Serve Our Association – Quality service. Owner surveys and votes. Better office hours. 

♦  Secure/Monetize West Lot – Install an attractive fencing around the West Lot. Prevent trespassing. Secure our vehicles. Fob or biometric entry. Only our owners and their dogs allowed inside, not the entire block to use. Organize sections through color coding the parking space lines with art deco pastel colors (employees park in the purple section, contractors park in yellow section),train employees to ensure rules are being followed. No more free parking for a few people from neighboring buildings abusing our lax security situation and accessing our lot. I have identified at least 13 spaces that can be rented out monthly, which can bring in 25-30k yearly. Keep the southern half as-is, with only owners parking their vehicles. Use section(s) for rentals. Possibly use a section to create an on-property outdoor recreation area? 

♦ Preventative Measures – Identify and correct small items before becoming larger ones, mitigating large special assessments as we have dealt with several in the recent past. 

Those are just a few of the items that I feel can benefit the owners of this association. I have avoided running for the board of directors for years. I am an introverted individual who does not enjoy large crowds or public speaking. I am no politician. My preference has always been to keep to myself and mind my business. However, my concern for our association outweighs that at this time.

The current board of directors have been running the matters of the association for several years now as constituted. I fear there is no longer enough of a checks and balances situation, and returning the same members to the board will be a disservice to us all. There needs to be some new faces mixed in. They have done a decent job in many areas and I thank them for volunteering their time. Yet I do feel changing a few members would be beneficial for a fresh perspective in the room when decisions about your home are being made.

This current board has signed construction contracts with companies that have no caps on time or change orders. Upon learning of that, I was very disappointed. We are paying the price for that now with an overly lengthy construction project as we all are aware and have been living with. As well as a possible additional final bill that the current board cannot project the amount because they signed a contract with no cap to change orders. I personally have had a very bad financial experience with this exact type of situation. Why did our current board sign this type of contract and put us all at risk? Did the other companies they took bids on offer these protections? Why did they choose this one, what was their reasoning?  It is not too late to ask! 

Now they have their eyes set on the west lot across the street. To give it away to a developer. What will us owners benefit from this? Loss of views and property values. Years of construction at our front door. More people and traffic on our block, turning into city life on this quieter and beautiful strip of A1A. If you have an intracoastal view, it will be gone if the current board is allowed to proceed. Ask them questions! Why do we need this? Why give away our land? We owned the land our neighbor Trump building is on, do you have any benefit now? Any possible benefit will be short lived and we will be stuck with the results forever. Do not allow them to give away our assets for peanuts.

Lastly, during our meet the candidates I mentioned that we should strive to be more like the Trump building and others of that ilk, instead of the older buildings that line the area as well. That remains true. I was told that they are essentially better than us so forget it. But if we are not striving to keep a beautiful modern and clean building then we are falling closer to the lower end buildings on the beach. Being closer to Trump than to the lower end buildings does not require astronomical changes, as was insinuated by that person in the crowd, just some thoughtful changes. For the record, I am against any large expenditure that would require a special assessment. I seek to do everything within budget constraints. I seek to optimize efficiency in order to lower our bills.  I just want that to be clear. It does not require major changes to keep the common areas clean and smelling nice, with a fresh coat of paint and such. To keep our front desk from looking like a warehouse. To ask housekeeping to not use the elevators other than the service elevator. To not leave garbage laying around. To instruct the office to be friendly or we find a new management company, security company, housekeeping, etc. if they cannot comply with our standards. Because the standards have fallen here at Aquarius. I would like to raise them back up. Not with expensive ideas or solutions, but with practical and thoughtful ones. I want our owners to visit the office with expectations of simple solutions, not dreading the experience. I have learned our secretary was recently removed. All the contacts to the office went to her work email, and are now gone. This occurs every time a secretary or property manager leaves, which has been 2 years at most for the past 10 years. With them goes our information and emails. The association needs it’s own email, controlled by us and not the management company. That employees can work from but cannot take with them when they leave. So we can have continuity, instead of plausible deniability from whoever takes over. I have suggested this to the office for years and was not heard so another reason I say you need a seat at the table to ensure things get done. I am not campaigning, nor will my day be ruined if I lose. I am a candidate because of my conscience from what I have witnessed over the years. So I ask for one of your 5 votes and if we have a different vision then no hard feelings. 

 Mark Zeltser 

Leon, Howard, Ned, Philippe and Mark are candidates that send their ideas to the aquariusuno.com site. The other candidates did not sent their presentations. As all know at aquariusuno.com all ideas are welcome if not uncivil or illegal.

Leon Behar    https://aquariusuno.com/2025/12/16/leon-behar-experienced-doctor-seeks-board-membership/

Howard Benson:     https://aquariusuno.com/2025/12/12/a-vision-for-aquarius-howard-benson-for-board/

Ned Taljic:      https://aquariusuno.com/2025/12/08/ned-taljic-is-running-for-the-board-check-out-what-he-has-to-say/

Philippe Cooper:  https://aquariusuno.com/2026/01/08/candidate-to-the-board-of-aquarius-philippe-cooper

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