New Renderings – Valet Deck – Main Entrance April 2015 Proposal
Aquarius Condominium Proposed treatment for the Valet Main Entrance Deck
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Dear Unit Owner:
Recently you may have received a mailing from ‘A Group of Concerned Unit Owners’ asking for your support in removal of John Youssef and Joel Cohen as members of the Board of Directors. Such mailing is not an official communication from the Board, nor does it reflect the opinion of the majority of the members of the Board of Directors.
The statements contained in the unsigned letter contain several misstatements and inaccuracies that the Board would like to address in this correspondence. Each Board member is aware of their fiduciary responsibility to maintain the common elements of this condominium, for the benefit of all owners.
As this condominium building has aged, prior Boards did not address the issue of maintaining and repairing the condominium, resulting in several projects that need to be accomplished prior to the building’s 40-year recertification with the City of Hollywood. The Association has engaged experienced engineers and general contractors to survey the property and determine the scope and severity of the damage. Unfortunately, the engineer has determined structural damage to the front entry ramp and both Valet and East pool decks, which requires immediate attention to prevent further deterioration of the condominium property.
The Board sought competitive bids from several experienced engineers and general contractors to ensure that the project was undertaken by experienced contractors and at a fair price to the Association. While there is never a good time to undertake costly repairs, the Association determined that it was best to address these issues in advance of the 40-year recertification to avoid costly penalties resulting from code enforcement penalties if not timely resolved.
The Board and Management have made themselves available to any members of the Association with specific questions on the scope of the project. Additionally, the Association will be hosting a meeting with the engineer, general contractor and association’s general counsel to address any lingering concerns of the unit owners.
Rest assured that the Board is acting in the best interest of all the unit owners and in a fully transparent process.
The Board is also consulting with several banking institutions to determine the feasibility of obtaining a personal loan for Unit owners to help them with the project, thereby lessening the financial impact and while taking advantage of attractively low-interest rates.
In the interim, if you were pressured into signing a written recall agreement/ballot by members of this group and wish to rescind your vote, please return the attached rescission notice to the management office.
On behalf of the Board we appreciate your patience during this process.
Revoke Recall Form:
if you prefer click here for a .pdf printer friendly form to “Revoke Recall”
To: Aquarius Condominium Association, Inc.
2751 South Ocean Drive
Hollywood, Florida 33019-2721
I/we, the owner(s) of 2751 South Ocean Drive, Unit No. _______________
Hollywood, Florida 33019, does/do hereby revoke the recall ballot signed by me/us on _____________ , 2015 (insert date, if known).
Dated this_______ day of______________ , 2015.
_____________________ ____________________
Unit Owner (Print Name) Unit Owner (Print Name)
By signing this document, I affirm that I/we are authorized in the manner required by the Association’s governing documents to cast this vote on behalf of this unit.
______________________ ______________________
Unit Owner (Signature) Unit Owner (Signature)
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Broward County 40 Year Building Safety Inspection Program“”The 40 year and older Building Safety Inspection Program was created in 2005 and has become effective throughout Broward County in January 2006. … … Broward’s program calls for structural and electrical safety inspections for buildings 40 years old or older and every ten years thereafter. … …. Broward program excludes all buildings under 3,500
square feet. … … Counties have had instances of structural building failures.
By having such a program in effect we are minimalizing the possibilities of future building failure and will be better prepared for hurricane winds.
Enclosed are checklists and guidelines for buildings to be inspected for structural integrity and electrical safety. State licensed architects and engineers will be hired by private building owners to do the safety inspection.
The local government has the authority to establish a fee to review the Safety Inspection Reports. The Building Department will review the reports submitted to verify that if the inspecting agency has deemed the structural and electrical systems as safe. If any deficiency is noted, the building department shall follow the guidelines of Policy #05-05 … …””
Click HERE for the entire document of 18 pages with photos: (all links open in new TABs) Broward_40_Year_Safety_Inspection
County of Broward official website link > Click HERE
City of Hollywood on the 40 year Recertification subject
Miami-Appraiser on the issue of the 40 year re-certification program (Miami had the program before Broward)
Fort Lauderdale – Frequent Asked Questions FAQ on 40 Re-certification (very instructive)
Board of Directors Meeting: 2015 Assessment Presentation 7:00 PM April 16, 2015The meeting will focus on the proposed New Assessment of 2015. The Assessment aims to contemplate these projects (thousand of dollars):
Submit your questions no later than April 13, 2015 by writing to the Office.
All Questions must indicate the Apartment Number and be signed by the Unit Owner.
Questions without signature and apartment number will not be addressed.
Every question will be answered by your Board Member, Engineer, Landscape Architect or Condo Lawyer.
Aquarius Townhall Meeting April 7, 2015 7:00 PM
Community members will meet at 7:00 PM in the Cascade Room to discuss several issues relevant to the Aquarius Condominium Association.
Among the items to focused are: (1) The new Assessment proposed by the Board of Directors of 4 million dollars, (2) Progress of construction on West Pool Deck and others, (3) Board of Directors Florida Law of Condominiums transgressions.
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April 6,2015 Sunsentinel: Michael Mayo
I went to Le Tub to grab a lunchtime burger Monday, and to check out the rumors that keep swirling around Hollywood beach.
The Margaritaville resort is coming — does that mean Le Tub is going?
“I can’t see it being sold anytime in the near future,” said Lloyd Falk, a part owner and Fort Lauderdale attorney. Falk said the nationally acclaimed dive bar on the Intracoastal Waterway is still tangled in court proceedings stemming from the 2010 death of founder Russ Kohuth.
“I’ve had no discussions with them,” Margaritaville developer Lon Tabatchnick told me Monday. “It’s not in our plans to purchase it.”
When I pulled into Le Tub, the 17-story Margaritaville hovered like a menacing giant across the street. Johnson Street was closed and A1A was a construction-zone mess. But my biggest shock came when I saw this sign in Le Tub’s lot: “Parking $2.”
I groused, then paid for what used to be free.
“Everything changes,” the attendant said.
For a long time, the complete opposite was true of Hollywood beach. Nothing changed. There were mom-and-pop stores, Speedo-wearing tourists and lots of empty talk about redeveloping the city-owned property near the quaint Johnson Street bandshell.
But now change is finally happening. Margaritaville is almost done, about four months away from opening on that city-owned land. It will have 350 rooms, seven bars and restaurants, a Flow Rider wave machine open to the public and a parking garage with 1,000 spaces.
Will Margaritaville augment the beach’s unpretentious vibe or destroy it?
Hollywood’s Margaritaville still on track to open this summer
When I spoke with Tabatchnick on Monday, he reiterated what he’s told me before: He’s hoping for old and new to mix and mingle in a good way.
“We believe in the rising tide,” Tabatchnick said. “We believe in a diversity of options for the area.”
Among those diverse options: A nudist hotel with a rooftop pool deck one block north.
The Rooftop Resort, which bills itself on Google as “South Florida’s #1 Swingers’ Nudist Hotel,” has built tiki huts and screens on its fifth-floor pool deck to shield the goings-on from outside view. It used to be the tallest building around. No more.
Early on, Margaritaville construction workers got an eyeful. What about future guests?
“If you have binoculars, I guess you might be able to see something,” Tabatchnick said. “They’re going to have to shield their activities and make sure they follow whatever ordinances there are.”
Margaritaville resort bringing change to Hollywood beach
I tried to speak with Rooftop Resort’s owner, Paul Galluccio, but didn’t hear back. When I dropped by on Monday, a front desk receptionist said, “Be nice to us.” The hotel’s website says it “is not for sale and is not changing its business model” because of Margaritaville. It welcomes its new neighbor and “expects the project to be a tremendous driver of new business.”
As for Le Tub, the commode-decorated pub that was featured by Oprah, Tabatchnick said, “I eat there. It’s fun.” Margaritaville will have a bar with boat slips immediately to the north.
Falk said Kohuth’s intent was to have Le Tub go on, leaving 52 percent to longtime general manager Steven Sidle, with the other 48 percent divided equally among himself, two longtime employees (John Petrie and Mathias Kundolf) and Kohuth’s ex-girlfriend.
“I’m telling you he didn’t want it to be sold,” Falk said. “There’s no reason for it to be sold. It’s a great place and a great business.”
mmayo@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4508 April 6, 2015
Aquarius Condominium HOA Quote Cost Comparison: Are we paying too much? Is the maintenance quota enough? April 2015
Some owners may wonder if the maintenance monthly fee that is due to the Aquarius Condominium Association is comparable to what neighbor HOA’s charge. Here is a table extracted from a sample of Apartments for sale in April 3, 2015. Among the several buildings in the sample there are great variations. The age of the buildings (older building require more maintenance), services offered (such as Beach Boy, water, towels, etc.), size of the building (greater number of households allow for better cost support) and many other very relevant variables have not been considered.
The variables considered were location: (1) – only very near Condominium Associations were included in the sample. (2) Cost per square feet from the offer “for sale” available at this date (April 2015) and (3) the cost per square feet charged per month by the HOAs.
Even lacking sophistication and precision that a larger sample could offer and the absence of a time series that could prevent peaks and valleys that a single observation my yield the chart is interesting to observe. If a new list is prepared, let’s say, six months from now and then repeated a few times the question “are Aquarius owners paying too much of HOA fees” could be answered with more accuracy.
In this table the price of sale of Aquarius square foot is close to the average of the neighbors. The monthly cost of maintenance (HOA) is about 70% of the average. Aquarius pay about forty six cents per square feet every month while some neighbors pay about eighty cents. How is that possible?
The table may be not accurate on the real cost of the HOAs. Very often the “for sale” adds present outdated HOA fees. So, if errors are found they are like to increase the maintenance cost of the neighbors. Aquarius cost was presented using the actual charges.
Aquarius Condominium Association
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Directors will be meeting with Association Members for the purpose of discussion and adoption of a Special Assessment on Thursday, April 16, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the Cascade Room, 2751 South Ocean Drive, Hollywood, Florida 33019. This additional Special Assessment is required to complete the West pool project and the renovated Lobby area, Gym, Valet deck reconstruction. The following is proposed:
West Pool Deck
Balance of work to be completed $ 570,045.00
Balconies
Estimated at $80,000.00 Balcony Balance: $ 30,521.00
Gym Roof
Replace Gym roof $ 50,000.00
Valet Area Reconstruction
Area below West Pool Deck $ 2,099,000.00
Mold Remediation
Lobby, Green Room, Cascade Room, Gym
Bar room & Restaurant $ 41,000.00
A/C Retrofit
Replace Air Handlers and Compressors in
North & South Towers $ 375,000.00
Garage Entry Doors (North & South Towers)
Replace doors in North & South Towers $ 32,000.00
Lobby Reconstruction
Reconstruct the Lobby, Green Room, Cascade Room,
Gym and Bar room $ 350,000.00
Shoring of East Pool
Provide shoring per Engineer design $ 40,000.00
40 Year Electrical
Meet 40 electrical requirements $ 150,000.00
Contingency $ 262,434.00
TOTAL ASSESSMENT $ 4,000,000.00
DUE DATES for the Special Assessment:
Dated: March 30, 2015 By Order of the Board of Directors
John Youseff, President
Aquarius Condominium Association
NOTE: To estimate your total Assessment multiply Million Dollars due quote by 4: Example: Units #05 and #08: $4566.90 X 4 = $ 18267.60
Tables of Assessments for sub totals of One Million and Half Million (Tables in .pdf file format open in a new tab)
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AQUARIUS CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC.
Construction Committee Meeting will be on Wednesday April 1, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. in the Media Room 2751 South Ocean Drive, Hollywood, FL 33019.
Agenda:
Posted Monday March 30, 2015
Aquarius Condominium Association
Present: Boris Eydelnant, Joel Cohen, Ilya Gonorovsky, Linda Satz, John Youssef, Andrew Surdovel, Assad Mivza (Attorney for Association)
Also Present: Unit Owners
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 2:02 p.m.
Subject: Changing of Officer’s Position on the Board
Meeting being videotaped.
Boris Eydelnant made a motion to adjourn. Ilya seconded. Motion did not carry.
Joel made a motion to remove Boris as President. Linda seconded.
Ilya commented there is no such thing as an emergency meeting. Should be called by the Secretary and I did not call the meeting.
Boris speaking about examining records and opening valet area. Was very difficult to understand.
Assad the attorney stated that positions are determined by the Board, and the Board can change it if they want.
Joel called the motion to a vote.
Boris NO, Ilya – NO
Joel – YES, John YES, Linda – YES
MOTION CARRIED. JOHN YOUSSEF IS NOW PRESIDENT.
“Emergency basis for the meeting is for the continuing operations of association, as the former president’s refusal to perform the duties needed.”
Joel made a motion to make John Youssef President. Linda seconded. Motion carried.
Motion was made to adjourn by John Youssef. Seconded by Joel Cohen.
signed by Ilya Gonorovsky, Secretary
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