Clubhouse at center of controversy in Tamarac

Article Courtesy of CBS Channel 4 Miami

By Morgan Rynor

Published September 18, 2023

MIAMI - A packed house at the Tamarac City Commission meeting Wednesday night.

The majority of the residents who showed up were upset that the city approved the purchase of an old clubhouse that's part of an HOA community, Shaker Village. The city's goal is to turn it into a community center.

A storm destroyed the clubhouse years ago, and now it sits gutted along Commercial Boulevard. Residents in the area call it an eyesore.

Those against the taxpayer-funded purchase said it's not their job to bail out other homeowners associations.

"We should not be paying for another condo's clubhouse," Carole Cohen of Tamarac said. "Very simple. If we have a problem in our community, we get assessed."

"If we need to raise our maintenance fees, that's what you have to do to make necessary repairs," Kings Point President Rich Bobker said. "Shaker Village has not done this since 2015. Why is it Tamarac's responsibility to take care of this village?

Also at the center of the controversy, the vice mayor of the city lives within the townhome community. But Elaine Peterkin said who cares.

Clubhouse at center of controversy in Tamarac

"It doesn't matter where the vice mayor lives or where he doesn't live, he's not doing it because of him living there," Peterkin said. "It's for the community."

Both she and Gloria Street said the community center will make the city as a whole better.

"It will be beautiful to drive by and see a nice building standing there," Street said.

The city already approved the purchase of this clubhouse. They've approved 1.9 million for the purchase. That does not include the construction of the new facility. The vote Wednesday night is to make it a shared-use facility, meaning the HOA will have limited use of it for meetings.

The first resident who stood up to speak tonight is an attorney who said he filed an emergency injunction Tuesday night to stop the sale of the clubhouse to the city. He said it's illegal for the homeowners association to sell the clubhouse without 75 percent of the homeowner's approval.