By the Special Action Group of Grand
Vista Condominium
Published December 14, 2003
HIALEAH GARDENS, FL -- At an organized
and peaceful protest this evening, unit owners of Grand Vista Condominium
nominated five unit owners to appear on a recall ballot later this week.
"This is justice! This is what democracy is all about," chairman
Eddie Hernandez told the group of upset unit owners. "We have rights
in this country and as members of the association, we have the right to
recall these board members."
Hernandez, who has for some time taken
criticism because he was one of several unit owners who reported his association
for serious violations of state laws, coordinated this meeting to teach
his neighbors about the recall process.
''A lot of them don't understand what
their rights are,'' State Representative Julio Robaina (R-Miami) told the
Miami Herald. The Grand Vista situation has received statewide attention.
Robaina, who chairs the state's Select Committee on Condo and Homeowner's
Associations Governance, met with several department heads this week to
discuss Grand Vista and the overwhelming number of complaints the state
is getting from many other associations like this one.
Several unit owners at this meeting volunteered
to go door to door this week and gather signatures on properly prepared
ballots. According to unit owners, the fate of this community lies
on a successful recall of board members and future compliance with the
laws.
"It will not be easy to recover from this
situation," unit owner Giraldo Victoria told the members. Victoria said
that owners had lost confidence. "We need to rebuild our finances, work
with the enforcement agencies investigating this situation, continue making
our payments, and volunteer our time to work for our association."
Chief Michael Cochran, for the Department
of Business and Professional Regulations told the Miami Herald that if
a new board is elected, it will inherit the [$50,000] fines of the current
board but his agency would be willing to negotiate the amount.
Go to the inofficial WebPages:
www.grandvistacondo.com
For a list of violations, please visit:
www.grandvistacondo.com/violations |