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This page is devoted to the communications from the 5 members of the BOD and we hope they will use it. - Posted December 30, 2002.

It was a dark and stormy night, but 50 plus people showed up for this BOD meeting at which democracy prevailed. Activities Committee Chair Myra Hoffstein said the BOD resolution passed in May 2004 had halted “all off site activities” and also exposed Activities Committee members to personal liability in any suits brought because of accidents, fights etc. that might occur. Her position was supported by many speakers.

No blow-by-blow, but the four BOD members present voted to rescind the May 2004 resolution . Then by a vote of 3 to 1, decided to explore the possibility of purchasing “event” insurance for off the premises outings. Mrs. Hoffstein had objected strenuously when the BOD passed the resolution in May 2004, but there were very few residents at that meeting.

It may be the BOD should hold off until the winter season on making decisions that may be of wide interest to owners.

In a lively budget vote session, the five-member BOD took the following actions:

Unanimously approved borrowing to pay the Association’s insurance bill that comes due January 1, 2005. It will cost the Association about $8,000 in interest charges or about $12.00 for each unit owner. In effect, the BOD rescinded the higher first quarter maintenance payment proposed in the 2005 budget. This website does not know how much each quarterly maintenance payment will be.

Unanimously voted to raise every Association employees pay by $1.00 an hour.

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Treasurer Renee Bergen took the unusual step of going over the budget line-by-line, explaining in detail items with large increases or decreases, then taking questions from the 70 or so owners present.

Some of the explanations of the 2005 budget items follow.

Legal Fees $10,000 – This item will actually be only about $5,000 because of legal fees that will be recovered by the Association. The recent decision to refer owners who are late in paying quarterly maintenance fees to our attorney for legal action costs the Association a $100 legal fee, which is recovered when the owner pays the arrears plus the fee. Three buildings that are involved in litigation have been taking the buildings’ legal fees from the Building Fund Balances of the buildings involved. This procedure has been judged legal by Florida and our attorney. However, Treasurer Bergen said she was not in favor of such borrowings and urged that a special assessment for the buildings involved be made so they can have their own bank accounts as in the past.

Plant Replacement $10,000 – Many of the hedges in the parking lots and other areas of the grounds are missing and are in generally deplorable condition and have been so for a long time.

Cable $172,640 - The Association has a five-year contract with Adelphia which entitles the company to an annual increase. It is still a bargain for owners since an individual contract would cost about $50.00 a month instead of about the $25.00 it is costing us.

There were many other line items of interest and we urge all owners to read the minutes of this meeting when they are posted on the bulletin board outside of the office.

The votes by the BOD on financing the first quarterly payment and increasing employees pay by $1.00 an hour came after a lively discussion by owners. If this exchange make it into the official minutes, they should make interesting reading.

Helen & Tom Collins 601/502 Buildingrep601@yahoo.com www.Bluffscondos.com

11/11/04 In a previous BOD report this website gave a mistaken date for the Board of Directors meeting. The correct date is Thursday November 18, at 7 PM at pool 1550. Sorry for the error.

This is a survey to allow us to know how many owners are interested in having hurricane shutters installed before the next hurricane season. We have contacted several companies and have received very good prices from a reputable dealer, but we need to know how many units we can promise to secure these prices. This is not a commitment. Your response is critical and is needed right away so that we can proceed with this project. A special meeting will be called later this month with the factory representative to answer any questions you may have.

Cost of accordion type shutters mounted from slab to slab on both the front and back of the buildings is as follows.

At the start of the monthly meeting BOD Vice President Henry Hopkins announced that three Board members will vote at next month’s budget meeting scheduled for Nov. 10 to rescind the first quarter building insurance assessments that ranged from $990 to $1,096 and instead borrow the money as has been done in previous years. Mr. Hopkins said the cost of the borrowing would come to just $12.15 interest for the year for each owner.

Some agenda items dealt with by the five members of BOD all of whom were in attendance:

1. Purchasing and installing new tile floors in the elevators was postponed until a committee can see the tiles that will be used in Building 2001 which voted last year to spend $2,200 on renovating their elevator. The tiles have not as yet been put down, but a resident of the building said the coloring of the tile chosen was perhaps more compatible with the tiles on each floor landing which will not be changed. A beige tile tentatively selected for the rest of the elevators was passed around for residents to see.

2. The Board approved hiring Duane Thomas to roof buildings 1801-2601 as well as the portico roofs at a cost of $32,600 which will come out of roof reserves.

3. The Board also approved an $8,000 plus expenditure to restore the chain-link fence along the 501 to 901 perimeter. The downed fence on Marcinski is not our responsibility.

4. There was a wide discussion about installing hurricane shutters which appear to have prevented water damage in those units that have them, but because of many unanswered questions the Board decided the entire matter will have to be looked into more carefully.

Many other matters discussed at the meeting were also reported upon by this website in the Building Rep meeting held Tuesday, Nov. 26 and will not be repeated here. PLEASE READ THAT REPORT IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE SO.

Helen & Tom Collins

601/502 buildingrep601@yahoo.com

“PLEASE BE ADVISED, OUR STAFF IS DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO HANDLE THE CLEANUP, AND, WHERE NECESSARY, EMERGENCY SITUATIONS DUE TO THE HURRICANES.

BUILDING REPS. VOLUNTEERED THEIR SERVICES IN INSPECTING INDIVIDUAL UNITS IN THEIR BUILDINGS AND WRITING REPORTS TO OUR MANAGER. WE HAVE 660 UNITS – SO WE ASK FOR YOUR PATIENCE!!

PLEASE BE AWARE THE ASSOCIATION IS RESPONSIBLE ONLY TO REPLACE DAMAGED DRYWALL/SHEETROCK INSIDE YOUR UNIT (THIS WILL BE CHARGED TO YOUR BUILDING). IF YOU HAVE WATER IN RUGS, OR FLOORING, THIS MUST BE EXTRACTED IMMEDIATELY AT YOUR EXPENSE.

THE ASSOCIATION HAS BEEN SENSITIVE TO RESIDENTS WHO HAVE GUESTS THAT WERE EFFECTED BY THE STORMS, HOWEVER, SOME HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE AND HAVE BROUGHT DOGS, CATS AND OTHER PETS IN VIOLATION TO OUR RULES AND REGULATIONS.

PLEASE ADVISE YOUR GUESTS THEY MUST COMPLY WITH OUR RULES AND REGULATIONS REGARDING PETS.

Marina at The Bluffs Manager Don Hester is in the process of checking each apartment for water and other damage. With 660 units it is going to take a long time, but is necessary if the complex is to avoid mold and other destructive processes that could cause big problems in the future. Structurally, the buildings have held up well, but wind-driven water has entered some units through window edges and under doors, soaking carpets etc.

Helen and I rode out Hurricane Jeanne at the public shelter at Dwyer High School which is located just south of Donald Ross Road on Military Trail. We returned to the Marina at the Bluffs Sunday morning at about 9:45 am. Our top floor unit is okay, except for water-laden carpets in our bedroom and living room. The following photos show a small part of the damage we saw in the Marina. The tree-down photo locations are in the vicinity of buildings 1201, 1701, and various locations. The roof damage is the west side of Building 601 building.

The Dwyer High School photos show Marina residents Mary Ellen Bernstein, Elaine Altenberger in their “room” and in the chow line with some of the more than 1,000 people who sought safety at the shelter. The shelter also sustained some minor damage - broken windows, roof flashing torn loose, etc.

The Red Cross, which learned many lessons well in taking care of Hurricane Frances refugees just a week earlier, did a very commendable job. The volunteers, the school and other police officers are all to be congratulated for the caring job they did.

Helen & Tom Collins

601/502 buildingrep601@yahoo.com

These photos were provided by resident Jack Russo of pool 12 and roof damage at building 13.

Your condo is still here even if you are not. A quick eyeball tour of the Marina at the Bluffs showed no apparent structural damage other than perhaps a few shingles here or there.

However a few more hardwood trees have bit the dust and possibly a few palms, but none of the roadways are blocked. Once again Seafarer Circle closest to the ocean seems to have been hit the hardest. Ground floor residents in at least two of the buildings report having to fight water coming in under their doors and soaking their carpets. This could be true in other ground floor apartments also.

Full power was restored to the buildings at approximately at 6:45 PM (9/26). The power was out our from about 1:30 AM. Some residents report that water seeped in through their windows, which was true in our own apartment. A full report will follow.

Helen & I got home from Oregon yesterday and rode around the Marina at
the Bluffs today taking a few photos. First, some general observations:

1. All in all, the Bluffs withstood Hurricane Frances very well, though
a few of the scars left by the uprooting of several large hardwood trees
will probably be visible for sometime.

2. The worst of the damage appears to have occurred on along Seafarer
Circle and Tidal Basin - the areas closest to the ocean. Off premises,
Marcinski Road took a very hard hit with many trees destroyed. Along the strip
from U.S. 1 to the ocean at A1A, I counted stumps of seven young trees that
were planted in the center strip about two years ago.

3. In addition, many trees that remain standing have been stripped of
most of their leaves, twigs and small branches. There are still piles of
leaves along some curbsides in the Bluffs - there are more important problems
to attend to - but things are gradually returning to 'normal.'

4. Another major casualty, in addition to trees, are signs. The skeletons of
billboards and toppled and twisted road signs are everywhere along I-95,
and everywhere else too. But one of the weirdest effects observed is the
strip-thinning of leaves from bushes on one side of the road while bushes on
the other side remain full and green.

Now the photos:

The first three photos were taken in the parking lot and in front of
building 601 on Seafarer Circle. In addition to the destroyed tree, the
five-foot fence between the Bluffs and the adjoining property was also
damaged. It is not the only fence damaged on or near the property, part
of the fence at pool 601 is also down.

Photos four and five are stumps of very large trees now awaiting
disposal in a parking lot at the end of Tidal Basin Road.

Photo six was taken of a car in front of Building 1701.

Photos seven and eight show the tennis courts, but the twisted and
tilted light stanchions do not show up to well in the pix.

That's it.

Helen & Tom Collins
601/502.

The following information was provided by several Bluffs residents this website reached by phone Tuesday. It is not official, but gives some idea of the damage sustained on the property from Hurricane Frances. It is not gospel.

1. Manager Don Hester is on the property and patched a hole in the roof of building 23. This was the only structural damage the people we talked to were aware of. Residents say Mr. Hester & his staff are "doing a tremendous job."

2. Shingles are off some of the roofs, many trees are down - especially the hardwoods.

3. Part of the fence at pool 601 is down.

4. Some windows in building 601 are broken, and perhaps, elsewhere.

5. Cars left in the parking lots seem to be okay, but the tarps are gone.

6. Marcinski has a lot of trees down, but they are being cut up and the cars are weaving their way through.

7. The electricity was off for four days and a big problem is defrosted refrigerators leaking water on kitchen floors and rotted food.

8. The boats in the basin appear to have come through okay.

"It was like 'The Wizard of Oz,' said the only resident of his building to ride out the storm. "I'll never do it again."

That's it for today from Oregon folks. If we get any information worth passing on, you will hear. Stay tuned.

A Marina at the Bluffs resident, who was able to get into her apartment Sunday, reports that the buildings appear to have suffered no structural damage, though shingles have been blown off some roofs, shutters have been blown away and there are many, many trees down. As of 10 am Monday power and water had not as yet been restored. This web site will continue to pass on information as we get it. As we told you all before we are in Oregon on a long planned visit to my daughter.

Helen & Tom Collins
601/502

Ninety-five-mile-an-hour winds continued to buffet Jupiter at noon
today in the wake of Hurricane Frances. Manager Don Hester is in north Florida
after being forced to evacuate his home in Jupiter Farms and was awaiting the
brunt of the storm this afternoon. He said he would return to the Bluffs
when the storm abates to assess the damage.

Frances came ashore near Stuart, which is about 20-miles north of Jupiter and Mr. Hester said
local news reports where he is reported 95 to 110 mph winds through last night in Jupiter.
He said he has been unable to reach anyone - police etc. - who might be able to provide
information about any damage at the Marina at the Bluffs.

He said he would let this web site know as soon as he has any
confirmed information.

If any Bluffs resident has specific information about
damage at the Bluffs please communicate it to fellow owners by
e-mailing the details to: buildingrep601@yahoo.com.

Thanks, Helen & Tom
601/502