General Membership Meeting Minutes – Welcome to the Spanish Lakes Golf Village Homeowners Association, Inc.

Updated 5/16/2024

The following minutes are the most recent ones. Minutes of prior meetings can be accessed by clicking on the links at the bottom of the page. Minutes can also be found in the HOA binder in the clubhouse.

SPANISH LAKES – GOLF VILLAGE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

MAY 2, 2024

Call to order

The meeting was held in the Auditorium and called to order at 7:02 PM.
Members were welcomed by HOA president, Bill Neal.
Board of Directors introduced: Bill Neal – President, Chuck Koons – Vice President, Susan George – Secretary, Sandi Pierce – Membership Coordinator, Doreen Van Buren – Treasurer
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

Minutes of the last meeting

The membership considered waiving the reading of the last meeting minutes as they are posted for review on the HOA website and in the HOA Binder in the clubhouse. Maryanne Kierych moved to waive reading of the 4/4/24 meeting minutes and to accept them as written and posted; Dottie Regis seconded. All were in favor, and motion was passed.

Treasurer’s report for the period of 4/4/24 to 5/1/24 – Doreen

Doreen reported a beginning checking account balance of $14,006.00, and ending balance of $11,086.79. The savings account ending balance is $100. Petty cash balance is $43.30. (See detailed treasurer report). Bobby Clancy moved to accept the Treasurer’s report; Louise Muskas seconded. All were in favor and the motion was passed.

Membership Report- Sandi

Membership – Sandi reported current membership at 122.
Sunshine –Three (3) get well cards and two (2) sympathy cards were sent since the last meeting.
New homeowners– Five (5) new resident welcome packets were handed out since last meeting. Sandi reminded members to alert her about new neighbours so we can welcome them to the community.

Fundraising/Events

Grille Report & Information – Susan
- The Grille was open 10 regular days and 1 Sunday in April.
- Including the Sunday breakfast, monthly sales were $782. Approximate expenses were $412. We cleared approximately $350.
- There were 87 orders and an estimated 135 individual meals.
- Our last regular Monday/Tuesday Grille days will be the 20^th & 21^st. We plan to restart HOA Grille days in September
- Many thanks to all who helped at the Grille over the past season. There was good teamwork and fun. Recognition given to volunteers Sandy, John, Louise, Joann, Marie, Dottie, Sherrie, Mary, Cathy, Angela, Darlene, Jaime. Thanks also to our Sunday Breakfast crew, Chuck, Lynne, Bill, Sandy, John, Ernie & Susan.
Recent Events – Event Coordinators
- Spring Fling on April 20^th – Our “Boots and Bandanas” theme this year was fun. There was good food, dancing & games. We plan to have a different theme for our Spring Fling each year.
- BUNCO on April 26th – It was good to see some men joining in the fun. We’ll probably continue game night through the summer if attendance warrants it.

Sunday Brunch at the Grille on April 28^th – We tried out serving breakfast until around noon then switching to lunch fare. While breakfast was fairly well attended, there wasn’t much business at lunch. Next month we’ll just have Breakfast.
Upcoming HOA Events – Coordinators
- BUNCO will be on 5/24 at 7pm. There is no charge and all are welcome.
- Pre-Memorial Day Sunday Breakfast at the Grille will be on 5/26 from 9:30 to 12:30pm.
- Memorial Day May 27^th – We haven’t had any volunteers to coordinate this year’s Memorial Day Remembrance program so we’ll just do a short program in the morning at the flag pole.

Media Reports

Facebook – Bill
- We have 666 Facebook “members.”
- To clarify – being a “member” on our Facebook page is not the same as being an HOA member, and does not grant one the right to post on our page. Anyone can look at it, but only HOA members are permitted to post.
Website & HOA News – Susan
- In April, we had 191 website visitors, and 932 views
- Over the summer we’ll be posting any legal updated on our website (under Legal Updates) so be sure to check periodically. If you want to know what’s going on, check our website!
- HOA HAPPENINGS – we’ll be taking a over the summer. If anything happens that you should know about, we’ll post it on our website and Facebook page.

Old Business – Bill

Litigation status
- New attorney – We have a new attorney, Jacob Enser. He has offices in Vero Beach and Stuart so we won’t need to travel so far to meet with him. So far, Atty. Enser has reviewed all aspects of, and documents related to, our case. He has filed a motion for a “case maintenance hearing” which involves meeting with the judge to discuss the status of our case.
- We’ve been advised that Atty. Bobo, the Wynne lawyer, has withdrawn their prior motion and filed a second summary judgement motion. Atty Enser does not believe it will be granted. We will have to file a counter argument.
- Spanish One has withdrawn from the lawsuit. While this changes the fee-split from 3-way to 2-way, Atty. Enser’s fees are less than our previous attorney, so we won’t have an appreciable increase in costs.
Fundraising – Jaime
- The Fundraising Committee is waiting until we get our 501C-3 approval before moving forward with new fundraising activities.
Wynne property condition – Bill
- Monitoring continues. Everyone should file concerns as they arise, and to let us know of any retaliation concerns

New Business

We’re currently addressing the issue of liability for damage to homes by the landscapers. The Wynne’s say that the landscapers are not responsible for damages. That makes no sense, and we don’t believe that is legal. Our attorney agrees they can’t say that. We recommend that if your home sustains damage due to landscapers, send a repair bill to the Wynne’s. If you need to put in pavers to protect your siding/skirting, send a bill to the Wynne’s. If you’ve already paid for repairs etc., send the bill to the Wynne’s for reimbursement. Keep documentation.
Summer meeting schedule – There will be no regular meetings until September. However, should the need arise, an emergency meeting will be called. Members will get an email notice.
Looking ahead to the Fall, we need to set up committees to address issues and work on improving things. The Board can’t do it all. Sandi noted that park management isn’t really listening to the Board. The voices of other residents (the more, the better) should have more clout. Some suggested committees include:
- Pool Committee – There has been discussion about petitioning for a change in pool rules and hours. This apparently was tried in the past but due to an insufficient number of signatures, it was not considered by the Wynne’s. A committee is needed to work on this. Members volunteering – Louise, Jaime, Cathy, Lynda.
- Safety Committee formation – There are a number of safety concerns that need to be addressed (for example, speeding in the park, visible hazards etc.). Members volunteering – Jaime, George, Lynne, Liz.
Accomplishments – Bill

Regarding the lawsuit – A majority of the residents of Golf Village wanted to fight injustices levied by park owners. The HOA represents the community per resident mandate. Yes, things have moved slowly. That is frustrating. Because we live in a country of laws, legal processes take time. We can’t control that. We can only focus on what we can control, and work to move things along. The following are a direct result of our legal action and advocacy:

Got rid of attempted 50% tax pass-through of $34.35/month, $412.20/year, which would have increased monthly payments from 8% to 12%. The resident’s share would possibly increase to 100% of the tax in the future.
- Wynne owned house improvements have occurred (we continue to monitor)
- Park maintenance has improved (we continue to monitor)
- Bocce court sidewalk trip hazard was repaired
- Range fire suppression was repaired
- Clubhouse electrical issues have been resolved
- Street lights were repaired and now all work (we continue to monitor)
- Wood shop now open for use
- The payment for bulk trash removal has been eliminated
- The HOA has provided opportunities for residents to enjoy our community, dances, parties, game nights, the Grille. There have been no mandates to participate or donate. We’ve worked hard to provide opportunities to enjoy social events, even as we’ve raised funds.

Good of the Order

Jamie shared that at the front desk she hears a lot of complaints but rarely a suggestion for how to fix things. She urges everyone to follow the complaint/concern process of filing concerns with park management. If you have any ideas for how to resolve problems, share those too.
A concern was voiced about the low water table in the ponds, due in part to the use of pond water to water the grass, leaving visible trash in the culverts and ponds. Part of the problem may be due to loose recyclables being blown out of the bins. Suggestion made that recyclables should be bagged before putting out in the recycling container.

Adjournment – Motion to adjourn made by Louise Muskas and seconded by Bobby Clancy. All were in favour, and meeting adjourned at 7:35 PM.