PRESENT BOARD MEMBERS: Bertrand Fonji, Onelia Codrington, Julius Drelick, Jaime Parra, and Joe Brennan (me).
I. WHY I’M A GOOD PERSON TO HAVE ON THE BOARD
My entire focus as a Board member has been on protecting you, your home, and your investment:
A. I have demonstrated repeatedly and consistently that I have the courage, conviction, integrity, and confidence to stand up for the things that truly matter for the owners at Uptown Place in protecting their homes and investments. I do the right thing no matter what by actively advocating for the Uptown Place owners I support and represent – even if unpopular and even if I have to go against the Board majority. I have done this repeatedly, persistently, and consistently. For example, this has been the 3rd consecutive hurricane season where I have actively engaged 3 different Boards and fought for protecting our homes and investments by getting the stormwater system work done as well as the permanent fix for the roof – building issues which could result in devastating consequences if not promptly and permanently resolved. One obvious example of how ridiculous this has been: the draft of the Structural Reserve Study has communicated that it only costs $331k to replace our roof. So, we have spent $178k of throwaway costs on temporary fixes over the past 3 hurricane seasons when a permanent fix would only cost $331k and be completely covered by insurance? Where’s the logic in that? You can read more about all of these issues here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/uptown-place/three-major-building-weaknesses-in-hurricane-season-yet-again-for-the-3rd-time/
B. My entire focus is on the owners I support and represent, and I have never strayed from my owner-centric, owner-advocate focus – something which has made me unpopular with certain Board members because they know if there’s ever a conflict between what the Board wants and what’s in the best interests of the owners, I’m always going to side with the owners. That’s what fiduciary responsibility is all about. For example, I formed the UPTOWN PLACE OWNERS GROUP back in 2020 to give owners a “voice” (please join us if you would like your voice to be heard https://www.facebook.com/groups/271140264182209 or send me an email at joe.brennan85@gmail.com). This group has grown from 8 members back in 2020 to 124 members today representing 143 units (60%) at Uptown Place. One of the group’s first major accomplishments was back in 2023 – which was the first time in Uptown Place’s 22-year history where Board members actually got elected by the owners here. This is a big deal because it means Board members now have to be more transparent, accountable, and supportive of the owners otherwise they risk being voted off the Board in the next election. Prior to that milestone achievement, the Board was comprised of the same owners who would simply roll over year-after-year and could do whatever they wanted without any repercussions because they knew that per the By-Laws 49 votes had to be casted in the annual election before any votes would be counted – the most that had been received was 13 votes back in 2022. For most years, 5 or 6 votes were casted and a popular strategy Board members frequently employed was not voting in the attempt to keep the voting numbers below the 49 threshold. Well, those days are over. Back in 2021, the owners in the owners group asked me to join the Board so that we’d have more insight and greater influence. So, I ran for the Board and officially became a Board member back in February 2022. I have been on the Board ever since, and I have never strayed from my owner-centric, owner-advocate focus.
C. I have actively and consistently worked each of the major building issues and coordinating with the Police Department, the State Attorney’s Office, the Fire Department, the City of Orlando Leadership and various City of Orlando departments (Director of Public Works, City Planning, Code Enforcement, Permitting Services), Orange County, St. Johns River Water Management District, Internal Affairs, Public Defender’s Office, the after-hours maintenance, the onsite staff, and residents and owners. I promptly addressed each of the building and community issues to resolve everything as expediently as possible, keep the repair costs as low as possible, and help hold the Board, the Management Company and staff, contractors, residents, and City of Orlando and Orange County officials accountable. I have demonstrated repeatedly and consistently to the owners and residents here that I am someone who can be trusted, relied upon, and counted on. I actively led the charge in addressing key Uptown Place Community issues such as: the stormwater system, roof, safety/security, budgeting issues, water intrusion/mold issues, property management, community rules and enforcement processes, and holding those entrusted to support the Uptown Place community accountable. Some of the specific ways I have contributed to our building/community are summarized in the link following this paragraph. What you will find is clear and substantial evidence that I have been extremely active, committed, and dedicated, that I have done a lot for our building, our community, and the individual unit owners, and that I have been highly relied on by the owners and the residents here at Uptown Place. Not only did I focus on and participate in each of the board activities and such (like all the other Board members do), but in addition to all of that, as an onsite Board member who actually lives in the building, I also focused on and actively worked towards resolving specific building and community issues. So, I was extremely busy, committed, and dedicated, and I honestly do not know how much more value you could have gotten out of an unpaid volunteer serving as an onsite Board member. We are certainly not getting that kind of support out of offsite Board members. Here is a sample of my key contributions for 2023-2024 – and this is in no way a complete list: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/uptown-place/key-contributions-for-2023-2024/
D. I have 2.5 years of Board experience at Uptown Place and am intimately familiar with: 1) the Florida Statutes and other laws governing Uptown Place and Condominium Associations (including the new laws passed in 2024 and their implications – these laws are very important in that they improve owner protections and transparency, and hold Boards and Management Companies more accountable), 2) proper and legal Board and Community Association Management (CAM) processes, 3) all of the financial and other Association data and can readily find and actively resolve issues and errors to ensure our HOA finances remain healthy, 4) the budgeting, invoicing, accounting, and accounts receivable processes.
E. I have established and maintained key relationships in the Orlando area to include the City of Orlando Leadership and various City of Orlando departments (Director of Public Works, City Planning, Code Enforcement, Permitting Services), Orlando Police Department, Internal Affairs, the State Attorney’s Office, Orange County, St. Johns River Water Management District, and the Public Defender’s Office.
F. I actively track and keep up with the status of all Uptown Place related tasks/activities and am very organized and detail oriented (as evidenced by this write-up and all of the supporting information I have provided). I keep detailed, thorough records and have intimate and historical knowledge, understanding, and substantial background and other information for each of the major building issues including the shingle roof, the flat roof in the HVAC areas, the Fire Suppression system, the stormwater system, insurance issues and implications, and warrantee and maintenance information. I have become a resident expert on the stormwater system and the roof issues. Having an organized, detail-oriented person on the Board is the reason I was able to: 1) find the $564,000 cash balance back in November 2023 that nobody (the Board or the Management Company) knew about. They asked me how I found it, the source data I used to make this determination, and how I calculated the cash balance. So, nobody was tracking this or had any awareness of this. 2) take notice of and report a $23,000 over payment made to W.B. Mason on 7 March 2024 for an invoice amount of $175 which turned out to be a huge error that had to be corrected. 3) discover that the pool refinishing work after the Unit 540 Resident wreaked havoc on our building was paid out of the reserves (2 payments of $10,621.00 each). However, the use of any reserves funding is supposed to be tightly controlled requiring formal Board approval but that did not happen. So, that had to be reversed. 4) fact check and correct the “good news” story the Board communicated at the 3 July 2024 Board meeting – for some reason they were not aware that we were actually overbudget by $22,000 as of May 2024 or that all of the “good news” was due to one-time factors which, after accounting for them, meant the cash balance was actually $130,000 less than it was a year ago. As such, we were in a much worse financial position from a year ago – not better – since this was due to one-time factors. In addition, the $22,000 overrun would have been much more substantial if we had been fully staffed (we had two vacancies: the maintenance supervisor and the housekeeper positions) and had we performed the planned maintenance/repair/replacement activities. No member of the Board (besides me) or the management company had any awareness of the above 4 issues. I can provide the email messages associated with each to anyone who would like to see them.
G. I have a solid vision for how to: 1) improve Uptown Place’s financial position and sustain it so HOA fees will be as low as possible, 2) address the key building risks so owners won’t have to worry about their homes or places to rent during heavy storms or hurricanes, 3) fix and take ownership over the Rental Management function to restore the synergies that existed prior to the function (and staff) being removed from Uptown Place, and 4) obtain owner feedback before moving out on non-emergency items which affect the community and making the owners the primary focus of the Board/staff. For example, getting the Management Company to do End-of-Year financial projections is key to keeping our HOA fees as low as possible. In the December 2023 monthly financials report, it showed we went over-budget on expenses for 2023 by $90,000. And we had no way of knowing about this until mid-February when the December 2023 financial report was uploaded. And, as indicated by item F above, we’re $22,000 over-budget on expenses for 2024 as of the May 2024 financial report.
We must get our Management Company to do a better job of actively managing the budget and, anytime a shortfall is projected, they must take ownership and promptly communicate their plans for getting back on track. If they did this then we/they would make smarter decisions by focusing only on the most critical priorities during those times when budget shortfalls are anticipated. You can read more about each of the above 4 initiatives here: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/four-primary-goals/.
H. I take my Board duties and responsibilities very seriously and do whatever it takes to get the job done right the first time. I will continue to advocate for the owners at Uptown Place, actively fight for the things that truly matter to protect our homes and investment(s) and do whatever it takes to get the job done as I have over the past 2.5 years as a Board member.
I. I’m a resident owner who lives in the building and have owned my unit since 2007. Advantages of having resident owners on the Board include: 1) greater, intimate awareness of Uptown Place issues, 2) making timely, effective decisions, 3) experiencing firsthand the consequences of (and answering to the community for) actions taken, decisions made, or any lack of actions taken, 4) having the ability to inspect, address, and confirm whether quality work is being performed firsthand or otherwise stay on top of building issues to ensure they are getting promptly resolved, at reasonable costs, and to the highest standard, and 5) actively taking steps which promote a stronger, warmer community.
J. When owners at Uptown Place get harmed by situations which are not of their own doing, I reach out to help and comfort in any way I can – instead of attacking them and going after them with lawsuits and such the way the present Board majority did against the owner of Unit 540 (see item II.C.3. below). Most owners would appreciate having someone on the board who is willing to protect and support them if anything bad happens in which they are an innocent party.
II. WHY NEW BOARD MEMBERS WOULD BENEFIT UPTOWN PLACE (AND YOU AS AN OWNER)
Although my entire focus as a Board member has been on protecting you, your home, and your investment, the other Board members, in my strong opinion, have repeatedly and continually done the opposite by exposing you, your home, and your investment to unacceptable and intolerable risks. In my experience, they have done this in multiple ways:
A. Repeated Negligence and Complacency by Current Board Majority Has Forced Owners to Unknowingly Take Unacceptable, Intolerable Risks.
In violation of the Florida Statutes and the Condo Documents, the same three (3) Board members presently comprising the Board majority have repeatedly been negligent and complacent by forcing the Uptown Place owners to take intolerable, unacceptable risks that they have no awareness of and would never take on their own. As such, it is imperative the owners at Uptown Place vote for a new Board that is committed to resolving these building issues – otherwise, a catastrophic outcome could be experienced in a heavy storm or hurricane, and people could end up losing their homes and places to rent as a result. Owners should never be forced by any careless, complacent, or negligent Board to have to worry about unresolved building issues in the midst of hurricane season. For those who are unfamiliar with these issues, please click on the following link: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/uptown-place/three-major-building-weaknesses-in-hurricane-season-yet-again-for-the-3rd-time/
B. Repeated Questionable, Malicious, Unprofessional, and Defamatory Behavior by the Current Board Majority Has Exposed the Owners to Substantial and Repeated Cost Risk and Legal Risk.
The same three (3) Board members presently comprising the Board majority have repeatedly engaged in questionable, malicious, unprofessional, and defamatory behavior (as indicated by items II.A, II.B, II.C (1-5), and II.E), and have ignored laws and failed to faithfully follow them. These actions exposed Uptown Place owners to substantial and recurring cost risk and legal risk. New Board members who are committed to protecting the rights of owners and faithfully following laws would better ensure there are not so many issues or the need to get attorneys or other external parties involved. It’s only when people engage in reckless behaviors in the attempt to ignore, circumvent, break, or bend laws that these kinds of issues arise. So, the true answer is not asking people to not sue the Board but voting for a Board that steers clear of engaging in questionable behaviors so that nobody has a reason to sue the Board. Per 718.112 (2)(d)(4b) and 718.111(1)(d) of the Florida Statutes, each and every board member must: (1) certify in writing that he/she will uphold the By-Laws and other governing condominium documents to the best of his or her ability, and (2) faithfully discharge his or her fiduciary responsibilities in the best interests of the association’s members. However, the current Board majority has repeatedly violated these Florida Statutes (see items II.A, II.B, II.C (1-5).
The same three (3) Board members presently comprising the Board majority also engaged in defamatory behavior – and defamation is a criminal offense in Florida. These Board members participated in unprofessional, vindictive, extreme measures, and criminal behavior by teaming together to not only remove the former Board President but to also punish, defame, and humiliate this former Board President by making a public spectacle out of it in front of the owners and staff, and sending out a defamatory message to the entire community both via email and hard copy via U.S. mail. The former Board President was me (Joe Brennan). They did this because: 1) they wanted to push me out of their way and attempt to convince you to vote me off the Board in the 2024 election, 2) they wanted to punish me for refusing to back down and continuing to actively fight to get each of the critical building issues permanently resolved so that owners would not have to suffer the consequences of inaction and complacency, 3) I disagreed with the Board multiple times and tried to advocate for the owners at Uptown Place by fighting for the big, important things that matter using arguments supported by facts and laws – reflecting a commitment to fiduciary duty as legally required by 718.112 (2)(d)(4b) & 718.111(1)(d) (see the previous paragraph above for the Florida Statute text), and 4) they wanted to retaliate against me for my repeated attempts to hold these Board members accountable and pushing back against their actions, inactions, demands, desires, covers, and cover-ups. I will never be a “go along with the crowd” kind of person – much to the dismay of these Board members. They would rather I roll over and let them have their way and not make a fuss about any of it – but that is not the kind of person I am. I take my work as a Board member very seriously and am committed to doing the very best I can to advocate for the owners that we are required to support and represent.
it’s very easy (and of course very cowardly – especially when you deny that person the ability to respond to your allegations) to target one person and to bully and gang up on that person, but much more difficult to be that person and to have to fight the offending parties – most people would just simply crumble. However, I am not that person. I have never strayed from my owner-centric, owner-advocate focus – something which has made me unpopular with certain Board members because they know if there’s ever a conflict between what the Board wants and what’s in the best interests of the owners, I’m always going to side with the owners. That’s what fiduciary responsibility is all about.
Present Status: Only the management company has access to all of the owners’ contact information and email addresses. So, if you are wondering why I did not respond to everyone regarding those allegations, well, I tried but the Management Company and the Board refused – and it’s of course very cowardly to attack someone while denying that person the opportunity to respond. So, that’s the Board you presently have, and now I have no choice but to pursue this via my defamation attorney to get justice on this. I am of the firm belief that our owners should not have to pay for the criminal behaviors of individual Board members. As such, I’ve coordinated with my defamation attorney to determine how to proceed on this legal matter without this affecting the owners here (financially speaking). We’ve concluded the best way to achieve this would be to wait until Board changes happen before taking any further action on this. This legal strategy will ensure that none of the owners have to pay to defend against the lawsuit since any Directors no longer on the Board automatically lose access to the Association Attorney – so they will have to pay for their own attorneys to defend their actions. Note: In the attempt to protect themselves at the expense of you owners, the Board majority recently purchased insurance out of your HOA fees for their legal defense after they leave the Board for up to 5 years – so they want you to pay for their legal defense instead of themselves for their criminal behaviors. Rest assured this insurance will be canceled once the new Board is in place. I will confirm this and that nothing I do will affect the owners here (financially speaking) before taking legal action. So, I stand by my commitment that this defamation matter will not affect the owners – just the individual Board members themselves. Once they are off the Board, I will actively and aggressively pursue this legal matter via my defamation attorney, and I will not stop until I get justice.
You can find out more about this defamation issue to include background information and the specific information and evidence showing that each of the Board allegations are false by clicking on the following link: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/uptown-place/background-information-and-evidence-the-board-allegations-are-false-and-defamatory-in-nature/
Please contact me at joe.brennan85@gmail.com if there are specific topics in the link above that you have interest in or are concerned about. I have a lot of details and supporting evidence I can provide including official Association records, email messages, and other supporting facts.
C. Repeated Failures by Current Board Majority to Respect and Protect the Legal Rights of Owners.
The same three (3) board members presently comprising the Board majority have repeatedly failed to respect and protect the rights of owners and have had a tendency to attack innocent parties. The below are five (5) specific examples:
1. These three (3) Board members improperly and illegally approved the 2024 Budget with a reserves shortfall – depriving the Uptown Place owners of both their legal right to know and their legal right to vote. The owners had the legal right to: 1) know about the reserves shortfall, and 2) vote and have a say on whether to accept the reserves shortfall (or not). The Board is legally required to protect the rights of owners, and the Board did not have the legal authority to approve the 2024 Budget unless the reserves were fully funded – any budget with a reserves shortfall must be approved by a majority vote by the owners (see Paragraph 6.3 of the By-Laws section of the Condo Documents). The regulators agreed, communicating that a majority vote is required for Reserves shortfalls but that it applies to all of Florida (per the Florida Statutes) – not just Uptown Place as I had thought previously.
2. Two of the three Board members presently comprising the Board majority used improper procedures and ignored the legally mandated Board decision process when, to your detriment, they maliciously, out of self-interest, removed the Rental Management program (and the staff) from Uptown Place – insisting that it be transferred remotely to the Don Asher office because of a specific staff member they did not like and repeatedly bullied (they gave Don Asher two options: 1. Fire Krissy, or 2. Hire a new person and that person could stay at Uptown Place – However, Don Asher had no reasons to fire Krissy because she was very committed, dedicated, and her job-related proficiency and performance was rated as excellent), and removing all of the synergies that existed previously when the Rental Management function (and leasing office and staff) resided onsite at Uptown Place. This change was accompanied by the part-time receptionist getting replaced by a full-time office manager resulting in $18k+ in additional recurring labor costs. No discussion was held with the owners to obtain feedback and consider the impacts prior to making these substantial changes. This is a key cause for concern because 65% of Uptown Place is rented out and this selfish action created several adverse impacts to include more vacancies and lengthier vacancies in the building, as well as increased risks to the units themselves, the common building areas, and surrounding units due to: 1) not being able to promptly access rental units to address unit issues, and 2) delayed maintenance/repair/replacement actions. Such delays can cause small problems to get much worse. As such, these changes were detrimental not only to those renting out their units but also to resident owners. If you’d like to know more about how this went down and witness firsthand the underhanded ways certain Board members do things, please click on the following link: https://brighterdayslifecoaching.com/uptown-place/information-on-why-krissy-was-removed-from-uptown-place/
Per the Florida Statutes governing Condominium Associations and the Condominium Documents governing Uptown Place, all Board decisions are to be fully debated and discussed not only across ALL of the Board members – but also in open meetings in consideration of what you owners think. And all owners have a right to speak at meetings. However, for the current Board, decisions have frequently been quietly made by the same three (3) board members presently comprising the Board majority prior to a meeting taking place (or even without a meeting) – without even having debates or discussions across all Board members – instead of in coordination with the owners they are supposed to be supporting and representing. So, this has concerned me greatly, and in my repeated attempts to hold these Board members accountable and pushing back against their actions, inactions, demands, desires, covers, and cover-ups, the 8 February defamatory event happened.
There are specific processes which must be followed for Board decisions to be valid and enforceable. Several of the supposed “Board decisions” of the past can be challenged and overturned due to the improper processes used to include the decisions communicated in items II.A, II.C.1-2, II.C.4, and II.E of this write-up.
3. The same three (3) board members presently comprising the Board majority actively and aggressively took legal action using two different attorneys against the owner of Unit 540 in which he/she was an innocent party. The owner of Unit 540 was not involved in any of the rental coordination activities or even knew who the problem resident was. The owner lives out of town (and frequently out of the country) and used the Management Company to handle all of the screening and other Rental Management processes and had nothing to do with any of it. As such, any judge or jury would readily agree that the owner was innocent – which meant that the $6k+ spent on the Association Attorney for pursuing this matter would be a complete waste and would never get recouped. And that is exactly how things turned out. In contrast, I was the sole party, without assistance from anyone else on the Board, who spent months actively pursuing action against the only, guilty party – the problem resident of unit 540. I’ve written a lot about all of this in our Owners group at Uptown Place. If interested, you can read more about this via the following posts: a) https://www.facebook.com/groups/271140264182209/posts/1099070724722488/, b) https://www.facebook.com/groups/271140264182209/posts/979151653381063/, c) https://www.facebook.com/groups/271140264182209/posts/959782008651361/, and d) https://www.facebook.com/groups/271140264182209/posts/960253005270928/.
4. The same three (3) board members presently comprising the Board majority chose to ignore and deliberately violate the Florida Statutes and Association’s By-Laws by attempting to push the 2024 Annual Election out to December (instead of June as legally required) so they could remain in power out of self-interest – ignoring their fiduciary responsibilities to the owners here at Uptown Place. The only reason they held the 2024 Annual Election on 13 September was because they were forced to. We need Board members who respect the laws and the rights of owners, and who are committed to upholding and supporting these as legally required.
5. Betrand Fonji (no doubt with help from the other Board members presently comprising the Board majority), sent out a second defamatory message on 15 August 2024 designed to interfere with the 2024 elections while, of course, congratulating themselves. Election interference is a very serious matter by regulators and other outside parties – and this is a reportable offense. In addition, the new laws recently passed hold Boards and Property Management companies more accountable, and they are no longer allowed to retaliate when “public statements critical of the operation or management of the association” are made. They are also no longer allowed to use Association funds in support of these actions – but they have done so repeatedly. So, they have broken the laws yet again and can be held accountable for that.
D. A Majority of the Present Board Members Live Outside of Florida.
The same three (3) board members presently comprising the Board majority do not live at Uptown Place. This is a key cause for concern because everything must be managed from afar, and offsite Board members have no intimate or ongoing awareness of building/community/unit issues, do not have to share the impacts or deal with the consequences and answer to the community, and are not able to inspect, address, and confirm whether quality work was being performed firsthand or otherwise stay on top of such building issues to ensure they are getting promptly resolved, at reasonable costs, and to the highest standard.
E. Lack of Transparency, Accountability, and Respect by Current Board Majority for Proper, Legally Mandated Board Processes.
The same three (3) board members presently comprising the Board majority have been controlling the Board since September 2023 by quietly coordinating amongst themselves and deciding how they wish to proceed on issues related to Uptown Place – at the exclusion of the other Board members. Anytime Board decisions, discussions, or actions are selectively and secretly carried out without the entire Board’s knowledge, or worse – with the intentional exclusion of certain Board members – it is illegal and a key cause for concern. Per the Florida Statutes and the Condominium Documents, the Board operates as a collective, 5-member, governing body – not as individuals on the board. As such, individual board members or multiple board members cannot team together to initiate or direct actions or make decisions – only the full, entire Board as the collective, governing body can make decisions – and ALL board members must be given the opportunity to participate and have equal access to information. The bottom line is Directors on the Board are elected positions by the owners. As such, individual Board members (or multiple Board members for that matter) cannot decide amongst themselves that certain Board members be excluded from communications, information, and Board activities. However, these kinds of actions have happened repeatedly in direct violation of the Florida Statutes and the Condominium Documents.
In addition to the above, the same three (3) Board members presently comprising the Board majority violated the Florida Statutes by directing that no individual votes be documented in the official Association records – only whether each item passed with a majority Board vote or not. So, there’s no transparency or accountability in the voting process which is in direct violation of the Florida Statutes.
Please contact me at joe.brennan85@gmail.com if you would like any specifics, additional information, supporting evidence, and such including official Association records, email messages, and other supporting facts. I have 100+ pages of Association records, email messages, and supporting facts regarding the above that I can provide to anyone who would like to see it.
Although my entire focus as a Board member has been on protecting you, your home, and your investment, the other Board members, in my strong opinion, have repeatedly and continually done the opposite by exposing you, your home, and your investment to unacceptable and intolerable risks. As such, Board changes would greatly benefit you as an owner.
PRESENT BOARD MEMBERS: Bertrand Fonji, Onelia Codrington, Julius Drelick, Jaime Parra, and Joe Brennan (me).