Bermuda Bay Condominium Newsletter

KC_HURRICANE_2024.pdf

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Committee Chairs at Bermuda Bay

ARC COMMITTEE - Jennie Creighton - jenniecreighton@tagpartners.org

Beach Restoration Committee - Kerry Morrison - Imzchef@comcast.net

Courts and Sports Committee - Robin Ward - Rifkasema@gmail.com

Environmental Committee - Vic Vena bigvic01@icloud.com

Kayak/Trailer and Boat Committee - Barbi Martinson boutfintime101@gmail.com

Landscaping Committee- Cindy Hansen cindyhansen.travel@gmail.com

Pool Committee - Cindy Vena cyvena@icloud.com

Review Committee- Patti Brazil brazil.patty@gmail.com

Security Committee: Peg Daisley- MDaisley@msn.com

Garbage Disposals (1).pdf

Garbage Disposal Do’s And Don’ts (1).pdf

Final Trash Violation Policy 2022.pdf

https://www.smore.com/sjtf7

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WHERE TO TAKE YOUR TRASH AND OTHER ITEMS FOR DISPOSAL (click this button)

What Are People Doing From Bermuda Bay?

Celebrating Birthdays!

Cheering on the Rays!

Enjoying a trip to Vegas!

Enjoying time with family and friends

Taking a trip out West!

Playing in Volleyball Tournaments

Cruising with loved ones

U.S. owners meeting up in Ireland with our Irish owners

OKTOBERFEST - OCTOBER 5, 2024 - CLUBHOUSE

OktoberFest 6:30-10PM

Brats and music provided by hosts.

OktoberFest games will be played for prizes.

BYOD and a side dish that goes with the OktoberFest theme.!

A sign up sheet is posted at the clubhouse for people to share what they plan to bring!

UPDATES ON THE CLOUT BALCONY/WKM STAIR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Paul Terry spoke at the TownHall meeting to explain the history and forward movement of the Stair/Balcony Project. All the details cannot be outlined here at this time, due to their legal nature, but the solutions were positive. What can be mentioned is moving forward with a construction company that understands defect engineering/construction and can fix the problems at hand. The Board voted to create a Contract Review Committee with Juergen Hofheinz as chair, to review all construction contracts moving forward. Joseph Collins is also a member of this committee and will lend his expertise as the owner of a construction company and many years in the business. The committee is looking for one more person who has the background and interest in serving the community. Please contact the property manager if interested in this position.

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Managers’ report - September 25, 2024

Two Security gate arms have been replaced. Two separate contractors drove through our gate arms within the last 20 days and we’ve collected $977.42 We also are waiting for a quote from our gate company on the recent damage to the gate. This time the bracket that holds the arms was damaged, but the resident has been made aware and is waiting for our quote so they can make the payment. We will no longer allow our property to be damaged without repercussion. -

No Update on My Safe pilot program – Roger and I met with Niko, and he said: Still waiting on the State to release applications. He is on it and will try to make sure we receive the funding allowed for our community.

HOT TOPIC: AC lines are continuing to clog up causing water to build up and poor out of the AC pans or units themselves. This water is causing damage to the units involved and the surrounding units. It is very important for each owner to take precaution and check their AC emergency float valves in their AC’s. Also 24 ounces of white distilled vinegar every month will help alleviate the buildup. Our maintenance team is going around and suctioning out the exterior lines to help with this issue.

Annual meetings and important surveys are approaching, and I need you to keep an eye out for the E-voting ballots coming soon. The last two that were sent out were system checks, I’m sorry for the confusion.

Treasurer’s Report - September 25, 2024

The numbers I am reporting are as at August 31st.

Bank Accounts

Overall, we have a total of $573k in the various bank accounts.

Operating Account

In the operating account the balance is negative $45 hundred. That is an accounting number. The bank does not see it that way as there were checks issued just before the end of the month that are not yet cashed. But we do have a significant shortfall in our Operating Account as several expenses have ballooned.

There are several expenses that will be well over budget by the end of the year. These numbers may have changed since previously reported because another month has passed so it becomes less of a forecast. But it is still a forecast containing many assumptions of what will occur during the rest of the year.

The primary culprits include:

 Legal fees will be well over budget by about $62k, or 100%, primarily due to

construction issues. There have also been some expensive lawsuits with

certain owners.

 The loan interest for the Stairs will be about $35k over budget.

 Taxes are over $14k because we had to pay income tax on the 2023 cable incentive from Spectrum.

 Plumbing issues continue to be a problem and the total cost is projected to be over-budget by about $50k, or 125%. Many of our plumbing problems are caused by people flushing improper items. This also causes problems with the lift station.

 Storm water expenses are $29k, or 115%, over budget.

 Trash collection will be about 35% over budget.

 Repairs to the security gates have been much higher than usual.

 The office & administration expenses are projected to be $18k over budget but that is based on the year-to-date experience. So, there may well be opportunities to bring it more in line.

 Cable costs are about $23k over budget as there were government fees that were not recognized when the budget was prepared.

During previous month’s reports, I reported our insurance costs will be well over budget. That is proving to be not the case as some accounting errors have been is covered. This year’s budget included a substantial increase so we should come in pretty close to budget.

Reserve Fund

The Reserve Fund currently has $301k in the bank.

For the large part, the reduction was due to a correction where some Reserve Fund expenses were paid out of the Operating Account. The fund is quite under funded primarily due to two things. Our ownership voted to only partially fund the contribution required by the Reserve Fund Study. And, the Stair/ Balconies - Project is an unplanned drain on the Fund.

Delinquencies

Delinquencies amounted to just over $45k. That is an increase of $38 hundred since last month. Arrears that are 90 days or older have increased by $47 hundred this month, currently sitting at $27k. Arrears due to the 2022 Special Assessment have been reduced by $900, but there is still $44 hundred owning.

The worst offenders are with the attorney for collection. Demand letters and/or reminder notices are regularly sent to the other owners who are in arrears. While in arrears, these owners are incurring interest charges and notice fees.

Balcony Deposits

We have $258k in deposits from owners for extended balconies. Prepayments have been received from all the owners who have requested extended balconies. In June, $15k was improperly transferred to the Operating account. Correction by CA is still outstanding. I don’t know what is delaying it as I have raised it up several times.

These deposits are on hold in a separate bank account until the respective

balcony is completed. As each balcony is completed, the applicable amount will

be used to partially offset the payment we make to the contractor..

Let's Learn More About Our Finances

IMPORTANT INFORMATION - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS by Christina Stokes

Christina Stokes shared some educational information on the Bermuda Bay owners page. We recognize that this page has a limited audience - so we thought that we would share her hard work and information here - where everyone can see it.

Understanding the Budget: Operating vs. Reserve Budgets & Pooled Reserves

Let’s break down the key parts of the budget and what pooled reserves are all about.

1. Operating Budget This is the day-to-day budget for the condo. It covers regular, recurring expenses like:

• Landscaping
• Cleaning
• Utilities (water, electricity, etc.)

• General maintenance
• Management fees
Think of the operating budget as the cash needed to keep everything running smoothly every month.

2. Reserve Budget
The reserve budget is for long-term, major repairs or replacements. These are things that don’t happen every year but will eventually need attention, such as:

• Roof replacements
• Swimming pool repairs
• Painting the buildings
• Paving the parking lot
This budget helps ensure we have enough money set aside when something needs to be fixed or replaced.

3. Pooled Reserves
Rather than having separate accounts for each item (roof, pool, painting, etc.), pooled reserves combine all reserve funds into one account. The benefit? Flexibility. If one project needs more money than expected (like a pool repair), we can tap into the pooled reserves instead of being restricted to a specific fund. Budget Breakdown: Every month, Bermuda Bay receives $240,318.00 from owners to cover the community’s expenses. Of that amount, $37,500.00 is dedicated to funding the reserve budget.

. Fun fact: In 2015 Bermuda Bay owners voted to adopt pooled reserves.

Sidenote:

Bermuda Bay's Operating Budget does contain a few more items than listed above. Every condominium designs their own. Ours specifically includes:

Payroll expenses - salaries

Administrative: Bank charges/coupons, Loan interest, Division fees, federal, state, and local taxes, professional fees, stair project loan payment, licenses, permits, and fees, office and administrative, Property Mgmt. Contract.

Utility: Cable, electricity, telephone, water and sewer, water/reclaimed, water/storm, Trash

Repairs and Maintenance: Beach maintenance, building and exterior, building supplies, janitorial contract, janitorial supplies, plumbing, electrical, pool repair, pool supplies, pool contract, laundry rooms (gas), security gate repair, security contract, tool/equipment repairs, lift station repairs, lift contract, gate openers, tractor repairs, grounds contract, grounds maintenance, sprinklers, pest control, trees

Insurance: Insurance expense, Flood, G/L umbrella, D&O, W/C, etc.

What is a Reserve Study?

A reserve study is an analysis conducted to help the condo association plan for the future. It estimates the cost and timeline for major repairs or replacements of shared property components, such as roofs, parking lots, pools, and other common areas.

Key Parts of a Reserve Study

Inventory of Property: Lists all the items the association is responsible for maintaining (e.g., roofs, paint, sidewalks, etc.).
Condition Check: It evaluates how much longer these elements will last and when they’ll need to be repaired or replaced. For example, if the roof has 10 years left before it needs to be replaced, the study will reflect that.
Cost Estimation: It forecasts how much those future repairs will cost. This is usually factored into regular condo fees. A reserve study helps prevent surprises by ensuring the association saves gradually over time. In short, a reserve study provides clarity for owners, giving everyone a clear picture of what major repairs are coming. The association usually conducts a reserve study every three years and the most recent study is available on the association’s website.

Understanding Reserves: Fully vs. Partially Funded

The reserve study provides recommended funding amounts for each year going forward to keep us on track for long-term needs.

Fully Funded Reserves: This means we’ve set aside 100% of the funds recommended by the reserve study to cover future repair or replacement costs of our community’s assets.

Partially Funded Reserves: This is when we’ve saved some of the recommended funds but not the full amount. While this can help keep costs lower in the short term, it may mean special assessments or higher fees in the future if major repairs come due.

What does Bermuda Bay have?
In 2023, owners voted to partially fund reserves.

INFORMATION FROM OUR 2022 RESERVE STUDY COMPLIED BY OUR PROPERTY MANAGER

Best regards,

Rafael Ferreris Jr, LCAM

Bermuda Bay Beach Property Manager

BBBmanager@condominuimassociates.com

2025 TO 2027 RESERVE SPREADSHEET.pdf

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SO LET'S LOOK AT WHAT OUR RESERVE STUDY FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS TELLS US

As you can see:

2025 - reserve costs projected in 2022 would be $1,487,685.00

2026 - reserve costs projected in 2022 would be $544,765.00

2027 - reserve costs projected in 2022 would be $860,578.00

Total: $2,893,028.00

This DOES NOT include the Balcony/Stair project, the $225K loan at 8% interest that we wanted to eliminate, nor does it include the Aticus study warning us about the underground water intrusion that can take place. (See September Special Financial newsletter for details). The Stair/Balcony project could be another $500,000.00 or more and the attorney fees moving forward protecting us from a law suit could be as high as $100,000.00 (All Estimations). Just some numbers to be thinking about.

Do we want a special assessment that addresses all of these for the next three years and keep the HOA fees at a minimum (that would require cutting the budget) and only addressing increases that reflect current price increases? If we did consider ALL of these things - a special assessment could be $10,000.00 - $12,000.00.
Since we found out it is illegal to give an incentive to those that pay upfront - those that did would not have to pay interest and fees associated with the monthly coupons.

WE WILL BE MEETING WITH THE BUDGET COMMITTEE THE FIRST WEEK OF OCTOBER - SO WRITE THE BOARD AND GIVE US YOUR OPINIONS AND IDEAS...EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTIONS.

The Board voted to eliminate In-person guards

The Board will continue to look for ways to cut the budget and to keep COA fees done. We will be asking the community to weigh in on ways to be protective of our community. Guards did many important jobs, but at the end of the day the price of $95,000.00 was too much in the eyes of most. Guards did help us identify people without parking tags, illegal vehicles, people without leases, and illegal renters. We will work with CA on ways that we can solve these issues. Again, the Board asks for input. This will take a collaborative effort to make changes and to cover the problems change can present.

We are also looking at the laundry mats to see if changing gas to electric, or a new way to make money off the machines is purposeful. Any and all solutions are on the table - so don't think that any solutions will be ignored.

BERMUDA BAY LEASING

Bermuda Bay has a MINIMUM 30 day lease policy...that means no lease is acceptable with less than 30 days. No leases under 30 days will be permitted. You must also have your $100.00 application fee accompanying your documentation or your lease will be refused. Most owners that lease - follow this policy, but for the few who do not, it could cause a very unpleasant circumstance when your poor tenant arrives. Please follow the rules -they are being enforced.

If you have a long term lease that has expired for over a month, you will be required to pay the application fee and update the lease information. Those that rent need to keep on top of expiration dates and keeping all rental agreements current and up to date. The Bermuda Bay office is not a leasing office. The responsibility falls on the owner.

WORK ORDER SYSTEM - THAT MAKES "WORK REQUESTS" EASIER FOR YOU

The WORK ORDER system in the Condominium Associates (CA) web site is best way to report a repair that is needed (it's not for urgent or emergency matters). When you sign into your CA account, click on OWNER INFORMATION and you'll see that the last item on the drop-down menu is WORK ORDERS. The nice thing about this is you can attach photos, videos. You will be assigned a Work Order number and you can check in on it, and add further comments if necessary. Our property manager uses this work order system to become aware of maintenance issues, assign them to someone, and follow up on them. We know that it often seems like nothing is getting done, but without maintenance help, it is almost impossible to address the many work orders we have. Nevertheless, they are being prioritized and in the cue as soon as we have the staff and the money to address them.

Recently I've been alerted to the fact that several work orders have been closed prematurely, without the work being fully completed or even started in some cases. While it's fine to submit new work orders, a more efficient approach would be for owners to email me directly at bbbmanager@condominiumassociates.com and let me know the condition of the work.This way, I can reopen the existing orders. Reopening helps maintain the chronological order of the queue and preserves any existing notes or photos attached to the original work order.

Please continue to log all your requests and needs through work orders. We are now holding daily meetings to prioritize and ensure efficient, timely completion of these tasks.

Let's keep moving forward into the beautification of the property!

Bermuda Bay Beach Condominium Association, Inc.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO FILL OUT AN ARC FORM IF YOU ARE DOING ANY WORK IN YOUR UNIT

Everyone needs to fill out an ARC application no matter what work you are doing, just for the record. Some work does not need any approval by the ARC committee, but your application will go into your permanent unit file for future reference if ever needed. It also lets us know what vendors will be on property to do work.

Other ARC work will need approval by the committee. Once it is approved by the ARC committee it is moved forward to the Board of Directors who will vote on it at a Board meeting. Plumbing, Electric, and Structural are major and need ARC committee approval. Second story flooring needs approval and a few other things as you can read below.

Also remember - per our new amendment to our documents - you must measure your balcony/lanai if you wish to keep your dimensions for the future. As continued work needs to be done - replacement will hinge on the documentation you are supplying now to the office.

Procedure to follow when filing an ARC application

Owner completes form and gives to office.

Office sends to ARC meeting

All NEW ARC forms MUST be submitted by the first Friday of each month so they can be added to the agenda in time for our Monthly meeting.

ARC holds its MONTHLY Meeting on the Second Wednesday of the Month

ARC committee makes our recommendations to the Board-We give to Board by the second Friday of the month so it can get added to board agenda and packet.

Board has meeting on THIRD WEDNESDAY of each month. They Vote.

Office Manager informs owner of Board decision and any adjustments or info is exchanged and documented.

Office Manager places ARC board notes etc… in the unit file for permanent record of work done within units.

Owner informs to Office Manager schedule of workers on the property. Contractor phone numbers should be on the ARC to help management if there is a problem or confusion of any kind.

ARC Procedures 2024 PDF.pdf

ARC Guidelines 2024 PDF.pdf

ARC Documentation for Lanais and Balconies (2).pdf

ARC Application Form for Modification.pdf

BBB ARC Screen Porch Application (1).pdf