West Boca Community Council Report

The West Boca Community Council had a meeting tonight at Boca Lago Country Club at 7:30 pm. There were 40-50 people in attendance (pictures below were

Perhaps the most impressive appearance was Capt. Matt Eisenberg who was also at the Chamber breakfast meeting at 7:30 am.
The meeting started with brief comments from a Fire Rescue speaker talking about fire safety and stories of recent incidents.

If you have a fire in the garage close the door from the garage into the house. If your house has a fire inside close the door as you leave. These steps reduce fire damage.
Justin Culp from Commissioner Berger’s office told us that she has been meeting with lots of politicos at the state and national level.

COBWRA speaker about efforts to influence state legislature. Changes sought include something called the HOA/Condo Bill. Extend time for retrofitting elevators. Opt out of telephone directory. Authority to turn off cable TV for delinquent owners.

Mike Pratt – property appraisers office. Exemption filing time has passed. Talked about process of dealing with appraisals with their office. His brief remarks led to eager questions from the audience.

Capt. Eisenberg spoke about adverse possession. Keep an eye out for squatters. An audience member asked about street corner beggars. Capt. E. said its not illegal. There are reports that the beggars make a lot of money. Concerns were also expressed about school kids soliciting for sports teams at intersections.

There are also reports of a big homeless camp at Glades and 441 near the Home Depot & Publix Plaza. There was talk of plaza proposes toclear the spot by adding more commercial space there. Residents didn’t like that idea. Capt. E. noted that deputies routinely offer help getting public assistance but are almost always turned down.

Skate Park should open in June in Loggers Run Park.
Lou Kaplan – Ask The Lawyer – spoke about HOAs and condo associations. Proposals to tax associations per member, to allow members to make copies with their phones and not pay copying fee, limiting timing on challenges to association elections, prohibiting associations from cutting off cable to delinquent owners, hurricane safety for condos, etc. Association personnel records are exempt from inspection.

Kaplan took a number of questions dealing with the intricacies of condo/HOA law. His answers were thorough and impressive.
Overall the WBCC seems more focused on representing the associations rather than residents, which fits with how it was created.