The Future of CROA

It’s officially that time of year where residents have the opportunity to run for the CROA Board of Directors. It’s no surprise that I ran to make a difference in how residents are informed of action items and ensure fiduciary responsibility from a fractured board in 2022. I had a goal to hold the board and management accountable while pushing for transparency of information.

To say I was surprised by the behavior and state of affairs from my very first meeting would be an understatement. And many of you have been with me on the journey along the way since then. 

As I think about what this year has presented (our first ever referendum, a recall effort for three board members, contracts signed without a vote, and a retaliatory effort to censure a board member,) I also am reminded of the overwhelming community engagement and seemingly all-time high resident participation levels. It’s been a wild year, though more residents are educated and involved, which is a very positive outcome.

I expect that this will continue with this election season, and we will see more residents engaging to be a part of the positive solution going forward, including participating on committees next year at a higher level of engagement.

As we start to think about the next term and the new Board, I wanted to share my thoughts about the direction I believe CROA should be headed from my perspective, as well as some ideas about how to correct our course, and also how to help take our community to the next step as we near the completion of our land development around town.

Some of my top goals for CROA in 2024 are as follows: 

• Support the Goals and Vision of the Master Plan Advisory Group (MPAG)

  • Based on available and proposed funding and budgets, begin to execute the goals as suggested by the MPAG in a way that is effective and expeditious for the community. Also, develop a Master Plan Committee, whose focus would be to ensure future boards have a guidemap of projects and objectives based on real data (while ensuring new information is collected as appropriate.)

  • Complete an updated Reserve Study (under the supervision of the Master Plan Committee.)

• Implement Appropriate Updates to Governing Documents

  • Require a super majority board vote for expenses over $250K (a minimum of five votes would be required to pass.)

  • Require a community vote for capital expenditures over $1M.

  • Reduce the role and powers of the Board President, to ensure CROA is run with an even, balanced perspective, inclusive of varying viewpoints, and helping ensure checks and balances are in place to prevent things such as private meetings where other Board members are excluded or where direction is given to management without full Board knowledge.

  • Update the election timeline (and establish guidelines for all voting procedures) allowing for a maximum two-week voting period for all formal community votes. Also, allow homeowners to opt out of paper ballots if they so desire (as per Florida Statute 720, section 3.17.)

  • Allow for digital transfer of all records requests, rather than the current requirement for them to be in print for review. This is a waste of management time and resources. I would advocate that documents are primarily provided to homeowners electronically, and that printed requests follow Florida Statue 720 guidelines.

  • Implement checks and balances to help ensure the role of the president has no excessive authority as compared to fellow board colleagues, especially when it comes to communication and management engagement and directives.

  • Maintain the Dog Park Committee past its sunset date of February, 2024.

• More Accountability of Board Liaisons

  To improve communication overall, and ensure two-way engagement between the Board and committees, implement the following guidelines for accountability:

  • Require written recaps from Board Liaisons to the board, shared with the community on the committee page regularly.

  • Any board member serving as liaison during their third year will also have a co-liaison, to ensure committee process and projects have continuity to the next Board.

• Major Contracts RFP’s

  As we near the end of the management company’s contract, I will advocate to solicit bids for the management contract, just as we do with all large contracts when they are up for renewal. This would help us ensure our pricing is fair and that our scope of work is adequate for our changing needs. Whether CROA maintains the Grand Manors contract or not, one thing I strongly believe is that the current written agreement does not meet the needs of CROA. The contract with Grand Manors does not mirror the RFP issued, and if Grand Manors is awarded a renewal, I strongly believe the contract needs to be revised to better meet the needs of CROA (as dictated by CROA, and NOT Grand Manors.)

  • Evaluate other considerations for legal representation that more align with what is best for the organization, rather than management or personal Board member motivation.

  • Ensure all contracts still in term (ie. landscaping, pool maintenance, etc.) are being evaluated regularly and properly enforced.

Some of these things are quick and easy. Some will require more time. And some are absolutely necessary to prevent the recurring theme of the past two years from continuing to damage our association. This list is also not complete. There are other things we need to give attention to. But many of these items will help us tackle our bigger issues, like contract problems, communication matters, and direct homeowner concerns. I would very much like to approach the 2024 Board Year with a plan for bringing a very lacking level of professionalism to our organization.

Nobody can predict the future, however I do plan to support candidates whose objectives align with the ideology I displayed in 2023, and my goals for 2024. To be clear, I’m not looking to only support candidates who only want to do what I think we need to do. We absolutely need varying perspectives, and I appreciate being challenged to see other viewpoints. I’ve done this with other board members throughout this past year.

However, I am not interested in those who support closed-door meetings, secret alignments, or those influenced by other Celebration organizations objectives. If anything, this past year has awakened residents to what is really going on behind-the-scenes more than ever before. We have seen the power homeowners truly have, and that they will take action to right wrongs when necessary.

So now that I’ve put forward some ideas for a more professional-looking 2024, I welcome one-on-one discussion about all of this. I feel that putting some of my ideas forward in writing like this will help start a conversation about the future of our association. And if there’s enough interest, I’d be happy to host another meet-and-greet in town where we can share ideas over a drink!

I know there are a lot of talented homeowners in Celebration, and I encourage anyone to run who has the foresight and passion to submit their name as a candidate. More on how to submit your name for consideration can be found here.

Most importantly, just keep communicating with me and with each other. That’s been the most successful part of my advocacy, and I appreciate every person who texts me an idea and a question, or stops me at the store with a suggestion, or sends a message on Facebook to get clarity and provide perspective. Keep ‘em coming! Communication is key!