Condo Association leaders discussed their unsatisfying relationship with the City of Hollywood Fire Marshal and his inspectors at the Nov. 9 Hillcrest Leadership Council meeting. It was held in Rec Room II on Hillcrest Court.
The conversation followed an announcement from Cindy Abraham, the HLC secretary. She informed the audience that the Fire Marshal had declined an invitation to speak with Hillcrest leaders at the meeting.
Noting the Fire Marshal works for the City, District 6 Commissioner Idelma Quintana joined the meeting. She said building leaders have the right to ask “Who is the Fire Marshal? What does he do? How does he make decisions? And what are the responsibilities of residents?”
She also offered to arrange meetings between any Building board members and the Fire Marshal should a particular building have questions about a new requirement or the reason for a citation from the Fire Marshal’s Staff.
Quintana also provided some context. She said local governments sometimes have trouble hiring to fill positions with special training such as Fire Marshal and inspectors. Some inspectors are outside contractors. Either way, it is your right to question the requirements/decisions of the inspectors, but always be respectful, she said.
You can contact Commissioner Quintana at: 954.921.3321 or IQuintana@HollywoodFL.org.
In another matter of local interest, Quintana announced that beginning in January, the City will establish a Community Court. Community Court addresses the needs of at-large, homeless, petty crime, and municipal ordinance offenders. The Community Court focuses on the root causes of each defendant’s issues and offers appropriate therapeutic and community service-based resources.
Hollywood Police Officer Matthew Rodriguez briefed the audience on October crime statistics for Hillcrest. Overall, the numbers were low, as usual, he said. There was only one call concerning an altercation between two residents, and several car break-ins but no car thefts, robberies, or burglaries during the month.
He also reminded people to call 911 in an emergency. However, if any resident sees something suspicious, it should also be reported by calling the non-emergency police number: 954.764.4357. This number should be written down and kept within reach of all residents.
The attendees then split up into groups; high rise board members in one, and the low- and mid-rise board members in another so they could discuss their upcoming budgets and compare notes.
The December HLC meeting will be held on Thursday, December7. This is the annual meeting when the building leadership reviews the Condo Preferred Vendor List and shares the names and contact details for those businesses that served them well. The list now has the Building number of the board that recommends the service next to the business name for more information. The Preferred Vendor list helps Hillcrest boards when they need to get bids for projects or need a particular service because it is a compilation of vendors who have done good work for Hillcrest buildings.
