It was a full house as Hillcrest Leadership got a peek into the future at the April 4 Hillcrest Leadership Council meeting, held at Clubhouse II on Hillcrest Court. And the view wasn’t great.
Kimberly Newman, Secretary, Hillcrest 26 revealed the results of their Structural Integrity Reserve Study Report. This mandatory Survey costs several thousand dollars and must be completed due to a state law created after the condo collapse at Surfside.
Inside Hillcrest is not publishing the amount of money the reserve study expert claims Hillcrest 26 must budget starting Jan. 1, 2025, and fund a year later, but it could be a substantial amount. The figure cited in the report must be funded into future reserves. Newman noted that many Hillcrest residents are already struggling to pay maintenance costs that go toward regular building upkeep, especially seniors on fixed incomes.
In a phone interview, Mark Roth, VP of Hillcrest 26, called on leaders of this community to come together to fight this law. He said the law treats buildings near the water, or with the same type of structure as the ones at Surfside, the same way as Hillcrest condos, which are miles away from the Atlantic Ocean, and are built solidly. “The damage to the values of units could be serious,” said Mark Roth, a retired attorney who had served as President for the past 16 years.
He continued, “I don’t want to shout “fire” in a crowded theater, but, on the other hand, I don’t want to avoid the possibility of correcting or alleviating the problem of the Mandatory Structural Reserves. I have spoken to a highly rated and experienced constitutional and appellate attorney who strongly believes we could achieve some success in either modifying the statute or completely voiding it. There are possible violations of the Florida Constitution in violating our rights and legislative overreach. The cost of litigation and appeal was quoted at $60,000. Dividing that by the approximate number of individual units in Hillcrest would result in a onetime per unit cost of less than 18 dollars.
In other matters:
1- One of the three declared candidates for Hollywood Mayor introduced herself. Catherine “Cat” Uden explained that the mayor position in Hollywood is part-time. But she said she will serve full-time if elected because she wants to go to all parts of the city to hear what residents are experiencing and needing. And Uden said she will relay what she learns to the City Manager, who runs the city on a day-to-day basis under our form of government. Uden, a former teacher at Stirling Elementary School, also wants the City to start holding City Commission meetings at night to make it easier for working people to attend. Currently meetings occur during the day, with some public comment time set aside at 5 p.m. when many people are just leaving work. A mother of two sons, Uden said she wants the City to make decisions that will stand the test of time so her children and grandchildren can continue to live well in Hollywood. The nonpartisan election for Mayor is on Nov. 5. You can reach her at cuden33019@gmail.com.
2- Another familiar face to local politics spoke to Hillcrest leaders. Maura McCarthy Bulman is a local attorney with four sons attending various Hollywood public schools. She is running to become our District 1 representative on the Broward County School Board. As a consequence of having children, Bulman said she is intimately involved with education in Hollywood and throughout the district. Because enrollment is declining in Broward County, the current School Board leaders are discussing ways to “repurpose” schools. Bulman said that term includes a variety of possibly negative outcomes, including school closures. Seeing things differently, Bulman said she wants to get the word out about the positive things that are happening in public schools, and why we need to continue investing in them. The School Board election is on Aug. 20. You can contact her at mauramccarthybulman@gmail.com.
3- Hillcrest leaders were introduced to two top City of Hollywood firefighters. James (Jim) Russo, our new Fire Chief, and Chris Clinton, our Fire Marshal/Division
Chief. They were joined by four of our firefighters (A.J., Louis, Mo and Eric) complete with a big red fire truck. Cindy Abraham, HLC Secretary, presented each Chief with a “thank you” Firefighter Prayer Coin, in honor of their years of service and to celebrate International Firefighter’s Day which is coming up on May 4th.
4- District 6 Commissioner Idelma Quintana continues to attend every HLC meeting. Not only is she an amazing hands-on, accessible Commissioner, but her day job is working for our Broward County Commissioner Beam Furr. As Abraham said in her introduction, we get a “two-fer”! Quintana encouraged residents to contact her if they have a question, concern, or a great idea to make our City better. She said that when local government and engaged residents work together, we can make great things happen. She pointed to her collaboration with Jim Bowers (Building 3) and the City of Hollywood’s Department of Design and Construction Management to modify sidewalk installation plans. The changes made it possible for a mature tree that had been slated for removal, to remain in place. It was a great example of everyone listening and taking each other’s’ ideas into account so that we could get a happy ending to this story. Commissioner Quintana can be reached at iquintana@hollywoodfl.org. Our City Commissioner also said she is available to attend building board meetings if leaders would like her to meet and speak with their residents.
5- A nighttime Code Officer for the City made his second appearance at an HLC meeting. Alan Maestu’s area does not include Hillcrest, but he has been kind enough to stop by our HLC meetings to help answer any questions about code issues. Residents can contact him with their questions and concerns anytime: amaestu@hollywoodfl.org
6- HLC leaders met Hollywood Police Officer Joshua E. Grotenhuis for the first time. He is our new Neighborhood Team Leader for Hillcrest. He replaces Officer Amanda
Maldonado, who had been the NTL for not only Hillcrest/Parkview but also for Hollywood Hills, and Park East for the past 1 1/2 years. That area was a lot to cover! So now, Officer Grotenhuis will focus on Hillcrest/Parkview and Officer Maldonado will work the northern area. HLC members bade a fond farewell to Officer Maldonado as we all had come to know and love her. On behalf of the HLC, Cindy Abraham gave her a thank you card with a Police Prayer Coin to remember us by. Officer Grotenhuis then reviewed Hillcrest/Parkview crime figures from the previous month. The numbers continue to be small, with car-related incidents the driving force. You can reach Officer Grotenhuis at jgrotenhuis@hollywoodfl.org.
The meeting wrapped up with Cindy Abraham circling back to the number of elderly residents on fixed incomes that are having problems making ends meet. She stressed that selling their condo is not always the right answer unless they have a place to go. There are options. She reminded the leaders that Lou Silver, of Mortgage Solutions can work with a building to get them qualified for their residents to get Reverse Mortgages. Other options are getting a line of credit and/or refinancing. These options involve the possibility that although the senior could stay in their home for many years, it will reduce the equity and the money they leave to their children.
Abraham questioned why their kids weren’t helping their parents and then urged every senior who is in this predicament to immediately call their 40-70-year-old children and teach them to fill in the word to the following statement: “THERE WILL BE NO…” The answer is INHERITANCE! The next HLC meeting will be held at Clubhouse II, on Thursday, May 2, 2024, at 6PM. The agenda includes our State Representative Marie Woodson who will speak about proposed legislation that my help struggling seniors. Please encourage your building leaders to attend.
