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Felon board member resigned

Started by CindyH6 • 19 replies • 831 views

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CindyH6 (Florida)
Posts: 71
Posted:
I feel a little bad the guy seems nice, when he is not kidnapping,assaulting with deadly weapon, and dabbling in strong illegal drugs😐..

One of the other owners emailed the page from the county showing all the charges and his mug to the property management company.

The next day he resigned. And so did his girlfriend.

So now we have only 1 non felon board member.
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
Well doesn't exactly sound like a "Felon" yet. Hasn't been convicted only charged. Police can't drop charges ONLY the court can do that. Which is the next step. Not defending the person at all. Just saying not exactly proven yet in a court of law.

I knew a very nice guy who loved his wife. Had long conversations about how much he loved being married. A few weeks later, he shot and killed his wife in front of his kids. The reason? He thought his wife was cheating on him. Nice guy but for the decision to kill his wife.
Former HOA President
CindyH6 (Florida)
Posts: 71
Posted:
Oh he is definitely a felon

It was the county database and convicted a decade before and he had spent several years in prison

I was being sarcastic about the seems like a nice guy when is not committing Heinous crimes
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
So this a long time ago? Wow. Did his time and still being judged. Seems to me he did not want to keep through it over and over again. What point can he?
Former HOA President
CindyH6 (Florida)
Posts: 71
Posted:
Florida statute prohibits convicted felons from serving on an HOA board , unless they have had all their rights restored and certain convictions can never have rights restored.

He was convicted of sexual assault, kidnapping, assault deadly weapon and several drug charges. Plus loads of traffic violations etc..

I’m all about second chances, however, he also is manipulative ,aggressive and a pathological liar .

6 months ago when we had a “special meeting “ to simply vote on a contractor to replace the tarp covered roof( He immediately hijacked the meeting with a motions to adjourn and “form a board” and get another set of bids.

Since we had no board, he was self nominated along with deadbeat owners that don’t pay dues.

So after 6 months we are in a much worse situation . The property management company and association all resigned and so did the newly formed board.

So here we are covered in tarps , only 1 board member a broke HOA and no management company.

So he did a lot of damage and that was the most important reason.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299
Posted:
Usually when a board member resigns, the remaining directors appoint a replacement.

However... a single remaining board member is not a quorum, so I question whether that person can even legally do business or if your association needs to go into receivership. Maybe Florida statutes will have something helpful to say about this.

As far as felons "paying their debts to society" goes - HOA members are not "society", nor are they required to perform the work of rehabilitating ex-felons. They are a group of individuals who form a private corporation that is in the business of maintaining their commonly owned assets. They're not acting for the betterment of society - which is why HOAs are not considered to be charitable organizations - they are acting for their own welfare. They're business partners, and if they don't care to be in business with a convicted felon, that's their right. Board members have a fiduciary duty to the HOA as a whole, and that duty includes protecting assets and persons from situations that can spell danger - doing anything else puts the interests of a single member ahead of the interests of the HOA.

(I agree that the former board member sounds like a delightful person. How on earth did he end up on the board anyway? And what did your insurer have to say about it? I wish more HOA members understood that the HOA is a business and not a social club.)

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062
Posted:
Corrections:

Cindy will you volunteer to serve?

Appropriate FL statute: FL 617.0809

Sorry about the confusion.
CindyH6 (Florida)
Posts: 71
Posted:
I offered .
MaxB4
Posts: 3,513
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MelissaP1 on 03/14/2021 9:32 PM
So this a long time ago? Wow. Did his time and still being judged. Seems to me he did not want to keep through it over and over again. What point can he?

Still a felon, and states do have laws on the books that disqualify felons from serving on HOA Boards.
MelissaP1 (Alabama)
Posts: 13,836
Posted:
Once you done your time your no longer a "felon". Your someone whom has done their time and thus can return to "society". Time served means something. You can't keep holding a crime against someone once the punishment has been completed.

Plenty of ex-convicts/felons have gone on and lived successful lives. Plus have done good for their communities. It's those whom want to keep holding them to their crimes that don't let them.
Former HOA President
JohnT38 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,631
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MelissaP1 on 03/16/2021 4:23 AM
Once you done your time your no longer a "felon". Your someone whom has done their time and thus can return to "society". Time served means something. You can't keep holding a crime against someone once the punishment has been completed.

Plenty of ex-convicts/felons have gone on and lived successful lives. Plus have done good for their communities. It's those whom want to keep holding them to their crimes that don't let them.

Your opinion provides NO value to this post and is factually 100% wrong. Felons are felons and unless their rights have been restored for at least 5 years in Florida they can't serve on the board.

https://www.floridacondohoalawblog.com/2017/04/13/convicted-felons-ineligible-for-condo-board-service-in-florida/
MichelleG7 (Connecticut)
Posts: 66
Posted:
Getting rid of him for the past charges is not right. If you feel he is not a fit for the board. I know in my condo declaration. It says the board can get rid of anyone on the board for no reason at all. and fill the position until the owners meeting at end of year. I would like to ask If you thought he was not good for the board. Why wait until you dig dirt up on him to get him off the board?
JohnT38 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,631
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MichelleG7 on 03/16/2021 7:37 AM
Getting rid of him for the past charges is not right. If you feel he is not a fit for the board. I know in my condo declaration. It says the board can get rid of anyone on the board for no reason at all. and fill the position until the owners meeting at end of year. I would like to ask If you thought he was not good for the board. Why wait until you dig dirt up on him to get him off the board?

Are you suggesting the OP ignore the Florida laws and put the hole board at risk of knowingly violate the Florida Condominium Act? Sometimes as a board member, personal opinion doesn't matter. This is clearly one of these cases.
CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MichelleG7 on 03/16/2021 7:37 AM
Getting rid of him for the past charges is not right. If you feel he is not a fit for the board. I know in my condo declaration. It says the board can get rid of anyone on the board for no reason at all. and fill the position until the owners meeting at end of year. I would like to ask If you thought he was not good for the board. Why wait until you dig dirt up on him to get him off the board?

He's already off the board, according to the OP.

For the record, Michelle's COA may be different, but for the majority of COAs the only ones who can remove someone from the board are the homeowners, and they may do so with or without cause. The board may remove someone from their officer position, usually with or without cause, but the person remains on the board.

As John noted, though, this is a moot point because Florida condo law says "no felons on the board". End of discussion. And if that isn't enough, keep in mind that the association's insurer may refuse to pay out a claim if they find out that the community knowingly kept this person on the board.

Ir doesn't matter what anyone thinks about felons's rights. The law and the insurance industry have the final say.
MichelleG7 (Connecticut)
Posts: 66
Posted:
No Im saying dont use this as a reason to get rid of him. As she states wasnt doing what should of been done while on board. So I ask why wait til now to get rid of him? should of been replaced a long time ago.
CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By MichelleG7 on 03/16/2021 8:35 AM
No Im saying dont use this as a reason to get rid of him. As she states wasnt doing what should of been done while on board. So I ask why wait til now to get rid of him? should of been replaced a long time ago.

From what the OP has said in other threads, the whole community was asleep at the switch. They ignored this as well as community's poor financial and physical condition, and it's gone on long enough that their roofs are covered in tarps because they didn't have enough money to repair/replace them.

They didn't get rid of him, though, he resigned. I'm guessing that homeowners are looking around for someone to blame for their dire situation, rather than blaming themselves for ignoring what are obviously long standing issues, and he didn't want to be on the receiving end of this.
JohnT38 (South Carolina)
Posts: 1,631
Posted:
"I'm guessing that homeowners are looking around for someone to blame for their dire situation, rather than blaming themselves for ignoring what are obviously long standing issues,..."

Cathy's comment above is the perfect summary of this post and the other related ones.
JohnC46 (South Carolina)
Posts: 14,265
Posted:
Quote:
Posted By JohnT38 on 03/16/2021 9:01 AM
"I'm guessing that homeowners are looking around for someone to blame for their dire situation, rather than blaming themselves for ignoring what are obviously long standing issues,..."

Cathy's comment above is the perfect summary of this post and the other related ones.

I agree. It seems to me that felon was not the root of the problem.

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