Homeowners association's future unknown

With the loss of several key executive board members and

no heirs apparent, the Barefoot Bay association may have

to dissolve because of an absence of leadership

Article Courtesy of TCPalm.COM

By Lamaur Stancil
Published November 23, 2004

BAREFOOT BAY — The future of the Barefoot Bay Homeowners Association will be decided in the next two months.

With the loss of several key executive board members and no heirs apparent, the association may have to dissolve because of an absence of leadership. The dissolution would mean the end of a group that has in the past been a major force on key issues in Barefoot Bay.

Former Association President Wilma Weglein resigned earlier this month to take her new job as a Recreation District trustee. Last week, acting President Fred Van Wort sent a letter to the board, announcing he would resign at the 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 executive meeting because of health concerns.

The association, which normally has three vice presidents, currently has none. Van Wort said in his letter the board will have to appoint a president and two vice presidents at its December meeting. But the appointments only carry the board through January, when elections would be conducted and new office terms would begin.

However, no one so far has expressed any interest in leading the group. The executive board, which is chartered for 16 positions, has eight members, including Treasurer James Dace, Sergeant-At-Arms Ray Salois and six directors. Participation is waning in other parts of the organization, Director Dick Gee said.

"We haven't had a lot of people at our meetings lately," said Gee, who has no plans to be association president.

One of the association's big hurdles the past years has been its quorum, which requires 100 people to attend a meeting for the board to make any decisions. There's only been a handful of times in the past few years when quorum was met.

Other directors include Nancy Eisele, Lillian Richards, Gene Weschler, Sylvia Parish and June Getchell.

The possibility of the association's demise leaves several of its functions up in the air. The association is sitting on more than $100,000 that can only be used for a project approved by homeowners in a referendum. The association won the money 13 years ago against Avatar Holdings of Coral Gables, the developer of Barefoot Bay, for misuse of maintenance fees collected by the company.

Also, the association conducts occasional social events and prints the Barefoot Bay phone directory each spring, distributing it free to homeowners.