Jakubaitis still pursuing Deep Creek association

State arbitrator orders association to provide election info

Article Courtesy of The Sun-Herald

By STEVE REILLY
Published March 25, 2005

PUNTA GORDA -- Kim Jakubaitis got the information the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulations required Deep Creek's Section 20 Property Owners Association to give her.

However, the problem for Jakubaitis is that what she received doesn't tell her anything more than she knew.

Jakubaitis filed a complaint with the state agency that calls into question the association's election in January. She, along with Mike Brown and Michael Della Camera, formed the nonprofit group Concerned Citizens Section 20 and ran, more or less, as a political ticket for director seats against the present management of the association. According to the association's count of the votes, they all lost.

Like other associations, Deep Creek Section 20 property owners "vote" according to the number of properties they own. Section 20 includes 3,910 lots. Among the issues in the complaint, Jakubaitis attended the meeting and turned in more than 900 proxy votes, but she and her fellow candidates were told they the association voided 669 of her proxies. Even if 400 of those proxies had been counted, Jakubaitis said she, Brown and Camera would be serving on the association board.

The state arbitrator, Susan Wilkinson Harnoen, ordered the association to turn over voided proxies and explain why each of the proxies was discounted. The association asked for a delay, citing the fact that they have a new attorney, but Harnoen denied any delay.

"This arbitrator has seen no good faith efforts made by (the association) in complying with the order requiring supplemental information," Harnoen stated in her decision, dated March 18.

Jakubaitis said Thursday she had received the two boxes in which were copies of the proxies, but none of papers answered why they had been voided, she said.

"I don't know which have been discounted or why," she said.

Jakubaitis said she didn't know whether an arbitration hearing will be scheduled. However, she is no less resolved in her efforts.

"I have no intention of giving up," Jakubaitis said.