ARTICLE COURTESY OF THE SUN SENTINEL

By Joe Kollin

Published Friday, September 2, 2005

Dozens of condo owners and directors are expected to speak their minds on Wednesday when the Florida Advisory Council on Condominiums meets for the first time in Broward County to hear residents discuss their problems.

Created last year by the Legislature to look at problems in Florida's condominiums, the seven-member panel will hear from the public between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the International Game Fish Museum, 300 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach.
The museum is on the west side of Interstate 95, between the Griffin and Stirling roads interchanges.

Most condos in Florida are in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, and state condo ombudsman Virgil Rizzo said 80 percent of the complaints to his office come from the area.

The council also will meet between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Thursday at the same location for members to discuss condo issues. The council previously has held meetings in Tallahassee, Panama City, Miami and Orlando.

In what could be a highlight of the sessions, Rizzo may formally ask the council to join his request that the Legislature come up with a law to discourage the "serious problem" of abusiveness by condo directors.

Meanwhile, Rizzo next week expects to announce a Broward phone number to make it easier for residents in the tri-county area to reach him. Since his appointment by Gov. Jeb Bush in December, he has only had a long-distance Tallahassee number. He expects to open a Fort Lauderdale office this month.