Two months after a recall of the board of directors of Delray Oaks West, the new board is working to stabilize the 256-unit condo community off Congress Avenue. 

The board is dealing with issues that include state violations for overdue audits and moving reserve funds, and a violation from Delray Beach about 150 trees that have to be replaced.

Movement for the recall peaked with a proposed rise of $70 on the $170 monthly unit owners' fee. The former board president said the proposed increase was based mostly on a dramatic rise in insurance costs. 

"The most common reason for a recall is that a board is spending or is going to spend too much, and the homeowners are required to pay for it," said Carl Sherman, chief arbitrator for the state Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums and Mobile Homes, commonly called the condo board.

"You can recall a board with or without cause. The only standard is whether a majority of the owners are in favor of the recall," Sherman said. 

The first recall attempt on July 17 was not certified by the state because of a flawed ballot. The form wasn't taken from the Internet site and didn't have a separate line to choose recall or retain for each candidate, Sherman said. 

The second recall attempt on Aug. 12 had a proper ballot, and a majority of unit owners approved it. So, former board president Carol Berger, vice president Josephina DiLorenzo, secretary Kim Lohse and assistant secretary Michael Helm accepted the recall and stepped down.

Berger was president of the Terraces Condominium Association in Kendall before she moved to Delray Oaks West and served on its board. She offered her expertise to the new board after the recall.

"I and the rest of the board that was recalled have nothing to be ashamed of. We worked very hard to bring property values to what they are now," Berger said. 

Her condo was appraised at $77,000 three years ago and was recently valued at $142,000 for a refinancing. 

"I will always be involved in my community whether I'm on the board or not," Berger said. "It's my home."

Treasurer Jan Hamlet was not recalled and holds the same position with the new board.

"Recalls can be very messy," Sherman said. "At times we've had two or three different boards trying to operate the condominium. They can enter into service agreements and contracts, and at times it is not clear who is lawfully exercising the authority of the organization. That's why we try to arbitrate recall disputes as quickly as we can."

The new board made up of president Gayle Voiles, vice president John Sullivan, secretary Nancy Kleinfield and assistant secretary Alison Rinaldi conducted its first meeting Aug. 14.

The board, which governs the community under its legal name of Delray Oaks Condominium Association No. 2, is facing the issues one at a time.

The 2001 reserve fund had $170,000 moved to another fund for four days as collateral on a remodeling project. Then the money was put back into the reserve fund, said Harold Hyman, investigation supervisor for the Margate office of the condo board.

There is no charge of theft or fraud, but the shifting of funds without a vote is a violation of state law, Hyman said. The board was cited for that violation in a May 12 letter. A retroactive vote of unit owners to shift the money can clear that issue.

Late audits are another problem. The 2001 audit was 14 months late, and the 2002 audit was three months late. 

"We cited them when the 2001 audit was late and they repeated the same violation less than one a year later. That's why there's a fine," Hyman said. The association was fined $2,048. 

State law regulating condominiums is complicated, and some errors occur because well-intentioned but inexperienced volunteers have to navigate through those laws, he said.

Then there are trees. The community is short about 150 trees from the original 1981 landscape plan approved by the city. Most have died and have not been replaced. The new board approved funds to replant 40 trees by the end of the year and hopes to plant more next year, Voiles said. A Delray Beach Code Enforcement Board hearing on the trees is set for Tuesday. 

"We have all ages living here and it's a great community. We just want to make it more of a fun place to live," Voiles said. "One of our residents is a DJ and we're planning a neighborhood Halloween party."