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I have read your final report and as you have seen in the St.Petersburg Times, already commented on it. So did you! I think the main concern of many citizens
familiar with the issues is not the fact that you are trying to get the
migration flowing again and suggest to advertise for it aggressively. It's
more the fact that the committee has been approached by many concerned
citizens asking to improve the existing living conditions before starting
the advertising campaign. You have heard during the public comments about
the problems many retirees encounter in Florida. While other States are
trying to improve conditions for retirees, Florida has so far failed to
address many main issues. Business sense tells us that Florida can only
stay competitive if we can advertise with improved conditions, not with
just empty advertising.
This is just some food for thought, but
should possibly be considered by our legislators before committing money
for advertising campaigns. Many of these improvements are possible without
committing big tax dollars but would make the planned advertising campaign
definitely more effective!
Warm regards
Yesterday was a very productive day for our organization and other Citizen activist that had time to attend the meeting of the commission in Orlando. Based on what we heard, the commission is in the 'winding down' stage with an appearance of some commissioners in Pensacola (not a meeting?) and one more meeting being scheduled in Jacksonville. Unfortunately, there will not be a public comment period on that agenda. Chairman Douglass, commission members, Secretary Terry White, et al., were very attentive during the short period of time consumer activists were allowed to express their views. In addition to the provocative presentations
by several of our members we took the opportunity to provide a copy of
our two page flyer to familiarize participants with our organization.
Jane Vicari, Director - The Florida Alliance For Lien Law Reform - made an appeal for a review of the lien law which places buyers in a tenuous position of financial responsibility when builders/contractors leave them hanging with unpaid bills to subcontractors. Of course, the buyer is responsible in Florida, no matter what, and foreclosure follows the lien. There's no doubt the current law requires amending to protect buyers in "Fraud Friendly Florida!" We had an opportunity to converse with our AARP contact to inquire when this organization is going to get on board our program to protect the rights of homeowners in Florida. (and elsewhere) Once again, we learned; it's been very difficult to convince the AARP leadership that a problem exists. So they are not ready to write a position paper about HOA abuses, non-compliance of Florida laws within the land and home sales sector of our economy. Therefore, it's doubtful AARP will step up to the plate to endorse meaningful reform intended to protect homeowners rights and insure that "Full Disclosure" not 'Caveat Emptor' become the "Buy Words" in the 'Sunshine State!' The leaders simply don't want to understand the problem while the 'silent majority' has all the amenities they'll ever need to sustain them for the rest of their lives. Que, Sera, Sera! Anyhow! Getting back to the Alliance. Their presentations were indicative of the desire to create a level playing field for purchasers against unscrupulous builders and contractors that abscond with their money instead of paying their subcontractors. There's no doubt the lien law is antiquated and offers no protection for unsuspecting buyers and must be amended..ASAP! I'm sure we'll hear more from the alliance about their upcoming effort to get the job done during the next legislative session. Since we appear to have common goals and objectives re lien and foreclosure we could work the issues in concert with each other. Therefore, we look forward to reviewing a rough draft of their legislative proposal. We urge our new friends to take time to visit our Web site, review our material, sign our Guest Book and consider clicking on that ever present JOIN button. We need you not vice-versa! BTW, since yesterday was a glorious day I want to share the Glory of Liberty with you today; Please
see the fireworks at Lady Liberty!
Click the black area as often as you can and Enjoy! The best to you and yours,
Our President, Jan Bergemann, sends the following reminder and appeal for your presence. In addition, the attached presentation from Bob will be provided to all commission members and I will make an oral presentation with copies for all. Bob can send you a copy, as written, via e-mail. The meeting of the Destination Florida
Commission is on Thursday October 31, 2002. Please see agenda at : Commission
Agenda 10 - 31 - 2002
The meeting is at : The Hyatt Regency
The Public Comment period is from 3:00-3:50 PM at which time several attendees will make a formal presentation, time permitting, or simply provide all commission members a copy of their comments. We intend to meet in McCoy's Bar & Grill in the Hyatt Regency for lunch. (see agenda for time) Please let us know if you plan to attend so we could make reservations, if necessary. Even if you aren't a member of CCFJ please participate in this process. Remember, in Unity there is strength. BTW, this meeting will provide an opportunity to meet each other, face to face, and listen to what we have to say. Many of us only know each other from e-mails. So, it should be a fun day. Looking forward to your responses. Let's get together to provide the commission our input before they finalize their recommendations. Take care
The best to you and yours, Bob, Ocala, FL Public Relations - CCFJ Inc.
The following notification and attachment are self-explanatory. It's important to notice, (50) minutes have been set aside on the agenda for public input. *** CLICK HERE TO SEE OFFICIAL AGENDA *** This is your opportunity to participate in the deliberations of the commission and guide them toward completion of the mandate proposed by Governor Jeb Bush, i.e., '...to entice retirees and seniors...' to relocate in the Sunshine State. If your unable to attend send your comments to Ms. Eloise Williams. She has been designated by the Secretary of Elder Affiars, Terry White, as the conduit to the commission for the Citizens of our state. BTW, if you're reluctant to retrieve the attachment please visit our Web site and click on the appropriate link to the commission. Don't forget to sign our Guest Book and consider clicking on that ever present JOIN button. We need you to accomplish common goals and objectives. The best to you and yours,
P.S. Looking forward meeting you in Orlando on the 31st!
Dear members and friends, *** IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! ***
******************************************************************
Mr. Janauskas - Thank you for
your e-mail to Eloise Williams at the Department of Elder Affairs. I would
like to invite you to visit our website.
http://elderaffairs.state.fl.us/ Please let me know if we can be of any further assistance to you. Sincerely,
As the DOEA knows, during the period of past and recent meetings of the commission we dedicated space at our Web site to do our best, with limited details available, to educate and inform the public about the Destination Florida Commission. We're very pleased to learn the Department of Elder Affairs decided to accept our suggestion to provide public access to the commission at the DOEA Web site. With the exception of identifying our organization incorrectly in the September 30th, 2002 minutes and the apparent omission of comments sent to Ms. Eloise Williams for consideration of commission members we're certain our members and friends will agree with our expression of gratitude for providing a comprehensive and detailed account of commission deliberations at the DOEA site. We'll continue to provide a LINK to the commission through elder affairs and appreciate a correction of our URL, by your Webmaster, after the remarks of Chanse Henderson, to wit; www.ccfg.net should be www.ccfj.net Because we believe the final report of this commission will have a dramatic impact upon enticing retirees and seniors to our state we want to be sure that Full Disclosure NOT Caveat Emptor are the "Buy Words" during real estate transactions of deed restricted property in the 'Sunshine State.' Therefore, please share our concerns, sent to Ms. Williams, with commission members in anticipation that they will receive appropriate consideration in the final report prior to the next Legislative session. *** SEE BELOW *** Thank you very much for the information
you've provided and your consideration. If we can be of any further assistance
to the department or commission in these matters please feel free to contact
with us.
Recipients Suppressed A personal note to Supervisor Eloise Williams: Thank you very much for providing this information. We appreciate the consideration you've shown to our organization and your willingness to share the views of Florida Citizens with the commission. Kindly share this dispatch with commission
members which includes my personal comments because I will be unable to
attend the next meeting.
Dear members and friends, The attached information and message are self-explanatory. If you're reluctant to retrieve the attachment we can send you the complete document in another e-mail. You'll recall, the primary reason Governor Jeb Bush created the Destination Florida Commission is to '....entice retirees and Seniors to relocate in Florida...' We've been told, depending on individual experiences and certain circumstances, it might/might not be a good idea to entice relocation as long as certain laws are violated and the scales of justice remain unbalanced. Please share appropriate input to the commission. How? If you're unable to attend please provide input electronically to Supervisor Eloise Williams. Her E-mail address and FAX# is provided below. *** SEE BELOW *** Supervisor Williams has been very considerate of our request for information and has opened the door to the Destination Florida Commission for Citizens willing to share their views. Utilize the opportunity wisely. Please note; 50 minutes has been set aside for Public Comment. It's quite possible your e-mail could be read and discussed by the commission. Personally, I want to encourage members of the commission to include a recommendation for the creation of a Property Reform Task Force to protect homeowners rights in Florida. Meaningful reform of the following *Statute's will diminish and eventually eliminate the necessity to alude to "Caveat Emptor" during enticement while insuring that Full Disclosure will become the "Buy Words" during real estate and land sales transactions of deed restricted property in the Sunshine State. In this day and age there's no practical reason to continue to preserve the status-quo the stakeholders and industry partisans have enjoyed for 20+ years. Full disclosure must be provided to prospective purchasers before contract for sale and to current resident already enticed. Each individual commissioner can exercise good public policy to protect the health, safety and welfare of all Citizens by recommending the creation of the task force by Executive Order of Governor Jeb Bush. This would enable the stakeholders, industry partisans and consumer advocates to sit at the same table to review, but not limited to, the following *Statutes and recommend meaningful reform; *Chapter 689, specifically, ss. 689.26 Disclosure Summary Statement & 689.265 Financial Disclosure enacted in 1995 *Chapter 720 Homeowners Associations (formerly ss. 617.301-617.312) enacted in 1995 and its relationship with Chapter 617 not for profit corporations *Chapter 498 Land Sales (amended in 1997 to include the DSS embodied in s. 689.26 F.S.) *Chapter 190 Community Development Districts (imposing ad valorem tax upon residents to fund infrastructure for as long as 30 years, placing an immediate lien on all homes purchased within the district) *Chapter 718 CONDO Act, et al Sincerely,
Today, we're announcing access to Web pages at our site to familiarize you with the Destination Florida Commission created, by Governor Jeb Bush, to entice retirees and seniors to relocate to Florida. We considered this a necessity because neither the commission nor any agency of government has provided direct access to commission members and, to date, no media outlet has considered this commission newsworthy. However, in order to meet the intent of the sunshine law the commission decided to post meeting notices in the Florida Administrative Weekly. Unfortunately, millions of Citizens do not have access to this publication and it continues to be utilized by a commission, blue ribbon panel, task force, et al., recommending public policy. We believe Citizens of Florida should have uninhibited access and opportunity to provide input before the commission prepares final recommendations. On a positive note, the Department of Elder Affairs was kind enough to provide a conduit to the commission. Ms. Eloise Williams, Senior Management Analyst Supervisor, has been designated to receive and forward public comments to the commission. Incidentally, we have requested a copy of all meeting minutes and private/public presentations delivered and discussed by commission members since the initial meeting of August 29th, 2002 in Tampa. When received, we'll post on the pages set aside for the DFC. The president of CCFJ, urges you to become familiar with the DCF. His comments follow. After you review the DFC site don't forget to make time to visit our home page, sign our Guest Book and consider clicking on that ever present JOIN button. Thank you. The best to you and yours,
Dear friends, Tomorrow, September 30th, 2002, will be another public meeting of the Destination Florida Commission. Read all about it and opinions etc. on our new WebPages at : http://www.ccfj.net/DestFlpg1.html You can access them from the Home page by clicking on the appropriate button or from the News Pages. Additional information will be added on a continuous basis so visit often. If you want your opinion added to the Letters Pages send them to us. A Bulletin Board has been provided for your comments, also. The Agenda of tomorrow's meeting provides for public comment at 3 p.m. We will be represented at the meeting by members and friends. Hard copies of some of the letters written by CCFJ members will be provided to commission members. Many residents believe: our State government is unwilling to remedy existing problems of its Citizens and shouldn't entice more retirees and seniors to relocate while their health, welfare and safety are at risk. Please let me know if you would like to see any changes or have anything to add to these pages. Take care
Another interesting response from the Department of Elder Affairs. We suggest; if you have any input re enticing retirees and Seniors to relocate to Florida please send to the e-mail address provided by Eloise Williams BEFORE the September 30th meeting. If you're in the Ft. Laudedale or Ft. Meyers areas tomorrow you should consider attending one of these meetings...See Attachment.. Put another way! We've been residents of Florida for almost 12 years. We like Florida living very much. That does not mean we can sit idly by while the laws of our state are being violated. Each of you know from whence I cometh! To put it bluntly; if you want to sit idly by, NOW, while you have an opportunity to provide input to a commission intent upon continuing to entice people to relocate, you are you're own worst enemy. No one person or entity can hit you on the toe with a hammer to make you react or shake you hard enough to awaken your conscience after you've been wacked. To our members and friends in Tallahassee; you can participate in the deliberations of this commission if you make time to attend the September 30th meeting. To all; if you have the ability to physically attend any meeting of this commission come prepared with a handout for all commission members, et al....25 or more copies....is a good start. In the meantime, one copy of an e-mail goes an awfully long way in cyberspace. As the man said; "Let's Go!" The best to you and yours,
----- Original Message -----
Mr. Janauskas, I have just received a copy of your e-mail. On behalf of Secretary White and the Department of Elder Affairs, I am sorry that you did not receive a copy of the agenda for the September 18 public meetings being held in Broward and Lee Counties (with addresses). Information regarding future meetings and summary of minutes from meetings will be posted on the Department's website. As Secretary White stated in his earlier email, "The diverse composition and expertise of the various members of the Commission will assure that your concerns will be addressed and the objectives of the Commission are achieved. Thank you for your input and concern." To further assure you, as DOEA Coordinator for the Destination Florida Commission, I am relaying your concerns about violation of real estate to the full Commission. If you are unable to make one of our scheduled
public meetings (Broward and Lee Counties on September 18 and Tallahassee
on September 30), we will take your comments or concerns in writing.
You may send them to me at [email protected] or fax to (850)
414-2002.
Eloise Williams
"Robert Janauskas" <[email protected]> 09/17/02 10:21AM Dear Sammie Riemers, et al., Thank you for providing the response from
division Director Peggy L. Ball.
Unfortunatelly I beg to differ with the
assurances provided by the director, i.e.,
Sincerely,
* Chapter 498, 718, 720, 689, i.e., s.
689.26 & 689.265 and 190 F.S.'s
Finally, Citizens of Florida should have access to commission meetings, minutes of same and future agenda's. This could be posted on separate pages of the Department of Elder Affairs. Thank you for your consideration. We look
forward to your reply.
Dear Mr. Janauskas: Governor Bush has received your e-mail regarding his recently announced creation of the Destination Florida Commission. The Commission has been established to evaluate Florida's competitive position in attracting retirees. The Commission includes experts in the areas of health care, housing, social services, marketing and promotion, professional services, geriatrics, transportation and information technology. Regarding the meetings, yes the Commission held its first meeting on August 29th, 2002 in Tampa. The next meeting will be held on September 30, 2002 in Tallahassee at the Holiday Inn Select, 316 West Tennessee Street from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and the public is invited. The contact number for the hotel is (850)222-9555. An agenda will provided at a later date. In accordance with the Florida Sunshine Law, all meeting notices are published in the Florida Administrative Weekly. At this time there is not a Web Site for the Commission. The diverse composition and expertise of
the various members of the Commission will assure that your concerns will
be addressed and the objectives of the Commission are achieved. Thank
you for your input and concern.
Peggy L. Ball, Division Director
Sir, What has happened to the above commission you created last month? According to your announcement the commission was supposed to have its first meeting the middle of August, 2002. Do you know if the meeting was held and when future meetings will be held? Has a Web site been created for this commission? How can the general public participate in the deliberations of the commission? If the commission has had meetings did it comply with proper notice pursuant to the 'Sunshine Law?' We're very disappointed by the lack of information being provided to the Citizens of Florida and our nation about this commission. Sir, With all due respect; how does this commission intend to promote enticing retirees and Seniors and why would it do so while the laws of our state, related to disclosure during real estate transactions of deed restricted property, continue to be violated by sellers? Thank you for your interest in this matter.
We look forward to your reply.
If you're a subscriber to the Governor's briefings we apologize for this intrusion. If you aren't a subscriber and haven't
read about the new "Destination Florida Commission" we believe you'll agree;
the following message from Governor Jeb Bush is very provocative and exciting.
In addition, while the Department of Elder Affairs took an active interest in our request to curtail deceptive practices during real estate transactions of deed restricted property its interest was simply a 'passing glance' with no action forthcoming from the department. Finally, during the most recent session of our Legislature the Dean of the House, Honorable Representative Jerry Melvin, understood the need for the task force, filed a bill encompassing our proposals, worked the bill through several committees but was rebuffed by the Senate when he offered our bill as a germain amendment to a CONDO bill. Although Senator Charles Clary prefiled a companion bill he convinced stakeholders and industry partisans that he filed the bill '...as a courtesy..' and had no intentions of moving the bill. How true! Now, we're faced with a commission which has a mandate to continue to '..attract Seniors and retirees...' to Florida while the laws of our state inadequately protect homeowners rights. To entice relocation while laws exist to protect the status quo the stakeholders have enjoyed for 20+ years is unconscionable. While the Governor did not provide direct access to commission members we suspect a Web site is forthcoming to announce scheduled public meetings in various locations of our state to accept input from the general public and it will provide appropriate means of communicating with the commission. In the meantime, we urge dispatch recipients
to gather your facts and prepare your packet of information and concerns
for each commission member to review during their deliberations.
Incidentally, the next time you visit our Web site, sign our Guest Book and consider clicking on that ever present JOIN button. The best to you and yours,
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