The word “dire” has been used in recent weeks to describe the condition of the Santa Clara Condominium building at 3312 Northside Dr., Key West.
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Key West building officials will hold a condemnation hearing on Sept. 13 to determine the future of the 111-unit Santa Clara Condominiums, 3312 Northside Dr. |
ICAMCO, which had
managed the Santa Clara property since 2007, terminated its
management contract with the condominium association on
Wednesday, Sept. 1. ICAMCO representatives initially
declined to comment to the Keys Weekly.
But on Thursday, Sept. 2, the day after the company
terminated its management contract with Santa Clara, ICAMCO
president Peter E. Batty contacted the Keys Weekly to “set
some of this straight.”
“We couldn’t speak until we terminated our contract with
Santa Clara,” Batty told the Keys Weekly on Thursday, Sept.
2. “Until then, we had a fiduciary responsibility to our
clients, which we take very seriously, just as the
condominium association board also has a fiduciary
responsibility to the owners of those units.”
“We have literally begged the board to pass a special
assessment and get some money in the bank to fund some of
these major repairs since Hurricane Irma in 2017,” Batty
said, adding that until 2017, the board had been completing
major repairs each year. (A special assessment is a
financial assessment levied over and above an association’s
annual budget that a unit owner must pay in addition to
their regular assessments.)
Condo association fees at Santa Clara range from about $550
to $860 per month, based on the size of a unit. In order to
complete the estimated $8.8 million to $10 million of needed
repairs, a special assessment, if enacted by the condo
board, would likely double those monthly fees for the
foreseeable future to help pay off a bank loan to fund the
repairs. Of the 111 units at Santa Clara, Batty estimated
that about half are owner-occupied, while the other half are
owned by out-of-town landlords who rent the condos long-term
to local workers and residents. Short-term, weekly, or
transient rentals are not permitted at Santa Clara.
“But after 2017, those major annual repairs all stopped,”
Batty told the Keys Weekly. “The board was waiting on an
Irma insurance claim that wasn’t going to come because the
issues were pre-existing and not related to the storm.”
“I believe in my heart of hearts that the issue is bad
concrete in that building,” Batty said, adding that roof
repairs following Hurricane Irma had to be halted when
workers began pulling out chunks of concrete as they removed
the old roof. “The roofer said he couldn’t put on a new roof
without ensuring the concrete is sufficiently strong.”
Condo board member and longtime Santa Clara owner Peter
Horton agreed, saying at an Aug. 19 Zoom meeting of about 60
owners and association board members, which the Keys Weekly
has viewed, “This building has had concrete and steel
problems since it was finished in 1980.”
“We notified [the association board] of the severity of the
situation and the needed repairs months before [the city’s
chief building official] Raj Ramsingh was ever on site, and
we have done so for years,” Batty told the Keys Weekly,
adding, “Remember, we are not the owners; we work at the
discretion of the board.”
Batty told the Keys Weekly, “I will bet my reputation on the
fact that what [the board vice president] was referring to
when he speaks of ICAMCO having delayed certain projects, is
actually the fact that they don’t have the money to finish
the projects, specifically the roof….This was clearly an
opportunity to try and place blame elsewhere.
“We don’t have the ability to expedite repairs. That can
only come from the board taking action to instruct us to do
so,” Batty said. “We do not have the authority to contact
vendors and negotiate terms, or contracts. We only do as the
board instructs us.”
“Safety has always been our number-one priority,” Batty
said, adding that ICAMCO staff posted the city’s Sept. 1
petition to declare the building unsafe on the front door of
Santa Clara when the board president wasn’t going to share
it with owners or tenants. “We indicated in our letter
terminating our management agreement that we were still
willing to help Santa Clara navigate this process, but the
board asked us not to attend their most recent meeting.”
At the Aug. 19 Zoom meeting of owners and board members,
ICAMCO property manager Daniel Garcia repeatedly urged the
condo board to pass a special assessment immediately.
“My honest opinion is even if a bank were to write you a
loan check tomorrow, I think you need to pass a special
assessment now to show there’s boots on the ground and that
you’re raising money now to get these priority repairs
started,” Garcia told the board members and other owners who
were on the Aug. 19 Zoom call.
“I believe you need to
be proactive. You don’t need the city coming at you saying,
‘You’re not moving fast enough — everybody get out.'”
After more than an hour of discussion at that meeting, the
board still did not pass a special assessment, Batty
emphasized, saying the board would rather pursue a bank
loan. “But we’ve repeatedly advised them that a bank, before
approving a loan, will want to see that a special assessment
is already in place” so the bank has an assurance of how the
loan will be repaid.
Santa Clara condominium owner Keith Kline shared his
thoughts about the current situation to his fellow unit
owners on Saturday, Sept. 4:
“Good morning, fellow unit owners and residents, my name is
Keith Kline. I have owned #716 since 2014. Like so many of
you, I’m trying to make sense and stay abreast of what is
happening. … The fingers are pointing, the blame is flying,
all manner of actions to take are being discussed. To be
sure, all of it matters.
“Firstly, I’ll say this, I always disregarded the letter
saying it was ‘time to vote for the board members.’ Busy,
commitments, whatever. We voted the board in. We have to
accept some responsibility. We live here.
“Having said that, this board is clearly in breach of its
fiduciary responsibilities so much so it borders on criminal
negligence. As horrific as that sounds, with the pending
condemnation of our homes hanging over our head, that is a
matter for later.
“Currently our only priority should be prevailing at the
hearing on 9/13. To do this the Board must present a plan
that has funding, and a serious timetable to address the
construction priorities. As unfortunate as it sounds, this
means a special assessment and quickly. We can debate the
merits of all manner of courses of action. If the city
decides to proceed, 250-300 people are out on the street.
“…To suggest [ICAMCO] terminated its contract out of ‘guilt’
makes little sense. Just leaving doesn’t mean you can hide
that you did something.
“I believe they left because their advice went unheeded over
and over. The former engineer for the building and the city
are all doing the same thing, covering themselves. The Board
chose to continue to avoid the inevitable. Whether it was to
protect cash flow or just good intentions, we live in a
building barely a mile from the ocean, concrete maintenance
and putting off assessments is what has us here now.
“Selling the building and land? This is a non-starter, as
every owner would have to agree on all the terms.
“Previous permits, financial impropriety? If you believe it
should be looked at, so be it.
“Our priority should be being able to stay in our homes,
getting the assessment/financing or whatever in place and
getting work started or at least a timetable that satisfies
the city.
“They do not want to condemn the building, but they will.
“…Thank you to all for being involved. I will even say thank
you to the Board for their service, but they should have
listened and should now put pride aside and get this done.
Thank you for your consideration, Keith.”