Article Courtesy of The Sun
Sentinel
By Maria Herrera
Published September 22, 2007
West Delray - One of its
members was barred from the clubhouse. So to avoid trouble, a Kings Point
condo association has to conduct its meetings outside its gates.
In order to comply with state laws, the Brittany Condominium Association,
one of several that make up Kings Point Community Associations, met for
the first time at the West Atlantic Library Branch on Friday to
accommodate a board member who was banned from the clubhouse after he
tried to videotape a meeting.
Problems for the association began when Peter Cavanagh, a director of
Brittany N, was asked to stop videotaping at a July meeting. He refused.
He was then asked to leave.
"The right to videotape is written right on the Florida
statute," Cavanagh said. "The meeting minutes are edited, and
quite a bit of the business that takes place is not recorded."
According to a police report, representatives of Point Management, the
company that overseas recreation areas, called police when Cavanagh
refused to leave. To avoid jail, Cavanagh left, but he soon filed a formal
complaint with state officials.
At Friday's meeting, several directors complained about having the meeting
at the library and felt it was unfair they all had to pay for Cavanagh's
actions. They called him a "troublemaker."
But Mike Cochran, director of the Florida Division of Land Sales,
Condominiums and Mobile Homes, said Cavanagh has rights.
"It sounds like the board did the right thing," he said.
"Unit owners can videotape meetings — they can do audio or video or
a combination of both — subject to reasonable rules, but they can't ban
it."
Cochran's agency investigated the complaint and advised the Brittany board
to move the meeting to a place where Cavanagh could attend.
Point Management President Mike Hyman said videotaping at any of the
clubhouses or recreation areas, which are still owned by the developer of
the community, is not allowed unless a private party rents the facilities.
Hyman said Cavanagh could have avoided moving the meeting to the library
by surrendering his Kings Point ID and respecting his 30-day ban to the
recreation areas for the incident in July. Now, his recreation area
privileges have been suspended indefinitely.
"I didn't turn in my ID because I didn't feel I violated the
rules," he said. "They haven't been able to show me where it
says that I'm not allowed to videotape."
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