Article
Courtesy of The Miami Herald
By EMILY
STEVENS
Published July 31, 2006
Miami-Dade Judge Ronald Friedman ordered Ken Marlin,
who he appointed in January as special master to oversee repairs at North
Bay Village condominium building GrandView Palace, to come up with a more
specific plan to complete the work.
The order, made at a conference Wednesday, followed
complaints from some of the building's residents about the status of
repairs mandated after 2005 code violations -- as well as those needed
following Hurricane Wilma -- and Marlin's performance as overseer of the
projects.
''We really are very concerned because we don't feel
Mr. Marlin has represented us. We expected him to make decisions to do
what is right for the building,'' resident Rey Trujillo said. ``Enough is
enough. Let's get the building repaired.''
Some 45 to 60 units in the 532-unit building
suffered damage from the storm and code issues, displacing about 60
residents in October.
Marlin said he is not supposed to be a
representative for the residents and that his job is to work with the
condominium association to the best of his ability -- another point of
contention for residents, who say that two of the three association
members are developers with financial interests in the building.
''It's not my job to knock on doors and introduce
myself. My job is to deal directly with the condominium association, and,
like it or don't like it, James Edwards is president of the association,''
Marlin said. ``The association represents you folks, not me. I'm trying to
do the best I can.''
In October, North Bay Village's chief building
official Paul Gioia estimated the repair costs at about $2 million, but
Trujillo said there is no way to know whether that number is still
accurate due to the ongoing negotiations with insurance companies and the
lack of a detailed expense report outlining who should pay for what.
''We've been paying for things that should be the
responsibility of the association,'' Trujillo said. ``They've not had a
full assessment of the damage by the insurance company. This is something
they're doing themselves. We don't even know where they are in
negotiations; we don't know what's happening.''
Friedman told Marlin to listen to residents'
comments and suggestions to develop a more detailed plan to finish the
repairs and also to work with Gioia to determine the nature of the
problems and who should be responsible for the costs.
''Try to address all the problems and issues and
determine if you need more authority, and I'll be happy to consent to
that,'' Friedman said, responding to Marlin's argument that he has limited
control over the repairs.
Friedman
scheduled the next status conference for Aug. 23 and said he would grant
Marlin more authority if necessary.
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