JUNE 15, 2020
Board President John Laprade’s
Message to Members
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| Board President John Laprade |
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| Regency Tower Pool |
Finally, life is beginning to return to normal following the quarantine period. Broward County has entered Phase 1 which allows for retail and restaurants to begin opening as long as certain CDC guidelines are met such as social distancing and wearing facial coverings. See Broward County Emergency Order 20-12: https://www.broward.org/CoronaVirus/Documents/EmergencyOrder20-12.pdf.
Also, the Board of Directors met earlier this week and relaxed restrictions on overnight visitors. Beginning on June 4th overnight guests were allowed only when the owner or tenant being visited is in residence. Residents must register guests with the office or security in advance of their arrival and they must sign a visitor's acknowledgement prior to arriving. You can obtain a copy of the visitor's acknowledgement on ConciergePlus under Communications-Announcements or by emailing a request to: OfficeRegencytower@yahoo.com. Emergency Order 20-12 also spells out certain requirements our association must meet for employees, anyone entering the building and for use of amenities. At this time due to COVID-19, only residents and tenants may use the pool, pool deck and gym. VISITORS and GUESTS are not allowed.
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| Regency Tower Beach Egress |
Keep in mind that according to Broward County Emergency Order 20-14 beach hours are limited to the hours between sunrise and sunset, facial coverings must be worn when social distancing of six feet (other than for members of the same household group) cannot be maintained, and all persons must have facial covering available and ready to use at all times. Persons must be able to show their facial coverings upon request by local authorities.
Finally, according to Broward County Emergency Order 20-12 there are certain exceptions for wearing facial coverings. The following persons are not required to wear facial coverings:
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Children under the age of two (2) should not wear a facial covering, and any child while under the custody of a licensed childcare facility, including daycare centers, is not required to wear a facial covering;
- Persons who have difficulty breathing or a medical condition that otherwise makes the wearing of a facial covering unsafe;
- Persons receiving goods or services from a business or establishment for the shortest practical period of time during which the receipt of such goods or services necessarily precludes the wearing of a facial covering (such as eating or receiving a facial grooming);
- Public safety, fire, and other life safety personnel, as their personal protective equipment requirements will be governed by their respective agencies;
- Any worker involved in the preparation of food only if doing so would pose a hazard or health issue;
- Persons for whom wearing a facial covering is subject to a religious objection; and
- Persons subject to an express exception in an applicable Executive Order of the Governor or a Broward County Emergency Order, solely while engaging in the expressly excepted activity.
We are also asking all owners to wear facial coverings when using the common areas of the building and social distancing cannot be maintained.
There is a lot here but I wanted to provide you with as much information as possible, especially to our owners who are not in residence and may not be up to date on what has been happening here in Fort Lauderdale.
Please don’t hesitate to write me with any questions or concerns.
(*Please Note - To peruse a resource providing every COVID-19 Executive Order, Emergency Order, Declaration and Reopening Plan by the State of Florida, DBPR, Broward County and the City of Fort Lauderdale along with relevant info from CDC, White House, BSO and COVID-19 Federal legislation, Click Here)
Thank you and BE SAFE!
Sincerely,
John Laprade
Board President
Manager Dana Domond's
Building Office Update
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| Manager Dana Domond |
I would like to begin by thanking all residents in our building who have been patient in adhering to the different rule changes under Broward County and the Governor’s orders. We are doing everything to protect our residents and employees. This is a continuing team effort of the residents, the Board of Directors, and the staff. We have a vigorous cleaning schedule for sanitizing key areas. These include the elevators, bathrooms, gym, and lobby.
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| Security Chief Eddie Rogers Battling COVID-19 Threat in National Guard |
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| Acting-Chief of Security Kenzi Benton |
Beach access is now available Monday – Friday after 5:00 PM and beach/pool access is available 8:00 AM- to sundown on Saturdays and Sundays.
If you are in residence, please see Kenzi at the front desk to obtain your new FOB if you haven’t already. We will be rolling out the new system within a couple of weeks and although both the old and new systems will be operating simultaneously for a short period of time there will be areas that you will be unable to access without the new FOB, which includes calling the elevators from the garage and lobby levels.
Maintenance News
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| Maintenance Chief Charlie Davis |
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| Charlie Davis and Joey Russell |
Joey comes to us with knowledge in all areas of maintenance. He has worked in maintenance and building engineering since 2010 when served as the Chief Engineer at Silver Thatch Condo (360 units) and most recently as Chief Engineer at White Egret Condos (160 units).
Please give Joey a warm welcome as he transitions into the Regency Tower team.
Stay Safe!
This is Your Office
If you a problem that I might help you resolve...
Please call the office!
Your concerns - and input - are important!
Dana Domond
Property Manager
COMMITTEE REPORTS June 2020 Budget & Finance
Committee
John Amatulli
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| Treasurer John Amatulli |
I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank our manager, Dana Domond, for the great job she has done over past four months. She is fully cognizant of the planned budget and our numbers reflect just that. She has managed to meet our expense goals in five of our six expense categories. In our Administration Expenses, we were over plan by $1,306; however, included in this category is a $3,220 overage for a bad debt charge due to a foreclosure of a reverse mortgage.
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| Manager Dana Domond |
Recently, she had to deal with a complaint filed with the Department of Business & Professional Regulation by an owner alleging that in 2016, $42,325 was removed from the reserve accounts to pay for operating funds; however, the 2016 CPA Annual Audit states just the opposite. Pages 9 and 10 of the 2016 CPA Annual Audit states “Florida Statute requires that replacement funds be accounted for separately and be fully funded. The due to/from other funds on the balance sheet reflects an amount of $42,325 by which the reserves are underfunded: The Association intends to make the necessary transfer.”
Our manager spent fourteen hours, over several days, going through our record storage room to find all the relevant documents. Her review of the Annual Audits for 2016 and 2017, all bank statements for the periods in question, and all the monthly financial reports clearly indicated that the owner misread the 2016 Financial report.
These documents clearly showed the $42,325 had been transferred from operating funds to reserve funds in 2017. This information was forwarded to (Association Attorney) Michael Bender for a response to the DBPR board, and whose fees for this service, will be paid by all owners.
I am sure her time could have been better spent managing the building instead of responding to a rambling 24-page complaint from an owner with an agenda. Note, this owner never did request an explanation from the office on the use of reserve funds, and never gave the Association an opportunity to respond to the allegation of misuse of funds. Instead, this owner filed the complaint directly to the DBPR.
*Copies of John Amatulli's Treasurer's Report can also be downloaded from the password protected Concierge Plus website and are available to owners in the Regency Tower office (Click Here to Concierge Plus website).
John Amatulli
John Amatulli, Treasurer
Regency Tower Board of Directors
Progress Review
The Balcony/Concrete Restoration project continues to move along. However, weather issues continue to cause project delays. In the last 4 weeks we lost 11 working days to weather related delays (50%).
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| Southside Balconies |
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| Building Front |
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| Regency Tower pool and pool deck |
One of the main goals has been to return daily use of the pool to owners. We are also looking at options to make sure that once the pool is open that daily access to the beach can also be achieved. With work ongoing on the 11 stack this may require use of an alternative beach access, but we are looking at options and will report to you soon.
The most important goal is to make sure that the balcony/concrete restoration project continues on time and on budget. I am pleased to report that we are currently achieving both of these goals.
Thank you all for your cooperation while we restore Regency Tower’s building exterior
Regards.
John Laprade
John Laprade, President
Regency Tower Board of Directors
Newsletter 
Update
Newsletter Editor Heidi Weber
Letter from the Editor
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| Newsletter Editor Heidi Weber |
When people break fair rules, those in leadership positions often want to create new rules with more specificity. In my opinion, there should be general rules for safety and quiet, appropriate enjoyment of the property. That means it’s incumbent on every owner and lessee to abide by the rules.
If there are rules that you feel are unfair or cannot be enforced fairly, please write to the board. Make your concerns known, so the board can work with you. If there are changes to rules being brought up, owners should make their voices known by attending board meetings.
Personal responsibility is the key. Treat your neighbors as you would like to be treated. Take the proper actions to keep this community safe, happy, and prosperous. We are all stakeholders here.
In an effort to keep our association current, John Laprade and I have been working toward utilizing the technology we already have to create easier, more efficient ways of doing things like checking in visitors, keeping owners and residents up-to-date on the things going on in the building, and much more. Once we get past all the roadblocks, I’ll have more to report.
Stay healthy!
Heidi Weber
Security 
Report
Security Chief Eddie Rodgers
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| Security Chief Eddie Rogers Battling COVID-19 Threat in National Guard |
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| Acting-Chief of Security Kenzi Benton |
We have two new guards. Carl Brown and Marte Pierre. Carl Brown, is a fast learner, and is quickly adapting to his job. He is also extremely tech savvy. Marte Pierre, is well-spoken and detail-oriented. They work the overnight shifts from 10:30pm – 6:30am. So, if you’re up late night or early in the morning, stop and say hello to make them feel welcomed to Regency.
The security team also wants to ensure everyone’s safety by making sure everyone is accounted for. So, when residents have visitors, please make sure they fill out a guest form and receive a parking permit… this way the guests will be easily identified and cars won’t be towed. Owners may also use Concierge Plus to access the sign-in forms to fill out before the visitors arrive; though visitors will still have to sign the papers upon arrival.
We are also conscious of COVID-19 safety. All guards are are equipped with masks and gloves for your safety. Public hand sanitizers can be found on the walls in the mail room and near the lobby elevators. Also when approaching the lobby desk, please stand behind the blue lines that indicate six-foot distancing.
Sincerely,
Kenzi Benton for Eddie Rodgers
Safety Tip: Since the south and north driveway ramps are Intermittently being used to both enter and exit the building during the construction, please take extra care to avoid collisions with pedestrians and other vehicles.
