Aquarius to Town: Deny Colony extension or use 3-strike rule

In a proactive letter to town commissioners Thursday, Aquarius’ five member Board of Directors wrote imploring them to not grant the extension which would allow the Colony to exceed its Dec. 31, 2012 deadline for making the Colony operational and would also allow the Colony to keep its grandfathered 273 condominium units.

The Board made the case that as long as the commission continues to grant extensions, nothing in the Colony situation will change. The Colony Association and the other parties involved will continue their legal battles, and time will pass with the Colony falling into further decay.

“We are certain you have extraordinary leverage in this matter and hope you use it to once and for all move this process in a different direction. Providing another unconditional extension would be without question facilitating more of the same,” wrote the Board.

The Aquarius Board also wrote that in the event that the commission decides to grant the extension, that it have timeline “milestone” requirements. The Aquarius Board listed suggestions regarding the milestones the Colony must achieve by certain timeframes and contingency plans such as a three-strike rule when it comes to maintaining the property.

“We believe you should institute a three-strike policy with regards to achievement of these milestones. Each of the first two violations should be met with a significant monetary penalty while the third would trigger an immediate discontinuance of the extension,” wrote the Board members regarding the maintenance timeline. The following is the Aquarius Board’s letter and maintenance timeline suggestion to the commission:

Aquarius Board of Directors letter to commission

To: Town Commission

By way of re‐introduction, this correspondence is written by unanimous consent from the five members of the Board of Directors of the Aquarius Club Condominium

Association, 1701 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key. The address is important in this matter in that we occupy the first building to the north of the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort.

We are aware the Commission has delayed a decision on the extension request made by Colony Association and will reconvene the discussion on September 24, 2012, at 9 a.m.

Please be advised our position that you reject the extension request remains firmly intact and exactly as stated in the correspondence we delivered to you on August 10, 2012.

Nothing we heard in the September 4, 2012 Commission meeting provided us any comfort that forward progress has been made towards resolution.

In fact the discussion by the Colony Association could easily be classified as more of the same when compared to the presentation they gave the Commission in March of this year. We were especially offended and dismayed when the Colony Association attorney suggested no one connected with the Colony Association was aware just how badly the property had deteriorated. This statement alone is a clear indication that they are not paying attention to their own property to the detriment of its neighbors. The development “plans” they verbalized were clearly cobbled together and not at all well thought out.

How can any Commissioner believe this Association is capable of delivering a rehabbed, world-class resort after the past two performances in front of the Commission. We believe it is time to move this process in a different direction and the Commission holds the key. Stop the nonsense. Reject the extension. Enough is enough.

Inasmuch as we at Aquarius Club are a pragmatic lot, we recognize the Commission has a tough decision on its hands, and has clearly indicated it is leaning towards providing an extension. While we disagree with this leaning for all the reasons we have made public to date, we are sympathetic to the property rights of many innocent victims at the Colony. If the Commission is compelled to allow a further extension we strongly request that such extension is conditional on the Colony meeting time based performance milestones such as those suggested by the Longboat Key Building Department. Our further thoughts in this regard are as follows:

Performance milestones

• Within three months of any extension the buildings must be made secure as dictated by the Building Department. Consideration has to be given to making sure loose boards, wood slats and roofing shingles are removed or tacked down such that they are not capable of blowing apart and littering nearby property. All entrances and windows must be secured to deter vagrancy. All outside surfaces need to be kept graffiti free. The Building Department needs to commit to quarterly inspections and reports to ensure the property stays relatively safe through the entirety of the extension period. Any violations need to be corrected by Colony Association within 14 days.

• Landscape maintenance for the whole property needs to be performed every two weeks by a reputable contractor hired by Colony Association for the entirety of the extension period. Paid invoices need to be provided to the Commission as proof this requirement is being met.

• Beach maintenance needs to be performed every two weeks by a reputable contractor hired by Colony Association for the entirety of the extension period. Paid invoices need to be provided to the commission as proof this requirement is being met.

• Pest and vermin control maintenance needs to be performed as required by a reputable contractor hired by Colony Association for the entirety of the extension period. Paid invoices need to be provided to the Commission as proof this requirement is being met.

• A private security patrol of the entire property needs to be performed by a reputable contractor hired by Colony Association for the entirety of the extension period. The patrol schedule should be randomly implemented and equate to not less than 120 hours per month. Paid invoices need to be provided to the Commission as proof this requirement is being met.

• A viable site plan, which meets all FEMA and local codes, must be delivered to the Commission within 9 months from the beginning of any extension.

• Quarterly reports from the attorneys representing each of the interested parties must be provided to the Commission stating what progress has been made in settlement negotiations during the preceding 90 days.

• All interested parties need to make a public progress presentation to the Commission every six months for the entirety of the extension period.

 

We believe you should institute a three-strike policy with regards to achievement of these milestones. Each of the first two violations should be met with a significant monetary penalty while the third would trigger an immediate discontinuance of the extension.

We are certain you have extraordinary leverage in this matter and hope you use it to once and for all move this process in a different direction. Providing another unconditional extension would be without question facilitating more of the same.

Should you want to discuss any part of this correspondence, or view the Colony property from our vantage point, please contact the Aquarius Club office.

Frank Morneau

Bob Boyd

David Marsh

Greg Van Howe

Maryanne Wade

Aquarius Club Board of Director Members