Last updated Jul 8, 2022 | Published on Jul 4, 2022 | Communitiy Updates, Featured
Three Meadows Phase III 2022 Board Members Vote to Limit Future Election Voting Access
At the direction of Board President (Robert Nicholls) in the recent June Board meeting, our Phase III Board voted to put forth the updated By-Laws in their current form. Despite feedback from the 4 member By-Law Review Committee, virtually all the changes recommended by that committee were eliminated. One key concern is that the original proposed draft limited the opportunity to vote to those members present or represented by proxy, but restricted the number of proxies held by any member to 2. That would have meant that no member unable to attend in person could vote unless they could find someone who planned to attend who did not already have 2 proxies for others.
In the final draft presented at the meeting, Robert not only determined to limit the number of proxies, but doubled down on the already contentious paragraph to change the number of proxies to 1. Despite the clear objections of at least 3 Association Members present (including the Committee Lead), the 2022 Board appears determined to prevent open access to elections in our community. While the current Board members were elected in 2021 based on proxies from our members by an effort to get out the votes by proxies, Robert now calls that process “proxy abuse”. He and the other BOD members openly state that they want to ensure that such a process is not possible in the future to replace them. They want to require members to attend in person, and only provide the most limited access to voting by proxy.
The By-Laws Review Committee questioned the validity of any limit on the number of proxies, but determined (as the recommended draft detailed) that any limit on proxies should include the opportunity to vote by mail-in ballot. This is the established method used for elections throughout our state, and has been a method available to our members for 30 years. At the June Board meeting, Robert attempted to claim that this process is complicated in Florida and costly. Despite the statement from our Showcase CAM (Diane) that this process is a normal part of voting for many (or most) of their managed associations, and at little extra cost, Robert is determined to prevent open access to voting by our members.
The current By-Laws state that any changes must be approved by at least 2/3 of the voting members present at a meeting called for that purpose. Although the proposed By-Laws also require the community approve them, Robert is proposing that they be approved with a simple Board vote instead. Our outdated original Articles make that provision, and he is attempting to dictate that his By-Laws be approved as written without any approval from the other 88 homeowners. It seems absurd that the Board would replace a document which requires a 2/3 majority vote in it’s terms with another document also requiring 2/3 votes by having only 3 Board members approve. Both the original and the new document state that changes require a 2/3 vote of the members, so why is he trying to force the new one in by only a Board vote?
The only reasonable conclusion is that Robert wants to cement this new and restrictive set of By-Laws after he dictates them by then proposing a change to the Articles of Incorporation. He apparently hopes that this will prevent future Boards from doing as he is now attempting to do. We should be suspect of any Board Member who is determined to rewrite our governing document by backdoor methods. Also… Any Board member who gets elected based on proxy votes and then attempts to limit those votes in the future without even allowing mail-in ballots is certainly suspect.
Hopefully, we can get enough members to contact these Board members to convince them to rethink this blatant effort to hold onto an elected position. You are encouraged to reach out to the Board before the next meeting, since it is entirely possible that Robert will put the new By-Laws up for a Board Only vote at that time. Perhaps they will also consider the other recommendations made by those members who spent significant time reviewing the proposed By-Laws. There are numerous errors or inconsistencies which shouldn’t be approved as part of our governing documents. You can review the initial draft with suggested changes (which were dismissed off-handedly by Robert) in this post: By-Laws Updates.
The Current Board members and addresses are below. It’s unlikely to persuade Robert to cease this domineering approach to leadership, but you may be able to convince some of the more level-headed members.
- Robert Nicholls – 1193 Walnut Grove Way
- Vinny DiFranzo – 1236 Winding Meadows Rd.
- Mike Pryor – 1257 Winding Meadows Rd.
- Gwennie Elliot – 1206 Walnut Grove Way
- Ed Cleveland – 1239 Winding Meadows Rd.
Remember… If you don’t speak up now, you may not be able to vote in the future without actually attending the election!
Last updated Jul 7, 2022 | Published on Jul 3, 2022 | Communitiy Updates, Featured
Three Meadows Phase III By-Laws Updates Proposed
The 2022 Board of Directors has been largely focused on updating the By-Laws which govern our Three Meadows Phase III HOA. Their primary concern seems to be restricting how members are permitted to vote in up-coming elections. The current President (Robert Nicholls) openly states that this is in order to make it more difficult to remove them from office. There are several other areas they seek to address as well which are less contentious. Although the Board has long been considered to consist of 5 elected positions, the 2021 Board sought to change this number to 3. Confusion exists in the current governing documents which don’t clearly state the makeup of our elected HOA Board, and the proposed changes are also meant to correct this.
A By-Laws Review Committee was established, and a number of changes were proposed to the initial draft. Unfortunately, the Board chose to follow the direction of current President Robert Nicholls, and ignore feedback from our community members. The final draft presented by Robert eliminates the recommended provisions to allow voting by mail-in ballot (as customary in our community). This final draft also includes clear misstatements or other areas which cause additional confusion. One example is that while the number of members is clearly stated to be 5, only 4 members are named (President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer). The additional member has customarily been considered to be Member-at-Large in previous Boards.
Other sections proposed in this “final draft” may cause more confusion than needed. One such item is that the roles defined for the members are out of touch with our community. While the President has only the responsibility to preside over meetings, and the Vice-President to do so in his absence, the other positions are assigned duties which are not true in our HOA. The duties stated to be the responsibility of the Secretary and Treasurer have been (and are currently) performed by our Community Association Manager (CAM). Also, previous Board Presidents have accepted the responsibility to be the primary point of contact for homeowner issues and affairs related to our CAM, along with several other responsibilities. Specifically eliminating virtually all responsibilities from the President and Vice-President position (and adding incorrect responsibilities to Treasurer and Secretary positions) is simply incomprehensible.
If our community is going to replace an existing governing document, we should ensure it at least starts out as a valid document. Ignoring the feedback from our members who have no vested interest in the process other than to see if it respects reality and the rights of all 93 members of our HOA is reckless and a waste of effort. If the intent was to respect our members’ rights and clarify our HOA process, the current version fails miserably.
The original draft (along with recommended changes highlighted and notes included) is provided below. Suggested additions are in blue, areas of concern are highlighted in yellow, and text suggested to be removed also have strikethrough. You can download the PDF at the link below the image, or by opening the pop-out at top right side. Take note that the “final draft” presented by Robert not only still limits proxies, but he now wants to permit only 1 proxy be held on behalf of members who might not be able to attend. There were no provisions made to vote by mail in ballot, and virtually all of the recommended changes were dismissed off-handedly.
Last updated Jul 4, 2022 | Published on Sep 7, 2015 | Communitiy Updates, Featured
Deed Restrictions For All Three Meadows Neighborhoods
Three Meadows subdivision in Rockledge Florida consists of three distinct home owners associations. Each HOA and its related lots have different restrictions and by-laws for their association operation. This has often caused confusion, so this page has been provided to help our neighbors understand their own restrictions and obligations.
The Brevard County website has undergone a number of changes in the past few years, and records are sometimes hard to locate. You can search for “Three Meadows” on this page: Brevard Record Name Search and select from the different communities in Three Meadows. Phase I/II, Phase III, and Phase IV all have different corporations, and different documents.
Some of the documents are of course not related to your subdivision. There are various financial and other documents which are not related to deed restrictions or community affairs. You will need to browse and read to find those specifically involving your section.
Hopefully, this helps those homeowners who never received a copy from their real estate representative.
By the way… take a moment to sign up for newsletters from our home page to keep informed about things affecting our neighborhood, and browse this site for more local information.
Published on May 7, 2014 | Neighborhood Watch
Three Meadows residents who missed the meeting can browse the highlights below.
Note: The below is provided by a resident of Three Meadows that attended the 1 May 2014 Neighborhood Watch Meeting for all phases. The individual is sharing these notes with fellow residents of Phase IV that may not have attended the meeting Permission has been granted to share the notes with the residents of the other phases.
This is distributed to you via the Neighborhood Watch E-mail Network for two specific reasons:
– To pass along the information disseminated at your Neighborhood Watch Meeting in hopes that it will reach those that were not in attendance. We ask that you share this with your neighbors as they may not be on the e- mail network distro.
– To ask your assistance by checking to see if your neighbors are on the e-mail network distro; and if not, explain the advantages of being on the distro and provide them the e-mail address for your neighborhood’s e-mail network point of contact so they can be added.
We want to thank the individual who put to paper the key points of the meeting with the intent of sharing. It is provided to you in part. This simple act can do nothing less than assist others with safeguarding their family, property and neighborhood. Together, in numbers, we make a difference.
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May 2, 2014
Dear Neighbors,
I attended last night’s Neighborhood Watch meeting for all phases of Three Meadows and wanted to summarize the meeting for you. This summary is a supplement and doesn’t replace the information contained in the Neighborhood Watch packet. If there is a difference, use the Neighborhood Watch packet information.
Two points of clarification before the summary. First,I am a resident of Phase IV, but I am not our Neighborhood Watch captain. Second,your Neighborhood Watch e-mail point of contact is not to be used to contact the police. That’s up to each of us to do, and do timely, when criminal or suspicious activity occurs.
A summary of the meeting follows.
- Police contact information.
Call 911 for emergencies. (Criminal or suspicious activity that is in progress.)
Call 690-3988 extension 0 for police assistance for non-emergencies. (Criminal or suspicion activity that is not currently in progress.)
Call 321-302-2205 (Rockledge Police Department’s Drug Unit) regarding ongoing drug activity or if you think there might be a drug house in your neighborhood. The info may also be emailed to
Corporal A. DiBiase-Deakins is a RPD Senior Staff Assistant and is in charge of the Neighborhood Watch Program. Her contact information is adeakins@cityofrockledge.org and 321-690-3213 ext. 3117. (911 and 690-3988 are to be used to report criminal or suspicious activity.)
- We are the eyes and ears of our neighborhood and need to be diligent in letting the police and our neighbors know what crime or suspicious activity is going on in a timely manner. “No call too small,”is a slogan that Cpl. DiBiase-Deakins repeatedly used.
- Reporting criminal or suspicious activity as soon as it becomes known is critical. Our neighborhood is large and nice, and because it is large we need to know that criminal or suspicious activity that happens in one area can and has moved to another area.
- Residents with security cameras who are willing to assist the police department by letting the police department review their camera activity when criminal or suspicious activity around their home occurs are asked to let the police know that theirs may be used.
- Scams are huge in Rockledge. Some specific scams that were mentioned involved people impersonating FP&L, the IRS, a bank, the White House,a“grandparent” scam in which the caller notifies the person that a relative is out of town and needs money sent to them immediately, or a company notifying you that you have won a lot of money and that to claim the money you must first make a deposit in their account.
- Our best defense is to know our neighbors and their general habits. For example;when they are normally home, when they aren’t normally home,when they are on vacation, and in general terms what “normal”looks like around their house. (The police are not asking for us to be nosey neighbors but rather to be neighbors who know and care enough about each other to report suspicious activity when it occurs. It was pointed out that if we know the neighbor well enough and are comfortable doing so that we should contact the neighbor first.)Two specific examples were given and involve gates and dogs. The police want to be notified if gates are open when they normally aren’t or if dogs are barking when they normally don’t. We are asked to notify the neighbor first (if we know them well enough to do so).
- Rockledge experiences three to four drowning victims a year. Open fence gates provide easy access to others who shouldn’t use a resident’s pool, but for whatever reason do. This particularly applies to children who wander into a yard with a pool. Drownings have also occurred when parents and other adults didn’t constantly supervise the pool area when others were present. We were encouraged to become CPR certified in an effort to provide immediate help. Pool alarms were recommended.
- Keeping houses well lighted was recommended because it deters crime. “Light your house or pay later,”was mentioned by Cpl. DiBiase-Deakins.
- Most home burglaries occur during the day. Rear sliding doors are the main point of entry. We were encouraged not to rely on the lock that came with the sliding glass door, but to get a “Charlie bar”or other device. Signs (alarm and neighborhood watch were given as examples) are deterrents.
- Most vehicular burglaries occur at night, especially when doors are unlocked and/or when anything is left in plain view.
- Summer is coming and the police know that with it comes an increase in criminal activity. It was noted that if parents don’t keep their children occupied, the children have been known to make themselves busy–sometimes by committing crimes.
- The suspicious activity noted below was emailed to the police by one of our neighbors on April
7. Cpl. DiBiase-Deakins said that it’s exactly what the department wants called in at the time it’s noticed. Unfortunately, the police weren’t notified when these occurred.
o About one to two months ago a house in the 1100 block of Winding Meadows was notified by a neighbor that someone with a flashlight was in the backyard around 9 PM. The neighbor who noticed the light lives on Sunday Drive. The light went out when a dog at the neighbor’s house alerted and ran to the fence. The owner of the house wasn’t home at the time. There was no noticeable evidence of any one having been there.
o Another house in the 1100 block of Winding Meadows, this time on the side of the road backing up to the pasture, heard a suspicious noise at night on the south side of their house about three weeks ago.
o Still another house in the 1100 block of Winding Meadows, this one borders the ditch on Roy Wall, has noticed a man in the bushes adjacent to their yard. This was also about three weeks ago, maybe longer.
o The owner of another house in the 1100 block of Winding Meadows heard a knock on a rear window at 4 AM about a week ago. It was loud enough to wake the owner up and for one of their dogs to alert and bark. The owner turned the lights on and went outside to check the area out. Nothing was found to be other than it should be. This house backs into a house on Sunday.
o A few days after number 4, another owner in the 1100 block of Winding Meadows was awaken by what sounded like something being moved on the back porch. Nothing was found to be out of order. This house also backs up to a house on Sunday.
o An owner on Sunday said that a man rang their doorbell at 630 AM on Monday, March 31. The owner caught a glimpse of the man, but not enough to provide a description.
o An owner in the 1200 block of Winding Meadows also had their doorbell at 630 AM on or about the March 31. The house is a few blocks away from the south end of Sunday.
o The owner of a house in the 1200 block of Winding Meadows had their doorbell rung at 1030 PM about a week ago. They did not answer the door. This house backs up to the pasture and is a few houses away from the south end of Sunday.
- Neighborhood Watch meetings can be held within each area (or phase of Three Meadows) as compared to last night’s all phases meeting and need to be held annually.
Two slogans,“No call too small,” and “It Only Takes 1 Person, 1 Call ”summarize the meeting well by indicating our police department’s desire to help and that it’s up to each of us as individuals and collectively as members in our Neighborhood Watch programs to be active in calling the police when criminal or suspicious activity becomes known to us.
Please attend the next meeting (a date hasn’t been announced) and pass this information on to Rockledge residents.
Respectfully,
A resident of Three Meadows
Published on May 2, 2014 | Neighborhood Watch
The following alert was recently provided by our Rockledge Police Department regarding a reported phone scam. Take a moment to read and be aware.
Greetings,
The following alert is provided by the Rockledge Police Department:
INCIDENT:
On 23 April 2014, the Rockledge Police Department responded to a residence on Brunswick Lane, Rockledge pertaining to a telephone call received. Based on the information provided by the resident, the Rockledge Police Department believes the call to be a scam.
The caller (scammer) claimed to be a representative of Florida Power and Light (FPL). The caller (a male) stated that money was owed by the resident for past service and, if not paid, the electrical power would be cut off to the residence.
The caller’s telephone number prefix was (877), a prefix for a toll free number.
The caller hung up upon hearing from the resident that local law enforcement was being contacted. Note, the resident was not delinquent in her utility payment.
CLOSING:
The practice of a utility provider contacting a resident regarding a delinquent account is by mail, not via e-mail or a telephone call. And typically, utilities are not immediately cut off until other means of resolution are exhausted. The preference of a utility provider is to resolve a delinquent issue rather than cut off the service.
It is recommended that you do not return a phone call using a phone number provided to you by a stranger that initiated the phone call nor reply to an e-mail that was originated by an alleged representative of a service provided.
If you suspect a scam, contact local law enforcement (non-emergency 321-690-3988). If you are not sure, another option is to tell the caller that you will call back, using the contact information provided on your contract or the most recent billing (invoice).
Please pass this along to others, noting that your friends and neighbors may not receive this current local scam alert via this e-mail network, they may be out of the loop.
Network Administrator
—
Rockledge Police Department
911 or321-690-3988
http://www.cityofrockledge.org/198/Police-Department
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City of Rockledge Website
http://www.cityofrockledge.org/
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