Journal Notes—March 2019

Journal Notes—March 2019

by Michael Hamline, Editor / Published March 2019

     Congratulations to all the Readers’ Choice Awards winners! This issue provides more than 70 short company profiles from winners that allow community association managers, boards of directors, and residents to get to know some highly regarded service providers. This special feature can be found by turning to page 6. The Readers’ Choice Awards are presented to service providers who demonstrate through their commitment to the community associations they serve an exemplary level of proficiency, reliability, fairness, and integrity. This is the sixth year for the Awards, and there were more than 500 nominations, 8,400 votes cast, and 212 service providers recognized as winners or finalists. Many of these service providers have the distinction of being nominated and winning the Awards for their second, third, fourth, fifth, and even sixth time, which means that they continue to stand out and are being recognized for their excellence.

     Kathleen Berkey is with Becker and writes on page 110 about “Raffles and Games of Chance: A Gamble for Community Associations.” She explains Chapter 849 of the Florida Statutes, what it says about gambling in Florida, and how this affects Florida’s community associations. The bottom line, she says: “Accordingly, it is advised that community associations never seek to conduct or sponsor games of chance, raffles, or lotteries for money or for anything of value on association property, and that they remind their members that these activities are unlawful and are not permitted anywhere on association property.”

     On page 126, Chris Evers with Pavement Technology Inc. explains how your community’s roads need to be maintained. The article is entitled, “Your Roads Need Therapy!” and explains how aging of asphalt can be combatted.

     “Why Is It Important to Maintain Visitor Records?” on page 132 was written by Brie Shouppe with Envera Systems. She highlights three important benefits communities have when they keep good visitor records.

     On page 136, William Blazowski highlights a relevant issue in his article, “Time to Address a Fault in Association Insurance Coverage.” He speaks about the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) and how it serves as “the safety net for Florida’s admitted carrier policyholders.” He makes an important argument for increasing the FIGA cap.

     FLCAJ would love to hear from you this year!

Editor