LEBEN RESIGNS AS QUAIL MEADOW BOARD COLLAPSES

In a separation every bit as dramatic as a glacier calving into the sea, embattled Quail Meadow board of directors president Toni Leben tendered her resignation Saturday night, prompting the resignation of three other board members within the next 24 hours. Earlier in the evening, Linda Ward, appointed to the board in September of this year, resigned after three months of service citing board dysfunction and rancor. Ward’s departure appears unrelated to Leben’s and the other director resignations that followed Leben's in rapid succession.

One resignation, that of attorney Michelle Lewis, was tendered in a joint letter together with Leben’s. The pair did not state a reason for submitting a joint resignation.

Steven Roseman, who served as board treasurer, resigned on Sunday morning. In an email addressed to the Board and the community, Roseman blamed others for his resignation, claiming that “a select few disgruntled residents has resulted in a hostile environment” and that “[c]onstantly being criticized, second guessed and harassed by those with little or no experience, and those who purport to have experience but don’t, has led us down this road to paralysis. I do not want to be associated with such individuals and choose to no longer serve with them or be their object of attack.”

Frank Jones, the board's vice-president, was the last to resign on Sunday evening, stating in an email, “Effective immediately, I resign from the Quail Meadow Homeowners Association Board.”

All the resignations stated they were effective immediately. Under Florida law, they are effective when delivered and may not be rescinded.

The departures left the Quail Meadow Board with two directors, Brenda Mueller and Valerie Halaby, and without a quorum to conduct association business. The pair immediately called a special meeting (by ZOOM) to appoint another director pursuant to the HOA statute and Quail Meadow Bylaws. The ZOOM meeting is scheduled for today, December 22nd at 2:00 pm.

Though not directly related to the mass resignations, other missives concerning the board were circulating over the weekend. One, from the editor of this news blog, was addressed to the members of the Board and Realtime Management after disclosure that the Board’s president has been regularly calling and conducting private board meetings at which association business is conducted, and board votes were being cast by email, both of which are prohibited under Florida law. The letter is reprinted here:

Dear Quail Meadow Board Members:

It has come to my attention that the Quail Meadow board of directors has been conducting meetings without the public notice required by F.S. 720.303(2)(c) (at least 48 hours) and voting at such meetings on association business matters by email in violation of F.S. 720.303(2)(a). "Members of the board of administration may use e-mail as a means of communication but may not cast a vote on an association matter via e-mail. A meeting of the board of directors of an association occurs whenever a quorum of the board gathers to conduct association business. . . ." This has been happening for some time now with the apparent acquiescence of Realtime Property Management.

This practice must stop and each of you must immediately cease and desist from participating in meetings held in violation of the HOA laws that ensure that BOD meetings and votes happen in public and in view of the community membership.

Neither the Board nor Realtime has responded.

Apart from the weekend's"Saturday Night Massacre," the Quail Meadow board suffered an unusual number of resignations this year. Theresa Burgess, appointed to fill a vacancy in February, was the first to resign over various failings in the way the board was conducting business. Harriet Sacher resigned after having similar concerns that culminated in a heated dispute with Leben. Linda Ward resigned as previously reported.

Sharon Bross, who had expressed interest in filling a vacancy this past January, was approached by Leben to fill a vacancy on the board currently filled by Brenda Mueller. Bross declined the position, citing the board's numerous governance issues, among them the conflict of interest of Leben having appointed her husband Morton to serve on the board's finance committee. Bross' October 30th email to Leben makes clear her concern: "When I asked Tony [Chiarello] how the other members on the Finance Committee felt.....I learned that one of the other members is your husband. Toni, that is absolutely against the protocols of every Board I have served on. Morton is serving on a committee with direct responsibility for the disposition of the funds of the community and yet is married to the person who is making the final decision."

The crises plaguing the current Quail Meadow Board appear to be the result of a decade or more of board mismanagement and failed governance, during all of which time Leben has served as board President. The consequences of deferred, improper and/or neglected maintenance of the community’s plant and facilities are now evident, as is the long-standing insistence upon maintaining the quarterly HOA dues at artificially low levels, leaving the HOA with insufficient funding absent further significant and immediate raises to the HOA fees or the levy of a special assessment.