LETTER FROM CONCERNED CITIZEN'S GROUP, JULY 15, 22

RENOVATE OR DEMOLISH...
July 15, 2022

To Our fellow YARCOBR Owners:

In an email dated July 14th, the Board of Directors have reversed their original position and have agreed to conduct a “Survey” to allow Owners to express their wishes regarding the DEMOLITION or RENOVATION of the YARCOBR Clubhouse. This is in no small measure due to a recent campaign and Petition by Owners to have their voices heard…  

You are now being asked to “Vote” on the future of the YARCOBR Clubhouse.  The simple choice will be to RENOVATE the Clubhouse to bring it back to full function and Operation with selected enhancements............or shall we DEMOLISH it and build a new Clubhouse?  

Before you exercise your “Voting” right, we would like to present some "food for thought" for your consideration….

First...........what have been the primary past uses of our Clubhouse at YARCOBR?

Card, Mahjong playing  
Meetings of Building Associations and Club/Board Meetings
Thursday night Guest presentations and entertainment
Periodic dinner parties for approximately 100+ guests
The present Clubhouse space has handled the above activities over the life of YARCOBR.  Our resident population does not grow.  We have 366 units and that will not change or increase.

Now………  let us consider the "Demolish & Rebuild New" option. Should the DEMOLISH choice be made we will:

Face a cost that may exceed $12 million dollars and burden our Owners with a 15-year liability, presumably in the form of increased Quarterly Club Fees; already among the highest versus other Boca Raton waterfront communities.
We must reasonably anticipate rampant inflationary costs, construction labor shortages and labor cost increases; a potential doubling of interest rates for loans, and serious supply line shortages.   The "actual cost" could sky-rocket as did the budgeted costs for the recently completed Chickee Bar demolition project.
We could face two or more additional years of non-use of this Important facility year-round; while living with construction rubble, dust, dirt, and inconvenience right in the very center of our normally tranquil campus. 
Concurrently, we are facing a $3,000,000. cost to repair/replace the sea wall bulkhead behind the F Building, and there is an initial estimate of nearly $1,000,000. for additional marina repairs.
With new inspection procedures mandated by the City of Boca Raton, and a newly passed State of Florida Law, each of our 7 Building Condo Associations may individually be facing hundreds of thousands of dollars of mandatory updates or repairs.              
In contrast……, now let us consider the option to RENOVATE the Clubhouse

Knowledgeable construction professionals/Owners estimate the Clubhouse can be renovated and restored for multiple millions less than a demolish and rebuild option.
The Clubhouse could be operational for our Owners by December of this year.............ready for the upcoming season.
Our residents will be given the opportunity to settle down, without divisive issues and controversy, and get back to the long-absent, but treasured, fun and pleasure of living at YARCOBR.
A renovated Clubhouse will allow the almost immediate resumption of all the activities noted above, as well as a few improvements, to get back to normal activity levels with minimized cost and disruption.
Another item you should consider is the recent disclosure of Senior Management’s Independent actions and undisclosed activities to subvert any progress on legally required repairs to the Clubhouse, resulting in the arbitrary and unjustified closure of the Clubhouse and lack of access and use by Owners for the past 13 months.

As a direct result, last month this has resulted in the Club’s Law Firm resigning its 20+ year relationship with YARCOBR, based on disagreements with Senior Management’s activities that exceeded their stated authority and responsibilities to the Owners; and a clear failure to act in accord with legal advice that has now resulted in the City of Boca Raton mandating resolution, or penalizing Owners via punitive administrative actions.

Instead of rushing into a quick decision to spend undefined millions at a terrible economic time, we can have an opportunity to plan for our future needs slowly and carefully….

We applaud the Board’s unanimous decision to allow an Owners Vote on this critical matter but reject Management’s highly biased and one-sided communication of “things to consider” in support of demolishing the Clubhouse.

Until the last three years, YARCOBR has had a House Committee which was composed of knowledgeable, experienced Owners who evaluated the short- and long-term physical property needs of YARCOBR.  We need to restore that Committee, which has historically reported directly to our Board of Directors.    

What is clear is that ALL OWNERS MUST PARTICIPATE AND RESPOND TO THE SURVEY, to ensure that each and every voice is heard, and that the “will of the majority” is clear to the Community and acknowledged by Senior Management.

From our perspective, the choice is clear, and for the good of YARCOBR and our Owners, WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU CAST YOUR VOTE TO RENOVATE THE CLUBHOUSE to its renewed, fully operational condition on an accelerated basis!
 

Your Concerned Owners Community