Trinity Communities Master Association (TCMA) is transitioning.
What this means is that TCMA has been owned and operated by the Developers of the Trinity communities for the last 20+ years since its inception.
By law, as the Trinity communities become fully built and developed, the developers are required to transition (turnover) the ownership and operation of the Trinity communities (Trinity Communities Master Association, Inc. (TCMA)) to a new Board of Directors that are elected by the community from among the Trinity homeowners.
As in the transfer of ownership of any large corporation, there are expectations and priorities to be considered on both sides: 1) the homeowners receiving the responsibility to operate and to pay for the operation of TCMA want to make sure it is a profitable and well-run company, versus 2) the developers are now in the process of planning their expectations and strategies to end their involvement and responsibilities in the TCMA business and move-on to concentrate on other business priorities.
As Trinity communities have evolved the developer has committed resources and dollars to construction of the project, its infrastructure and amenities. In order to protect his investment, provisions were built into the Master Associations legal documents which allowed him to exercise control over the direction and process of the community until a time or when a percentage of the community had been sold to homeowners.
During that time, the developer's chosen representatives serve as members of the Board of Directors, and, as such, they are bound to act as fiduciaries and in the best interest of the association. It is a fine line to walk, since some decisions which are right for the developer may result in unanticipated expenses (annual fees and/or special assessments) for the homeowners.
There can be benchmarks that give homeowners some limited participation in the affairs of the association. These benchmarks can include formation of an advisory committee to make recommendations to the Board, and/or phased-in appointment of homeowners to the Board of Directors.
At this time, the developer has elected to turn over control of the Trinity master association to the homeowners. The developer has recently appointed a nominating committee to select qualified replacement directors and officers to assume the responsibility of directing Trinity Communities Association operations.
Transition is usually accomplished at a special meeting held for the purpose of electing homeowners to serve on the Board of Directors, and this may occur very soon. Once the nominated individuals are elected and in control, the real work begins! The only thing that ends at that meeting is the developer's control over the functioning of the association not his responsibility to it.
The newly elected directors and officers now have a huge responsibility. They must insure that (1) the developer provides the association with any and all pertinent information; (2) the association reviews that information and questions the developer on any vague or ambiguous issues; (3) funded reserves; and (4) the Board develops a strategic plan to go forward from that point.
One of the first steps a new Board must take is an audit of the association's financial situation. It is important for members of the new Board, as well as all homeowners, to satisfy themselves that while the developer was in control, all income and expenses were properly accounted for. That includes, but isn't limited to, the financial obligation of the developer himself, if any, and aggressive pursuit of delinquent accounts.
Trinity Presidents committee is currently in the process of interviewing legal council. Sound legal advice is absolutely necessary to assure the developer abides by his legal obligations and commitments. Additional funding from homeowners may become necessary to accomplish this vital protection. As the turnover process continues consideration to hiring a professional engineer to perform a comprehensive inspection of the property and its physical plant. This will serve two purposes: (1,) it will determine if there are any warranty defects that may be the responsibility of the developer; and (2,) it will serve as the basis for a repair and replacement reserve analysis. Such an analysis (reserve study) will estimate the useful life of a component, such as roads, easements, drainage, water management systems, common areas, privacy and perimeter walls etc., the projected cost to replace it, and how much money needs to be set aside to evaluate the need for dues, potential increases and/or special assessments may be necessary to maintain the association's assets and property values into the future.
Bellerive is well represented and your Bellerive Board of Directors will, as always be transparent and keep each of you fully informed.
