Scandals Part 4

This original series of Century Village SCANDALS was intended to be a five part expose of the past and present goings on that needed to be presented to all Owners. Because of subject matter that is continuing to expand, there will be more than five parts to this series. I will consecutively number all SCANDAL reporting until I feel that a respite is needed. This is Part 4.

Some of the SCANDALS require extensive research, and as such, when presented, may become lengthy in order to deliver what you need to know. I ask for your indulgence, and I welcome any and all comments that you may have with respect to this subject matter.

Another Century Village SCANDAL. You really should care because it affects your pocketbooks and wallets.

When Century Village was first designed some 40 years ago, Architects and Engineers had to be involved, not only with the design of buildings, but also all exterior areas. Streets, walkways, lawn areas and planting areas were designed for positive storm drainage, i.e. the contour of the land was sloped in various different directions to catch basins and area drains. Inasmuch as the land was so flat, a swaled system was introduced to be sure that the perimeter roadways were drained by the quickest manner possible. The roadways drained to the swales and the swales to the catch basins. The engineers had to be sure that the pipe sizes below grade were of the proper size to deal with the heavy rain storms that are common in Florida. All went well and the system worked for decades.

As time went by, land settled and so did paved areas causing low areas and ridged areas. The original drainage design became faulty by time, weather, landscape work, traffic, construction and other factors. Thus, standing water, at various depths, after storms.

So that appropriate sums of money could be set aside for major road repairs in the future, an engineering firm was consulted to analyze the surface storm drainage system as well as sub-soil drainage conditions. They recommended regrading the swales so that drainage would work as originally designed; telescoping existing piping and repairing pot holes. The telescoping pipes revealed that drainage piping was working. Pot holes were eventually filled. The swales were not touched.

Someone at UCO, under the direction of the president, then decided to ignore the engineer’s recommendations to re-grade the swales and came up with an area drainage system extending about 30 feet out away from the shallow basins using a French drain (6" or 8" perforated pipe) system. These drains were arbitrarily placed where certain non-professionals thought that there were problems of roadway drainage.

- Architects and Engineers were not consulted or called in to design any of this drainage work;

- No sums of money were approved by the Delegates to perform any of this work;

- No bid proposal documents were sent to any contractors.

Triton Associates, the contractor that did this storm drainage work, was paid a total of $192,135. That breakdown relates to one drain extension at a cost of $1,700; 20 French drains at a cost of $5,622 each, and 13 French drains with drainage pits at a cost of $6,000 each. Certain documents are missing resulting in a difference of $195. This company had no formal contract describing all of the work to be performed. After certain work was performed, UCO kept on increasing the scope of work without a formal contract.

All sums paid were taken from the roadway reserve account without approval of the Delegates to shift the money. There were six separate payments made to Triton Associates, none of them approved by the Delegates, but they were acknowledged by Israel, the President of UCO.

The original bid received from Triton Associates had a cost of $4,191.75 for each drain. For reasons unexplained, that cost increased to $6,000 per drain. Nothing is documented. For the work done for $5,622 per drain and $6,000 for other drains, the price for the work would appear to be extremely exorbitant.

The re-grading of the swales, a recommendation by the engineers, was not done. That work could have solved the roadway drainage problem.

The new paving was then put down, and now that created new problems with drainage. Again, no Architect or Engineer was consulted before the paving work commenced. Now, a Vice President of UCO, involved in this entire fiasco, want to have three more drains installed and has requested that $18,000 be placed in the budget for 2014.

To be sure, this is a SCANDAL all right, -- right under your noses. The UCO President, so it appears, seems to think that he can do whatever he wants to do with our money. This is a serious infraction involving the abuse of power, and he should be held totally and completely responsible. The officials in some organizations would tell him that he has been dishonest and ask that he take his personal things and leave the building.

That’s what UCO is all about now …. SCANDAL!

EDUARDO