Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By Linda Trischitta
Published March 26, 2009
When Peter Lynch went to make coffee in his Blue Lake townhouse Wednesday morning, the tap was dry.
"I looked outside and saw the people from the county turning the water off," said Lynch, who is president of the town home condo association.
A Broward County Click here for restaurant inspection reports official said after 21/2 months of unpaid bills and with $8,100 owed, the shut-off after 24 hours' notice was proper.
The townhouse condominium community in unincorporated Broward County is bordered by Sample, Copans and Powerline roads and Andrews Avenue. More than 60 percent of the homeowners are delinquent on fees, Lynch and J.D. Keating of Phoenix Property Management both said.
"One family owes us over $15,000 and are just waiting to get kicked out of the house!" Lynch said.
Each month, homeowners pay $328 maintenance that includes water use charged on master meters, not to individual units. There is also a $150 assessment for a construction loan, on top of mortgage payments.
Ken Wilson, fiscal manager for Broward County Water and Wastewater Services, said Phoenix Property Management sent a check in January that bounced. A contractor with a disputed bill put a lien on the association, putting its accounts in disarray, Lynch said.
Wilson said Phoenix Property Management failed to negotiate with the county water department when it became apparent the check had bounced.
"The homeowners are paying someone to manage their affairs and the management company did not do the right thing," Wilson said. "I sympathize with the residents."
Phoenix Property's Keating said Wilson's comment was unfair. "What is happening is the members are not paying the association, and the association is unable to pay its vendors," Keating said.
Lynch spent Wednesday trying to collect past-due fees from his neighbors. He said he blames neither them nor the management company.
The county was to turn the taps back on Wednesday night and keep them on if $4,100 was paid by noon today and another $4,000 by April 1.
"These people are hardworking and for many of them it's not their fault," Lynch said, citing the tough economic times. "It's also a wake-up call for the people who think the water and garbage pickup is free. Nothing gets through to people like no shower or no coffee. "
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