Condo Commanders

As I sit here in the comfort of my home I am still reeling from the effects of last night's Town Hall-style meeting at the Environ Cultural Center. A group of condo commandos, not even board members, decided to call this meeting to let the people of Inverrary know that they didn't want any more development in Inverrary.

Well, that sounds like a good topic doesn't it? Who would want more development in their neighborhood? We already have 19.000 people living in Inverrary which was built in 1971 as a retirement golf community. We already have problems with too much traffic on Inverrary Boulevard, difficulty getting in and out of the neighborhood when we want to get to work on time. If there were any more development it would have to be on the open space -- which used to be the most pristine, lauded golf courses in Broward County.

However, there is a document that was created in 1971 called a Covenant or a Deed Restriction. This piece of paper clearly states that the golf courses must always be used for recreational purposes. There is a long laundry list of the types of recreational purposes on that document. And the best part is that it was put in place for 25 years, which of course have come and gone, but the language clearly states that it automatically renews for an additional 10 years at the end of the 25 year and perpetually for 10 year periods. Of course, like any legal document, it can be amended, but it needs a 2/3 vote from ALL of the residents of Inverrary. Do the math! That would be about 12,600 people. Now when there is a presidential election barely 2,500 people get out and vote. So what makes anyone think that 12,000 would vote for additional congestion in their neighborhood??

Anyway, the real purpose of last night's meeting came to a head as this person, Bill Eisenberg, angrily and very sarcastically, tried to read the minutes of all of the Inverrary Association meetings and draw conclusions that Joel Leshinsky ran all the meetings illegally because he never had quorums and that maybe he had something to gain by allowing the developers to purchase the land and try to encourage the residents with enticements to allow the development of new housing in Inverrary.

The man, Bill Eisenberg, came armed with an overhead projector, slides of the minutes and letters that were written to lawyers. He brought two men from the Hills of Inverrary -- the development where we live. They each had the opportunity to speak and draw additional conclusions about how Joel Leshinsky might be conducting business for his personal gain. Of course they really never said that because Joel could sue them for defamation of character, but they kept saying things like, "draw your own conclusions folks, why else would Joel Leshinsky hold these meetings in the middle of the day when people are working? He didn't really want to have a quorum."

It was all so surreal. There were probably 200 people, maybe more in the room. Of course, they started to shout things out to Bill Eisenberg like, "What is your point?" "Who is Joel Leshinsky and is he here tonight?"

Well that is when Joel stood up. I stood up too and made Rachel and Adina stand up so that they could see who we were. I am very proud of my husband and for all of the time he has volunteered for the betterment of our community. It takes a lot of patience and dedication to do what he has done over the past eight years as president of the inverrary Association. Really, and truly, no one else wanted this position and hardly anyone attends the meetings. However, over the years Joel has held many Town Hall Meetings. he has invited City and County officials to come out and speak to the residents to let them know what is going on in their community and the larger community of the County. He also has invited state legislators to come to these meetings to let residents know what is going on at the state level that affects us.

The best part was when Mayor Richard Kaplan got up to speak. He had been taking notes on what Bill and all of the speakers were accusing Joel of. He spoke to each and every point speaking slowly and very clearly in layman's terminology. He spoke very highly of Joel. He didn't have to do that either.

Then Joel was allowed to stand up and speak. They only gave him three minutes to defend himself, but then again this wasn't a trial. He said that most of these facts were incorrect ant that there will be an Inverrary Association Town Hall Meeting in a couple of weeks and everyone is invited back to hear the facts. At that meeting will be Steve Weinberg, the Inverrary Association's lawyer who was denied access to last night's meeting by Bill Eisenberg because he told Steve it was HIS meeting and Steve was not welcome. Steve also brought with him a Land Use Attorney who was also denied access. Once Joel mentioned this fact, the meeting immediately broke up and everyone got up and left the building.

The meeting was three hours long. The folks streaming out were saying that it was a ridiculous meeting and there was no point made. A Sun-Sentinel reporter was there and taking notes and interviewing people as they exited the building. So I am sure there will be a follow up article in the paper.

We were totally exhausted and didn't get home until 10 pm. I felt bad that the kids saw how cruel adults can be to each other. Rachel was crying but Adina took it well. But they saw what their father does. And he does it completely on a voluntary basis so that the community will be a better place for them to live in. He also does it so that they understand the importance of volunteering and giving back to your community. And, obviously, we don't give in order to receive. We give because we believe in the cause.

And that is the point that Condo Commanders miss. They seem to have small lives and this condo business fills some void in their small lives and this is probably the most important thing that will ever happen. And that is so sad. Life is for living and volunteering should be a done for the cause not for personal gain.