The Shaker Village clubhouse. {Google Maps}
This article was previously published and is being featured as one of many of our top stories for 2023.
By Sallie James
A Tamarac resident has sued Shaker Village Condominium Association Inc. in an effort to halt the controversial sale of its privately owned clubhouse property to the City of Tamarac for $1.9 million.
Shaker Village resident Tonya Nesbitt is seeking an emergency temporary injunction and declaratory judgment to prevent Shaker Village from selling the property on the north side of Commercial Boulevard west of Florida’s turnpike until Association members have voted on whether to authorize the sale.
The lawsuit, filed on September 12 in Broward Circuit Court, states the Association’s governing documents are “clear that unit owners have ownership rights in the Association property.”
City Commission members voted 3-2 on July 12 to purchase the 2.4-acre property. Mayor Michelle Gomez and Commissioner Elvin Villalobos voted “no”; Vice Mayor Marlon Bolton and Commissioners Kicia Daniel and Morey Wright voted “yes.”
The city has said it plans to build a community center on the property to better serve Eastside residents. City records show that Tamarac has budgeted $1.9 million in fiscal year 2023 to acquire the property, $300,000 in fiscal year 2024 for early pre-construction costs, and $7.6 million in fiscal year 2025 for the construction of the community center.
The lawsuit claims that Shaker Village is “stripping members of the Association of their ownership rights in Association property.” The complaint says that Nesbitt is seeking to protect Association members’ property rights.
Shaker Village is a community of 358 townhomes that was built in the early 1970s. HOA members have said the community is drowning in debt due to mismanagement by previous Boards. The Association is facing more than $3 million in code enforcement fines related to the destroyed clubhouse decimated in 2017 by a storm. Severe drainage problems plague the community, and they need new roofs, among other issues.
Roselyn Honyghan, vice president of Shaker Village’s HOA, said of the lawsuit: ”We are just getting information and are waiting to see what happens.”
A shared use agreement with Shaker Village about the proposed community center is up for consideration at tonight’s City Commission meeting at 7 p.m. at Tamarac City Hall, 7525 NW 88th Ave. At issue is whether the HOA could use the proposed community center for its HOA meetings and annual election. The proposed shared-use agreement also sets aside office space for the HOA in the tax-payer-funded community center.
Additionally, city officials are expected to discuss concerns related to the clubhouse property’s title, which, according to a Sept. 12th Commission workshop discussion, is not free and clear. City officials have said that unresolved issues with the title could affect the property sale. Tamarac has until September 26 to address the title issue.
The deal has also sparked controversy because the Vice Mayor lives in the community and rents a townhouse owned by the church where he is pastor. Shaker Village lawsuit
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