Let's explore the timeline of events and policy changes starting with before the Turnover

• 2023  - Our Medley HOA was entirely run by ICON Management and 3-member builder-led board (Lennar Homes, LLC)  Link to 2023 Annual Report/Director List
• ~ April 2023 - 90% of  Medley homes sold triggering start of 'Transition' of our HOA to homeowners.    
• • May 6,  2023 - ICON holds town hall meeting to prepare residents to elect one resident director to join the existing developer-led board (as provided for in §720.307.)  
  • June 12, 2023 - Special Meeting held to elect resident board director (candidates are CS and PR;  CS is announced as the winner.) 
• ------- Transition from builder-led board to membership-led  board begins
• April 2024 - HOA Annual Report reflects the new 3-member board - two Lennar and one resident director - Link to 2024 Report
• Transition Steering Committee was formed to explore various aspects of Turnover to residents and communicate with the Developer and/or Builder as necessary  (Transition Committee members: CS, KC, SW, DN, MS, TR, RH)
• ------- FL House Bill 1283 HOA Sunshine Law  unanimously passed in FL congress and signed into law effective July 1, 2024.
• Transition committee proposes that our Bylaws be changed from  3 to 5 board members to facilitate the HOA's  transition and this idea was  announced to members.  
• ------- Medley's original ByLaws are modified and silently filed with Hillsborough County 
• August 13, 2024 - Additional clauses were added to the 2024 ByLaws Amendmentand then it was quietly filed with Hillsborough County.  That  triggered a September 12, 2024 deadline to provide copies to members, but members were not notified by mail nor on HOA website in violation of §720.306(1)(e)).    
• The expanded ByLaws limit homeowners' 2024 sunshine law rights by stipulating binding arbitration (per §720.306 (2017)) instead of Pretrial Mediation (§720.306 (2024) and §720.311) .   
• Florida §718.1255 enables homeowners to pursue less expensive, non-binding alternative dispute resolution.  It would appear that the Declarant has violated Florida prohibition of pre-turnover boards unilaterally changing terms in their favor (See "Prohibited clauses" §720.3075(5).)
• The ByLaws amendment was signed by Metro Development Group LLC's Managing Member  (John R.)  on behalf of Declarants (DUNE FL Land I, LLC and DUNE FB DEBT LLC).  The two witnesses are  BC and LP with whom John R. currently notably serves as Supervisor in the Southshore Bay public CDD.  Note that John R. is also simultaneously a director on both Medley's non-profit Master HOA Southshore Bay and for-profit MetroLagoons LLC, -- [See blog post on overlapping boards titled "Who represents us?"]
• August 16, 2024 - An email to homeowners misrepresents the Amended ByLaws' scope by only discussing the board seats and by omitting Section 4.8.6's arbitration clause and other additions.  (It's unknown who was aware of the additions because the draft document ("Amendment to Bylaws (directors) (4882-5611-3878.1).pdf")  only discussed the change to board seats and homeowners were not provided the new Amendment until December 2024.)
• ------- 2024 Annual Meeting and Board Election anomalies; new HOA attorney
• Sept 2024 - Notice of Turnover Election mailed to members.  Ballots included standard dual envelopes with preaddressed external envelope for identity verification and internal envelope to ensure privacy.
• October 24, 2024, - Turnover Meeting and Election was held to elect 5 board members.  However,  only 4 were initially seated due to a tie.  
• October 31,  2024, - The new 4 member board (MS, SW, CS, KC)  consulted with a new HOA attorney in a closed board meeting and voted to hire the firm.  Law firm's bill for that meeting states "personal matter."
• November 8, 2024**,  A Recount attempted to resolve the tie of DH & DN but resulted in another tie.  DN then withdrew resulting in SW, MS, CS, KC, and DH as directors (for several weeks only.)  
• November 2024-  Remote (electronic) meeting participation was halted until April 2025(with the exceptions of Nov. 26 and  December 10th).
• November 13, 2024 - An official email  to homeowners summarized election anomalies below.  
• Five ballots that were postmarked between 10/19 and 10/23 but reportedly arrived after October 24 deadline to PO Box were not counted.
• Yet, on October 30, 6 of 10 ballots were added to the count after reportedly being mis-sent to Venice, FL due to reported CAM error. 
• Resident ballot counters observed both blue and white ballots in violation uniformly colored ballots requirement.
  
• The election failed to meet reasonable skill in management per §468.431(2)(a) §468.431(2)(a) and possibly triggers §720.3065.
• November 21, 2024 -  MedleyMembers.net (this site) emailed all HOA directors, and CAM, that Order of Agenda did not meet statutory requirements and objecting to insufficient supporting justification for proposed Special Assessment, and regular budget items.  
• After the second request, agenda was corrected to allow members to speak (720.306(6)) but updated agenda was not re-sent to members.
• November 26, 2024 - Annual meeting was held and 2025 budget adopted (while many residents were traveling for Thanksgiving).  Also, the Special Assessment discussion and vote was tabled until January.
• November 28, 2024 -  Two of the elected board members resign citing ethical concerns.   Members were notified by email on December 6 of the resignations of CS and DH.
• December 9, 2024 - Updated ByLaws (amended to limit homeowners' 2024 sunshine law rights) were finally posted on ICON's HOA website four months after its execution and after the Turnover, in violation of §720.306(1)(e) and probably §720.3075(5).
• December 10, 2024 - An emailed 'Board Meeting statement' to members signed by HOA President (not CAM) refutes concerns of resigning board members.
• December 10, 2024 **- An -- Electronic only--  open board meeting is held to discuss the two board resignations and appoint their replacements.  Board replacements are DN (5th highest vote getter in a tie) and TR (whose vote count was not reported in the November 13 recount email.)   
• December 10, 2024 status - board membership now consists of  SW, MS,  KC, DN and TR.    (Link to full list)    It's notable that all current HOA board members previously served on the Transition committee that had contact with the Developer and/or Builder.
• January 5, 2025 - Deadline passed for all HOA board members to post their DBPR training certificates our (ICON's) HOA website.
• -------- Significant policy changes enacted prior to $170,000 Special Assessment; still no remote meeting participation; sudden change in management company announced; 
• January 6, 2025 ** - Closed board meeting held at attorney's office.   Evidently, the new attorney drafted 17 pages of drastic new policies  (including a Communications '(COMMS') policy below, a Liability Waiver,  a Violations policy and a Board Code of Conduct) to be voted on at January 14th open board meeting.  Strangely, some policy content appears redundant with Bill 1283 HOA Sunshine statutes yet other content appears to directly conflict with updated statutes.  The Board Code of Conduct restricts dissent entirely.  The new policies were not substantively discussed by the board at a subsequent January 14 public meeting giving the appearance that they were discussed at the January 6th closed board meeting in violation of §468.431(2)(b).  
• January 11, 2025 (2 pm) - An ICON and Board email to homeowners includes a 9-page 'COMMS' “POLICY REGARDING COMMUNICATIONS, RECORDS REQUESTS, OWNER PARTICIPATION AT MEETINGS, RECORDING MEETINGS, AND SOCIAL MEDIA” .  The policy violates  §720.303(5) on its face by obstructing homeowners oversight rights by stating "Repeated communication, intended in the board's opinion, to serve only as a tool for harassment, will not be answered."   The policy's Section V further threatens members with civil action for "harassment", "emotional distress" and "tortious interference"chilling homeowners' statutory inspection rights.   Members had just days to review new proposed policies prior to the January 14 meeting where they were approved by the board without public board review.
• January 14, 2025 ** -Special Assessment/Board Meeting  - Board publicly announces change in management company from ICON to Castle Group (in mid contract).  Board's decision to choose Castle Group apparently occurred in a private meeting which violates §720.303(2)(a).  
• January 14, 2025 Meeting continued**-  $170,000 special assessment is adopted despite no quotes or estimates being provided in response to multiple homeowners' requests. The special assessment fails to meeting the 'emergency' requirement and appropriated tens of thousands of dollars each allocated for the following: 'HOA attorney, Engineering Study, Reserve Study, CPA and Clubhouse Purchase Evaluation" in clear violation of 720.303(5).  A written reply to information requests stated"With regard to the special assessment, there are no receipts, bids or billing at this time"  raising questions on how estimates were obtained and if inflated.  [see related post on this Special Assessment in medleymembers/blogs]
• January 15, 2025 ** - Another Closed board meeting with attorney held via Zoom, justified as "Legal & Personnel"
• January 15, 2025- Board president signs the 9-page restrictive "COMMS" policy above but it was not posted to the HOA website.
• January ~ 2025 - Updates to ICON's website were halted and no substitute website was provided by Castle Group in violation of §720.303(4)(b) requirement to have website available by January 1, 2025.
• February 6, 2025 - Email to members announces that ICON's onsite CAM has resigned effective February 14th (and was on vacation the prior week.)
• February 11, 2025** - Meeting - [crowdsourced research in progress]  Construction Defect Attorney engaged, Traffic Circle
• February 14, 2025 - Last day of ICON's CAM employment.  Only a single administrator remained available until February 28.
• February through May 1, 2025 - There continued to be NO active HOA website maintained for homeowners in violation of §720.303(4)(b).
• -------- Castle Group Management Company contract officially replaces ICON on March 1
• March 1, 2025- Castle Group begins management contract but has no dedicated onsite manager(s) or website available.  
• March 11, 2025 ** Meeting - the board approved the new "Uniform Policy for The Payment and Collection of Assessments" which was not posted on a website in violation of §720.303(4)(b) and was emailed to members two months later on May 30.   The new Policy states homeowners can accrue $85 in fees in less than a month on their monthly HOA fees which conflicts with our Declaration 17.18.   CAMs must comply with Florida Administrative code 61E14-2 and §468.436.  [See related post on this topic in medleymembers/blogs] 
• To assuage homeowner concerns, the board and Castle Group mentioned that there was currently a "late fee hiatus" in place due to a payment website not being available yet.   
• March 11, 2025 ** Meeting continued - New $1,000 expenditure policy was announced but not published to members (no website).  Also, verbal-only updates made for Violations and COMMS  policy (i.e. change requiring records requests be mailed to a PO Box replacing prior de facto option to email requests to CAM).
• March 12, 2025 - Townhall Meeting held by Castle Group re financing the Clubhouse.   Initial estimate is for a $9M loan for $8.55M purchase price and homeowners could opt to pay in full upfront if requested. 
• April 2, 2025 - Board members publish "Accumulated_questions_as_fo_2025_04_02_...pdf" regarding Clubhouse purchase which states that "As per our governing documents, the HOA has 1st right of refusal to buy it. "  
• April 8, 2025 -  At a open board meeting, the HOA attorney briefs homeowners about FL Section 720 statutes.   When questioned, the attorney confirmed that the following updated 2024 'procedural' statutes DO APPLY to Medley:    HOA website requirement  §720.303(4)(b), Recordkeeping requirements (§720.303), posting of HOA Agendas, criminal penalties for malfeasance (§720.3033, 720.318), and procedures/limits for homeowner fines (§720.305 & case law).  (Despite that, violations appear to continue to occur. ) 
  
• April 11, 2025 - Electronic meeting access restored remote participation but after above critical decisions were made without universal access.
• May 1, 2025 - Castle Group's new HOA website and app hosted by TownSquare launched but months later than required/committed and without full availability of documentation specified in §720.303(4)(b).   
• Residents must now login to TownSquare to read nearly all documents which requires them to opt into a liberal privacy policy that allows data aggregation and 'targeted marketing'.  This loophole has not been corrected by the CAM or board and has resulted in many residents refusing to use the TownSquare website or app entirely, further marginalizing homeowners from HOA participation.  [See related blog post on topic of 'personal data harvesting'. ] 
• May 13, 2025 - Open Board Meeting -- [research in progress];[agenda is available in TownSquare only vs prior accessible email] **
• May 30, 2025 - Castle Group email to residents states that "Effective June 1, Medley HOA monthly assessment shall be due the first of each month.  Late payment shall no longer be waived."  Policy appears to conflict with our prior policy of 10 day grace period specified in our Declaration paragraph 17.18.  (Note -In early June, delinquencies rose from 1% to 3% of revenues per HOA Treasurer.) 
• In addition, this policy's total late and admin fees increased from $25 to a total $85 which represents 40% of single family monthly payment in violation of §720.308 and no more than 5% of the late installment.  This may also violate Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and/or Florida Consumer Collections Act which could result in penalties.
• June 10, 2025 - Open Board Meeting -[agenda is available in TownSquare only vs prior accessible emailed text] **   Clubhouse Acquisition Committee is announced; board selected members from among those residents who volunteered.
• June 30, 2025 - Castle group staffs Medley's office with two dedicated CAM staff, replacing rotation of various CAMs in place since early March.
• July 8, 2025 - Open Board Meeting --  [research in progress;] [agenda is available in TownSquare only vs prior accessible email text] **
• -------- Proposal to authorize $11,000,000 loan by proxy vote in lieu of meeting with membership participation
• August 12, 2025 (morning)- Castle Group prepares, prints and mails proxy ballots to members (with USPS postmark date) to authorize a proposed $11M loan for $8.55 purchase price, BEFORE  members are even briefed on the proposal and board officially voted on it.  (It appears that either the board authorized this expenditure and mailing in a closed meeting violating §720.303(2)(a) or that Castle Group acted on its own.)
• August 12, 2025 (evening) - Town meeting -   Clubhouse Acquisition Committee presented  proposal to members to authorize $11M loan for $8.55 purchase price, (which had already been mailed above) .  It did not include any itemization on the use of $2.45 Million in funds above purchase price or the  proposed Clubhouse operating budget .  [see related post on $11M loan in medleymembers/blogs].  The board president announces at the Townhall that proxy ballots will be mailed "this week, or next week."
• ~ August 14 or 15 - Proxy ballot mailers arrive in homeowners mailboxes with due date of August 27 at 6:30.  Traveling homeowners are told  contact Castle Group about voting via other means.
• August 21, 2025 - An Email to homeowners recruits volunteer election observers/counters, but the board selected only a subset of volunteers to be notified days later on TownSquare.
• August 25, 2025 - Ballot box seal was removed.   Also, Board modifies their meeting agenda to include the addition of an expensive Commercial attorney and removes other scheduled agenda items.  
• August 27, 2025 (morning)- Castle Group privately opens sealed ballot envelopes without resident election observers/counters present.
• August 27, 2025  (evening) - Special membership meeting to count proxy ballots - No member participation was allowed prior to board's Loan authorization vote or even to clarify administration.   Proxies were assigned to Secretary but she was not present.
• Voting was closed (ceased receiving ballots) as soon as meeting called to order at 6:32. Electronically received ballots were reportedly being printed.
• Multiple homeowners may have been disenfranchised from voting by improperly completing confusing proxy form.    Names were read aloud prior to the meeting to review their proxies but if not present, unknown what happened to those proxies.
• Other members reported voting Yes (in favor) of loan, despite minimal information, because Castle Group's written proxy cover letter stated  "If sufficient proxies are not received, the Board will not be able to offer owners the option to make installment payments and any approval to purchase the clubhouse may result in a one-time special assessment' [of ~$10,000+].   
• The agenda order ensured that all  proxy votes were counted at the start of the meeting so that no member participation was permitted prior to the announcement that that authorization vote passed.  
• August 27, 2025  (continued) - Board meeting followed membership meeting.   An expensive Commercial attorney was approved. Hiring this law firm necessitated that both the board and Clubhouse owner approve a Conflict of Interest waiver.  (Did the board seek and approve the waiver in a closed meeting potentially violating  §720.303(2)(a)?)
• September 4, 2025 - Deadline for nominations for October board election
• September 6, 2025 **- (Saturday) Closed board meeting on "Board Personnel Discussions"
• September 9, 2025 - Open Board meeting held.
• -------- Coming up
• October 14, 2025 - Annual membership meeting and election of two director positions.

• ** Noted board meetings agendas/dates did not comply with accessible remote participation and/or posting of agendas which may be violating  §468.431(2)), §720.306(10). 
• In addition, there were many Closed Board Meetings than shown here. Closed meetings per §468.431(2)(b) have strict requirements on agenda topics which appear not to have been met.  While the justification of "personnel" is often provided, Medley's HOA has no employees (staff) that would necessitate discussions of private information.  Also, the "legal" exemption is limited  "to discuss proposed or pending litigation", not anytime an attorney's advice is sought. 
• (Feel free to comment with corrections or cite case law.)