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As a property owner in Ibis, you are a member of the Ibis Property Owners Association (Ibis POA), the master association, and a member of your individual neighborhood's Homeowners Association (HOA) or Condominium Owners Association (COA). This section of our website features a series of articles that provide information on the different types of community associations, their roles, benefits, and operation. The POA and HOAs are governed by Florida State Statute 720 and the COAs are governed by Florida State Statute 719.
If you have any questions concerning the Ibis POA, please contact our staff at (561) 630-2828, email IbisPOA@ibispoa.org, or stop by our office at 9055 Ibis Boulevard.
POA Executive Director, Ibis Property Owners Association
Ten Fundamentals of Community Associations Community Associations Institute (CAI), a national membership organization that represents the best interests of community associations like Ibis, developed the following ten basic principles that answer three essential questions:
What is the basic function of a community association? What are the essential obligations and expectations of property owners? What are the core principles that should guide association leaders? Ten Fundamentals of Community Associations
1. Associations ensure that the collective rights and interests of property owners are respected and preserved.
2. Associations are the most local form of representative democracy, with leaders elected by their neighbors to govern in the best interest of all residents.
3. Associations provide services and amenities to residents, protect property values, and meet the established expectations of property owners.
4. Associations succeed when they cultivate a true sense of community, active property owner involvement, and a culture of building consensus.
5. Association property owners have the right to elect their community leaders and to use the democratic process to determine the policies that will protect their investments.
6. Association property owners choose where to live, accept a contractual responsibility to abide by established policies, and meet their financial obligations to the association.
7. Association leaders protect the community's financial health by using established management practices and sound business principles.
8. Association leaders have a legal and ethical obligation to adhere to the association's governing documents and abide by all applicable laws.
9. Association leaders seek an effective balance between the preferences of individual residents and the collective rights of property owners.
10. Association leaders and residents should be reasonable, flexible, and open to the possibility, and benefits, of compromise.
Responsibilities of the POA and HOA
The following information offers a summary of the responsibilities and duties of each Ibis POA department within Ibis as well as HOAs and COAs:
Ibis Property Owners Association (POA): The Ibis POA is the Master Association of Ibis and includes all homeowners in our community who become members at the time of their property purchase. The Ibis POA consists of three departments - Administration, Maintenance, and Public Safety.
Ibis POA Administration Office 9055 Ibis Boulevard, West Palm Beach, FL 33412 (561) 630-2828 Hours of Operation: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday - Friday
The Administrative staff is responsible for but not limited to:
Administrative duties, such as writing and sending letters associated with pertinent Ibis POA community information
Answer homeowners' questions relating to their properties or any other subject related to the Ibis POA
Process paperwork/forms for building plans, any changes to owners' properties, and paperwork dealing with the approvals of Ibis leases
Ibis POA Maintenance Complex 8005 Sandhill Way East Hours of Operation: 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., Monday - Friday (561) 202-6626
Under the direction of Director of Maintenance Benjamin Hagen, the Landscape & Maintenance Department maintains all Ibis POA buildings and the common areas along the main roads within Ibis, Ibis Park, Ibis Dog Park, and the Butterfly Garden along with Ibis POA buildings.
Ibis Department of Public Safety Hours of Operation: 24/7, 365 days a year (561) 624-8911
There are 25 Public Safety Officers who are stationed at the Main and East Gates, in patrol vehicles, on bicycles, and on golf cart patrol. All Public Safety Officers are training in Basic Life Support and an EMT or paramedic is on duty at all times. The main responsibilities of the Public Safety Department include:
Answer calls for service including medical and alarm calls, suspicious persons, crime prevention, and other emergencies
Issue citations for speeding, illegal parking, and other violations
Communicate with the Ibis public concerning safety issues
Coordinate and facilitate emergency/disaster planning, response and recovery
Homeowner and Condo Owner Associations: The 33 neighborhoods within Ibis, through their own Homeowners and Condo Owner Associations (HOA/COA), employ management companies that administer services for their neighborhoods. This is where the distinction between the Ibis POA and the individual neighborhood community associations occurs. The HOA/COA is responsible for work to be performed within a neighborhood. Each neighborhood community association documents specifiy what services it provides its homeowners. Issues and maintenance needs within the neighborhoods are the responsibility of the HOA's management company or the property owner dependent upon the covenants of that neighborhood's community association. Ibis POA is responsible for its own facilities, parks, main entrances, and common areas. The Ibis POA new resident orientation provides more details on Ibis POA services and facilities.
It is helpful for residents to understand what services your individual community association provides for your neighborhood. Your neighborhood's HOA or COA documents, covenants, by-laws, and rules and regulations provide information on the services your association provides.
A complete listing of the HOA and COA management companies can be found in Forms under the POA Documents tab.
Benefits of Community Associations There are several important benefits to living in a development governed by a homeowners association. The most significant is the proven track record homeowners associations have in maintaining (and often enhancing) property values. Developments with homeowners associations better protect property values because the associations provide some critical benefits to residents that they normally would not be able to obtain on their own. First, the association provides greater certainty that the community will remain aesthetically pleasing over time by imposing, and privately enforcing, rules on architecture, landscaping, accessory buildings, fences, signs, and related matters. Second, associations often provide amenities for residents - such as parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, and community rooms. Third, the association provides a variety of services to residents, including maintaining common areas. Finally, many homeowners associations offer residents a heightened sense of personal safety and security if the development is a "gated" community that restricts access to community residents and their invited guests.
More than eight million Americans now live in over 20,000 such gated communities, and these numbers are growing. An HOA provides people with shared neighborhood values and an opportunity to enforce regulations to achieve a community reflective of such values.
The Board of Directors
The Ibis Property Owners Association (POA) Board of Directors elects its officers and appoints residents to the six supporting committees (Finance, Public Safety, Rules & Compliance, Landscape and Property, Community & Government Relations, and the Architectural Review Board). Board members are entrusted with fiduciary responsibilities for the association.
Boards rely on help and advice from skilled professionals like community association managers (POA staff), attorneys, and certified public accountants. Board meetings are a format to develop a continuing plan to meet community needs that involve:
Contracts - building maintenance, grounds management, reserve study, and security
Management - upkeep and repair of the property, staff supervision, and services to homeowners
Legal Responsibility - rules, regulations, policy enforcement, meetings, and elections.
The Board of Directors has the authority to perform these duties from POA covenants, bylaws, and state statutes.
There are four main areas of board decision making. They are related to the functions of a community association Board of Directors.
Governance - the Board enforces the community's governing documents, adopts and enforces rules for governing the community, and decides on issues of policy.
Community - the Board promotes harmony through service programs and regular communications with owners.
Committees - the Board selects Ibis residents to serve as members for its six committees. The Landscape and Property Committee, Community and Government Relations Committee, Public Safety Committee, and the Finance Committee are advisory groups for the POA Board. The Rules and Compliance Committee has the authority to impose fines and penalties from citations issued. The Architectural Review Board has the authority to approve or deny resident requests for exterior changes to their homes and landscapes.
The emphasis of board meetings are policy matters, entrusting the day-to-day administration of the community association to the POA management staff. The POA Board meets the second Monday of each month. The Events section of this website contains a schedule of these meetings, and the meeting minutes. Minutes are available online for the other POA committees, as well.
The Origin of Community Associations
When developers first started building communities, everyone agreed that having property shared by all owners in the community was a good idea. But one question remained, "Who would take care of it?" Local government wasn't responsible because the land was privately owned. The developer would eventually sell all the homes and go on to build another project. That left the residents. Since they owned the common areas, they now had the responsibility to maintain them. The concept of an association of owners was born.
Ibis POA maintains the common areas adjacent to the main roads and parks within Ibis, as well as provides public safety services including access control/security, medical response, and emergency management. Common areas within a neighborhood are maintained by the Homeowners' Association and its management company. For more information on Ibis POA, contact the POA Office at (561) 630-2828