CLEARWATER, Fla. — In a matter of weeks, the HOA Board at On Top of the World Retirement Community has flipped. Five members quit in May, followed by eight more members at a meeting on July 15.
For several days, the HOA was essentially defunct. With only one member of the nine-person board, there was no quorum, so the association's day-to-day business could not proceed.
On Thursday, a special meeting was called and ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska learned four new board members were appointed, bringing them to five, allowing them to continue performing their duties.
Paluska started working on this report following a tip from a viewer who lives in the 55+ community.
When we first interviewed Maria Avdelas, she was the Chairman of the Board. But, after the July 15 meeting, she told Paluska tensions rose again, and she felt that the stress from infighting and personal attacks was too much. Avdelas explained to Paluska in June why she joined the board.
Former Vice Chair Stacy Rush said once Avdelas resigned, all the chips fell. Rush told Paluska she joined the board because she wanted more transparency, and she felt that Ken Colen, the President of On Top of the World Communities, was bullying some residents.
ABC Action News has reported on several issues surrounding HOAs and the strict bylaws in place. Investigative report Adam Walser has also been reporting on whether Florida's new law might give homeowners more power.
Sean Lopez, a real estate attorney at The Lopez Law Group, told Paluska that during the pandemic, he started taking cases to fight HOAs, and the work has never stopped.
Paluska contacted the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office for comment about the issues at On Top of the World. A spokesperson told us they looked into several posts made online.
One said, "storm the meeting," and another alluded that people might come to a meeting "armed and loaded."
Investigators told ABC Action News they found no "credible" death threats.
But it was enough to cause concerns for both Rush and Avdelas. They both feel that the anger and vitriol are out of control. They tell Paluska they were working 14-hour days trying to get the board back up and running after the first five legacy members resigned in May.
However, despite working for nearly two months to fix the problems, they told Paluska the personal attacks at the July 15 meeting were too much to handle.
Lopez said residents can take legal action. But, often, the deck is stacked against them.
Multiple requests for comment from Ken Colen, President of On Top of the World Communities, were not returned. In May, Colen was the Chairman of the Board. He quit in the first wave of resignations.
