Article XXIII of the Declaration lists what each owner must maintain, repair and replace at their own expense. It has not been amended. The 28 September votes did not change it.
Every dollar here is Association money. Every owner pays into it. Article XXIII exists so that one owner’s repairs are not paid for by everyone else.
On 28 September the evidence came last. The air-conditioning payments were approved on condition that an air-conditioning company look at them afterward. On the ceiling, Robert Zimmerman said the backup was “not documented as a package,” then moved to approve it “with Marissa to provide us complete backup.” The General Manager promised a work order the next day “just to memorialize it.” The checks had gone out in July. Paperwork produced after the money is gone cannot have informed the decision to pay it.
By 31 August the Association had already spent $35,414.08 on HVAC repairs against a full-year budget of $30,000, and $35,838.00 on plumbing against a full-year budget of $30,000. (Statement of Revenues and Expenses, August 2026 financial package, pp. 13–14, accounts 800240 and 808240.)
If directors can read the Declaration however a payment needs it to read, approve it without outside proof, and produce the proof afterward, there is no limit on what can be paid this way, or to whom.
Section 718.111(1)(a), Florida Statutes“The officers and directors of the association have a fiduciary relationship to the unit owners.”
That duty runs to every owner, not to one another. Raising questions about how Association money is spent is part of that duty. On 31 August a director asked the Board in writing for the invoices and approvals behind these payments, an independent review of them, and a rule barring anyone from approving a payment to themselves or their family.
On 28 September, when those questions reached the table, the discussion turned to the director who had raised them.
“…if we’re going to discuss this as, you know, director conduct and governance issues and things, then we may as well discuss it… I’d like to talk about parking.”Robert Zimmerman · Director
Before the item closed, Robert Zimmerman asked the management company, KW, to review how payments and reimbursements to directors are approved. KW is to bring written recommendations to the next Board meeting.
Two days later, the President emailed owners.
“Regrettably, this is not the first time Director Chee A Tow has spread falsehoods in our community.” … “This disruptive behavior must cease so we can all move forward and work on your behalf, as you elected us to do.”Julián Esses · email to owners, 30 September 2026
The email answered one of the five payments, the $950 toilet. It did not mention the four payments for his father’s townhouse, or that those checks were made out to him.
The questions were about $2,920 of Association money and what the Declaration says. The answer was about the director who asked them.
None of it answered Article XXIII.
“Common expenses include the expenses of the operation, maintenance, repair, replacement, or protection of the common elements and association property, costs of carrying out the powers and duties of the association, and any other expense, whether or not included in the foregoing, designated as common expense by this chapter, the declaration, the documents creating the association, or the bylaws.”
Section 718.115(1)(a) · what Association money is forHereA toilet supply line in Unit 1503, a ceiling in Unit 106 and air-conditioning service in the same townhouse are not common elements or Association property. The Declaration does not designate them as common expenses. Article XXIII designates them as the owner’s.
“Directors and officers of a board of an association that is not a timeshare condominium association, and the relatives of such directors and officers, must disclose to the board any activity that may reasonably be construed to be a conflict of interest.”
Section 718.3027(1)On 28 September
“There’s no disclosure to be made because it’s directly in my name.”
Julian EssesThe payments being in his name is what made them a conflict. Association money paid to a sitting director can reasonably be seen as a conflict of interest, which is the test this section sets. Four of the five were for his father’s property, and the section covers relatives too.
“After the presentation, the director or officer, and any relative of the director or officer, must leave the meeting during the discussion of, and the vote on, the activity. A director or an officer who is a party to, or has an interest in, the activity must recuse himself or herself from the vote.”
Section 718.3027(4)On 28 SeptemberThe President stayed in the room. He explained the toilet and ceiling payments himself, during the discussion. His father argued for the air-conditioning invoices. Both spoke during the discussion.
“A director of a board of an association of a residential condominium shall: (I) Certify in writing to the secretary of the association that he or she has read the association’s declaration of condominium, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and current written policies; that he or she will work to uphold such documents and policies to the best of his or her ability; and that he or she will faithfully discharge his or her fiduciary responsibility to the association’s members.”
Section 718.112(2)(d)5.b.HereEvery director on this board has completed the course and signed this certification, the President included. The Declaration each of them certified having read includes Article XXIII.
Statute text: Florida Statutes (2026), sections 718.112, 718.115, 718.3027 and 718.111, as published by the Florida Senate at flsenate.gov.
Everything above comes from these. Open any one to see it.
