A Member Owned Community
Results of the Election of 2025 Directors
The MICHA Board of Directors want to say “Thank You” to all of those members that submitted a ballot for the 2025 Election of Directors Below are the results of the election with 93 ballots counted:
Troy Wright with 85 votes – Re-elected to a 3-year term.
Murrell (Butch) Saville with 75 votes – Elected to a 3-year term.
The runner up was:
Janet B. Dumeer with 15 votes
The Organizational meeting of the new Board will occur within the next
week.
We also want to THANK Patrick Underwood for his service on the
MICHA Board and wish him well as his last day on the Board was
Tuesday, February 4, 2025.
Lastly, we want to recognize those that submitted proxies and attended
the annual meeting. With 67 proxies and 23 members in attendance, we
did not have enough for a quorum to hold the annual membership
meeting, so we are planning a special member meeting in early March.
We did not receive enough votes to pass either of the two amenity
changes that were on the proxy ballot. These changes require 109 Yes
votes.
ï‚· Remove Shuffle Board Court = received 54 Yes votes.
ï‚· Change the Basketball court to include Pickleball = received 71 Yes votes.
MICHA Board of Directors
RESIDENT NOTICE 9/5/2023
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Office hours are now set at 8am - 4:30pm Monday - Friday
Illegal Dumping- Please do not discard any large items anywhere on the co-op property.
There are many thrift stores which support the Merritt Island Community that would love to have your items donated.
Carports- There are still many residents who have loose items that are not secure for hurricane season. Please remove anything other than authorized sheds and parked vehicles from your assigned space(s).
Laundry Rooms- The vendor has let us know there are delays to the service that was due last Friday, once we have updated information, we will pass this information along to residents. At this time, we are aware of maintenance issue that need attention that can only be provided by vendor services. We appreciate your patience during this time.
Animals- There is a no dog policy here on co-op property. Those residents who are authorized to have a service animal must provide updated vaccination and letters as required upon expiration. Those who have cats, please make sure you are servicing their litter boxes daily, as we live in communal quarters and your neighbors do not wish to smell the urine from a pet when in the hallway.
Waste Water Pipes- Do not feminine products, baby wipes, moist wipes or dump kitty litter down the toilets as it will affect the waste lines for the building’s piping. If found doing so, the member will be held liable for the service fees to repair any piping damage or the service call to clear the blockage.
Alterations to a unit- Must be approved in advance by the Board. Please submit an Alterations Request to the office.
Vacation/Snowbirds- Please make sure a key is on file with the office and you have notified the office of your leave/estimated return dates. [Notification is needed if your vacation will be more than 2 weeks]
What is the Difference Between Emotional Support and Service Dogs?
It’s crucial to understand that an ESA is not the same as a service dog — and they are subject to different rules and regulations. Service animals are trained to do work or carry out specific tasks for a person with a physical disability. For instance, they might be trained to alert a person who is hearing-impaired of an alarm or guide a person who is visually impaired.
ESAs should also not be confused with psychiatric service dogs. These types of service dogs can assist an individual with PTSD by interrupting anxiety, reminding them to take medication, or making calls in the event of an emergency. Although ESAs and psychiatric service dogs can both help a person with a mental illness cope, an ESA does so with their presence and companionship while a psychiatric service dog is trained to perform certain jobs.
Unlike ESAs — which can be any species — service animals recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are limited to specially trained dogs and in some cases, miniature horses. ESAs are not covered under the ADA and do not have the same legal protections in public places. However, both service animals and ESAs are covered by the Fair Housing Act.
What Are the Requirements to Obtain an ESA Letter?
The first step to obtaining an emotional support animal is speaking with a licensed healthcare professional. They can best assess your condition and determine whether an ESA would be beneficial to your treatment. If they believe an ESA can be helpful for your situation, they will provide you with an emotional support animal letter — this is a signed document stating that they recommend an ESA to help you manage your mental health condition.
Housing providers are entitled to open a dialogue to conduct a meaningful review and question the letter if the individual’s disability is not readily apparent and they have reason to question the disability or need for the animal. Healthcare providers are not experts in the Fair Housing Act and they tend to make ESA letters very brief to avoid confidentiality issues. As a result, these letters are usually scrutinized by the housing provider’s general counsel. Therefore, it is important for disabled individuals to consult with someone familiar with the Fair Housing Act, such as an attorney, before submitting a doctor’s letter or other request for an accommodation.
ESAs are commonly used to help alleviate the symptoms associated with:
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Panic attacks
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Severe phobias
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Anxiety
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Depression
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PTSD
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Bipolar disorder
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Personality disorders
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Other emotional and psychological disorders
In order for an emotional support animal letter to be valid in Florida, it must be signed and dated on the licensed healthcare professional’s official letterhead. HUD has recently issued a Guidance (FHEO-2020-01) (document can be found in the document page of the website) discussing what is and is not considered reliable documentation to support an accommodation. In addition, Florida laws have changed and now make it a crime to misrepresent an animal as an ESA. It can also be considered a crime under Florida law for a healthcare provider to issue a letter in support of an accommodation if they do not have personal knowledge of the individual’s disability.
Please remember that:
1) Having a dog designated as an ESA or service animal does not remove your responsibility as an owner to clean up after them or make sure they are not a danger to others.
2) No ESA animals are allowed in the pool area at any time.
3) It is Brevard county law to clean up after your dog. Failure to do so will result in fines levied by the office.
4) It only takes three documented complaints to animal control and the office to have the dog removed from the Co-Op regardless of the designation.
Beginning shortly, the Co-Op will begin an audit of the dogs that are seen in the Co-Op and you may be asked what unit the dog resides in. The office will be checking if there is appropriate documentation on file and if that documentation meets the new criteria defined by Florida law. If there is no documentation on file or it does not meet the criteria required; you will be required to bring it into compliance or remove the dog from the property.
3/11/2023 - The office continues to get complaints of unregistered people living or staying in the Co-Op. Members have the right to know who is living among them for their safety and the safety of their investment in the Co-Op. That is why all perspective members go through a thorough screening process for criminal background, evictions and credit. Members that skirt or bypass that process by allowing others to reside in their units without going through the proper steps are violating the Co-Op Occupancy Agreement which can result in eviction. The Occupancy Agreement is very clear on the subject:
Article 5:
"Members shall occupy the dwelling unit covered by this Agreement as a private
dwelling unit for themselves and/or immediate family and for no other purpose"
Article 7:
"Members hereby agrees not to assign this Agreement nor to sublet the dwelling unit without the written consent of the corporation's Board of Directors."
Article 14:
"The Member covenants that he will preserve and promote the cooperative ownership principals on which the Corporation has been founded, abide by the Charter, By-laws, rules and regulations of the Corporation and any amendments thereto, and by his acts of cooperation with its other members bring about for himself and his co-members a high standard in home and community condition."
If you have anyone currently residing in your unit that is not on the occupancy agreement and does not fit the criteria above; please take the proper steps to add them to the occupancy agreement or remove them from the property and save the office the trouble of getting involved and having them pursue the issue further.
3/11/2023 - As a reminder; the board communicated in several of the board meetings late last year that the maintenance team will be performing unit inspections. This is due to a few recent issues with some health and safety violations that impacted multiple units and the units around them. The maintenance team will be checking for leaks, water damage, pluming operation, insect infestation and other threats to the building and/or infrastructure. Your cooperation is mandatory per the Occupancy Agreement - Article 16 which states:
"The Member agrees that the representatives of any mortgagee holding a mortgage on the property of the Corporation, the officer and employees of the Corporation, and with the approval of the Corporation the employees of any contractor, utility company, municipal agency or others, shall have the right to enter the dwelling unit of the Member and make inspections thereof at any reasonable hour of the day and at any time in the event of emergency."
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.