FREC Meeting Minutes
December 13, 2000
Minutes of
THE FLORIDA REAL ESTATE COMMISSION
December 13, 2000
Meeting
Vice-Chairperson Dean Saunders called the meeting of the Florida Real Estate Commission to order at 8:30 a.m.
The following Commission members were present: Dean Saunders, Vice-Chairperson; Marie Powell; Tina D. Richardson; Cliff Stein; Carlos Valdes and Matey Viessi.
Alfred Truesdell, of Brown, Ward, Salzman & Weiss, P.A represented the Commission.
The following Division of Real Estate staff members were present: Daniel Villazon, Acting Director; Jack Hisey, Deputy Director; Nancy Campiglia, Deputy Chief Attorney; Fred Seli, Chief of the Bureau of Enforcement; Tanya Davis, Senior Attorney; Sunia Marsh, Senior Attorney; Judy Smith, Complaint Section Manager; Alex Grist, Education Coordinator; Wanda Grist, Management Review Specialist, Lori Crawford, Regulatory Supervisor/Consultant; and Cindy Keene, Management Review Specialist. American Court Reporting Service (407/324-4290) provided court reporter services.
Minutes of the Commission’s last meeting held on November 15, 2000, were approved as written.
Commission Business
Election of Officers
Commissioner Veissi nominated Dean Saunders as Chairperson and Marie Powell as Vice-Chairperson of the Florida Real Estate Commission. The Commissioners voted unanimously to elect the nominees as its chief officers for 2001.
Legal Matters
The Commission reviewed, considered and acted upon 37 Escrow Disbursement Orders. The decisions of the Commission are attached hereto and made a part of these minutes.
Mr. Villazon advised that Recovery Fund Claim case #98-19, Jerome F. Jacobs and Delby R. Jacobs v. DBPR, had initially been received by the Office of the Attorney General. He explained that the case had been sent to the Division of Administrative Hearings for a formal hearing and the judge entered a recommended order.
Mr. Villazon recommended that the Commission adopt the Administrative Judge’s order. The Commission adopted the recommended order upon a unanimous vote.
Mr. Villazon explained that the Legal Section had fallen a little behind in its cases. He advised that the Division had hired three new attorneys and was in the process of advertising for one additional attorney. Mr. Villazon explained that the three newly hired attorneys were attending a post licensure education course. He indicated that the Division had found this licensure course very helpful in assisting its legal staff on learning what is required from licensed real estate professionals.
Mr. Villazon advised that he would be leaving the Division. Vice-Chairman Saunders wished Mr. Villazon well in his new endeavors on behalf of the Commission.
At 9:30 a.m., the Commission took up the legal agenda that consisted of 32 cases. The Chairperson directed Mrs. Crawford to call the cases on the agenda. One (1) case was withdrawn from the docket and four (4) cases were continued and removed from the Legal Agenda. The Division’s legal staff presented the cases. The Commission’s decisions on these matters are attached hereto and made a part of these minutes.
Bureau of Licensing Matters
Mr. Hisey advised that he did not have anything new to report concerning the Applications and Records Sections. Vice-Chairperson Saunders inquired about the recent increase in the number of Summary of Application (SOA) cases that were being brought before the Commission. Mr. Villazon explained that there had been more cases coming before the Commission since he had become acting director, because the Florida Statutes clearly state that it is the Commission’s duty to determine the qualifications of applicants.
Mr. Hisey advised that he had put together a recommendation for the Commission to review and eliminate some of the applicants with minor infractions from having to appear before the Commission. Mr. Villazon indicated that the Division would need the Commission to establish some sort of standards to apply to applications that disclose a criminal background or the revocation of a professional license before they could handle them administratively.
Mr. Grist advised that the Education Section Report for November had nothing unusual to report. He indicated that the overall broker pass rate had increased. He explained that it appeared that the real estate schools were doing a better job of preparing applicants for the exam.
Dottie Rohn presented 36 Summary of Applicant requests to the Commission for permission to sit for the real estate examination. The Commission’s decisions on these matters are attached hereto and made a part of these minutes.
Bureau of Enforcement Matters
Mr. Seli advised that there was nothing unusual to report concerning the enforcement statistics for the month of November. He advised that he would have some year-end statistics for the Commission at the January meeting.
Mr. Seli indicated that he and Mr. Villazon had attended the Davis Productivity Awards Luncheon. He explained that the Bureau’s supervisors had received an award for developing an innovative way for storing and maintaining the complaint records. Vice-Chairperson Saunders asked Mr. Seli to extend the Commission’s congratulations to the Division’s honored employees.
Financial Report
Ms. Grist gave her report on the interim financial statement for November. She advised that license fees were averaging about 85% of the revenue collected by the Division, with the remaining 15% coming in from application fees. In comparison to the figures from last year, the application fees have increased by 11%; however, the licensee base had not increased. She indicated that license fee collections had increased by 5%. She explained that operation costs had dropped by approximately 5%. Ms. Grist indicated that expenses were down $76,000 from last year and that travel costs remained low.
Director’s Matters
Mr. Villazon advised that there were not any legislative matters to report.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m. The next general meeting of the Florida Real Estate Commission will be held on January 17, 2001.
Dean Saunders
Vice-Chairperson
Written by:
Cindy Keene
Management Review Specialist
Attested to by:
Daniel Villazon
Acting Director
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