jess kaufman - Conflict of Interest - Lack of Transparency

The above photos are of jess kaufman's backyard as seen from his neighbor's property. Imagine having to look at that every day from their patio? It's really quite unattractive. But because he's on the board, nothing is done about the eyesore condition. Also note the NO TRESSPASSING signs.

His front lawn is cluttered with more than 20 large pots containing plants, bushes, and small trees, scattered throughout the yard. Several of these are placed in the swale, which may be a violation of county code. This raises the question of whether any other homeowner would be allowed to maintain their front lawn in this condition without receiving a violation for a visual nuisance.

There are many things that are concerning about Mr. Kaufman and his seeming lack of transparency and hint of impropriety. Normally, board members would avoid any hint of impropriety by not hiring the same company that did work for the association, or at the very least, make all details public. But that did not happen in this instance.

In May 2025, the association and Mr. kaufman had permits filed for roof replacements for the clubhouse and Kaufman's home, respectively, by the same company, Evans Roofing.

Transparency requires board members to disclose to the community any work performed on their personal property by the same contractor, in this case, Evans Roofing, hired by the association and Mr. Kaufman. When a board member uses the same contractor—particularly for identical work, and within a close timeframe—it reasonably raises concerns about a potential conflict of interest. Open disclosure of such circumstances is what demonstrates transparency.

In this instance of kaufman's roof replacement, no such disclosure was made by Mr. Kaufman or by any member of the board, despite the likelihood that the board was aware of the situation because the two projects required ARC approval/review by board members. The failure to openly discuss or reveal this information to the community creates reasonable suspicion regarding a possible conflict of interest and raises questions as to why this was not disclosed. This suggests that responsibility for this transparency failure and conflict of interest issue extends to the entire board.

The details, including documentation obtained from PBC Zoning website, are below.

Evans Roofing applied for a permit for the clubhouse roof replacement on May 21 2025. Just five days later, on May 26, 2025, Evans Roofing also applied for a permit for kaufman's roof replacement on his house.

This can be confirmed by going to the Palm Beach Building and Zoning website: https://pbc.gov/ePZB.Admin.WebSPA/#/Container/Permits_Inspections

Click the "Address" tab to the right of the default "App/Permit" tab. Enter the address of the clubhouse (6269 Atlantic Avenue) in the appropriate search boxes to obtain the permit information for the clubhouse, then enter kaufmans address (14782 Summersong Lane) into the search boxes again to obtain his permit information. You will see the same information as described above, and as the screenshots below depict.

The image below depicts the roof permit (B-2025-017589-0000) issued for the clubhouse on May 21, 2025. The others are of Kaufman's permit, issued just five days later, on May 26, 2025.

Below is a screenshot of the permit (B-2025-020972-0000) for jess kaufman's roof, issued on May 26, 2025, just 5 days after the permit for the clubhouse, and showing the same contractor, Evans Roofing.

This evasiveness/secrecy is indicative of a 'Good ol' Boys' club, which is something our community does not need.
We need a fully transparent board. Not one that claims to be, but isn't.

MORE TO COME ...