Solar Panels on Clubhouse?

SOLAR PANELS

It appears the board, especially jess kaufman wants to curtail the discussion of putting solar panels on the clubhouse roof until after the election in February just to increase their chances of re-election, then attempt to hit the homeowners with this expensive, risky and cumbersome solar panel project if they remain on the board. This is why it is so critical to replace these board members in February’s election. They have no regard for the financial well-being of the homeowners and the Reserves. They love to spend money … our money.

First of all, this project goes against Article 4 of the Articles of Incorporation that were passed and adopted into the association in November 1977. Part C, which specifically states, “The association has the power to administer, manage, operate, repair and maintain coco wood lakes, including the recreation area, and to maintain, repair and replace the improvements” (the improvements are later defined as the amenities the builder constructed, specifically; the pool, shuffleboard courts, bath houses, auditorium, kitchen, billiards, clubrooms, cardroom, lobby, restrooms, hot tub, equipment and closets).

Solar panels fall under outside IMPROVEMENTS, which the governing documents do not allow. An IMPROVEMENT such as solar panels, would necessitate and amendment approved by at least a minimum of 2/3 of the homeowners. Additionally, there have been numerous prevailing court cases that challenged associations that attempted making improvements, or made improvements with total disregard to their governing documents. Those cases resulted in costly judgements against the association and/or injunctions to stop the projects. Any attempt by this board to bring the liability and cost of installing solar panels on the clubhouse will be met with the similar lawsuits/injunctions.

At the December board meeting, kaufman made a highly ridiculous and unsupported claim that “solar panels can last 80 years.” It appears he will make any unsupported claim to sell his project or agenda. He has already been caught making several false statements. Just doing simple research debunks his claim of these solar panels. If you do a quick look-up on google, “how long do solar panels last” you can confirm his statement is a lie. At best, solar panels can last 25 to 30 years, yet there are court cases filed where the panels lasted only a few years along with many other problems that caused failure. The warranty of 25 years that many solar contractors made was also never honored. Attached is one recent lawsuit filed against Urban Solar, the company that gave a presentation at the town hall in early December.

Plus, there are documented complaints at the BBB as well as numerous lawsuits against solar companies for making similar claims, but the panels failed within just a few years. Please do your own due diligence and check the google, Yelp and Better Business Bureau reviews on Urban Solar LLC for yourself. Because it appears the board didn't. Here’s a link to the BBB reviews: https://www.bbb.org/us/fl/boca-raton/profile/solar-energy-contractors/urban-solar-llc-0633-90329354/customer-reviews?page=2

All three platforms have highly mixed reviews of Urban Solar. While google indicates a 4.2 rating, Yelp is at 2.9, and the BBB is at 3.31 (which shows 11 unfavorable reviews out of 26, that equates to a 42% disapproval rating .. nearly half their customers who left reviews were unhappy). These negative reviews are as recent as November 2025, and date back several years.

You can also type “Urban Solar reviews complaints” into your google search bar to get an AI (Artificial Intelligence) overview of the reviews and other links. One google reviewer wrote this, "What's worse is I referred my neighbor and they had their system installed, but the promised referral fee never came." That review causes concern and makes people wonder if there is a referral fee (kickback) being given/offered by Urban Solar in our case, and to whom?