October 21, 2013
Dear Homeowners,
While you have gotten lots of emails from me, many of you do not know who I am. Let me introduce myself. My name is Beth Michael Johnson and I have lived in building 14 for 17 years. I am not a member of the board, but I have volunteered to attend board and general meetings and take minutes. I send those minutes to you and post them on the blog. In the very near future, we will launch our new web site and I will manage that.
I am writing this letter to you without board approval or even board knowledge. This represents my own thoughts and opinions.
Chardonnay Village is not owned by a development company which is ultimately responsible for its upkeep and financial security. Chardonnay Village is owned by us. There is no them, there is only us. We have to see to the upkeep, pay the bills, negotiate the insurance rates, see that the grass is cut, and everything else that goes into the running of our complex. Since it would be impossible for every homeowner to somehow be involved in making all of the everyday decisions, we elect a board of directors to do that for us. They are us. So we need volunteers to run for the board! A full time job does not make it impossible for you to help. Many current board members have full time jobs. Feeling that you know nothing about running such a complex does not make it impossible for you to help. If you live here you know what needs to be done and you learn the rest on the job. Imagine what would happen if no one agreed to serve. Please consider very seriously running for the board. Call the office for a candidate sheet or email me directly and I will see that you get one.
Secondly, I would ask you to take voting for board members as a personal obligation. We can hardly sit back and complain about decisions the board makes if we have not even bothered to vote. We need approximately 2/3 of all homeowners, not just those who live in Chardonnay, for an election to be valid. In the 17 years I have lived here, only one or two elections have actually been valid elections. The by-laws state that, in the absence of a valid election, the current board stays in office. While that is not necessarily bad, the board members themselves would like to know that they have the support of the homeowners through a valid election. When your packet comes, please take the time to consider the candidates carefully and then vote. You may not know any of the candidates personally. But read the candidate sheet. Look at the backgrounds of each candidate and give a great deal of attention to what they would like to do as a board member. Don't just throw the packet away, vote.
For most of us, our homes are a big part of our investment package. Don't let apathy cause you to lose its value.
Sincerely,
Beth M. Johnson
Homeowner
WHY VOTING IS IMPORTANT!
ReplyDeleteThe BOD of CV has not changed in 3-5 years. Yes, a few new members have been appointed, by the BOD. Those appointees have since resigned or not running in the coming election. Their reasons are varied and valid. Unprofessional behavior by the sitting BOD, is the top of the list.
In January, of this year Chardonnay Village was near bankruptcy. The office was a disaster, dues were not collected or posted correctly. We were losing 30 to 40 thousand dollars or more, in uncollected fees. Procedures were not followed by property managers, who operated unchecked by the BOD. The sitting BOD had no idea of the losses, and no idea how to fix the problem.
In January the accounting firm was hired to handle the financial mess, that was our bookkeeping system. Along with the collection attorneys necessary to handle the many legal, collection issues we face every day. The Issac insurance money was used as allocated, for the fence, roofing, clean up, etc. and not to cover the short falls of uncollected dues. Work was done and completed. Progress was made by a few new members asked to help by the sitting BOD.
It is the duty of the BOD to make sure that everyone pays their fair share to maintaining our community. That was not done for years, as has been proven by the accounting firm.
We have allowed the same people on the BOD, to go unchecked for years, because of the apathy of the homeowners. If we continue to turn a blind eye to the affairs of our community, we are all destined to the failure of the same BOD over and over again. We are right back where we started in January, with the same five members that allowed the business of CV to decline to the point of near bankruptcy.
As the old saying goes" the definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result".
Only by voting for NEW qualified people are we going to break this cycle of no quorum and the same people are making the decisions for us. Or better yet doing nothing to ensure that the business of Chardonnay is being handled in a professional manner.
The sitting BOD in January 2013 were directly responsible for the gross mismanagement of our community. Please review the candidates and vote to change the "status quo" and elect new homeowners, for the betterment of our community.