THE 2024 BOARD ELECTION

1/16/2024 28 Comments

THE 2024 BOARD ELECTION

There will be two new board members that will be elected to the upcoming HOA Board (5 candidates are campaigning for these two slots).

For those that were unable to attend the Candidate Forum this last Saturday (January 13th), a link is posted below for viewing. This is an opportunity for everyone to see the candidates in action and help all of us make an informed decision.

Candidate Forum Video

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Last year homeowners experienced the largest increase in dues in the history of the Desert Princess Country Club. Do you want the next annual increase to be repeated?

As owners, we have an opportunity to select the best two individuals that can help the HOA make changes to minimize and/or reduce our dues.
The new board members we select, will have a hand in shaping our future for the next three years.
There is a short window for all of us to vote. The ballots will be sent out this week and will be counted on Saturday, February 24th.

EXAMPLES OF WHAT OWNERS CAN DO

Contact the candidates by email, phone or visit in person.
Take time to learn and understand their qualifications.
Ask the candidates what they believe are the most important issues facing our HOA and how they plan to address these issues.

The Blog would also like to start a dialog within the community. Please feel free to make your thoughts known.

28 Comments

Tom Moen

1/17/2024 01:34:08 pm

Many of you are aware that I am very active, maybe too active, on this blog and post numerous comments on numerous topics. I have also been active in HOA meetings. My concern for you, as homeowners, and why I am seeking one of the open positions on the HOA Board and as I stated on the candidates video, my desire is to make our HOA Board more communicative, open, transparent, by putting homeowners, not HOC/golfers, not the management company, not our vendors, but owners first! Make this community a community that is inclusive and thrives. We believe the board needs new, fresh, proven, ideas with a solid business plan to resolve our issues. Our board should look for ways to generate revenue and decrease costs not make the HOC more private, more exclusive and MORE costly to us owners. Our board should put EVERY expense item out to bid and make no decision without three qualified bids and without input from residents on anything over $10k. Our board should NOT enter into long term contracts, especially without performance guarantees—I’ve has to explain that far too often—and input of us owners. I absolutely would treat every homeowner exactly as I wish to be treated, as an equal to you. My goals are simple; give you a voice, help you to better understand the issues and expenses and use every means available to decrease our HOA monthly bill.
We have some serious issues facing us; golf course, restaurant, pro shop and tennis and spa that are all bleeding significant losses with too many people who don’t seem to care. Some want to pile on money while keeping everything “private.” After you add, to these huge loses, the upcoming maintenance items, the $24 million for those--nearly 48% of those related to golf course alone--the $3.4 million we pay our management company annually, the losses of as much as $6 million this year, we are facing very difficult choices. I have voiced my concerns about the $24 million in maintenance items elsewhere within this blog, but we need a smarter, better, more effective, and intelligent plan than that which our management company "hired out"--without bid, I should add. We need to know which roofs, roads, parking areas, lights, signs, need replacing and EXACTLY when. Great example of waste, why did they waste time and money painting roads with no parking areas, when these same roads will be resurfaced in the near future? I don't change the oil and wash my car before trading it in and I don't trim a tree just before I cut it down--Wastefulness like this needs to stop!

Next, faced with these costs, losses and expense, there are, factually, only three ways out of this situation;
1) Cost management – you do not pour sand on a sinking ships; spending $1 million on a Spa that lost over $142,000 or spending over $1 million on a restaurant that lost $331,000 is not good cost management. Creating long term contracts with no performance metrics is crazy. Vote for Moen, don't go it alone.
2) Marketing and bringing in additional revenues to shoulder the costs rather than HOA paying the HOC shortfalls and expenses. OR simply increase the membership dues – “pay to play” rather than people who never set, will never set foot on a tee box paying. I wsa the ONLY person presenting ideas for increasing revenue. The only person to have a business plan and look at this HOA and HOC as a business. Vote for Moen, don't go it alone.
3) Special Assessment - nobody likes special assessments. The primary goal of an HOA Board is to prevent them with adequate reserves. We have no reserves? With current losses and anticipated expenses, a special assessment of approximately $30k ($28,500 per unit) would be adequate. Do you have $30k laying around? You want to avoid a special assessment? Vote for Moen, don't go it alone.
4) Furter increases to our monthly HOA to feed the losses of the HOC and maintenance items, without reserves, could nearly double our HOA to $1710 a month. You want to aviod this huge increase vote for Moen, don't go it alone.
5) Address these items so our auditor will not fail to anser the major reason an HOA hires and auditor to determine if we are viable community, if we are an "ongoing concern for the future" – this was 20% of their job and they didn’t complete it. What if your surgeon only did 80% of your surgery? Vote for Moen, don't go it alone.
I believe you all know where I stand with matters concerning OUR HOA Board, the HOC and runaway spending. I have been 100% open and honest (to the best of my abilities – our Consolidated Financial Statement is crazy) about why I am running for one of the open board positions. Vote for Moen, don't go it alone.

Mary Maloney

1/22/2024 06:04:49 pm

Finally, a voice that echoes my call for business acumen on the board! You have our 2 votes sir. It's about time this HOA is treated like a business. This management company is bleeding us dry. These "old boy" contracts are having us fund their businesses. TIME for change!

Joe Stella

1/24/2024 07:53:48 pm

Tom (and any other candidates who may read this), we have had difficulty in the past communicating with the BOD as all communications seem to be channeled through the HOA staff. While the HOA staff has generally been responsive, we’re never sure whether the BOD was informed of, and participated in, the response. We would like to see the BOD commit to either providing direct access to its members (or perhaps an ombudsman) so as to ensure that any responses received, or actions taken, are those of the BOD itself.

Leslie

1/17/2024 02:53:39 pm

After watching the video, it was clear that two candidates identified our precarious financial situation has now become alarming. That is primarily attributed to lack of ANY due diligence.
The lack of reviewing existing contract, like putting our property management contract out for an RFP, Charlie Moore's contract which is idiotic even to a fifth grader, the Pro Shop and the Spa. These "amenities" are profitable to vendors, at our expense.....losses to the community. For fiscal responsibility, we must vote for Sue Bergstrom and Tom Moen.

Val

1/17/2024 07:32:04 pm

Could not agree with you more Leslie.
A vote for Sue and Tom equal a better outcome and success for Desert Princess.
100%!
We need them on the board!!!

Sally

1/18/2024 09:58:41 am

Isn’t there already a Bergstrom on the HOA board? Why would another one benefit us?

Frances May Carter

1/18/2024 12:36:45 pm

Regarding the Spa, it is now operating under Grounded Bodyworks, an outside, independent contractor. I encourage residents of the Desert Princess to tour the totally refurbished site and meet the staff. The spa is lovely, a first-class operation and an added amenity to our community.

Tom Moen

1/19/2024 10:13:06 am

Important to understand that the golf pro shop, spa fitness and tennis are operated independently, under contracts. We, us HOMEOWNERS (I heard us referred to as "suckers" a few times on Saturday, after the Candidate Forum, which is extremely upsetting to me), pay for the buildings, land, maintenance, utilities of those facilities. As I said Saturday, please watch the video, we HOMEOWNERS "invested" $769,000 in the golf pro shop last year while the shop only shows revenue of $49,000, therefore, on that investment alone, we LOST $720,000! We homeowners invested spent $192,000 in the Tennis, Fitness and Spa with revenue of $59,000, while this revenue is higher than the pro shop, was still a loss of $133,000. Between these two ventures, our HOA Board lost $853,000 of our money - NEARLY 1 ENTIRE MONTH OF OUR HOA FEES were flushed straight down the toilet. Why the board either doesn't know these numbers or refuses to acknowledge them in public is beyond me. Heck the finance committee, and our controller, seem to be unfamiliar with these numbers! WOW! This is the very crux of why I am running for HOA Board. The golf course, oh my, lost between $2 and $6 million? I do not know, my accountant could not decipher the horrific Consolidated Financial Statement, in 30 years I have never before seen him baffled or confused until then. A HOA ONLY JOB is to preserve and protect the homeowners, to preserve and protect property our values, yet our HOA blindly sends 52 cents on every dollar to the HOC - Homeowners Club. The Vintage nearby has a $250,000 initial membership fee and dues are $2,850 per month--they have no HOC. Mission Hills a $65,000 member fee and $800 a month dues. We have $4000 ins dues? About $330 a month? For comparison, the HOA fees at Mission Hills $560 to $680 per unit, based on property size and value and 0% goes to club--they do not have an HOC. While on subject of contracts and dues, another terrible contract. We homeowners pay roughly 28 cents every dollar of our HOA fees, they go directly to our HOA Management Company. The primary job of a HOA mangement company is to do the things the HOA cannot do. In many cases, the HOA management company is off site or has a little office on site not an entire building it is a beautiful Taj Mahal of an office on property--have you seen the Reserve Study costs for just that office? Oh my goodness! In numerous examples of HOAs, well run HOAs usually pay their HOA management company fees per unit, those fees usually range from $10 to $20 per UNIT or less than $300,000 annually for this community... $20 (the high figure) X 1206 units = 24,120 per month $289,000 a year--We pay 10 x that - that amount doesn't cover our HOA Manager's salary. Let's go to the extreme, Ascension Management, a popular HOA Management company, has some of the highest rates in the USA. They charge roughly 10% in our case that would be $1.2 million at the current $855 a month annually, yet last year we paid our Management Company $3.6 million! Without bid, without looking at Ascension or any of the hundreds of other management companies. Why is this? Why would our HOA Board not look to decrease our second largest line item? My last blood boiling moment came yesterday I saw the Matrix and drilled down into the Reserves Study, I saw one line item that I had very recent experience with on one of my other properties. I saw we are paying $10,000 to replace 10 feet of chain-link fence!!! Is it on the moon? The US average for chain link fence installation is $24 to $34 per linear foot or $240 to $340 for 10 feet! Unless the fence made of gold or diamond crusted, this should be under $500 not 20x more than national average. My personal experience: I just replaced 85 feet of chain link fencing for under $1280--that is $15 per linear foot, it is these kinds of bargains that I would strive for $150 on 10 feet of fence saving us homeowners $9,850! Maybe there was a typo and it was 1000 feet of fence? I look forward to seeing you all at the Matrix meeting on Saturday.

Dave Crocker

1/23/2024 10:02:06 am

I'm not aware of the contract with Charlie Moore. Where can I find it? What are the key elements of the contract?

Mike

1/18/2024 10:16:16 am

I applauded Tom Moen and his due diligence. Not only will he make a great board member for the homeowners in 2024, but he will also help change the future face of our board in 2025 and beyond. Take time to read over the latest 2023 revenues vs. expenses that were sent to you in the mail.
We all know we are losing Bill B. who has been our homeowners voice for the last 4 years. Now it's time to replace Bill with two members that will mirror his beliefs, futuristic foresight and his intestinal fortitude to take a stand against the current board, for what is right for the homeowners and Desert Princess.
We have two openings, and it is obvious to me after listening to the candidates at Saturday's forum that Tom and Sue are the leaders needed to change the direction at Desert Princess. Don't be fooled by the other 3 candidates (they are nice people) but they are followers and not leaders. IF YOU WANT CHANGE, and plan to keep your property here at DP past 2024 then take the step by voting in Tom and Sue and know that it's the right thing for our future. I believe they will hit the ground running and won't be one voice but two collaborative voices for us the homeowners.

Leslie

1/18/2024 01:34:24 pm

Sally.....Bill Bergstrum is not on the ballot because he has served 2 terms, the maximum a resident is permitted to serve, so there will not be two Bergstrums sitting on the Board.

Sally

1/18/2024 09:53:26 pm

I understand that Bill Bergstrom serve two terms. My question is we want change? Why would we think that Sue Bergstrom would make any changes if her husband could have done that the last two terms? Why would they be any different from what we have now?

Val

1/19/2024 06:49:59 am

Sally, Bill Bergstrom was literally one of the only if not, THE only board member for the last several years that had the homeowners best interests in mind! Bill did the best that he could during his two terms. He was often one person against everyone else trying to fight for the homeowners best interests and the long-term future of the Desert Princess.
Bill experienced harsh resistance, and sometimes personal attacks in the past for trying to represent the homeowners and do the best for Desert Princess. We absolutely want another Bergstrom on the board!
Without another Bergstrom on the board, and Tom, you had better get ready for continually increased fees amongst other un-preferred things.
That is the cold hard truth.

Interested homeowner

1/19/2024 07:44:18 am

I personally feel Bill tried as hard as he could to work for all of homeowners.
He did not have a personal agenda and he was not on a personal power trip.
Sue is very passionate about Desert Princess, I think and hope she can continue where Bill left off and work to make the necessary improvements needed here .
.

Mike

1/19/2024 12:53:06 pm

Sally
Know that Sue knew everything about the board while Bill served. She is the right choice if you want support for Tom and a voice that cares about the homeowners.

Mary

1/22/2024 05:59:57 pm

Bill Bergstrom was the only voice of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. He could only do so much when out voted every time. Check the voting record to see who really stood up for the homeowners. He fought a losing battle every meeting and on every issue and still fought and showed up. He has our respect. We will be voting for Sue Bergstrom and Tom Moen.

Richard

1/19/2024 01:02:20 pm

I just finished watching the video of the Candidate Forum. I think all the candidates did a good job. My only concern was with Lynn Cipin when she spoke of updating the amenities. If I recall, there was a Harold Cipin who was on a committee to upgrade the fitness center. The cost was over $600,000. This sounds like wasteful spending and a reason to increase our HOA dues.

Leslie

1/20/2024 10:55:42 am

Actually, that proposal allowed the Ɓoard to spend $$50,000.00 for the specs, which we did,. The original price tag would for the construction was $750,000.00. We now know the big winner in that deal would have been Charlie Moore. And let us not forget the failed attempt by the Board to borrow $5,000,000.00 for landscape improvements and the list goes on. This insanity must end.

Easy choice!

1/20/2024 04:21:35 pm

It’s a no brainer…Sue and Tom!!!

Lynn MacDonald

1/21/2024 09:49:44 am

Obviously those who have lived thru these past few years of gross over-spending know that Sue Bergstrom and Tom Moen are the 2 best candidates to begin a positive change in our Board. They will face a tough year ahead because they will not have the majority vote on the Board but we will all be in a much better position financially if we have those 2 very capable and like-minded owners representing us. They are all about cost-savings NOT cost-spending and believe in listening to the owners. We have some very capable, clever, financially astute, and selfless owners in Desert Princess however the current Board has never listened to any of their cost-saving ideas or suggestions as they continually spend our hard-earned money on frivoulous vanity projects. They do not represent the majority of the ownership and it's time for new ways of doing things which Sue and Tom will fight hard to do. Neither will cowtail to any bullying or persuasions that go against their fight to make Desert Princess the best place in the Coachella Valley again without draining our reserves and/or operating funds. A note to Sally who is concerned about 2 Bergstroms, please do some research before making such ridiculous statements. Bill Bergstrom was one of the best Board members we've had in years however, it was an uphill battle for him to get his great money-savings ideas implemented given he was in the minority. We will miss him and applaud his valiant efforts to turn our financial mess around. Sue is very like-minded and we all know she and Tom Moen will work very hard on behalf of all of us to use our funds wisely, frugally, and intelligently to get all of us out of the debt we currently hold. Again, if elected, it will be a tough year for them however, 2025 will see 3 existing Board members who continually vote to SPEND money stepping down as their terms will expire. We can then look forward to perhaps seeing a full Board of like-minded, consciensous, and selfless owners who will listen to all owners and stop the wasteful spending of the last few years. My husband and I really appreciate all the work and research that Tom has done to show all of us the actual financial losses we have endured over the past 2-3 years. It's one thing to indicate a loss for the golf course, restaurant, spa, etc. but he and his Accountant have shown all of us "why" we are losing money. The existing Board should be VERY concerned over our disastrous financial situation but they have continued to spend, spend, spend ! Obviously, because Sue and Tom are also VERY concerned and disgusted with our present financial position, we know they will work VERY hard to turn this around on our behalf ~
We also agree the Board should not have the authority to spend copious amount of $ without a vote. It's our money....not their private piggy bank to continually raid and drain. VOTE FOR SUE AND TOM and look forward to positive changes ahead......

Judy

1/23/2024 07:38:10 am

In the recent campaign email I received from Lynn Cipin she writes about reimaging, reconfiguring, repurposing, updating and upgrading existing amenities. Sounds like that is a plan to spend lots of money on the fitness center. Irony is that she only lives at Desert Princess for 5 months. The board of directors should be FULL TIME residents.

Tom Moen

1/23/2024 08:08:42 am

Also, do not forget to vote NO - Do NOT Approve the changes in Exhibit A, on the last page. The major change is allowing the board to enter into contracts for 5 FIVE years rather than 1 ONE year, as it stands today. They have no performance clauses in these contracts--none. We absolutely do NOT want to be stuck with poor decisions for 5 years--as we have witnessed, all too often, 1 year is too long.

Val

1/23/2024 09:48:34 am

Tom, thank you for informing everyone of this who may have not already been "in the know" about it!
I concur and could not agree more.
5 years is too long to be stuck with contractors and the like, should they not perform and/or should market conditions change, DP's needs change, etc. Reassessing contracts annually is normal in my business. I am not sure why anyone would want to be stuck in a 5 year contract. Sounds suspicious if you ask me.
One might argue that there could potentially be a cost savings to a 2-5 year contract. However, should they not perform or any other number of variables take place or conditions change, any potential savings of being handcuffed for that duration, could quickly be lost, and then some.

Ann

1/24/2024 01:32:40 pm

Yes, thank you for pointing this out. An addition to the ballot of something this important would, to me, be something the BOD would let us know about in advance. Maybe they did and I missed it? If not, it appears to be a way to try to sneak in a power-grabbing provision without giving us the opportunity to to review, discuss, and ask questions beforehand.

Ann

2/10/2024 03:14:56 pm

The latest BOD announcement about their inadvertent omission of information about the up-to5-year-contract proposal says that DP has missed out on cost savings because of the 1 year limit. However they gave no facts to support that assertion. Without data/facts to back up a proposal, homeowners have no way to determine the best course of action. Give us the details - the vendor(s), the proposal(s), the proposed savings - so we can make an informed decision. Otherwise it looks like more of the same spin game.

Dave Crocker

1/23/2024 10:23:24 am

What about Scott Schneider? He seems to have an interest in the homeowners and taking a fresh look at improving our financial situation. But, all I know if what he said at the candidates forum.

Also, I'm not sure why we're subsidizing the golf with such a large monthly amount and also the capital expenditures. It could be a source of revenue and potentially better managed too. Keep the tennis and pickleballs courts well maintained and keeping the court use free is important. But no need for any frills.

Lynn MacDonald

1/26/2024 04:42:28 pm

Agree with VOTE 'no' to 5-yr contracts. Why would we lock ourselves into such a long terms ? We should be putting these contracts out to tender every year. Unless we are signing 'fixed price' contracts for 5 years, there is no reason why we are not getting bids every year. That's not to say the existing contractor cannot be included in the bidding process, but at least we give others the opportunity to be competitive and possibly provide even better service at a reduced cost. When we sign a 5 yr contract, we open the door to complacency and sometimes, diminishing results with no recourse on our part.... VOTE NO TO LONG TERM CONTRACTS !

Janice Sowinski

2/3/2024 08:22:56 pm

So upset. Asked for touch up painting for 1 wall of condo on Nov 13th. Was told it would be done in 2 weeks. No work done after a month. Called hoa and they said would be done before my tenants came end of January. Well not done till after my tenants arrived so guess my unit made a great first impression! This kind of inefficiency is affecting my rental business. When I first bought into desert princess and paid $550 hoa fees, service requests were handled within a week. Now at 856 can't get service for 2.5 months. Does anyone know what is going on?

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.

Charter

This blog is designed as a means to provide transparency and informative access to the policies and protocols of the Desert Princess Palm Springs Homeowners Association, the governance of the HOA Board of Directors and the management of the community’s assets by The Management Trust. The expressed intent is to establish a neighborhood hub for trusted connections and the exchange of helpful information, goods, and services; it is hoped that homeowners will use it to build a stronger and safer Desert Princess Palm Springs.

This Blog will not publish any comments that are personal attacks or unrelated to the published post.

PLEDGE

BE HELPFUL
Share this space in a constructive way. Be kind, not judgmental, in your conversations

BE RESPECTFUL
Remember you are speaking to your real neighbors. Strong communities are built on strong relationships

DO NOT DISCRIMINATE
Racism, hateful or foul language, or discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated.

NO HARMFUL ACTIVITY
Any activity that could hurt someone—from scams to physical harm—are off limits.

YOUR CART

THE 2024 BOARD ELECTION

Leave a Reply.

Charter

Archives

Categories