2/1/2024 18 Comments The Ballot AmendmentBy now all homeowners should have received your annual ballot in the mail. Homeowners are being asked by the HOA Board to vote in favor of an amendment to allow the Board to enter into contracts up to 5 years under “certain conditions” (currently contracts are limited to 1 year).
How can homeowners vote for this amendment without knowing the following:
Should the Board remove the amendment from the Election Packet until there is a better understanding of this proposal? The Blog would like to know your thoughts.
18 Comments
Stacey Burkhart
2/1/2024 12:26:12 pm
Yes, the amendment should be removed until there is more information. Why would we want to enter 5 year contracts? The only reason would seem to be to lock in a low rate on something?
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Cyndie Barone
2/1/2024 12:29:33 pm
Well....I already mailed my back - now what??
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Jean
2/1/2024 12:53:37 pm
Wasn’t Spectrum a multi year contract? If the Board is limited to 1 year contracts, how was the Board able to enter into the Spectrum 5 year contract? Further information is needed, I believe.
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Tom Moen
2/1/2024 01:03:59 pm
Scary based on prior contracts and commitments this board has made to vendors. There are NO Performance Guarantees and most of the board didn't know what that means! VOTE NO! This board, or any board should not make commitments that out live their terms! Three of the members of the board only have 1 year left on the baord... WHY WOULD THEY WANT TO SECURE VENDORS, LOCK US IN FOR FIVE YEARS?? WHY???? I think you know why. This should not be allowed, it should never have come up for a vote! Why was this item sneaked in, last minute? Why 5 years when board members are only 3 year terms? Too many questions to not vote NO! Disapprove of the changes.
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Brian White
2/1/2024 01:30:54 pm
I think most homeowners , even those of us who usually keep on top of things, were blindsided by this appearing on the ballot. I for one would favor taking it off the ballot until there is a better understanding and discussion about it. Seems to me that this is a very important decision and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
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Ej
2/1/2024 01:36:12 pm
The ballot initiative is so confusing. Each time the governess committee sends out a clarification a new question comes to mind.
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Michael
2/1/2024 02:57:06 pm
Ej the governess committee may be made up of 3 board members, but Terry Swartz is the leader. She loves to control!! Here is another example of control and being blindsided. The ballots go out and then we received an explanation. More information is required before the homeowner can make a decision on this. I think this is the last year for Russ and Terry. Let's count how many pet projects they want to complete and all the money they spend during the next 12 months!
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Brian White
2/1/2024 01:38:25 pm
I believe most homeowners, even those of us that usually keep on top of things, were caught off guard when they saw this on the ballot. This is too important of an issue not to be discussed..I would favor taking it off the ballot until we can ankle get a better understanding of it.
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henry somerfeld
2/1/2024 01:43:28 pm
Yes, the amendment should be removed;
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No long term contracts
2/1/2024 02:10:59 pm
Here we go again, The bait and switch is in play again, Say no to allowing long term contracts, The concept of saving money is a hook to get you to buying into the con job the Board and Management trust is truing to pull, remember, the the Management Trust is also on a one year contract at the moment.
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Honest Abe
2/1/2024 07:36:17 pm
The Amendment Change says that even-- even if you ever succeed in getting enough owners to finally vote for competent management on the Board... the Old Board's screwups, overpaments, and bloated salaries will live on for another 5 years.
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Homeowner
2/2/2024 04:32:21 pm
I urge the board to explain this better. My understanding is by entering in multi year contracts we would get better rates which would save us all money. Performance clauses would be required -which we want! Please explain the certain conditions. Who determines those conditions? Who would monitor the performance, and how often. Will performance results be posted. This all could be a great thing for us, rather than short term- higher cost contracts, but we need to know more! Please give us a better explanation, instead of the community guessing and just voting no.
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Jimmy G
2/4/2024 09:33:24 am
Lynne Cipin has sent another eBlast. When is she going to say something we haven't heard a dozen times before? And if she insists on reiterating her "platform" over and over, why can't she just tell us "how" she plans on accomplishing what she's promising?
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MH
2/20/2024 02:57:08 am
Lynne Cipin wants to get on the board to push through her husband - Harold Cipin's - wasteful proposal to all but tear down the existing fitness center and build a state-of -the-art monumental Fitness Center at a cost of nearly a million, that hardly anyone will use. If you listen carefully to her, everytime she speaks or writes it's about our "aging property". To hear her, you would think the place is falling down. IT IS NOT! If the board hadn't wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on the stinking studies and fancy presentations, they could have : 1. Maintained rusty pool fences and rustproofed and painted them, 2. resurfaced pools and replaced missing tiles, 3. Trimmed and maintained our beloved fruit trees instead of ripping them out and now replacing them, 4. Purchased a few new fitness machines, re-carpeted the Fitness Center, put mirrors in one of the downstairs (or BOTH) raquetball courts, resurfaced those floors, purchased new weights and machines and mats for those rooms, and a fresh coat of paint. The list goes ON and ON people. We need to be more vocal. People need to speak up. Wasteful spending has been the problem. Nothing else. And the casual chit chat about the water reservoirs and failing pumps is something to really be concerned about with no reserves. IMO - we could be looking at a special assessment. The Board's PRIMARY job is this: 1. maintain - that means have the forethought to rust proof the fences and paint them every year, NOT let the rust eat away till the bars need replacement. re-seal the blacktop every year, NOT wait till the entire driveway has to be torn up.....2. Then, when it can't be maintained, repair it. and when it finally can't be repaired any more, then and ONLY then, replace it. This is State Law for boards. Maintain, Repair, Replace. This board doesn't do that.
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Lynn
2/4/2024 01:10:01 pm
Well said Jimmy - so very true. Lynne Cipin is of the same mind as Terry Swartz…..spend more $ for upgrades and ridiculous non- saving ideas such as parking passes. Vote for Tom and Sue who are on the right path to cutting costs and building our reserves before looking at any further vanity projects….
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Roberta Oliver
2/13/2024 05:25:27 pm
In today's Tree Management Committee meeting both Mark Brown, a member of the board, and Hank Kras, a former member of tbe board and currently a committee member, both of whom should know better, endorsed Maureen Carlson for the board of directors and then Maureen, who is a member of the Tree Management Committee who should know the rules if she wants to be a board member, spoke about her campaign to become a board member.
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Concerned homeowner
2/13/2024 08:23:44 pm
I was wondering if you were there in person or saw/heard it on zoom?
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Roberta Oliver
2/14/2024 06:40:34 am
It was on zoom and happened after the meeting began and before it was adjourned.
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