​The HOA Recall Outcome

12/6/2021 19 Comments

The HOA Recall Outcome

The recall of Peter Webb is now over. There were 685 homeowners that voted. 314 Homeowners voted to recall Peter and 370 voted to keep him. This means that almost half of the homeowners that voted believed that the recall was warranted.

Peter now has one more year on the board and likely will want to remain as President of our HOA. As homeowners, we can hope that Peter now understands that he represents every homeowner and he narrowly escaped being recalled.

The questions going forward are:

What will Peter and the Board do to reunite the disenfranchised homeowners?
How will the board be more inclusive in the makeup of their committees and represent the diversity of homeowners?
Has the board learned that increases in fees and dues should be based on actual data and that increases should be subject to reviews to determine if the increases were warranted?
Will all homeowners be treated with respect regardless of opinions?

The Blog would like to know your thoughts.

19 Comments

Mary Maloney

12/6/2021 08:57:57 pm

With over HALF of ALL homeowners actually voting, and over 1/4 of ALL homeowners voting to recall the HOA President, I hope this sends a clear message to the board that the community is paying attention. EYES WIDE OPEN.

Kevin crockett

12/6/2021 09:12:20 pm

I continue to see the word "diversity" in these posts from the pro recall constituents. This is a politically devisive term that has been overused in our political system. Can someone clarify for me how this community represses diversity, and how the BOD has supported this repression? It sounds like Woke BS to me.

Ann

12/7/2021 01:57:30 pm

My guess is that in this case, they mean "diversity" of homeowners on committees ( as I have heard that spoken of. )
I don't think that the term is meant to be politically driven in this case. I think it means diversity of owners outside of the clique of the HOA President and his cohorts.
There is clear and obvious favoritism in the process of who is chosen and who is not. That is a well known fact at DP.

Disenfranchised Homeowner

12/6/2021 09:16:40 pm

Now that you are back on the property (after a 19 month absence) and you survived the recall…

• Are you going to work for all DPPS residents or continue to favor just a few?

• Will you be respectful and have open and transparent meetings “for all” or are you going to continue to rule as a tyrant and hide behind closed meetings?

• Now that all the board members are on site, will you all be showing up in person at the Masters Lounge for the board meetings (including this Friday 12/10) or will you continue to hide behind your computer screens on Zoom?

• Will the board stop making arbitrary financial decisions and explore decisions based on facts?

There are many willing homeowners with knowledge and business experience right on our property that could contribute if given the chance. Will you continue to “stack” the committees with the same people and ignore willing homeowners?

Peter Webb, you may have won this battle but you have not won the war. The problems brought up by the recall campaign are still prevalent and they will not be swept under the rug.
.
“The times they are a changin”. You can be an agent of change or continue to divide this community. It’s your choice!!!

Frustrated

12/6/2021 10:07:58 pm

This has been a monumental waste of all our time and resources. The real question is, when will you end this madness and accept that the MAJORITY of home owners don’t agree with you. Will YOU and those who have launched this farce accept defeat and quit wasting our time and resources on this. Question asked, question answered. MOVE ON!!

Joan

12/7/2021 01:54:13 pm

I respectfully disagree with your calling it a farce. It is a legal process available for good reason.
And I would like to ask, what "time" wasted are you referring to?
Who's "time" was wasted?
So in the case of OJ Simpson... since he was let off, was that time wasted of the courts? Should they just never have attempted to prosecuted him because the court system failed in that case and he was let off?
In regard to "resources", the recall was launched to attempt to ultimately SAVE DP's resources! Why don't you take a look at DP's reserve study. Once that fund goes in the RED, be it 2024 as the report shows or a little later than that; GOOD LUCK should you try to sell your DP real estate if god forbid someone needs a loan. BANKS WON'T LEND TO BUYERS IN DP IF THAT HAPPENS. Wake up!

Anon

12/7/2021 09:04:36 am

It really appears as though some person or small group of people has been personally offended by Mr Webb and made it their pet project to try to remove him. My observations continue to be that this group is disingenuous.

Again, the post states:

" - Will all homeowners be treated with respect regardless of opinions?

The blog would like to hear your thoughts. Click on the link below to leave a comment."

Yet my previous, very respectful posts were never posted. This blog DOES NOT want to hear my thoughts. The blog is NOT treating me fairly regardless of opinion.

A

Benji

12/7/2021 10:39:23 am

Hi. My name is Benji and I am a 18 month old puppy. I am in desperate need of a temporary home. ( preferably a Villa ) I am so afraid my owner Peter is going to discover that I was a member of Respect4all and I voted for the recall. I'm not so afraid of the huge fines I will be assessed because I don't have any pockets to carry money in any how but the possibility of going to a dog pound really freaks me out. I am always reminded that my owner is the President of the Board and it is unwise to disagree with him. Just glad I'm not a girl dog. Please help if you can.
Your friend, Benji

Bobby B

12/8/2021 11:37:54 am

As we all know, the Recall of Peter Webb resulted in 314 homeowners voting to remove him from the board of directors. It wasn't quite enough to accomplish the task, but it should serve as a wake up call to him and the other board members who are disrespectful and who are pushing through punitive policies that penalize and fine homeowners for infractions that in no way warrant $5000 to $15,000 fines.

Unfortunately, Peter Webb is obviously not going to figure it out any time soon, especially with his pompous "victory lap" emails not to mention his jaw dropping prepared rant prior to adjourning the ballot count meeting on Monday, December 6th. After the announcement of the results, board member Terri Swartz urged Peter Webb to call to adjourn the meeting but he refused, stating that he wanted to say a few words. Peter Webb then proceeded to deliver a prepared 6-minute "victory speech" that was filled with venom and vitriol and was absolutely appalling coming from our leadership, not to mention the "upstanding, courteous, compassionate, seasoned leader" he proclaimed to be in all of his campaign materials. He acted like a total jackass and what he was saying was the very reason for the Recall. Just for the record, there was dead silence from his fellow board members as Peter Webb used HOA resources that we all pay for to deliver his self-serving diatribe. Are his fellow board members finally getting the message? Is there a chance they will stop being lemmings and following his lead?

The Respect4AllDPCC committee representative, Michelle Simson, was not given equal time to respond to Peter Webb's speech that was the epitome of the very behavior that the 314 homeowers who voted to remove him from the board cited and opposed in the campaign. In our American democracy both sides are given an equal opportunity to speak and once again this autocratic HOA leadership of ours chose to disregard and trample our rights as homeowners.

Peter Webb's speech showed him to be a doddering bitter old man who railed on about how much stress he and his family had been under through the Recall process. He then went into a harangue about his new 18-month old dog, Benji. He said that poor Benji had been traumatized and was deeply affected by what this opposition group had done to his parents. Really? This is the man who is not only a board member but is the president of the board? This man is self-absorbed and incompetent and should not be leading our community. He didn't even understand what Terri Swartz was proposing during the meeting when she suggested a recess during the actual time the ballots were being tallied so that Peter would stop his constant stream of incomprehensible and damning chatter. And he actually had to ask Terri Swartz what she meant by recessing the meeting until it was time to announce the ballot results.

I hope you all take this to heart and remember it when you vote in February for the 3 vacant board seats. It's time for new faces, new blood, and new progressive ideas and solutions to our problems.

Coming soon...a vote to have all homeowners each pay $33 a month for 15 years to retire a $5.2M loan for new foliage, flora and fauna on the property that with interest will cost us at least $7.2M at today's interest rates.

Coming in October...another increase in the HOA fees to cover the increasing costs, especially for O'Connell and our landscaping. You are going to pay more and get a whole lot less in services and tangibles.

Coming by the end of this year...a new landscaping policy that penalizes condo owners by making them responsible for cleaning up around their condos. It also urges villa owners to "opt-out" of landscaping services and engage their own private landscaping personnel with no refund to their HOA dues.

Coming sooner than you think...a rapidly diminishing Reserve fund that is going to cause chaos and catastrophic damage to our property values and a lack of sources for mortgages in Desert Princess, not to mention unwarranted special assessments to replenish the funds.

Hopefully coming soon...better food and more conducive hours of operation at the restaurant, and a real golf management entity who can bring in some revenue to ease the ever-increasing costs to the homeowners who support both businesses.

Stay tuned for more to come!!!

Michelle Simson

12/8/2021 03:24:23 pm

Bobby B, you articulated beautifully what prompted this recall initiative, a mechanism available to owners concerned about the community governance.

Unfortunately it does appear our Board President views the failure of this effort as a victory. What exactly did he win? 57 % of all eligible voters did not participate in this exercise. Of the 685 ballots cast, 54% supported his leadership.....doing the math, in his position, I would not be doing a victory lap. Had 30 votes fallen to the recall side, this community initiative would have succeeded.

In reading his thank you message to his friends today, his bizarre comments at the meeting on Monday, please forgive me if I am skeptical he will put this process behind him as he's claimed.

As the victim of several pathetic attempts at retribution for merely sponsoring the homeowner petition, I can state I intend to put this effort behind me with a sense of pride that I had the honor and privilege to represent hundreds of disenfranchised owners and will continue to pursue open, transparent and equitable governance for ALL at Desert Princess.

12/8/2021 03:54:16 pm

Simply well said. No opinion - just facts (as frightening as they are). Thank you Bobby B.

Terry Albright

12/8/2021 05:18:19 pm

You said it all Bobby. You articulated precisely what the committee understood and attempted to relate to the homeowners. Given the fact that half of the homeowners didn't bother to vote ( historically no surprise ) the final tally shows that homeowners are tuning in and will continue to be a force to reckon with. Your comments along the way were astute and appreciated by many. Thank you so much.

Joan

12/8/2021 03:23:44 pm

I am perplexed to see Russ H's name on the candidate list.
Senate Bill 432 states that if the HOA's ByLaws stipulate term limits for directors, they must be adhered to. Our ByLaws state that a director is only allowed to serve 2 three year terms plus one partial term by appointment (whatever that means.)
It is my understanding that Russ H, has already run 2 consecutive 3 year terms.
From reading Senate Bill 432, the Desert Princess ByLaws, etc, I do not understand how Russ is running again?
Lastly, this is nothing personal to Russ. I am simply trying to understand what is going on because from what I am reading, I don't see how he is legally allowed to run for re-election.
Can anyone shed some light on this?

Vivian Wilson

12/12/2021 05:58:38 am

This new landscaping policy is absurd. Why aren’t the villa owners included in this new proposal ? How many seasonal condo owners are there in DP who won’t be here to clean up each time our trees and bushes are trimmed ? Why propose a 5 million dollar project to beautify DP when every golfer will see neglected patios throughout the complex ? Will we be fined if we are not here to clean up the mess ? It’s not even like we can hire someone to clean our patios in our absence because the work schedules constantly change. Or better yet, the condo homeowners who rent will likely bear the cost for more workers to clean because after all it’s the renters who make the most mess.

Dianne

12/12/2021 10:57:47 am

These are very good points made Vivian. Why would we spend $5 MILLION dollars to update landscaping when they don't want to take care of what we have? What is the point?! It makes no sense. Sounds like a vanity project to me. We have structural issues that need attention. Pools that need rehab that look like Motel 6. Why don't we take care of what we already have first?!
It's too bad that Peter has directed the BOD to no longer answer homeowner questions raised at the meetings. Or else, I would suggest emailing these questions to them to answer at the next meeting. But I am afraid that it seems like most of our questions and concerns fall into the black hole of Peter's inbox. The only forum we really have left to voice concerns in any kind of 2-way communication are the homeowner chats. And even those, are censored on some level. Especially the summaries of them --> Always censored with meeting minutes biasly concocted to suit the BODs objectives.

Anonymous

12/12/2021 01:26:36 pm

All the concerns raised with respect to the multi-million dollar landscape project that we will have to go into debt for are extremely well-taken.

The issue of the condo owners is interesting. One would logically think the condo owners proposal for patio extensions would be re-considered and hopefully approved, BEFORE launching the community into debt.

Condo owners who wished to extend their patios at their OWN expense, would reduce overall lawn maintenance by doing so, planting desertscape to enhance these patios, again at their own expense, thus potentially mitigating the capital investment required by DP, which will be BORROWED money does seem to make sense.

I agree that if we can't maintain what we have, why invest millions of OUR dollars into more we can't maintain.

Cyndie

12/18/2021 12:29:25 pm

I for one, am 100% interested in being able to extend the landscaping across my back patio at my own expense. I am also 100% not interested in having me fees go up, getting an assessment or watching reserves go read to "upgrade" landscaping when there is a cut-back on what already exists. Also, while the annual plantings look nice by the gate etc, I don't need them by my house. They die off quickly, they are not planted deep enough, they are places haphazardly, and I wind up having to yank most of them out myself. Perhaps we can cut back on that (yes, I realize just not planting by house won't change a thing, but I may not be alone!)

Terry

12/12/2021 03:15:14 pm

The above comments seem to add up to one thing in my opinion. At current operating costs DP lacks the resources to operate without cutting back services and/or increasing HOA fees. I will certainly not vote to borrow over $5,000,000 for a vanity project when condo owners will now be responsible for the clean up of vegetation tailings around their units. We need to look at replacing our for profit landscape contractor. We need to actually attract the public to our golf courses and our restaurant. We need to look at replacing our management firm with one that has a vision about utilizing our facilities to create revenue streams. We need to grow our reserve funds instead of borrowing money for god knows what. I'm a 80% disabled vet who is not up for landscaping work. Has anyone here actually lived on a budget?

12/18/2021 12:30:16 pm

Agree 100% Terry.

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Charter

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