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12/24/2021 13 Comments

Why can’t the Homeowners participate in the Annual Candidates Election Forum?

The HOA’s  Annual Candidates Election Forum is scheduled on January 8th, 2022 at 2:00 pm.
This will be a Zoom meeting.  The Homeowner attendees will not be able to ask questions or have a dialog with any of the Candidates.  Any questions for the candidates must be submitted to the HOA before the meeting.  A “representative sample of the questions” will be used at the Candidates Election Forum.
This format raises a number of questions?
  • Who is going to decide what the “representative sample of the questions” will be?

  • Will “representative sample questions” introduce filtered content and bias into the questions the board decides to include in the forum?

  • Will each question be directed to all Candidates?
 
  • What provisions are there for securing the questions and assuring the no candidate will see the questions before the forum?
 
  • Who is going to read the questions and moderate?

  • How can the homeowners get to know the candidates if they cannot have a direct conversation with the candidates?
 
  • If the purpose of the forum is for homeowners to ask questions of the candidates, why are we having a Zoom meeting where all homeowners are not allowed participate?
​
 
The Blog would like to know your thoughts. 
13 Comments
Concerned Homeowner
12/27/2021 04:05:24 pm

Here are my issues with the format of the candidates meeting:

• I was so looking forward to meeting all the candidates face to face and that will not be happening.

• Seeing someone on zoom just doesn’t do it for me. I want to see their expressions when the questions are being asked and I want to have the opportunity to see their faces.

• These candidates will be making some very important decisions about all our futures over the next 3 years.

• The format will be skewed toward the 2 existing board members that are running.

• Why not make it an even playing field to give new and existing board members an equal chance to mingle with their constituents?


I take my voting rights very seriously. Why can’t we meet in person? The rest of the world is adapting to the ever changing world of Covid 19! What is the board hiding now?

We as a community should demand transparency for this election process. Being new to the desert princess community I want to have a chance to see the board electoral process in all its glory. I want to be able to make an intelligent and educated decision.

This meet the candidates Forum must be open and in person as it has been in all past elections

Why has the HOA and board taking away that right?

Reply
Marianne Thomas link
12/28/2021 06:36:49 am

This is ridiculous. Who ever heard of having a candidate forum and not being able to ask them questions. I belong to a club on the East coast and we have a slate of candidates each year. Their bios are published and then there is a gathering to meet and greet with them. We can ask all the questions we want. What are the candidates at the DP afraid of? Not answering a question in sync with what the current members of the board tell them to say.?

Reply
Maggie Hood
1/4/2022 04:53:19 pm

the board has taken away OUR rights to hear the candidates and ask questions. If there are CC&Rs that say someone can't run again, that person can't run again. This should be in person, per that mask ordinance. And everyone should be wearing one except when a candidate speaks.

Barbara Kitzman
12/28/2021 06:41:16 am

We are still in a pandemic so a Zoom meeting is warranted.

Reply
Trevor M
12/28/2021 08:02:01 am

You are correct Barbara a zoom meeting is the best way. Past years the homeowners were allowed to ask questions of the candidates. We could also submit questions and have them randomly pulled and asked. The board is very secretive and wants the candidates they are supporting to win. We wouldn't want new homeowners on the board with new ideas, would we? No, they would rather have Russ who has had 6 years on the board be reelected. Which by the way is completely against our Desert Princess Bylaws!!! The bylaws say board members have a 2-term limit which equates to 6 years. Which now asks another question. If Russ Holowachuk is willing not to comply with our bylaws, what other rules is he willing to break?

Susan
12/27/2021 09:06:19 pm

MY DESERT PRINCESS BLOG has been conceived as a means to exchange information and observations about the business and lifestyles of the Desert Princess Palm Springs Resort. It is not affiliated with the HOA.
This statement is so untrue except “It is not afflicted with the HOA.” I have written a couple of comments and they are not published. You have published comments from a dog and other aliases but not from anyone that questions your forum. Who is the concerned homeowners on the above comment? If you are going to do a blog please do not pick and choose the comments that agree with you. Please publish them all. I know I am not the only person you have not published.

Reply
Judge
12/29/2021 07:01:16 am

Will this ever end? Why can't the board listen to the homeowners request? Communication is a huge issue here!

Reply
niki king link
12/30/2021 01:14:09 pm

I am BEYOND SADDENED to just discover that we now cannot do loans using FNMA or Refinance because of the decisions of this current HOA!!!! I am a homeowner AND a Realtor AND a Lender and I need to do a refinance and was just informed I NO LONGER can... This is going to Destroy part of my financial Retirement portfolio in excess of over $200,000!!!! WE need to rise up together as YOU or someone YOU love could be next! This is crazy! What else is being hidden? This is disrupting my career as well as my home and my investment here at DP.

Reply
Kathy Rogers
12/30/2021 02:19:30 pm

What specifically has the HOA done to prevent you from re-financing?

Reply
Maggie Hood
1/4/2022 04:51:13 pm

I too was unable to do a re-fi - was notified a couple weeks ago. This is a SERIOUS ISSUE. we need to demand a board meeting that discusses THIS issue specifically and provide us with an explanation. I've been reading posts and emails about this all day. WE owners need answers and we should be VERY concerned. According to an owner/Realtor, it has to do with co-mingling of the HOA and the Country Club. The board, I believe, voted to APPROVE a merger, which a prior respondant says will be the DEATH of DP.....and will kill off any possibility of loans for the future. As a REaltor myself, I can tell you, this will kill our property values, and make it so only investors can buy in here. OH, but even THEY won't buy in here because of the new $350 FEE for EACH rental property that was just approved. We are screwed

OG
1/7/2022 09:52:13 am

Russ Holowachuk Should Withdraw As An HOA Board Candidate. His running is against the
HOA CC&R’s and only allowed due to a legal loophole that now has been closed!

Director Russ Holowachuk is running for a third term as a member of the DP Board of Directors. Our CC&R’s specifically disallow this, as a Homeowner is only allowed to run for two terms. The CC&R’s never intended for a Homeowner to be a Director for NINE YEARS!

The loophole that has allowed Mr. Holowachuk to run again was created by the Sacramento Legislature last year when they temporarily disallowed HOA term limits, who then figured out they had made a mistake and reinstated the ability for a HOA to have term limits as soon as possible … as of this past January 1st, 2022. Because our election was announced last September before the loophole closure, Mr. Holowachuk can side-step our CC&R’s and neglect the intent of our HOA operating guidelines due to this temporary loophole.

Mr. Holowachuk should recognize, acknowledge and respect the intent and direction created within our CC&R’s, and although legally allowed to do so, should not run again for the Board. If he continues to do so, it is a very strong comment that Mr. Holowachuk will neglect the intention of the guiding rules of the HOA for his personal interests. This is wrong!

Reply
Bill Bender
1/9/2022 05:02:11 pm

I asked about myself being able to get onto the Board and was told that I was not allowed to because I had already served two three-year terms. The question I have is - Did I get bad information or are there different rules for different people?

Reply
Anne
1/17/2022 02:10:22 pm

Bill, you did the honorable thing by inquiring based on your past service. This speaks volumes about your character. There are two sets of rules these days in DP. The fact that Howolachuk is using a weak technicality, undoubtedly reasearched by our lawyers to cling to power, says volumes about HIS character as well. Hopefully the owners will see through this sham and shut him out. He didn't get my vote and I'm urging others to do the same.


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    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.

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