Dear SaveMarinaHills
I attended the Board meeting for the first time this month. At
the beginning of the meeting the microphones were not working, so it
was impossible
to hear what the members of the Board were saying and also the people standing
at the podium providing reports of who knows what. [After] the President
of the Board realized the microphones were not working, she did not request
anyone to check into the problem, it was as
if it was not important. I also thought why didn't she stand up to
speak? This would have helped to project her voice towards the back
of the room. My thought was, she needed the security of her chair
and table in order to talk. I did not find her to be a very well
spoken person or secure in her position, as President should be.
Once the microphones were working I still was amazed that there were
six people sitting at the front table and only one microphone, which
was
not always
used by the person talking to the homeowners. I also noticed discussions
among the Board members that I could not hear, and I was sitting in the
second row.
Constantly I was wondering what was going on, and thinking
what did he/she say? I think every person sitting at the front
table should have a microphone so the home owners can hear everything
that is
being said by the Board members and the three people sitting at the side
table? [I am] not completely sure who they are and the purpose for their
being at the meeting.
I would like to see the agenda for the meeting while the meeting is being
conducted. This would assist the HO to understand the meeting format
and what is to be discussed and when. My suggestion would be an
overhead projection of the agenda, with it being replaced with a treasury
report
for the HO to see what is being approved, or perhaps if something should
be questioned. I would like to see an overhead of all reports being
submitted by Keystone, Villa Park Maintenance, etc. including a copy
of section this or that the Board is voting on!
Also, I thought I heard something about an election coming up??? I
have no idea what they were talking about. My own thought of what
I concluded about the 3 board members in attendance were:
Member
at Large [Tom Szwajkos], did not want to look the HO in their faces
when he spoke, he looked
down at the papers so not to make eye contact with the HO so no one
would feel like they could ask him a question. By the way, are HO
allowed
to speak when the Board decides something between themselves?
Jane Dry,
appeared she only knows one routine to follow during a meeting, and
if during the meeting anything catches her off guard, she does
not know how to handle it. And Member at Large [Tom Szwajkos], would
make his presence know. She would not be a good poker player,
she clearly becomes huffed up and tense when she thinks she might be
challenged
or when she
does not
like what is being said.
I thought [Jane Dry] and the treasurer [Vito
Ferrante] appeared to be in a defensive mode during the entire meeting.
I did not find
the meeting to be geared toward the interest of the HO. I have
few more thoughts, so I will try to summarize these.
1. The lady that was being sued by OUR association, she stated she did
respond to our Mr. Lawyer in the time frame requested. So she did
not understand why she just received papers to go to court. Are the HO
involved in the decision to use our funds to pay legal fees for a lawsuit? Also,
if she did respond in time, and Mr. Lawyer {richard Tinnelly] decided
to filed a case to go to court, who would make that decision? And
wouldn't filling a court case cost us (meaning our homeowner's fund)
money for legal fees and court fees to file? I didn't see the Board
Members thinking about this or the need to question why a case was filed
at this
time.
2. How is it decided what legal firm the association will contract with?
And for how long? (I'm wondering who Mr. Lawyer is a relative of
?) Does
the legal firm have to sign a conflict of interest statement when hired?
3. The same questions for all the other firms we contract with, such
as Keystone [Pacific] and Villa Park? Do we ever go to bid on services
we contract out?
4. Who does oversee Cheryl Wilson? Such as her scope of duties,
attendance, benefits, sick pay, holidays, insurance? Who decides
if she should receive a salary increase, etc. Who is actually her
employer of record? Who covers her Workers Comp insurance, writes
out her paychecks, pays the State, Federal, and all the other taxes,
does she have State Disability and who is paying the employer side of
it? Does
anyone check to see if her salary is comparable to other positions in
the general O.C. area for the job duties required? How much vacation
time does she receive? What is the back up plan if she needed to
take a leave of absence or quit? I don't know what her job
responsibilities are, but if it is not a conflict of interest could the
position be contracted by Keystone Mangt.? Do we need a full time
position? Maybe Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 8:00 to 1:00, and
Tues & Thurs 11:00 to 5:00? It -would be nice to see someone
in the office on Saturday, since people that work Mon-Friday usually
cannot come to the office during the week.
5. Architecture Committee: What are the requirements to be of the Committee,
where can a person read the responsibilities of the job/requirements? [I
recently talked to someone who was thinking] of
applying. Recently
she had to attend a couple of meetings to submit paperwork for changes
she
wanted
to
make. She
told me after doing so that she did not want to apply for the position
because there
was some old mean nasty man on the committee and she would not want to
be on a committee with him. I was surprised to hear at the Board
Meeting that many people have applied, have not received an answer back,
but
they were still looking for member.
6. I don't agree with the decision of removing
the Board Meeting off the calendar on the web site. If I posted
something incorrectly, do you think my boss would say, oh well we won't
post it anymore
then no one can report mistakes.
7. Could the executive meeting and the HO Board meeting be reversed? This
would provide more time for the HO to go to the meetings. I work
later hours and don't arrive home until 6:30 to 7:00. I think this
may be the same situation for several people.
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