CascadeLakesResidents.com

07/14/21 BOD MEETING:  SYNOPSIS AND COMMENTARY BY VICKI ROBERTS WITH ASSISTANCE FROM ARTHUR ANDELSON

Posted July 16, 2021. Your Editor provides the following synopsis of the July 14, 2021 Board meeting, with assistance from your Roving Reporter, and with commentary and satire indicated in bold blue and pictures. 

Editor’s Opening Monologue:

This edition is entitled, “First Lady and the Trampler”

(Not to be confused with the Disney classic, Lady and the Tramp.)

(Notice there’s no telephone near their dining area; more on that shortly.)

Now normally we don’t comment on unelected officials unless there is a specific relevance to the community at large.  Such is the case with the wife of the current president of this HOA who, in her regular column in the last two News & Views, the official monthly magazine of your corporation, felt compelled to advise you that she was your “First Lady” ever since her husband was elected to the Board and the Board then chose him as the president.

The first time I saw this I was willing to ignore it, because frankly I thought it was a joke and I chuckled.  Many others disagreed with me and believed she meant what she wrote.  But then it appeared in the next issue again, and I realized that all the others were probably right, and I was probably wrong: she was serious, and therefore this is serious and newsworthy. 

Mrs. Barbara Green aka your “First Lady” according to her, also told you when you can and cannot call your elected Director, her husband.  Apparently, according to her column in the May News & Views, page 8, you cannot call during dinner (“no calls during dinner”), and she also admonished all of you that dinner “could be as early as 5:00pm or as late as 8:00pm,” at her discretion on any given day, so that entire time block is out. 

She’s not telling you when exactly dinner is on any given day, and after 8:00pm is a tad late, so essentially, she is telling you not to ever contact your elected represented to have a substantive discussion with him well before the clock strikes five in the afternoon on any given day of the week.  Please set your alarm clocks and timers accordingly.

We guess this also includes the time she is in New York, too, because she did not circulate her “First Lady” travel itinerary to you, but her last column in the July News & Views on page 12 states that she wrote it from New York where she is presently residing for an unknown amount of time.  If anyone finds out what her return date is, please let the rest of us know as soon as possible.

The title of First Lady by its nature comes with privileges.  It is a position, if you will, that carries perks and responsibilities.  It is given to the wife of the elected leader of a country or state.  Most First Ladies are known or remembered for their charitable work, and some are admired for their humility.

Cascade Lakes Residents’ Association, Inc. is not a country or a state.  It is a nonprofit corporation.  All members are created equal.  Its By-Laws provide that the president of the HOA, who is chosen by other Directors and specifically not elected by the voting members, has three specific functions only:  sign checks and promissory notes, preside over board meetings, and make sure board orders are carried out.

This is very different from an elected President, which is the executive branch of any government, who is elected by the voting public at large.  That president has veto powers and a host of other duties and powers and is indeed the leader of that particular country or state (in the case of a state, he is referred to as a Governor, but he functions similarly to the President of the country).  Typically, Presidents of countries and Governors of states have First Ladies, as we have in the United States. 

Sometimes a word has more than one meaning.  For example, let’s take the word “sanction.”  Per the online Dictionary, it has two separate meanings:

1.  give official permission or approval for (an action).

"only two treatments have been sanctioned by the Food and Drug Administration"

2.  a threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule.

"a range of sanctions aimed at deterring insider abuse"

So, the word “sanction” could mean condone, or approve of, as in, “the President’s actions were sanctioned by the Congress.”  And sometimes it could mean the opposite, i.e., to punish, as in, “the court sanctioned the lawyer $1,000 for bringing forth a frivolous argument.”  It’s the same exact word, the word “sanction,” but in context, it means almost the opposite of its counterpart of the same spelling and pronunciation.

The same is true for the word “president.”  It has two distinct meanings, and they are completely unrelated to each other in terms of what they mean and what their functions are, even though they are spelled the same way and they are pronounced the same way. 

The word “president” means, in the one context, the elected leader of the people, elected by the populace at large (yes, we have an Electoral College, but most countries who elect Presidents don’t, and at the end of the day, he is essentially elected by the public).

In the other context it means what the specific corporation’s By-Laws state it means, which is in our case, the director who signs all legal documents and promissory notes, presides over Board meetings, and makes sure Board orders are carried out (By-Laws, Section VIII, Subsection G, subsection 1, page 3-10). 

In the HOA context, the president’s functions only involve Board actions, not matters involving the residents or the general public of residents, and the same is true for the vice-president, the treasurer, and the secretary of the HOA (the latter two of which don’t even have to be Board members).  These functions are strictly limited to and involved matters concerning the function of the Board only.

In fact, if you look at page 3-10 of the HOA’s By-Laws, you will see that the vice-president in fact has NO functions except to act in the president’s stead if the president is not available. 

In our case, the president was specifically not elected by the members at large.  He was chosen by the other Directors who can remove him at will, with or without cause (By-Laws, Section VIII, Subsection D, also page 3-10).  So, by definition, he does not fall under the first category of meaning, notwithstanding that it is the same word, the same spelling, and the same pronunciation.

So, for example, one of the men under arrest and detained in connection with the recent assassination of the Haitian President (an arrestee named James Solages) is himself the president of a nonprofit organization (with a mission statement to rebuild Haiti) with an office in Ft. Lauderdale.  Is his wife the First Lady of that nonprofit corporation?  No.

There are literally thousands and thousands of nonprofit corporations and each one has an officer entitled “president.”  We have never heard of the wife of any of them calling herself First Lady, and that’s because they all understand the difference between an elected executive (the President of a country) and an unelected office holder who, in our case, was chosen by his equal board directors only for the purpose of engaging in specifically enumerated tasks as spelled out in the corporation’s governing documents. 

There are literally millions of small corporations and all of them are required by the Department of State or the Secretary of State to have a named president listed yearly in their corporate filings and Statements of Information.  So, for example, the incorporated pizza company that owns the pizza parlor down the street has a president.  His wife is not the First Lady of Pizza. 

Likewise, most waste management companies which manage waste are incorporated entities which have a president as required by law.  The wife of each of those is not the First Lady of Sewage or, if you prefer, the Queen of Poop.

It is really the height of hubris (arrogance) and elitism to believe otherwise, and then to state more than once in the corporation’s official monthly magazine that it is so, that one is the “First Lady” of this HOA.  It is an affront to the equal members of this nonprofit corporation, and a lot of them are rightfully grumbling about it behind the scenes.  Eyes are rolling; grunts and sounds of disgust have been heard all over campus.  

If you need a fantasy to keep you going, perhaps pretending to be Tinker Bell would be viewed as less arrogant and offensive. 

Tinker Bell, who first appeared in Peter Pan in 1904, was described by her creator, J.M. Barrie, as a “common fairy.”  Barrie described Tinker Bell as a fairy who mended pots and kettles, an actual tinker of the fairy folk.  Though sometimes ill-tempered, spoiled, jealous, vindictive, and inquisitive, she is also helpful and kind to Peter.  (Citation: Wikipedia per their citation to Peter and Wendy, by J.M. Barrie, available at Gutenberg.org). 

Upon reflection, this Tinker Bell moniker is actually starting to look like a much better fit.  Oh, and by the way, there is no mention in the fairy tale that this common fairy ever carried with her an implied demand that others treat her different from or better than everyone else.  And there is nothing mentioned in the fairy tale about Tinker Bell demanding that no one contact Peter Pan during his dinner time, whenever that is.

As we stated above, the title First Lady comes with privileges, perks, and responsibilities.  Tinker Bell, according to the fairy tale, did not appear to possess any particular privileges or perks, and she also did not appear to take on any significant responsibilities. 

The moral of this story is:  sometimes there aren’t two sides to every story.  Sometimes the ugly facts are just what they are.

This elitism has also infected the president of this nonprofit corporation, who is trampling on your rights by engaging in behavior contrary to his obligations to you.  Yep, he’s a trampler all right.  He’s even tried to trample on this News Site’s credibility by using your money to have a lawyer discredit your Editor, just like his predecessor who tried to shut us down using the same law firm twice.  All of those efforts failed miserably, cost them their own credibility, and cost you a pretty penny.

And this was after Jeff promised your Editor in an open meeting on October 19, 2020 specifically that that would not happen again, i.e., the use of HOA money to go after your Editor would not reoccur:  see the October 21, 2020 synopsis and commentary entitled, “DEFLECTION AND PROJECTION” where the following exchange was reported verbatim from the October 19, 2020 budget meeting:

“At the October 19, 2020 meeting, Jeff D. Green, the Budget Committee Chairperson, made a detailed and thorough presentation.  He did a wonderful job.  The following exchange took place:

“Your Editor:  How much was spent in 2020 on the lawyers for issues related to Arthur and my writing commentaries on our News Site, CascadeLakesResidents.com?

Jeff:  We won’t have that experience anymore.

Vicki:  Oh, you mean you won’t be harassing us anymore?

Jeff:  I haven’t been harassing you. 

Vicki:  Not you, the Board.

Jeff:  We’ve lowered the legal fee and hopefully they won’t harass you anymore.

Vicki:  oh, great!  Thank you!  What is the breakdown?

Jeff:  I’m not at liberty to say. 

Vicki:  oh, so you have the information.

Marion:  send a written request and we will research it.

Vicki:  to Deborah or to Marion?

Marion:  either is ok.

Vicki:  Thank you.””

And he then went ahead and did the same exact thing, again with your money.

Jeff also apparently believes that his “attorney general” is his alone (along with the vice-president, Harvey Ginsberg) because not only did these two contact the HOA attorney with your money without telling the other Board members, but Jeff had the unmitigated gall of telling another Board member during that Board meeting to go out and get her own attorney if she had any issues with what his attorney was saying. 

Apparently, he forgot that the lawyer represents the HOA through the entire Board, not just the directors who possess the offices of president and vice-president.  Or, he knew, and ignored that fact deliberately.  You decide.

This was also the same Board meeting, that of June 23, 2021, where the current president, Jeff D. Green, apparently but erroneously believed that he has veto power over the Agenda, and he caused not to be listed a co-equal Board member’s item on the Agenda as she had requested and was entitled to have included. 

Instead, to make matters worse, he and his cohort, the vice-president, Harvey Evita Three Dog Night (Guinea) Pig Ginsberg, used your money to hire the lawyer and then, at the same time, added the very same item to the Agenda after the legal fees were unnecessarily incurred. 

These abuses of power alone should cause the other Board members to wake up and remove these officers from their offices because you, Board members, are giving away all of your power and have become ineffective, and you have silenced the voice of the community who elected you to represent them and their best interests.  It is very troubling to watch the rest of the Board members sit there like a bunch of monks who have taken a vow of silence while this abuse of authority is swirling all around them. 

This elitism of the current president, Jeff D. Green, also spilled over onto the tennis courts recently where he interrupted a game being played by four residents, one of whom was Board member Alan Silver, to discuss some non-emergency business with him.  The other three players stood there waiting for this discussion to end for about five minutes (in the middle of the game!) and Alan Silver permitted the president to engage in this elitism instead of telling him to wait until the game was over. 

Needless to say, this was also against the tennis rules.  Lowly HOA members:  try that on the courts one day and see the reaction you would get. 

Warning:  don’t try this Tennis Interruptus again, Jeff, on a court that your Roving Reporter, Arthur, is playing on.  You will be called out clearly, and a complaint with the Sports Director will be promptly filed concerning your violation of the sportsmanship conduct expected of everyone, both on and off the courts, both in terms of the sports center rules here and the USTA rules which our Rules & Regs specifically state apply to conduct on our tennis courts.

And the rest of you Board members, we suggest you get Jeff’s pool schedule and show up when he holds court there, so you, too, can know what’s going on behind your backs.  And maybe Director Bob can join those pool sessions via Zoom since he’s a snowbird. 

There is a small group of elitists in this community that controls the community.  It includes the former president of this HOA, Marion Weil.  Marion, the last president of the HOA, was roundly defeated at the polls and came in last out of seven candidates and lost badly.  You sent a very clear message that you wanted her nowhere near any position of power over you.  You sent a clear message that you wanted change. 

Instead, as soon as the new Board began its term, this former president, Marion Weil, was placed in charge of communication again:  both as a webmistress determining what you can and cannot say on the HOA message board, and as an editor of the HOA’s monthly magazine, News & Views, apparently determining (either alone or with one or more editors) what goes in the magazine and who is blacklisted from contributing to it. 

Marion and perhaps with one or more other editors of News & Views also apparently determined that the list of committee chairs and advisory group personnel will not be accurate because according to her and/or them, it shall not list the actual people, such as your Editor, who should be listed under COBWRA and the Legal Advisory Group.  This omission is dishonest.  Dishonesty is never a good trait to cultivate.

Director Harvey Ginsberg (who just squeaked by in getting re-elected) is the Board liaison to the Webmasters, so no surprise there.  Director Richard Greene is the Board liaison to News & Views.  Where is he on all of this?

Elitism warps perspective.  Perspective is everything.  How you view things colors your opinion of them.  If you view something from a narrow perspective, you might miss the big picture and end up being totally misinformed.

Likewise, if you view things from an elitist perspective, you might not be acting in the best interests of your fellow residents and what the majority of them actually want or prefer.

In conclusion, some of the people you elected once again are completely disregarding your wishes.  They are completely disrespectful, they don’t follow the rules, and they try to shut anybody up who tries to get in their way, or they remain silent when their colleagues engage in this behavior.  We feel your intense frustration.  We need members to step up and run for the Board who are not afraid to speak up and speak out against this incessant elitism.

And now on to the Board meeting of the HOA, led by Tinker Bell’s husband.

Board Meeting:  Audio and Video Up and Running; Zoom meeting online starts at 9:30am.

Board Members Present:

Jeff D. Green (Board member and office of President) [still seething over the last synopsis]

Harvey Ginsberg (Board member and office of VP) [seething since the October 7, 2020 synopsis entitled Three Dog Night]

Richard Greene (Board member and office of Treasurer)

Alan Silver (Board member and office of Secretary)

Linda Arbeit (Board member)

Bob Dingee (Board member)

Sue Schmer (Board member)

Call to Order:  Jeff D. Green.

Pledge of Allegiance: led by Sue Schmer.  [Sue had a flag and asked everyone to rise.]

Jeff’s Opening Remarks and Announcements:

[Editor’s note: Jeff gave essentially the same scripted speech reminding everyone that the HOA has one official website (which is controlled by disgraced former president Marion Weil and equally disgraced current vice-president Harvey Ginsberg).  He made sure to mentioned it not once, but twice, just in case you weren’t clear on it.

He also made an important point about exterior work being done without HOA approval as follows.]

Jeff:  for any changes to the exterior of a resident’s home, an ARB application must be submitted prior to the work being done.  If the work has been done and completed prior to the application being submitted, the resident will get a letter stating that the work was done prior to submitting the application and the ARB will not approve the application after the fact.  The rationale for that is that if an issue arose, like an irrigation or utility break caused by a resident or contractor, the HOA is not to be held liable if 811 or Palm Beach Broward was not notified, had not been notified.  Thank you about that.

First Residents’ Input Session:

If you want to speak, raise your hand where it is indicated at the bottom of the screen.

1.  Vicki Roberts:  Old Business #3, Iguana Addendum, Jeff Green.  So once again, the Board has not given even a modicum of information for the residents to provide meaningful input on an Agenda item before the Board votes on it.  The residents are left to guess as to what this is about.  So here is my guess.

Currently the HOA contracts out to a company to kill iguanas found on the property.  Per the property manager’s report at a prior board meeting, in the year 2020 they captured and killed 95 of these gentle giants. 

In January 2021 when the contract was up for renewal, some members of the Board tried to expand that to killing them on the berms which are owned by Lake Worth Drainage District (LWDD).  The iguana killing company wanted to do it because they make money off the meat of the creatures they kill.  The more they are authorized to kill, the more profit they make on the back end by selling the meat.

That idea was shot down because some board members actually wanted the HOA to pay for the killing spree on non-HOA property.  It was as absurd as it is barbaric.  See our January 20, 2021 synopsis and commentary entitled “Saving Private Iguana from Bonnie and Clyde” for that discussion and analysis.

This time, the issue is raised again, the difference being that there would be no cost to the HOA; the iguana killing company just needs the HOA’s permission to add it to the HOA’s contract, and they will fund the additional carnage, including the permit required from LWDD, since they want to collect more iguanas for their iguana meat-selling business. 

Your Roving Reporter, my husband, Arthur, already saw one of their employees come back from the berm behind Landon Circle carrying two large iguanas back between the houses to meet their certain deaths.

On that occasion, which was approximately Tuesday, June 29, 2021, Arthur noticed that the employee went back behind the houses where there were no traps and remained back there for about 20 minutes and then returned with trash bags, and he also observed the employee take them out of the trash bags and hold them up in his hands to celebrate his haul just like a fisherman would do when showing off his prize-winning catches. 

This necessarily means that he went onto the berm without authority and literally snatched them from that protected area at that time.  With this discovery, he probably reported this to his boss, and the owner of the company then contacted our HOA because they realized what an opportunity the berm provides for their meat-selling operation.  In fact, it’s a hell of lot more profitable than the contract they have with the HOA.

Iguana meat goes for a whopping $15 a pound, and the monsters Arthur saw the man carrying, one in each hand, appeared to be about 20 pounds each.  So you can extrapolate the value to the iguana killing company that the expansion of the territory where they may hunt is to them.  Each of these two iguanas will net that company $300 (20 pounds times $15 per pound).  So that one haul alone which Arthur personally observed is worth $600 to that company.  The Landon/Grove Ridge Lane berm is worth thousands of dollars to them every month.

In conclusion, if the HOA is going to subsidize this disgusting killing spree, the company should really offer the HOA a large discount on the contract for this bonanza, or maybe even do the entire contract for free.  Better yet, stop rewarding this barbarism.

Approval of Minutes: June 23, 2021 Board meeting:  Alan Silver: 

Alan:  Motion to approve the Minutes of the June 23, 2021 Board meeting.  [It was seconded by Harvey or Sue.]  Jeff:  All in favor?  Unanimous.

Treasurer’s Report:  Richard Green: [Editor’s note:  the report is self-explanatory and was part of the notice to the community which contained the Agenda for the meeting.]

Property Manager’s Report:  Deborah Balka:

Deborah:  …mow… 13-14, 21-22, 28-29…Exit gates…normal wear and tear…

Committee Reports:

1.  CIT Committee: [Community Information Technology] Mike Blackman:  …expert database…Jot form for surveys…fitness center Sign Up Genius discontinued…  Cloud based technology…looking into…

2.  Entertainment:  Diane Fiorillo-Green: [Editor’s note:  flyers to follow.]

3.  Recreation:  Jeff F. Green:  Splish Splash Bingo…pool side…I asked all the clubs to give me their budgetary needs for 2022…

4.  YMCA/Fitness Center:  Barbara Appleby:  fitness center survey…concern…relying on the honor system and limited size of the fitness center room; ballroom is more suitable.

5.  Lakes:  Barry Gordon:  two weeks ago, checked all the lakes.  Everything is in good shape.  Might do Corbel Lake next, the banks again; we have reserve money for it.

6.  Budget:  Mark Goodman:  …will get Committee reports end of August, early September…

Old Business: 

[Editor’s note:  These items are still being ignored.  Details are found on our page entitled “Agenda Items.”]

A.  Rescinding illegal “Take Away Your Transponder If You Have An Estate Sale” vote.  –THIS RULE HAS BEING EXPANDED TO INCLUDE SECOND VIOLATIONS; THERE IS AN APPARENT OBSESSION WITH TRANSPONDERS.

B.  Rescission of the improper banning of Alex from the community

C.  Improper use of HOA funds

D.  Improper expansion of Presidential powers

E.  Disabling of the Zoom meeting Chat function

F. Clubs and Their Asinine Rules  -- HANDLED; CLUB RULES NEUTERED; AWAITING NOTICE TO COMMUNITY, NEW RULES TO BE EMAILED TO ALL RESIDENTS, REMOVAL OF BOGUS PICKLEBALL CLUB RULES FROM HOA WEBSITE

G.  Two incident reports

H.  All incident reports are to immediately go to all Board members

I.  Weekly email blasts; News & Views dedicated page for president; president assuming too many liaison positions that target communication and final decisions

J.  Eliminate Liaisons To Vendors; Property Manager and HOA Attorney To Report To All Board Members

K.  Expenditures That Are Not Revealed To The Community Need to Be Openly Disclosed; Where Does Your Money Go? 

L.  Message Board Suspensions 

M. Webmasters Making Board Decisions 

NEW ENTRIES ON THE LIST:

[none at this time.]

1.  Asphalt Update – Bob Dingee

[Editor’s note:  this is the road resurfacing project.  There was a Zoom meeting on Friday, July 16, 2021 at 11:00am to give everyone an update on the project status and how it’s going to work, and the video will be posted on the HOA website.  The project starts the first week of August and will take three to four weeks.]

2.  Update on facilities openings - Harvey Ginsberg

[Editor’s note:  Harvey made three separate motions as follows:

A.  Harvey’s first motion was for the clubhouse and fitness center to be open to 100% capacity effective immediately.  Upon information and belief, Sue seconded it.  It passed unanimously. 

B.  His second motion was to allow in-person classes in the fitness center starting July 26th.  Linda seconded it.  That passed unanimously. 

C.  His third motion was to extend the clubhouse and fitness center hours to 10pm beginning August 2nd and to open them up fully to vaccinated guests.  Bob seconded a prior version of it and Alan seconded the final version of it as reported here.  It passed unanimously.]

Deborah:  8am to 10pm clubhouse, 6:30am to 10pm, fitness center, seven days a week, effective August 2.

3.  Iguana Addendum – Jeff Green

Jeff:  Addendum, to add to the contract, include the Lake Worth Drainage District canal banks plus 10 homes, 5 homes per two weeks…motion to accept the addendum, no additional cost to the community.  Second:  Linda.

[Editor’s note:  see your Editor’s comments above in the First Residents’ Input Session about the real reason for this addendum.  Apparently, we guessed correctly.  Sue pointed out a potential problem with the language of the addendum, in that it “supersedes the scope of work” of the current contract.  No one else voiced any concerns. 

Sue wondered if or why no one from the Legal Advisory Group was asked to review this language.  Answer:  because Jeff D. Green, Board liaison to the group, apparently won’t give your Editor, the only resident legal contract expert, any contracts to review at this point.  He’s mad at your Editor for exposing his elitism, so you, HOA members, are going to suffer for it.  He also thinks he’s a contract expert, and if necessary he will have his attorney general, who is not a contract expert, review some contracts at his discretion.

In fact, Sue’s analysis is correct.  No one else cared except for Bob, who ultimately abstained.  The motion to accept the addendum passed 5-1-1 with Sue opposing and Bob abstaining. 

What is noteworthy is that Sue’s admonition, that the entire scope of work of the original contract is superseded, was challenged incorrectly by Jeff D. Green:

Jeff:  No. Not all the items, just how many homes…

This is not true, Jeff.  You clearly don’t understand what your colleague correctly stated.  She also stated that because the scope of work was superseded, the contract price should not be the same.  She is correct.  She stated the contract price should be less because they are doing less work.  She is again correct. 

This is no true addendum; this should have been an entirely new contract which replaced the original contract if that is what the Board wanted to do.  This incompetence is costing the HOA money because the HOA is getting less value for the same price, and the vendor is able to take advantage of this incompetence.

Sue also mentioned that the addendum stated, “until further notice,” and queried who determines that, the HOA or the vendor.  Usually that type of language benefits the party proposing the language, and certainly that was not the HOA in this case.

Sue stated it reads “will supersede contract scope of work specifications until further notice.”  Jeff stated, “that’s your interpretation, not mine.”  Actually, Jeff, Sue’s interpretation is correct, so the only conclusion to be drawn is that you don’t understand simple contract language.

Sue then asked if any of the Legal Advisory Group had seen this.  As stated above, the answer is no, and then Jeff got nasty again and claimed that the original contract was made by the prior Board that Sue was on and “it has nothing to do with this Board.” 

So what? How is that relevant and why is Jeff continually condescending to the one Board member who is asking legitimate and rightful questions? 

And why didn’t this Board renegotiate with the vendor to include the language that was already in there and should have remained?  This is an abomination, and to the extent Jeff did this on his own, it is a dereliction of his duty, in our opinion.  Why didn’t he work on fixing the obvious mistake that he had an opportunity to fix, instead of attacking another Board member for raising it?

Then the following exchange took place:

Harvey:  I would like to call the question.  [Editor’s note:  once again, as he has done in the past with the Virtual Guard matter, Harvey cut off the discussion Sue was engaged in, and moved to terminate it.] Jeff:  Motion to accept?  Second?  Harvey.  Alan:  Point of Order: calling the question requires a vote.  Jeff:  all in favor of calling the question?  Five.  [Then they went back to the proposed Addendum.]  Linda: I seconded it first.  Jeff:  All in favor?  5-1-1. [Sue opposed; Bob abstained.]

[Editor’s note:  So, to be clear, the iguana killing company is going onto the canal banks, but they are not going to do what they were doing before.  The scope of work is completely different and there should have been a complete renegotiation of the contract price because the scope of work changed significantly and materially.  Jeff, however, apparently didn’t understand that.  Sue did.  Bob had concerns about it, and that is likely why he abstained.  The rest of them went along like lambs to the slaughter.]

New Business:

1. APC sidewalk replacement $3,280 – Jeff Green

[Editor’s note:  tree roots uproot sidewalks which need to be repaired; 205 square feet.  Location not identified.  Motion by Jeff, seconded by Linda, passed unanimously.]

2.  Electric – Sports Fans - $2730 – Bob Dingee

[Editor’s note:  this item was tabled.  It is not in the budget for this year.]

3.  Sports Center Fans - $367- $753 – Bob Dingee

[Editor’s note:  this item was tabled.  It is not in the budget for this year.]

4.  PBB – Flow Sensor - $1850 – Linda Arbeit

[Editor’s note:  this assists the irrigation system in detecting if there is a problem from point A to point B.  They are starting with one in Landon pod and will do the other pods, once they see how this one works out.  Per Linda, Palm Beach Broward will monitor it.  Linda made the motion and Harvey seconded it.]

Bob:  it would be nice to see documentation of that monitoring.  [Editor’s note:  we agree.]

Jeff:  All in favor?  Unanimous.

5.  PBB - Slate wall repairs - $1755 – Linda Arbeit

Linda:  three areas, the entrance to Corbel Lake pod, Angel Wing pod, Landon Circle pod.  Motion to repair and replace the flowers and replant them by the utility center.  Proposal 57-21, $1,755.  Jeff:  Second?  Sue.  All in favor?  Unanimous.

6.  Umbrella Stands - $1,275.25 –Jeff Green

[Editor’s note:  this item was tabled.  It is not in the budget for this year.  Per Jeff, it is to be put into the Facilities budget for next year.]

7.  Entertainment – NYEVE – Richard Greene

[Editor’s note:  it’s happening, it’s a party, it occurs on the evening of December 31^st.  There’s also a brunch the next day, New Year’s Day, January 1, 2022.  Richard made the motion and Linda seconded it.  Six voted to approve, Sue abstained.  Sue questioned why the prices are not listed for the entertainment contracts.

Richard stated that they don’t list the cost of the entertainment because the agents who represent the talent don’t want anyone to know what the HOA is charged.  Apparently, there is an unwritten agreement among all the HOAs and the agents not to disclose this.  The agents don’t want the HOAs to know what other HOAs are paying.  Of course, you are entitled to know the amounts of all contracts and to have a copy of all contracts.  All you have to do is ask for them in writing and the office will provide them to you.

We here at the News Site have copies of the previously signed entertainment contracts. We could obtain these new contracts and then publish the amounts, because they are not privileged documents, but we do not believe that such publication is necessarily newsworthy at this point, so we decline to do so at this time.  If for any reason circumstances change, we will reevaluate the matter at that time.

However, having been licensed and bonded talent agents for many, many years, we are very familiar with talent contracts, and a better way to go is the way one of the contracts is set forth, which provides for a percentage of the gate to go to the talent in lieu of a flat fee.  It is a win-win for both the HOA and the talent.  It virtually eliminates any risk of loss to the HOA. 

That arrangement would not affect the talent’s “quote” which is the flat fee they might charge others for similar services, and it would only affect the ticket prices very slightly.  Notwithstanding our extreme expertise in this specific area, our suggestions are routinely ignored, and you, HOA members, end up absorbing the risk and footing the bill.

Also, for you newcomers, while the invitation might say that the brunch is between 11:00am and 1:00pm, that doesn’t mean you can saunter in at any time in between those hours.  Our first year here, in 2019, we thought it was a buffet-style and it was served during that time period, and we believed we could come any time during that time spread.  Nope. 

Apparently, it really starts promptly at 11:00am and by 1:00pm it’s over.  And it’s not a buffet where you go to a buffet table and fill up your plates; the food plates are on your assigned table, and you sit at the same assigned table you sat at the night before for New Year’s Eve. 

All of that information appeared nowhere in the flyers or in any information about the event when we signed up to attend.  Consequently, while we paid for it, we missed most of it.  So, for those of you interested in attending, heed the time it starts.]

8.   Two new gate arms for the front exit gate, $1,176.36 – Jeff Green

[Editor’s note:  this was added to the Agenda.  Jeff said it’s an emergency and has to get done; he moved to accept AT&I’s proposal to change the arms, Bob seconded.  Per Deborah, this is standard wear and tear.  It passed unanimously.]

Second Residents’ Input Session:

1.  Steve Schlosser:  the clubhouse roof is already done; at the pool, lightning rods were not put up.  When will they be replaced on the clubhouse and fitness center?  Jeff:  we’re gonna look into that.  Deborah:  since 2010, lightning rods existed but were not working, when I arrived here.  Not needed…when we took them off, nobody told us to put them back on.  I was told let it be.  Steve:  since we’re the lightning capital of the world, it needs to be looked into.

2.  Larry Jackobowitz:  the flow meters should be on each of the controllers.  The irrigation system is over 20 years old.  Putting one on is foolish… I don’t understand why you’re doing only one.

Second, electric fans, two new canopies, in prior years the community paid for the electricity, club paid for the fans.  So for a few dollars for the electricity, it should be done.  There is no reason to wait another year in the budget.

Lightning rods- Deborah was right… half the wires are incorrect, not grounded [properly] … we had no protection and/or nothing would have worked.  Jeff:  we’ll look into it.

3.  Joyce Winston:  Chair, Rules and Regs Committee.  Last week, a meeting was called by Long Range Planning and invited all Chairs to attend.  Myself, Shelly Andreas, and Judy Vlad said we would attend and none of us were included, and today there is no report from that Committee…mailboxes…rumors everywhere.  Alan:  we apologize to you for not sending out the Zoom invitation.  It was sent out after the fact.  We changed the policy to invite the liaisons rather than the Chairs and the liaison could decide who they wanted to attend.

[Editor’s note:  liaisons are Board members.  How many attended this meeting?  More than three?  If so, that was illegal; a quorum of board members is not allowed to convene to discuss HOA business, which this clearly was.]

Alan:  Mailboxes, we decided it’s a Facilities problem, not problem, responsibility, and it’s a short-term issue, taking the lead on that.

[Editor’s note:  here we go again with the mailboxes.  See our dedicated Mailboxes page where we once again remind everyone that the homeowner owns the mailbox and the poles and the HOA’s governing documents clearly state that the homeowner has dominion and control over his/her mailbox and cannot be forced to purchase a group mailbox identical to everyone else’s.]

4.  Barry Gordon: flow meters, Landon is the worst; needed it right away.  We plan on doing flow meters in all zones that need it.

Round Table Discussion:

Jeff:  I’ll take you in the order I see you on the screen.

Harvey:  I have nothing, thank you.

Linda:  I have nothing, thank you.

Alan:  no comments, thank you.

Richard:  pass.

Bob:  nothing.

Sue:  …Just three quick things.  I think that when we list items for new business, there needs to be more specificity in describing exactly what it was that we’re doing, so prior to our discussing new business, the residents in the First Residents’ Input Session can have more information to ask more pertinent questions. 

[Editor’s note:  for both new and old business, we’ve been complaining about that for a while now.  And who knows, the Board might learn something that impacts its votes by the residents’ input: what a concept.]

Sue:  Secondly, the telephone directory is really moving along; Joyce [Winston], I, and I think, is it Rebecca Friedman, that is also doing it, and Helene Greene, is making phone calls to those people who have not submitted forms and are still on their list, but I will give you tomorrow, Richard, a list of about ten or twelve people that did not respond.

And my last item, ‘cause I didn’t want to interrupt Larry Jackobowitz, when he mentioned clubs pay for canopies, this has been the bane of my existence for a number of years, before even I was on the Board, I do not believe that clubs should pay for items that are on common areas.  I believe that is the Board’s responsibility.  But that’s my opinion.  [Editor’s note:  that is correct.]

Richard:  I just want to say something, she thanked Helene Greene, but also Pat Nast and Carol Charles are helping her as well.  [Sue nodded.]

Sue:  yeah, we appreciate it.  No one really knows how arduous this job is except maybe Deb who’s listening now and Joyce…  Deborah:  and Cicely. 

Jeff:  I have nothing.

Harvey:  motion to adjourn.  Alan:  second.

[Sue again reminded Jeff that the motion needs to be voted on.  All hands were raised.]

Jeff:  next meeting August 4^th at 9:30am.  Will determine two meetings or one in August; will see how many items are on the Agenda.

[Editor’s note:  does that include items from other Board members that you illegally veto from being included?]

[Editor’s further note:  the meeting was adjourned at 10:50am.] 

[Editor’s additional note:  A big shout-out to Zoom operator Mike Blackman and his faithful assistants, Arnie Green and Anita Goodman, for doing a great job administering the Zoom meeting.  We thank them for their continued service and volunteerism.]

And so concludes the Board meeting of July 14, 2021; next meeting:  August 4, 2021 at 9:30am. 

Thought for the Day:

Here is another example of a word with two different meanings, but with the same spelling and the same pronunciation, just like the examples you read about before, i.e., the word “sanction” and the word “president.” 

The word “pride:” Pride is a concept, a feeling, an emotion, an attitude if you will.  The word also refers to a group of lions usually led by their maned king.  Here is the thought for the day and an illustration of the use of the word pride where its two meanings are incorporated into one joke.

Pride cometh before the fall.  This is an old proverb which is a warning that haughtiness (the appearance or quality of being arrogantly superior and disdainful) and hubris (arrogance, conceit, pomposity, and self-importance) leads to failure and loss.

Honorable Mention:  Happy 96^th Birthday to Stanley B. Roberts:  WWII disabled veteran, original owner here at Cascade Lakes, and my Dad, who was born on July 9, 1925.  

Cheerio until next time.