Fwd: violations

[jw...@q.com]

Thought that those of you who check in on what is going on in Victoria Village might be interested in the letter that was written and  the response that was given by one of the members on your ACC.

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From: "Ray Murray" <r7...@aol.com>
To: jw...@q.com, "andrew riis" <andre...@gmail.com>, Ke...@zandrmgmt.com, dkfe...@comcast.net
Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2012 3:33:42 PM
Subject: Re: violations

Many of these issues have been addressed and Notices were placed where needed as well as verbal contact, all with in the time limits given in regards to AC UNITS.  Courtesy notices were utilized.  The chair issue will be taken care of.  I did notify Kerry about this and he has taken care of vehicles via stickers that you have seen as well.  Another walk around should be conducted soon and your concerns will be looked at and if need corrections will be addressed.

Ray    

-----Original Message-----
From: jwd49 <jw...@q.com>
To: Kerry Cantrell <ke...@zandrmgmt.com>; marcia <mar...@victoriavillage.net>; r7mur <r7...@aol.com>; Andrew Riis <andre...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sat, Jul 14, 2012 12:49 pm
Subject: violations

When walking through Victoria Village at the beginning of July, we noticed several violations as far as air conditioners hanging out of windows, exersize equipment on the patio, vehicles being stored that don't leave Victoria Village, (which is specifcally stated in the rules and regulations), several vehicles with expired plates, trash that has stayed out from one week's pick-up to another etc, etc.  Iwan and Rick saw me and I walked with them to show them what I had seen.  They knocked on several doors and we kept hearing that it was taken care of.  Last Friday ( July 6th and &7th) three members of the ACC did a walk through.  As we understand it, there are no longer any written violation slips being handed out.  We thought that they were working out very well when they used to be handed out and alot was being accomplished.  Apparently that is not the case, and we can't see what is getting accomplished.  As of this afternoon (July 14th) about 12:00, four of the air conditioners that we pointed out still remain hanging out of the windows...#3408, #3433, #3435, and #3366  If we knew at the time that we could have hung our air conditioners out of the windows, without getting any violations and no-one caring how it looked, we certainly would not have invested in central air conditioning for $3,000.  You would think if there was a walk through someone, anyone would have noticed these things and would have it taken care of.  We kept hearing that when they spoke to the residents, they were told to have these things taken care of within two to three days.  The exercise equipment is still on the patio of #3408, the vehicle situation was dealt with and taken care of by Kerry.  The recliner is still out for trash in Ray Murry's parking lot and has been out there for at least two weeks, so now more trash just gets added. I don't know what the answer is to the trash problem, but it sure is ridiculous and makes Victoria Village look like white trash!!  We will bring photos to the meeting, with dates just so all can see that we aren't making this up.  I can't wrap my arms around what could possibly be going on among the members of the ACC that they can't as a committee come to an aggreement of how to be  effective in Victoria Village.  Thank you

 

                                                                                             The Denniston's

                                                                                          3349 Queen Anne Way

[SBY]

JDW
It was only a matter of time before you got intercepted that day you were collecting photos...Notice they had to  gang up on you as a pair to see what you were doing, ... they KNEW you were documenting via camera the violations that go ignored. They just wanted to know WHAT you were going to do with them.

I want to address this issue of selective verbal "courtesy talks".

The key word is selective...and it depends on which members of the ACC are doing the walk thru,
also depends on where they are walking i.e. front side but not back side of the units, and vice versa,, as well as which end of the property.
They sure as heck would have noticed an overstuffed chair in Mister Murrays parking lot that he walks past at least 2-3 times a day to get to his car.

I would like to know the official criteria for issuing a verbal courtesy, versus written, or a tug on the sleeve and  a hushed unofficial "would ya please try and take care of this by next monday or next month... or even the next 90 days?"

It was my understanding that the ACC's function is to inspect the integrity of the structures and make recommendations for maintenance as well as review requests from the owners and submit them to the board for review and approval or denial.

When did the ACC become the untethered haphazard , discriminant regulatory arm of the HOA rules enforcement?

Shouldn't the members of the ACC ALLLL be present when a decision is made as to how to deal with a violation of the rules when they approach the tenant??

I'm still trying to figure out exactly who IS on the ACC, as it seems to change with the wind.

But back to the point you bring up,,,,about how two of them said..oh we'll handle it, please let us handle it...
Where have I heard that soooooooo very many times before??

 Does it get resolved without bias? does it get resolved as a favor or as an official notice with time frames that are
consistent throughout, and followed up  on.

A verbal warning?? how many. how many follow ups, are allowed?? is that up to the wisdom of the haphazard twosome?  
Isn't this is in DIRECT contradiction to the April 23,2012 rules resolution signed by the president and the secretary regarding notices and grace periods?...
which is a joke itself when you consider those signatures.

If the intent of the rules and regs resolution was to decrease the allowed resolution time of the violation by decreasing the time to reply, then why are they handing out verbal talking to's like the Good Fellows.??

I suspect they would rather look like good guys rather than bad guys.
Thats understandable, especially when you have  very tarnished reputations to repair.
but is it fair.? and responsible to the community, and reflective of their elected positions.??

  I guess this would explain why they want to "talk' to some tenants, yet" write a notice" to others....or take others aside if they happen to be on the board themselves and could create an embarrassing situation for them...... again.

WHY isn't the criteria the same??
That answer is because the rules don't apply equally,...and are ignored more than frequently.....and when someone like you brings it to their attn, JDW...
they are already aware of it, ..
the only thing that need brought to their attn and that got rapid response , were the reports that you were
walking around documenting both the blatant violations, but also the negligence of the HOA and property mgr to act in a timely manner, if at all, and
fairly as well.
Look how fast they came running, when they heard you were walking the property.

It's not an A/C issue, that is an issue for another day,  that is an issue that common sense says, when Co Spgs has the hottest June on Record, and breaks the all time HIGH
for any one day in history...

(do whatever you can to ensure that you are comfortable enough to sleep, and that your family and babies are not at risk.
do the common sense thing, make you own choice , if that means ignoring antiquated rules so be it... the worst that will happen is you'll get a "courtesy visit".)

It's an issue of WHO is responsible for regularly policing the grounds, as opposed to who is responsible for inspecting structures...
Who is responsible for regularly notifying tenants of violations and who is responsibly for making sure they are notified promptly, with a timely follow thru and
without favor.

We don't need the Third Reich but we do ask for simple transparency....
The HOA members and the ACC are neighbors not dictators..but we have set
certain rules in place that need to be administered ...and if it takes your actions, JDW, or others to point it out to
the HOA at the meeting that one of two or both are happening....so be it.

Favoritism, and/or negligence of elected duty from the board or it's committes as well as those we hire legally, is not acceptable..

 I say thank you for your dedication and willingness to step up and force a response, as lame as it was..

It draws a red flag of double speak when I read...

Many of these issues have been addressed (not all) and Notices were placed where needed ( where meaning what?) as well as verbal contact (both or depending on waht?), all with in the time limits given in regards to AC UNITS (which are what? 30 days or is it an immediate violation).  

 

Courtesy notices were utilized. (which is another way of saying it depends on what the meaning of IS is, were those courtesy notices given to all for all the different violations, or just some, or for just some kind of violations??)

 

The chair issue will be taken care of.(why was it left there so long, and WHEN will it be taken care of. That is not an answer, thats a dodge ...since it was in a board member's parking lot, I don't see how this was allowed, and I don't see why it wasn't taken care of swiftly... or was a courtesy talk given and thus the non committal reply)

 

 

 I did notify Kerry about this and he has taken care of vehicles via stickers that you have seen as well.  (good glad to see it, but why does it take JDW with a camera to point them out, and why were some over looked even after they were pointed out?...more than once by more than three residents?)

 

Another walk around should (there's another of those evasive shoulds, coulds, ought to, might be, etc) conducted soon ( WHEN.. for crying out loud!.. soon as someone gets around to it??) and your concerns will be looked at and if (theres another IF, do not use a vague disclaimer just say "WlILL") needed corrections will be addressed. (overtly or covertly,, addressed means what? discussed.. among whom?  define addressed please?)

sounds like a press statement of B.S for the sake of somekind of reply.
and finally... it just takes common sense, if the ACCs job indeed IS to be the "property mgr"  why don't they do it more regularly than the NewsLetter that is published only once every 9th full moon, or the posting of the official minutes whichever is overdue the most.

SBY

[jw...@q.com]

Thank you so much for your positive response and your interest in what is going on in Victoria Village.  Hope we did not come off as being unkind about going on and on about the air conditioners because I do understand about how uncomfortable it has been with this awful heat.  No-one cares if someone has a window air-conditioner it is just that you need to work it so that it is not out of the window, just up to the screen.  We will try to bring up these issues at the board meeting tonight, but I am sorry to say that if things go as they usually do, it will all fall on deaf ears and we will hear nothing but poor excuses.  But we do appreciate everything that you had to say.  Have a great day!

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From: "SBY" <skyblu...@gmail.com>
To: victori...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Sunday, July 15, 2012 11:16:24 PM
Subject: [Victoria Village] Re: violations

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[PB]

Haven't been on this in awhile, but I am glad to knew there are still a few of you, especially Janet and Wayne, who are keeping a strong interest in seeing VV run in a decent manner. Wayne does such a good job in keeping the village clean.  I wasn't aware they had stopped handing out written violations, as that would be the only proof that a homeowner or tenant was notified of the violation and the necessary steps to correct it..  Is this going to be reinstated.?

Everyone has to be treated the same, and we all know this doesn't happen.  As far as the air conditioners go, I hope there is no way possible for these to be allowed.  We all bought out units knowing they weren't allowed, and then people try to change things for their convenience.  Yes, it is hot, some units a lot hotter than others (especially end units like mine, and the one level where my mother at 90 years old lived).  But there are other alternatives, such as the standing units that many owners have purchased with a hose out the window.  Or if you can find one that doesn't protrude out the window at all, all the better.  Everyone bought units here knowing the rules, and if you are that hot (as I am since I am home much of the day), either choose to get central air, or put lots of fans on.  At least by bedtime with an incoming window fan, it is always comfortable and cool.

I'm sorry to hear that the new board member resigned.  I didn't know him, but was hoping he could bring some fresh blood and ideas to the board.  Our house values are pathetic, and with no honest, working board, it would certainly not be a desirable place to buy for someone, if only for an investment.  I do appreciate those that try hard to take care of the pool and the trees, stay aware of goings on in the village and troublemakers, and try to intercede before it becomes a problem. We've had many outsiders using the pool and I've talked with Iwan about it, and he does make every effort to prevent that from happening.   I do wish Wayne was still on the ACC, but I thank Janet and him for all they try to accomplish.

One other thing that might be discussed:  I saw the mailroom cutting sall the bushes last week near the mailboxes and brushing ants off him.  He said he had complained about the bushes scratching him all the time but was told by someone here to wear long pants (in 100 degree temperatures).  I'm not sure who's responsibility it is, but is is certainly not up to the mailroom to trim the shrubs.  I told him I would put in a good word.

On Saturday, July 14, 2012 6:42:31 PM UTC-6, jwd wrote:

[Deena Duncan]

Pat wrote:

One other thing that might be discussed:  I saw the mailroom cutting all the bushes last week near the mailboxes and brushing ants off him.  He said he had complained about the bushes scratching him all the time but was told by someone here to wear long pants (in 100 degree temperatures).  I'm not sure who's responsibility it is, but is is certainly not up to the mailroom to trim the shrubs.  I told him I would put in a good word.

I think you mean "mail man" :D

If the post office deems that a delivery area is unsafe, they can (and will) withhold service at their discretion.

Having lived in an HOA where I was on the BoD, and where we spent several years getting the state to take over our rural road so as NOT to lose our mail service due to our inability to provide extensive, expensive road repairs, I assure you that the Post Office eventually stops listening to excuses.

The post office can eventually demand that everyone get post office boxes. Mail service to a box on private property is not a right, though many people think it is - at least until they find out the hard way that it is not.

Go here: http://faq.usps.com/eCustomer/iq/usps/request.do?create=kb:USPSFAQ This is the US Postal Service Frequently Asked Questions page.

Enter "no mail delivery" in the search box , and click on the first result, titled "Mail Delivery Problems/Questions"

Note the following:
"Delivery service may be suspended when there is an immediate threat (including, but not limited to, threats due to loose animals) to the delivery employee, mail security, or postal property. The U.S. Postal Service® is charged with the responsibility of providing consistent and reliable mail service.  However, as an employer, we are also dedicated to the well-being and safety of our employees."
Also:
"Mailbox Blocked
Customers are required as a condition of delivery to ensure that proper access is provided to mail receptacles.  Proper access includes the removal of large accumulations of snow from the area around curb line receptacles and from sidewalks leading to door or other house‑mounted receptacles.  Without such access, the safety of the carrier is jeopardized."
And:
"Travel Obstructions
Persons responsible for road maintenance must be notified of road conditions obstructing the delivery of mail. If repairs are not made promptly, service may be withdrawn"

More proof, if anyone needs it:

Post office refuses to deliver mail to couple's home (dogs)
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S2236072.shtml

Post Office Won’t Deliver To Rochester Trailer Park (100 people have to pick up mail due to unsafe conditions)
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/03/08/post-office-wont-deliver-to-rochester-trailer-park/

Post office refuses to deliver mail after man puts up new box (too far for mailman to walk)
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/investigations/64182962.html

Post Office Still Refusing To Deliver To Bronx Building With Damaged Mailboxes (unsafe conditions)
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/10/07/post-office-still-refusing-to-deliver-to-bronx-building-with-damaged-mailboxes/

Postal Worker Refuses To Deliver Mail Over Dogs (dozens of homes because of dog - unsafe conditions)
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/28746099/detail.html

This is an issue which must be taken seriously. Once service is lost, it can be very difficult to get back.

Deena Duncan