Goings on LWV Issue 24 October 09
*Wasn’t it fun watching the first “real” meeting of the new Third Board? Several of us took bets as to who would fall asleep again the next time: Lucy Shimon or Mike Straziuso. Shimon won hands down since she spent more time apparently asleep than Straziuso who actually admitted he was taking a lot of pain medication and wasn’t really “himself”. He did promise that the next meeting he would be demonstrating his very active participation. Does that mean he’ll be using the vicious mouth he has demonstrated before his election to the board? I wonder if he drove himself home.
I don’t know what Lucy Shimon did at the DAR meetings but sleeping on the dais wasn’t one of the recommended behaviors as a rule. Nice to know we have her full attention. I can hardly wait until she’s been through a cycle or two of meetings and see just how exhausted she really gets. Of course, it’ll be interesting to see if she’s just another ride-along board member who will do as she is told by her much touted “mentors” or if she’ll actually begin to function on her own. Anybody want to lay a quarter on it? That’s about all any of us will have left when they finish letting our pockets be sucked out if they can’t pay more attention than demonstrated on Tuesday, October 20.
*Did you love Milt going on and on about the elaborate “plan” in case Swine Flu shuts down the PCM offices? Maybe they should watch and see what happens on Capitol Hill since they all have the flu. Somehow I don’t think it needs to be turned into the scare fest Milt seems to be trying to make it. Get a grip and deal with it just like the rest of the world. How about the same kind of attention to transparency and accountability?
*How do you like the letter in the Globe today from Margo and Bob Bouer? (Bob Bouer is the brother of Arlene Stuller who is wife of Erwin (his onerous) Stuller, president of GRF.) They used the 2370 Via Mariposa address yet their letter is an unpaid advertisement for living at the Regency and they are still using the Mariposa address! They moved out of the Via Mariposa address and it was foreclosed on some weeks ago leaving the bank holding the bag and probably unknown thousands owed to Third Mutual in BACK ASSESSMENTS. The MEMBERS of Third are probably now stuck having to deal with that loss. A little too smelly-tidy for my taste. In fact right now the Via Mariposa property is listed as “lender owned” and is listed for $159,000. The multiple listing service number on the property is S588150. But what the heck….call ‘em, go visit them, they’ll buy your lunch; or so they say in their ad…er letter to the editor.
*That brings up the issue of the Globe editorial staff and the fact that they printed the letter with the address incorrect. This isn’t the first letter Bouer has written and had printed by the Globe about living at the Regency which is across El Toro Road from the LWV Community Center. It must be tough to have to use hard earned editorial skills only to have it seem you must cater only to the whims of management and the “special people” management approves of. In the meantime there is an advertisement for a group that has been left out of this week’s Globe at the apparent whim of the editor or would that be on orders given from above? Another feeling that there are special rules for special people.
*A miracle has occurred in a certain cul de sac. Earlier, during late summer, when the slurry crews were out making havoc everywhere they went, questions arose as to the need for the slurry schedule places where it obviously didn’t need re-slurrying. There was at least ONE question about why places that had damaged asphalt were just slurried and no attention given to repairing the problem underneath. We got the standard long winded and circular non-answer from Kathryn Freshley about how her father worked for the County back in Indiana when she was a child, etc. I guess that makes her the corporate oracle on asphalt repair. But nothing of any value. Pictures of the cul de sac I mentioned above were posted. By golly, out of the blue the concrete swale was repaired and now there is actual repair to the substrate going on and new asphalt being laid. Unfortunately, this much needed repair comes AFTER it had been slurry sealed this summer. This is a MONUMENTAL waste of money….your money.
Freshley had told us how competent they were in their re-sealing campaign because they depended on the recommendation of the VENDOR (who of course, has NO financial interest in how much slurry is laid. I also have a bridge for sale) for the needs of LWV. Hmmmm, do you suppose that somebody actually went out and with their own eyes took a look at a few streets and decided that MAYBE, just maybe, the vendor wasn’t doing the job and once again PCM wasn’t DOING THEIR JOB and the boards weren’t doing their job? Why? Because there is NO OVERSIGHT! Unfortunately no oversight means YOUR MONEY is just sucked out of your pocket at PCM’s whim and it’s OK with the boards!
Where in the world was Larry Souza who was the M&C Chairman for Third at the time? Oh, that’s right…his only job was to bang on the desk and tell people to “fix their own damned faucets because HE did.” We wouldn’t want any M&C chair to actually get it out of that chair and go and LOOK at these huge money sucking projects. Nah, that might mean accepting the responsibility that is theirs whether they want it or not. Just as we wouldn’t want any other board member to get off his or her duff and take a look around without depending totally and completely on STAFF REPORTS which are simply one side of any story or one opinion. In a future column I will talk about double blind testing and researcher bias. It might shed a little light on staff reporting.
*The machines for the All American Asphalt company are now parked in the red zone outside Gate 10 by the nursery gates. Interesting how a PCM vendor can park in a red zone but any other human being in an automobile will get moved and possibly ticketed for parking anything in a red zone.The OCSD has been called.
* I have pictures of the asphalt work and of the machinery all parked in the red zone on the Laguna Woods City street by Gate 10. Interested in seeing them? Just ask.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
A response to Virginia Templeton
Goings On LWV Issue 23 October 2009
Dear Virginia, in response to your letter to the Globe editor of October 15 here are a couple thoughts.
Your question was “When does the Board plan to disclose its efforts to break up the PCM Management Team?” If you think seriously that Carol Moore will answer any question you have openly you are just kidding yourself. Personally, I don’t think they plan to “break up the management team”. Rather I think that the action they have planned will take care of the “team” and the chips will fall as they may. I personally have been advocating since March the full and complete disassociation with PCM in any form but that’s asking for the board to grow a pair and actually take charge. I’ve also been calling for the dissolution of GRF as our trustee since they seem to be bleeding us dry of every nickel. Decent and qualified trustees are a dime a dozen and we could hire one who would cost us less in the long run than GRF has any day.
So, what does Third plan to do vis a vis Professional Community Management? I’m surprised this isn’t a question that could be answered by the TRUTH SQUADS of Friends of the Village. In any case, according to a board member who seems incapable of keeping a confidence, somebody who stands proudly on their record of service, Third Board is suing PCM specifically with regard to the incentive plan that was initiated by PCM without knowledge or permission of any of the boards and then when it was accidentally disclosed quickly denied and an attempt to make light of the removal of funds from our pockets began.
What are all the secret meetings about, you ask. Well, Virginia, since they seldom even post a reason for them it’s hard to tell but I’d be willing to bet that many before the recent Third election had to do with trying to get the other boards to join in the suit against PCM. Considering the flurry of activity including a letter written by Marv Rosenhaft and signed by several others, sent to the Disbros and Olsen in Lake Forest, it probably means there was a very close margin between getting support for such a suit and not getting support. Frankly, those who didn’t support the effort, or any effort to discover the actual facts behind the incentive plan, are now going to have to face the possibility of being held personally responsible for the cover up and expenditure as well. They can no longer claim being uninformed. This also explains Carol Moore’s President’s comments at the November Third Board meeting where she discusses how that Board had been threatened and ultimata delivered by PCM. You remember the one where Milt Johns appeared to be angry that “confidential” information was being disclosed.
Virginia, the issues being addressed today are far more than mere “personality conflicts” as you call them in your letter. These are the very core issues of responsibility, honesty, integrity and morality. Ethics are a basic outline of what should be done and morals is the actual execution of what is right. Both seem to be missing.
My questions to you are: Why haven’t YOU asked to have an accounting that is full, open and complete from PCM? Who exactly got these bonuses? Were the proper tax reports filed? Were the bonuses grossed up so the employee didn’t have to pay taxes on the income? When were the bonuses awarded? For what precisely? How often? By whom? When did it become necessary to award a bonus/incentive to a salaried employee whose JOB it should be to find ways to save money for the client? Are the employees who manage the incentive awards awarding themselves bonuses as well? How was Janet Price awarded $100,000? How many don’t we know about?
Are you aware that Noel Hatch, now again on Third and Bob Hatch now on GRF are responsible for writing the management agreement that is being used on a month to month basis because THERE IS NO CONTRACT? Why are two people who have no business writing a contract helping the general manager write the contract that will pay for his and his employees services and “ANY AND ALL EXPENSES”?
Why haven’t YOU done something to find answers to the valid questions about this management company and the boards who simply walk in lock step with them because they seem to be too lazy to get off their complacent butts and actually accept the responsibility that is theirs whether they accept it or not. Why do YOU simply accept as absolute truth anything that comes out of the mouth of management without even caring to listen to others concerns? Why don’t YOU actually investigate some issues? Why don’t YOU pull your head out of the sand long enough to realize that this isn’t a new problem but a pervasive one that will only grow and become worse. Why are YOU part of the problem and not part of the solution? Are you one of the “special people” for whom there are “special rules”?
Instead of just criticizing and casting aspersions why haven’t YOU gone out and investigated alternatives to PCM? Why don’t you quit comparing apples to oranges when it comes to assessments and other HOAs and dig beneath the surface?
Why don’t you ask about the disappearance of security which is the main reason most people moved in here in the first place? Why don’t you ask about threats, intimidation and assault? Why don’t you INVESTIGATE? Why don’t you ask REAL QUESTIONS?
What you seriously don’t want to hear, Virginia, is that PCM has GOT to go. By that I mean everybody from Russ Disbro and his cohort Jeffrey Olsen and Baby Donnie down through the executive level of managers here including Janet Price, Chris (Trapp) Robinson, Jerry Storage, Kurt Rahn, Russ Ridgeway, Judie Zoerhoff, Milt Johns. Any employee who feels the loyalty and need to follow them out the door with empty hands would be welcome to go. They don’t want to work here anyway. ANY OTHER EMPLOYEE could start with nothing to lose but their jobs if they chose to stay and actually DO their jobs and be held accountable by the new management. New management can be in place in a New York moment and the people worried about whether their grass is mowed, their trees trimmed or their leak stopped wouldn’t even notice a ripple. The people concerned with honesty, integrity, responsibility, morals and actual attention to the laws governing corporations and non-profits would notice a huge and beneficial change. You think living here is a bargain now? It would be even better.
You’re old, you’re not brain dead. Use it.
Dear Virginia, in response to your letter to the Globe editor of October 15 here are a couple thoughts.
Your question was “When does the Board plan to disclose its efforts to break up the PCM Management Team?” If you think seriously that Carol Moore will answer any question you have openly you are just kidding yourself. Personally, I don’t think they plan to “break up the management team”. Rather I think that the action they have planned will take care of the “team” and the chips will fall as they may. I personally have been advocating since March the full and complete disassociation with PCM in any form but that’s asking for the board to grow a pair and actually take charge. I’ve also been calling for the dissolution of GRF as our trustee since they seem to be bleeding us dry of every nickel. Decent and qualified trustees are a dime a dozen and we could hire one who would cost us less in the long run than GRF has any day.
So, what does Third plan to do vis a vis Professional Community Management? I’m surprised this isn’t a question that could be answered by the TRUTH SQUADS of Friends of the Village. In any case, according to a board member who seems incapable of keeping a confidence, somebody who stands proudly on their record of service, Third Board is suing PCM specifically with regard to the incentive plan that was initiated by PCM without knowledge or permission of any of the boards and then when it was accidentally disclosed quickly denied and an attempt to make light of the removal of funds from our pockets began.
What are all the secret meetings about, you ask. Well, Virginia, since they seldom even post a reason for them it’s hard to tell but I’d be willing to bet that many before the recent Third election had to do with trying to get the other boards to join in the suit against PCM. Considering the flurry of activity including a letter written by Marv Rosenhaft and signed by several others, sent to the Disbros and Olsen in Lake Forest, it probably means there was a very close margin between getting support for such a suit and not getting support. Frankly, those who didn’t support the effort, or any effort to discover the actual facts behind the incentive plan, are now going to have to face the possibility of being held personally responsible for the cover up and expenditure as well. They can no longer claim being uninformed. This also explains Carol Moore’s President’s comments at the November Third Board meeting where she discusses how that Board had been threatened and ultimata delivered by PCM. You remember the one where Milt Johns appeared to be angry that “confidential” information was being disclosed.
Virginia, the issues being addressed today are far more than mere “personality conflicts” as you call them in your letter. These are the very core issues of responsibility, honesty, integrity and morality. Ethics are a basic outline of what should be done and morals is the actual execution of what is right. Both seem to be missing.
My questions to you are: Why haven’t YOU asked to have an accounting that is full, open and complete from PCM? Who exactly got these bonuses? Were the proper tax reports filed? Were the bonuses grossed up so the employee didn’t have to pay taxes on the income? When were the bonuses awarded? For what precisely? How often? By whom? When did it become necessary to award a bonus/incentive to a salaried employee whose JOB it should be to find ways to save money for the client? Are the employees who manage the incentive awards awarding themselves bonuses as well? How was Janet Price awarded $100,000? How many don’t we know about?
Are you aware that Noel Hatch, now again on Third and Bob Hatch now on GRF are responsible for writing the management agreement that is being used on a month to month basis because THERE IS NO CONTRACT? Why are two people who have no business writing a contract helping the general manager write the contract that will pay for his and his employees services and “ANY AND ALL EXPENSES”?
Why haven’t YOU done something to find answers to the valid questions about this management company and the boards who simply walk in lock step with them because they seem to be too lazy to get off their complacent butts and actually accept the responsibility that is theirs whether they accept it or not. Why do YOU simply accept as absolute truth anything that comes out of the mouth of management without even caring to listen to others concerns? Why don’t YOU actually investigate some issues? Why don’t YOU pull your head out of the sand long enough to realize that this isn’t a new problem but a pervasive one that will only grow and become worse. Why are YOU part of the problem and not part of the solution? Are you one of the “special people” for whom there are “special rules”?
Instead of just criticizing and casting aspersions why haven’t YOU gone out and investigated alternatives to PCM? Why don’t you quit comparing apples to oranges when it comes to assessments and other HOAs and dig beneath the surface?
Why don’t you ask about the disappearance of security which is the main reason most people moved in here in the first place? Why don’t you ask about threats, intimidation and assault? Why don’t you INVESTIGATE? Why don’t you ask REAL QUESTIONS?
What you seriously don’t want to hear, Virginia, is that PCM has GOT to go. By that I mean everybody from Russ Disbro and his cohort Jeffrey Olsen and Baby Donnie down through the executive level of managers here including Janet Price, Chris (Trapp) Robinson, Jerry Storage, Kurt Rahn, Russ Ridgeway, Judie Zoerhoff, Milt Johns. Any employee who feels the loyalty and need to follow them out the door with empty hands would be welcome to go. They don’t want to work here anyway. ANY OTHER EMPLOYEE could start with nothing to lose but their jobs if they chose to stay and actually DO their jobs and be held accountable by the new management. New management can be in place in a New York moment and the people worried about whether their grass is mowed, their trees trimmed or their leak stopped wouldn’t even notice a ripple. The people concerned with honesty, integrity, responsibility, morals and actual attention to the laws governing corporations and non-profits would notice a huge and beneficial change. You think living here is a bargain now? It would be even better.
You’re old, you’re not brain dead. Use it.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Another Request to GRF-Others Ignored
Seems the same good old boy network can't get the message. This is the latest letter from Corky and Noni Eley. This kind of behavior on the part of the GRF board and the managing agent, PCM is why we need to FIRE PCM and dissolve GRF. We need competent and transparent management and a trustee we can trust.
Re: Request for open televised town hall meeting on Leisure World/
Laguna Woods Village governing documents (Trust, Regulatory
Agreement, Aicles of Incorporation, CC&Rs and Grant Deed).
Dear Sirs and Madam:
Several written requests have been made to the GRF Board, United
Board, Third Board and the Managing Agent for an open televised
town hall meeting regarding Leisure World/Laguna Woods Village
govenment documents (Trust, Regulatory Agreement,
Articles of Incorporation, CC&R's and Corporation Grant Deed).
Mr. Robert Miller, GRF Treasurer at the conclusion of the
treasurers report, for the past 4 months, has made false statements
regarding the frivilous law suit filed by the Discovery Group costing
this community in excess of $20,000. Each month Mr. Miller also
mentioned an eleven page letter and read a portion of page 5 of this
letter written by Attorney William P. Hart on May 2, 2008 to Attorney
Steven P. Rice. The petitioners were given copies of Attorney William
Harts eleven page letter of May 2, 2008 by Attorney Steve Rice and we
believe Attorney Hart would certainly give his clients copies of this
eleven page letter. We would suggest each GRF and United Board
member read Attorney Harts eleven (11) page letter of May 2, 2008,
especially all of page 5,6, and 7 or perhaps pages 5,6, and 7 of Attorney
Harts eleven page letter should be published for all to see.
Six Hundred twenty five (625) homeowners retained Attorney
Steven P. Rice, Crowell and Morning for Discovery. As you all
know, under Discovery all of the governing documents were
collected and certified by Nancy Noonan, Stewart Title Company
and a list of the governing documents was mailed to you on August
2, 2009. We are requesting one more time for Milt Johns, General
Manager, GRF, United Mutual and Third Mutual have an open
televised town hall meeting on the interpretation and review of Leisure
World/Laguna Woods Village governing documents.
Sincerely yours,
Corkey and Noni Eley
Re: Request for open televised town hall meeting on Leisure World/
Laguna Woods Village governing documents (Trust, Regulatory
Agreement, Aicles of Incorporation, CC&Rs and Grant Deed).
Dear Sirs and Madam:
Several written requests have been made to the GRF Board, United
Board, Third Board and the Managing Agent for an open televised
town hall meeting regarding Leisure World/Laguna Woods Village
govenment documents (Trust, Regulatory Agreement,
Articles of Incorporation, CC&R's and Corporation Grant Deed).
Mr. Robert Miller, GRF Treasurer at the conclusion of the
treasurers report, for the past 4 months, has made false statements
regarding the frivilous law suit filed by the Discovery Group costing
this community in excess of $20,000. Each month Mr. Miller also
mentioned an eleven page letter and read a portion of page 5 of this
letter written by Attorney William P. Hart on May 2, 2008 to Attorney
Steven P. Rice. The petitioners were given copies of Attorney William
Harts eleven page letter of May 2, 2008 by Attorney Steve Rice and we
believe Attorney Hart would certainly give his clients copies of this
eleven page letter. We would suggest each GRF and United Board
member read Attorney Harts eleven (11) page letter of May 2, 2008,
especially all of page 5,6, and 7 or perhaps pages 5,6, and 7 of Attorney
Harts eleven page letter should be published for all to see.
Six Hundred twenty five (625) homeowners retained Attorney
Steven P. Rice, Crowell and Morning for Discovery. As you all
know, under Discovery all of the governing documents were
collected and certified by Nancy Noonan, Stewart Title Company
and a list of the governing documents was mailed to you on August
2, 2009. We are requesting one more time for Milt Johns, General
Manager, GRF, United Mutual and Third Mutual have an open
televised town hall meeting on the interpretation and review of Leisure
World/Laguna Woods Village governing documents.
Sincerely yours,
Corkey and Noni Eley
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Safety is Job One...but not when YOU are paying the insurance costs.
Goings On LWV Issue 22 October 2009
Lack of oversight is the biggest problem facing the Laguna Woods Village community. The primary lack falls to the 4 boards responsible for the spending of every dime the owners shovel over month after month after month. Today I’m going to tell you about a little scene involving lack of oversight on the part of the Managing Agent which is Professional Community Management and one of our esteemed housing boards. One might ask, why wonder about this situation since PCM is not supervised or monitored in any way? This is the expected result of no oversight. Keep in mind that there are qualified people looking for jobs all over Orange County and far fewer jobs available than there are qualified people looking.
On October 6, 2009 at about 1:40pm a crew of at least 2 workers driving Laguna Woods Village Vehicles was working at 3083, Unit A. Two trucks were parked in the street directly outside the residence where the work was being done. One truck is California license number 6N85988; a Ford pick-up truck. The other was California license number P23549; a much larger capacity truck with racks for ladders and equipment.
As the resident observer drove past the scene it was noticed with horror that one of the workers propped a piece of lumber up on his ankle with his heel forming the lift needed from the ground, while the worker then used his circular saw to cut the piece of lumber. Clever lad.
The resident observer was so appalled by what was seen that they turned around and drove back to get the information provided. I have been asked to pass it along as part of just keeping track of things.
What would be wrong with this scene, you ask. Well, first of all why isn’t this man trained well enough to know that using a circular saw to cut a board resting on his ankle is an open invitation to disaster. All he has to do is slip or lose his balance for an instant and there would be hair, guts and eyeballs all over the place. It was far too beautiful an afternoon, they were wearing shorts and smiling and laughing, to disturb the beauty of the day.
Second, why wasn’t his crewmate concerned with such careless use of power tools? He, after all, would have been the one who would have had to call the rescue squad had the first complete fool cut himself. How do you suppose either of them would explain this little disaster to anybody? “Well, you see, I was just cutting this piece of lumber and like any rational, well trained, competent carpenter I was using MY BODY as a saw horse…..”
Did either of them stop to think for a single second of the consequences of their actions. Oh, heck no! They are not only really well paid, probably more per hour than the $41 per hour the gardeners are paid (see the United Budget numbers.) They are, after all, using really nasty power tools. But, part of their very pleasant compensation which includes a pension and retirement and probably unknown INCENTIVE PLAN, vacation, sick leave, parties, celebrations, etc. but also WORKER’S COMPENSATION INSURANCE which is State mandated and not exactly cheap. We won’t even discuss the involvement of OSHA if an accident had occurred.
Well, who pays for all of that? Why the OWNERS OF THE MANORS IN LWV. And what happens when there’s a Worker’s Compensation claim? The premium INCREASES. Let’s not forget DISABILITY which is also a very real possibility in the case of the irresponsible guy with the circular saw. Yup, he’d be on disability for as long as it took him to get his health back so he could again work at his lovely PCM job. Who pays for that? Oh, take a wild guess.
So, let’s see who’s responsible here. That would be PCM starting right up there with Russ Disbro and his buddy Jeffrey Olsen, Disbro’s little boy Donny and then down to good ole Milt Johns who is the General Manager of LWV and from him to Jerry Storage who is the director of Maintenance and Construction and from there to probably Jim Dyer who is in charge of carpentry and on down to the direct supervisor(s) of the two working on site and finally to the two bozos themselves! Oh, wait….let’s not forget the Third Mutual Board M&C Chairman, who apparently simply rubber stamps everything he is told by PCM and as long as he’s adored by “those he serves” he doesn’t seem to give a rip. And, who pays the bills?
Is it any wonder the board propping up a sink in one of the guard gate houses ….oops, I mean ambassador shacks….was left for months before a resident owner finally brought it to the attention of the plumbing staff? Yeah, boy, great oversight and supervision. What happens at the lowest level of the company is a mere reflection of what is really going on at the top.
The solution is FIRE PCM right now. We can’t afford this….even Bernie Madoff in his heydays couldn’t. Then let’s DISSOLVE GRF so we can get a real trustee.
Lack of oversight is the biggest problem facing the Laguna Woods Village community. The primary lack falls to the 4 boards responsible for the spending of every dime the owners shovel over month after month after month. Today I’m going to tell you about a little scene involving lack of oversight on the part of the Managing Agent which is Professional Community Management and one of our esteemed housing boards. One might ask, why wonder about this situation since PCM is not supervised or monitored in any way? This is the expected result of no oversight. Keep in mind that there are qualified people looking for jobs all over Orange County and far fewer jobs available than there are qualified people looking.
On October 6, 2009 at about 1:40pm a crew of at least 2 workers driving Laguna Woods Village Vehicles was working at 3083, Unit A. Two trucks were parked in the street directly outside the residence where the work was being done. One truck is California license number 6N85988; a Ford pick-up truck. The other was California license number P23549; a much larger capacity truck with racks for ladders and equipment.
As the resident observer drove past the scene it was noticed with horror that one of the workers propped a piece of lumber up on his ankle with his heel forming the lift needed from the ground, while the worker then used his circular saw to cut the piece of lumber. Clever lad.
The resident observer was so appalled by what was seen that they turned around and drove back to get the information provided. I have been asked to pass it along as part of just keeping track of things.
What would be wrong with this scene, you ask. Well, first of all why isn’t this man trained well enough to know that using a circular saw to cut a board resting on his ankle is an open invitation to disaster. All he has to do is slip or lose his balance for an instant and there would be hair, guts and eyeballs all over the place. It was far too beautiful an afternoon, they were wearing shorts and smiling and laughing, to disturb the beauty of the day.
Second, why wasn’t his crewmate concerned with such careless use of power tools? He, after all, would have been the one who would have had to call the rescue squad had the first complete fool cut himself. How do you suppose either of them would explain this little disaster to anybody? “Well, you see, I was just cutting this piece of lumber and like any rational, well trained, competent carpenter I was using MY BODY as a saw horse…..”
Did either of them stop to think for a single second of the consequences of their actions. Oh, heck no! They are not only really well paid, probably more per hour than the $41 per hour the gardeners are paid (see the United Budget numbers.) They are, after all, using really nasty power tools. But, part of their very pleasant compensation which includes a pension and retirement and probably unknown INCENTIVE PLAN, vacation, sick leave, parties, celebrations, etc. but also WORKER’S COMPENSATION INSURANCE which is State mandated and not exactly cheap. We won’t even discuss the involvement of OSHA if an accident had occurred.
Well, who pays for all of that? Why the OWNERS OF THE MANORS IN LWV. And what happens when there’s a Worker’s Compensation claim? The premium INCREASES. Let’s not forget DISABILITY which is also a very real possibility in the case of the irresponsible guy with the circular saw. Yup, he’d be on disability for as long as it took him to get his health back so he could again work at his lovely PCM job. Who pays for that? Oh, take a wild guess.
So, let’s see who’s responsible here. That would be PCM starting right up there with Russ Disbro and his buddy Jeffrey Olsen, Disbro’s little boy Donny and then down to good ole Milt Johns who is the General Manager of LWV and from him to Jerry Storage who is the director of Maintenance and Construction and from there to probably Jim Dyer who is in charge of carpentry and on down to the direct supervisor(s) of the two working on site and finally to the two bozos themselves! Oh, wait….let’s not forget the Third Mutual Board M&C Chairman, who apparently simply rubber stamps everything he is told by PCM and as long as he’s adored by “those he serves” he doesn’t seem to give a rip. And, who pays the bills?
Is it any wonder the board propping up a sink in one of the guard gate houses ….oops, I mean ambassador shacks….was left for months before a resident owner finally brought it to the attention of the plumbing staff? Yeah, boy, great oversight and supervision. What happens at the lowest level of the company is a mere reflection of what is really going on at the top.
The solution is FIRE PCM right now. We can’t afford this….even Bernie Madoff in his heydays couldn’t. Then let’s DISSOLVE GRF so we can get a real trustee.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Parking Fees are Just a Swell Idea.
Goings On LWV issue 21 October 2009
Visit the blog at http://goingsonlwv.blogspot.com
A letter to the editor in the Globe asks for residents to show up at the GRF Community Activities Committee and ask that Non-residents be charged a parking fee when they come to Emeritus classes. In his standard wisdom, Bob Hatch made his usual and ordinary comment at the end of allowing such a foolish plan. He said, “If we fear that we’re in danger of having a class cancelled because non-residents are not coming we can rescind the fee.” Then GRF imposed a $20 per semester fee for parking plus a $10 for summer session parking fee. The final decision will be made in November at the GRF meeting.
I suggest you show up in masses to protest this action. At least write the GRF board and copy your housing board to make sure that the letter is actually seen and not just discarded somewhere along the line. Apparently people in the community center have trouble actually receiving mail addressed to them.
Dick Blatman, author of the letter to the editor and Chairman of the Continuing Education Advisory Board, indicated that the $60,000 or so per year gathered for the parking fees would go into the LWV General Fund. Nowhere did he discuss the cost of PCM accounting for or collecting these fees. My suspicion is that the collected funds will be eaten up by such administrative tasks. PCM is a hungry little bugger and Hatch and Freshley are always looking for ways to make money!
But wait! This might be a GREAT idea! Just think….we’re a 501(c)4 corporation. That means we have to allow community access to our facilities. We could also charge a parking fee for all the people who come in to see any of the shows at Clubhouse 3.
We could charge a parking fee for all the people who come in our lovely gates to attend anniversary, birthday, etc parties….and FUNERALS…don’t forget them. The ever popular Aquadettes! That would be a really big money maker.
We can charge all the people who come in to play bridge….although GRF already skins them for extra bucks for the use of the hall. They might put up some kind of a fuss. We can get all those golfers who come in and play a round or drive a bucket of balls at the driving range. How about Tennis?
Another…all those care takers who take up all the residential parking places. Charge ‘em! Want to come to any holiday dinner with grandma and grandpa? It’ll be $10 for parking.
Come to the sale in Clubhouse 4 either in the art studio or the other studios but bring your wallet so you can pay the parking fee. Oh, let’s add a shuttle fee for the shuttle bus on those busy days. A gold mine.
How about all those folks who come in to estate sales? Or to look at real estate?
Let’s charge for the people who have 2 cars and use all the visitor parking because their car port or garage is too full to park a car in or the driveway is just a little too short to park another car on the drive. We can put meters in visitor parking. Wow, maybe we have to buy a couple Denver Boots to help with parking enforcement. How about a tow truck of our very own?
We could charge employees. They use an entire parking lot specially held for them at the Community Center. There’s all that parking up at the maintenance area, too. That needs to be maintained. How about UPS and FedEx and all the paper delivery people…wear and tear on the streets and Parking! How about all those maids who come in to clean? Or all the outside services people hire. Yolanda and her servers would love that. Screw parking fees….it should be an ENTRY fee. Come see the old people. They walk, they talk, they sleep and eat. What will we charge for golf carts or bikes or scooters? This MORE than makes up for all the illegal residents who pay no fees at all but are using all our amenities.
We should charge extra for heavy vehicles such as movers or U-haul trucks or service vehicles because they do damage to our streets.
We should probably lay on about 10 new employees to issue passes, check proper usage, enforcement. Let’s see, that’s 10 full time employees and their benefits. Could be a little expensive but what the heck GRF is scooping it in by the shovel full.
While we’re at it we should be sure to pass the information along on what a successful program this has been for LWV because all the other venues where Emeritus Programs take place will probably want to get in on the action as well. That would be any other school, library or community center where classes and programs are held. It could spread to all the shopping malls and other commercial establishments. Eat at Joe’s, parking only $20.
How about we welcome the people who come in our gates and rather than bleeding them dry then encourage them to move in so GRF and PCM can empty their pockets when they are captive.
Visit the blog at http://goingsonlwv.blogspot.com
A letter to the editor in the Globe asks for residents to show up at the GRF Community Activities Committee and ask that Non-residents be charged a parking fee when they come to Emeritus classes. In his standard wisdom, Bob Hatch made his usual and ordinary comment at the end of allowing such a foolish plan. He said, “If we fear that we’re in danger of having a class cancelled because non-residents are not coming we can rescind the fee.” Then GRF imposed a $20 per semester fee for parking plus a $10 for summer session parking fee. The final decision will be made in November at the GRF meeting.
I suggest you show up in masses to protest this action. At least write the GRF board and copy your housing board to make sure that the letter is actually seen and not just discarded somewhere along the line. Apparently people in the community center have trouble actually receiving mail addressed to them.
Dick Blatman, author of the letter to the editor and Chairman of the Continuing Education Advisory Board, indicated that the $60,000 or so per year gathered for the parking fees would go into the LWV General Fund. Nowhere did he discuss the cost of PCM accounting for or collecting these fees. My suspicion is that the collected funds will be eaten up by such administrative tasks. PCM is a hungry little bugger and Hatch and Freshley are always looking for ways to make money!
But wait! This might be a GREAT idea! Just think….we’re a 501(c)4 corporation. That means we have to allow community access to our facilities. We could also charge a parking fee for all the people who come in to see any of the shows at Clubhouse 3.
We could charge a parking fee for all the people who come in our lovely gates to attend anniversary, birthday, etc parties….and FUNERALS…don’t forget them. The ever popular Aquadettes! That would be a really big money maker.
We can charge all the people who come in to play bridge….although GRF already skins them for extra bucks for the use of the hall. They might put up some kind of a fuss. We can get all those golfers who come in and play a round or drive a bucket of balls at the driving range. How about Tennis?
Another…all those care takers who take up all the residential parking places. Charge ‘em! Want to come to any holiday dinner with grandma and grandpa? It’ll be $10 for parking.
Come to the sale in Clubhouse 4 either in the art studio or the other studios but bring your wallet so you can pay the parking fee. Oh, let’s add a shuttle fee for the shuttle bus on those busy days. A gold mine.
How about all those folks who come in to estate sales? Or to look at real estate?
Let’s charge for the people who have 2 cars and use all the visitor parking because their car port or garage is too full to park a car in or the driveway is just a little too short to park another car on the drive. We can put meters in visitor parking. Wow, maybe we have to buy a couple Denver Boots to help with parking enforcement. How about a tow truck of our very own?
We could charge employees. They use an entire parking lot specially held for them at the Community Center. There’s all that parking up at the maintenance area, too. That needs to be maintained. How about UPS and FedEx and all the paper delivery people…wear and tear on the streets and Parking! How about all those maids who come in to clean? Or all the outside services people hire. Yolanda and her servers would love that. Screw parking fees….it should be an ENTRY fee. Come see the old people. They walk, they talk, they sleep and eat. What will we charge for golf carts or bikes or scooters? This MORE than makes up for all the illegal residents who pay no fees at all but are using all our amenities.
We should charge extra for heavy vehicles such as movers or U-haul trucks or service vehicles because they do damage to our streets.
We should probably lay on about 10 new employees to issue passes, check proper usage, enforcement. Let’s see, that’s 10 full time employees and their benefits. Could be a little expensive but what the heck GRF is scooping it in by the shovel full.
While we’re at it we should be sure to pass the information along on what a successful program this has been for LWV because all the other venues where Emeritus Programs take place will probably want to get in on the action as well. That would be any other school, library or community center where classes and programs are held. It could spread to all the shopping malls and other commercial establishments. Eat at Joe’s, parking only $20.
How about we welcome the people who come in our gates and rather than bleeding them dry then encourage them to move in so GRF and PCM can empty their pockets when they are captive.
The Duh Response
Goings On LWV issue 20 October 2009
Bob Hatch is the chair of the Community Activities Committee. That’s the GRF committee that deals with all the clubhouses, recreation activities, amenities and their usage.
The Garden Plots fall under his oversight.
At a recent CAC committee meeting a question was raised by a member about what is being done about the POT FARM which is being cultivated in the Garden Center Plots which are under the oversight of the CAC.
The answer from Hatch and Brian Gentry?
We’re keeping an eye on it.
Is that a satisfactory answer to you? The only way it could have been less so would for Hatch to have had bloodshot eyes and called the member, Dude.
Recently a report on the local CBS news said that each and every single individual pot dispensary in the Valley had been robbed a minimum of one time. This is growing right out in the open on common ground. YOUR GROUND.
Do you know the difference between burglary and robbery? Weapons.
On YOUR COMMON ground.
GRF is keeping an eye on it.
I feel so much better now, Dude.
Bob Hatch is the chair of the Community Activities Committee. That’s the GRF committee that deals with all the clubhouses, recreation activities, amenities and their usage.
The Garden Plots fall under his oversight.
At a recent CAC committee meeting a question was raised by a member about what is being done about the POT FARM which is being cultivated in the Garden Center Plots which are under the oversight of the CAC.
The answer from Hatch and Brian Gentry?
We’re keeping an eye on it.
Is that a satisfactory answer to you? The only way it could have been less so would for Hatch to have had bloodshot eyes and called the member, Dude.
Recently a report on the local CBS news said that each and every single individual pot dispensary in the Valley had been robbed a minimum of one time. This is growing right out in the open on common ground. YOUR GROUND.
Do you know the difference between burglary and robbery? Weapons.
On YOUR COMMON ground.
GRF is keeping an eye on it.
I feel so much better now, Dude.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Busy Busy and still covering up
Goings on LWV Issue 19 October 2009
Bob Hatch has decided along with the help of that Corporate Oracle, Kathryn Freshley, that a new incentive plan should be put in place for PCM. The fox is ripping apart the hen house. Even Linda Wilson admitted the board members are hardly experts according to the newspaper report.
Okay, folks, a couple little questions. First and foremost is how do you even dare broach this kind of thing when there hasn’t even been an accounting for the debacle which is acknowledged to be $5.4MILLION and may be as much as $13Million? Are you stone deaf or brain dead? Do you not realize that this year alone the employees got a raise in salary. There are more companies nationwide that not only didn’t give bonus/incentives but there were no increases than there were increases at PCM. The population here is made up of primarily people who are retired and living on a fairly fixed income. EVEN SOCIAL SECURITY isn’t giving COLA increases.
What is the matter with both of you? How DARE you?
What do you think it meant when the management fee increased exponentially last year? Didn’t you believe Milt when he stated that if the credit cards and incentive were cut off we’d pay for it one way or another? What do you think that HUGE increase was? And now you are going to give them even MORE? What is the matter with you?
Hatch’s favorite line is to say, let’s just do it and if it’s illegal we’ll fix it later. Well, Hatch, it may be legal to do but it sure as heck by no measure known under the sun is right. Where are your ethics? Don’t even try to answer because you are, after all, on the GRF board.
What part of this being a Non-profit don’t you people get? Freshley is apparently the all fired corporate genius of all time since she worked for one multi-divisional corporation and now advises small businesses for her livelihood. But, Kathryn, which of these is a non-profit and where did you learn about just shoveling money by the trunk load without any kind of accountability to a management team that threatens the boards they work for? Where did you learn that that was in any way acceptable? When did issuing ultimata to boards of directors become acceptable behavior on the part of a vendor? When did it become acceptable for the vendor to tell the contracting board what to do?
Did Milt and his executive staff and his masters, the Disbros and Olsen, tell Hatch and Freshley that they demanded more money for incentives on top of a 53.33% management fee increase? So now we’re going to pay twice for the same “incentive”? Did they finally decide to tell the people who are paying that money out of their fixed incomes where the money goes and how it is spent? Even Hatch, who hasn’t been in business for a rather impressive number of years and at that was apparently a real estate appraiser and not the CFO of a fortune 100 company, said about PCM “legally they are not our employees, but from a practical standpoint they are; they perform services solely for us.”
Why don’t you quit fooling around and hand waving to try to make the real issue of the huge amounts of money simply taken by PCM disappear? We are not going to forget about it. We want accountability NOW. Why are you are trying to make it appear that the secret incentive plan was the same as other, smaller, more reasonable and non-executive staff awarded plans. It wasn’t. It isn’t. It isn’t going away.
The only answer to this entire problem is to FIRE PCM and DISSOLVE GRF.
Bob Hatch has decided along with the help of that Corporate Oracle, Kathryn Freshley, that a new incentive plan should be put in place for PCM. The fox is ripping apart the hen house. Even Linda Wilson admitted the board members are hardly experts according to the newspaper report.
Okay, folks, a couple little questions. First and foremost is how do you even dare broach this kind of thing when there hasn’t even been an accounting for the debacle which is acknowledged to be $5.4MILLION and may be as much as $13Million? Are you stone deaf or brain dead? Do you not realize that this year alone the employees got a raise in salary. There are more companies nationwide that not only didn’t give bonus/incentives but there were no increases than there were increases at PCM. The population here is made up of primarily people who are retired and living on a fairly fixed income. EVEN SOCIAL SECURITY isn’t giving COLA increases.
What is the matter with both of you? How DARE you?
What do you think it meant when the management fee increased exponentially last year? Didn’t you believe Milt when he stated that if the credit cards and incentive were cut off we’d pay for it one way or another? What do you think that HUGE increase was? And now you are going to give them even MORE? What is the matter with you?
Hatch’s favorite line is to say, let’s just do it and if it’s illegal we’ll fix it later. Well, Hatch, it may be legal to do but it sure as heck by no measure known under the sun is right. Where are your ethics? Don’t even try to answer because you are, after all, on the GRF board.
What part of this being a Non-profit don’t you people get? Freshley is apparently the all fired corporate genius of all time since she worked for one multi-divisional corporation and now advises small businesses for her livelihood. But, Kathryn, which of these is a non-profit and where did you learn about just shoveling money by the trunk load without any kind of accountability to a management team that threatens the boards they work for? Where did you learn that that was in any way acceptable? When did issuing ultimata to boards of directors become acceptable behavior on the part of a vendor? When did it become acceptable for the vendor to tell the contracting board what to do?
Did Milt and his executive staff and his masters, the Disbros and Olsen, tell Hatch and Freshley that they demanded more money for incentives on top of a 53.33% management fee increase? So now we’re going to pay twice for the same “incentive”? Did they finally decide to tell the people who are paying that money out of their fixed incomes where the money goes and how it is spent? Even Hatch, who hasn’t been in business for a rather impressive number of years and at that was apparently a real estate appraiser and not the CFO of a fortune 100 company, said about PCM “legally they are not our employees, but from a practical standpoint they are; they perform services solely for us.”
Why don’t you quit fooling around and hand waving to try to make the real issue of the huge amounts of money simply taken by PCM disappear? We are not going to forget about it. We want accountability NOW. Why are you are trying to make it appear that the secret incentive plan was the same as other, smaller, more reasonable and non-executive staff awarded plans. It wasn’t. It isn’t. It isn’t going away.
The only answer to this entire problem is to FIRE PCM and DISSOLVE GRF.
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