GoingsOnLWV

New Information on Incentive Plan

2010-02-08T20:01:00.000-08:00

Apparently the Truth Fairy decided to visit our house over the weekend. I opened the door and there inside the screen was a large envelope which contained some eight pages of brand spanking new documentation on the PCM incentive plan. You remember, this was the reward, not approved by any board or know by any but at most a tiny number of directors which awarded large chunks of our money to PCM executive staff. You might ask why were they rewarded and the response from PCM is that these stellar leaders saved us money and, in return, received rewards amounting to 30% of the sums saved.

The section I really, really enjoyed was the description of positions eliminated or left open which apparently reduced the service levels in all divisions and resulted in a savings of over $2.6 million dollars from 2000 to 2007. As I recall, from my industrial career, positions that were left open which did not result in a decrease in service level were eliminated. At an average savings of over $300,000 a year, just how many people were not needed by PCM? Why weren’t their positions eliminated? Were they kept on the books so that these savings would just keep on earning incentives year after year?

In another area, receiving 501(c)4 determination earned incentive payments in or from 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2004. Just how many trips to the well can one action take? From whence did the brilliant idea to file for 501(c)4 originate? Not from PCM staff, according to other documents—from the Village accountants, KPMG. And what happened to the savings, some $1.4 million? Well 30% of those funds were awarded to PCM executive staff with a large chunk of it going to Janet Price. What is 30% of $1.4 million you ask? $420,000 that PCM acknowledges awarding over those years. Janet herself apparently received some $250,000 in bonus money for just one year. Some might argue that filling out an application for 501(c)4 status as suggested by our accountant should be considered doing your job. Some of us remember a certain pride in doing your job well and being rewarded by (first) keeping your job, followed by earning relatively small increases on an annual basis. I guess we worked for the wrong companies, didn’t we?

But how much in the form of hidden funds did make their way from our pockets into the bank accounts of preferred PCM executives? Apparently the number was $3,195,484 between 2000 and 2007. And please remember that this money went to PCM executive staff, not the rank and file who mow your lawns and fix your leaky plumbing. And who awarded this money to PCM executives? Why that would be Milt Johns, without input or approval, from any director. He awarded this money to his executive staff.

As they say in television, stay tuned for coming attractions. We have not even begun to scratch the surface of this myriad of cost saving ideas. In the mean time, please think back to your working days and remember what sorts of actions you could have taken to save your company money. ABSOLUTELY every item on this document is work and savings that SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE IN THE ORDINARY DAY TO DAY PERFORMANCE OF STAFF DUTIES.

Just how many “open positions” add up to $300,000? Who is getting paid at this level?

This document is the information given to James Matson, President of GRF, at his request for information about the Incentive Plan. It is a complete joke. Is this the information that finally led GRF to the tipping point and made them ask for Milt’s resignation? How long behind Milt are the remainder of the “executives”.

This information in its complete form is now in the hands of the IRS. I will disperse more detailed information from this document a little at a time in order that you can read and absorb the absurdity of it. This is a document the United Board does not want you to see and they violated confidentiality in order to sabotage the removal of the parties responsible; PCM and the Executive Staff at LWV.

How do I know this information is authentic? By the CONFIDENTIAL stamp at the bottom of every page. I wonder who voted to put this on every interested person’s doorstep. If you don’t have a copy and would like to have a copy, just let me know your e-mail address and I’ll be happy to send you the PDF file. No, Dave Blodgett and Ray Gros this is NOT on the LWV website.
Just a taste of the “justification” as written by Janet Price: “Positions eliminated, positions left open for some period of time, additional unbudgeted work absorbed, reduced by ANY ATTENDANT DECREASE IN SERVICE LEVELS……” emphasis is my own. This statement appears on every single page of the document and covers all the years “justified.”

MILT JOHNS AND ALL OF PCM MUST GO. NOW.

What Lurks Beneath?

2010-02-07T12:03:00.000-08:00

Goings On LWV February 7, 2010
What lurks beneath?

Milt Johns was asked to resign as General Manager of Laguna Woods Village. Since he learned of the request coming he has made tracks to imitate Chicken Little in his most frantic attempts to scare the members into thinking the whole place will crumble without him. He had conducted a hyperactive PR campaign by attending numerous coffee klatches and propaganda meetings to get the word out about what a hale fellow he is. The question each and every resident here in Laguna Woods Village should ask on Tuesday at the United Board meeting is this: WHY? What Lurks Beneath?

What has been discovered above and beyond the incentive plan and the general misbehavior of the past on the part of PCM? What frightens the United Board members so badly that the majority are willing to violate confidentiality? What is the big secret? What lurks beneath?

WHO is indispensable? What makes a person indispensable? History has told us that the only indispensable people are those who build an organization based on the cult of personality. When the leader makes ALL decisions the next echelon has no power and no understanding or fears to make a decision lest it be contrary to the wishes of the leader. Is this the case? Can you think of a time in history when you saw this happen? This is the situation in Laguna Woods Village.

How many residents who work for PCM in relatively menial positions are afraid? Afraid to express their opinions, afraid to ask questions, afraid to take any action. Aren’t these indications of cult behavior?

This is why it is vital to get rid of Milt and PCM entirely. Why is that important? They would have you believe we will crumble without them. WE WILL NOT CRUMBLE WITHOUT THEM. WE WOULD THRIVE. Any organization that cannot, will not, or refuses to change is already dying. We need fresh blood, fresh perspectives, fresh solutions and above all someone at the top who admits that the FIRST priority is the residents not the for-profit organization that pays their salary. If our management is unable to work under a new manager they do not deserve to be working at all. Let them find other jobs in other places.

What do the PCM promoters on United know? Are they afraid they will also be prosecuted for any crimes they have been aware of and have allowed? Are they so afraid of PCM and threats of lawsuits that they will defend Johns/PCM even to the point of a cover up that only begins with the mass dissemination of confidential information? Why is United still preventing the community from having full information? What minority United Board members are presently being treated as pariah and prevented from participating for fear of legal reprisal when whatever the truth is when it comes out? Ask yourself: What lurks beneath?

Why is PCM pretending the community will crumble? Is it because they CANNOT AFFORD to lose our business and let a full accounting and investigation of their behavior and management go forth? If only Johns is removed his underlings left behind working under Disbro, Disbro and Olsen will make it APPEAR the structure is dissolving and then in panic Johns would be reinstated. It’s all smoke and mirrors. Even an entire boro bridge can be made to disappear. That would be PCM’s ideal situation. They would then be back only stronger than ever.

Is United going to continue to turn a deaf ear and ostracize the minority on that board as they have in the past but for no cause and without due process? Perhaps the United Board members should consult individual lawyers to determine their personal liability. What lurks beneath?

ALL RESIDENTS/MEMBERS should go to the United board meeting on TUESDAY and express their demand that the United Board work FOR the membership NOT FOR PCM.
Keeping PCM is wrong. It is morally wrong. It is wrong to make that kind of business decision when the message is so obvious that PCM is doing more harm than good for this community. Forty years and there hasn’t even been a new bid for services. Despite what PCM would have you believe there are management companies and non-profit managers who are able, qualified and willing to take on the job; challenges and all. What lurks beneath?

Laguna Woods Village/Leisure World belongs to US. IT DOES NOT BELONG TO PCM. If you want to simply sell your home for a kiss and a bouquet of flowers to fawning admirers of Milt Johns then go ahead. Otherwise STAND UP and ask the question: WHAT LURKS BENEATH?

Water water everywhere

2010-02-01T11:17:00.000-08:00

Goings On LWV February 2010

Sunday I took a little walk down to a couple water deluged sights. One stop was CDS 8 where the water had been supplied to the manors via garden hoses. PCM got in there and scurried around fast to get things cleared up according to residents in that CDS. But it isn’t all completely clean.

Claire Webb’s article says “it is PCM’s policy to use hoses – potable water grade hoses- designed specifically for carrying water that residents might use for cooking or drinking.” I suspect that line came directly out of the mouth of some PR person in the PCM offices after the fact. The reality is that garden hoses were used not the hoses specifically designated. PCM’s policy is baloney. It’s a matter of public health and if PCM decides not to comply with good practice then they will be looking elsewhere for people to mismanage. OF COURSE it’s PCM’s “POLICY” to use potable water hosing. But the reality is far different.

I took several photos yesterday. One is of a hose that is white with a blue stripe indicating that it is for use with potable water. The problem is….this hose is attached to a soil and cement encrusted hand sprinkler. The other end was open and lying loose in the soil of the garden. Right next to the hose in the same garden was a large blue construction wheel barrow with a bucket in it and one lying nearby. The wheelbarrow had the same cement substance in it that the hose nozzle had on it. PCM is using potable water hosing for garden use. Now the questions raises its head…..when PCM complies with their own policy of using hoses for potable water are they even using clean hosing or are they just using all hosing as garden hosing and then re-using it for potable water when needed? Seems that way from the photo. That’s kind of like reusing a catheter without sterilizing it. Let’s see….Milt Johns is in his early 50s so he probably still has a little immunity. I wonder how he’ll feel when he’s in his mid 80s and doesn’t have the same kind of immune power. Potable water hosing should be destroyed after use in a situation such as we experienced in CDS 8… NOT converted to use for the garden.

Some smartie pants using the screen name cincity talks about George Lopez saying they all drink from hoses. Hey, I did too when I was a little kid, right after my horse. I’m not 12 anymore either. We once paid our cousin to lick the sole of her shoe for a quarter and she did. Does that make it something that SHOULD be done? No, it was a stupid kid trick.

My next question is WHERE WAS THE CRACK DISASTER RELIEF CREW? They all showed up at CH5 for the victims of the fire on Bahia Blanca. I guess they need a nice tidy, dry, warm club house in order to function. Oh, and I forgot, one certain United director who is a big wig on that committee is better at leaving a scene than actually attending to a problem immediately. The disaster preparedness committee had JUST COMPLETED a major disaster drill. Guess they were all tired. DO NOT DEPEND ON THIS GROUP TO HELP YOU IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. PERIOD. It is just another way for PCM to keep residents busy while they carry on as usual awarding themselves monster sized bonuses from our pockets.

One resident who is an avid RV (recreational vehicle) traveler had this to say, “We have quite a number of RV dealers from whom we could have purchased water grade "white" hoses, as most RV'ers are aware of. In addition, an emergency notice on our TV network could have obtained dozens of hoses from our RV's in the storage area at no cost to the mutual. RV'ers are used to helping each other out and the donation of a water grade hose by a small percentage of RV's stored in our lots would be done in a couple of hours." GRF and PCM would rather harass those people by inspecting the interior of their vehicles and requiring an annual inspection.

Where was Milt when this was all going on? At home in Santa Barbara as his facebook page says is his home? Where was Jerry Storage? Where was Gene Hart? Where were any of the PCM executive level people? WHERE WERE ANY SUPERVISORS CAPABLE OF MAKING AN APPROPRIATE EMERGENCY DECISION? Why did our neighbors have to endure a week of this. Now their water heaters are also filled with this potentially contaminated water. How are they going to be cleaned?

The United Board is dead silent except for one man. Congratulations again to the United Board. Maybe you ought to take another look at your ethics statement.

Don't drink the water!

2010-01-30T12:53:00.000-08:00

This article is important for you to read. Does PCM even care if you drink contaminated water? Apparently not. Everything seems to be okay with Milt. Maybe he feels he has nothing left to lose.

http://www.ocregister.com/news/hoses-231434-water-residents.html

The Unted Board was notified of the unsafe conditions Sunday, January 24. The conditions, according to a United Director, are still not corrected.

Congratulations PCM on another job well done.

Congratulations to Gail McNulty, Marv Rosenhaft, Arlene Miller, Ron Beldner, Michelle Stanton, Marty Rubin, Linda Wilson and other United Directors notified of this reprehensible situation who have apparently done NOTHING to help protect their members.

New Letter from Corky and Noni Eley

2010-01-19T11:01:00.000-08:00

Below is a letter from Corky and Noni Eley. Folks, PCM and GRF have to be replaced.

DATE: January 18, 2010

TO: Golden Rain Foundation Board
Third Laguna Hills Mutual Board
United Laguna Hills Mutual Board
Mutual Fifty Laguna Hills Mutual Board
All LWV Homeowners

RE: Violation of Corporate Code #8215 by LWV Boards and PCM.

Confusion!! Confusion!! Confusion!! This is the life style we bought into when we purchased a Cooperative or a Condominium in Leisure World/ Laguna Woods Village. The Governing Documents (Trust, Articles of Incorporation, Regulatory Agreements and CC&R’s) mean nothing to the Boards or PCM, the Managing Agent. Several written request have been made to LWV four Boards and PCM for open televised meetings on the interpretation of the Governing Documents and to whom these Governing Documents apply.

Golden Rain Foundation (GRF) for months has published paid advertisements each week in the Laguna Woods Globe with misleading information regarding the Governing Documents, Tax status, Corporation status and Banking procedures. Several of these ads are in violation of Corporation Code #8215.

PCM staff, as part of the Communication Plan, has created a monthly newsletter “United Laguna Hills Mutual-Village Snapshot” for LWV Boards. In the August Village Snapshot, under “Just the fact, Please,” the information staff gave the boards regarding the CC&R’s was incorrect. The December Village Snapshot, under the article “The Operating Budget,” was also Incorrect Information. GRF for the past 10 years has failed to deliver to each homeowner an Operating Budget as per the Amendment to the Trust, dated April 6, 1964. Perhaps staff should read the governing documents. In our opinion, Staff, by publishing false information in the Village Snapshot, which was delivered to the Board Members, has violated Corporate Code #8215.

Corporate code #8215 states: Any officers, directors, employees or agents of a corporation who do any of the following are liable jointly and severally for all the damages resulting there from to the corporation or any person injured thereby who relied thereupon or to both:

(a) Make, issue, deliver or publish any prospectus, report, circular, certificate, Financial statement, balance sheet, public notice or documents respecting the corporation OR its memberships, assets, liabilities, capital, dividends, business, earnings or accounts which is false in any material respect knowing it to be false, or participate in the making issuance, delivery or publication thereof with knowledge that the same is false in a material respect.
(b) Make or cause to be made in the books, minutes, records or accounts of a corporation and entry which is false in any material particular knowing such entry is false.
(c) Remove, erase, alter, or cancel any entry in any books or records of the corporation, with intent to deceive.

The latest announcement made in the Laguna Woods Globe, was “Laguna Woods Village gets New Cable Operator.” “Connexion Technology of North Carolina, beginning January 2010, will manage and operate the network, while GRF will still own the cable TV franchise and broadband network, The partnership will reduce GRF’s operating costs and capital expenses for the cable network, and savings will be passed on to residents, according to a statement released by the managing agent, PCM staff, on Tuesday, January 5, 2010. "In excess of a $1,000,000 a year," said Russ Ridgeway of expected savings. Russ Ridgeway said, "The current Broadband Staff will remain the same, although they will become Connexion Technology employees.”

Several questions need to be answered by GRF and PCM.

(1) How and Why was a partnership formed in the Laguna World Trust without the Homeowners approval?
(2) Is Connexion Technology a full partnership or a limited partnership?
(3) How much is Leisure World / Laguna Woods Village Cable TV worth?
(4) Was the $1,406,000 paid to GRF the full amount Connexion paid for the partnership?
(5) Broadband Staff are PCM’s employees and now they are going to be Connexion
Employees? Is Connexion a subsidiary of PCM?
(6) Who negotiated this 15 year contract/partnership?

It is time the four Boards (GRF, United, Third and Fifty) and PCM give the homeowners correct information on the governing documents, contracts or partnership the homeowners are responsible for. The homeowners, who pay the bills, should be fully informed as to what their obligation is and what has been sold, built, given or taken under these contracts or partnerships.

Sincerely yours,

Noni and Corkey Eley

Transmitted at the request of Noni and Corkey Eley.

Shennanigans redux in the community center

2010-01-07T11:30:00.000-08:00

This is an excellent article about more of the shenanigans coming out of the second floor of our community center. It's about rent. Who pays it, who doesn't, how much and more.

http://www.atwebo.com/cotobuzz/2009/LETTERS/CotoLETTERSOCRegister.htm

The big news that GRF was so excited about was the "partnering" with a company to take over the broadband services. Folks, start asking questions NOW. Why were no facts or figures presented? Why was this negotiated COMPLETELY IN SECRET? If Kurt Rahn and his fellow employees working in broadband now are "employees of Connexion Technologies" why haven't we seen an appropriate drop in salaries paid BY US? Since when does the company itself do due diligence? That's like the skunk looking for a foul odor and saying there is none. Me thinks the skunk is still in the halls of PCM/GRF AND THEY NEED TO GO NOW.

This morning's Globe contained another windy and clueless letter in it from the perennial contributor Dave Blodgett. It's too bad he is so far out of the loop that he has absolutely no idea what he's even saying anymore let alone who the people are he's talking about. I guess that when no longer in the public eye all the time and the need for attention is greater than accuracy one has to make one's own news even if it is blatantly wrong and without basis.

Blodgett makes about as much sense as the person who posts to the Globe and the Register as "luvithere" who on one hand rips people all the time for wanting transparency from the boards and consideration for what the owners/members actually want and on the other hand talks about how they are now going to stop making mortgage payments because they are angry with the bank. The article and comment are at http://www.ocregister.com/articles/short-225651-lenders-sales.html. It was posted on December 27, 2009.

Shades of Margo Bouer who threw the keys of the manor in and let it be foreclosed on and then sticking the membership with assessments in arrears. She's still omni present in the community even though she doesn't live here. Thanks to her and her little story all over the news about medical marajuana people are now going into the community center of Laguna Woods Village and asking where they can buy the pot. I have absolutely no objection to people who need it for medical reasons using it. I object strenuously to it being grown by a cooperative of residents in COMMUNITY GARDENS, having a little problem with theft of plants, and people coming into OUR community center and asking to buy weed. But it's okay....Margo is related by marriage to Erwin Stuller.

As much as things change things just don't change. My prediction for the election of GRF is that Souza, Foster and Stone will be elected to the board. Foster seems to have forgotten that he made a commitment to his United constituents to serve his term. Of course, he's just following the less than stellar example of folks like Jim "let's built a really big palace and not just a decent building for the golfers" Matson. Watch a few tapes of past meetings and watch Souza pound the desk, curse and set the spittle fly from his mouth as he casually spends as much as he possibly can OF YOUR MONEY. He also wants you to "change your own damn faucets. I did!" Well, Lar, we'd all like to have a decent community. One that runs well and looks good. But that begins with BASICS. Why don't you discuss the plumbing/epoxy debacle. Truthfully. And Mary Stone. She's going to be saved for an entire column. I just hope that this year they get rid of PCM and then go to work on getting rid of themselves.

Getting rid of PCM means getting rid of Milt Johns and his executive staff. It means the Disbro boys and their partner Olsen will have to go elsewhere to find pockets to suck money out of at will. I'm beginning to think there is some executive/administrative support staff that should probably take a fast hike, too, before the IRS comes in and has them all do the perp walk to the paddy wagons. Picture a few of these prizes in manacles.

If the links don't work simply copy and paste them to your browser.

a letter from Corky and Noni Eley

2010-01-06T13:00:00.001-08:00

January 4, 2010

Janet Price, Finance Director
Milt Johns, General Manager
All LWV Board of Directors
LWV Homeowners

Re: No response to letters written regarding Leisure Worlds
Original Trust and amendments and Leisure Worlds/
Laguna Woods Village Management Contracts.

Happy New Year!! We certainly hope this New Year will
bring some drastic changes to Leisure World/Laguna Woods
Village. It is time the governing documents (Trust, Articles of
Incorporation, CC&R's and the By-Laws) are enforced and new
management contracts written. The homeowners of this
community deserve better management and advice than
they have been getting in the past.

Leisure Worlds Original Trust and the amendments to the
Trust have been violated by GRF and PCM by not delivering to
each homeowner a copy of the Operating Budget each year, as per
the amendment to the Trust dated April 6, 1964. The Trust must be
acknowledged and honored by GRF and PCM. The homeowners have
been kept in the dark as to how their money, land and assets
are being distributed. This is Senior Abuse at its worst and must
stop.

The thirty eight (38) board members of the four corporations
(GRF, United, Third and Fifty) at the beginning of each year are
given a copy of the Red Book. The Red Book contains the Operating
Budget, the Business Plan for each of the four corporations and the
Business Plan for each Division (Broadband Services, General
Management, Community Relations, Financial Services, Security,
Landscape, Recreation, Human Resources and Maintenance). Included
in the Red Book is the Golden Rain Foundation Trust Capital Reserve
Expenditures for equipment and facilities. The Capital Reserve
Expenditures reported in the 2010 Red Book for equipment and
facilities was reported as $8,931,350; however this amount is closer to
$10,000,000, as the Golf Starter Building cost of $4,886,300 was changed
in the December finance committee meeting to $5,500,000 and will
probably change again when construction begins. Remember Clubhouse 7?

The Management Contracts between PCM and the four corporations
should have been re-negotiated many years ago, as per
Article 5 (b). Article 5 has been written in each contract since 1996 and
the CPI has exceeded eight percent (8%) on GRF's operating budget for
several years with NO re-negotiations of the contracts. Why not?

Listed below is Article 5 of the above mentioned contracts. This
article has been included in each Management Contract since 1996.
The article number may be different on each contract but the statement
on Fee's is the same.

ARTICLE 5. Fee. Agent shall be paid, as its sole compensation for all services
performed hereunder, a fee payable in advance on the first day of each month in an
amount, exclusive of all surcharges, determined on the basis of the total number of
dwelling units in Owner under management by Agent as of the last day of the
preceding month as follows:
(a) Said fee shall consist of a monthly charge in the amount of ________, per
dwelling unit.
(b) Said fee shall be adjusted annually for each succeeding year by the
same percentage as the All Urban Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the United
States Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Los Angeles-Riverside, Orange County
Metropolitan Area. Such annual re-computation shall be based on the July to
June CPI increase or decrease, but not to exceed eight percent (8%). Should
the variation in the CPI exceed eight percent (8%), the fee set herein shall be
reopened automatically and subiect to re-negotiation. Such fee adjustments
shall be budgeted and become effective as of January 1 of the succeeding year.

Wake Up!! Every homeowner should purchase a bound
Red Book for $10.00 from the print shop on the first floor of the
Community Center Administration Building if they are interested in
knowing how the Operating Budget for 2010 of $94,970,566 is being
spent. This is your home and you must get informed and participate
before it's to late. The Red Book and the Management Contracts are
good starting points.

Sincerely yours,

Noni and Corkey Eley

Cynthia Conners' response to Corkey and Noni Eley

2009-11-24T12:52:00.000-08:00

This is councilmember Cynthia Conners’ response to Corkey and Noni Eley’s recent letter. At least we know what she really thinks.

----- Original Message -----
From: Cynthia Conners
To: (undisclosed)
Cc (undisclosed)
Sent: Monday, November 23, 2009 10:00 AM
Subject: re: Fw: Irresponsible Actions

To the Elys --
Are you proposing this just because "it's the rule" and you believe therefore it must be followed?
Are you upset because there's no unified Leisure World Budget?
Well, legally, there isn't any Leisure World at all, anymore, so that may be one reason there's no such budget.
Or are you upset because not every member received a budget that covers the entire community?

How many people in United want to read Third's budget? Have you taken a survey? Is it more than six?
And vice versa?
And how many people want to read Mutual 50's Budget? Do you know more than 2 people in Mutual 50 who want to read the budgets for United and Third?

How much do you think the residents should spend to print and mail every budget to every member, for the benefit of 15 who want to have a paper copy of each one? Those budgets will be posted on the web site, and any person who wants to see them can do so. If they want to print them out they can do so.

Are you upset because they are accessible on the web site and not by mail to every member?
The Village already has legal and legislative opinion that they are in compliance with the Davis Sterling act by posting notices on the internet and at clubhouses, broadcasting them on Channel 6, etc., because the cost of printing and mailing to 12,000 households is too great. Perhaps we should have all the budgets read aloud on Channel 6. That'd draw a large audience....

I would think you'd be in favor of a move that minimizes cost, not a move that adds cost.

Cynthia

Two Letters from Corkey & Noni Eley

2009-11-19T11:15:00.000-08:00

Since this letter was sent the "condensed" version has arrived in some homes in Third Mutual. Mine arrived on the 18th of November. The first letter:

Milt Johns, Gerneral Manager
Janet Price,

As of November12, 2009 there has not been an Operating Budget
mailed to the homeowners of Leisure World/Laguna Woods Village.
WHY? The Amendment to the Trust dated April 6, 1964 states the
Operating Budget should be mailed 60 Days prior to the beginning of
the fiscal year.

The Amendment to the Original Trust dated April 6,1964 under
number six (6) of the Terms of this agreement states:"Golden Rain
shall operate and manage the improvements and provide
administrative, recreational and medical services for the benefit of the
members of the Cooperatives and their successors in interest at cost
and on a nonprofit basis. The cost thereof shall be included in a monthly
carrying charges charged on a pro rata basis to the members by their
respective Cooperatives. Not less than sixty (60) days prior to the
beginning of each fiscal year GOLDEN RAIN shall prepare an
operating budget setting forth its estimate of the cost of operating
and managing the improvements and providing the other aforesaid
services desired for the ensuing year and shall cause copies of same
to be delivered to the members of the Cooperatives or to the
Cooperatives for delivery to their members. The estimated cost
shall include administrative expenses, operating expenses, utilities,
hazard insurance, taxes and assessments, interest and amortization,
and a reasonable contigency reserve. Golden Rain in its capacity
as Trustee of the Golden Rain Foundation Trust shall maintain
and repair the Improvements for the benefit of the Cooperatives
and their successors in interest at cost and on a nonprofit basis and
shall prepare and deliver cost estimates for such maintenance
and repair in the same manner and such costs shall be charged in the
same manner as provided above for operating and managing costs
Such cost shall include resonable reserve for replacement and
renovation.

Unless the homeowners purchase the RED BOOK, they have
no idea what the Operating Budget for Leisure World/Laguna Woods
Village is ($95,000,000 plus). It is time for PCM and GRF to mail a
Complete Operating Budget to each homeowner in this nonprofit
senior citizen homeowners association,
Sincerely yours,
Corkey and Noni Eley

The second letter:

Re: Article 5 of 2007-2011 Management Contracts between PCM
and the four corporations (PCM, Third, United & Fifty of LWV)

Questions have arisen regarding Article 5 of the Management
Contracts between Professional Community Management and each of
the four Corporations (GRF. United, Third and Fifty) who manage,
operate and maintain Leisure World/Laguna Woods Village. Article
5 is printed below.

Article 5, Fee. Agent shall be paid, as its sole compensation for
all services performed hereunder, a fee payable in advance on the first
day of each month in an amount, exclusive of all surcharges, determind
on the basis of the total number of dwelling units in Mutual
under management by Agent as of the last day of the preceeding month
as follows:
(a) Said fee shall consist of a monthly charge in the amount of
$1.80 per dwelling unit.
(b) Said fee shall be adjusted annually for each succeeding year
by the same percentage as the All Urban Consumer Price Index
(CPI) of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Los
Angeles - Riverside, Orange County Metropolitan Area/. Such annual
re-computation shall be based on the July to June CPI increase or
decrease but not to exceed eight percent (8%). Should the variation
in the CPI exceed eight percent (8%) the fee set herein shall be
reopened automatically and subject to renegotiations. Such fee
adjustments shall be budgeted and become effective as of January 1
of the succeeding year.

After reading Article 5(b), the question that needs to be answered
is: Was there a minus two point six percent (2.6%) decrease in the fee
paid to the Agent on the 2010 Operating Budget? The Consumer Price
Index (CPI) for the Los Angeles-Riverside, OrangeCounty, Ca. based on
the July to June CPI was minus two point six percent (2.6%)

There should definitely be a decrease in the fee paid to the Agent
on the 2010 Operating Budget based on the Consumer Price Index
(CPI) as per the Management Contracts between PCM and the four
Corporations Article 5(b).
Sincerely yours,
Corkey and Noni Eley

Land for Swap - Directors Abdicate Responsibility

2009-11-10T10:21:00.000-08:00

Goings On LWV Issue 26 November 2009

I heard the word “LANDSWAP” at the November GRF meeting falling from Milt Johns’ lips. How often have we been warned about the San Sebastian taking over the parking lot next to the library? Now it has been said out loud and in public ON TV. A land swap….a tiny little piece of land slated to be a pocket park presently owned by the City of Laguna Woods which is behind the Aryes Hotel and the self storage units FOR THE PARKING LOT. Use your voices people!!! This has been the plan ALL ALONG.
PCM has a financial interest in the San Sebastian. They helped build it via partnership with the developer(s) and Milt Johns announced in a meeting that he was “in daily contact with Standard Pacific” during the construction of that property; this, even though LWV was completely out of the picture at that point.
IT IS A TOTAL AND COMPLETE YET REPEATED BREACH OF ETHICS to have ANYTHING to do with suggesting a land swap that is to PCM’s advantage.

A land swap must be equitable. That is, a real or perceived value of that given up must be at LEAST equal to what is received as well as being as valuable as the land is valuable to those receiving it.

The lot could be sold, say, for $100. Value exchanged for both parites. However, the lot ENHANCES the value to the San Sebastian far more than $100 would enhance GRF (the members.) There would therefore be a breach of duty to make that sale. It is inconceivable that the land exchange could be of equal value.
It is not about land area at all…size for size. It’s about the final REAL value overall.

For example: we negotiate the trade of horses of equal size, age and racing record. Each is a triple-crown winner. One is a gelding and one is a colt. Who gets the better deal?

Bob Hatch knows this as a real estate appraiser. The rest of them know it because they have been told over and over and over and over. PCM knows it but WANTS THE LAND!
Lloyd Foster can sit on the dias and mumble his ignorance telling people how “that’s a GRF issue” but what he repeatedly fails to say is that IT IS THE MUTUALS WHICH VOTE FOR AND ARE IN CONTROL OF GRF. The board members of the mutuals are the corporate members of GRF. IT IS the business of the mutuals. It IS the business of UNITED.

Speak up now or we’ll be back in the same situation we were with the land swap that sold us down the river the last time, people. How much of our land are we going to let PCM buy sell and swap with abandon? Are you going to put up with losing more of our land at the whim of PCM? Get your voices in gear and SPEAK UP. Write your legislators, law enforcement agencies and let your board members know you don’t like this behavior and it is to STOP. If YOU don’t raise your own voice and allow this to happen you have nobody to blame but yourself.

Decision Making by Boards - Taking the easy way out

2009-11-04T11:45:00.000-08:00

Goings On LWV Issue 25 November 09

It is virtually amazing that more psychological or behavioral studies have not been made using our elderly population. Not only is the number of elderly/retired people increasing in the United States but changing social norms are moving elderly from family units into enclaves called retirement communities. Today, large numbers of senior citizens are gathered into these enclaves begging for study. And yet there are few studies on seniors which do not relate to Alzheimers or other forms of mental deterioration. One might suggest that these studies are driven by fears of what might be the future for many groups of social behaviorists. If it happens to you, it is a shame; if it might happen to ME it would be a terrible tragedy of awesome proportions. In the mean time seniors are usually kept out of sight and out of mind. If you don’t believe me, consider how often the kids drop over just to give you a hug or hang out. (Not that you would like the latter since we are all active seniors here and have our own lives that we are busily trying to live.)

And yet, here we are. We are a population at or nearing retirement age, living as active a life as our health and wealth will allow. And we have a distinct social structure. We are members of a homeowners association, governed (?) by elected boards, and managed by hired help. We are, in fact, the country in microcosm. We have self-important “leaders” who revile those who elect them. We have hired help that literally believes that what we have is theirs by right. We have elections, corruption, nasty leaders—we might as well be a separate state. And what characterizes our leaders?

Others have reported how new directors quickly get sucked into the machine and, to keep their own sense of importance, rationalize becoming just one of the good old boys. This is very much like the Stanford Prison Experiment where volunteers were put into a closed population and identified as guards or inmates. These average people started to exhibit the worst behavioral characteristics of sadistic guards and sullen or brutal inmates. The experiment got so bad, that the psychologists performing the study had to call it to a close to ensure the safety of all of the volunteers. We, of course, have directors who call us inmates, treat themselves to parties with our money, and call security when we try to protest. STANFORD, here we are, what are you waiting for?

Over the past few decades we have seen candidate after candidate call for reforms up until the moment they are installed to one of our boards. At that point they become meek as lambs, go with the flow, and soon become indistinguishable from the rest. What happened to those new ideas they had? What happened to their avowed declaration that they would shake the boat and make changes? STANFORD, we need another study. Or do we?

You all remember the Bay of Pigs debacle. Cuban nationals organized and were supposed to trained and supported by the CIA and potentially backed up by units of the US Military. The landing point on the island nation of Cuba was the Bay of Pigs. An elaborate plan to overthrow Castro and his fledgling government failed so miserably it became virtually synonymous with any kind of complete disaster and, as a US Navy Admiral I knew used to call a complete Cluster F***. I think the exact number of people killed was 118 with roughly 1200 captured in the three day debacle. Basically the US tried to deny we were involved and deserted the Cuban nationals. John Kennedy was in office 3 months. He had been present at every major meeting since the onset of planning for the Bay of Pigs. This contributed to the mentality that they did not want to displease or contradict the president. They wanted to one of the boys, Kennedy’s boys. GROUPTHINK.

The backblow from this horror story of an invasion was so bad that Kennedy could almost see his career going down the tubes right in front of his eyes. The Bay of Pigs invasion had been planned by GROUPTHINK.

Kennedy, while not my favorite president, was at least smart enough to recognize real trouble with a system of planning when he saw it. He took measures to fix the problem. He established a devil’s advocate to represent the opposition in every major operational decision made from that point on. Kennedy used mostly his brother Robert for the job but occasionally he used Ted Sorensen. The result was that the much more serious Cuban Missile Crisis exemplifies the success of strategies designed to combat GROUPTHINK.

There have been many studies about Groupthink since William White coined the term in 1952. The term applies to the philosophy that group values (real or perceived) are not only expedient but right and good. In LWV directors are given standards of behavior which tells them to get along, become one of the (good old) boys, don’t express contrary opinions or values, and get along in peace and harmony. This does, of course, result in a false sense of serenity, a smooth surface that belies the tensions of the community. That is, the boards soon no longer represent the diverse opinions and needs of the community. They are good old boys. They get along.
What would happen if law enforcement walked in here tomorrow? What if people were indicted and dragged off in chains? What would our beloved directors say? Just as Robert McNamara and Kennedy’s entire cabinet said, well they had their reservations. They didn’t agree with everything but felt it was futile to speak out (becoming bad old guys or perhaps old bad guys) when everyone else was so full of confidence. Believe me, Uncle Miltie and the Great Grub are not in Kennedy’s league. What stops people from speaking out? Why don’t they stand up and say that an outrage is being perpetrated by the actions of their board? What good is a statement that they stood up in closed session and objected? How can FOUR BOARDS allow a director to be persistently maligned and disenfranchised without a public statement from ANY director? How can ANY BOARD gang up on any resident they chose to target. How can ANY BOARD condone and participate when complaints are filed against these residents alluding to unsubstantiated misdeeds even when witnesses discount these allegations? How can ONE BOARD sit there and allow a sitting director to be voted off the board even when a judge of the superior court agreed that they did not have the legal right to do so? And why has no member of that board taken their feet to say, Hey, we really didn’t have the right to do this. Victims of GROUPTHINK, all. STANFORD, come and get us, we are ripe for your studies.

Dribs and Drabs

2009-10-22T15:33:00.000-07:00

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.

A response to Virginia Templeton

2009-10-21T12:29:00.000-07:00

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.

Another Request to GRF-Others Ignored

2009-10-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

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

Safety is Job One...but not when YOU are paying the insurance costs.

2009-10-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

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.

Parking Fees are Just a Swell Idea.

2009-10-06T16:03:00.000-07:00

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.

The Duh Response

2009-10-06T11:22:00.000-07:00

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.

Busy Busy and still covering up

2009-10-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

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.

Pot Farm Plots Issue 18

2009-09-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

Goings On LWV issue 18 Sept 23 09

The Garden Center Advisory Group of the Community Activities Committee of the Golden Rain Foundation Board (sounds like something right out of Imperial Russia, doesn’t it?) is meeting tomorrow…that’s THURSDAY morning at 9:00 am in the Birch room.

Anybody who would like to have an explanation about allowing 4 people, two of whom are NOT members of LWV, to grow pot on a community and therefore common ground garden plot might want to attend and ask questions. Bob Hatch heads up the CAC as chair and one of his very favorite things to say is “well, let’s just do it and if it’s illegal we’ll fix it later.” The chair person of the garden center advisory group is none other than the magazine toting champagne drinking GAIL McNULTY who said to the audience at large during the last broadcast GRF meeting that “the sheriff has approved” the plot. That is not true. In fact it was denied in writing by Lt. Griffin, who represents the Sheriff in Laguna Woods. He said, “The Sheriff’s Department did not approve the growing of the marijuana.” Perhaps McNulty should put her magazine and her champagne glass down and pay attention to her responsibilities. Surely one of the pair of McNulty’s serving on two different boards in this community could try to bear the responsibility they have chosen to undertake.

Ask, for instance, what extra security measures have been put in place at YOUR EXPENSE (any and all, remember) to assure the safety of the REST OF THE RESIDENTS who aren’t growing pot on common ground. Oh, you mean there wasn’t any extra security? Ask just exactly how many mature and immature plants there are on the plot. For EACH person bearing a proper prescription there is a limit of 6 mature OR 12 immature plants. Let’s see….that would be 24 mature plants or 48 mature plants TOTAL in that ENTIRE GARDEN PLOT. Better to ask why it was even considered allowable when there are much smaller things disallowed because of potential harm or danger to others such as riding a gyroscooter. WHY are non resident’s who are also not even members being allowed to use garden space when there is a list a mile long of people who DO qualify according to GRF’s OWN RULES for garden space. McNulty must have reached a really interesting decorating page that day.

Ask why they don’t spend as much attention to fulfilling their RESPONSIBILITY AND OBLIGATION to the members of this community as they do to covering their butts when they are caught with their pants down around their ankles…..over and over and over and over again. Why don’t they spend as much attention to responsibility and obligation to the members as they do to manipulating the vote in a recall election. Gail McNulty was one of the targeted directors in that recall, by the way, and the message from the 42-45% was very loud clear. (Somehow it stinks to high heaven of unethical – at the very least – to have two people from the same household sitting on two different boards; James McNulty on GRF and Gail McNulty on United. Hmmmm, I wonder how many votes they cast as members. Are there special rules for couples serving concurrently on boards?)

Ask them when they intend to fire PCM and disband themselves as trustees so we can move forward with a REAL trustee and management that has a clue about integrity and ethics.

Demand action from your boards. All of them. FIRE PCM. DISBAND GRF.

Issue 17 September 22 09

2009-09-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

Water, Water Everywhere and We’re Exempt so…….

Apparently WE (Laguna Woods Village) can water any time we want, as much as we want, as irresponsibly as we want. At least that is what John Paulus, Landscaping Committee Chairman of Third would like us to do. I’m sure he’s had it confirmed by his connections with STAFF. Let’s see would that be the infamous Ismael Saenz and Brian Gentry or did he only listen to what Kurt Rahn, Milt Johns’ head of landscaping, had to say?

I asked Paulus why the sprinklers were running at full blast during mid-day which is the highest evaporation period and least effective watering time. We have been pounded with information from the City, from El Toro Water and from all our boards about how we have to cut back on water. We heard how THIRD was going to be fined if the water overage was as great during the next measuring period as it was during the last. Apparently the domestic use (that would be individual manors) was horrendous with some housing units using enough to wash their personal battleships daily. It also appears that there might possibly be some water meter problems! Wow, go figure! It might not ALL be residents just opening all their valves and letting the water pour fourth at full velocity after all.That information didn't come from Paulus, however. That information came from Dick Palmer, candidate for the board.

We are in a Level 1 Water Alert which has been in effect since July 1, 2009. In the brochure received from the City just Saturday it says Laguna Woods may water Tuesday, Friday and either Saturday or Sunday. Ok. Then it says WATERING IS PROHIBITED BETWEEN 10:00AM AND 5:00PM. Common sense would indicate that that is prime evaporation time…that time when the sun is highest and hottest and the water never touches the ground, it just becomes vapor. It makes COMMON SENSE not to water during those hours. But, as Paulus says, “We’re exempt.” (He is using "we" in the Imperial sense and it is only the outside watering done by the mutuals and GRF who are exempt...not individual manors) So it’s okay not to use any part of common sense and just go ahead and water any old way and waste not only the water but the plants that are being killed by neglect.

Being exempt doesn’t excuse irresponsible behavior and that is exactly what is going on with watering when the heat of the day is literally sucking the moisture out of the air before it ever gets to ground. When are boards going to get their glass navels adjusted so they can begin to SEE what they should be doing….OVERSEEING the operations here. I don’t care if we’re exempt from something like watering hours. If it doesn’t make good sense to water then WHY ARE WE DOING IT? I don’t care what Rahn or his underlings have to say….WHERE IS YOUR BRAIN? WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?

Thanks for the explanation, Paulus. It was up to your usual standard of getting partial information but not even bothering to take it a step farther and ask the next question…”does this even make sense?”

No, it doesn’t make sense. The system is on a highly touted computer program. So program it to turn on and off during the hours when it isn’t going to go completely to waste. Further explanation is called for from our boards and the managing company who is driving us all into bankruptcy.

PCM has GOT to go and the sooner the better. GRF is bleeding our trust dry and we have no need for them. We can get a “real” trustee” without so much as even blinking. It is long past time to replace these total and complete incompetents.

Correcting the Record, Issue 15

2009-09-16T17:05:00.000-07:00

Issue 15 September 09
During the Third Mutual Board meeting of September 15, Carol Moore practically broke her arm self congratulating. The other board members who have spent one grim year with her at the helm were all damned with faint praise save two….John Paulus and Kathryn Freshley. Moore no longer ever appears in public or indeed in closed session without her leech companion Freshley. Is Freshley afraid Moore will say or do something she isn’t “allowed” to in public? Is she afraid she’ll have another violent episode of temper and is now Moore’s watchdog?
Moore’s opening remarks were quite interesting. In them she discussed the number of times Milt Johns, General Manager of LWV and employee of PCM had issued ultimata to the board of Third; the first in January of 09 when I was present and again several times later. Milt sat on his tuffet at the end of the dais turning redder and redder while appearing to give birth to spiders and later attempted to publicly discipline the queen of sequins. For the first time in her tenure as a board member she kept her mouth zipped.
Moore also mentioned having to deal with “issues with a director”. She was referring, of course, to the unsuccessful attempt by her, Freshley and Paulus to unseat me from the board after they had elected me to the position of director. This is where we come to some VERY INTERESTING QUESTIONS.
Did Carol Moore, President of Third Mutual, misuse Third Mutual Funds for her personal problem?
In February during a closed session of the Third Board Moore threw a bottle of water across the table at me. Doing that was a personal act. Criminal acts are not shielded by closed session. Filing a police report was not a breach of confidentiality. She didn’t consult with the board, she didn’t take a vote, there was no resolution passed. Nobody in Third helped her propel the bottle across the table. SHE did it. It was a personal act.
I filed charges against her. They were filed against Carol Moore; not against the Third Board, not any member of Third other than Moore; ONLY Moore.
The OCRegister reported the following on March 5: “Moore declined to detail her version of events, but said ‘I did not throw a water bottle at anyone’ (and here’s the critical phrase, folks) THROUGH LWV’S MANAGEMENT COMPANY, PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT.” The question here is: WHY is Moore speaking THROUGH PCM when the entire incident was a PERSONAL act? WHO was billed for the service of being SPOKESPERSON for Moore via PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT? Any activity PCM engages in is billed to one of the 4 boards. Just as a lawyer keeps track of time so does PCM. If Third paid for the legal services of Moore and her private problem wouldn’t that a blatant misuse of Third Mutual Funds by a director for personal business?
The second question to be asked is: How would THIRD MUTUAL incur LEGAL charges unless something like the Third Mutual attorney (Adams/Kessler at the time) was used by Moore for her personal advice and counsel? WHO PAID THAT LEGAL BILL? Did Third? I have asked several directors to find out and answer that very question but none have done so to date. What is being hidden? Isn’t using the THIRD MUTUAL ATTORNEY for PERSONAL LEGAL ADVICE a misuse of Third Mutual funds?
A third question would be: Why/how would Third Mutual incur any legal expenses at all before a completely unrelated lawsuit was filed against Third Mutual? That is what Kathryn Freshley stated in her comments to the OC Register August 4: “McDaniel initiated legal costs before she was removed; her removal and lawsuit were later.” WHAT COSTS DID I INITIATE WITH THE THIRD BOARD? NONE. You can bet I didn’t call Adams/Kessler which is the only legal counsel for Third I know of (at that time.) The bottle incident had absolutely NOTHING to do with the question of law involved in the law suit I filed against Third Mutual. That should have cost only Moore her own funds IF she consulted with an attorney for HER OWN BEHAVIOR and the difficulty she brought upon herself for her act. But, unless the attempted removal from the board was the PUNISHMENT for filing a complaint with the Sheriff then there was absolutely NO REASON for Moore to use Third’s lawyers for ANYTHING. If, indeed the whole removal issue was punitive and vindictive then there is a whole other problem coming to light with the operation of the Third Mutual Board and they would have explaining to do.
Did Carol Moore misuse Third Mutual money? Prove to me she did not. Every single time Moore or Freshley brings this up they dig themselves in deeper. They need to accept that the lawsuit is OVER. Moore needs to learn personal responsibility and how to behave in the company of others. Just ask Lixian Lai, a resident who spoke Tuesday.
The truly bizarre end result is that they lost a staunch ally and supporter of many of the actions which they are currently contemplating and implementing vis a vis the managing agent and general manager.
A longtime and very vocal PCM supporter spoke during Member Comments at the Third meeting to decry the action(s) being taken by Third ostensibly against Milt Johns. Although one director chose to believe she was talking about the recall which had nothing to do with the Third Board (beyond several being directly, heavily involved in the No on recall effort) subsequent comments by Milt, Moore and other board members left absolutely no doubt that her comments were directed against unstated actions being taken against Johns by one or more boards. The fact that the resident had difficulty reading the prepared statement further supports the interpretation that she was speaking against actions discussed in executive session which have still not been disclosed to the public beyond Marv Rosenhaft’s letter to the Disbro boys, et al.
Did this resident have inside and confidential information as yet publicly undisclosed? Was her speech written for her? If the speech was written for her, who wrote it? Was her speech written by anyone in the employ of PCM? Was the information supplied through the usual source; the longtime conduit to Positive Solutions and PCM by a former board member? There are lots and lots and lots of questions but one thing is for certain: Carol Moore doesn’t know how to comport herself properly and she and her keepers need to move forward. It would be a good idea to start with a simple apology for her behavior. I won’t hold my breath but that one act could have prevented a world of angst for her both in the past and possibly in the very near future.

PCM and breach of Confidential Information

2009-09-15T13:45:00.000-07:00

Goings On LWV September 09 issue 14

Four years ago when we moved in to our home in Laguna Woods and Third Mutual, our telephone was listed in the telephone book (SBC) but our address was not….. by specific request. We have never, ever been listed in any Laguna Woods directory not because we didn’t want to be but because it just never appeared. In the latest phone book our name and ADDRESS as well are listed. How did this happen? Who is responsible? When we moved in here we gave emergency contact information to PCM as part of the package we were required to provide. In the latest phone book that CONFIDENTIAL EMERGENCY information has appeared. The emergency contact never lived with us at this address. In the latest phone book our emergency contact name, our address, and the contact’s unlisted phone number WHICH IS OUT OF STATE is listed. How did this information become public? Who disclosed the information? When we moved in four years ago photographs were taken to be used for our LWV ID cards ONLY. We were assured they were for that purpose and that purpose alone; that it is confidential and would be used for NO OTHER PURPOSE EVER. We have not changed our consent to have the information used.
Cheryl Walker called when I was elected to the board and asked for a current photo to use in the story in the Globe; before I was able to e-mail the photo to Walker the LWV ID photo appeared in her story. It was in fact, used several times over the next months in both the Globe and OCRegister which owns the Globe. I gave no authorization to release this photo AT ANY TIME TO ANYBODY FOR ANY REASON. Who released it? Since this information and this photograph were only in PCM maintained confidential files this means there has been a breach of confidentiality and a dispersal of private and confidential information by PCM. If I were the only person thus victimized by the managing agent it could be considered personal harassment. It is indeed harassment, and possibly ID Theft. However, since this board is aware of at least one other Third Mutual resident also having personal and confidential information made public it becomes a PATTERN of activity. Has someone profited from the release of this information? Who might that be? Have membership lists and personal and confidential information been sold to outside interests? If so, who profited? Who authorized this activity? Who is responsible? What is being done specifically to rectify this situation?
It is interesting to note that a member is entitled to a membership list which includes names and addresses of fellow members. However, past experience has demonstrated that membership lists are not given to members when they are simply requested of the managing agent. Why then, is confidential information about members available to what appears to be paying customers?

The Pot Thickens, Those Responsible Hide issue 16

2009-09-12T12:14:00.000-07:00

Here’s Lt. Bill Griffin’s response to the legality of the POT FARM on LWV COMMUNITY garden center ground which is COMMON AREA. “The marijuana plot in the Laguna Woods Village was examined by a Sheriff’s Department Narcotics Investigator. It was found to be in compliance with State Law through the Compassionate Use Act. The Sheriff’s Department did not approve the growing of the marijuana.”
Note particularly the last sentence where he said the Sheriff’s Department did not approve the growing of the marijuana. I guess Gail McNulty was talking out of order again when she said the Sheriff had approved it at the United Board meeting on Tuesday, September 8.
Here’s the URL for Senate Bill 420 which makes it legal, in California, to grow and use pot. However, it is still illegal under Federal law. Pay close attention to section 11362.77 (a) which defines exactly how much may be kept/grown/processed and ONLY for an individual. http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/03-04/bill/sen/sb_0401-0450/sb_420_bill_20031012_chaptered.html "A qualified patient or primary caregiver may possess no more than eight ounces of dried marijuana per qualified
patient. In addition, a qualified patient or primary caregiver may
also maintain no more than six mature or 12 immature marijuana plants
per qualified patient." That is about a truck load of dope, folks, for one person. But 4 here of whom 2 are not even members of any mutual in LWV need an entire COMMUNITY garden plot on COMMON AREA.
The response from the Sheriff’s department via Lt. William Griffin, Chief of Police Services, Laguna Woods is too short and actually prompts more questions than he answered. Unfortunately it’s really tough to get the Lt. to respond to queries of any kind. Some of the questions are as follow:
Was the examination of the plot deemed for one person or for how many and were they in compliance with all the requirements of Proposition 215 which is known as the Compassionate Use Act?
A single COMMUNITY garden plot on LWV COMMON AREA would be large enough to produce pot for half the population of LWV. Just how many plants are being grown per qualified person?
When he says “the Sheriff’s Department did not approve the growing of the marijuana” what does he mean exactly? Does he mean to say that the investigator is not part of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department? If not, what agency was represented? Are we to infer that there are non-compliance issues yet to be resolved? Does he mean it is outside the parameters of what can be approved? We are once again left in the limbo of no real answer from the OCSD on this.
Just who are the persons of record for the Compassionate Use of the COMMUNITY garden plot on COMMON AREA ground in LWV?
Exactly how does one go about contacting the Sheriff’s Department Narcotics Investigator to get Compassionate Use ruling? Does the contact person need to be on the City Council? (Which in this case would be tantamount to asking GRF if it was okay. We already know that they think it is just hunky dorey and okay with them based on their little tea party attitude when Ray Gros announced the presence of the garden of the stoned.)
The U.S. Supreme Court has twice upheld the ability of federal officials to enforce federal law despite the protections afforded to patients under state law. The case of Gonzales v. Raich challenged the federal position by claiming that simple cultivation of plant was outside the federal regulatory scheme of interstate commerce. While initially successful in the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down this argument. However, in his opinion, Justice Stevens expressed, while he denied them support at this time, he hoped "the voices of voters allied with these respondents may one day be heard in the halls of Congress." Justice O'Connor wrote in her dissenting opinion stated "This case exemplifies the role of states as laboratories."
It's all about MONEY. We need to FIRE PCM and dissolve GRF before they DESTROY US.

Letter from Corkey and Noni Eley September 9,2009

2009-09-10T10:46:00.001-07:00

September 09. 2009

Milt Johns, General Manager
Erwin Stuller, President GRF
Carol Moore, President Third Mutual
Lloyd foster, President United Mutual

Re-Dissolution of Rossmoor Leisure World Laguna Hill Corporation.

The internet is a remarkable tool to get almost any information on any subject you request. We were interested in what is the criteria to dissolve
ROSSMOOR LEISURE WORLD LAGUNA HILLS a nonprofit homeowner’s corporation??

Below are two (2) statements on the dissolution of nonprofit corporations from the 9 pages of internet printouts we requested on what is the criteria to dissolve Ca. corporations.

1. The voluntary dissolution of a domestic nonprofit corporation is initiated by an election to dissolve. The election to dissolve may be made by the VOTE or Written consent of a majority of all the members of the
Corporation or, if there are no members, by the board of directors. Following this election the corporation must file documents with the Secretary of State. Statutory filing requirements are found in California Corporation Code Sections 6611, 8611, 9680 or 12631.

2. Mutual benefit corporations: If the dissolving corporation is a Mutual benefit corporation and the corporation is holding assets in a
Charitable trust, the distribution of those assets must be approved by the
Attorney General or made by decree of the Superior Court. (Corporation Code 8716).

Mr. Harry Curtis, President of Golden Rain foundation in May, 2005 and Milt Johns, PCM General manager called a Special Closed Session Meeting
Of the four boards (Golden Rain, United, Third and Fifty). This meeting was called to solicit Votes to CHANGE the Rossmoor Leisure World Laguna
Hills NAME without the VOTE or APPROVAL of the 12,736 homeowners.

To dissolve a nonprofit homeowner’s corporation in California requires a little more than a group of directors in a closed session meeting voting to dissolve the name of Rossmoor Leisure World Laguna Hills Corporation. “A certificate of election to wind up and dissolve is required when the
Election to dissolve was approved by less than 100 percent of the
Members, or if the corporation has no members, by less than a 100 percent of the Directors. To complete the dissolution process the corporation MUST also file a certificate of Dissolution pursuant
to Ca. corporation codes Section 6615, 8615, 9680 and 12535”.

To our knowledge there were NO papers filed to dissolve Rossmoor
Leisure World Laguna Hills Corporation, therefore this community remains Leisure World not Laguna Woods Village a fictitious name.
All of Rossmoor Leisure World Laguna Hills land and assets are held in the
Original trust filed March 2, 1964, with GRF the Trustee and the Mutual’s
(United, Third and Fifty) the Trustors .

WAS ROSSMOOR LEISURE WORLD LAGUNA HILLS CORPORATION DISSOLVED ???

CORKEY and Noni Eley

Cc: Attorney General
Orange County District Attorney
HUD

Issue #13 Advertising Bills paid for by members

2009-09-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

The great 45th anniversary celebration of LWV was held Saturday 9/6 at CH5. I was amused when a neighbor came by and dropped off a couple bottles of water they had gotten up there. People are always bringing me different bottles of water, and shoes because it is an indication that they haven’t forgotten the infamous water bottle and the attempt by the board to unseat me as a result of filing criminal charges against the person who threw a bottle, Carol Moore. In this case their reason was to ask why was advertising for the real estate arm of PCM on bottles bearing our logo; had we licensed the use of the logo to them; WHO PAID FOR IT?
It would not be the first time we had paid for advertising for the real estate arm of PCM. According to the General Ledger for 2004, printing, type-setting and production of brochures for Laguna Woods Properties, Resales, etc. amounted to about $1800.00 on one day in November alone. Not as much as Angel’s baseball tickets at $3662.00 that same year, but after all baseball is more fun. Did you enjoy the games? (We can’t even get them all on our lovely Channel 6, you know. According to McArthur it’s just too expensive but we have something like 11 foreign language channels.)
Interestingly enough there was an explanation from none other than Wendy Bucknum to Mike Curtis when he asked her about it. She said the expense was “authorized by the GRF Board.” Well, we all have to sympathize with Wendy. She’s the one who is terrified of a 72 year old grandmother and is willing to file a SLAPP suit against her along with Milt Johns. Oh, yes, and they used Hart King and Coldren who is supposedly the corporate lawyer for United and GRF but seems to show up more and more representing PCM. But I digress.
Let’s get back to the senior expo and the anniversary celebration where all the commercial junk was being displayed along with the clubs who were soliciting members. Did they have information about the pot farm that GRF/PCM have growing on our community garden plots? It’s being farmed, according to Ray Gros, by two members and two non members. I’m sure they’re proud of the little factory they have going. And, while showing off their lovely amenities do you suppose they talked about how some special people can become so beloved that even if their manor is foreclosed upon and they are no longer residents (or owners) they are given CARte BLANCHE to come and go as they please and use any and all amenities at will? Or is it because they are related to the president of the GRF board, The Great Quivering Pale Grub His Onerous. Has anybody stopped to ask if these same people ALSO DEFAULTED ON ASSESSMENTS leaving Third mutual stuck holding the bag for that expense? Who do you suppose pays out of their assessments for these people and their debt. Thank goodness they are now safely across the street in a new luxury home and don’t have to answer these questions. They are also safe from any marijuana farm problems because they grow their own on their little balcony. Considering the size of the plant and the pot they grow enough for their entire new neighborhood. The stories on NPR and the Globe blog were lovely and informative.
As usual, it’s all about MONEY. We must FIRE PCM and REPLACE GRF as our trustee. PCM has for years seen us as a living breathing money tree and they want it all NOW. Let’s get rid of them NOW and live in some kind of peace. Beware the elections. Keep in mind that Noel Hatch was co-author, along with Bob Hatch and MILT JOHNS of the current Management agreement. “ANY AND ALL EXPENSES”

Secrets and the firing of PCM

2009-09-05T12:18:00.001-07:00

After months of hush-hush whispers and rumor over various parts of the community it would appear that the not-so-secret is finally out in the open. There is a drive to fire Milt Johns and the only board members it doesn’t include are Ruth May, Isabel Muennichow, Mary Robertson, Bea McArthur, John Dalis, Gail McNulty, Arlene Miller, Marv Rosenhaft, Marty Rubin, Paul Vogel, Linda Wilson. These dissenting directors and their ELOQUENT letter to the Disbros must be the end result of almost non-stop meetings between Marv and Ruth May. I particularly loved the last line where we were informed that there were some board members “not available to sign”. Doesn’t matter, Marv, you corporate genius, you, they DIDN’T sign the third grade level missive. OH, maybe you are right in making it so simple….you do have to have the GRF board and PCM understand what is being said. Then you had to be able to explain it to those who signed it.

It stretches across all boards including GRF. As Mike Curtis asked in a recent e-mail “Is this payback for Milt providing access to facilities and staff support as part of the NO on Recall?” These pro-Milt signatories are the same directors so adamantly pushing against the recall. It is interesting that these people are the ones who made this go public.

Unfortunately, Carol Moore doesn’t seem to be able to figure out that a GRF Corporate board meeting can be called and it can take place no matter where it is held, who is in attendance and it doesn’t depend on the good offices of PCM or the Great Pale Grub of a president His Onerous Erwin Stuller. Call the stupid thing and MEET. No need to wait with baited (sic) breath for somebody else to do the work. Here’s the By-law:
5.3 CALLING SPECIAL MEETING OF CORPORATE MEMBERS A Special Meeting of Corporate Members may be called by: The President; or by any two GRF officers; or by a resolution approved by a majority of the Board of this Corporation; or by a resolution approved by a majority of the Board of a Corporate Member.

Let’s see, a majority of the board of a corporate member….that would be THIRD or UNITED or TOWERS or GRF…..it ain’t rocket science, Tootsie. Mooreshly manages to call plenty of closed Third meetings held at John Paulus’ rec room (5515 Paseo Del Lago West) at a time when that entity knows full well there will be certain board members unable to attend and thus de facto depriving them of their voices. Have all those meetings been conducted for the purpose of removing Milt or have yet even more topics which should be on the agenda for open session?

I have to ask this question: Who is in charge around here? Is it the mutual boards or PCM? Take a good hard look and tell me.

Bottom line. FIRE PCM. DISBAND GRF AND HIRE A REAL TRUSTEE.

Letter from Corkey and Noni Eley

2009-09-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

September 2, 2009

Milt Johns, General Manager
Erwin Stuller, GRF President
Carol Moore, Third Mutual President
Lloyd Foster, United Mutual President

Re-list of Leisure Worlds Governing Documents--8/20/09.

We hope Milt Johns, GRF Board, and United Laguna Hills Mutual
Board, and Third Laguna Hills Mutual Boards have read and analysed
Leisure Worlds governing documents listed in the E-mail dated 8/20/2009.

Below are statements from the first three (3) documents on the list of Leisure World governing documents. These statements should help clarify
Each documents function and role in Rossmoor Leisure World Laguna
Hills, a non-profit senior citizen homeowners association.

(1) Rossmoor Leisure World Corporation Grant Deed was filed in
December 4, 1961 and refilled December 11, 1961 in Orange County,
California. (Rossmoor Leisure World, a Corporation).

(2) Golden Rain Foundation of Santa Ana Articles of Incorporation
Filed November 19, 1962.
THE purpose for which this corporation is formed are: (a) To engage
Primarily and specifically in sponsoring and forming California corporations,
Whose joint purpose will be to develop a community or communities for senior citizens: and to provide services and community facilities to the occupants of the community or communities. (b) To act as a partner and joint venturer and to enter into co partnership and joint venture agreements
with other corporations and with individuals.
(c ) To engage in any business or activity now or hereafter permitted under the General Non-Profit Corporation Law of the State of California.

(3) Declaration of Establishment of Covenants and Restrictions

Filed February 28, 1964 in Orange County, California. Rossmoor
Corporation, a California Corporation hereinafter referred to as “Declarant”,
is the owner of the following described property: That certain real property
In the County of Orange, State of California and described as follows:
All that real property designated as Parcel 2 and Parcel 3 in that certain Grant Deed dated November 30, 1961 and recorded December 4, 1961 in the office of the County Recorder of said Orange County Book 5931 of Official Records at page 586 and re-recorded December 11, 1961, in the office of the
County Recorder of said Orange county in Book 5839 of Official Records at page 534. The Declaration of Establishments of Covenants and
Restrictions filed in February 28, 1964 were filed by the Declarants Attorney and run with the land of Rossmoor Leisure World Corporation.

GRF, United Laguna Hills Mutual, Professional Community Mangement
(PCM) and Hart, King and Coldren, as well as Third Laguna Hills Mutual should explain WHY after reading Leisure Worlds governing documents
and the information given to you by the Discovery Group, you are still saying GRF and United Laguna Hills Mutual have NO CC&R’s? Someone should be held responsible for their actions.

Sincerely Yours

Corkey and Noni Eley

Marajuana being grown in our garden plots!

2009-09-01T19:04:00.000-07:00

It’s always fun to listen to the GRF board meetings. Today’s was no exception. The big issue that made me laugh today was the absolute Hubris demonstrated by the Board and in particular the president of the whole mess, Stuller. His behavior was its usual nasty but he really shined in his FORMER FEDERAL JUDGE style when he said we didn’t want the DEA to come down on us. GRF apparently feels it is ABOVE THE LAW.
Quite a statement, Erwin, Bubby. And what could you mean? Well, it seems that it was announced to anybody and everybody within the broadcast realm of Channel 6, the Laguna Woods Village television station, that there are FOUR people sharing at least one Recreation Division GARDEN PLOT being used for GROWING MARAJUANA. Two of those people are NON-RESIDENTS! But it’s okay, according to the board and Ray Gros, Security Chairman, because they all have prescriptions for the marijuana (the Sheriff’s position is that it conforms to California law.) Oh, and they’ll take a look at things with our crack security force.
Not so fast, slick guys. I had a little chat with the DEA shortly after your announcement. It is a federal offense to manufacture, sell or distribute it. What is it being used for? Crop rotation? Manufacture would include growing the stuff. But I’m sure the DEA will just overlook it because Ray and Erwin say it’s being looked at. There is no resolution in place on the GRF policy about growing the plant.
Laguna Woods, the City, passed approval of allowing a dispensary here in the city. But no one can approve the growing of it on LWV property whether it is by resident OR non residents. Is GRF kidding when they think they are going to put a resolution in place about growing it? ARE YOU KIDDING?
This comes on the heels of the story in the Globe Blog on the internet and then a story in NPR and a bunch of other places about Margo Bouer and the rather large and healthy plant on her balcony at the Regency where she now lives. Margo may also remember that her very own husband Dr/Lawyer former Mayor Bob Bouer spoke vehemently against having a dispensary in Laguna Woods when he was still on the city council. As I recall, although I’m not positive, one of his arguments was about safety.
I asked the special agent with whom I spoke about the safety issue of having garden plots of weed, Mary Jane, whatever you care to call home grown cannabis. He said it was a serious problem. We can start with simple trespassing and go all the way to robbery and other pretty frightening things but it’s okay with the GRF board! It’s probably okay with that same esteemed body to have the neighbors of those plots put into jeopardy because of the potential spread factor involved with the growing of Marijuana. Why do you think they call it “weed?” Have you ever stepped out behind the restroom at a highway rest stop and taken a good look at what’s growing back there? Ever have an errant tomato show up in your plot?
GRF has GOT TO GO. We need a real trustee and they must take PCM with them!

2009-08-31T17:04:00.000-07:00

Here's a letter the Globe didn't publish. Thought you might like to see it. There is a GRF meeting Tuesday, September 1 at 9:30 am. Go. Speak. Ask questions. GRF needs to be replaced as our Trustee and a REAL trustee put in place. PCM must go.

Letter to the Editor
August 24, 2009

Do you want to build a very expensive little house? GRF is planning on spending $550,000 on a new little gatehouse to replace the one at Gate 1 on El Toro, with our money. Younger, more affluent residents are being courted. Those dollars would be better spent on lighting, repairing cracks in the sidewalks, deteriorating pipes, and dry rot & termite damage, to name a few issues. Our lack of lighting is so dangerous. Residents fear walking into a coyote or a skunk in the dark or falling. Many have fallen on cracked and uneven sidewalks. Flooding in our manors is often disastrous for residents. Yes, the increase to us may only be pennies per manor, per month. However, don’t you feel that money would be better spent on OUR upgrades? Put a different style roof, new paint, and other gingerbread on it to change the look of the gatehouse. But $550,000 for one (1) gatehouse remodel?
Now, they’ve also begun talking about tearing down Clubhouse 2 again. The consultant, they hired in the past, did not advise doing that. They could just upgrade the main building, but have the old classrooms removed and replace them with new. Many of this elite group, want to create a “country club”. Can you afford that?
For some reason, GRF feels they are our “godfather” and know what is best and OUR MONEY IS THEIR MONEY! I don’t think so. Do you? Let them know! Go to their Meetings. They are the Board who sold the old administration building that has now morphed into the horror that is San Sebastian. Please act now!
Charlene Sydow

Property Services Survey

2009-08-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

Property Services Survey conducted by the residents.
A substantial portion of our budget each year is spent on what PCM euphemistically calls “Customer Service” as listed on the phone directory list they mail out each year. It is more commonly referred to as “Property Services.” We all have to bear with them and work with them. In Third almost all “services” are chargeable services meaning we pay for them and even if no service is rendered we are charged a “service charge”. In United more services are covered under the agreements but the money still comes out of resident’s pockets since it is part of the budget. We all know that the money in the budget doesn’t just come off the money tree by the Serpentine Walk.
Horror stories about “services” abound and are enough to make the very word an oxymoron in the PCM context. I’m sure you have your own stories but I’m going to relate a few here.
Recently a dishwasher was replaced in a manor in United. The resident requested an upgrade in the standard for dishwashers for which he would pay. Now, the dishwasher belongs to the mutual, not the member, so when one is replaced it is NOT a chargeable service beyond the upgrade. The member/owner asked specifically THREE different times if there was a service charge. THREE different times he was told no. The dishwasher was installed and it works. The invoice arrived and sure enough, there was a $10 service charge listed right on the invoice.
As you know we are experiencing a severe drought. We are also having our water availability reduced substantially thanks to the Delta Smelt and politicians. Our water usage in the village is being restricted and serious financial penalties are in place for over use of water. When there exist such conditions, plants and lawns and gardens are stressed. It takes special attention and care to keep from losing them all together. The attention isn’t something that requires anything more than common sense and thought. One simply doesn’t do such overtly stupid things as park trucks and vans on the lawn even though PCM is allowed to do so (residents and guests are not.) While sitting in a car awaiting the arrival of a friend a resident witnessed a PCM property service employee get in his van after leaving a manor, drive it about 20 yards down the street, pull over right onto the dying grass and take a break. This is on a very quiet cul de sac with almost no traffic beyond the residents and plenty of guest parking and on street parking available. This happened on CDS 339 on Monday morning and the van had 2 numbers on it. One was 540 and the other was P2865. The resident who saw it prefers to remain anonymous because they fear repercussions from the boards and PCM. In any event, who knows what damage was caused by this sheer lack of thought. One thing is for sure. WE WILL PAY FOR IT.
The last example was the worker who finally came to the manor after more than 2 calls to property services where a great deal seems to get lost in the computer. He entered the manor to take a look at the problems. He informed the resident he would have to go get a step stool. He was then gone for over 90 minutes while he disappeared to get a ladder. He came back in time to climb up, take a little look around, make some humming noises and descend to say he would be back after lunch. He did return after a very long lunch and did part of the work. This went on until the problem was resolved over several visits. The resident was presented with a BLANK service charge form to sign. The resident refused to sign a blank form and when questioning the worker about the long absences and coming and going he told the resident that “they were told to do things that way.” That’s called “make work,” by the way, when task is turned into many more hours of work than are required. This resident also prefers to remain anonymous.
So, what to do? We know that the people working in property services are just trying to do a job and get a pay check. PCM is their employer as long as PCM is here. PCM is to be held responsible. They love to hear when things go well and ignore it when things do not go well. What has been suggested is taking a survey via residents and this is how it works:
When a call is placed to property services:
Log the time and date and name of the representative. Note the time of the appointment. Is it a chargeable service? Is there a service charge?
Did the worker show up on time? Did they do the work required? How long did it take overall? How many trips back and forth did the worker have to make while performing the task? Did other issues arise as a result of the original task? Did they fix/repair/coordinate the repair of the secondary issues? Did they explain what was going on to you? Did they answer any and all questions you had? If not what did they not answer? What was the name of the worker(s)? Are you completely satisfied with the job performed? If not why not?
Were you asked to sign any kind of form? Did you sign it? (DO NOT SIGN ANY KIND OF BLANK FORM OR DOCUMENT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. If you are presented with a blank form to sign write in the blank space: BLANK FORM PRESENTED FOR SIGNATURE and then draw a diagonal line through the entire page and sign it.)
Were you charged a service charge as indicated? What other charges were included? Were the charges itemized. (If charges are NOT itemized, do not sign the form.)
Be sure to secure a LEGIBLE copy of any form or document signed. Then send the information to me. Feel free to ask to remain anonymous and that will be respected. I will gather this information over the next 6 weeks and if there is anything to report I shall do so. Please indicate whether you are in United, Third or the Towers. Please also give me your contact information so I can reach you.
John Paulus, Third director, says he will stand on his record of 7 years of service to this community and was very seriously surprised when the daughter of a resident in the very building where Paulus is CAPTAIN (a garden villa) came in with a long and sorry list of long term problems that had been unresolved. He would like to think he has any influence with PCM and Jerry Storage (head of M&C) but it is substantially less than his dreams. You remember Jerry Storage. He and Kurt Rahn are known around here as the “On the Border Boys” because of their daily credit card charges of $25-30 daily at that restaurant.
The problem isn’t with the workers here. They a just doing what they have been told to do by their masters. There is no oversight. PCM has got to go! Milt Johns has to go and so does his entire executive staff. That includes Jerry Storage and Kurt Rahn. The workers can stay and have proper direction and oversight.

2009-08-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

Goings On LWV Issue 8 August 09
It USED to be your money. Now it’s PCM/GRF’s
This is just a very short reminder to the residents of Third Mutual who have a choice this election. Running for the 1 year term are Pat Feeney and a former 3rd and GRF board member. He also lost his bid to become a member of the city council recently.
The former board member, NOEL HATCH, helped author the Management Agreement.
That agreement reads in ARTICLE 2 (a): ……” ANY AND ALL EXPENSES INCURRED BY PCM, INC. ARE FOR THE BENEFIT OF LWV AND ARE TO BE REIMBUSED BY LWV CORPORATIONS.”
This clause gives PCM unlimited access to YOUR money. NOEL HATCH apparently has ship loads of money and won’t miss the millions PCM has used thus far without the knowledge of the owners. But, how about those who do not? What about those who actually care about how/where their money is spent?
Noel Hatch has no business being on any board again now or ever. He should be sentenced to helping PCM/GRF pack their bags when they leave LWV.
Which choice will you make? Will you vote for Pat Feeney or vote to have your pocket picked…..again?

2009-08-25T11:11:00.001-07:00

Corrupting the elections season is in full swing at LWV. We all saw how PCM/GRF, HK&C, Racobs Fiorie and Powers, THIRD MUTUAL, Third mutual board members, United Board and Friends of the Village all merrily interfered in and manipulated as many ways as they could with the recall election. In spite of their best efforts they could not hold the vote to recall below 40%. Then United went and pushed out their election schedule in hopes of finding anybody willing to step into the web of horror to serve as a board member. People running for that board should look at the little bonus they are getting by having the election put off a bit: They don’t have to serve 3 full years. They get a little time chopped off their sentence because of diddling the system.
Now GRF/PCM wants to put the GRF/PCM election off because they want the new (United) board members to help vote in the next puppet for PCM to manipulate. How can GRF/PCM hope to have more malleable members on United than are there now? I think Third’s present M&C chairman can probably be seated so he can start his mindless, baseless obscenity spewing diatribes right away. Could it be that PCM and the gang have been too busy putting out fires to pull it together enough to have an election in any kind of normal order?
Boards are to remain “AT ARM’S LENGTH” during the nominating and election processes. Why, then, is the Moorshley so involved with hands on interference in the Third election process. Is it because the Moorshley was to have appointed a nominating committee at the second meeting after last year’s annual meeting or as soon after that as practical and to that entity “practical” is 6 weeks before the election itself? The Moorshley managed to turn all the suggestions for appointees to the nominating committee to GRF/PCM to use for THEIR nominating committee completely ignoring what any Third director said about who was being suggested for which committee. Typical the Moorshley behavior: do what you want, keep the board in the dark, tell the constituents nothing. Spend their money; never let them in on why. It’s all about MONEY, MONEY, MONEY.
Now the Moorshley has appointed yet one more unsuccessful candidate for the GRF election last year to a new post. The loser Mark Stein, lost his attempt to be seated on the city council this year. Now he’s been appointed to “be in charge” of the Meet the Candidates program which is to be televised on Thursday. The Moorshley made it clear that the BOARD would vet the questions to be asked of the candidates although we all know that the entity means the Moorshley and The General Manager. The sure don’t want any REAL issues to come up. Stein isn’t even on the nominating committee which has been and should be in charge of this event. He’s just another has-been put in charge of a vital process because the president can’t be bothered to FOCUS and do any standard pre-planning. As much thought went into this decision as did her appointing the nominating committee. She’s grabbing at limp leftovers to do new work. OBVIOUSLY SHE DOESN'T UNDERSTAND OR EVEN CARE TO UNDERSTAND THE ELECTION LAWS AND PROCEDURES. She’s just reflecting her brother board, United, and taking orders from masters.

2009-08-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

The campaign season in Third Mutual has started in earnest. At the last Third board meeting the candidates for this year were introduced and asked to give a one minute introduction.
This year there are actually two races going on. One is the regular full 3 year terms which are open with the expiration of Moore, Muennichow and Souza. There are four candidates for those three openings.
Lucy Shimon, candidate for a 3 year term, couldn’t be bothered to show up so we didn’t hear from her. Just as well. She doesn’t ever go to board or committee meetings and we wouldn’t want her to be confused too soon.
Moore, is apparently over her temper tantrum in the parking lot of last winter when she stamped her feet, waved her arms and screamed about how much she hated the job because she has announced her glitter candidacy much to the surprise of those who don’t know her very well and believe everything she says. I guess the presidency is a virus and a siren’s call. The funny thing is that I’m sure Moore expects to be president again after this disastrous year of her tenure. Unfortunately for her Kathryn Freshley is making huge footsteps in that direction herself and I’ll lay odds that Freshley is president next year. She has insinuated herself into every single position she has held so far and has taken over every committee on which she sits and some upon which she did not originally serve (the ad hoc committee to find a lien processor for the mutual, for instance.) Chow Tootsie.
Mike Strazuiso threw his hat into the ring. This is the guy who calls board members and spews expletives, screams and in general behaves obnoxiously. One board member finally just put the telephone down on the counter and let the man rave obscenely until he tired of his own voice and finally hung up. He has demonstrated the same behavior at public meetings although not at Friends of the Village where he is a board member and has to mind his Ps and Qs. His arguments are filled with flaws and completely empty. He’ll fit right in with the majority already on the board. He has already said “when” he is a member of the board not “if” or “hopes to be.” Obviously a guy who listens (not).
Dick Palmer is the final candidate for the job. He is the only one who is actually qualified to be a real, functioning board member. His business acumen is high. He is a Mechanical Engineer with HVAC experience who actually was the contractor on Clubhouse 5. He is rational and well reasoned. He is a gentleman and comports himself well both privately and publicly.
For the one year term we have two candidates who are polar opposites. One is Noel Hatch, the perennial board member and co-creator of the management agreement which says we will pay for “any and all” of PCM’s expenses. He is a former member of both Third and GRF boards. He LOST his bid to become a city council member. They even chose Cynthia Conners over him. He was a founding member of “Positive Solutions” which last year had to duplicate the list of members of that group in order to appear larger than it was. He FAILED in the bid to take over the Third Board and the group ultimately morphed into the “Friends of the Village” where they WON’T ANSWER questions if they are controversial and/or they don’t like them. During his minute presentation at the board meeting he mumbled about Pasadena and wandered aimlessly around listening to his own voice. He’s very good at that. He appeared to be having difficulty remembering why he was there and what he was supposed to be doing at the podium. It was clear he felt he didn’t need to actually run for the office. He is a pale shadow of his former self and really belongs back on GRF with all the other has-beens. There he can join the back-slapping self-congratulatory club of egoists squandering money just because they think they can and feel they aren’t answerable to the residents.
The viable candidate is Pat Feeney; a solid presence and rational thinker. She listens and forms her own opinion about issues. She isn’t involved in personalities or ego. She just wants to serve on the board and watch member’s money as somebody, ANYBODY should have been doing all along. She asks reasonable and reasoned questions and isn’t trying to out-glitter or overtake anybody. Ego is not her master. Concern for the community is. She has years of research (library) experience and that alone would benefit the mutual tremendously. Just imagine somebody who can read something, analyze it, extrapolate and use the information properly. What a concept!

2009-08-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

ISSUE 5 August 09
Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”
The problem here is PCM/GRF. They are running through our money. They have to go. We need to get PCM OUT OF HERE. They should be fired. Gone. Done. Outta here. I’m not talking about the employees who are below the executive staff. I’m talking about PCM in Lake Forest and then Milt Johns, Janet Price, Jerry Storage, Kurt Rahn, Russ Ridgeway, Cris Trapp and Judy Zoerhoff. They need to not just leave Third Mutual. They need to be GONE from the property completely. This is EASY to accomplish. There are a number of WELL QUALIFIED companies who can step in and take over immediately without a single pink flower wilting. Those who think we live in paradise because of the landscaping and the employees they are so fond of will never notice a ripple. There will be an adjustment period and it will have some learning curve but it is by no means the Herculean task that those who are vulnerable to losing their jobs in a rather terrifying economy will tell you. The mutuals other than Third can take their lawyer with them.
The employees should be absolutely safe as long as they are willing to work for the new employer. YOU will be the employer. Not the managing company. They would be paid and their salaries, wages, benefits through the new management but the new management would not be the employer. We own the equipment, rolling stock, nursery, that stock. There are even several options for us for management.
We should have an executive director. An Executive Director is actually a wonderful option. Non-profits usually have Executive Directors. The present general manager here has insinuated himself into a corruption of what an executive director should be but he has by no means demonstrated the actual and active properties and qualities of a real one. J. Steven Ott has literally written the book(s) on Non profit management. The boards should get a clue.
We can have a city manager type structure. We are, after all as large as a city and a person educated and trained in that capacity would be fully capable of running LWV.
GRF should be dissolved. The power is in the hands of the people who are stake holders here. WE are the ones to whom the boards are answerable. WE must put pressure on the boards to behave properly, lawfully, civilly, ethically. How often do we have to remind Milt and others that GRF is a trustee. They don’t OWN things. They hold them IN TRUST for the real owners!!! Obviously GRF also has to go. They are trustees. We can dissolve them and replace them with trustees who will do the job properly.
Milt spoke today about PROSECUTION during a discussion of disciplinary action by mutuals vs. GRF. Milt, neither YOU nor any board here has powers of PROSECUTION! This man has got to go. He thinks he’s a lawyer. He spouts legal opinions. Unfortunately thinking and being are two completely different things. I don’t know about you but I’m so sick and tired of Milt Johns sitting at the GRF board table and telling whichever ventriloquist’s dummy is titled “president” of that organization how to act and what to say. Harry Curtis, George Portlock, Bob Miller and Erwin Stuller have not made an original statement as president of GRF. Their material all comes from PCM.
Third Board Antics….During Third meetings Carol Moore seems to be physically incapable of not speaking constantly. No matter who is speaking or what the topic she can be heard in the background talking. She frequently interrupts the speaker (particularly residents) to interject and then fails to allow the speaker to continue speaking! (She did it to Harry Curtis during the plumbing discussion.) The PRESIDER at a meeting simply directs traffic. Her continual, compulsive, non-stop blabber is not only unnecessary but it is disruptive, annoying and demonstrates her greater inability to function in the capacity as a board member. I wonder if any of members of the boards who insist on talking to one another or even just making snide side comments to themselves can frequently be heard. Sometimes all that is heard is the buzz and hum of somebody else’s conversation in the background which makes it very difficult to hear and understand anything else that is going on and is supposedly important. I’d like to know what part of listening all this blather constitutes. Moore and Muennichow sat on the dais today and entertained themselves during the entire meeting.
I find it interesting that the BOARD, according to the Treasurer, requested information about sales of manors in this community over 3 months ago and there is NO response yet from STAFF. My question is WHO IS IN CHARGE HERE? Is it the BOARD or is it STAFF. Perhaps if Boards would not request permission for something but TELL staff what is to be done they would DO it. The tail is wagging the dog and the boards are allowing it to happen. This started with Freshley personally when she began taking her instruction from Janet Price. This is not restricted to the Third board but applies equally to the other mutual boards. PCM is NOT supposed to be in charge here. The BOARDS are.
For the board’s information: The time before a dunning notice comes out from compliance is THIRTY DAYS. Believe me, it’s THIRTY days and nothing approaching any longer. Not only is it impossible to reach somebody telephonically to talk to about an error, one must cancel the entire day, march into the community center and go through the shredder while STAFF goes through their dog and pony show. Once again it is STAFF running things. When a bill is sent “in error” the behavior associated with getting it straightened out is harassment and strangely coincidental to other things occurring in time. I believe even Carol Moore got one in error in about January or February. The Treasurer, Finance committee chair and obvious self nominee for presidency (of Third) should know this. It’s pretty basic.
Again, Robertson is so busy making sure she is heard that she doesn’t pay attention to what a resolution says and what it refers to. The roofing resolution was perfectly clear particularly after several rounds of discussion about the additions, contiguous and continuous roofs, etc. Nobody made it clear to residents until a RESIDENT stood at the podium and told the board to clarify charges that there are CHARGES associated with calling property services and having a PCM plumber come in.
WHY DO WE HAVE PROPERTY SERVICES which name is an oxymoron since they won’t work on anything other than PCM installed equipment? Why does Souza only say “It’s being looked into.” And never seems to have any conclusion. Paulus and Freshley say the same thing, “it’s being looked into.” When will the boards get the idea that they need to DRIVE the questions and not sit back and wait for staff to get off its duff and DO what it has been told to do.
Congratulations are due to Isabel Muennichow for her sad choice of language in her report of the rules ad hoc committee. SHAME ON YOU. It’s part of the public agenda package. Maybe Souza’s disparaging has rubbed off on her. It will be lovely to see them both GONE from the third board. They will both, surely, run for the lowest level of shame there is and that is the GRF board.
I have a question for Carol Moore. She talked today about how the evaluation of PCM (as is to be done on an annual basis by management agreement) is just being discussed informally. OVER A YEAR ago there was the threat of a recall of several Third Board members. In order to avoid the recall the BOARD PROMISED to accomplish a number of things with speed. ONE was to review the management agreement and revise it with the input of the community. Another was the REVIEW of PCM. WHY are you saying now that this review is “just an informal discussion?” Basically the board lied to the membership and we would like an explanation for the promises not being kept. Would you prefer that the recall be brought back up again? YOU PERSONALLY were in favor of the recall action when it came up. Now you could very easily be a target of one in the unlikely event you are re-elected.
Abut the Third Finance V3 budget meeting…..This year GRF, oh hallowed body of fools, increased Operating Expenses and so lo and behold the mutuals are now being billed for more money. Well, seems Janet has to make the changes to our budget too! Funny how if it’s GRF it’s okay to have to change the mutual budget during V3 but if it’s the mutual she makes financial threats.
Larry is running fast and hard for a seat on GRF and he is trying to curry favor by “leveling out” the increases over the coming years for elevator funds. He’s involved right now in adding funds to the budget so our assessments will rise. Larry likes nothing better than to spend our money for the people coming to live here in the future. Larry, WE LIVE HERE NOW. YOU ARE SUCKING US DRY. Get in your oversized, gas sucking, pig ugly RV and go someplace where we don’t have to hear from you and you don’t have to put up with those of us who don’t have the ability to change our own “damn” faucets and install thousands and thousands of dollars with landscaping to surround our single family home.
Why would we want to have excess reserves? The people who move in in the future need to pay for their part as we are paying for ours as well as THOSE WHO LIVED HERE BEFORE US AND DIDN’T include adequate reserves. Why should we be penalized and pay for those who will come in here to live in the future?
Larry, there is a 30 year plan. The plan can be adjusted along the way. It is inappropriate and frankly, bad business, to over reserve when there is already a plan AND a cushion. If you want to donate several million dollars to some reserve fund feel free. But sit down and quit trying to overspend. Maybe you could invest in a pair of long trousers to wear to court. “Hooray for me and screw everybody else.”
Alan Cohen even admitted we have “bitten the bullet” and recommends we leave the reserves alone this year.
I am highly amused that Mary Robertson had a smarmy remark to make when Stan Feldstein interjected a moment of humor appreciated by everybody in the room and on the board. She whined about having to raise hands before speaking and yelled at Moore that Oh, it’s okay if he speaks without raising his hand but “I’m a loud mouth.” Well, Mary, you called it. Frankly, you need to get a clue. As I recall, last year you had trouble following along as the budget was presented and had to get up to the podium and ASK where they were in the discussion. Is there a little lack of financial understanding? Is being a 30 year cubicle bureaucrat not serving her as well as she thought? Robertson has absolutely NO idea what she’s looking at or even appropriate questions to ask.

2009-08-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

Goings On Issue 4 August 09
NO ON RECALL “ARTICLE” Take a look at the “article” the no on recall group is using as “proof” that everybody knew about the incentive plan. It’s right here in this URL http://www.recallno.com/RecallNo/Urgent.html First of all the program they are talking about is the suggestion program. It started in 1987 and ran until 1990. Oh, you didn’t know? Well, there are all sorts of little plans which have come and gone and they will try to get you to think are the Incentive plan but they aren’t. This “article” had to be run in the Leisure World News at the time because….assessments were rising and the people paying them didn’t like it! What a surprise! Now, look way down at the bottom of the “article”. See that little word? It says ADVERTISEMENT! That’s right. It’s the same kind of thing that you see when you are guaranteed to loose that weight around your middle for life if you just buy this magic electro gizmo that you attach to your pajamas and wear over night for just 6 weeks. Only $19.95 plus shipping and handling! It’s an AD! What will they think of next?
COMMENTS FOR IRV SNYDER, 4002-2C vis a vis his letter to the Glob Mr. Snyder, I suggest you keep on renting. You are dead on when you say any community should have a group seeking information for the good of the community. Friends of the village purports to do that (via their TRUTH SQUADS) and Residents Voice has been giving information for four years. What is it you suggest RV DO? They give out information. What does FOV do? Well, let’s see, it won’t answer questions it doesn’t like. It acquired enough feedback “to last for months as they develop programs that will be of interest to all” but they aren’t developed yet and the information has only been acquired. So they don’t DO anything. They say they want to be the club that ACTS rather than REACTS. Haven’t seen any acting yet. That would involve DOING. What have YOU done, Mr. Snyder? Why are you lying around waiting for somebody to DO SOMETHING? It is up to the residents to DO. You are wrong when you say RV recommended an alternate management company for PCM. They invited two different management companies to come in and talk about what management companies DO. The general manager made a serious mistake by even acknowledging the presentation of their arch rival Merit. That, by the way, is called reacting. But he didn’t even know for sure what had taken place at the meeting because he wasn’t there! Apparently just the mere presence of a rival company made him very nervous. Now why would that be? At no point was either of them endorsed as a replacement for PCM although either would certainly be capable of doing so. AND WHEN WE GET RID OF PCM TOP MANAGEMENT we will certainly be willing to listen to those companies who care to come in and make a bid for the job. Get your facts straight, Mr. Snyder. ‘Til then keep renting.
I’d love to see a copy of the RV newsletter that says RV intends to recall the Third Mutual Board. RV can’t recall anybody. RV isn’t a member. Are you aware that ANY owner has the perfect legal right to start a petition to recall any or all directors? Of course, it requires DOING something and that is just exactly what happened in United. A right was exercised and residents DID sign the recall petition. Lots of little, uninformed experts decided the people who signed the petition should be punished and made to pay the cost of the recall. Guess what, Mr. Snyder, under the law the cost is born by the mutual! Yessir! So, perhaps if enough people were able to DO something like READ governing documents, By-laws, CC&Rs and the Davis-Stirling Act there would be a whole lot less confusion and people would understand what others are DOING. Then they could mosey along to things like California Corporate Code and eventually even make their way to the US Constitution. It’s quite a document. But it’s something one has to DO for oneself.
Are you one of those people, Mr. Snyder, who expects everybody around them to DO and then you just grouse about it when it wasn’t done to your satisfaction? What exactly is it, Mr. Snyder, that you want to stop Residents Voice from DOING? Is it that they will take a stand? Is it that they make DO-nothing boards accountable by bringing information to the attention of the community? Are you aware that there are thousands of people who attend Residents Voice and ask to get the newsletter and are critically interested in their community? There is a bunch of malcontents who call them dissidents but in reality they are COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS. And they DO plenty. They DO as individuals and as groups and as any conscientious people who feel the need to DO in and about the community in which they hold a financial stake. Until you own here, Mr. Snyder, DO something productive and look for a place where you might be welcome. Oh, by the way, that little document called the US Constitution I mentioned earlier gives these COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS the right to speak. In fact, the General Manager carefully and clearly told the community via TV and a board meeting that the very exercise of these rights would cost them. You don’t like being put off (paragraph 1 in your letter), you don’t know what you’re talking about(the rest of your letter) so you really should disappoint your land lord and find another place to live. But that would require DOING something, wouldn’t it. Disagree all you want but at least have something to back up your side. It’s your right to speak, too.
UNITED’S FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING contained moments that should be examined. Mike Curtis asked for an accounting of the legal services for United in the Month of June which had been budgeted at $4,500 but were actually $19,965. Pat McLaughlin came to the meeting without any kind of breakdown of the charges. Janet Price stomped her foot and said “Why is staff having to do this extra work if he already knows the answer?” The problem here is several fold.
First of all, why was McLaughlin unprepared. It was a very sizeable amount of money. She is attached to her laptop at these meetings. Why didn’t she just pull the information up? Or, if it isn’t ON her computer why didn’t she have the answer. You can bet that any rational person paying bills would want to know why that large an overage had occurred and it is the JOB of the directors to ask those kinds of questions. Why was Curtis the only one to ask the question?
Second, Janet Price forgets she works for the boards. They don’t work for her and if a board member asks for something she is to give it. She can have a little hissy on her next trip to Hawaii or the Great Barrier Reef or the Great wall of China or while she’s standing in the unemployment line. The reason, Ms Price, is because McLaughlin didn’t bother to come with the information and an elected DIRECTOR wanted an answer. It’s not your place to editorialize. Maybe if YOUR STAFF were better organized and not trying so hard to be hostile all the time to all directors outside their sphere of influence, those kinds of questions wouldn’t have to be asked. Mr Curtis is absolutely right to bring to the attention of the member/owners of United that there was a HUGE discrepancy in the budget and actual amount. Complacency is exactly what has gotten this entire place in such an uproar.
Place the blame squarely where it belongs. In this case it belongs with the Financial Director and her staff. Perhaps if fewer Staff were in finance committee meetings and were instead working at their desks this kind of information could be immediately available and we would only be paying for half the time logged.
I wonder how many “explanations” of the incentive plan Price can come up with before the Feds come in and haul out the top management staff a la Enron. I suppose as many versions as times somebody like Vogel “invites” her to give an explanation.
Third Budget Review Version 2 also had some revealing moments. Milt Johns, General Manager, commented on how Direct Mutual Operating costs increased due to the length and number of meetings held by Third. I can tell you from personal experience that there have been an historical number of special and/or special closed Third meetings this year. These meetings plus regular meetings last for hours and hours and hours. You may have noted when Carol Moore appeared recently on the morning news with Rob Merritt that even the settlement conference at the courthouse lasted EIGHT AND ONE HALF HOURS. Yes, Virginia, in real life that conference should have concluded by noon. But remember who is sitting in the presider’s chair. Moore can make a meeting last for dog’s years. Perhaps if she personally didn’t have to have just a little something to say after every, single other person who speaks, meetings would move along with better speed. But she not only has something to say, she frequently dominates the debate completely. She seems lose her place in the meeting frequently and has to be reminded where she is and what action is next. It is truly a pathetic display yet she will talk about how diminishing function frequently strikes men more often than women. Frankly, Paulus doesn’t do any better at controlling his meetings. None of them seem to have any kind of understanding of how a meeting should be run or what it means to preside. When a meeting is run well business is conducted with grace and efficiency and has no need to last until Hades is a block of ice. Debate can still be strong and passionate but the meeting ultimately ends. Rumor has it that being in a closed meeting these days is like swimming in a pool of frenzied sharks. Is there truly blood in the water?
Kathryn Freshley wanting to combine the Disaster Fund and the Unappropriated Expenditure Fund is really a bad, bad idea. It is just exactly that kind of combining and splitting that prevents anybody from being able to follow a cost center from year to year. I see Freshley has fallen completely and absolutely under the spell of the Finance Director and her accounting practices. It clouds things rather than makes them more transparent and if anything the Treasurer should be working for more, not less, transparency. I’m not sure that is one of the things that Freshley learned to do in “her corporate experience” and I wonder if it is something she “always tells her clients” to do.
Basically, Third Mutual should go back in and tell the General Manager and Finance Director to tighten up and drop the assessments to where they belong and quit playing shuffle the funds.
Discussing the GOLF Building GRF director James Matson talked about many tasks being parallel “in order to speed completion.” Do you suppose he means to be as speedy as the report about the plumbing remediation or even the implementation of that project? And, why does Dick Sharp want somebody as construction manager to be somebody who knows golf? Do you suppose they are now considering a roof top driving range to add to their palace? I have to say here that I grew up playing golf on an amazing and highly ranked golf course. Many of you have probably not heard of it because the organization supported amateur athletics as opposed to professional but Jack Nicholas got his start there as did a number of other renowned pros. Our starter building was just exactly that. It was a building just about big enough for one person to sit in and start players at the first tee.
What surprises me about the entire discussion is Freshley saying that it was a good idea to have the ranking sheets (for the hiring of the architect) included in the minutes in case “10 years from now people might want to know.” Has Freshley learned that minutes aren’t to be mere scribbling and a record of who made xerographic copies of things but actual records of meetings and actions voted? What a concept! The reason I’m so surprised is simply because Freshley and I went toe to toe over the validity of a set of minutes she personally took and I demanded be changed for content. But you see that makes me argumentative rather than working for transparency and accuracy in the records. She will say one thing and vote another way. I call it sleight of vote.
South County Outreach Food Drive. Please give. Don’t just give now during this particular drive that PCM is trying to make a philanthropy and publicity for them. Barrels are out all the time in various locations and people are hungry all the time, too. I’m not sure we’ll ever convince the dusty old guard on GRF that there are actually people in this very place who are not eating and not taking all their prescriptions because they cannot afford to but you know it to be true and so do I.
Be Proactive!

ISSUE #3

2009-08-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

A LITTLE ASSISTANCE
For years we have been overwhelmed by the noise that comes up from the Verizon Center when there is a concert going on. Last year a number was published in the Glob which is the number of the center itself. We were supposed to be able to call and indicate we could hear the concerts and they were supposed to be sensitive to our needs. Such was not the case. More often than not we were treated rather like we were dissidents. We finally write the Mayor of the City of Irvine because our own City wasn’t helping, GRF/PCM wasn’t helping…. What we got was a few numbers after some helpful conversations. So, in the future, if you have a problem with noise coming from the Verizon Center here are the numbers to call.
Irvine Dispatch Center 949/724-7200. Say the noise is too loud. Indicate you live in LWV. Tell them that Jennifer Kaiser, Dispatch Supervisor said the dispatch center would get in touch with the compliance officer on site and help out. There IS a compliance officer at the venue. His name is Sgt. Anderson and he is Special Enforcement. If the dispatch center doesn’t help you out let me know and I’ll give him a little ring myself or I’ll call the head compliance officer and ask her to help out. I have been promised we would get relief.
Irvine Code Enforcement 949/724-6326. This is only functional Monday thru Friday during business hours but they do have a machine where you can leave a message. It won’t help that moment but you can put your voice on record.
THE GRF PUBLICITY MACHINE FOR WHICH YOU PAY
How many of you realize that you are paying over $700 for each and every full page advertisement GRF is putting into the Globe? To quote George the less than eloquent Portlock, it seems they “got caught with their pants down” and now they are pedaling as fast as they can to cover everything they can including their own backsides. The IRS makes it pretty clear who is responsible when the funds of non-profits are misused, and who will be held responsible personally. (I wonder if personal responsibility extends to estates and if the IRS can reach into the estates of the directors no longer with us to recover funds, fines, penalties.) Yes, Virginia, if you cover up or participate even inactively (meaning you know but don’t say or do anything about it) in unlawful behavior you become personally responsible and no E&O or D&O insurance will cover you. For instance, when a water bottle was hurled at a director by another director that was a PERSONAL assault and the person RESPONSIBLE is still being held accountable but any involvement by the board or managing agent could result in their being held responsible as well. Were board funds used for personal legal issues in that case? The question is who knew about things like the incentive plan and WHEN did they know it? It’s interesting to hear former directors like Richard Moos suddenly changing their stories and saying they “knew from the inception” about the program. But what about the people who didn’t know? If the (full) boards didn’t know and were not informed so they could give their permission for the funds to be spent then the money was not PCM’s to use. It wasn’t GRF’s decision alone to give permission for its use. Could this have been approved of and authorized in a “closed” session? Even if that were true it is still not lawful to expend the funds without informing the people whose money is being spent. Whose money is that? YOURS MINE AND OURS.
FRIENDS OF THE VILLAGE VOL. 1, ISSUE 1
Let’s talk a moment about the Friends of the Village Newsletter. In the first column it talks about the organization, how it came about and a quasi-mission statement. The one statement I’m curious about is the “non-profit” status. Which of the 501©s would that be under? Has it been granted non-profit status? When? Mike Curtis asked for a treasurer’s report and was practically shouted down for asking. I wonder if Treasurer Nancy O’Dell knows she has to keep very careful books and there are tax returns to be filed which become public when an organization has non-profit status. One of the things Resident’s Voice has been squinted at is their ability to raise money. Interestingly enough their books are open to inspection. The treasurer gives a report at every meeting. The basket is passed at every meeting in order to raise funds. It’s all out in the open. Residents get up and speak their minds. They may start a dialogue or even an argument but they are never told their question won’t be answered because somebody doesn’t want to answer it or that no controversial issues will be raised. (Don’t ask what that awful smell is or where all those trains are going.) I wonder if Sarah Hall Ingram, Commissioner Tax Exempt Government Entities, Internal Revenue Service would like to see the books of this little non-profit.
Beyond that there isn’t anything in the NEWSletter that is actually news.
In case you didn’t get your copy of the newsletter the club officers are:
President, Barbara Marsh; Vice President, Lynne Dvorak; 2nd Vice President, Programs, Betty Williams and Naomi McCabe; Treasurer, Nancy O’Dell; Secretary, Joan Milliman; Membership, Myra Norman; Publicity, Carol Cartwright; Newsletter, Mary Robertson; Refreshments, Mary Melgun, Aloha Saxon; Hospitality, Jan MacKenzie. These are the leaders of those who act rather than react according to their statements.
RESIDENTS VOICE
As an aside, yes, I’ve been to RV meetings. Yes, I’ve participated. I believe it’s a free country (well, maybe not so free in some gated communities.) So have too many board members to mention (but a few who were supported as candidates include Souza, Matson, Conners, Moore, Paulus) as well as the president of Friends of the Village, her sister, Virginia Templeton and thousands of others including many if not most of the signatories to the Positive Solutions flyer from the last election. You’ll remember that list, they needed so badly to make it look longer than it was so they printed it twice thinking nobody would notice. So has the Sheriff. So have several officers of other management companies, composting companies, political candidates and just about everybody you can imagine. It’s high bloody time for the people in this community who can find no other “goat” than Resident’s Voice to kick when something is done they don’t like or somebody says something they don’t like to get a grip and place the blame where it belongs. RV is just too convenient an excuse to do nothing to find the truth themselves. It’s a pretty well known understanding that when somebody is raging about something that they cannot control they choose the largest, most impervious entity to shoot with slings and arrows. In many cases it can be quite flattering. Frankly, I think Pam Grundke should hold her head high and smile at the fact that the organization she has led for its entire existence is chosen by those who can’t be bothered to find the real answers to things. I’m not saying everybody has to either agree with RV or Pamela and I’m not saying anybody has to like anybody else (in fact it’s obvious that there are some here who will never like anybody including themselves!) but they really should get over the concept that one organization could possibly be responsible for all the ills and ugliness they ascribe to RV. The one thing that unifies the people who go to RV meetings is their LOVE of the Village and their desire to be able to continue to live a life they love without harm or harassment. Believe me, it’s not the village with which they have issues. I wonder if the president of Friends is as prepared to accept the horrific things that have been said to and about RV as RV has. She should be ready to accept whatever comes her way because she has entered the public arena. I’m certain that she will also make both friends and enemies along the way. Mostly, if she can stick it out for any length of time, she’ll learn that she will both make friends and followers and lose them as well. It’s really too bad that all the critics of RV don’t come to meetings more than once and don’t sit and listen instead of think only in terms of personalities. People who participate in RV are also members of Friends and are also your neighbors……….lots and lots and lots of them.
A LETTER FROM YOU WITH QUESTIONS
This came from a person on my list. Thought you might like to see it, too. It starts out with a url: http://www.lagunawoodsvillage.com/article.cfm?id=2325
I’m not an accountant and I’m not a property manager. But as I look at the list generated by PCM of the “Extra-ordinary savings” which merited bonuses; I have to wonder what the actual expectations and job descriptions of employees are.
How has In-house cable TV saved us so much money still costing us so much money?
Where and how has hi-speed internet saved money?
$935,000 savings as a result of grant money? Even I was expected to apply for grants (occupation edited out to preserve anonyminity.)
Finding legitimate tax savings is a basic responsibility of any accountant-not extra-ordinary—expected.
The URL with the Table was taken from the GRF website.
KEEPING A CAREFUL EYE
Kathryn Freshley has often said she wants to hear all sides of an issue. Very recently she stated that it’s not what you discuss but how you vote. Watch how she votes. Don’t be fooled by “sleight of tongue.”
QUESTIONS
When will the lumber trellis that is supporting a rotted beam at 2403 going to be removed and the beam repaired/replaced. How long do the people in that building have to live like this? Is too much money being spent on landscaping to maintain this building? Drop by and take a look. The beam that is being supported by the 2x4s with “caution” tape all over them is visible and the rot is obvious. This didn’t happen last week. It has been like this for months. Do you suppose Larry Souza, M&C chair on Third is even aware of it? Does he even care? He’s off the board this next election and appears to be running hard for GRF. Can we afford that? Oh, that’s right…Larry says we should all fix our own faucets. Maybe a few residents should get out there with their saws, ladders and levels and just replace that beam themselves. He can go on to do gate beautification.
Why does Paul Vogel, Treasurer of United (Well, sort of. He has, after all, according to his own statement never looked at the bills and PCM takes care of all that”) think that hearing about transparency is inappropriate? What doesn’t he get about required transparency? Oh, that’s right…he’s just an appointee and he’s finished after this term so why should he care?
Why is security allowed to run stop signs? As we were driving out toward Gate 10 recently at 1:45pm we watched a security truck with the license plate number 8K03357 and truck markings P2861 and 40010 run both the sign at Algorrobo and Bahia Blanca (he was on Algorrobo turning onto Bahia Blanca) and again the sign at Cabildo and Sosiega. Had it been you or I………..Are there special rules for special people?
Maxine McIntosh of the United board said “We’re not a homeowner’s association , but we’re like landlords for the mutual. Maxine! Wake up! Another departing but not soon enough director. See http://www.ocregister.com/articles/mutual-wilson-dalis-2504416-resident-committee Would she care to explain herself over that last one? By the way, Maxine is one of those who blocks e-mail if she doesn’t want to hear from you. I call it the ostrich syndrome. It causes you to only hear what you want to hear and lets you think you live in paradise.
Here are some very informative pages you may wish to read:
http://www.rvoice.org/RVoice/Documents/Non-profit/GRF%20non-profit%20documentation.pdf This is the full documentation of the 50l©4 for GRF, who applied for it (KPMG), who got credit and “incentivized” (Price)
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/ingram__gtown__governance_062309.pdf Perhaps she should hear about how our funds are spent and see if she disagrees with any of their stellar accounting methods.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6-uSGxP4Bs This was an expensive, professionally produced video. WHO PAID FOR IT? Rush speaks of being free to speak. Yet she doesn’t talk about the questions being asked by the people she doesn’t want to hear. I guess she is one with enough money for the rest of her life and can afford to have GRF just spend it at will without her consent. Again, I say…WHO PAID FOR THIS?
http://www.recallno..com/RecallNo/Urgent.html This is one of the no on recall pages. Please look at the bottom of the “article” they are using to defend themselves. It says VERY CLEARLY that the “article” is A PAID ADVERTISEMENT! There is a lot on the recallno site that is linked directly to the LWV website. That raises a couple questions, doesn’t it?

ISSUE #2

2009-08-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

This was published second.

Dear Mr. Tibbits: I’m sitting here watching the GRF meeting.

You are basing your current slurry application on “previous board” research. You just said that just now on tape and live. NOW you are telling us we can submit proposals for work done on a more cost conscious level (to paraphrase). You and I both know that you will ignore completely any suggestion that comes from the membership. Go back. DO YOUR HOMEWORK YOURSELF and stop depending on OLD information. Stop depending on information from a single source. The treasurer from Third decided that because she was an electrical engineer in her “corporate experience” and her father rode on an asphalt truck in Northern Indiana for the county that she was the expert and criticized input from members. Please stop treating us like mindless idiots and listen and DO SOME WORK of YOUR OWN. STOP SPENDING OUR MONEY JUST BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU CAN.

A resident presented the research she had done with short notice and as a non engineer but “only” as a resident. Irvine and San Jose are on EIGHT year cycles. THEN YOU SAT THERE AND ARGUED WITH HER!!!! Is this welcoming people to bring in suggestions? Is Ruth May shouting her down when YOU were the one who began arguing welcoming residents’ input? This is hypocritical. Marilyn Sortino asked a question about the RV lot slurrying and YOU couldn’t answer it. GET IT TOGETHER OR STEP DOWN.

I particularly love it when Stuller demands to know what residents are commenting on. Why doesn’t he shut his mouth and LISTEN!!!! I believe we are at MEMBER COMMENTS which is being broadcast across the TV screen at this moment. That means residents may comment on anything they care to address. Of course, if it IS just report comments then perhaps the banner on the TV WHICH YOU OWN and RUN should be correct. Stuller interrupted each and every speaker because he can’t make anything clear. Ruth May says she is confused and says she has absolutely no idea where you are in the agenda. YUP it SHOWS. If she’s so tired of the parrying and carrying on perhaps she could step down with you and take the rest of the board with them. (the banner on the tv is now back to member comments and just flipped to Treasurer’s report and then to Board Treasurer….positively surreal incompetence in broadband. Congratulations on a job very poorly done!)

Ken Hammer just invited as many lawsuits as could be filed by saying people could sue GRF for people not driving with licenses and GRF not enforcing the rules appropriately. You have to question the thinking of somebody who essentially invites people to sue GRF. If they hadn’t thought about it before they certainly will now.

Are you losing your cognitive powers? You NOW thank Delsie Zuzak for coming up with the information on Irvine and San Jose and will take it to M&C. First you are insulting and argumentative and make quite a public impact. NOW you decide to be grateful. SHAME ON YOU.

STULLER IS NOW GOING TO REFUSE TO RECOGNIZE A MEMBER AT THE NEXT MEETING BECAUSE HE DOESN’T LIKE HER! SHE IS A MEMBER AND SHE HAS A RIGHT TO BE HEARD. IT ISN’T UP TO ANY OF YOU. YOU MAY NOT SUPRESS FREE SPEECH.

I find it completely amazing that you cannot understand Erik Brouwer. Interestingly enough when you bother to try to LISTEN he is not difficult to understand any more than BOB MILLER. Miller, by the way is spewing misinformation again.

Inexpensive to fly round trip to Hawaii for Janet Price? I’m certainly glad you think so. How many people here haven’t been able to buy a full prescription because they CAN’T AFFORD IT!!!!! But Hawaii for Janet is cheap. Maybe the people going to South County Outreach for food would like to be given the chance to participate in her travels and donate a little extra money so she can have a little snack on the plane….they certainly don’t need the money! But for GRF YOU THINK THIS IS A CHEAP DEAL! By, the way, her hotel expenses were over $400 for one night. Obviously she stayed in the Motel 2.

Until you can treat members with the respect they deserve as their right as owners, you should flush your obviously meaningless unity statement down one of your low flow toilets.

ISSUE #1

2009-08-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

This is issue 1, posted July 30 and here for a complete record.

Thursday, July 30,2009

This morning’s Glob and the stories, ads and information in it are so beyond the fantasy any reasonable human being could come up with I just had to respond to a number of the components and the editorial style as well.

Let’s start with the front page: FRIENDS OF THE VILLAGE TO MEET AUG. 5. Well, we certainly wouldn’t want to show any bias toward or against any groups, now, would we. This is the group that won’t take questions from the floor because they don’t want controversy and they have formed “TRUTH SQUADS” to ferret out the truth. Sounds like the mind control squads of Orwell’s 1984. So, let’s follow that story inside on page 3. Don’t forget, it was important enough to put on the FRONT PAGE.

The THREE TREASURERS, Vogel, Freshley and Miller are going to give breakdowns on how fees are spent. I can hardly wait to hear this especially since Vogel said on live TV during the United Board Meeting that he NEITHER SEES BILLS NOR PAYS THEM AND LETS PCM TAKE CARE OF ALL THAT. Bob Miller spends most of his report time during GRF Board Meetings spreading falsehoods about people and events and reading from statements he himself has not prepared. Freshley simply looks to Janet Price before answering any question or making any decision and so falls right in line with those who manage her. Pathetic.

We get to hear from Lynee Dvoark, VP of “Friends” and…….A REALTOR who is going to give us a run down on comparable assessments. Well, while she’s at it I hope she can provide information on other HOA INCENTIVE and BONUS plans and MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS not to mention all the little variables that might go into determining fees and dues and assessments. Perhaps she can shed a great deal of light on how the accounting is done so that it can be understood by each and every person living in LWV so they can also make a real judgment about how the dues/assessments/fees stack up. I somehow don’t have great faith that it will be a very complete report. I do hope the results are published so everybody can get the benefit of them. I mean published someplace where the WHOLE of LWV can read them and have it distributed to them. Maybe PCM could ask GRF to forego one week of propaganda laden paid advertisement and have the PR team put this information in the Glob instead. After all, we pay those people to do PR whether they actually accomplish anything or not. May as well give them a project.

As a final comment on “friends” note that “Admission is free” but membership is $15 for a single or $20 for a household. No wonder they don’t “get” $5.4 million (that we KNOW of) being paid out of OUR pockets! $15 isn’t nothing. It’s $15 and would probably buy a couple of the drinks Milt buys at Starbucks.

Let’s head over to page 5 and Maxine McIntosh’s “Director’s Corner”. Remember, this is the director on United who told Mike Curtis during a televised United Board meeting that Cris Trapp IS NOT A LAWYER! (Cris Trapp is a lawyer licensed to practice in the State of California and I’m sure that news came as a great shock to her. Her title with PCM is “Legal Affairs Director” even though she doesn’t seem to be able personally to make any kind of legal decision without calling corporate lawyers. Perhaps that is why she didn’t seem to be in private practice very long and came to work for an organization like PCM. McIntosh has missed the point of the recall completely. Maxine has called United the landlord to the “tenants” who are the members. She talks about everything but the point of the recall. She throws up her arms and bats her eyelashes and pouts and stamps her foot over everything but the POINT of the recall. BOARDS HAVE IGNORED THEIR LEGAL DUTY and have TURNED A BLIND EYE TO such little things as PCM making SECRET payouts to the tune of $5.4million (and that amount is what we now KNOW about but not necessarily what all was actually used.) The four people chosen for recall were chosen to stand as representative sampling of the board members who are shirking their duty and should be held responsible for their inaction or action. Maxine! Get a grip! Shut up and listen for a change. Maybe Gail McNulty can put down her magazine and LISTEN. Her drama is a disgrace. Maybe Arlene Miller can LISTEN and form an opinion that isn’t given to her. Maybe Marv Rosenhaft can find out simple things like the management agreement is NOT a confidential document. Maybe Vogel can act like a real treasurer and actually demand to see the bills! Maybe the big whoop fireman Foster can assume some responsibility as president of the board as he must have had to do when he was a fire fighter rather than just present to the public that which he is given to read. Maybe Linda Wilson can accept some personal responsibility. The POINT, Maxine, is the continuing dereliction of duty. The four are just examples. Maybe Third should start a recall next. At the rate the boards are going there won’t BE boards.

On Page 7 you will note that the PCM/GRF public relations department is hard at work and keeping busy by writing little lovelies for GRF to insert as a PAID ADVERTISEMENT on a now weekly basis in the Glob. YOU are paying for these “advertisements”. These full page ads cost plenty. Yes, Virginia, your assessments pay for these ads. I do hope all those who are living here in Paradise are enjoying them. They are created just for you! Does it occur to anybody that we not only pay for the ads but we are paying salaries for these people not to mention benefits and BONUSES.

Some of the letters to the editor are hysterical. Richard Moos, for instance, is backpedalling so fast about his involvement in the bonus and incentive plan it’s hard to see his feet. He has now had three completely different stories about when or if he knew about the incentive plan. One moment he knew nothing and all of a sudden he knew it all along. Moos is the man who was the treasurer of Third and seldom called a finance committee meeting. Boy! Talk about operating behind closed doors as often as possible……

There is a long article in tribute to Cheryl Walker on page 3. I wonder how many people will remember that Myra Neben who is quoted extensively is the editor who retired and was gifted with a pair of DIAMOND EARRINGS from Tiffany and Co. from our friends PCM/GRF. Hmm, a little more pricey than the usual IRS allowance of $75 for a gift.

On page 4 “UNITED MUTUAL COUNSEL” makes a statement about recall calls. They are talking about what is traditionally called an EXIT POLL; that is people are asked how they voted after they have cast their votes. Exit polls are PERFECTLY LEGAL and are conducted at every election at every level from local to national every time there is any kind of vote. The VOTER is under no obligation to disclose how they voted. The ballot remains secret. It is entirely up to the discretion of the voter to answer or decline to answer. All the whoop de doo over the exit poll is just one more attempt by the powers that be to frighten and bully people and “spin” events so that absolutely legal and legally conducted polls are made to look like something sinister. Hart King and Coldren is the “counsel” of record for United Mutual. Bill Hart, the first named partner, is the lawyer who recently wrote to Mike Curtis telling Mr. Curtis that all communication would have to go through Curtis’ lawyer. Why, then, Mr. Hart, are YOU WRITING DIRECTLY TO MR. CURTIS? Is there one rule for you and the rest of the United Board and another rule for Mr. Curtis? Interesting.

I will discuss the information on Page 2 under City, Village Updates in my next issue. Read it. It’s very interesting and very telling.

In the meantime I have a couple of thoughts. Just how critical IS PCM? No, we won’t fall off the face of the earth and the sky won’t fall. We could just fire the corporation and the top level people involved. That would mean Milt Johns, Janet Price, Judy Zoerhoff, Jerry Storage, Kurt Rahn, Russ Ridgeway, Cris Trapp, and any of their immediate underlings who feel they cannot or will not work FOR the residents of LWV. They can be replaced instantly by one of the three companies I happen to know of personally who will be willing to come in and take over OR we could do a search and find a city manager. Fluffy’s owner will never even feel a ripple. Paradise will remain intact. Any employee under that level of management will be able to work for the residents of LWV providing they understand who they work for and to whom they answer. Individual cases can be considered as they arise. It’s the same deal if they decide to invoke their 90 day clause and tell us they’re out of here.

Second, let’s get rid of GRF. They are supposed to be trustees. The trust is being bled of all its assets and it is as easy as hiring a professional trustee to take over the position. If they bleed off the assets quickly enough WE DON’T NEED A TRUSTEE at all because there won’t be a trust. Remember when the walls were part of the trust? Or how about the globe?

Just a couple of things to think about. We’ll talk more.

Have a great day. Be proactive.