Bella Vista

Rich, I'm not going to engage in a flame war.  You two are entitled to your opinions.  I just have these thoughts in reply:

You obviously have a personal beef with a board member, and I'll assume that to be Rob given your description.  Why make vague allegations against "the Board" when you seem to have something against one member of that board?  As far as Rob badmouthing you, the only reason I know about that is that you posted it here.  I don't know if it's true or not, but I can tell you that Rob never badmouthed either you or Paul to me.  He's only said complimentary things about you to me.  Did you confront Rob directly about these issues?  Did you ask a neutral party, perhaps another board member, to mediate the dispute?  If not, you really can't have a position that others shouldn't hide behind screen names.  By the way, I'm assuming you don't mean me, since I've "signed" my only post here.

You may have attended many meetings, but you haven't since I've been on the board.  As for Paul, the only one he's attended in the last year was last year's annual meeting when he found out he couldn't run because he's not an owner.  That's not a knock on him; it's just a fact. 

You don't know the berm fix was cheap at any point because you don't have the expertise to determine that.  You're speculating, unless you do in fact have engineering expertise in which case you should have said something sooner.  I can tell you that it appears based on what I've seen and in my conversations with our contractor that the berm may have had a design flaw from the beginning.  As I said before, we're waiting on the report to know for sure.  Gathering information is an important part of addressing this problem.  Opting for a "quick fix" or homemade remedy might not be legal and might make things worse.

You can talk about what you perceive happens at meetings, but one thing you can't deny is that you haven't been to any meetings since I've been on the board.  I'm the Vice President of this board and as such I know that each member is entitled to be heard.  It's true, you might hear "I'll get back with you on that".  That's what responsible people do when they don't know the answer to something.  It wouldn't do any good to just make up some answer without any knowledge of the situaton, would it?

You've had opportunities to raise your concerns with me personally or with Davina on almost a daily basis for the last year because you see us walking Alexa.  Not one time, not once, have you ever expressed these concerns with me or her.  We haven't been hiding; to the contrary, we've been easy to find, and your neighbors have taken advantage of that opportunity.  Why haven't you?  Did you think you wouldn't get a fair shake from me?  What in the world would lead you to that conclusion?  I've never done a thing to deserve that, and I'd bet most of the others haven't either.  But we're all lumped together as some sort of corrupt organization. You say that your good name and reputation have value, but you have no problem inferring that I, as a board member, am up to corruption because there's a reserve fund.  That's wrong, and deep down I think you know that.  I haven't done anything wrong, and neither has the rest of the board.  That reserve was recommended by our management company, the people we trust to give us advice in these matters.  If we didn't follow their advice, I suppose you'd accuse us of paying professionals for advice and then not following it, instead arrogantly choosing our own stupid and uninformed path.

Let me be clear:  I don't know what problem you and Paul have with Rob and I don't care.  My job is to serve this community the best way I know how.  If you have a problem with Rob, go tell him so.  The berm is being addressed the best way we can.  It appears that you and Paul have created a self-fulfilling prophecy--we have a problem; we know the board won't listen to us; we won't participate or even let anyone know what's on our minds (no, posts here don't count).  And then the board doesn't address your concerns, confirming your original hypothesis.  Why not break the cycle and just talk?  Both you and Paul have talked about people having courage.  If your concerns are valid, have the courage to raise them in person.

I'm done with this mess.  I've said my peace.  Like I said, I don't do flame wars and I've already wasted too much time on this that I could have spent with my daughter.  If you guys want to continue fighting, go ahead.  I'm only interested in solving problems.  Maybe I'm stupid for that.  I can tell you this, though:  I don't do alliances and I'm my own man.  I'm sorry you and Paul didn't take the time to realize that, and I hope you'll think about it.

Your wrong on the meetings we both attended more than one meeting last year. There were a few cancelled or dates changed. You have a point that maybe you and the other board members are your own people but as the president goes so does the board. It is frustrating to me and other residents to live in a community that has a local annual meetings and hear things that are going to be accomplished in that year and less than half are done. Ourfees are higher than many communities in West Chase and Woodmount and others that have playgrounds or club houses and a lot of home owners don't even know what the fees are for. Personal feelings aside, I don't feel it's fair that a resident gets violations when he lives next to a board member who has the same violation and doesn't seem to correct his problem. But then I think the board should set a better example and not have flagrant violations. Other residents have done work for the community and it gets to a point where it is discouraging to help out with lack of planning. As far as the berm goes I understand your point but someone needs to take responsibility for not doing anything for 18 months. No I am not an engineer but if your roof leaks and you wait a year and a half to fix it there will be more damage and cost more to fix. Perhaps with you taking the lead things will go much smoother. I would not want to stop you when you are walking the neighborhood with your wife and daughter. That's your family time and I enjoy seeing your wife and beautiful daughter and I have learned the hard way that talking with some board members about issues bothering me or other residents leads to getting chewed out in front of your other neighbors. As far as being able to address the board and get resolution, I don't want to re-hash the basketball goal but that is an example of something that couldn't be resolved. I understand the legal stand-point but other communities have the rule and enforce it. The reserve in the community is part of the problem when it comes to raising fees-if we have a reserve why raise fees. Some residents feel that they should be given credit toward the next years fees if the previous year has a surplus. I understand that if there is no reserve that assesments couldcome into play. They also question the budget and why we don't find cheaper vendors. Someone said they budget the streetlights and that is payed out of our taxes. The money from the parties isn't included in the statement. I am not accusing anyone of corruption let me make that clear but some points are making people ask questions. Some feel if they are maintaining their home site and pay their fees on time why do they have to pay more for those who are not. I feel that you should know how some residents feel in these tough times. It's not just me and Paul. But I don't believe anyone thinks the board is corrupt. I can appreciate being your own man and understand your an individual. Thank you for your input.  Enjoy your wonderful family.

hey everyone lets spend thousand more dollars on mulch that during rainy season (1/2 the year)   washes onto the streets and all over the neighborhood, where we are forced to clean it up and  then we pay the lawn service thousands more dollars for more.   the mulch is retarding all plants in front we have the worst landscape in the area and we continue to pay the lawn service how much.....who is getting a kick back for that contract, horrible  has no one noticed that none of the plants at the entrance grow...hello !

please look at the landscape budget, we are being ripped off, i am home during the day and see what they actually do,

also, has anyone noticed 15503 lake bella vista drive, their water heater is broken so they have rigged a pvc pipe under the garage door that is permanently opened to accomodate the pipe, the water stains go all the way down the drive to the street.....pretty,

does a portion of our homeowner dues pay for someone to monitor the neighborhood, cause its not happening,  this looks like one low rent neighborhood. are letters even going out to people for violations ??????????????????? 

I finally get a response from someone here. And I thought there was no one using this board but me and Rich. 

Jackie, I'm all for getting information out to people and giving them the opportunity to give thier input. I'm so over newsletters that are full of fluff and repeated copy of other publications that residents receive in the mail. It's a waste of resources. There is never any information given to the residents about how the budget was made or what transpires at the meeting. Not everyone can attend those meetings and not everyone wants to. But, I have gotten the feeling from past meetings that everything's a secret and not to be shared. What worry there is I don't understand. Aren't we under the Florida Sunshine Law?

As far as having signed up for the newsletter committee, I was asked by Rob and I agreed to help. Only last week did Rob call me and ask me to write something positive to put in the newsletter. I don't know what to write about at this time as I just don't have enough information to make up an article of any importance or news to the residents that might be positive. I'm not going to ask anyone for anything either as I have yet to get a response from an email I sent out asking what software do I use to do a newsletter. It seems as though something I had said has pissed off someone and now there's no communication from anyone. So be it. I can sit back like everyone else too. I should have sent my newsletter committee resignation in at that time. Maybe I should make it formal now.

I have seen the dues collected by all other subdivisions in Hillsborough County. I have currently asked for a complete listing from the county budget office. When I have that list I will post it for all to see and then we'll compare apples to oranges.

Yes, how could our fees not have gone up, a good question which needs more study. I don't see anyone looking into that but only anticipating an increase each year. Sad.

It is your opinion that the board is being dragged over the coals, not mine. I'm just pointing out some things that need being said, in my opinion of course. I can do this. I appreciate your opinions as well, good or bad.

Hey, the board is a 'thankless' job. Everyone knows this and it is a worn out phrase too. If it's too hot for you, get out of the fire. Five years is a long time for anyone to be in such a thankless position and be so unhappy. My opinion again.

I would just like to know who does what on this board. From what I understand only one person does it all. There is not enough time at those meetings for me to ask such questions and take up the board's important time. This web site is a perfect place to exchange information for those that don't fear their writing. Otherwise you remain completely unknown.

Maybe if I get enough information here I can put together a newsletter of something new and informative, not the same old fluff. I'm not saying it all was fluff, don't take me to the extreme, okay?