HomeStead Owners Group (HOG)

Case Bowen 'Communication Problem' Letter

Village Votes For Openess, Information, and Professionalism

May 18, 2002
Mr. Jim Case and Mr. Bob Bowen
The Case Bowen Company
5975 Wilcox Place
Dublin, OH 43016
Dear Sirs:
We are writing to ask for your help on two serious communication problems in our Association.
First, since the inception of our community, there has been a consistent lack of organized, professional communication to the homeowners by the Trustees and Property Manager. As the paying members of the Association, we should be able to expect:
· Minutes of Association meetings – Members are currently not informed in any way of issues that are discussed and decisions that are made on our behalf by our Trustees.
· Professionally prepared financial reporting – The Members who pay the fees of the Association are not regularly provided with information on account balances, expenses, or budgets.
· Open, public Association meetings – The dates, times and location of all Association meetings are kept secret from members and no member is allowed to attend.
Second, due to the secrecy surrounding the Association meetings, there is no structured, organized way for members of the Association to communicate to the Trustees and Property Manager. There is no organized forum for submitting proposals, asking for clarification of decisions, or even contributing a good idea.
As residents of this community, we feel the absence of communication in either direction is completely unacceptable and we are sure you must agree. As you know, our Association is unique in that the builder is also in control of all of the Trustee seats. The extra potential conflicts of interest this presents must make transparency of process and proactive communication even more important in our Association than others. Silence and secrecy cannot be the ingredients you are recommending to our Trustees as a recipe for happy Members and a strong, vibrant Association.
There have been ad hoc group and individual attempts by some residents of our community to address these issues with the Trustees directly and through Robin, our Property Manager. However, there has been no appreciable change in the relationship between the Trustees and the Members.
We are writing in the belief that you have simply not been aware of the way our Association has been operating and that by making you aware of it, you will now take it upon yourselves to help bring our Association up to the high standards we are confident that Case Bowen stands for. While we understand that our Trustees, not you, ultimately control our Association, we also know that you would not want to have your highly-respected company name attached to an Association that is failing its Members as ours is.
We hope that you will immediately begin to provide your expert guidance to our Trustees and that we will see the value of having a professional management firm in place. We would welcome a written response from you to each of the Members of our community. We will also anxiously await the positive changes that are sure to come from our Association leadership based on your new involvement in our community.
Sincerely,


The residents of Homestead at the Preserve