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Ronnie Hotz and George Sperry have taken charge of the grounds, the treasury, the street lights, and the general running of the community. They have let us all down by not including the membership a vote approving the dissolution of an asset - approximately 100 mature trees. The board did not as much as display a site map or proposal of what trees would be removed, what trees would replace them, nor the location of the trees.
It appears at present, we are in an unfavorable position with the contractor. Not all trees have been replaced, and those that have been are small and do not have any of the grandeur that lured us to Venetia in the first place.
As owners, as dues paying residents of Venetia, and as members of VCA, a Florida Corporation, we were entitled to have a part in this very large undertaking. The Board did not listen when concern was expressed. A community vote would have been the best approach.
Look below at the before and after pictures.
And where are we now? Well, not in a very good place. It is quite understandable that with the economy coming to practically a halt, so will the replacement of the trees. To date, you will notice that only the "choice" trees have been removed, leaving the very tall, and the very short trees. It is doubtful that this can be corrected in the near future, surely not in the time the board will still be seated, leaving the mess to the next board.
The contract that was written with Sammy Mizzel is not definitive, and it has a termination date of March 28, only three months away. Perhaps it would have been a good idea to have had our attorney look over the contract before Sperry and Hotz had signed it.
4 comments:
The tree debacle is just one example of a long list of questionable decisions by our Board. There are so many examples where exercise of due diligence and consideration of Owner's desires would have helped that it's hard to list them all. If we were a business, at the very least ... we'd have replaced the principals by now.
- Heavy handed treatment of Owners
- Scheduling of annual meetings
- Lowering the standards of what constitutes a "quorum"
- Arbitrary and subjective "community standard"
- Less than meaningful involvement of owners in decision making for large expenditures
- Balustrade at Woodmere entrance
- "Negotiation" for street light purchase
- "Remodeling" of the Club House
- Forced removal of homeowner's pool cage ($11,000 for removal contractor alone, and unknown tens of thousands in legal fees)
- Unapproved removal of fountain from Club House
- Lack of general upkeep and maintenance of the Club House pool and associated equipment
- Accounting methods
- and so much more ... very sad indeed.
What is really curious is the approbation and silence of a majority of Owners. Much like how a majority voted for G. "W" Bush twice, in spite of the idiotic decisions the President made along the way -- Venetia is also headed for disaster.
I find this board's version of due process and consistency obvious and transparent: Group-think serves no one and leaders serve themselves. But then again what do I know? I naively clung to the proposition that living in a gated and deed-restricted community would provide added value and security. I was wrong on both counts. My home was worth more under construction and you can drive a pedophile through Venetia's security holes.
Anonymous,
There was a get-together last night at Hotz' house. What would the board be spinning, celebrating or planning amongst themselves I wonder?
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