Monday, December 1, 2008

A New Era?

You may have noticed that all of the previous blogs have been deleted. That is because we hope we are entering a new era of how our system of government works in Garner Valley. We feel there is no need to remain in the past and we certainly don’t want to rub salt into old wounds.

Today, December 1, 2008, the two remaining Board members, Eric Jones and Mark La Mont, met for the first time in an announced and scheduled Board meeting after the resignations of Sally Burrage, Lair Hoskot and George Garcia.

Mark La Mont opened the meeting as the new Board President with Eric Jones as the Vice President. La Mont announced that the new Board, unlike previous past Boards, would have an open and transparent method of operation. After sitting through a three-hour meeting I would strongly agree that he kept to his word.

The first order of business was the appointment of new Board members Jack Habecker and Lynn Baker. La Mont stated that he had sent out e-mails to proposed or potential volunteer members and after interviews, Habecker and Baker were chosen. This leaves room for one remaining Board member and La Mont called for volunteers from the audience of approximately thirty-five people and had no takers. He stated that any interested homeowners should contact existing members or PCM. The four person Board will then act together to appoint the last member.

The meeting then went on to discuss the next order or business, the inevitable assessment. The explanation and discussion from the floor lasted for the next two hours. I can only attempt to summarize; for the last several years and through several Boards, spending and legal bills have passed in an unchecked manner from one Board to the next. There is roughly $2,800 currently in the general fund with payables of $70,000, which is expected to reach $80,000 by years end. This does not include the $25,000 that has to be, by law, repaid to the Asset Reserve. $20,000 was borrowed from the Asset Reserve in 2007 and another $12,000 in 2008. The new Board has no choice now but to borrow another $72,500 from the Asset Reserve to pay the existing and past due payables, leaving roughly $1,000 in the Asset Reserve. Basically, this means that if we have a problem with damaged assets, we have no money to pay for that problem.

After considerable study, the homeowners of Garner Valley are facing what we have known for some time we would face, a special assessment. La Mont proposed that to meet our fiduciary responsibilities and to pay the bills in the near future, the amount necessary would be $375 in January and another $375 per homeowner in June. This is in addition to our normal yearly dues of over $400. This announcement caused a great deal of discussion and concern from the audience of homeowners, even though GVPO United has been telling them exactly this since April. In the end I believe that at least ninety plus percent of the attendees realized that there is no other way around this, although no one wants to have to dip into their wallets for past errors, especially after learning the only other choices are liens against their homes or the sale of community property (part or all of the Common). It should be noted that Garner Valley is not eligible for bankruptcy due to its considerable assets, namely the property of the homeowners and the 150 plus acre Common.

Although the new Board has put a freeze on spending, bills that are in some cases 180 days late have to be paid and the Board voted to use $72,500 in the reserve fund to pays these now due and past due bills until the assessment or liens. When homeowners vote yes, or deny the assessments and the Board is forced to go to liens or sale of assets, the Asset Reserve will be reimbursed. Their decisions are mandated by law to be based on the required vote by the majority of homeowners.

The new Board then went on to appoint committees. The committees consist of Finance, Trails, Legal, Bylaws and Dors, Architectural Control, Water, Ambulance, PCM (Pacific Community Management) Liaison and Welcoming. All of these committees were appointed on a strictly volunteer basis with all volunteers accepted.

Thinking it was over, I left the meeting during the lunch break, only to find out later that ambulance service was a major issue later in the meeting. I hope that someone reports on this in his or her comments to this blog.

MY EDITORIAL

I left this meeting feeling that there is, after all, hope for the residents of Garner Valley. A Board meeting where all of us were able to express our concerns, which is something I have not experienced since I moved here over four years ago. A Board that has expressed their desire to do what we collectively want them to do, instead of making decisions based on what they as individuals feel we should do. Committees open to all that volunteered and not hand selected from the Board members friends or minions. Committees of volunteers that will state their purpose and will act on their findings. A Board that faced their constituents and stated the problems, knowing that the response would be negative. A Board that told us we are in dire financial trouble instead of giving a report at a meeting by stating, “everything is fine”, when knowledgeable and concerned homeowners in the audience knew the opposite to be true. Hurray for them!

It is time to pay the piper. We have known what was coming for some time. We have just not been able to get anyone in a position of power to admit it. If you think we have a choice to vote NO on the assessment, you are entirely wrong. What is the alternative? There is none. Mark La Mont was clear about our choices, which is the assessment, liens or selling community property. Should we start selling off chunks of our valley to pay for past mistakes instead of owning up to them and doing what is right? Should we force a Board that is trying to help us by making them place liens on our properties? Of course not.
So where is the debate?

I encourage all of you to respond to this blog. We want the new Board to know what you have to say about the future of Garner Valley. What would you like them to do? What problems do you foresee? What do you want in your Bylaws and DORs? What do you see as the first things they should fix? What about the Architectural Guidelines? Do you have a trail that needs fixing? What about our water problems?

It is not only the time to pay the piper; it is time to get involved.
If you are not a member of GVPO United, send your comments to us and we will post them. Get involved.

A new era? We think yes!

Michael Johnson
President-GVPO United

P. S. My heartfelt thank you to all of the people that have put in so very much of their time to GVPO United. I hope I speak for all of them.