A PLACE TO BE
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
TRUE COSTS
Owners were informed that Village Director Bergsma had renounced his intentions to sue our Village. This December Coffee update by President Halbach came on the heels of an upset owner saying that Director Bergsma used exclusive information from the dredging questionnaires for his personal agenda against our Village.
Due to this abuse of protocol, Vice President Pelletier reluctantly said this Board will ask for Director Bergsma’s resignation at the following Regular meeting.
A week later the Regular Meeting was empty of any censure to Director Bergsma. One had to be absolutely braindead not to think that something gave way during the past seven days. The Board turned mute to the abuse issue while being overly harmonious to Director Bergsma and his dredging agenda.
After giving a very convincing budget presentation, the Board expressed a new mindset of taking a dredging expenditure of three hundred thousand dollars and combining it with seven other infrastructure expenditures totaling six hundred eighty two thousand dollars. This is a similar concept our beloved Congress does when a piece of their legislation can’t pass on its own merits.
As if scripted, Vice President Pelletier solidified this new approach by getting the Board to approve a “package concept” and immediately cued Director Bergsma to make a motion. That motion was to begin the hydrographic survey and while the Board was vying for start times, an owner raised her hand to ask the Board a question. After Vice President Pelletier was given permission by Director Bergsma to let her speak, she asked if the Board was going to include all the related extra costs she remembered being in the original CRA survey proposal.
Wham, bam, thank you mam.
The stymied look on all the Board member faces made it quite clear that few if any knew of these extra costs. This means that back in April our Board with Pat Burke as the overseer, approved doing a $15,000 segment of this $25,000 two part survey without disclosing or knowing of these additional costs.
For over a year this Board has said the CRA survey costs $25,000, not $25,000 plus open end expenses. Only by accident have owners learned the cost may be more than twice what had orginally been quoted. Adding insult to injury, Director Bergsma told everyone at the meeting that spending fifty to sixty thousand buckaroos for this kind of survey was not that unreasonable.
Can you believe this?
It would be interesting to know just how many Directors received a copy of the CRA proposal.
If not, why?
If they did, why didn’t they read it?
In a nutshell, owner’s trust for our Board has been shaken by an attempted lawsuit, misuse of membership information, misleading dredging information, and Board members saying one thing while doing just the opposite? How can anyone determine true costs for one infrastructure item when it’s package with seven others? What message does one receive when our Board ignores and apparently succumbs to a Director’s detrimental actions?
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15 comments:
Now how does it feel to get it without the use of vasoline? Now your on my side of the table!
As we stated the board of directors are lacked and not caring about our money! It takes a Village who cares... it's not about $230.00 Its about $230.00 x 1024.
I do belive Pat knew..Shes the smarter of them all. But I think she had enough of us.. and gave a parting gift! Tom is also smater then the rest of the BOD.. Almost pulled it off.
FOILED AGAIN It's not the first time and it wont be the last.
We as members HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION!
I wonder what interest DP had in this???
Follow the money!
How do we begin to address each of those issues? I'm really hoping that it just ineptitude and not corruption -- but this is really quite disarming! Since Bergsma first tried to sue the LIV Board, misued membership information, withheld the true cost of the survey for dredging, WHY is he still on the Board?? And WHY are the other Board member so afraid of him? And WHY are WE allowing them disregard his actions? And WHY are WE allowing them to "package" our infrastructure -- the seven project MUST be lone-standing line items! I am so amazed that I am the first to comment -- where is everybody??????
re: how do we begin
who are you ? I would like to know your name so that I can vote for you at the next election.
WHY INDEED? Wake up Villagers! We will continue to get the same & worse if we continue to elect the same inept people over & over again. We need some new blood.....some people who will "think things through" before they react! Someone to question before they start handing over our money! Someone who will insist on following the 3 bid system! We are in a "mell of a hess". If our infrastructure had been maintained these last few years we wouldn't have to be shelling out mega bucks to fix or replace it now!
You think PB is smart? She held the reins that got us here! She's gone now...and we're stuck with cleaning up her mess.
I think board members should sign a conflict of interest statement, BOD'S have to act in the best interest of the Park. So many have acted on their own agendas and 1000's of people have suffered! Or at least few people have gained.
Our meetings are comprised of whiners. Not doer's ,not people with insight, people who don't ask WHERE'S the money.. What do see for us in ten years! This is we want!
Most wont be around in ten years. Most are only in for two years! Do you think they will care where the Park is? They are to busy learning the ropes! Being taught the same things by the same people!
The garbage dump looks messy, Mrs Smith's car was parked in the road, someone's dog was loose, a light bulb is out ,why is there a boat parked there, there was noise after 11... While we are Nicky Picky over here..
we are being Bam Boozeled over there. The BOD'S should nt be involved in day to day nonsense. Add a separate BOX for CRIPES!
The BOD'S responsible is to set future goals. Have insight to where our money could be use in more efficient ways! LONG TERM VEIWS .. OUR FUTURE PEOPLE!
We should also ask for a credit References and Character references to be submitted along with applications . After all we are a multi million dollar business !
We just cant give our money to anyone to anyone thats not a team player!!
And WHY are the other Board members so afraid of him?:
BOD'S are not afraid of Bergsma or conspiring a devious plan.
The BOD'S are ashamed they didn't catch the blunder. What are the BOD'S suppose to do,
ask Bergsma to step down because their lacked and lazy in their responsibilities?
Our thanks to the lady who was paying attention to a very important matter. Who was she by the way? She should be thanked and considering a seat that has to makes a difference.
Wow. When you step back and look at the big picture it is a bleak one. We have a terrific Village with a wonderful sense of community. But seems many in our Village continue to be snowed over by fast tongues and cunning smiles. Not that we should look at every owner/voter or Board member as a two-faced liar but if the shoe fits... Everyone of us should share in the responsibility of holding Board members accountable. They were elected to represent us not themselves. We should insist on transparency and full disclosure of their intentions and/or actions. No credit check or character reference will give a true picture of a person as both can be "doctored". Once they are elected we are stuck with them. Lawsuits to remove a BOD are not the answer either. Membership involvement is. There is power in numbers!
No credit check or character reference will give a true picture of a person as both can be "doctored". ....
Try that when you want to buy an house or a car from the bank or get a job!!
The ability to pay your own bills and manange your own is a reflection in how our money is handled.
Maybe some think its a free for all!
Look at Tom B .. he ran on another board.Did we know that? Did we know how he handle diferent situations there in his home town?
We should also have an yearly evaluation of board members. A window to get rid of them.
Lets see how much did you say a board person gets payed with credit check ,character reference, how many times they have been married .
You are being "sarcastic" my dear investor. If your house in not in order, how can you expect someone to keep another house in order.
It's about money, fixing something before its broke.. "Maintenance" Maintaining to its fullest abilities. Even as small as changing a light bulb.
Would you vote for someone whos property was in disarray. Didn't maintain their trees ,flower beds? "NO" Look for the people who take pride. The people who volunteer in the Library. They know what its about!
The people who sit in the front row at the meetings and say nothing. "Listeners" Up close and personal!
Help build the confidence of people you know that will make a difference.
Beware of "Sarcastic" people, smart mouths with empty words. We need problem solvers. Not people who make problems!
The investors that are reluctant to add to problem solving, and want to add sarcastic remarks can be very helpful also ,they just don't know it yet. Find out what they need to be happy. Then lets get down to protecting our investment!
As you might recall, the Board voted in October to table the survey/dredging issue until the March annual meeting -- for discussion with the HOA membership.
It seems Bergsma (and now other BOD members) are pushing secret meetings and a special meeting coming up next Wednesday, January 12th -- all about getting a preliminary dredging survey BEFORE the Annual meeting! There is still ONLY ONE over-priced and incomplete BID! When pressed at the last Board meeting, Bergsma said it could run as high as $50,000-$60,000 just for a survey!!!! If you are at all interested in trying to stop the Board from "railroading" LIV owners on this issue, I suggest you e-mail ALL the Board members this weekend with your opinion attached. I got this site off an e-mail that was sent to me today - easy to send one message to the entire Board www.thevillagevoice.yolasite.com.
I have read that LIV property ends at the retaining wall all around the perifery of the resort. If the BOD authorizes a survey to determine how much dredging is necesary do they have the authority to include any areas that are outside the LIV boundaries (canal H, the intercoastal, etc.)?
Our bylaws don't seem to give them that authority.
At least seven of our directors own waterfront lots. Can they be impartial about dredging issues?
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