Annual Meeting 1/15/15 Adjourned

It can be reported this morning that the 1/15/2015Annual Meeting of the Brookside Village Homeowners Association had been adjourned due to a lack of membership quorum.  As of the the 8PM closing of the polls there were only 115 ballots submit, 81 short of quorum. This is the usual situation for Brookside Village. In the 10 years as a member, the Association had never achieved quorum at the annual meeting.

It was announced last night that a candidate, Carl Scaglione, had withdrawn his nomination and that members would be allowed to recast their votes accordingly.

The meeting reconvene date is scheduled for Tuesday 2/3/2015.  A motion will be made to reopen the polls in order to accept all the ballots submitted thru that date so that there is the best representation of the membership and to consider any recasting of votes due to the withdrawal of candidate Carl Scaglione.

If you have not voted, please submit your ballot as soon as possible and your consideration in casting all of your five (5) cumulative votes to me (Mike Sukey) as a "Write-in" candidate would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

Write-in candidate nomination

Michael Sukey ~ Homeowner since 2004

626-502-6498 ~ preservebsv@gmail.com

January 2015

Dear BSV Homeowner:

I am writing to you today to ask for your HOA membership votes as a “write-in” candidate in the upcoming annual election on January 15, 2015.  As a Board member at Brookside Village, I will promptly introduce a reduction of 5-10% to our assessments simply based on the operating funds that were not spent last year, but budgeted for again in 2015, by the Board of Directors.  I will scrutinize the budget and find other areas to create efficiency and value in your assessment dollar.  I will also re-establish the good community reputation in the South Bay that was established during the six years before the past year.  

Over the past ten months, I have been monitoring the actions of the current Board of Directors and have reviewed the financial reports of the association on a monthly basis.

Examples of what I have found:

• An embattled management body that is constantly at conflict within itself.
• Several incidents of conflict of interest with association policies and funds.
• Only $69,232 of the $2.7 million Reserve Fund has been reinvested back into our community. Yet roofs need to be replaced and maintained, buildings need to be painted, plumbing needs to be replaced, trees need to be trimmed, fire alarms need to be inspected annually, etc.
• Vendor payments have been made slow or late or until the vendor complains.
• A 2015 budget that was not adjusted based on community needs but merely rolled over from 2014.

Some of what has transpired:

• Several officer title changes during the year as each director has thrown up their hands in frustration and pulled away from the responsibilities.
• One Director had resigned as early as August and the Board has not considered appointing a qualified replacement.
• The Horizon management contract had been unilaterally renegotiated to increase services to “full-service” (>$6,000/mo nearly double the previous rate) to alleviate the duties and frustrations of the Board without a competitive bidding process.  Competitors offer “full service” at nearly half that amount.
• Monthly meeting minutes are not posted on a regular basis to keep the community informed. Resident open forum sessions are banned at open meetings against Civil Code requirements.
• Non-existent supervision of the maintenance staff resulting in work slow-downs and little production by the crew of six, practically wasting the $500,000 Personnel and Benefits budget.
• The Board has not spent budgeted funds nor have reinvested in the community amenities that we use and pay for so they can show how much money they saved and get re-elected. Why haven’t they passed those savings down to us? Why would they then hold assessments steady and approve a new budget for expenditures they did not spend in the first place?
• Harmed property values by the Board’s delay in rebuilding the south parking structure and recreation facility.

I am broadly experienced in the homeowners association business since 2008. I am an active member in the Community Association Institute-Orange County Chapter (CAI-OC), attending monthly educational events, and periodic educational classes. I have been an HOA Board member, an on-site General Manager and now a Portfolio Community Manager. I am certified CMCA by the national industry standards organization, Community Association Institute (CAI). I won the CAI-Los Angeles Chapter, Community Leadership Award in 2009. I also hold an Association Management Specialist (AMS) certificate as the next step in achieving the PCAM certification, the highest certification in the industry.  I am also a member of the California Association of Community Management (CACM) that focuses its concentration on California Civil Code legislation under the Davis-Sterling Act. I have also held a Certified Public Accountant’s license for more than twenty-three years although my license status is currently inactive.

I will reduce our assessments and protect the market value of our homes. Please consider casting your five (5) cumulative votes to me as a “write-in” candidate prior to the reconvene deadline of February 3, 2015.   If you need another copy of the election ballot and casting envelopes, please contact Tracy Vees at Horizon Management (tracy@horizonmgmt.com or 310-543-1995) who is obligated to mail out duplicate ballots upon request.

If you have any questions concerning the Association in which we all live, please contact me above. Sincerely,

Michael Sukey

An incident of interest?

Last September, my neighbor mentioned that the unit down the way had new shrubs planted in front of their patio but they didn't plant shrubs in front of the patio just next door. A few days later, I checked it out and there were six new shrubs planted directly in front of the patio at 643-103 but none planted in front of 102. Well, 103 just happens to be owned and rented out by a current Board member.

Every month since, I looked for an Association payment to the landscaper for these plants but didn't find one....so I started thinking the landlord may have actually paid the landscaper himself, knowing that the Board knew of my monthly review of the books and records of their dealings.  Well, guess what I found?  Paid in November with an Association check (#6307), nearly $300 of plants and installation for six new plants in front of 643-103.

Now why would you think the Association would pay for these new plants in front of a Board member's unit at 103?  Common Area?  Yes, common area, but why would there not be new plants planted in the common area in front of the adjacent unit at 102?  I, myself, have been waiting on a request to Maintenance since July to replace the Holly shrub in front of my unit? Who else is waiting for new greenery in front of their unit?  Maybe the separation of responsibility no longer exists under this Board of Directors where the rules no longer apply to them(him)?

If I am elected to the 2015 Board of Directors as a "write-in" candidate, this kind of conflict of interest will not happen.  I ask you to consider casting ALL of your five (5) cumulative votes to me as a "write-in" candidate.  Please vote January 15, 2015.

Thank you,
Mike Sukey