Election September 24, 2009

Yesterday was the annual election and the results are in.

Our Architectural Director and Treasurer, who was running for a two year term, was not elected on that basis.

Prior to the results, he gave a great presentation and addressed issues regarding the livability of our complex, the state of the various projects, the finances of the association and also addressed questions about unit owners who do not properly manage their tenants. He also made a presentation regarding the state of the economy and the possible impact on unit owners and the association. He also related how he had come to change his perspective on life at BLMH to that of a community which should accomodate residents no matter what their age. He stated that this was the impetus for some of the recent work on driveways, in concert with other factors. He credited a Wall Street Journal article. He also discussed the various water problems which BLMH has and the solutions that are being implemented to solve them. There was no hyperbole. He has done extraordinary work, and as someone who assisted him in this past year with specifications and identifying certain infrastructure problems and possible solutions, I think I can speak with some authority.

I believe the Architectural Director/ Treasurer was perhaps the most difficult job on the association board. It was an incredibly time consuming position for someone who is an unpaid volunteer. There were plans and specifications to develop, bids to evaluate, contracts to award, contractors to manage, coordination with unit owners, compliance and completion meetings, funds to disburse and all manner of planning, including cash flow management. There were also continuous and sometimes lengthy presentations to unit owners and the other members of the Board of Managers. To those who attended meetings and harped or criticized him, I say you didn’t deserve his talents or efforts. Perhaps our new board members will do it better; last year they stated they would do it better. However, I consider 2009 to have been the year of misinformation, minutia and special interests. We’ll see if 2010 is any better.

In singling out our Architectural Director/ Treasurer, I do not mean to denigrate the work of other board members and in particular, our Rules and Regulations Director. That too was a very difficult job. Defensive unit owners, certain board members and ROC members would sometimes verbally attack her for doing her job.

For those in the association who voted I congratulate you for exercising your responsibility. If things do not turn out well, you will have every right to complain and to correct this next year and the year thereafter.

For those of you who did not vote, or who signed your proxy forms and instructed someone else to mark your ballot with their choices, you have done a disservice to the association and can consider yourself to be a part of the problem, rather than the solution.

During the meeting, the candidates who were present were given a brief opportunity to address the unit owners who were present. This is always a somewhat interesting spectacle, as the votes have already been cast and the owners of proxy ballots are not even present. I did not take a head count, but I would say that about 15% of the unit owners were present.

As a candidate I made a one minute statement and I closed by stating that while I am an advocate of long term planning, it is the unit owners who will decide, today, what this association is to be.

As I have not been elected, that will allow me to continue this blog and other communications efforts. I thank those who voted for me. I will be a looking for continued attempts on the part of board members to disenfranchise owners, in violation of the Illinois Condominium Property Act. I will also report the state of affairs. However, this blog will continue to be a clandestine affair as it is not recognized by our board or our Communications Director, who nonetheless has stated she is a champion of “open communications” and “forward thinking ideas”.

During the annual meeting, other board members made brief statements. Our Communications Director made a very short speech in which she advised those present that she had new help to continue the creation of an association website. She also requested recommendations from unit owners for content for the newsletter. However, I must state here that I do not get a response from her to my written requests. I assume I am not alone. Since our Communications Director does not reveal the requests received, it is impossible to determine how much censorship is occurring.

Our Landscaping Director made a brief statement in which he advised the unit owners who were present that fall trimming and preparations will soon begin.

I'll be posting over the weekend "Where Do We Go From Here", in which the "we" is the association. The unit owners rejected a program which was outlined as follows, in a letter:

"...The purpose of this letter is to discuss the important upcoming election. It is important because BLMH is entering it’s 4th decade, and there are many challenges to be faced by our Board. Our buildings and infrastructure are aging, therefore, we need new roofs, driveways, and landscaping.

We need your help, and we can’t do this without your vote. There are complex projects in progress. We want to replace the driveways, roofs and landscaping on a planned, long term schedule, thereby keeping fees reasonable. This is a beautiful and very large association covering over 40 acres which includes 800 trees, streams and lakes, over 40 roofs, and 80 driveways. We maintain our entire grounds, all streets, and even the lighting, water and sewer systems.

The reserves of our Association have been strengthened and the money must be spent in the proper areas.

The duties of the Board are essentially the business of running the association. This includes the overseeing of our management company, the determination of assessments, reserves, and finances. It also includes the selection and management of our various contractors, and all decisions concerning projects and the spending of all funds. All of this requires a special partnership between you, the other unit owners, the Board and our hired professionals.

Please consider re-electing our experienced board members who have made the commitment in the past, and are willing to volunteer their time and talents again, for the benefit of the association. There are also new individuals who have also stepped forward, some of whom have practical skills necessary for the Board...."

Instead, the unit owners accepted this proposal, as stated by our Communications Director:

“Hello ____,
It’s board member election time again and I wanted to send you this note regarding the four candidates that I’m endorsing this year. I personally know all of them -- ______________, ____________, _____________, and ___________. – and will be privileged to have any one of them sit on the board with me. They all possess the integrity, conscientiousness, and compassion that will help create a new kind of association governance. Together we’ll begin to cultivate a fresh mindset among our community leadership that encourages rather than stifles the individuality of our homeowners and that places the highest value on sincerity, honesty, and respectfulness....."

As a consequence of the election, we will have two members on the board with one year experience each, that is, our Landscaping Director and our Communications Director. We will also have four new members, as elected by the unit owners. Our Architectural Director ran for a two year term, and was not elected to that position.

It should be an interesting year. I have started a new blog in which, like one of those reality shows e.g. “This Surreal Life” I’ll be posting some of my more unusual observations about the operation of the board of managers and our association. The new site is:
http://amondocondo.blogspot.com/