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What I took away from the meetings today is..Basically, we can expect no positive changes, just more of the same. Un-necessary spe4nding by a group of people who have no idea what they are talking about or doing. They have a spend plan for sure and it is simple....Keep spending and if you don't get it spent, then carry it over until the next year and spend it then. The same old, year after year.
There is not a single member among them that cares what they can do for the members to make a more enjoyable place to live or own property. Not a one of them has any kind of a vision at all. Nothing is thought out and when they do have a study or expert advice, they just continue with the same old failed ways.
As long as we members continue to allow this kind of an HOA, then I guess we get exactly what we deserve. Several times I heard the same thing..."we have the money" Reminds me of a passed friend and member, Sophia Platt, who said at a Board Meeting long ago. "Give them the money and they will find a way to spend it". She was right then and it is still right today. Shameful.
4:14, that could be a positive thing in our favor. They'll all be quickly forgotten or their names will make their children and grandchildren too embarrassed to visit or take up the reins.
The part that totally embarrassed me was the treasurers report with well over a million dollars in reserves and we accepted that $10,000 from the government! The excuse that we needed for IT improvements that should have been years ago! There are small businesses in our community that probably don’t have $100 in their banking account and could have used this money. Totally wrong We are not hurting for money and we always have the avenues to raise money. Small me business have no such alternatives!
I agree JoAnne. We have fair decent members who also agree and Mr. Rudd has given us all a black eye. I could not understand much of what he said as he mumbles. We need someone who speaks clearly and has integrate. We should donate that money to the small local business's. Maybe we could gain back some lost respect.
Yes I agree Joann, we stole 10,000 from the government that someone else could have used. .. What I do not understand is how many more people do we need to add to our small little Surfside. We now have Kimber, Mo, Heidi, the new GM..Tracy. That makes 4 just in the office. We added a compliance officer who is a complete joke and now needs her own office, lol. Oh and the IT person. When is enough enough!! Lets see, we managed to spend 1/2 million on a sheriff who we do not need, 8500 on a stupid water tank, another needless expenditure. How about we spend our money on trails, making them better, our bridges, parks, fencing. How about ditch the sheriff and add security gates coming into Surfside. Most HOA have them, why not us. Why do we allow outsiders to access our trails, beat them down at our expense? has anyone looked at the canal or Seabreeze lake and all the yuk and build up of pine needles and leaves clogging it up? Its totally disgusting. these are not even close to being lakes, just drainage ditches. We make everyone cut their trees, yet those trees closest to the lakes and canals get to stay, makes no sense. We allow the east side to get away with murder, is the compliance lady or her coparts afraid to go into area 52?
The streets and roads belong to the County. You can not gate a County road. Gated HOA's own the streets. The canal is owned by the property owners. The association owns the lakes.
Surfside applied for and received two gov. grants (my understanding), each at $10,000. That's $20,000. As was said, not appropriate or needed by the HOA, while a godsend to small businesses in our area, many likely unable to hang-on.
I could only watch a little of the meeting! Clancy is still insisting on having a sheriff evidently even if we have to employ them! Give it up we’re fine and our taxes are going up a lot next year, watch and see! Good luck to the new board! There are lots of us rooting for you! Oh and by the way there is no justification for accepting that government money!
When is Clancys term up? We really need him off the board, he is one greedy money hungry sob. Its all about spending our money to make his wolfe friend look good. Come on new members, dont buy into his bullcrap
Oh..just an FYI, the junky truck next to Peggy and Kurt olds does not have current tabs and should be sited for such. If RVs have to be current, so do all vehicles. Fair is fair
The good news is that we don't have to see Winegar and deLeest's mugs anymore. Six more board meetings and we can finally dump Williams. Watching the board meeting was like watching the movie Planet Of The Apes. Cast looked the same and so is the ending for surfside. A razor and a couple of face lifts would help the looks of surfside even more than removing dead trees.
The one thing I will always be thankful for, is no-one can make the county cut trees to the North of Surfside. Those belong to the county, or Craig...love to see Georgianna try and waste our money making that happen.
Under the new CARL (critical areas) it is against the law to cut down or top trees alomg our waterways. This includes the canal and lakes. Miss Peggy violated those laws by having trees removed along Seabreeze Lake. The county is aware of this violation and we could have another fine imposed.
Why doesn’t anyone ask the question of why we should provide chipping services to our members? In any other community I’ve ever lived in, this is a personal responsibility! Easy solution, end the ridiculous tree covenants and there’s no need for a chipper! This is taking on way too much risk and liability in my opinion!
I noticed there is one key issue not being discussed.
People have been complaining for years about the voting process. These people claim that if it was easier more members would get involved and all the troubles of Surfside would vanished. Well, how did that go? There was no annual meeting that required people to attend. There were no proxies to "fix" the election. Yet we still basically had around the same percentage of members voting.
So to those folks that keep saying that if it was easier to vote more would just stop. Along with that the same goes about the claims of the secret cabal who are suppressing the vote.
Fact check: The trees outside Surfside on the North end...357th and I Street West, are owned by the County as part of a drain system for the area. North of the condo's on 357th is owned by the State of Washington. 357th and I Street East is owned by Leadbetter Farms.
3:17.... No one has ever suggested that increasing the ease of voting would have an instant impact. This is by no means a typical year, so it is absurd to try to interpret anything in particular. If you have to try THAT hard to make excuses, there's something you're covering for.
@4:40...you just had your comment come back in your face. Yes, the county does own trees I was talking about. Must be BIDEN supporter (biggest Idiot democrats ever nominated)
@ 11:36. I did not know that there was another $10,000. This is so wrong in many ways. We do not need that money nor did we need the first $10,000. Who can I contact to report this as fraud. There are so many other businesses that are closing that could benefit with this money. It's become an embarrassment to live in Surfside.
The Republicans refused to put in monitoring, controls, and regulations regarding limiting who who gets the money. The Democrats wanted all that. The Republicans are racists, autocrats, anti-democratic, fat cat rich people protectors, don't care about the poor and middle class, don't care about affordable healthcare, the main drivers for sending jobs overseas so them and their job-creators (jobs overseas, not here to fatten their wallets) can make ultimate money off their corporate state. Also, they love corporate socialism. That's what the last tax cuts were, plain and simple!!!
If I could respond to a comment on the 3rd strand, I stated that the HOA is an extension of the County in a sense. HOAs have been created as a more localized extension to help the community comply to State and County standards. That's why most of the community covenants mirror the County ordinances.
The responder claimed this was not true, and basically ignored my comments which aren't really disputable. While it is true that the County has greater authority, the HOA has authority to enforce their own covenants, and once written in the covenants, County standards ARE enforced. The Architectural Committee must approve plans for fences, sheds, and new construction, and reviews these plans, and approval must be secured before building can proceed.
The county must also approve plans for any new construction, reviewing for more detailed matters than the HOA, also noting proper setbacks and adherence to local building code requirements. But the HOA reviews many of these same things, acting as a partner to the County in this respect.
So to reiterate, the HOA CAN have additional requirements for approval, and can enforce those additional standards. But that in itself does not mean that the additional standards are appropriate OR legal.
If these standards are not grounded in a clear need or rationale, they need not be considered legal and binding by a Court of Law. That is a primary reason the HOA failed miserably in their 3 year harassment of Patrick Johansen and a couple of other members. Their legal complaints centered on Shed eave length, and were considered inconsequential and unnecessary, so were dismissed by the Courts. After spending over $100,000 in attorney fees and filings, their intent to take this to Superior Court was withdrawn, and the HOA was forced to pay the defendant's Court and Legal costs.
So yes, the HOA can make rules about all kinds of things, including requiring members wear a Surfside uniform for instance, but that doesn't make it prudent or legal. Obviously, some of the olde guard still don't understand why they failed in these cases, and are bound to make the same mistakes repeatedly, because they can.
This is what can happen when unscrupulous people are elected to the Board, and it is a current pattern in Surfside. The grandstanders must flaunt their monetary might, and create restrictions that are not practical or needed. That doesn't make it legal.
First off the Trump question was about your idiotic statement about the compliance officer, but thanks for now confirming you are one with another as a follow up.
To George and 9:09: While the area west and some of the properties between the two gates are county owned, the majority are privately owned. I know this because years ago my neighbor was looking into buying some of it but it came with some restrictions and a high price. Plus, as someone else has pointed out, there is someone living just north of the gate. Another example is there is a private owned property just south of the gate that is on our north border. They have removed trees over the years. I suggest you go to mapsifter and see for yourselves the official truth if you are interested in actual facts.
So, back in YOUR face 9:09! Just like your hero, you lost.
I stand corrected. It seems some is private, as I stated with Leadbetter Farms. Some is State and some is County. I really do appreciate the corrections, as that is the reason for this blog....To discuss and share information. Corrections and facts can be presented without being an attack on others. Thanks again, and continue the discussions.n
@2:25, there actually is a squatter back there living in a tent, no septic, portable toilet, trailer or rv. Its quite the shithole of dump vehicles, tires, garage...Its a county problem and good ol Inslee says you cannot displace anyone.
Since the HOA hides these legal expenses from the membership, that's a good question. I shall not tell my source, but Johansen was paid around $15,000 to reimburse his legal expenses.
To the 9:30 elitist a hole. You have no idea why there is a homeless person "squatting" back there. If not for the grace of God, it could be you. At least Inslee cares about people, which is more than you do or trump. You netter write a check and send it to trump to pay his legal fees after he leaves the office he was thrown out of. Hope you choke on a turkey bone. t
With the Senate having refused to negotiate a reasonable stimulus/Covid Relief package, the comprehensive "Heroes Act" proposal sent to the Senate in May was never even considered. Financial experts had advised that a large comprehensive stimulus be approved and acted upon, in order to save small businesses, provide aid to States and municipalities, hospitals, unemployment extensions, and another stimulus to individuals, as was passed a month or so prior.
It is predicted that the country will experience mass evictions and mortgage defaults, should no money be appropriated. Many more small businesses will be shuttered as well. Once the bottom falls out, it becomes much more difficult to undo the damage done. Inslee has appropriated some funds to help Wash. citizens, and along with that, a ban on evictions.
Dealing with people such as this poor soul with the nasty tent camp, is never an easy matter. Many factors can contribute to such desperation, including mental illness. Inslee has nothing to do with it really, but as is mentioned, he has a social conscience, as we all should in the dire circumstances our country finds itself. Pacific County is pretty remote for the westside, but the runaway Pandemic can't be staved-off by anger and denial. Only practical solutions and compassion will get us through this.
@10:35, good news, I did not choke on a turkey bone. Whats Trump got to do with this, are you one of those who has to put his name into everything because you love him so much? I could give a crap less why there is a homeless person living behind the gate, he has reported him to the county, so it will eventually get dealt with. It brings in the riffraff and eventually the druggies and theft.
Reference the Weekender. As to the Treasurers weak attempt to justify the stealing of Covid 19 funds, what the hell did he/the Board spend over $18k on. If he is going to try and push that BS off on us, let’see where that money was spent! He needs to be replaced any way, all my interactions with him shows him to have a pretty dim bulb. This is one thing you crazy’s can’t blame on Trump.
9:33....What you are too poorly informed to grasp is that the economy is in serious trouble, which means widespread job losses and evictions/defaults are in the making. Unless the Pandemic can be neutralized, the country is in free-fall while Trump remains prez, and 6 mos. to a year before most of us can be vaccinated. A lack of compassion is the kind of bad karma that is certain to visit you eventually.
37 comments:
What I took away from the meetings today is..Basically, we can expect no positive changes, just more of the same. Un-necessary spe4nding by a group of people who have no idea what they are talking about or doing. They have a spend plan for sure and it is simple....Keep spending and if you don't get it spent, then carry it over until the next year and spend it then. The same old, year after year.
There is not a single member among them that cares what they can do for the members to make a more enjoyable place to live or own property. Not a one of them has any kind of a vision at all. Nothing is thought out and when they do have a study or expert advice, they just continue with the same old failed ways.
As long as we members continue to allow this kind of an HOA, then I guess we get exactly what we deserve. Several times I heard the same thing..."we have the money" Reminds me of a passed friend and member, Sophia Platt, who said at a Board Meeting long ago. "Give them the money and they will find a way to spend it". She was right then and it is still right today. Shameful.
Are there any young people in stumpside? That meeting looked like a bingo game in a nursing home.
4:14, that could be a positive thing in our favor. They'll all be quickly forgotten or their names will make their children and grandchildren too embarrassed to visit or take up the reins.
The part that totally embarrassed me was the treasurers report with well over a million dollars in reserves and we accepted that $10,000 from the government! The excuse that we needed for IT improvements that should have been years ago! There are small businesses in our community that probably don’t have $100 in their banking account and could have used this money. Totally wrong We are not hurting for money and we always have the avenues to raise money. Small me business have no such alternatives!
I agree JoAnne. We have fair decent members who also agree and Mr. Rudd has given us all a black eye. I could not understand much of what he said as he mumbles. We need someone who speaks clearly and has integrate. We should donate that money to the small local business's. Maybe we could gain back some lost respect.
Yes I agree Joann, we stole 10,000 from the government that someone else could have used. ..
What I do not understand is how many more people do we need to add to our small little Surfside. We now have Kimber, Mo, Heidi, the new GM..Tracy. That makes 4 just in the office. We added a compliance officer who is a complete joke and now needs her own office, lol. Oh and the IT person. When is enough enough!!
Lets see, we managed to spend 1/2 million on a sheriff who we do not need, 8500 on a stupid water tank, another needless expenditure.
How about we spend our money on trails, making them better, our bridges, parks, fencing. How about ditch the sheriff and add security gates coming into Surfside. Most HOA have them, why not us. Why do we allow outsiders to access our trails, beat them down at our expense? has anyone looked at the canal or Seabreeze lake and all the yuk and build up of pine needles and leaves clogging it up? Its totally disgusting. these are not even close to being lakes, just drainage ditches. We make everyone cut their trees, yet those trees closest to the lakes and canals get to stay, makes no sense.
We allow the east side to get away with murder, is the compliance lady or her coparts afraid to go into area 52?
The streets and roads belong to the County. You can not gate a County road. Gated HOA's own the streets. The canal is owned by the property owners. The association owns the lakes.
Surfside applied for and received two gov. grants (my understanding), each at $10,000. That's $20,000. As was said, not appropriate or needed by the HOA, while a godsend to small businesses in our area, many likely unable to hang-on.
I could only watch a little of the meeting! Clancy is still insisting on having a sheriff evidently even if we have to employ them! Give it up we’re fine and our taxes are going up a lot next year, watch and see!
Good luck to the new board! There are lots of us rooting for you!
Oh and by the way there is no justification for accepting that government money!
When is Clancys term up? We really need him off the board, he is one greedy money hungry sob. Its all about spending our money to make his wolfe friend look good. Come on new members, dont buy into his bullcrap
Oh..just an FYI, the junky truck next to Peggy and Kurt olds does not have current tabs and should be sited for such. If RVs have to be current, so do all vehicles. Fair is fair
The good news is that we don't have to see Winegar and deLeest's mugs anymore. Six more board meetings and we can finally dump Williams.
Watching the board meeting was like watching the movie Planet Of The Apes. Cast looked the same and so is the ending for surfside. A razor and a couple of face lifts would help the looks of surfside even more than removing dead trees.
The one thing I will always be thankful for, is no-one can make the county cut trees to the North of Surfside. Those belong to the county, or Craig...love to see Georgianna try and waste our money making that happen.
Under the new CARL (critical areas) it is against the law to cut down or top trees alomg our waterways. This includes the canal and lakes. Miss Peggy violated those laws by having trees removed along Seabreeze Lake. The county is aware of this violation and we could have another fine imposed.
I hope the county fines Surfside big time. Obviously, Surfside hasn't learned since 2018 and 2019 and continues to ignore external regulations.
Why doesn’t anyone ask the question of why we should provide chipping services to our members? In any other community I’ve ever lived in, this is a personal responsibility! Easy solution, end the ridiculous tree covenants and there’s no need for a chipper! This is taking on way too much risk and liability in my opinion!
I noticed there is one key issue not being discussed.
People have been complaining for years about the voting process. These people claim that if it was easier more members would get involved and all the troubles of Surfside would vanished. Well, how did that go? There was no annual meeting that required people to attend. There were no proxies to "fix" the election. Yet we still basically had around the same percentage of members voting.
So to those folks that keep saying that if it was easier to vote more would just stop. Along with that the same goes about the claims of the secret cabal who are suppressing the vote.
What was the total vote count? I don’t believe I saw it anywhere
7:09, just a FYI.
The trees on the north border are private not county. The word is that the owners are planning on some building so more than likely bye bye trees.
Also Einstein, Georigianna wouldn't waste anything since it isn't our property. Unlike the time you did to type your useless rant.
Let me guess, Trump supporter?
440 - yet more disinformation. Must be a Board member.
Fact check:
The trees outside Surfside on the North end...357th and I Street West, are owned by the County as part of a drain system for the area. North of the condo's on 357th is owned by the State of Washington. 357th and I Street East is owned by Leadbetter Farms.
3:17.... No one has ever suggested that increasing the ease of voting would have an instant impact. This is by no means a typical year, so it is absurd to try to interpret anything in particular. If you have to try THAT hard to make excuses, there's something you're covering for.
@4:40...you just had your comment come back in your face. Yes, the county does own trees I was talking about. Must be BIDEN supporter (biggest Idiot democrats ever nominated)
@ 11:36. I did not know that there was another $10,000. This is so wrong in many ways. We do not need that money nor did we need the first $10,000. Who can I contact to report this as fraud. There are so many other businesses that are closing that could benefit with this money. It's become an embarrassment to live in Surfside.
The Republicans refused to put in monitoring, controls, and regulations regarding limiting who who gets the money. The Democrats wanted all that.
The Republicans are racists, autocrats, anti-democratic, fat cat rich people protectors, don't care about the poor and middle class, don't care about affordable healthcare, the main drivers for sending jobs overseas so them and their job-creators (jobs overseas, not here to fatten their wallets) can make ultimate money off their corporate state. Also, they love corporate socialism. That's what the last tax cuts were, plain and simple!!!
If I could respond to a comment on the 3rd strand, I stated that the HOA is an extension of the County in a sense. HOAs have been created as a more localized extension to help the community comply to State and County standards. That's why most of the community covenants mirror the County ordinances.
The responder claimed this was not true, and basically ignored my comments which aren't really disputable. While it is true that the County has greater authority, the HOA has authority to enforce their own covenants, and once written in the covenants, County standards ARE enforced. The Architectural Committee must approve plans for fences, sheds, and new construction, and reviews these plans, and approval must be secured before building can proceed.
The county must also approve plans for any new construction, reviewing for more detailed matters than the HOA, also noting proper setbacks and adherence to local building code requirements. But the HOA reviews many of these same things, acting as a partner to the County in this respect.
So to reiterate, the HOA CAN have additional requirements for approval, and can enforce those additional standards. But that in itself does not mean that the additional standards are appropriate OR legal.
If these standards are not grounded in a clear need or rationale, they need not be considered legal and binding by a Court of Law. That is a primary reason the HOA failed miserably in their 3 year harassment of Patrick Johansen and a couple of other members. Their legal complaints centered on Shed eave length, and were considered inconsequential and unnecessary, so were dismissed by the Courts. After spending over $100,000 in attorney fees and filings, their intent to take this to Superior Court was withdrawn, and the HOA was forced to pay the defendant's Court and Legal costs.
So yes, the HOA can make rules about all kinds of things, including requiring members wear a Surfside uniform for instance, but that doesn't make it prudent or legal. Obviously, some of the olde guard still don't understand why they failed in these cases, and are bound to make the same mistakes repeatedly, because they can.
This is what can happen when unscrupulous people are elected to the Board, and it is a current pattern in Surfside. The grandstanders must flaunt their monetary might, and create restrictions that are not practical or needed. That doesn't make it legal.
To George's "fact check":
So the guy living just north of the gate on I is a squatter then? Methinks you need to do a bit more research.
What are you basing your 100K of legal fees for Johansen on?
9:09:
First off the Trump question was about your idiotic statement about the compliance officer, but thanks for now confirming you are one with another as a follow up.
To George and 9:09: While the area west and some of the properties between the two gates are county owned, the majority are privately owned. I know this because years ago my neighbor was looking into buying some of it but it came with some restrictions and a high price. Plus, as someone else has pointed out, there is someone living just north of the gate. Another example is there is a private owned property just south of the gate that is on our north border. They have removed trees over the years. I suggest you go to mapsifter and see for yourselves the official truth if you are interested in actual facts.
So, back in YOUR face 9:09! Just like your hero, you lost.
I stand corrected. It seems some is private, as I stated with Leadbetter Farms. Some is State and some is County. I really do appreciate the corrections, as that is the reason for this blog....To discuss and share information. Corrections and facts can be presented without being an attack on others. Thanks again, and continue the discussions.n
@2:25, there actually is a squatter back there living in a tent, no septic, portable toilet, trailer or rv. Its quite the shithole of dump vehicles, tires, garage...Its a county problem and good ol Inslee says you cannot displace anyone.
Since the HOA hides these legal expenses from the membership, that's a good question. I shall not tell my source, but Johansen was paid around $15,000 to reimburse his legal expenses.
To the 9:30 elitist a hole. You have no idea why there is a homeless person "squatting" back there. If not for the grace of God, it could be you. At least Inslee cares about people, which is more than you do or trump. You netter write a check and send it to trump to pay his legal fees after he leaves the office he was thrown out of. Hope you choke on a turkey bone. t
With the Senate having refused to negotiate a reasonable stimulus/Covid Relief package, the comprehensive "Heroes Act" proposal sent to the Senate in May was never even considered. Financial experts had advised that a large comprehensive stimulus be approved and acted upon, in order to save small businesses, provide aid to States and municipalities, hospitals, unemployment extensions, and another stimulus to individuals, as was passed a month or so prior.
It is predicted that the country will experience mass evictions and mortgage defaults, should no money be appropriated. Many more small businesses will be shuttered as well. Once the bottom falls out, it becomes much more difficult to undo the damage done. Inslee has appropriated some funds to help Wash. citizens, and along with that, a ban on evictions.
Dealing with people such as this poor soul with the nasty tent camp, is never an easy matter. Many factors can contribute to such desperation, including mental illness. Inslee has nothing to do with it really, but as is mentioned, he has a social conscience, as we all should in the dire circumstances our country finds itself. Pacific County is pretty remote for the westside, but the runaway Pandemic can't be staved-off by anger and denial. Only practical solutions and compassion will get us through this.
@10:35, good news, I did not choke on a turkey bone. Whats Trump got to do with this, are you one of those who has to put his name into everything because you love him so much?
I could give a crap less why there is a homeless person living behind the gate, he has reported him to the county, so it will eventually get dealt with. It brings in the riffraff and eventually the druggies and theft.
Reference the Weekender. As to the Treasurers weak attempt to justify the stealing of Covid 19 funds, what the hell did he/the Board spend over $18k on. If he is going to try and push that BS off on us, let’see where that money was spent! He needs to be replaced any way, all my interactions with him shows him to have a pretty dim bulb. This is one thing you crazy’s can’t blame on Trump.
9:33....What you are too poorly informed to grasp is that the economy is in serious trouble, which means widespread job losses and evictions/defaults are in the making. Unless the Pandemic can be neutralized, the country is in free-fall while Trump remains prez, and 6 mos. to a year before most of us can be vaccinated. A lack of compassion is the kind of bad karma that is certain to visit you eventually.
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