First hand knowledge...
This will be of particular interest to Board members, and others involved in illegal handling and disposal of cement/asbestos pipe. I know first hand that the CRIMINAL investigation is still in process. A criminal investigation is exactly an investigation of a crime or crimes committed.
You break the law and get caught, you pay the consequences.
Some may think they have not been caught and can lie and/or blame others. Are they so dumb that they think they can get away with the deception they feed the members, that they can get away with it with governmental authorities? Fools.
Those responsible are quaking in their boots, as they should be. They are all waiting for the other shoe to fall. It is more likely than not, based on the information I know, some could be going to jail.
This is exactly where they belong. This will be good for the association, but bad for the public outside image.
Maybe this will open the eyes of the members to what has and is going on. It is not hard to see why there is a lack of transparency and why they want to keep it that way. If these people had any honor, they would resign. If not, they will be thrown off and out. I don't have to name them, they know who they are. Every day they continue to stay, they only dig a deeper hole that will lower themselves and drag the rest of the good members with them.
The lawyers they have are not the Surfside lawyers. They have their own private mouth pieces. (a term used by mobsters) Thank God, their legal fees are not being paid by the members. However, their illegal actions have caused other fines and legal expenses to the association. Maybe a new Board will consider suing them for damages.
What a disgrace.
Note:
I am not a lawyer and offer no legal advice. I am just a member like the rest of you, except, I am mad as hell and sick and tired of the BS. That's how I felt when I told them on several occasions, to stick my Board position up where the sun does not shine.
34 comments:
Kudos George! Hope they do get to spend some time behind bars with Bubba! These arrogant jerks will get EVERYTHING they have asked for. Keep us posted as this is a crime that can’t beswept under the rug. Likewise, I’m royally p—-ed as we all said there was fishy business going on behind closed doors. Office needs housecleaning too as they knew what was taking place.
Damn right
Lock me up, lock em up, lock em up! SHOA’s new chant!
How did someone not in the loop get first hand knowledge? lol
In the abstract I find it hard to figure who would be the criminal or criminals. I don't think members have a clue what role North Beach plays in the management of Surfside Water Dept., and the contract appears to establish agreement that the two entities share responsibilities as equal partners.
Of course Bill Neal must be in the crosshairs, but he is an employee of the two Water entities, and one would think that the acting presidents of the BOT who have failed to oversee and correct mistakes made by Bill Neal in his management role, are also complicit. But the entire Board has had a role in the management of the Water Dept. and has had ample opportunity to address the elephant in the room, for several years now.
It seems that Neal has set improper disposal in motion, and could have assured that workers were taking precautionary measures. But he has frequently attended BOT Meetings and made himself available for discussion of procedures and EPA requirements. Bill may have been prompted to take the actions he has taken.
I'll would bet that no one goes to jail or get personally fined. I don't think anyone was doing anything maliciously wrong that would warrant "criminal behavior". Just SS and or North Beach gets fined for improper doings.
Maybe you should ask the employees if they think their exposure to asbestos was ok and if someone should be held accountable. Bill broke the law and got caught. Maliciously or not, that doesn't matter. He is the expert and should know better. North Beach and Neal are the responsible party by contract and shared responsibility is just BS. !2:46 and Cox can go visit their friend in jail. After that, they can go visit the employees in the hospital. Disgusting, your defense of Neal. The court will determine if there was criminal action, not an anonymous blogger. Dumb
Neal be fired. He has no excuse for allowing this to happen. It makes no difference if people on the board might have pressured him to do something. Improperly handling of pipe disposal is a serious health issue that no decent human being would ignore. Yes, I am saying that Neal has proven that he is not a decent human being.
Improper doings? Are you trying to say it was nothing more than a parking ticket? Apparently the EPA thinks it's serious enough to warrant a criminal investigation. I don't think they would do that for a minor infraction.
This is really a sad situation, those involved meaning Bill, Gil, Gary and Jim all now that what they did was wrong on so many fronts. Two of these people have water certification that should be revoked and the other 2 need to step down and face the music.
All were aware of the Asbestos Pipe issues and chose to ignore the rules for what??
If the six remaining board people do not take action, they also will be held accountable for their present lack of action. They may not have known about the violation when it happened, but they know now. By doing nothing, they are a party to legal action also. The violators are sucking in the rest of the board to cover the illegal actions. They need to remove williams and flood from the board, then call the attorney for possible legal action against those two.
I love how all of a sudden we have members that are experts in this field, LOL where have you all been? lol
We have been here bitching all along, with people like you saying we were full of it.
Btw, no one that participated in the prep n disposal of asbestos, was trained or certified, that should be enough to get sued.
It may be funny to you 4:31, but it sure isn't to those who have been exposed to it. How would you feel if the person exposed was your son or daughter. Bet you wouldn't think it was so funny then.
4:31 thinks this is all lol! Mindset of some in Surfside. I’m insulted by humorous and sarcastic comments regarding this very serious criminal act. I hope they throw the book at em! Be wise to resign now fellas.
There were many asbestos products still in use today our older schools are full of asbestos floor tile. Millions of houses are sided with asbestos containing panels. Some of these products such as tile, siding, pipe are somewhat safe to handle as long as you do nothing to cause it to become friable or airborne and you follow proper procedures to handle and disposal. If our water crews were not cutting or sanding the pipe, exposure was most likely slight. As an employer if I knowingly expose employees to Hazardous materials with out proper training and safety policies in place it can be considered a criminal act. It was common knowledge this pipe contained asbestos and many people should have known better. I know of a painting contractor in Portland who directed his employee to dump a bunch of used paint thinner on federal land. The owner served time in prison for his actions. They take this type stuff pretty seriously. Hopefully that is not the case here. We should take this as a lesson on how to move forward correctly. I think the board should consider an asbestos abatement contractor to consult on a regular basis that we are doing things correctly.
Thats right you were sitting here bitching!! Not volunteering, not offering your expertise, so maybe by sitting back and doing nothing you are really whats wrong with SS.
We hired a so called expert 8:36. Apperantly you are new here or just have been ignoring what has been happening. Or In collusion. Just remember, anonymous doesn’t always mean anonymous.
So how much pipe was improperly disposed of? Miles?? What project did it come from? Why was it moved instead of left in the trench with the new pipe?? There is a lot of blaming but I don't see any real information here to start crucifying people especially with no answers to any questions.
So now 8:36 wants to blame the members for the criminal acts because they just sat back. The blame is with the board, north beach and Bill Neal. You can also add Gilbert Gonzalez. His favorite excuse is I was just doing what I was told. Well, they all need to be told to get out. They have all disgraced us and themselves and wasted thousands of our dollars. Now they want more money to continue their wasteful spending. If it wasn't for this blog, we wouldn't know anything. Pathetic.
Resignation of these scoundrels is a good beginning. No “going away “ party with my dues! New office staff, GM brought in that isn’t in collusion with the “gang”. Drain the swamp!
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't George sit on the Board when at least some of this was going on? Three hots and a cot !!!
I don’t think members know for sure when this whole mess originated. Any clues?
2010 hiring of the well digger is the start of the major waste of funds and sleazy work practices
10:18 I have the same curiosity about that. Why is it only all the other board members that are responsible and not George?
Because George wasn’t involved with the choices that were made, other than in opposition. Plus he served for very short periods during time these decisions were made. Some really are blinded to what’s been going on n who is responsible. Denial is a river in Egypt. We will be seeing what is behind the curtain sooner than you think. Then the spending really begins.
Same old tactic, don't like the message, attack the messenger as a diversion. Those criminal law breakers got caught. They belong in jail.
As Secretary of the BOT, George had numerous duties specific to the position that regular Trustees do not. Mr. Flood has been the driving force behind the pipe replacement project, and has long been on the Water Comm.. He is in his 12th year as a Trustee I believe.
It really seems it should be the president's responsibility to show appropriate leadership and assure effective oversight of the Water Dept. employees. But it seems true that the entire BOT has been in a position to recognize the lack of proper oversight on the procedures used, in an effort to assure Surfside water is safe.
Remember, it took the BOT about 5 years to finally satisfy the State by building the CTP, improving our water quality.
The board hired a so-called expert to manage the water system. Why would volunteer board members be expected to make decisions about how to safely deal with the removal of asbestos pipes? Neal is the guy who should get slammed. There is no reasonable excuse for his failures. I hope the board members are learning from this fiasco.
Some long standing board members should be ashamed of their roles in this mess. Resignations from these people would go a long way towards moving Surfside towards a better future.
right on 12:37
Our Water Dept. is the community's most valuable asset, and receives by far the most revenue out of our annual budgets. Mr. Neal is often in attendance at monthly meetings, and has talked at length about the pipe replacement project.
Trustees have had many opportunities to ask about disposal and handling procedures, procedures which everyone in the community is aware of, and has been common knowledge for 50 years. You don't have to be an expert in anything to comprehend that an entity of 5000 residents is expected to know and abide by the EPA requirements.
It is apparent that members of the BOT failed to recognize that piling discarded ac pipe in a waste pile on the backlot of the Waterworks to be buried in a hole, is not in the EPA playbook.
The HOA is partners with North Beach according to the contract, and both entities have a responsibility for overseeing Mr. Neal's operation. In fact, neither entity was monitoring the Dept. There are 3 or 4 individuals including Neal working in the dept.? Why was no oversight taking place ?
Seriously, does anyone on this blog have a clue about what happened in the meeting yesterday?
Yes, I do, and will be posting my "Board Meeting Notes" There will be a series of postings following. There is much to discuss.
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