Proposal for plan of action to "take back Surfside"
As is my stated policy on this blog, I will post any reasonable request for posting. To do so, I must know the identity of those making the request. In this instance, that has been done. I agree that this proposal has merits, however it may or may not be premature. I would feel more comfortable in moving forward on this after the investigations and resulting penalties are final.
This requires a lot of thought and as a start, discussion is warranted before a decision is made. The web site that Deb proposes would be a start. A letter sent to all members seems like a good idea, but would not be complete information until we know the results of the investigations and fines, etc. . This is my view and opinion at this time and subject to change as I hear what others have to say and more information becomes available.
Concerned Owners of Surfside Estates
The time has come for those of us who are fed up by our incompetent and corrupt Board of Trustees to put up or shut up.
I am organizing a group of members who are ready to take action to save our HOA. I will be setting up a website to be called Concerned Owners of Surfside Estates, which we can use to share information and collaborate on actions we can take to address the problems created by the corrupt BOT.
The first action we will take is to put together a letter with supporting documentation of all that is happening and mail it to all members to make them aware of what the Board has been up to. The letter will make everyone aware of the various violations (EPA, state and county) which have occurred and the potential financial liability to the SHOA Members for legal fees to defend the Association & Trustees, as well as any fines which may be assessed from the agencies. These costs could be substantial - resulting in 10-20% or higher increases in our HOA budget and our individual fees. Many members are on fixed retirement incomes and can’t afford to have their money wasted by mismanagement. The Board is withholding this from the members who will be stuck with the cost of this mess.
To do this we need volunteers to help compile documentation to provide the rest of the members so that they can see the truth. We will need financial assistance to pay for mailings. This may necessitate a GoFundMe account unless enough people are willing to chip in. It costs $800-$1000 to send a letter to all members. I can obtain the addresses from Pacific County at no cost. The letter will also direct members to the Concerned Owners website address where they can register to be informed of the group’s efforts and participate. All correspondence and documents pertaining to the legal issues will be posted on the website.
We can use the website to communicate with each other via web meetings, discussion boards, surveys or petitions using Google docs. I can set up the website at little or no cost. Nobody will be permitted to use the website anonymously. We will welcome all owners’ opinions and ideas for ridding ourselves of the Board and creating a new, member-focused HOA. We may all have differing ideas of what changes need to be made, but we will do this as a group of members, by consensus.
I would appreciate any volunteer assistance with this, people who can help with preparing mailings, postage, locating and compiling documents, reviewing mailings, administering the website, writing letters to the editor, writing our elected officials, the Secretary of State, etc.
It is clear from Annual Meeting and voting results that 75% of the SHOA members are not engaged; we need to make them aware of what’s happening and elicit their participation. We need to make it easy for them to participate. This effort will never get traction without getting the silent majority engaged. This is primarily the part-time vacation home owners, RVers and undeveloped lot owners, but there are also many full timers who have just thrown up their hands in disgust.
We are all victims of a corrupt Board of Trustees and staff who have mismanaged the HOA and used their positions to engage in personal vendettas and serve their own interests. I tried to make changes from the inside as a Trustee and was completely shut down by the Board. I’m now willing to collaborate with others who share my concerns and are willing to help lead a grassroots effort to take back our HOA.
If you are willing to help, please email me at surfside.debblagg@gmail.com or you can message me through my Surfside Facebook Page @surfsidedeb.
😎 Deb Blagg
24 comments:
I'm in. See you after Xmas!
Us is a very small group, n getting smaller.
A challenging aspect of all this is that we must create a movement of sorts, because the BOT shows no intention of addressing the unforgiveable failings of key Trustees who have served on the Board for multiple terms and been in key positions to witness and correct the failings of the Water Dept.
What we see in living color is that a Board made up of "yes men/women", chosen for their agreeableness and lack of independent thinking, must inevitably fail for lack of critical thinking, and open discussion.
Mr. Williams would be satisfied with the title "King" - but one person cannot adequately fill this role. There's just too many things to juggle and keep track of, and our Board was never intended to operate that way. A community as large as ours needs the diverse views and creative thinking of many minds and well-intentioned souls.
So while there has arisen this strange cadre of Blagg-bashers, Deb is a creative thinker and has energy to offer in an effort to organize owners and create a new vision and commitment to honest transparent governance meant to be more inclusive and conscientious than in the past. She is just one person in an effort that must include many good folk, and multiple leaders.
Undoubtedly there have been Trustees over time who tried to make unbiased decisions and wished to create a more inclusive community. Things have not moved in that direction, and a lack of focus has lead to a serious predicament that we cannot deny or easily shake off. We'll have to see how this all boils down and get busy rebuilding "a more perfect union" as they say.
Well said Steve.
I am glad to see that someone has finally taken the action to get organized. I have seen so many posts that have been derogatory to what is going on, but no organization. I hope this will succeed. The major items being getting folks to speak out without fear of retaliation, getting the word to a larger number of members, and "cleaning the swamp" of the current Board Members. Of the most importance is to determine what effect the current legal situation is going to have on the organization and the rest of us. I think there has been enough deliberate financial mishandling to rid of us several current and former Board Members. We just have to "out" it.
How do you get rid of a " former " board member?
Good question! This would probably be a much more harmonious blog if we had the answer.
Can the host block “you know who” from this blog?
Former board members don’t go away, they just serve on committees.
I'm in. I have contacted Deb and look forward to participating.
Ditto 11.44. Also been in contact w Deb. May cost all some $ to move on with this movement but it’s $ better spent than where the funds have been squandered!
This is a great idea to spread the word. I have some friends with property who are not on this blog and when I reported some of the happenings, especially about the terrorizing of Patrick, and also the asbestos pipe, they looked at me in horror. I believe many people really have no idea...
We've only been here since 2014, but I don't trust Deb Blagg. In the short time we've been here she has been dishonest and manipulative.
We also don't like how the water is managed or trust our president of the BOT, but don't believe anything will change under the leadership of Blagg except chaos.
Change is definitely needed. Please find someone else to spearhead this campaign.
I have not found her to be "dishonest and manipulative", in fact just the opposite. She has always worked with others in an attempt to make change. Do you think the tech committee was dishonest and manipulative? Most think not and she was only a part of the committee. You seem to have the same mindset as another who constantly attacks her. Just a coincidence? I think not.
I don’t know if we have ever met, but I’m sorry you feel I’ve been dishonest and manipulative. If you reached this conclusion through interacting with me, I apologize and would like an opportunity to hear your concerns and make amends. If your opinion is based on gossip and hearsay, then I think we should meet and get to know one another.
I’ve made a point of being honest and open - not hiding behind anonymity. I have my own opinions about things here in Surfside that concern me and I would like to see changed. I have never withheld or lied about these things. At the same time I know that not everyone shares my concerns. We all have different priorities and opinions; mine are no more important than yours anyone else’s. Most important to me is that the decisions and actions of our Board Surfside be based on the wishes of the majority of members - not just those of the Board and their circle of friends. Trustees must be willing to put their self-interests aside for the greater good. That rarely, if ever. happens with our Board.
When I was on the Board, I understood my obligation was to represent all members. I advocated bring together members with differing opinions to tackle some of the hot-button issues and find common ground. Unfortunately, the small group of members who control the committees and Board want only to maintain the status quo. They are not interested in compromise, fairness or allowing anyone else’s wishes to be fulfilled - even if that’s what the majority of members want. Imagine if an issue like the tree heights was put to the members to vote and 1,000 members voted to eliminate them? Do you think the 200 members who want to keep things as they are would be willing to risk that?
The only proposal I brought to the Board was to create the Technology Committee - my motives were made clear from the outset: to engage as many members as possible and expand member participation in Surfside. I would like to see more members participate in meetings, committees, elections and social events. To achieve this we need to greatly improve our communications between the HOA and members and between members. This is why there has been so much resistance to expanding our use of technology - those who advocate for the status quo don’t want members more communicating or voting because they not they will lose control and it will lead to change.
I didn’t start this initiative to promote myself. I don’t want to be a Trustee. I just want honest Trustees who will set-aside their self-interests, bring people together to discuss our differences, reach compromises and implement changes that are fair. Many of us believe that we have now is not fair.
I welcome you to get involved and help drive change.
Disagree vehemently. Deb has been open and honest, unlike our Board.
The current situation needs honesty and transparency and it's not getting either. Our organization is liable to tens of thousands of dollars in potential fines, mostly coming from bad decision making based on self interest, not the needs of the organization.
The Tech committee was never given enough authority to be dishonest or manipulative. As badly as it is needed, it never got out of the gate.
The constant attacks on Deb speak to a greater motive. Control of information is a key to this Board, and they are losing it (reference todays article in Chinook Observer).
I will look with great interest to see the response from our association.
It seems people are forgetting this is an active investigation. I am sure all involved have been told not to talk about it by their lawyers. I wouldn't expect any comment until the investigation is completed.
I think it's premature to attack now. Laura leaving, investigations still active.
Laura's leaving is the least of our worries. She's showing good sense to get out now.
I think the office personnel and board forgot that they work for us...the notion that they need to keep secrets from us is poor judgement. My personal dealings with Laura convinces me that she is behind all the secrecy. There is no excuse for the choices she and the board made to prevent the membership from learning about all this legal crap. Even today, they still have not made any attempt to inform the membership of what is happening in that office. Shame on them. Karma is a bitch!
To the same old complainer: I am organizing a coalition of like-minded people who want to make Surfside a better HOA. If I hold predjudices, they are reserved for those on the Board who have abused their positions and refused to act in good faith for the entire membership, along with their little posse of small-minded haters. I do have my own opinions, which I have expressed here and which are shared by many other members. However, until the Board makes a concerted effort to give ALL members the opportunity to express their thoughts and goals for this community, we really have no idea what the majority of members really want.
The RVers of Surfside Facebook group is open every SHOA Member who own RV property exclusively. This social group is a prime example of how social media can help build community among people who have a common interest in RV camping and share similar concerns over threats and predjudicial treatment of SHOA’s RV members.
I speak only for myself, but I believe what is right and fair for the majority can only be determined when we have a Board that serves all members, listens to all members and makes it a priority to facilitate communications and increase voting by all members. Those on this blog, on the Board and among the membership who think they are entitled to dominate the HOA and push their own agenda at the expense of the members as a whole are both obvious and obnoxious. Their cult-like following of a small minority of members is alarming and shameful.
11:54. The only ones who should be ashamed is the 10-15% cabal of elitists who think their opinions bear more weight than every other member. I am not ashamed - in fact I’m proud of working to achieve fairness for all members. George should also be proud of providing the only source where SHOA Members can get information on what kind of crap is happening and those who are doing it. Now go back under your bridge little Troll.
Hmmm! Let me guess: female, wants to be somebody, lives on J and doesn’t have one lick of common sense!
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