SATIRE - HAPPY HALLOWEEN

BOARD MEMBER CALLS COPS ON 5-YEAR-OLD

Despite the fact that the pool is paid for out of the regular monthly assessment, the board refused to issue pool passes to those who did not pay the deposit on the unrelated special assessment.

This past summer, a homeowner took her 5-year-old to use the pool. A board member believed to be Tom Mull allegedly told her that if she didn’t pay her assessment, the board would shut off her electricity. He then proceeded to call the Lombard Police Department to have the mother and child removed the pool area.

For months, this family lived in fear that their power was going to be turned off because of this board member’s threat.

An empty threat, it turns out, because only the electric company can shut off your power (if you don’t pay your electric bill), not the board because an assessment wasn’t paid.

The board member apparently was unaware of that, just as he was also unaware that the police department has no jurisdiction in board issues such as pool passes.

No, a police officer had to show up and inform the board member of that fact – all the while, a 5-year-old is trembling, thinking he’s the one about to be arrested.

Threatening residents and scaring children.

BOARD IGNORED AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE SPECIAL ASSESSMENT

For a brief period of time, there was a minority of board members who were against the special assessment.

Jennifer Bratanch was one such board member looking to find alternatives to the proposed $1.2 million project that the majority of the board fervently favored.

She invited the president of a construction firm to a September 24, 2007, homeowners meeting to listen to the presentation given by the engineer the board had hired. The following day, he sent her this:

Bratanch presented the letter to the board and said, “We don’t need the special assessment.” Not one of them read the letter.

With $1.2 million of homeowner money at stake, not a single board member would take five minutes to consider an alternative option.

Mr. Weldon, at no cost to St. Regis homeowners, literally handed the board his professional opinion, and not one took the time to review it.

It’s little wonder that Bratanch - and others in the minority who could not in good conscience be party to the sprawling assessment - resigned in disgust.

The majority of the board members had a singularly dedicated obsession to pass the $1.2 million assessment, and nothing was going to sway them – not a professional contractor, not other board members, not even their neighbors.

MANAGEMENT’S “SAVE MONEY” PROJECT OVER BUDGET AND REQUIRES MORE MONEY

The above Project Cost Update arrived in the mailboxes of homeowners at 2000 St. Regis this week.

When the hard sell was being made for this project by the board and Vista, homeowners were assured that the engineer’s report was authoritative and thorough.

Today, they blame being hundreds of thousands of dollars over budget to “unexpected structural repairs”.

The board, Vista, and the engineer assured homeowners that this do-everything-at-once construction plan would save homeowners money (as opposed to doing necessary repair projects over time).

Today, more than a year behind schedule, they say the special assessment will have to be raised, that the reserve funds will have to be tapped – and that the final cost of the project is still unknown.