Hillary
Buses...
It's Not About the
$2600
It's
Bella...gate
The tragedy of the many comments made
on another publication is that they have simply missed the entire point...
...a point that those who read Anthem Opinions seem to have understood...
...because it was PROPERLY AND FULLY REPORTED.
...namely, the seriousness of a recent improper decision
made by a president of a homeowners
association whom residents bestowed the honor of electing to represent
them.
...a decision that the newest members of Sun City
Anthem will pay the price as a result...
...if they fail to take note, and accept
what has taken place, as acceptable behavior by a
leader.
One cannot understand the
magnitude and ultimate significance of the
problem...
...unless they are made FULLY
AWARE of the PROBLEM
....
...and TO BE MADE FULLY
AWARE of the EXTENT of the PROBLEM, requires a need to comprehend...
...THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THE
PROBLEM.
Regarding the "Hillary bus" expenditure, there is
little doubt that in every case, it became evident that the residents of Sun
CIty Anthem felt it improper to finance any aspect of a political campaign.
That much...all readers seemed to
comprehend.
What many did not fully understand a few days ago,
was this episode in the history of Sun City Anthem has now
become...
Bella...gate
!
Looking back in time, another famous "gate" took place in 1972 as a result of...
...a president
overstepping his authority....
...an unnecessary act of arrogance....
...a covering up
of illegal acts...
and...
...an unethical expenditure of funds...
...that resulted in a loss
of honor to the highest office in our land.
Our nation floundered
for years as a result...and the credibility of that leadership became
subject to distrust, which in turn created a belief that our system no longer
worked.
Respect and pride waned during that
period of American history, and those of us who lived through that era felt strongly that It was the saddest of
times.
Americans had to come to a conclusion that the
system in which all believed should be the example to the
world....
...was suddenly flawed and in dire need of
repair.
It could only be solved one way....
...that president resigned....
...and the
result of that action allowed a nation to heal.
That "gate" has now
appeared at the doorstep of Sun City Anthem.
An association president...
.... WITHOUT THE APPROVAL
OF fellow board members...
... took it upon herself to spend $2,600 of association
funds...
And...as a result, if this Association President has any love for this community.....she has the moral obligation to allow this community to heal from the wounds she has created that dishonor her office....
...and that healing process cannot commence until SHE RESIGNS.
if it weren't for two individuals at the recent Emergency Board
Meeting of January 6, 2016, asking repeatedly WHY and HOW MUCH, it
would NEVER HAVE BEEN DISCLOSED.
When those questions were asked, the Sun City
Anthem president tried desperately to avoid telling the full
story...
...and her facial expression during that
questioning reminded me of a guilty looking child who got caught with a hand
in a cookie jar.
Finally...she admitted SHE
ALONE MADE THE DECISION TO SPEND $2,600.
And...
That...is the real
issue..
...not the amount of the
expenditure....
but...
...a board
president...
...assuming she is above the
rest...
... believing she has the
authority to make financial commitments WITHOUT either informing fellow board
members of that decision, and/or making such a financial expenditure without their approval.
At that Special Board meeting she would NOT ADMIT the amount...that..
"it would be subsequently disclosed in a
report".
...a report that in all
likelihood, based on the past, would have been buried somewhere on an
association website where 99% of residents would be unable
to navigate.
I feel fairly certain based on the past, you would NOT have received an eblast entitled
"Message from the President".
Subsequently we have now heard an EXCUSE that those funds were authorized "for health and safety reasons"....
...an excuse that is less believable than a man "accidentally" erasing tapes.
We believe that shifting any blame on the Sun City Anthem Democrat Club for the problem is pure nonsense....
...that this WAS a misuse of funds...
...that what has been reported elsewhere FULLY OMITTING any pertinent facts...
...is just a form of "stone walling"...the full truth.
That to continue this charade of DECEPTION is harming Sun CIty Anthem, and...
...should now be referred to as Sun CIty
Anthem's...
Bella...gate
We'd like your input.
Send us a comment
at:
Anthem Opinions
Administration
-
From Samuel Doll...to...Anthem Opinions
We finally got rid of Bella’s restaurant, so now it is time to get rid of Bella.
She has overstepped her authority and it cannot be allowed to continue.
I wholely agree she must resign, and the rest of the board members need to step up and encourage her to do so.
To do otherwise implicates all the rest of them. -
Samuel, your comment says it all...and I hope the rest of the board realizes that any future credibility and trust they hope to receive from the community, will disappear without taking the immediate action you are suggesting.
Not do take such action, simply means...THEY CONDONE IT. -
From Forrest Fetherolf...to...Anthem Opinions
Am email sent to Sun City Anthem President Bella Meese:
------------------------------------------------------------
Bella,
I, as well as many other residents, are totally disgusted with your antics as SCA Board President, and the Bus-gate is over the top.
Bus-gate is yet another example of your inability make rational decisions...just like your attempts to keep the fifth failed restaurant (Cafe V) alive wasting our dues money on a losing proposition.
It is now obvious fewer and fewer residents no longer have any respect for you.
You have failed to fulfill your promises personally made to me over three years ago and a huge disappointment to many others in SCA.
You have a reputation now ranking along with Roz Berman and Jack Troia...that is no honor position by any means.
Hope you read the Berman blog with more than a dozen outraged negative comments about your latest antic.
Even D. Berman...(the justifier and cover up man for all BOD doings) ...couldn't pull this one off other than the flimsy excuse...(the buses were considered a health and safety issue for residents wanting to use the facilities).
Is that your justification now that you were exposed and your admission of "going it alone" ? It's nothing more than insulting the intelligence of each and every person in SCA.
Why don't you do us all a big favor and resign?
It would be doing the SCA Residents justice. -
From Joe Mihalich...to...Anthem Opinions
I have been reading all the posts about the Hillary-Bus issue.
I cannot remember any time in the past that I have disagreed with the majority of the opinions posted on this blog or anthem today.
On this one I have to disagree.
I attended that function but due to a previous appointment arrived late, around 10:15.
The parking lot was full as was Wells Fargo and Walgreens lots.
I had no choice but to go to Liberty center and park there and take the bus. Upon arriving the lines were several hundred people long.
I talked to several people and overheard several conversations that were not SCA residents.
Some of them had to park on local streets.
I think the decision to have bus transportation for residents from liberty center (not for non residents) was a prudent and wise decision for safety and traffic control.
I am a bit distressed that the decision was made By Bella alone but I will not condemn her decision.
As with most organizations People in management have the authority to spend a pre defined maximum sum for immediate and emergency porpoises.
Was this the case in this instance? -
Joe, it's nice to have a differing opinion on this matter...and from a distinguished former Security Patrol Chief, I might add !
To my knowledge, people in management do have a certain maximum allowance for emergency purposes, but we have a problem believing this event involved health & safety issues at the time the buses were ordered.
I believe that was an "after the fact" excuse to justify doing so.
Had it been a community safety issue, a decision that SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE BY AN ENTIRE BOARD, not one individual, I believe the residents should have been notified that was the case at the time the event was originally scheduled...THAT A HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUED EXISTED.
Because this event was scheduled with plenty of advance notification, I don't believe the word "emergency" is applicable.
Proper planning by both the Democratic Party and the Board should have involved both receiving Board permission to hold this event, as well as, an advance payment by the Democratic Party for any expenses that might have been associated with a "health & safety" concern.
In addition, if such an event was deemed to have had a "health & safety" concern, the Board, AS A WHOLE, should have met in private executive session to determine IF THAT EVENT COULD HAVE... OR... WOULD HAVE... INVOLVED SUCH A CONCERN, and made a determination as to ACCEPTING or REJECTING the potential liability associated with HUNDREDS OF STRANGERS entering Sun CIty Anthem facilities.
No such meeting took place, and an association president TOOK IT IPON HERSELF to make that decision...which involved SPENDING ASOCIATION FUNDS.
In short, there was too much advance notification to call in an "emergency".
We believe it was merely an expedient EXCUSE to spend FUNDS without going through PROPER CHANNELS by an individual who overstepped her bounds as a custodian of SCA funds...and that...is MISMANAGEMENT and MISUSE of Association assets in the minds of MANY residents. -
From Virginia & Ralph Requa...to...Anthem Opinions
An email sent to Sun City Anthem President Bella Meese:
------------------------------------------------------------------
Bella – If it is true that you and only you approved the use of community funds to pay for “details” for a political event, it is a sad state of affairs (government as usual is taking place right here).
We as a community should not have to bear the costs of this. This is not why we pay dues. Our funds should not go for “unexpected planning” by either political party.
If there is an issue with parking and inconvenience to the community, then the event should take place somewhere else more appropriate, like a high school or other venue where parking isn’t an issue.
The Democrat committee who arranged for this or Hillary’s campaign should have to reimburse the association. -
From M. Wilkens...to...Anthem Opinions
Bella should resign.
Iif she does not, then she should be fired!
She should also pick up the cost of her decision-$2600 -
From Janus Fanning...to...Anthem Opinions
Bella Meese....arrogant, knows what is best for her minions, above the law and on and on...... -
From Dave Holt...to...Anthem Opinions
I see nothing wrong with what the president of the HOA did.
$2600 is about $.37 per home in SCA.
This was done in the spirit of trying to help those who wanted to attend the event.
I think a president has or should have that level of discretion.
I believe too that it was a timing issue wherein the decision based on how many wanted to attend was made the night before the event.
This issue is just another political witch hunt. -
Dave, I've been asked to provide a number of residents your address to send you their bill for .37 !
You certainly are in the minority, but "freedom of speech" is your right...and...though many may not agree with your point of you, we certainly respect it.
Thanks for the comment. -
From Lea Kuijsten...to...Anthem Opinions
Bella Meese should resign immediately. -
-
From Donnie Uretsky...to...Anthem Opinions
Petition residents to have Bella relieved of her position....and have her pay back the money. -
Donnie, if it were only that easy to remove a board member !
Nevada law changed a few years ago (under lobbying pressure).
To remove a board member, you must first have a petition signed by 10% of the entire membership (715 homes).
It is then sent to ballot. To remove a director you then need 50% + 1 of the TOTAL MEMBERSHIP which in our case is 3,573 homes.
We've never had any election with more than 2,000 total votes.
It's a literal impossibility.
The only way to do it is at the election. Don't vote for the bad guys !
Thanks for your comment...and...caring about our community. -
From Darlene Clinton...to...Anthem Opinions
She needs to RESIGN....NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She is toxic to our community and needs to GO!!!!
Also, she needs to pay back the funds she took out without anyone else's knowledge.
It is not the amount that matters but the principle.
We trusted her with our money and I believe, in an act of arrogance, she took it and thought she could do anything she wanted to do.
This leads me to think how many other occasions has this happened and no one ever found out about it.
Thanks for letting me vent!!! -
From Donnie Uretsky...to...Anthem Opinions
So she's going to get away with it?
That's sick. -
From Dixie Peterson...to...Anthem Opinions
My husband and I do agree with your "Bella Gate" assessments.
Clearly she overstepped her authority and went way over the line.
Repaying the funds to the association from her personal money, sending out an apology to the entire community for her flagrant lapse of judgment, and the resigning from her position, might, just might, allow this very regrettable episode to close, letting her leave with maybe a smidge of honor and dignity.
If she doesn't, then she obviously doesn't have a moral compass!
-
-
From Linda Kay Pirrello...to...Anthem Opinions
I talked to Dave the president of the SCA Democrats Club when I sat next to him on Sunday morning at a seminar on Global Warming.
He told me that the club offered to pay for the busses but Bella Meese insisted that the Association would pay.
You should talk to Dave on this.
I would like to tell you about another incident that happened on that day.
I arrived at the Americans with Disabilities door at 7:30 am willing to wait in the chill until the doors opened. After about an hour the Secret Service allowed us to come in. T
hey had volunteer monitors who did an exceptional job of making sure that only ADA were allowed in.
When the doors to Hanneman Hall opened and the secret service began scanning us a member of this community named Charlene came into the ADA entrance with a sign that said "Jail Hillary".
The monitors and police made her leave the building.
She then stood outside the door.
Then Bella Meese appeared at the ADA entrance and the woman with the sign returned to the building.
By the body language and greeting, Bella appeared to know the individual.
People started shouting at Bella to have her leave.
Bella just stood there chatting with the individual.
The jeers continued and the woman defiantly kept holding up her sign, and Bella just stood there.
I do not know what happened after that because I was scanned and let into the hall.
I thought even less of Bella for not having the guts to tell her she had to leave, especially when so many SCA residents were expressing their discontent with the President of our association.
Just wanted to share.
We were at the recent Board Meeting referenced and were actually shocked and disappointed that SCA paid for the bus transportation the day of Mrs. Clinton's appearance.
My husband and I are both Hillary supporters, but we are also residents of SCA and vehemently oppose any member of the Board making a unilateral decision to spend our association monies in this way.
Whether a Republican or Democratic event, we would assume the respective campaign would pay for the inconvenience that might be caused by lack of parking (although we found a space with no problem).
How many people do you think were actually inconvenienced?
We watched a bus pull up around 10 AM and ONLY TWO people had been transported from Liberty Center.
Given that fact, it would have made more sense to hire a few vans - probably at a significantly reduced cost - to transport any residents that were inconvenienced.
This is just another example of ill-advised decisions being made with SCA homeowners' money.
Do board members need to be replaced?
The only resolution is to get more residents to actually vote during the next Board election versus the apathy that was shown in the past.
Low voter turnout results in the status quo.
Elected officials hold a position of trust and need to not only be trustworthy is spirit, but also avoid any circumstance that gives the appearance or could be interpreted as being inappropriate.
The unauthorized use of funds and the related deception has broken that trust and shows the poor judgement.
Bella must resign and find a way to reimburse the HOA.
Isn't there anyone in the community who knows the proper procedure for filing with the Dept. of Real Estate against Bella Meese?
I have asked Tim Stebbins, our Anthem Opinions columnist who writes our "Nevada Know How" Information Page, to write an article explaining the procedure.
What was the expenditure ?
You have not said exactly what was done.
Explain please.
If you have not already done so, I suggest you read my previous article entitled "Funds Mismanagement?" published on January 8, 2016.
Essentially, the Board President, without notifying other Board Members, took it upon herself to authorize a payment for the use of buses for the Hillary Clinton visit.
There now seems to be some kind of excuse that it was for "health & safety" reasons, something we do not believe for a second.
Read the initial comment under this article by Robert & Donna Wise, two residents who attended the Clinton visit and what they witnessed regarding the buses.
You have done a lot if editorializing in your article, but if what she did was correct she should resign immediately or be removed from her position.
No funding for any political, religious or charitable foundation should be allocated form our annual assessments.
She finally admitted she authorized the payment...and...took full responsibility for doing so.
There was NO vote for approval from other board members to justify such an expenditure.
When another resident asked her how much was spent, she REFUSED to answer, saying "it would be in a report".
Anthem Opinions subsequently discovered the amount to be $2,600 and reported this in our initial article entitled "Funds Mismanagement?".
As a result, the community has obviously been outraged by that action.
When one considers the vast amount of money spent on a restaurant through this board's actions of continuously reduced rent, toleration of non-payment of utilities, and a default in two below prime rate interest loans, this latest action was what many have now come to realize, the "straw the broke the camel's back".
And that waste was magnified by the gall of taking association funds and believing those funds were at her discretionary disposal.
That is our opinion, and obviously in the minds of many, was overstepping her authority, and a mismanagement of association funds that YOU and I and each and every Sun City Anthem resident, pay for PROPER MANAGEMENT of our community...not for a president's whim.