Hope and Change?
or is it
I’ll Keep the Dollars – You Keep the
Change?
By
Robert N.
I attended the past Sunday’s
‘Candidate Forum’ and was both pleasantly surprised
and disappointed.
CAVEAT:
The following is MY opinion based on what I observed and heard at the
forum. I did NOT take copious notes or covertly (or, for that matter overtly) use
a tape recorder to copy every word spoken.
I made no attempt to make my
presence known to the candidates; I was merely one of the anonymous faces in the
crowd.
The forum was held in
the Independence Hall Theater and the room was only about 2/3 – 3/4 full.
I was disappointed in
that the candidates commented on the apparent lack of enthusiasm demonstrated by
the “poor” turn-out and attributed it to the pervasive apathy of SCA
residents.
None of the candidates recognized the fact that the low turn-out MAY be the result of:
1. the Residents’
pervasive distaste with the election process (as a result of the antics during
last year’s election).
2. the
non-responsiveness of Board members (once they sit on our Board)
and
3.
the overall lack of Residents’ wishes and concerns
reflected during Board meetings.
My informal survey of
friends’ and neighbors’ reason for not attending the forum revealed that the
most common response was:
“Why bother – it never
changes”
The format of the meeting allowed
each candidate an opening statement, followed by a Question & Answer
session, and finally a closing statement from each.
Yes, each opening statement was a
carefully-crafted diatribe we’ve all heard before about the importance of
experience and the importance of fiscal responsibility.
Some of the
questions and concerns were pertinent, and some bordered on ludicrous
(and addressed problems not under the control of the Board); for example, the
streets in SCA are PUBLIC streets and the Board has NO control over speed
limits, etc.; that is the purview of the Henderson Police Department.
Another individual asked a question
about the alleged “illegal” Disclosure and Indemnification statement enclosed in
everyone’s quarterly coupon payment book, and went on about how it violates IRS
Regulations…..if so, maybe we should elect a new HOA
Attorney?
It was disappointing that more time
was wasted on this topic than was spent on the pending Pulte
lawsuit.
The recent crime-wave
was touched upon, and Mr. Weddle (I BELIEVE) promoted the virtues of
Neighborhood Watch Programs; now, while Neighborhood Watch Programs ARE
important, it was disappointing that none of the candidates spent any time
discussing the virtues of the SCA
Community Patrol.
Fiscal responsibility was a favorite topic.
Mr.
Quinn and Ms. Tobin spoke at length about the
topic. Mr. Weinstein made a statement to the effect
that, as someone living on a fixed income, he is acutely aware of the effect of
dues increases and always considers the plight of Residents in that position.
Ms.
Tobin (I BELIEVE)
made a statement to the effect that the last budget sounded
like someone reading off a page of random numbers.
It does appear that a
few candidates (especially Mr. Quinn and Ms. Tobin) have the experience and accounting acumen
needed for our multi-million dollar budget.
Ms. Tobin
also made a refreshing statement that...
... the Board
works for the Residents, and that the Residents should be treated like
customers, not like an annoyance (haven’t I heard that
before???)
There were, however, a
few disappointments.
During the discussion of
the future of the infamous restaurant, it APPEARED the ‘fix
was in’ and some kind of food establishment is in the
works.
Mr.
Quinn made an arbitrary and capricious statement that
“re-purposing” the restaurant area to another use ‘would cost half
a million dollars’.
REALLY? -
did he actually get contractors’ estimates OR was this an off-the-cuff comment
supported by nothing more than an intimidating figure? (note to the Board: if it
would REALLY cost $500,000 to‘re-purpose’ the
restaurant, I’ll do it for $450,000).
The point is, SCA has been subjected to poor accounting procedures
supported by vague and capricious data – we DO NOT need (nor can we afford) any
more of these antics.
I was surprised that there were no comments or discussions about the pending Pulte lawsuit
– something that affects all of us.
Because of a personal commitment I
needed to leave the forum shortly after 4:00 PM – thus I cannot comment on any
discussions that took place after that time.
I would hope that an extensive
discussion about the Pulte lawsuit took place during my
absence.
I would also hope that
some of the positive statements made by the candidates (especially the
“newcomers”) are put into place IF they are elected, and
do not merely evaporate like so much desert rain.
THAT, in my opinion, is
the reason for such a “poor”
turn-out….
...as the saying
goes...
“Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on
me”
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We want to thank Robert for sending us his
thoughts.
AND...
We'd like to know if any other Sun City Anthem unit owners attended
the forum.
Do you agree or disagree with Robert N
?
Any other observations and/or comments we
can share with our readers?
Send them to us
at:
-
From Forrest Quinn...to...Anthem Opinions
Is $500,000 a shockingly high cost to repurpose the Anthem Center restaurant space? Yes. However, my statement was not completely arbitrary, capricious and unsupported as Robert N. claimed.
As of 12/31/16, the recorded cost for fixing the Liberty Center, which may not be a final figure, is about $2,030,000. This is about $92.00/square foot to refurbish/fix the Liberty Center. I have been told that the Anthem Center restaurant space is about 5,500 square feet.
Doing the math: $92.00 x 5,500 = $506,000.
While fixing the Liberty Center had some costly challenges, the restaurant’s split-level layout will also be a problematic work around. Plus we must add the cost of whichever furnishings and artwork are selected for the space (For example, per the Reserve Study, pool tables are $6,500 each).
The main point of my remark was that the cost of repurposing the restaurant would not be free, as many residents seem to believe. Can it be done for less than $500,000? Maybe. But remember, the final cost to finish the Liberty Center was about four times higher than the first estimate. -
From Robert N....to...Anthem Opinions
Responding to the Forrest Quinn response:
The cost per square foot of the Liberty Center reflected Mold Remediation...the cost of mold remediation far exceeds the cost of a basic (mostly cosmetic) renovation.
Let me give you an example as to why using that cost is wrong and misleading:
A Mercedes Model S weighs about 5000 lb and costs about $97,000 - that's around $19.40 per pound. Following the same "logic", a Chevy Impala (which weighs around 3300 lb) would cost about $64,000 - NOT !
It is a classic case of comparing apples to oranges. -
Anthem Opinions finds it rather confusing that Mr. Quinn would comment on this topic, yet ignore our two requests to answer resident questions as to his candidacy publicly.
Perhaps he might answer this question for Anthem Opinions readers in light of his wishes to represent them. - Marty WMarch 1, 2017 at 4:36 PM
- Dick,
Your comments (to me) were "right on, and to my surprise I actually attended the meeting, probably because there was nothing else to do that day.
Rather than say what I thought of the people that are now running for the board seats, I'll just say I thought only two of them seemed like they have any acumen to do the job in spite of some serious education in other endeavors. In fact only one has the business experience to make rational business decisions because they have been there, done that, and had to reach in their own pocket and pay for services to run a business outside of the corporate exposure.
And yes, it surprised me that there were only about 3/4's of the theater was filled. What surprised me was Mr Quinn's comment about a 1/2 mil to re-do the restaurant. I'm thinking it'd take a 1/2 mil to take that part of the structure down and plant grass in that area...done!
Another comment was (again I won't say who), but I got his name, practically had to genuflect when he thanked Ms Meese for all her HARD WORK, please, give me a break. I did walk out early as I have heard the same rhetoric for so long.
Thanks for your edit on this topic. -
Marty, the credit really goes to Robert N. for his attending the meeting and being kind enough to send us his "take".
By the way, for those of you out there who read "The Spirit", we want to send our kudos to Robert Nusser. He's "our Robert N.
On Page 16, Robert was named the Community Patrol's "November Volunteer of the Month".
Nice going, Robert...we salute you and appreciate you and all the Community Patrol volunteers to cruise our streets at every hour of each day.
Do we have a Board candidate in the future ?
-
Dick,
Your reader Robert was slightly incorrect, It was me that made the statement at the forum regarding the disclaimer. It is a violation of Nevada Revised Statutes and I believe all residents using the payment coupon should be aware that the disclaimer is false and illegal.
By law, a payment made for an assessment can only be used by management for the assessment and cannot be applied to anything else.
If the HOA has done so, they need to have that amount returned and applied to their assessment and any late fees returned to them if the incorrect deduction caused a late fee to be applied.
NRS 116A.640,section 8
"Community manager shall not:
Section 8.... shall not intentionally apply a payment of an assessment from a unit's owner toward any fine, fee or any other charge that is due.
The disclaimer in front of the payment book states:
Please note that any payment made utilizing your payment coupon will be applied to assessments, late fees, or outstanding balance on your account.
This may include, but is not limited to, fines, or collection fees. Management will not be responsible for any payment disbursements applied to a charge other than an assessment. If you would like your payment applied differently than stated above, you must submit in writing how you would like the payment applied to your account and mail it to Sun City Anthem Community Association, 2450 Hampton Rd, Henderson, NV 89052