Lately there have been article after article and comment after comment regarding the Sun City Anthem's self-management experiment.
Cost have risen, salaries and benefits have been escalating at a pace that far out
distances the general economy, ridiculous rules
toward club entertainment and repair expenses have been instituted, Anthem Council expenditures are explosive, association reserves are being depleted, and
now...
... a resident is questioning Sun City Anthem's
landscaping.
Another Self Management Failure ???
by
Barbara Sidary
Sun City Anthem
Resident
"I made a comment a few days ago while I was
playing cards in the Anthem Center that the landscapers were watering the grassy
area outside the center with a hose.
Didn't understand since we have sprinklers that
do that job.
Also 2 more men were cutting the bushes with a
small clipper, one little piece at a time while a third one stood next to the
trash can.
Seemed like a real waste of time.
I commented to others at the table and we all
said that they must be paid by the hour since they were wasting time.
Then yesterday the sprinklers went off while I was playing cards and watered the
same places the guy did with the hose the day before.
We live in a desert and I am big on water
conservation.
What a waste of money.
We spend more money that we have no control
over and there is no oversight.
Just like going to self management without ever
seeing a comparison of a management company and self management.
Amazing the power the Sun City Anthem Board and
General Manager has.
Very scary !
"
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Anthem Opinions sends our thanks to Ms.
Sidary for her "sharp eye" in calling out the
inefficiencies she recently viewed, and her concern as to Sun City Anthem's
landscaping services.
Now it's your turn.
Do you believe Self-Management has been a success
?
What is your opinion of the effectiveness of the current
General Manager, Sandy Seddon and her staff?
Has the Sun City Anthem Board given Ms. Seddon, the General
Manager, too much authority?
Is it time to reevaluate the entire self-management
concept?
Have you seen other aspects of inefficiency that the community
should be aware of ???
Send your comments to:
I could see a "recipe for disaster" the minute that I first heard of this plan! It sounded like a plan for the board to get their "fingers deeper into the pie".
From all reports, the board has continued to make bad and uninformed decisions since taking over from Del Webb!!!
This has proven to be the continued case.
Instead of saving money... we are spending more for the management... plus spending money like drunken sailors!!!
It's pretty obvious when the dues are going up.
And why does the board get to choose the positions of themselves??? This is even worse than that of our U.S. government!
At least the citizens elect those representatives for their respective positions...
Thank You Anthem Opinions for your great reporting!!
If it was not for you, and other concerned residents..... the majority of residents would not be informed at all.
I think that it is time to "END THE EXPERIMENT"....!!!
It is within the CCRs as to how the officers are chosen, but with the current president, Rex Weddle being chosen to remain in that position by the following fellow board members:
Aletta Waterhouse
Bob Burch
Tom Nissen
Rex Weddle
Forrest Quinn
...it was more than obvious the "fix" was in when Weddle placed LAST of those who were elected, and then Quinn, who has opposed both Weddle and Nissen for years, suddenly sold out after being nominated by Nissen, and then elected to the post unanimously.
They couldn't even make "the fix" look good.
Watering comments - please note, every day that I leave the Independence Center around 2pm, a couple of the irrigation lines at the handicap parking, are watering.
In the middle of the day? In 100+ weather === seriously?
I have wondered about the furniture in the Liberty center. It seems excessive compared to what was very servicable in the past. Do we need those turquoise chairs? Also, we witnessed a woman from the SCA staff ranting and raving about the pillows on the sofas and chairs. Seems they were not "placed" correctly! I asked the monitor who the woman was....he declined to identify her. It looks like money is being spent at a very fast pace on repairs and upgrades.
Also...can we get SCA TV to televise board meetings?
Even on a delayed broadcast...it would make for a more informed and engaged group of residents.
Thanks for asking the questions important to me!
Great suggestion.
Why don't you submit your idea on a "blue card" and drop it in the box at the Anthem Center?
Also, you might also wish to send your request to each and every Board member.
Their names and email address are located in the Anthem Opinions "Sun City Anthem Board of Directors Information" Information Page:
http://anthemopinions.blogspot.com/p/sun-city-anthem-board-of-directors.html
Send us copies of any responses so we can share them with Anthem Opinions readers.
Is there any way we can have an election for board members before the last quarter of this year?
Richard, it's called a RECALL vote.
This is VERY DIFFICULT to obtain the correct totals to do so, but what is most important, is that the eyes of the Sun City Anthem community are now open, and SO MANY don't like what they have seen.
It proves the wrong people were elected and that come 2018, THEY MUST GO....
...along with the General Manager and her "spoils system" ridiculously overpaid and UNDERACHIEVING staff.
I can't believe that residents judge the GM and administration based on how many water hoses/sprinklers are being used.
I must remind all of you that the Association's facilities are around 10-15 years old and get plenty of use.
The former management company FAILED to maintain these facilities in a pristine condition.
NO ONE has given any positive comments regarding the excellent job current management has done to repair these facilities during the past year.
Do you want to pay lower fees and live in a DUMP?
Obviously this association is doing well because the sale of homes has steadily improved.
Prior to self-management, because of RMI/FSR failures, most of the Board members worked nearly 40 hours a week to oversee the facilities.
BD MEMBERS RECEIVED NO PAY!
The whole idea of a GM included making a Bd Members' life a little easier.
Being a Bd member should not be a "job".
It should only be a policy-setting group!
I think it's time you realized that THE PEOPLE ARE NOT HAPPY...that water hoses are merely just another symptom of a deeper problem...
...and that UNHAPPINESS is due to the DECISIONS made by individuals who ALWAYS seem to believe they are smarter than the people they represent, namely a Board consisting of ARROGANT and INCOMPETENT individuals without ANY RELEVANT EXPERIENCE, who made the decision to hire an individual who is GROSSLY OVERPAID, and in return, has GROSSLY OVERPAID those who serve HER, not in the best interests of those who PAY ALL OF THEIR SALARIES, namely US,the residents.
We don't care about EXCUSES.
With those OUTRAGEOUS incomes, we DEMAND results...EXCELLENT RESULTS.
The board being a policy setting group?
Right...and in what way did YOU or any BOARD MEMBER, have the guts to CURTAIL the actions of an individual WHOM YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO GUIDE?
Most of you SAT LIKE MINIONS, watching her make decisions that have adversely affected Sun City Anthem's residents, and if anyone objected, they were quickly ostracized.
We watched our dues increase, a lawsuit ensue despite the Association President lying with regard to the rules, $2 million dollars spent on a building after it had been closed for over a year, five restaurants bite the dust over the years with SUPPORT FOR YET ANOTHER ONE...ONLY THIS TIME WITH RESIDENTS PAYING FOR IT..
..and now that the people are RISING UP and making strong arguments to SAVE THE LIFESTYLE we anticipated and PAID FOR for years, you still cannot comprehend that OUR WISHES should ALWAYS OVERRIDE A BOARD'S OR HERS.
This is OUR COMMUNITY, NOT HERS or the BOARD'S.
Do I care Board members are not paid?
NOT AT ALL. As a matter of fact, HELL NO.
They signed up for the job, and knew exactly what they were getting involved with...and...they pledged to represent their constituents in a FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE MANNER...a manner in which they have FAILED again and again...
...not the least of which was allowing an individual to control our lives...
...lives we somehow seemed to have successfully lived for years WITHOUT HER INTERFERENCE and RIDICULOUS rules.
Carl, I think it's time you and the existing Board realized that you are A MAJOR PART of the PROBLEM, because to date, YOUR SOLUTIONS HAVE FAILED MISERABLY.
Bravo! For a long time I have felt that a few of us having been going it alone.
I appreciate your support for our community and our rights as dues paying residents.
It has gone on too long and it’s time the BOD and their minion Seddon were set off into the sunset with their tails between their legs.
Since we are on the topic of landscaping, I would like to know why our landscapers never trim the trees?
I have been told this is not in their contract. Why not?
I would think this should be a part of any landscaping contract. I would think, based on experience, that trimming out the bad parts of a tree actually help the tree with new growth.
Many of the trees on Somersworth are dying. Our house backs up to Somersworth.
In the 7 years living here, the trees behind the wall have never been trimmed.
The trees are in desperate need of a trim.
If we don't, we will soon have an additional cost of replacing the dead ones.
It would be so much more cost effective to take care of this before we have to replace them all.
And...I might add, yet another INEFFICIENCY to add the GM's self-management list.
And why did the idiots change the WiFi sign-in requirements so that every day requires a re-sign in to the network, and which is often difficult to achieve as the phones remember the network?
Prior to this stupidity, one's mobile device automatically joined.
Now, one jumps through hoops turning the phone on and off to connect.
THERE IS NO REASON FOR THIS CHANGE.
It achieves nothing but allowing the GM to pursue an all controlling agenda.