Help Wanted!!!

Due to my over demanding work schedule, and constant business trips I'm looking for some blog authors. I've already sent author invites to residents who are our committee leaders.

A blog author is simply someone who can start a post on this site. I just don't have enough free time as I'd like to devote toward the blog. I'm not stepping down from the blog, you'll see my post here and there but I feel that the Committee leaders can give you the best info about their meetings and intentions.

If you're knowledgeable of things going on in our community and would like to contribute to the blog please email me cyrusthevirus12@gmail.com and let me know who you are, where you live, and what you feel you can contribute to the blog.

I thank everyone for their participation and dedication to reading the blog to this point. I know that it can only get better from here. Please give the new authors the same amount of attention as you did toward me.

New Authors you are free and clear to start posting from here on out. If you have any trouble posting email me and I'll get back to you ASAP.

Holy Cameras!!!

Sorry I'm out on business again, I'm actually in Canada right now. Earlier this week I got an email from Joe stating:

Cyrus,
Please post this on the front page, " The security cameras are being installed, you will see , and hear installers throughout the week. Please be attentive when walking throughout the complex as the installer have had to dig some holes and cut cable piping for wires. The installers will be taping off these holes with CAUTION tape but everyone should still be aware of their surroundings especially at night. Don't forget to watch your dogs when you take them for walks. We tried to stay 100% wireless, but due to some of the tress we had to have some of the cameras wired. The installers have assured me that the holes and piping will be completely covered and sealed upon completion of the project. If anyone has concerns regarding the project, or a safety issue please do not hesitate to call me."
Joe Giese
Safety Committee Chariman

I added his phone number to the left side of the page. Sorry it took so long to post up but I haven't been able to get to a computer. Sorry I'm missing all the fun, I should be back this weekend, can't wait to see these things in action.
P.S.
Joe do you have anymore info about the gates?

WARNING,THE BITCH SESSION!!!

WOW!!! LET ME JUST START BY SAYING NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY, I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO RE-CAPTURE THE EMOTION FROM WED NIGHTS MEETING!!! FOR THOSE WHO ATTENDED, WHAT A MAY LAY THAT WAS, FOR THOSE WHO MISSED IT, IT WAS A GOOD ONE!!!

As I approached the clubhouse I saw a significant amount of people ready to enter the meeting, plenty of new faces I might add, as we walked into the clubhouse we were told that there would not be a meeting because we did not have a significant number of board members present. I was a little bit bothered, because I was missing the Laker game until Charity said that she would be taking Comments and Complaints individually and then we'd go home. The funny thing is that she said it like there weren't many complaints and we'd be out of there in a jiffy. Boy was she wrong, and I'm not sure she knew exactly what she was in for. She also informed everyone that Adriana was resigning as Chairman of the Social Committee and that she'd be looking for someone to fill her spot. She then decided to turn things over to us, but before any homeowners could start speaking, Sarah stepped in and said that since we have all of the committee Chairman present, we should at least hear from them.

First up was Joe from the Safety Committee. Joe told us that the cameras were on track to be completed next week and that we would probably hear people on our roofs during the day. He also mentioned that he brought in an ex-car thief to our community and had him do an assessment about our current vandalism situation. I was little surprised by this, and wondered how he was able to pull that one off, but I didn't bother asking questions as he seemed really into what he was saying. Joe told us that the ex-thief gave him some useful advice that he wants to relay to the community but needs some time to prepare it. (Joe, feel free to post it here or e-mail me.) Before he finished with his update Sarah brought up the idea of gating off the community and said that she and Joe would further explore the possibility of gates. Joe asked if anyone would like to step up and join the Safety Committee and one female resident proudly raised her hand and said that she would join the committee.

The female resident, whom I wasn't able to catch her name, began telling us that she was the one who had been the victim of the two home break-ins, here at the Monterey Villas. She highly backed the idea of the safety committee and said she would be more than happy to join. On another note she commended the Santa Ana Police Department for their quick response and attention in her matter, something that has not been said about them pertaining to other matters.

(I'm picking this part up on Monday afternoon, I made sure to get away for the weekend, you didn't really think all I did was blog about this place did you? Now let me tell you that it has been awhile since the meeting so some of details are going to be a little rough in my mind, if anyone has anything to add please do so.)

Things seemed to be flowing well at this point but then things started getting a little heated up. Danielle, a younger female resident from S building, was in attendance and decided to call out Charity. At first it seemed that she had a complaint about the increase in HOA fees, and her landscaping but soon after it was apparent that her frustration went beyond that. She straight up called Charity a liar, and said that she did not have a interest in our community. Danielle went off on her for a couple minutes, but all Charity could do is roll her eyes, and Danielle called her on that too. She told her that she shouldn't talk to us like children and believe me I hate when she does that shit too. At one point in all of this I thought Charity was going to cry, I'm sure that people feel sorry for her but a lot of times its easy to see that she just can't handle us as part of her job.

Sarah tried to play peacemaker in their argument but Charity had some very interesting words to say. She said that she understands people don't like her, and that words have been said about her publicly;I think she was talking about the blog. She proceeded to say that we are free to look for new landscapers, and what surprised me the most is when she said "YOU'RE EVEN FREE TO LOOK FOR A NEW MANAGEMENT COMPANY." Now I'm not the smartest person out there but doesn't that sound like a plea to get her out of that hole she's dug for herself?

Eventually Sarah had Adam speak on behalf of the Architectural and Rules and Regs. Committee and he told us that the parking permits will not be taking effect until the middle of next month. He will also be available June 11 and I believe June 14th to distribute permits for those who have not already received them. (Adam Please Confirm this date and reiterate what you said about the windows for the two bedrooms. I walked out to get some air and couldn't hear what you said about this.

Once Adam finished, Sarah told everyone that association dues were increased to compensate for the poorly thought out budget which was mimicked this past year. At this point, an asian male resident entered the meeting and interrupted everything. I know he had good intentions but his failure to show up on time almost took us back to the minute we entered the clubhouse. We found out that it was his first meeting in two years and he wanted us to conduct the meeting in an orderly manner. He was quick to hear from another resident that this was not an official meeting but rather a "Bitch Session." This seemed to keep him quiet for awhile, and he apologized for the interruption. Sarah tried to wrap up what she had to say but was constantly interrupted by residents. 

There were comments flying left and right, it even got to the point when one of the converters got right in face of a resident. Good thing the pool table was in the way or these two would have went at it. 

I wasn't too mad that I was missed some of the Laker game since Joe was giving us the score frequently,  but I had to leave the meeting before it ended to at least catch the fourth quarter. I'm sure the hiatus continued  throughout the night but someone else could add on to what I missed. The alcohol I consumed this weekend probably didn't help the second half or this post but hey I needed it. 

Association Meeting Tomorrow

Mark your schedule, our monthly meeting will be held tomorrow night 7pm in the clubhouse. I'm not entirely sure what is going to be discussed being that the agenda for the meeting still has not been posted.

From what I can recall from the last meeting and from some e-mails this is what I think will be talked about:

• Finances, aka our new budget
• Parking Permits
• Security Cameras
• Lighting
• Cinco de Mayo Party
• ...and I believe a representative from Coin Mach is to be in attendance.

I know its not just me but don't you really feel that Beacon Property is leaving us all uninformed? From what I can recall Charity mentioned to us that there are new laws requiring that meeting agendas be posted prior to our monthly meetings, I know we get our newsletters every month with our statement but really that just recaps what went on at the last meeting.

I think I'm going to spend some time researching HOA laws because shit here is really starting to stink and I think I have an idea of where its coming from.

THE LITTER BOX

This is in reference to a recent comment on a post entitled Here's a Long Shot:

Anonymous said...

Regarding the two tennis courts, one of the reasons I bought here is because of the 2 tennis courts. I have been playing tennis for 20 years and still loving it. I disagree putting a basket ball court next to a tennis court since tennis requires quietness for concentration. Besides. the two tennis courts looks really nice the way it is architecturally and they have been resurfaced recently by the builder. Other communities in Irvine have more than 2 tennis courts and they get used all the times. I play on these two courts 3 times a week. The tennis courts need some maintenances like trimming the trees away from the courts so the leaves wont fall on the courts. We need 4 chairs/ one trash can, one squeegee, a broom, a water fountain and a net trap.

I guess I never thought about it needing to be quiet to play tennis but I see your concerns. My general thought behind it was that it would be nice to have an extra amenity on our facility and one that would be used. I was pleased to see that some homeowners gave this idea voice at one of the recent meetings. Like a lot of post I write it was a mere suggestion.

Well maybe an alternative can be derived from this. What if we converted the volleyball court from a "Giant Litter Box" to a basketball court. I don't think we'd be able to fit a full court in its place but a nice half-court would be great. Has anyone every seen or used the volleyball court? How would you feel about this conversion? Those who live near the volleyball court, is this a thumbs up or thumbs down idea?

The Trees!

It was a noisy week but I must say it was worth it. The stairwells are being filled and the sun actually shines through the freshly cut trees. The trimming was much needed but I really would recommend that they take on all the trees not only a select few. There are some trees still out there that hang down to the ground. That only took a year to get done.

Brighter is Better

In a collective effort this week the Architectural, Landscape, and Safety Committees met with our light vendor to do a night walk of our community. They were hoping to address our current lighting situation, and in a lot of places the lack of lighting. The committees  were able to point out non-functioning light while also suggesting where new lighting should be installed. 

The update I got didn't specifically point out where the new lights would be installed but it did say that the parking areas where the main focus and if we could have the parking stalls better lit if should drop the number of break-ins we encounter. Wait, there was a specific location in the update, the unit letters on the front of the buildings would be lit up. That would help when we have visitors stopping by, plus it would just look good.

Other lighting concerns discussed were replacing the broken light poles and fixing the electrical work which was the cause of most of our light issues.  Thank you to the committee members who take their personal time to make this a better place.

ROCKY, ROCKY, ROCKY...

In case you haven't noticed yet the rocks under the stairwells are currently being installed. I must say it was a very noisy install but what do you expect, they're ROCKS!!! They look good. Hopefully they finish up soon because those parking spots would really come in handy this weekend. I know I haven't been posting much lately but I've been a little busy at work. Look for things to pick up in the next couple weeks. I just got an update from the Landscape, Safety, and Social Committee's so I'll have something up later today or early tomorrow.

Here is a summary of what's ahead:

1. More Lighting
   
2. Clubhouse possible open to watch sporting events
   
3. Cinco de Mayo Party  

More Committee updates!

Yesterday the Safety and Landscape Committee's did a walk through to pin-point certain light poles that need replacement or repair, the contractor checked and found different light sources (yellow or white) and wattage. He recommended that we standardize the wattage and select a white light which will illuminate more surface area. Once these repairs and changes are made, another walk through will take place in the evening to better survey the lighting situation. I will inform you of such date.

They also met the with the converter; below is a list a suggestions that were discussed, Charity will be here Friday the 14Th, to post the agenda for the next HOA meeting.

• The converter suggested and will supply the HOA I.D. cards, the HOA will issue (2) I.D. cards to each homeowner/tenant currently living here. The proposed I.D. is to question and provide proof when asked if individual resides here at M.V. during use of the pool/jacuzzi, fitness room, and facilities. They believe this should reduce non-resident use of our facilities.
• Lighting contractor given O.K. by Charity to install timer on the T.V. and lights in the fitness room
• Lighting contractor given O.K. by Charity to install light sensor in the both laundry rooms
• To investigate installation of a flood light illuminating the tennis courts (when not in use) by lighting contractor, end corner by laundry room
• Painting to be done by the converter soon (no specific date given)
• Contractor hired to replace mulch with river rock, unable to deliver rock selection, increased cost by 12k to complete job per rock selection (NOT ACCEPTABLE). Alternate solution to select another type of rock to without increase to original quote/price submitted. Get completion date once selection is finalized
• Parking tags are ready, Charity indicated that Adam recommended that all homeowners be present to complete agreement form stating the rules and conditions along with the year, make, model, and type of vehicle, etc.

CARPORT CONVERSION NEWS

This afternoon I received an email from our Safety Committee who met with three contractors in regards to the recent inquiry of converting our carports into garages. Here is the email:

Just an update, I met with 3 different contractors this weekend regarding the carport to garage conversions. All of them told me that although there is a possibility in erecting garages only one of the companies was willing to do a conversion instead of a complete rebuild. Each contractor had the same concerns: the amount of space we have and cost.

The first contractor I met with told me that he has done similar projects like this so he was very familiar with what we were looking for. He told me that he would surround the existing carport structures with cemented walls and an automatic aluminum roll-up door. The garages would utilize the existing roof which would be reinforced during the conversion. He told me that there would be two drawbacks; the length of the garages wouldn't accommodate long trucks, and the garages would have to be two car garages. Meaning that homeowners would need to share their space. The garages would be separated at the six inch beam that runs in between every two cars. The separation would be made of two by fours and drywall. The only internal work that would be done on the garages is the separation and minor electrical work to run power for the door and a light. The architectural design of the garages would match the existing Spanish style design found in the Monterey Villas. It would take him about four months to start, allowing him time to receive permits and get a design together. The construction would be done in stages and take six months total. Total Cost would not exceed $650,000 about $2,500 per unit.

The second contractor started off by telling me that he hopes we have a lot of money because this project would cost millions. He said that he would need to demolish the existing structure and rebuild to extend the garages a couple feet and to proceed with a preliminary design he would need about $5,000. I slowed him down before he started demanding any more money and asked him if he could give me a ballpark price for the project. He said that in total he saw the project running about $4,000,000, and it would take around 18months to complete. Before he left he asked why we just wouldn't put in security gates. I told him the reason which I've heard, we need 60ft of clearance to install the gates. He said, as far as he knows its only 21ft. and we shouldn't have to remodel too much and a project like that would only cost about $250,000 for 4 gates. I'm going to look into this.

The third contractor said that he did not do conversions and would only be interested in the project if he was able to rebuild it from the ground up. He stated that he would need to relocate the garages for space and we would loose about half of the free parking spaces throughout Monterey Villas. He gave me a lot of construction jargon and said that he saw the price somewhere around $2,900,000.

According to the first contractors' quote the conversion does seem like a possibility. Personally I thought all the quotes we'd receive would be in the millions. It would be very interesting to see how the board approaches this. Where would all the money come from? Would we see an increase in our monthly dues? Would the converter be willing to put up some more cash to sale the rest of the units? How do you now that we got some numbers back? Would you like the idea of sharing a garage with one of your neighbors?

As much as I'd like the conversion to take place I still think the garages would be too small. We appreciate the quick update Safety Committee, keep it coming.

Any Committee Updates?

If anyone has information on either of the committee meetings that took place this week could you please update us on what was discussed? I'm sure those who couldn't attend are interested, I know I am. Any updates on the Garage Conversions or Security Issues?

Here is an update from the Landscape Committee Meeting held yesterday (Thanks to Saul and Joe for submitting the update):

Recap of (02/28/08) discussion on the following topics. Noted with an asterisk (*) are the concerns discussed with the converter, need firm completion date from the converter.

*1) Painting utility doors

*2) Removal of sales signs in front of office

*3) Dumpster removal within the week

*4) Pick-up bricks, stones and debris behind parking space

5) Adam to finalize parking space documentation for homeowner distribution. Need firm implementation date

6) Unit Q2 upstairs hand rail loose, safety issue

7) Get pending quote from landscaper for trimming front and back boogie? plant that over hangs in front of office

8) Signs needed for pool and parking spaces

9) All car ports must be free of outside storage items

10) All upper car ports storage color to be consistent throughout

11) Met with arbor rep. to get revised quote on tree and stump removal

12) Converter to paint/touch-up throughout M.V. complex as needed per discussion

Monterey Villa Parking Tags Concerns Due To Liability, This is not an official decision simply a possibility: Homeowner responsibility to maintain proper use of his/her parking permit. Improper use or abuse of parking tag(s) privilege such as to sell, lend or exchange is in violation between the Monterey Villas HOA and homeowner/tenant signed agreement. Each numbered and assigned parking permit is cross reference to each specific unit number along with its current tenant name.