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JULY SUGGESTIONS OR COMMENTS

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A TIDBIT

If tropical depression Alex makes things nasty for the 2nd Annual LIV Cook-off on July 3rd, it will be rescheduled for July 17th. This possible postponement decision might come this Thursday. Don’t miss the fun.

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June 23, 2010 BOARD MEETING

Pledge of Allegiance

Owners Speaking on Agenda Issues
Lot? had an issue about the untimely way his grass was being mowed.

President’s Remarks-Halbach discussed the swing bridge and read Selba Campbell’s letter to the U.S. Army Engineer District saying their environmental study not include the dangers the barge traffic has on Port Isabel and LIV when passing through our small swing bridge. It stated this 1.5 million appropriation for widening the waterway must be put to better use and wishes an extension in time so this concern might be addressed, along with a discussion about rerouting. The Board said owners need to protest the present conclusion of this study, #216 dated 5/28/2010, by contacting the District Engineer at U.S. Army Engineer District in Galveston, attn:CESWG-PE-PR, PO Box 1229, Galveston,TX,77553-1229. A bridge Director said the inspection of our swing bridge turned out very good.

Manager’s Report-Horner said he received 57 work orders, 52 were completed, issued five building permits, and had no new violations to report. Condo fees arrears totaled $27,370. Armando said the common grounds sea wall has been completed by the Sea Cottages.

Director’s Comments

Approval of Minutes-Montalvo had the Board approve May's Regular Board, Executive, and Special Meeting minutes.

Treasurer’s Report & Financials-Steffensen- Nothing out of the ordinary stood out in the Treasurer’s report, but April's profit and loss breakdown was most interesting. All the revenue centers except one were losers. The News Letter was in the black posting a whopping $1,219, up $1281 from the previous year. The Rental Office stood out like a sore thumb by posting in the red $9,210, down a whopping -$38,086 from last year. Treasurer Steffensen said more owners are not using the Rental Office when renting their property. She said that the Board had a $38,000 insurance check from Hurricane Dolly in 2008 added to the last year's 2009 rental revenues.

Committee Reports
D&E-White- said the children Olympics was a lot of fun.
Golf-Pelletier-nothing to add
Pool-Steffensen wanted more "no food" signs around the outdoor pool.
Hurricane-White turned this over to Ed McBride who discussed hurricane info. There was a question if previous hurricane car stickers are still valid. Ed said he will find out.

Unfinished Business
Property Management Contract-Steffensen motion was approved to a new five year Aramark contract that starts today. New on this contract is that all receipts except alcohol will be retained by LIV, financials from Aramark will turnaround in ten days, and a 4.7% fixed increase for five years.

New Business
Mr. Lalo Acosta Hearing-Halbach had Mr. Acosta tell his side of the story about stiffing an owner. With Selba Campbell and another owner's strong endorsement a motion was approved to let this contractor do work in our Village.
Additional Security for Pool-White turned this over to our GM who said for $2,469 we will have an additional security guard at the pool on Fri, Sat, and Sun, eight hours a day until Labor Day. Motion was approved by the Board.
Miniature Golf Renovation-Gagan said his estimate to make a concrete miniature golf was $4349 plus some house labor. Motion was approved and this project should be done within two to three weeks.

Other-none

Executive Meeting was to talk about an employee matter.

Adjournment

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JUNE 16TH COFFEE WITH THE DIRECTORS

Pledge of Allegiance

Suggestion Box
Lot 469 made the comment that no one is excluded from using swim bands. Comment stated that on May 9th a Board member cursed Security for doing their job enforcing this rule. This comment said there was another incident involving this Director pertaining to obeying golf cart rules. Our Vice President said this has already been addressed.
Lot 229 wanted to know who is doing the Village Voice, then wanted the Board to investigate. Vice President said no can do.

Comments from the Audience
Lot 143 asked if the scum in the golf course ponds is going to be taken care of. Armando said it is being addressed.
Lot 4 brought up the problems for one person launching a boat off the Village dock by the swing bridge. It was said any available manager at the Welcome Center will be happy to give anyone a hand.
Lot? Owner had a concern about Board members abstaining. He said people elect directors to represent them and want to see their directors vote on an issue, not abstain.
Lot 831 asked if the Bylaws can be changed to table a motion if too many directors abstain.
Lot 170 said that he thought security was doing a fantastic job; one in particular is Becky Reyes.
Lot ? said Julio’s pasta bar was great.
Lot 744 asked if Friday's chicken night could last a little longer to accommodate the Valley owners. The Board said they would look into it. Owner said an EMS person from Port Isabel has provided an invaluable form to fill out and post on your refrigerator. This form gives EMS necessary personal medical information for better emergency treatment. Owner also discussed the Hurricane Committee’s timeline that will be posted in the Long Island Village website.
Director Guerra asked management when are you moving the marquee and doing the putt-putt golf restoration. The GM said the marquee will be moved after the 4th of July cook off and Director Gagan said the info on the putt-putt is forthcoming. Director Gagan said that the putt-putt course is currently unsafe due to deterioration and it was decided by the Board to close it.
VP White said on Sat. the 19th, she was going to have a pool Olympics for children ages 8-12. It should be fun. Rita Priest, the person who sued six Directors in 2008, had a concern about the liability. Director White told her she contacted the insurance people and was told everything but child molestation was covered. Catherine Demalade who was sitting with Rita Priest asked if there is a lawsuit, would they sue the Board or the Association. She said she was concerned because of the current Association lawsuits and that there are people out there who are eager to sue.
The GM explained the current problems with the courtesy phone to the restaurant.

Armando asked about having a life guard at the pool. He said he witnessed a little girl almost drowning in one of our hot tubs recently. After much discussion, it was decided to have additional security Thursday thru Sunday for the pool area.

WORKSHOP
VP White said the hurricane time line would be on the agenda
Dir. Gagan will have the putt-putt on the agenda.
The GM brought up the problems enforcing that only licensed operators may drive golf carts and the number of people becoming irate when told they cannot drive into our Village unless they have a valid licensed/insurance cards. Catherine DeMalade asked the GM if they document the names who break the golf cart driving rules and referred to the latest violaters mentioned in the newsletter. The GM said no, the security just makes a report it happened.
The President is to bring up hurricane issues and additional pool security.
Treas. Steffensen said theu have received three bids for fixing the common ground's sea wall and went will use the original $5,900 bid. This work was Board approved for up to $6000. She then discussed the Aramark contract and the Boards need to finally renew it. Aramark's new fee was 103,950, a 4.7% increase. The Liquor License has been the real delay due to who retains the receipts. The Village wants a 10 day turnaround on month end financials. This has been sitting since November 8th of 2008. The new contract will be posted at the library when the Board approves it.

Adjourn

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This Bud, is for you

First there was the incident where Burke and Montalvo were trading heated verbiage on our common grounds and left each other upset. The kids will be left out of it.

Director Steffensen said Just before the May 19th Coffee Meeting that she had shared with Burke and two others, a statement showing Director Montalvo as being late in paying his Association fees. Montalvo was absent for the Coffee Meeting and didn’t know Burke had called the Board into a closed session to address several issues. One issue was putting Director Montalvo’s “Board Member Resignation/Disqualification-Burke” first on the Regular Meeting’s agenda. A copy of this Regular Meeting agenda was sent to all Directors.

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Burke said she consulted our Village attorney on this issue. Montalvo received a letter signed by Burke saying the issue of your resignation, by virtue of disqualification, will be on the agenda at the next Board of Director’s Meeting. Burke’s letter also informed him at this time, you cannot, in any way, act or represent yourself as a Director for LIV.

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Montalvo was forced to retain legal help and easily discovered these accusations did not hold water due to the late fee interpretations on our Village billing statements. This whole fiasco was suddenly taken off the agenda.

Montalvo said at the Regular Board meeting he felt Burke has once again misused her Presidential power on him and several other owners through the years. He made a motion for the Board to vote for her removal as president. Director Guerra seconded it.

Pat Burke dangled her importance towards the success on pending litigation and threatened to quit if removed. After a lengthy discussion the Board voted regarding her removal - - one NO, three YES, four abstentions. Pat Burke announced the result incorrectly and while leaving her seat said, “I resign --- good luck on your lawsuits”. This was followed by a written letter of resignation.

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JUNE SUGGESTIONS OR COMMENTS

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June 1st Special Meeting

Don Halbach started this special meeting saying the ruling that Pat Burke made on a motion to remove herself as President was in error. He also said that it really didn’t matter since she resigned from the Board. He praised Pat Burke as a hard worker that did a lot for this Village and that he will miss her.
He said the executive meeting that followed Pat Burk's resignation was also improper. He said organizational sessions to affirm a replacement director has to be done at a regular or special meeting.

Director Bergsma was participating via the internet cam. Directors Gagan and Pelletier were considered present by phone.

When the Board opened the floor to the audience only one Villager responded with asking the Board to restate how each Director voted on the motion for Pat Burke’s removal as President. Secretary Montalvo complied with the following, Pelletier was absent, Steffensen voted no, White, Guerra, Montalvo voted yes, and the remaining Directors abstained.

The Board approved Virginia Martin as Pat Burke’s replacement, Don Halbach as the new President, Don Pelletier as the new Vice President, and Annita White beating out Virginia Martin as the Assistant Vice President.

At the conclusion of the meeting Don Halbach made the comment that the Robert’s Rules say when a Village Director abstains, it goes to the prevailing side and is a yes vote.

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TIDBIT

There will be a special Board Meeting at 10am Tuesday, June 1st.

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May 26th, 2010 Board Meeting

Pledge of Allegiance

Owners Speaking on Agenda Items
None

President’s Remarks
P. Burke started with saying Tom Bergsma is here with us via computer cam and will be and will be counted as being present at the meeting. Any voting by Bergma will be by telephone or email. This has been approved by our attorney as being within our Association Rules.

Manager’s Report
Rick Horner said 89 work orders completed with nine outstanding. Three Building permits were issued and only one violation letter. Eighteen courtesy letters were mailed to owners who sustained some damage to their property from the storm. The condo fee arrears totaled $31,702. The new restaurant hours were explained.
Armando went through several different items being done by maintenance.

BOD Comments
Dir. White talk on a subject but couldn’t be heard.
Dir. Guerra had questions about asphalt materials.
Treas. Steffensen announced that the website now has available ad availability over the internet. Dir. Gagan asked about using concrete under our miniature golf.
Sec’y Montalvo “See Our New Village” article
Lot #158 was talking at Dir. Guerra when saying I called you on the phone the other day telling you he (being Sec’y Montalvo) was one month, two months, three months behind on his dues. I don’t think this conduct is becoming for a Board member.
Lot 828 wanted to know how Lot #158 got the information that Mr. Montalvo was late on his condo fees. Dir. Gagan said easy, this is published every month and showed a Director’s sheet having owner condo fee information. He was corrected by just about everyone that owners are not allowed to recieve such info. She again asked how did he get that information? No answer was given.

Approval of April’s Minutes
Approved as written

Treasurer’s Report & Financials-Treas. Steffensen
Everything appeared normal. Income was up near the amount of the condo fee increase, but expenses dropped by $66K. The Grill was in the black and up $25K from last year while the Rental Dept was a $5K loser because rentals were down.

Committee Reports
D&E-Dir. White- See channel 18
Golf Committee-Dir. Pelletier- absent
Pool Committee-Treas. Steffensen-again thanked Mr. Etterman for his table donation. She said we ordered 6 new side tables and two lounges. We ordered 3000 wrist bands and will have a fund raiser for the pool's island statuary.

Unfinished Business
Property Management Agreement-Treas. Steffensen-Our attorney gave us a revision on the Property Management Agreement. One revision is the contract’s length of time with now choosing between 3, 6, 9, and 12 month agreements. They added an early termination fee. Motion made and approved.

New Business
Hurricane Meeting-Burke was replaced by members of the Board along with having Ed McBride invited.
This hurricane meeting will start at 5:30 today the 26th.

Review an employee performance, duties, and possible pay increase-Dir. White had high marks for Julio. Motion approved to give a $4000 annual increase.

Membership in TRVA-Dir. White-This map service was seen by the Directors as not a useful tool.

Policy 7.1-Steffensen said she changed the media wording from channel 2 to channel 18, eliminated the last sentence in #3 and a sentence in #4 due to repetitions. Motion made and passed these revisions.

Shuffleboard bid-GM Horner said he had a bid to resurface of all four courts for $3464. There were discussions with one asking to include the miniature and wait until September. This was tabled until September.

Owner’s Lounge Area-GM Horner received a quote to replace the carpet in the Owner’s Lounge with tile. This was broken down in four sections totaling $6145. This is just to give an idea of the cost. This was tabled.

Sea Wall Cap-GM Horner- The common grounds behind the gazebo in the sea cottage area has 92 feet of crumbling sea wall that poses a liability and should be fixed and capped. He got one bid for $5900. Motion approved after discussion a max of $6000 after receiving three bids. Money will come out of the sinkhole fund.

Other
Treas. Steffensen- Our linen contract is coming due on September 21st. After telling the linen company that LIV has shop for bids, they reduced what we are currently paying by 39% ($8000). New five year contract with this better price starts June 1st. Motion made and approved to accept new contract.
Treas. Steffensen -The Village’s AT&T service was recently revised and consolidated to save the Village around $600 a month.
Dir. White said someone is making bathroom peek holes from the exercise room. A security camera was suggested.
Unknown owner complained about kids driving golf carts.

Executive Session – the Board selected Don Halbach to be President and Anita White as Vice President. They added Virginia Martin to the Board until March 2011.

Adjournment

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OUR NEW VILLAGE

Our May* 26th Board meeting started out like all the others except there was extra paperwork on the counter available showing first and second drafts of the agenda, a Director disqualification letter, attorney emails, and other paperwork sent to certain Directors.
When it was Ed Montalvo’s turn to give "B.O.D. Comments to the Public", he took a lion’s share.
Director Montalvo said that once again our President Pat Burke has maliciously attacked another LIV owner. He spoke of her using this position for personal gain and that this continued abuse of power is getting worse. In his opinion Pat Burke taken a personal argument between them and turned it into a vendetta that is leading to defamation of character. He explained his concerns about the closed session at the Coffee and the expense LIV is paying for the Village attorney use by Pat Burke towards this issue.
He then made a motion to the Board for an immediate vote to remove Pat Burke from her President’s position under the grounds of abused of power. He also describe two other abuse of power incidences that were similar where there was no apology.
Joe Guerra said he is seconding this motion because he felt the coffee meeting should have been an open session. He said he also became deeply concerned when told not to talk about this subject to any Board member.
Don Halbach said he wasn’t sure he has heard all the facts to base an opinion.
Mary Steffensen wanted to give a little more history on this by saying last month Ed Montalvo asked her for some kind of condo fee form showing assessment info. When she picked up the form at the Welcome office Wednesday morning she notice Ed Montalvo’s name on the form. She brought it to the attention of three directors who happened to come in the office at the same time, one being Pat Burke. She said then she learned that Ed Montalvo was not going to be at the meeting and Pat Burke was going to have a meeting to address this issue.
Pat Burke said on the day of the Coffee she reviewed the past due list. On the 11th or 12th of May she said she verified with the office that he was over the 30 days, and he was. She recited Chapter 4 Section 4 of our Bylaws. She said the Village attorney advised against her contacting Ed Montalvo. She said the attorney told her not to have an executive meeting. She said Treas. Steffensen brought it to the Board in a closed session.
Pat Burke said these late dues had not been paid at the time of the closed session and when he found out about this meeting he came in that day to pay his assessments. That's when he was informed about the letter showing him 39 days past due. She said he then contacted an attorney and because of the cloudy interpretation of the late fee on the Condo fee coupon book, an email was sent to Directors saying this issue is being taken off the agenda.
Pat Burke said the list of things I've done our Village attorney will back and that I've done nothing wrong. She said she has done nothing to violate the advice the attorney had given her. She expressed the last line in the letter to Ed Montalvo not her idea. This read that Ed Montalvo may have the option to hand in his resignation and avoid an open meeting.
Director Guerra said that this came from him out of respect for Ed Montalvo. He said I feel you violated my rights as a Board member when you told me not to speak to any Board member on this subject. He said I can’t go along with this.
Pat Burke said that’s up to you, but the facts are I followed the rules and this was properly put on the agenda. Ed Montalvo was given notice by letter and this had never yet been voted upon.
Ed Montalvo said if it wasn’t voted on and I didn’t resign, why am I stripped of my title as a Director.
Pat Burke said that our attorney requested that after she read of the rules and that until the Board accepts or declines your resignation, you cannot serve.
Ed Montalvo questioned the motives of why Pat Burke was doing this in a closed session when he was absent, the denying his Director’s privileges, and asked why the Board instead could not have done this today in an executive meeting.
Director Gagan said he didn’t remember receiving any directive saying not to talk to other Directors.
Director Guerra said he was told this over the phone by Pat Burke.

Pat Burke after hearing a few more details changed her statement that the attorney told her to tell Director Guerra not to talk to any Board members. Instead she made it clear she made that decision.
Both Pat Burke and Ed Montalvo minced words for a few minutes
Director Bergsma said if I was president, I would resign the position before it came to a vote in order to avoid a lawsuit within our Board. He said the President’s position is not that important. That may defuse this situation and asked Mr. Montalvo if that would happens, would he go along with it.
Ed Montalvo said oh yes.
Pat Burke then said here’s my point, if I resign as President, I will resign from the Board entirely. I am sure that will make some people happy. In a threatening tone she said whoever is elected President, they better take three days off their schedule next week because there’s a jury trial involving the Village.
Director Gagan said he doesn’t want to see a division in our Board. He apologized to Ed Montalvo.

Motion to remove Pat Burke as President
Director Gagan- Abstained
Director Steffensen-No**
VP Halbach-Abstained
Director Bergsma-Abstained
Director Guerra-Yes
Director White- Yes
Director Montalvo- Yes

Pat Burke said this motion has passed, I resign from the Board. Good luck on your lawsuits.

* This was corrected from March to May

** This was corrected from Abstained to No. Sorry

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PAT BURKE HAS RESIGNED FROM THE BOARD

Effective immediately Pat Burke has resigned after an attempt to dethrone her from the President position. Don Halbach is now President with Anita White as Vice President. Virginia Martin has been approved to fill the vacant board position until next years election.
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A TIDBIT

During our November 19th 2008 Board meeting the now retired GM said a change order was used to raise a relocated fire hydrant to its proper height.This added a sizable amount to an already sizable contract amount.

He said he brought this explanation up to the Board because Director Dodson voided the check to pay for it. Director Dodson said she voided the check because the GM originally said this work was to be done at no cost to the Village. It was apparent that most if not all of the Directors were unaware of this change order before a check was issued to pay for it. Afterwards a new check was issued and signed.

Last week when grilling this road repair contractor, our Board President emphasized that she was very well aware on the legalities of a change order in a contract. She said that the process a change order must go through is you must come to the entity that needs to approve it; point out what the change needs to be, and provide the cost so the Board can make a decision to approve it.

Does our President make these rules up as she goes along? Obviously this procedure was not mentioned in 2008.

Why is that?

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You’re out of here, well maybe not

Several weeks ago Directors Eddie Montalvo and Pat Burke had a heated discussion over the way a pool rule was being enforced.

Last week Director Montalvo was informed that he will have to resign his position as a Director for not adhering to Article 4 Section 4 of our Village Bylaws. He was told this was put in this weeks Board meeting as an agenda item where upon the Board will vote to accept his forced resignation.

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During last week's Coffee meeting this apparently is what the secret closed session (executive meeting to some Directors) was all about, put the ridding of this one Director on the meeting agenda.

Well a funny thing happened; this one Director said he was not going to resign. After retaining legal counsel it appears he has made this agenda item all but disappear.

We’ll see what happens at the meeting.

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A New Village Grill

Has our Board been watching a little too much C-Span, CNN, MSNBC or Fox News? Recently our Directors acted like some kind of Congressional Committee when they took turns GRILLIN the road patching contractor at the last Coffee Meeting.

During this planned spectacle it was said two thirds of the Village money has been paid to this guy and that his work has left our roads in worse shape.

Really!

Now who would have thought that this could have ever happened from a contractor who was selling tacos just a few short years ago? Wasn’t it last November that our Board hurried to accept this contractor’s new lower bid to take advantage of him?

In my opinion the Coffee with the Directors Meeting is meant for owners to voice their concerns, not to watch some dog and pony show resembling the political puke theater Congress has been displaying these past few months. The Board’s reason to do this in front of the owners seemed evident; take the onus off their poor decision with a dazzling exhibition of demonization.

Everyone agrees this contractor’s little company has done shoddy work, but again, no one seems surprised! I find it somewhat disturbing that we have certain Directors who treat people like a piñata and take turns swinging their authoritarian verbiage stick at them. For those who were there, sit back and think about what they saw. What a disgrace. This was an improper way to address an apparent poor business decision by the Board that may come back to haunt our Village in the long run.

Comments

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May 20th Coffee with the Directors

Pledge of Allegiance

Comments from the Directors
Director White asked for Management to go around and check for damage from the Tuesday storm. The GM said he already did and it appears so far eighteen properties were damaged. Director White emphasized the need to send letters to the owners ASAP. She asked for new signage in the pool area.
Director Pelletier said he was happy that the awning on lot 642 was removed. He said bath house #3 needs to be painted.
P. Burke said in the Rec. Hall at 5:30 pm on May 26th there will be a meeting with Port Isabel and other officials regarding the upcoming hurricane season. P. Burke said owners can attend but not participate. She said for the owners there will be a Meeting that follows.
Treas. Steffensen said a Mr. Etterman donated some tables to the pool area. Small tables and new lounges were ordered for the pool.
Dir. White said bath house #2 was freezing when she entered in the early evening. P. Burke said 80 degrees would seem cold.

Manager Report
Armando said they were getting bids to resurface the shuffle board court.
Rick said chicken night will go to Fridays next week. A pool phone will be installed to call food orders in to the grill. Courtesy letters will go out to notify Owners for the damages that were noticed from the storm. Extra security will be provided over the holidays.

Special Guest
Glen Backus from Compass Publishing was given the opportunity to talk about the Texas Rec. Vehicle Assoc. He asked for the Village to join their group and help stop certain legislation that could affect rental property.

Comments and Suggestions from the Suggestion Box
There were none

Comments from the Floor
SC 120 asked if anyone has considered using a phone tree for emergency notifications. P. Burke said it will be taken under consideration.
SC 57 ask about the outdoor hot tub that’s been not working for weeks. The answer was after fixing one heater problem after another, they order a new heater.
P. Burke said we are going to take a break because the Board has a couple of issues to discuss in a close session. She didn't say what the issues were but did say they will be on the agenda.for next week. She quickly gave the nod to the Security Rep. who then talked a few minutes on some changes they had made.
Dir. Pelletier requested that the contractor be present at this meeting. He explained the problems occurring and was hoping the contractor would be here to confront all of us. We have paid the contractor two thirds of the money Dir. Pelletier said and will hold the final check until we are satified. Dir. Pelletier said this contractor has agreed to stay within the oringinal cost of the contract but doesn’t feel the workmanship is good. Dir. Pelletier said we need to figure out what we are going to do.
Dir. Pelletier said we'll continue this when we come back from our executive meeting because I would like to talk to him in front of everybody.

Recess to what Dir. Pelletier referred to as an executive meeting.

Items on the Agenda
Treas. Steffensen - Policy 7.1 needs to be updated and wants to talk about changes to the automatic renewal on the rental contract.

Down South Paving
The contractor from Down South Paving arrived and was introduced as I heard it Greigo (I am not sure of the spelling).
(Dir. Pelletier) Sun Dial application is very rough. What can we do with that?
(Greigo) After explaining the problems he ended up saying something about the three layers of asphalt that were sticking together when removing which made it very difficult for a make smooth surgace.
(Dir. Pelletier) There are various things I noticed that should have been done different. This has to be fixed, so what avenues do you have to do the job properly.
(Greigo) As far as paying for this its like I can’t do any more work because I am way over the square footage.
(Dir. Pelletier) That’s your problem.
(Greigo) No it’s not.
(Dir. Pelletier) We agreed on the square footage and you were to stay within that.
(Greigo) This has been going on for eight months and now the pot holes and other damage has become bigger.
(P. Burke) started talking about the Board’s thinking towards the contract. If there are changes to the contract, a change order needs to be filled out, summited with costs changes, and approved by the Board. She rambled on saying I am very knowledgeable about change orders and contracts.
(Dir. Pelletier) I see three options. Tear out and do it right, mill it, or resurface it.
(Greigo) These layered surfaces are why there are problems and these weren’t in the contract.
(P. Burke) At this point of time, the situation is that we are not happy with what you have done, you haven’t done what you have agreed to do, and the question is if we will pay you the remaining balance. Q&A between the Directors.
(P. Burke) The question that needs to be asked is what are we going to do now?
(Greigo) I am not going to do anything. I'm $4000 over right now.
(The GM) In our first conversation you said that you were going to keep track of your square footage, if you’re over, that’s on you. Second, what you've done so far needs to be quality work. There was continued disagreement. What you did is no better than we had.
(Greigo) talked about the items in the contract.
(P. Burke) started quoting the contract.
(Greigo) if you want I will walk away as is.
(P. Burke) The Board has heard your offer and will mail you our answer. Don’t put us down as a reference.
Lot 288 told her experience in watching the contractor work.

An unrelated issue was brought up if a Board member can give a proxy to another Board member. That is being reviewed by the Village attorney
The End

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MAY SUGGESTIONS OR COMMENTS

We would love your comment or suggestion that will improve our Village. They may be viewed by those visiting. We will renew the display each month. Anonymous are welcomed. So throw one

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Common Grounds Ratification

Last week Director Montalvo asked if the Village could make a parking lot next to the swing bridge to correct a growing prohibited parking problem. The Board said we had to get 75% of the owners to consent to that and asked for any other ideas. Well here’s one.

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How about putting together plans for a new parking lot, approving it, and notify the owners of a special meeting to ratify your decision. If at this meeting 75% of voting owners PRESENT say yes, it’s ratified. Am I wrong? I don't think so and hear is why.

Some believe that you need 75% of the total Association membership to ratify substantial alterations and additions. Both the Bylaws and Declaration of Covenants say otherwise? These tell when our Board makes a decision to substantially add or alter the Village common grounds, it must set up a meeting, notify owners to come to the meeting in order to ratify their decision. To ratify the Board must receieve a 75% affirmative number of votes from voting owners who showed up. That’s it.

None of the other voting provisions except Article VII (Bylaws) and Article X (Declaration of Covenants) is there this language that calls for a three fourths affrimative vote from voting owners PRESENT at a called meeting. All other voting provisions first require a vote casting percentage from the total Association membership and then require a majority of those casted votes to be affirmative.

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Technically it seems as few as 5 owners could ratify a Board decision on substantial additions or material alterations.
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For those owners who do care about the appearance of our Park, Article VII (Bylaws) and Article X (Declaration of Covenants) are the checks and balances for decisions made by nine temporary Directors to change the appearance of our Park.

March 2005 Restated Bylaws

Article VII. Substantial Additions or Alterations
There shall be no substantial additions or alterations to the Common Elements or Limited Common Elements by the Association unless the same are authorized by the Board of Directors and ratified by the affirmative vote of the Voting members casting not less than 75% of the total votes of the Unit Owners PRESENT at any regular or special meeting of the Unit Owners called for that purpose.

March 2005 Restatement of the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions.
Article X, Maintenance and Alterations
B. Although the Association may construct additional facilities for the benefit of the Condominium, there shall be no material alterations or substantial additions to the Common Elements or Limited Common Elements, except as provided hereinabove in Section A, or except as the same are authorized by the Board of Directors and ratified by the affirmative vote of Voting Members casting not less than seventy-five percent (75%) of the total votes of the members of the Association PRESENT at any regular or special meeting of the Unit Owners called for that purpose.

A board member a few years ago asked what defines this word substantial? How much is a substantial addition? How much is a substantial material alteration? Do we go by size or by the amount spent?

The scope of what is being altered/added can always a debated. A fixed amount of money can't. It seems then that a fixed amount being spent seems most applicable and should be used as the definer. Our current Board could easily use the same monetary number that previous Boards considered substantial, such as the max amount our GM can spend on his credit card within a month or the minimum amount that requires having three bids from contractors for a project.
What do you think?

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April 28, 2010 Regular Board Meeting

Pledge of Allegiance

.

Owners speaking on Agenda issues
There were none.

.
President remarks-Burke
P. Burke's only meaningful statement was our Grille will be open from Thursday through Sunday.

Director’s Comments
There were none

Manager Report-Horner/Zamora
Rick Horner said there were 98 owners currently in arrears with their dues totaling $64,687. There were thirteen building permits issued. No new violations letters sent but six second notice letters had been. Chicken night was changed to Fridays.
Armando Zamora went through the issues he resolved brought up at the Coffee Meeting.
Lot? Owner said the number of people in arrears should concern every owner.
Lot 558 asked if the Board is still considering Wi-Fi. P. Burke said it is down the line.

Time Warner had three channels without audio. This subject took up fifteen minutes.

Approval of March Minutes
After a few corrections the Minutes were approved .

Treasury Report-Steffensen
Nothing out of ordinary was disclosed in April's Report. February's P&L however showed all the Revenue Centers were in the BLACK.

D&E Committee Report-White
Dir. White said this upcoming Fourth of July cook off will be big. P. Burke explained at length her experiences at last year’s festivities.

Golf Committee Report-Pelletier
Dir. Pelletier thanked everyone who participated in the beautification of the Golf course. He mentioned the Memory Garden for your loved ones. He said he talked to the attorney about the golf cart raffle and was told it was legal. He wished that owners would give their flowers and plants to the Golf Committee instead of throwing them away.

Pool Committee Report-Steffensen
Treas. Steffensen talked a little about wrist bands and pool Security. She said the pool was closed for a rail repair.

Other Report-Steffensen
Treas. Steffensen wanted all fund raising activities making over $500 to turn in their forms.

Unfinished Business
Dir. Pelletier said the Arts and Crafts room is just about done. Onlt the countertops are left.

New Business-Burke
P. Burke brought up the ospreys and had questions for Security. A Bridge Board Director said there was constant illegal parking around the swing bridge area.

Lot 744 asked if our Village could expand parking for this temporary parking problem. P. Burke said no and that this has been talked about since the beginning of the Park. She said you have to provide enough space to accommodate every lot because if you offer it to one you have to offer it to all. That was argued since there were a limited amount of mail boxes available to owners.

Dir. Montalvo asked if the Village could convert the common ground area by the ramp into a parking area. P. Burke and other Board members brought up the need to have 75% owner approval for that. After further discussion the Board left the subject open for any suggestions.
Lot? An owner voice a Security concern when two children he said had been playing on our tennis courts, left our Park on skate boards to their home in Port Isabel.

New Business-Pelletier
Dir. Pelletier made a motion to install a stair climber chair system located by the Activity Center mail boxes. He said this will be at no cost to our Village because it is a donation. Discussions about insurance, fire laws and other items seemed satisfied. Motion passed.
Dir. Pelletier described his reasons for wanting to install an outside bathroom at the Pro Shop. Cost to build this will come out of the $22,000 allocated for the new maintenance office.

Lot 340 asked if this is on common property with the need to have owners vote on it. It was not clear why they said there was no need to have a vote.

Ten Minute Recess

P. Burke resumed the meeting saying I am going to impose a rule, if anybody is uncivil during the course of this discussion, resorting to name calling, raising their voice, finger pointing or otherwise, I am going to close the discussion. We had some communications that have been less than pleasant. I don’t like it and I won’t stand for it. If anyone has a question about that, test me. OK?

New Business
Treas. Steffensen said the Major Improvement fund didn’t allocate $15,000 to spend for a dredging study and it is not a good idea to make changes this early in the budget. We should instead look at this in the last quarter.

Dir. Bergsma said what we are looking at here is not something that I see as a Major Improvement. I see a loan and I think once we make a commitment to do this (study) we will most likely do the dredging. We will be assessed for that.

There were different questions and comments made from directors. P. Burke gave her lengthy insight. She reported the Board would probably not support using Association funds to pay for dredging canal H.

Dir. Montalvo asked if we spent $15,000 for a study before our Village dredged the last time. The answer was no.

Dir. Montalvo made it clear he believes our Village’s responsibility is only to keep navigable waters in the canals. There was some talk about Cowen and Freeland having possible involvement.

Dir. Bergsma said what we will get out of this survey study is to make some intelligent decisions on a dredging plan. Dir. Bergsma said he felt it was unfair for him to pay for an assessment that he received no benefit for, then turn around and pay for his own dredging. This hour long discussion ended with all of our Board members voting yes on the motion to do this dredging study in mid-September and use this as reasoning for some future decision towards no dredging, limited dredging, or total dredging.
Motion was approved for a variance to install an elevator for SC54.
Treas. Steffensen's motion was approved to change/add to policy 6.3. This includes with #4 in expressing a fee, #7 now saying individuals outside our Village cannot reserve the owner’s lounge, and #8 now saying all reservations must go through the Hospitality Manger.
Treas. Steffensen's motion was approved to change/add to the 6.4 policy. This includes that all reservations must go through the Hospitality Manager, allow outside catering only when the Village Grille can’t provide the food, and not allow the use of any Village Grille equipment to any outside organizations or individuals. Villager are allowed by Board approval.
Trea. Steffensen's motion was approved to change/add to the 6.7 policy. This includes #4 expressing a fee, #7 saying individuals outside our Village cannot reserve the owner’s lounge, #8 with some verbiage change, and #9 saying all reservations must go through the Hospitality Manger. #11 states the poolside gazebo will not be available for reservations (Grille will be serving) from 10am thru 2pm, Thursday thru Sunday, from Memorial Day thru Labor Day.

Other
Dir. Pelletier’s made a motion to not have a July board meeting. It did not pass.

Executive Session (There was no prior general disclosure of what this Executive Meeting was for.)
No action was taken about whatever the subject matter.

Adjournment

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April 21, 2010 Coffee with the Directors

Pledge of Allegiance

From the Comment Box
Lot 384 asked if workers could pick up all the phone books left on the steps of owners who have left for the summer.
Lot 106 made a request to have another lot cut their Palm leaves and spray for clover in the common areas. President said no to the palm leaf cutting.
SC 70 said the Sand Dollar quilters wanted to thank Director Pelletier for his efforts to repaint the Arts and Crafts room.
Lot R praised the Hospitality Manager Julio for the Easter Feast. Owner said everything was great.
Lot 558 had a complaint about the commercial dump area.
Lot 119 had a complaint about the cable TV and Swing Bridge.
SC 51 was a repeat of LOT R

Board Comments
Director Gagan said he feels prices on materials are going up and suggested that the Board consider to lock in any Major improvement bids that have a materials cost involved.

Comments from the audience
Lot 288 asked since Easter was great, how about Thanksgiving. Our general manager said that's already being talked about. She also asked if the road repair was ever officially approved by the Board and if so, was the company doing the job the same one we had second thoughts about originally? Treas. Steffensen said 11/21/09 was the approval date and yes it is the same company. The GM said he investigated the work that this company previously did and found it was more than satisfactory.
Dir. Pelletier announced a fund raiser raffle for a golf cart to end the second week in Jan. 2011. Tickets (500) are $25 ea. or five for $100. All monies go towards the improvement of the golf course. He said to also remember the Memorial Garden as a great way to remember a loved one, pets not included.

WORKSHOP
Dir. Bergsma said by next week's meeting he will attempt to broadcast the meeting over the internet.
Dir. Guerra asked about last Sunday’s swing bridge problem and when the Marquee will be moved. The answers were nothing was reported and the move will be in June.
Dir. Pelletier said an outside washroom will be constructed at the Pro Shop where the ice machine is located. This is supposed to paid for out of the $22,000 set aside for our new maintenance office. There is a proposal for a chair lift for the Activity Center that will be paid for by a Village Owner.
VP Halbach said there was a $3384 profit in the first month for the restaurant.
P. Burke brought up her idea of having lawn weed control available to owners for a fee. I guess you can call it a weed fee. This subject went on for what seemed like thirty minutes and ending with the President saying we could just look at this weed problem as a By-Law nuisance and make all owners take care of their weeds.
Treas. Steffensen went through her wording changes she wish to have for rules/deposits in using the gazebo and owners lounge. An owner commented that the deposits dtdn't seem to do much if anything to keep the owners lounge clean. Treas. Steffensen also wanted some changes in the rental contracts like charging owners who change a current contract that makes the rental department having to move the renter to a new location. This discussion went on for another twenty minutes of mostly globally gook. An owner brought up her problems she had with the Rental Dept. like when her place was rented while they were staying in it and the renter walk right in on them. She also said the rental office was screwing her when they rented her place and didn't pay them. There was a different owner who confirmed such. The President wanted further info about this from the owner.

Short Recess
The new district manager for Aramark Dan Ackley was introduced.
The discussion of the rental contract continued for the next five minutes. This was just a bunch of back and forth with our Board President talking the most.
The Secretary said the new pool wrist bands are now a hot pink and yellow. This led to a twenty minute discussion from directors Guerra and Montalvo who expressed their concerns of what appears to be an extreme difference between wristband enforcement when only 100 wristbands were sold in winter as opposed to 3000 in the summer. This ended with different Directors blaming Security.
Jennie McBride, Sue Smith, and Karen Fritz were congratulated for their work in painting and cleaning the Pro Shop.
Lot 96-97 complained about her sprinkler wires and Armando said he would take care of it.

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APRIL SUGGESTIONS OR COMMENTS

We would love your comment or suggestion that will improve our Village. They may be viewed by those visiting. We will renew the display each month. Anonymous are welcomed. So throw one in the box.

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Review of the 2009 Aramark Annual Report

Our Village Grill lost $76,888 in 2009. It's been advertised that we had 75% of the restaurant remodeled and that apparently didn't need any approval by our Board .
The only references in the Minutes about this refashion were a director’s wish of doing some improvements with a guess estimate and a comment a month later about getting some figures together to present to the Board. Now we find it done with no apparent approval or known costs. Why is that?
The 2010 Budget has projected that our restaurant will lose $67,000 this year. Is this amenity going in the right direction?

Last year our Golf Course lost $97,038, almost doubling the amount it had lost four years ago. The Board said the reason was rising water costs. That may be true but it seems to contradict Aramark’s Water report which shows only a 9% increase or $25,535 more in water costs since 2006. This was not water for just the golf course but the entire Village.
The 2010 budget thinks the golf course will lose $87,192 this year. Is this amenity going in the right direction?

The Laundry was a $4,846 loser. This is a minor loss compared to the above, but this cleaning facility did make a profit of $2,228 in 2005 and a $1,518 profit in 2006. The Board then decided to outsource this amenity instead of buying new appliances. The Village promptly lost $4786 in 2007 and our Board blamed a three month sewer fiasco. In 2008 it lost $5,640 and the Board blamed Hurricane Dolly. No one can deny that the sewer and hurricane had an impact on revenues, but what’s the excuse for losing $4,846 in 2009?
The 2010 budget has projected the Laundry will lose $5600 this year. Are we now saying with this amenity that losing money is now not an exception but a rule. Is our outsourced partner suffering these same losses? Is this amenity going in the right direction?

Our Rental Office showed a profit of $13,489 last year. Celebrations broke out for being in the black for the first time. During the January Board meeting a Villager asked why the Rental Office was showing such an improvement and our illustrious President couldn’t wait to tell everyone it was due to booking more rentals along with the Board's implementation of suggestions they received from a study done after Hurricane Dolly.
Has everyone forgotten that early in 2009 our Board said they added a 2008 Hurricane Dolly $38,712 loss revenue insurance check to the 2009 Rental bottom line. Take away that check and our Rental Office was a $25,223 loser, only $709 better than the previous year when Hurricane Dolly ruined the rental revenues.
The 2010 budget expects the Rental Office to lose $31,800 this year. Does one even have to ask if this amenity is going in the right direction? What do you think?

The report said Securitas saved our Village $3,000 this year and cost $13,131 less than what our Village was paying for the unlicensed gatekeepers in 2007.
Several Directors who still reside on our Board had vehemently argued Securitas, a LICENSED security company, was going to cost our Village thousands more if rehired.
In this report it also showed that our Village had paid $222,346 for Security in 2007. A footnote was attached saying this figure included a management allocation fee of $7,242, a $6,466 final billing fee from terminated Securitas, and a reference that the amount paid to Aramark as part of a new agreement (in originally replacing Securitas) was $174,250. The obvious question here is what did our Board spend an extra $34,388 on?
The 2010 Budget said Securitas will charge our Village $4,368 less this year. Is Security going in the right direction? I'll answer that. YOU BETCHA!

Villagers pay dearly for Aramark and we are told their management professionals are well trained in finding ways at saving our Village money. Our 2008 Board with all of its controversy found a way to lower our Security and Cable costs while contracting for a much better product. It can be done.
Many feel the current Board with our new General Manager are more than capable of saving some of this $195,000 the 2010 budget says we are suppose to lose in our rental office, laundry, restaurant, and golf course. What do you think?

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Board Meeting 3/24/2010

Pledge of Allegiance

Owners Speaking on Agenda Issues
President Remarks-P. Burke took time to scold “those among us” who she believes failed to obey LIV rules. No names were mentioned of who she alleged had contacted our vendors and service providers. She said that only the Board members have the responsibility to contract, communicate, and et cetera with our outside vendors. She said if you don’t like what the Board is doing; express it at the next election. She said there were owners who have taken upon themselves to do things which have impacted and caused damage to other owners, and as we note from the Coffee at least one potential renter had a negative impression of this Village from reading stuff on-line. She said that the actions of a few are only going to damage this Village without saying who those few are.

Manager report-Rick Horner said 75 work orders were done with 5 still pending. There are 64 lots in arrears totaling $21,930. There were 5 building permits and 5 new violation letters issued. Armando went over the management actions from the Coffee Meeting concerns.

Directors Additional Comments
D. Pelletier asked for volunteers to paint the Arts and Crafts room.
D. Bergsma discussed the “meeting conference system” where the Board meetings can be seen online. He mentioned there’s a need to bring the computer reception signal into the Arts and Craft room. He said he found a free conference system provider and P. Burke said this will be looked into further at a later date.

Approval of February Minutes was done.

Treasurer report and Financials-while Treas. Steffensen went through the financials, P. Burke interrupted her with saying to owners don’t waste your time at trying to get any information on LIV accounts, because only she and the Treasurer have access to owners accounts. She said so you as owners will only receive information from the Board. Treasurer showed that the P&L revenue centers were all in the black.

D. Montalvo presented awards to the Election Committee for job well done.

Committee Reports
1. D&E-White said there will be one last Leslie Party and Leslie will be back next year. Charge next year will be $3 and each table will bring their own snacks.
2. Golf-Pelletier praised the improvements made around the course by the golfers.
3. Pool-Steffensen said the pool wrist bands will be changed soon. The Board is looking to purchase statues for the island area in the outdoor pool. It was said there will be stronger enforcement of wrist bands next winter.
4. Other

Unfinished Business
D. Bergsma requested a motion to spend $15,000 for the side scanning sonar that will determine the amount of dredging material and sea wall conditions. It was voted down.

New Business
Burke asked for the Broad to vote for the two candidates that the Bridge Board seemed to have endorsed. It was questioned as to if the Bridge Board took the time to read the third candidate's application. P. Burke seemed to mumble that you would have to ask someone else and continued for the vote. The Board approved Steve Fowler and Roger Steffensen.

P. Burke said she was going to attend a Cowen Meeting this week. She said the Hamlinck trial will be June 28th and the other two have motions have summary judgments pending.

Meeting schedule for 2011 was discussed. Motion made and passed.

Committee appointments were discussed and asked if there a wish for any changes. D. White asked to be on the Hurricane Committee and P. Burke unenthusiastically said, well, I’ll take a look at that and called for the vote. Motion passed to keep the committees the same.

The Board passed the motion to keep the same assistant officers.

Meeting recessed
An owner wanted to ask P. Burke a question just prior to the continuance of the meeting and she said the Board is not back in session. The owner said this is just a non official question and P. Burke said that your question will be official and wanted all of his questions on the record.
Meeting in Session

The owner was now allowed to asked where the P&L info was and then told in the back by where you walk in.

Treasurer Steffensen talked about the improvements with the LIV website. One inprovement is the rental listings. She said owners who are not presently in the Village will not be able to personally list their rental properties on the website due to the By-Laws. She said she would keep owners up to date on futher improvements.
Director White talked about the evening table setup problems after having afternoon activities in the Rec. Hall. Motion passed to limit afternoon activity to Monday and Wednesday only in the Rec. Hall and to end at 2:30 pm.
Our Board President again brought up her problems with people who ride bicycles in our Park. She now has the Texas Bicycle laws and told owners she is going to give these to management and security to use.

Executive Meeting

Rick Horner scored near perfect in his evaluation by the Board.

The Board talked about a Cowen Meeting.

The Board wants to impose a stricter no smoking policy.

Adjournment

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March 17th Coffee with the Directors

Pledge of Allegiance

Lot 679 asked about A&C locker 49 and square dancing after 3pm.
Lot 153 talked about having the practice for the Christmas program from 4-6pm
Lot 916 said the hole in her yard keeps getting bigger.
Rick Horner said he needed to get with Mr. Salazar (security) about a Hummer that was speeding.
Lot 96 said the plastic Census bags are causing litter in our Park.
SC 57 had concerns about the pool during the off days of the current pool operator.

WORKSHOP
D. Pelletier wants on the agenda the moving of the marquee to the curb, A&C lockers, water meters for each lot, and during construction make a rule to put up an orange construction fence to keep debris from falling into the canal. He also said Julio is doing a fine job in the Grill.
D. Bergsma wants to talk about web conferencing.
D. White wants to talk about Rec. Hall scheduling.
Unknown wants to discuss why Lot 120’s electric box is supplying electricity for common ground sprinklers.
P. Burke wants to discuss Bridge Board candidates, current litigations, meeting schedule, committee appointments, and assistant officers.
Unknown wants to know why Time Warner dropped channels 48, 64, and 74

An executive meeting is scheduled after next week’s Board meeting
End

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MARCH COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS

We would love your comment or suggestion that will improve our Village. They may be viewed by those visiting. We will renew the display each month. Anonymous are welcomed. So throw one in the box.







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2010 ELECTIONS, NOTHING’S CHANGED.

The same Board members were re-elected, Bill Gagan 379, Anita White 346, and Jose Guerra 346. The other candidates were Virginia Martin 245 and Patty Ann Sandberg 234. All cabinet positions stayed the same.

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Target Practice

If there ever was an example of what our six members of the “08” Board had to go through it was witnessed last night at the “Meet the Candidates” event. What a disgrace. What’s up with this October “08” letter that supposedly had Aramark’s response to an owner's concerns towards mismanagement in our Village?
Who in the world should care if anyone contacted our management company, especially then when they probably received a ton? Where in the Declaration or By-Laws does it state an owner is prohibited to contact the Association’s management company and express individual concerns? NOWHERE! This in my opinion appeared to be nothing more than a lame attempt to discredit a candidate who has rubbed some the wrong.
This was atrocious and did not belong at this type of gala.
I believe these three should apologize to this candidate for their inappropriate actions. If not it will once again confirm to owners that some things will never change.

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A group calling themselves “COOL” mailed me a thank you letter. The first thanks was for the help last March in electing a Board of Directors that has been able to work together.

Their perception that our “08” Board lacked in their abilities to function and perform their expected tasks might lead one to believe this Board had also a professed lack of accomplishments? Such an assumption usually holds true but when one takes the time to compare our 2007-08-09 minutes, they find that this so called dysfunctional Board accomplished as much if not more than the former or ensuing boards respectfully.
In addition one might even marvel at how this bunch of misfits saved our Village more money than they spent and finished their fervent year with leaving more than $50,000 in the budget.
As a rule Directors of our Board quickly relinquished their honorary position when subjected to obstacles that become personal or intentionally designed to limit their abilities. A remarkable resilience was shown by our six “08” Directors when they all decided quitting was not an option on issues they knew would better our Village. The best examples were the replacement of the GM, our licensed Security, and the new Time Warner cable company and its contract.
The “08” Board can be best described as incompatible but never dysfunctional. What the Board lacked socially was more than made up for in the physical and financial Village enhancements done under their watch. Now “COOL” wants to thank me for replacing those who stood their ground for the like-minded people who seem happy to fit under the President's thumb and become a Social Club of Directors.
Go figure?


The second thanks in the “COOL” letter was for the help last March in electing a Board of Directors that has been able to work with management.
Now this confused me a little. Is the “COOL” talking about being able to work with that previous general manager who quit a month after the elections leaving the Park high and dry for three months or is it being able to work with a replacement, something those six previous Directors was sued over for originally trying to orchestrate? If it’s Rick Horner, save the thanks. Any mentally challenged Board member could work well with him because he happens to be a people person. He exhibits no accountability hang-ups and has outstanding management skills, the very qualities six “08” Directors went through hell in wanting to work with.


The final thanks were for electing a Board of Directors that has been able to solve some problems we were experiencing.
Putting aside Hurricane Dolly, weren’t these six Directors branded as being the biggest problems when they threatened replacement consequences on our former GM if he didn’t become accountable for his actions and raise his job performance to levels as per Aramark’s contract by an appointed time? Wasn’t that the reason why our Association wasted tens of thousands of dollars towards the silly Priest/Mulch lawsuit designed to idle their replacement threat?

Should not this letter better read “COOL wanted to thank you for your help last March in electing our people who will never bring up the word accountability while also solving some “COOL” problems?”
You make that call!

Below is a précis as to how the obstacle laden 2008 events unfolded

MARCH 2008 ELECTIONS
March 26th (meeting) Four newly elected directors immediately acted upon their campaign promises with making Aramark management more accountable. Management was told to fulfill their obligations to care for our common ground-golf course areas per Aramark’s contract. The Board issued new measures requiring the use of new comprehensive checklists and a change in work order performance actualities.
April 23rd (meeting) Immediately following an executive session, a motion was made to send a letter to Aramark requesting the replacement of the current GM. After some lewd and intimidating audience behavior and one GM supporting Director hinting of possible legal action due to lack of having evaluation records, two directors decided to wait. This led the Board to vote (5-4) at tabling this “Letter” motion for 60 days.
May 2nd (special meeting) This same 5-4 vote approved a new motion to start the general manager on a 90 day evaluation.
May 28th (meeting) The GM replacement letter motion was withdrawn.
June 26th (meeting) Senior Director Pat Burke accused newly elected Director Ed McBride at violating a recent agreement that said no one was to forward manager accountability issues to Aramark. Senior Director Leroy Mulch followed with saying there are persons presently on the Board and a minority of others who interpret the results of this year’s elections as a mandate to fire the GM and Aramark.
Reta Priest began her three Director Recall petition for their part in advocating the GM letter of replacement.
Every new director along with any supporters soon received anonymous personal attacks. One example was a Director’s court file being flaunted about the Village containing personal events of a long ago messy divorce. With it was the claimed that this was public information for everyone to see and a good reason for his removal.
July 22nd (event) Hurricane Dolly hits our Village and added a slew of new issues for the Board.
August 27th (meeting) A staged recall petition submittal by Reta Priest caused an immediate recess to this Hurricane agenda filled meeting. There was a request for a recall petition validation evaluation. No Board issues were addressed because of this submission.
September 4th (8/27 meeting continuance) Village legal counsel ruled the entire recall petition invalid. To Note: unfounded details and bogus numbers from this invalid petition still fill two pages of the Minutes. Why?
September 26th (meeting) Weeks after submitting an unsuccessful invalid recall petition, Reta Priest along with senior Director Leroy Mulch filed a lawsuit against the six elected Directors who originally supported the April GM replacement letter costing many thousands of dollars to our Association. Once again an agenda filled meeting was postponed. This lawsuit imposed restrictions on these six directors for the rest of their term.
2009 Court Imposed March Election During this lawsuit tainted "09" election, Villagers received propaganda letters and telephone follow-ups by Reta Priest and a group calling themselves the “COOL”, advocating certain candidates and vying for control of the election’s “proxy” bloc votes.
2009 March Re-Election Summary There were an unprecedented number of total votes with the bulk coming from bloc vote proxies that interestingly increased nearly threefold from previous years.

Result These events in 2008 divided our Village in ways yet resolved. Again this was all over six Board member's insistence that an Aramark manager should improve upon his performance per Aramark’s contract standards and demonstrate accountability for actions. Tens of thousands of your owner dollars were thrown away over an unmeritorious lawsuit calling these Directors actions a breach of fiduciary duties. Insurance agent Rick May said at our March "09" Coffee meeting that the Village insurance premiums will now go up for the Directors and Officers Liability policy.

It seems ironic that we had every director wanting management accountability replaced.
Did the tail wag the dog this time?
I feel as you may that these extraordinary events should never be forgotten if only to keep it from ever happening again. These “COOL” people should receive a thank you letter from Village owners for their helpful reminder of these past events.

Highlights of 2007 Board Accomplishments
March 28th a motion passed to change golf rate as suggested by the Golf Committee, a motion passed to add a 4 month rate to Renters, a motion passed to purchase 75 banquet tables for $4,050, a motion passed to lease new exercise equipment and sell existing old equipment rather than try to keep present equipment in good repair
April 25th a motion passed to add all motorized vehicles and all bicycles shall comply with the above speed limits and shall be required to come to a stop at all stop signs in the Village to #5 of the Rules & Regulations,
May 23rd this was a special meeting about Dick Stabler's resignation from the Long Island Village, Long Island Owners Association (Bridge), Newsletter, Beautification, D & E Committees/Boards over a possible dispute with the GM.
May 23rd a motion passed for the Board to approve the Policies as the Rule & Policy Committee has written them, a motion passed to use $5000 of Golf fund raisers to concrete golf paths, Director Nixon said he was upset that the Board lost a good person (Stabler) because of management business issues, a motion passed to add a pool limit of 8 people per lot to the summer in Door/Out Door Pool Regulations
June 27th a motion passed to approve the installation of the golf path from the golf budget with the balance to be paid for by the golf committee, a motion passed that this item be considered maintenance, a motion passed to establish an emergency/reserve fund for the 2008 Budget, a motion passed that any item regarding any communication from the attorney, variance requests, hearings, or issues thereof should be placed on the agenda for regular Board of Directors meeting for purpose of record.
July 1 from a motion passed on Feb. 28th to increase the condo fee dues by $20 started
per month. Reasons were anticipated raises in salaries, electricity, cable, garbage, and Swing Bridge.
August 29th a motion passed to enact Boards decision on July 26, 2007 Special Sewer Meeting to transfer funds from the Major Project Improvement Funds, Building Permit Fund and Utilities (Operating Fund) to the sewer account to cover expenses incurred, and Would include loan payment, trucking our sewage, divers, etc, a motion passed to establish May 15, 2008 through September 15, 2008, swim band program with proceeds present and future monies to purchase pool furniture, a motion passed to accept Berry's Pool & Supply, a motion passed that ARAMARK be awarded the contract for gate attendants and patrol because of cost savings and the fact that we get more services, .
Sept 26th One variance motion passed.
Oct. 24th a motion passed to assess LIV owners $332,800.00 and request equal payment from each condo unit at Sun Harbor for $325 to cover the costs of replacing the sewer line that crosses the Intracoastal Waterway.
Nov. 21st a motion passed to accept Billy Kenan's sewer pipe removal bid of $25,000, a motion passed on "use of Office Machinery" shall be used only by staff, current Board, others will be charged a nominal fee, a motion passed to give the owner the option to read the newsletter online.
Dec 19th a motion passed to make a $10 cash award to Yard of the Year.
Jan. 23rd saw a fundraising activity motion pass in order to fund golf cart pathways. A motion was approved to take $250 out of the Major Improvement fund to match golf course Beautification funds. Motion to allow the operation of John Deere skid steer having a provision operator signs a hold harmless agreement. Motion passed to establish a contingency fund in the 2008 Budget and have such funds continue in the following years. Motion passed to have designated parking for manager/directors on south side of Welcome Center.
Feb. 27th had a motion to appoint Aaron H. Garcia as trustee of LIV’s corporate resolution. Motion passed to have Port Isabel’s senior prom at our Rec. Hall.

Highlights of 2008 Board Accomplishments
March 26th saw the Board implement measures to require the general and hospitality managers become more accountable for their actions and fulfill their obligation to care for our common ground-golf course areas per Aramark’s contract. Comprehensive checklists and work order performance actualities were asked for and put into practice.
April 23rd, Board passed a rental office increase rental charge of $10 for maid service. Motion passed that work orders start showing exact times of request.
May 28th, Motion passed to allocate $2100 to build boat ramp gate and fences. The Board negotiated a ten year contract (max 5% annual rise in cost) with Time Warner Cable to replace Arroyo Cable for at least a net savings of $50,000 for the Village annually, with twice the channels and all the new fiber optic cable hardware.
June 26th a motion passed that all golf carts have a license driver in cart. Board started to now have all corrections to the Minutes be done via email to save time and copier expense. Board created a Safety Committee. Due to $4 a gallon for gas and higher food prices, the board approved a $50 a week gas/grocery gift card to 41 employees now through August ($12,300 for 6 weeks).
Sept 4th Approved Securitas as LIV’s new licensed security replacing the unlicensed entry keepers being managed by Aramark for an estimated $12-$18,000 increase. The Board created a new hurricane evacuation policy (since dropped) and the reactivation of the mandatory GM evacuation committee as per Aramark’s contract. The Board approved that sea cottages are now allowed to use 30 year TDI approved shingles.
October 22nd the Board approved $2125 in hurricane bonuses for 17 employees. Approved bath house 1 and 3 renovations not to exceed the original total of $28,000, after it had climbed to around $50,000 from the new designs submitted. Director Hensen discovered that trash pickup charges were inaccurate and estimated the overbilling amount might be as much as $60,000 annually. Board immediately moved to acquire 3 bids from other companies and started monitoring current billing.
November 19th the Board approved audit recommendations to improve the Pro Shop revenues. Board made an owner timeline for hurricane related repairs. Board approved replacing sidewalks around the Activity Center, helicopter pad, tennis court, parking lot, and a grassy area leading to nowhere for $18,428. New handicap golf cart application for the golf course was made. The Board turned down Director Mulch’s motion to approve management’s only bid for outdoor pool restoration from Berry Pool’s for $59,000; the Board later approved the outdoor pool restoration for $32,868, saving nearly $26,000 for insisting on 3 bids. A new 3 bid policy with specifications for projects of over $7500 was adopted. Board approved a new ($1000 max) TV for the Rec. Hall aerobics class.
Dec.17th Board approved $10,500 insurance deductible for reimbursement to the six directors that were sued by then current director Leroy Mulch and owner Reta Priest.
Jan 30th the Board made 51 recommendations to improve four of our revenue centers. This included 18 Audit committee recommendations to improve restaurant revenue performances. There were 5 Audit committee recommendations towards the miscellaneous revenue and petty cash areas to include all areas of possible misuse by management (company credit cards). Board approved a new LIV internet website for $1900+$25 per hr.
Feb 25th approved the repair-replace of the Welcome Center’s roof for $30,000 that was provided by hurricane insurance money. Board passed to have a symbol somewhere on each copy made off the office’s copier machine to cease apparent misuse. Board delegated a procedure to stop Aramark management from selling Villager’s personal information to anyone who wanted it for $25. The Board required that LIV’s operating cash change previous practices to now always be in the FDIC insured limits.

2009 Board Accomplishment Highlights
March 25th approved giving Mr. Freeland $2500 towards a rerouting survey, installed a curb around the boat ramp, and marked the Conference microphones.
April 29th the Board continued with the wrist band use year round. Board replaced the engine on skid steer for $10,095, replaced the indoor pool heater for $2995, and bought two lift station pumps for $4734. The Board approved $3000 to remove the Activity Center’s old sidewalk. The Board accepted the new and higher Berry Pool contract of $15,540 annually plus their chemicals that have to be purchase at market price. In an executive meeting the Board apparently approved but never publicly disclosed the 2 day retirement notice of the General Manager.
May 27th saw a new 45 minute courtesy pass program initiated by the Board and the creation of a new policy on the of reading of Coffee meeting comments. Board purchased a 3 TB Workstation for $2018.
June 27th a motion was passed authorizing President Burke and Vice President Halback to be able to authorize committees requesting to have a Village snack bar. Board invokes a one hour parking limit at the Welcome Center, added a sentence to Village building codes, and passed that Canal lots put their lot numbers also at the rear. Board approved installation of the pool hand railings for $700 and changed the renter parking policy ($5 for parking) at Welcome Center.
August 29th had a motion made not to change the current procedure on owners who are in condo fee arrears. The Board approved taking $22,473 from the $50,000 left from the previous year’s budget (outdoor pool work that was in 2008 was determined unnecessary) to pay for the repair of four sinkholes. The Board approves a hotdog day fundraiser along with a motion to replacing Larry DeMalade with Richard Horner on petty cash checking accounts. The Board passed that it is now required to have building permit application signatures verified.
Sept 30th approved the purchase of a 3 door refrigerator for $3538, passed new 6.4 Rec. Hall rental policy, and gave clarification of the 6.3 Policy on the uses of our Owners Lounge. Board approved to resurface the billiard tables for $2700.
October 28th approved doing away with Saturday’s meetings. The Board approved that two Aramark Managers were to receive an undisclosed bonus amount for working three and a half months as interim GMs.
Nov 21st approved the patchwork for Village roads for approximately $16,900 and ruled no fishing off the canal bridges.
Dec. 16th the Board raised Village condo fees by $245,760. 00 annually and will spend an additional $110,000 for a road repair project that’s will be separate from the budget and subject to a possible partial individual owner assessment charge. The Board revised the Village policy towards quarterly assessments late fees. They produced a new owner-agent form to reduce Village liability.
Jan. 27th Motion passed to approve three changes in our Building Codes. Motion passed to table estimated $1,000,000.00 dredging project until the Annual Meeting.
Feb. 24th Motion was approved to purchase a new 2010 Ford F-150 from Tipton Ford for $20,462


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