Neighbors:
What one sees as an important issue may not be what others see as an issue.
However, that doesn't make any issue less relevant than another. My
understanding is that this listserv is a forum by which homeowners can
freely discuss their concerns. Whether that concern has now come ten years
or two years down the line is of no consequence.
Most of the things I have seen discussed all come back to one common theme
anyway. Of course there are things we can all do individually to help. But
we should also band together to bring these issues to the attention of the
board and CMA and get them to take our concerns seriously. It has become
appallingly obvious that those are the entities that we should have a
problem with, not each other. (Unless you are an owner that is blatantly
violating the rules yourself of course.) With more collaborative and
diplomatic discussions, we will probably find that we have more interests
in common than we initially thought. Let's keep it cordial and never become
complacent.
T. Harlow
Sent from my iPhone
On Jul 11, 2015, at 2:17 PM, Ken Fernandez (public) <
kenfernandez940@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Same ole, same old. I just found out about this little complaint list just
recently. I have been living here since 2001 and have been on a few email
lists for this complex since the beginning. Over the years we have had
large (sometimes noisy) parties. A good shooting or two. And yes, people
using the pool. My point being we have experienced all these things and
still our little community survived and moved on. You know what my biggest
beef is. People NOT PICKING UP AFTER THEIR DOG!!!!!!!! Oh and homeowners
taking up the Visitor Parking within the complex.
Well to kinda go over the list below. Glass at the pool. Yep that’s state
law. If any glass is broken the pool will have to be drained and cleaned.
I am sure at the expense of the responible resident. A few years back I
remember a resident bring beer bottles to the pool area all the time. He
was asked several times not to do so but still this one person did what he
wanted to do. This was not a party or guests or strange people lurking,
but one of our own.
https://dph.georgia.gov/sites/dph.georgia.gov/files/related_files/site_page/EnvHealthPoolsChapter511-3-5.pdf
Size: Well there has never been any mentioned of owner’s (or renters)
limited to the number of guests they invite. It’s their home too. I have
had a few good size parties/gatherings. Of course I took responsiblity for
my guests and their actions. What I could not take responsibility for was
the other residents in the complex for their rude comments or stares. It’s
a two-way street. Be respectful of others whether resident or guest.
Breaking & Entering: Well if you see someone passing through the gates
without a code, access card or resident escort then call the police. We
have had neighborhood kids jump the fence and use the pool. From a
liability stand point that is important, but when an adult breaks in it’s
called breaking the law. If you feel unsafe asking the person you saw push
through the gates to leave then call the police.
Propping the Gate: I agree the gate to the pool or even the complex should
never be propped open. What do you want to do? Have the Board make some
draconian rules with penalties? Good luck getting this added to the by
laws. Not everyone is going to like the actions of a few or behavior of
others. Welcome to society.
Dogs in the Pool: Goes back to glass at the pool. Also small children
without proper clothing for “accidents”. See GA rules.
Again if the pool must be cleaned from actions taken by the resident (or
resident's guests) then that resident will be paying for the clean up.
Here’s a suggestion. Take a picture of the dog and resident responsible
and send to the board. They then can send a cleanup bill to them.
Smoking: Smoking, old debate. Cleaning up after themselves. You can’t
make adults act like adults. I have been to the pool area where the tables
are covered in sticky food residue. How hard is it to wipe off the table
after your luncheon? How hard is it to put the chairs and/or tables back?
What I’m saying here is it is not only someone’s guest that maybe rude
and inconsiderate of others, but residents too.
Bottom line is. One of our residents is inviting guests over, that is
their right. Is all their guests acting like adults? Can we say the same
thing about residents here. In a small complex like ours we have to
respect each other and the limited resources/public space. Sure some of
us might not like the guests of some residents. Sure some of us might not
like our neighbor. We just have to respect each other and cooperate.
Now back to the recent pool gatherings. Well I have seen gatherings at the
pool in the past where the gate was propped open, rude guests and resident
taking over the space like they own it. I did not see any complains then.
Is it these specific people we’re complaining about?
Our complex has far more important matters to discuss: using too much
reserve funds; water bill growth; cost of services; rising HOA fees.
Ken
On Jul 6, 2015, at 7:53 PM, josephcurtis07@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Hello All -
We have run into this group before more than once. Results are mixed, but
they are generally rude, unwilling to abide by rules, and very
disrespectful of the property. Here are the violations:
1 - GLASS in the pool. We have told them and their visitors in the past
that no glass is allowed. Some will take the helpful dixie cups we give,
others will sneer and roll their eyes. So we have told them about this in
the past, but still their group had several bottles in the pool area.
2 - SIZE. We have never said anything about this violation to them, and
they seem to have 15-20 people. We don't mind so much when extra people
come over, but they push this past any kind of acceptable "let's all be
firends" scene. Lots of noise, no parking on Highland, no pool furniture
for residents...it's a true burden.
3 - BREAKING THE GATE. They have their visitors who did not receive the
pedestrian gate code to pull open the gate and squeeze through. Huge
security problem. The gate breaks down as a result of this kind of abuse,
we are all more vulnerable and higher maintenance costs. We have never
addressed this specific issue with them, because we never get past the
other issues with cooperation or respect.
4 - PROPPING THE DOOR. We have told them they cannot prop open the door to
the pool with a rock, and have repeatedly removed said rock. They do not
care, the behavior has never changed. As you know, we also have a
recurring problem with neighborhood children "hopping the fence" and
destroying the pool area. Having an open and unsecure door is an open
invitation to more issues and risks with non-residents.
5 - DOGS IN THE POOL. Our first bad encounter with this group, they had a
dog in the pool. Other residents said the dog had been actually swimming.
Have the laws changed? Is this still an automatic health code violation
(and shut down)? We did not say anything to them the first time, as they
had already thumbed their noses at our no glass conversation. Yesterday,
we had to have an extended debate with the same person bringing the same
dog. They pushed, complained, and challenged us, but we stood firm and
they put the dog elsewhere. Then, another friend of theirs (who broke
through the gates) came in with a dog she refused to remove as she claimed
(extremely rudely) it was a service dog. The dog had no markings or
signage to verify this claim, but if true...I'm thinking it has to be
allowed? A question that should be addressed by Dennis or another
professional.
6 - SMOKING. A number of us smoke. My wife is sensitive to the smoke, so
I always either go over to the sidewalk in front of the gatehouse or
outside of the pool...depending on which way the wind blows to keep smoke
off of the pool deck. Several of them were smoking and we found many
cigarette butts discarded on the pool deck this afternoon. We do not know
for a fact that those butts were theirs and have not mentioned the no
smoking to them.
BOTTOM LINE: this group of friends has an established bad track record of
a destructive pattern of behavior. A few will be respectful and
discontinue bad behaviors when pointed out, but many will not and the
behaviors continue. If we care at all about our property and investments,
we must stop these kinds of rude, disrespectful, mass violations. But it
is hard for my wife and I to be the only people trying to educate and stop
this particular group. We need your help to back us up and come help us
when these specfic people repeatedly invade and offend. How much damage
does one group have to do to be banned from the pool? Let's stop this
ridiculousness before it gets worse, and more people think they can get
away with behaviors that threaten our access to the pool and security.
We'll help any way we can.
I only have 1 photo I will try to share later from mobile. Tiffany - they
might be the neighbors of yours that you mentioned.
Joe
------------------------------
*From: *"Tiffany Harlow" <tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx>
*To: *highland-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Sent: *Monday, July 6, 2015 12:08:41 PM
*Subject: *[highland-discuss] Re: Dog
That is my point. And apparently these particular guests were not
respecting those rules. So again, be mindful and speak up if you see
something would constitute a violation.
*Tiffany Harlow, Esq. tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx
<tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx>404-931-5567 <404-931-5567>*
On Mon, Jul 6, 2015 at 11:36 AM, Susan Stern <susan.k.stern@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
There's nothing wrong with having guests over to the pool. The key thing,
as you mentioned, is whether or not they are respecting the rules. If they
are, then who cares? We're all friendly folks!
On Mon, Jul 6, 2015 at 10:16 AM, Tiffany Harlow <tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
But the question is, did anyone say anything? If not, then nothing will
change. I know my neighbors who rent were there yesterday and they may or
may not be aware that pets are not permitted. Although they should.
This is however the second time on a Sunday I have seen a huge crowd of
visitors at the pool, where even Hilliard is packed with cars and folks are
toting large coolers like they were invited to a big bash. I understand it
was the holiday weekend, but as neighbors this is somewhat disrespectful to
homeowners. We could go to a public pool if we wanted to, but I think the
reason we pay dues is to keep it somewhat private. I will be mentioning
this to my neighbors this week and if you have neighbors that you know tend
to invite large groups of guests over and violate the rules, I suggest and
encourage you to say something as well.
*Tiffany Harlow, Esq. tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx
<tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx>404-931-5567 <404-931-5567>*
On Mon, Jul 6, 2015 at 11:06 AM, Justin Wilson <jayblake4@xxxxxxx> wrote:
I was there and saw the dogs
Sent from my HTC
----- Reply message -----
From: "Joseph Curtis" <josephcurtis07@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Highland" <highland-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [highland-discuss] Dog
Date: Sun, Jul 5, 2015 5:22 PM
Anyone want to witness a dog in the pool area.
Joseph Curtis
Sent from my mobile phone.
--
Susan K. Stern, Ph.D.
Clinical Neuropsychology Fellow
Memphis VA Medical Center
