All the issues and concerns are valid and should be discussed. The questions
about our money and finances are equally important and I have a few. How much
do we have in reserve? Our annual meeting and budget statements are vague when
it comes to the expenditures. Our unfinished exterior paint job cost $400,000
this time, it was a third of that 7 or 8 years ago. How much was the repaving
at the top end of the circle? Was it absolutely necessary if we have other
pressing expenses? Our water bill could be posted to ensure we understand the
usage. Can we discuss having separate meters? It would eliminate individual
waste of water if we paid our own water bill. Eliminating the need to hire a
plumbing company to track down leaks going door to door costing around $75,000.
Money is always being spent in large sums without meetings or votes, even on
painting a different color.
There needs to be broader accountability asked for collectively. Last year I
asked some very direct spending questions, in writing to the management company
and the former board president, their response was a letter from a law firm
Dorough & Dorough. Individual acts don’t work to move forward we need to be a
cohesive community with an agenda.
KM
From: highland-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:highland-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ken Fernandez
(public)
Sent: Saturday, July 11, 2015 2:17 PM
To: highland-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [highland-discuss] Re: Dog
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
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
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
