Regarding the pool issues, the board is correct: the responsibility falls
on all of us to figure out who is violating the rules. It's no more their
responsibility than it is ours. The board alone is not the "pool police".
We, the residents, are. I understand that no one likes the idea of
personally confronting a violator, but unfortunately, that's the only way
to figure out who they are. If you don't want to confront them, the only
other option is to figure out when they're leaving the pool area, then
discreetly follow them back to their unit. There's honestly no other way to
do it. If that means sitting at the pool until they leave so you can figure
out which unit they live in, then that's what it takes. Taking pictures is
also pointless unless you know exactly who they are.
If you don't feel comfortable with either of those options, that's fine,
but you can't keep complaining if you aren't willing to take any personal
action. I recently witnessed someone letting their dog defecate on the
grass without picking it up, so I discreetly kept an eye on them until I
could see which unit they returned to. I then notified Dennis. He sent them
a fine. It's as simple as that. I really doubt the Atlanta Police
Department is too interested in who is smoking or bringing their dog to the
pool, but if you want to call them, have at it. Let us know how it works
out.
As for the rats, I've noticed that almost every time I go to the dumpster,
there is loose garbage floating around the area. Beer bottles, pizza boxes
with partially eaten pizza inside, open garbage bags placed on top of the
recycling cans, soggy cardboard boxes, etc. More often than not, there is
garbage stacked in the chute leading into the dumpster, with the dumpster
door hanging wide open. I used the dumpster this morning and the door shuts
just fine, so it's not broken. It seems that a lot of the residents are
incapable of disposing of their garbage properly, which, of course, lead to
rodents. If you don't like the rodents, start disposing of your garbage
properly. This means it needs to go all the way inside the dumpster, not
around it or near it. After you throw it in, hit the compactor button on
the panel. And don't throw in your scrap wood, strollers, old luggage, and
other assorted bulk garbage. I see that sort of thing inside the dumpster
all the time, and that's exactly how it gets broken like it did a few weeks
ago. I agree - extermination needs to take place to get rid of the current
problem, but disposing of garbage properly will definitely help cut down on
any future issues.
No matter what the issue is, nothing gets accomplished by just complaining
about it on this email service. If you aren't willing to take any personal
action to keep the community running smoothly, then you have no room to
complain.
On Wed, Jul 15, 2015 at 2:52 PM, Tiffany Harlow <tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
While I appreciate the response from the Board, I am going to have to
agree with Kyle as well. We need more guidance on how to deal with
violators, more than just saying "find out who it is and report them."
Sometimes just doing the leg work to find out who it is can be daunting
and dangerous. I have literally followed behind some folks in my car who I
saw doing suspicious things and I have probably been noticed a time or
two. And from what I hear when violators have been approached about their
actions, they have been quite disrespectful, rude and abrasive to
homeowners. We shouldn't have to do this kind of reconnaissance work in our
own neighborhood or risk injury either. While Pat was diligently observant
and able to identify her own neighbors, sometimes it is not that easy to
ascertain who the violators are.
As to the rat issue, the Board and CMA have to do a little more to
communicate to the homeowners what can be done about this problem. I know
people who have been dealing with it for months, far too long for some of
the issues not to have been addressed, particularly those on the exterior
near the trash and pool. Getting a simple response and laying out some
action items should not have taken so long. And these homeowners need a
real action plan, not just a promise that it is being looked into.
As for financials, I look forward to seeing the reports the Board promises
to provide and having an honest discussion about that more complex and
arguably more serious concern when the time comes.
*Tiffany Harlow, Esq. tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx
<tiffany.harlow@xxxxxxxxx>404-931-5567 <404-931-5567>*
On Wed, Jul 15, 2015 at 9:48 AM, patriciamalloy375 <
patriciamalloy375@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Kyle, is right. We need guidelines from the Board. All last night and
this morning two of my neighbors parked their cars in guest spots. No car
was even parked in their driveway. Another car was parked completely
illegally outside 308.
Are we allowed to have cars towed?
Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device
-------- Original message --------
From: Kyle Mann <kylemann1@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: 07/15/2015 6:36 AM (GMT-05:00)
To: highland-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [highland-discuss] Re: Highland Updates July 14, 2015
Hello,
This is a very long and somewhat confusing response, I don’t think anyone
expects the board to be police. If you can outline the procedure to follow
when people see a problem in the pool area such as, a precinct number to
call if someone is violating the rules. Also maybe posting large signs
clearly stating what is what isn’t allowed in the area and not just
something faded or written on 8 by 11. My main concern now is rats running
all over the place and what is being done. We are all busy and from a board
I would like to see something proactive instead of reactive, like fixing
the compactor door and having the area cleaned. Huge rat holes are dug on
each side of the side walk walking up to the compactor door its
unacceptable.
*From:* highland-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:
highland-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] *On Behalf Of *Highland Unit
Owners
*Sent:* Tuesday, July 14, 2015 8:56 AM
*To:* highland-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* [highland-discuss] Highland Updates July 14, 2015
Hi Neighbors!
Based on the ongoing email discussions, it appears that there are several
issues that need to be addressed in our community. As you all know, the
members of the board live in our community as well, and are just as
affected by any problems as you are. However, the board is not the police,
and does not patrol the community looking for problems, so it is important
for us to hear from residents so that we can address any issues, and it is
important for the community as a whole to monitor our property.
1. The pool: The rules of the pool are posted on the entrance gate to the
pool. Clearly there are some residents (both owners and renters) who don't
abide by the rules. The only way for the board to enforce the rules
against the rule-breakers is for us to be informed the identity and/or unit
number of the rule-breaker. We are happy to impose fines or to attempt to
restrict pool access if necessary, but we cannot do this unless we know the
identity of the rule-breakers. For this reason, it is up to all of the
members of the community to make an effort to find out this information
when you see someone violating the rules. Otherwise, nothing can be done.
We cannot send out fines if we don't know who is breaking the rules. We
will be sending out a notice to the entire community specifying the pool
rules that seem to be constantly violated (glass bottles, dogs, propping
open doors, etc.).
2. Water: The current system is that the water bill for the entire
community is paid via HOA dues. When our property was constructed, it was
designed in a way such that individual water meters on each unit are simply
not possible. It's unfortunate, but it is the reality. It is for this
reason that the responsibility is on every resident to be mindful of water
usage and having any leaks repaired ASAP. The purpose in hiring a plumber
2 years ago to inspect units was to ensure that any leaks were found and
repaired, and this resulted in a major decrease in the community water
bill, exceeding the money spent on the plumbing service.
3. Financials: Because of the expressed interest, we will be happy to
send an emailed copy of the financials to members of the community via the
email listserver on a quarterly basis. As you are all aware, the board
meets every 2 months to discuss the financials and other matters, and these
meetings are open to any resident who wishes to attend. So if you want to
know about the financials more often than quarterly, please feel free to
attend these meetings.
4. Dogs: There have been many complaints about unleashed dogs and
residents not picking up after their dogs. As you all know, these are
violations of the community rules. Similar to the pool matter, we cannot
fine residents for breaking this rule if we do not know the identity and/or
unit number of the culprit. If you see a resident breaking the rules
regarding dogs, please make the effort to determine who the rule-breaker is
(or at least which unit is theirs) and we will be happy to issue a fine.
5. Car break-ins: Any break-in to your car is a police matter. Although
this is a gated community, the gates are not impenetrable, and it is quite
easy for anyone to enter our community if they want to badly enough.
Please be mindful about closing the walking gates behind you, not letting
cars follow you through the driving gate, and not leaving valuables in
sight in your cars. If the burglars stop finding stuff to steal, hopefully
they will move on to another target. If you see suspicious activity, call
the police.
Please remember that your interests as residents are not in opposition to
the interests of the board. We live here too, and want our community to be
a nice place to live. However we cannot accomplish that by ourselves.
While this email list is meant address issues please understand that if
we address and issue and do not hear anything else we will assume the issue
is addressed. We in no way are trying to ignore any of the issues as ,
which was mentioned above, they are all very important. Also keep in mind
due to the volume of emails being distributed we are doing our best to sift
through each of them to ensure issues are being addressed. No member of the
board will be addressing issues individually. When the board responds it
will continue to be a collective response but again, due to the volume of
emails we are doing our best to address each issue.
Last year we requested that neighbors sign up for committees so we can
have assistance and more involvement in the community. Please see the email
below with that request. Unfortunately we only received 2 responses. This
email list was created by a neighbor who expressed interest and we are very
appreciative of that! If other neighbors would like to get involved to
help address and drive these issues it would be greatly appreciated. Just
let us know!
Regarding the other issues that were sent last night, we will get back to
you with a response upon consulting with Dennis.
If you have concerns about your specific unit please email Dennis and
copy the board. Dennis' information is listed below and the board email is
highland-board@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Dennis F. Hoffman | President & Broker
Community Management Associates | 1465 Northside Drive Ste 128 |
Atlanta, GA 30318
404.835.9100 ext. 105 | 404.835.9200 fax |
dhoffman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | www.cmacommunities.com
Thanks,
Highland Board
Begin forwarded message:
*From:* Highland Unit Owners <highlandunitowners@xxxxxxxxx>
*Date:* August 1, 2014 at 12:03:04 AM EDT
*Cc:*
*Subject:* *Highland Happenings Vol. 3*
Hi Neighbors!
I hope this email finds you all well! Attached please find the meeting
minutes from the July 14h meeting. A big thanks to all who attended. It
was a very productive discussion and we covered a great deal. Another
thanks to Robert Mann for presenting during the meeting and working
on addressing the concerns in the minutes. You should notice that each
concern was addressed in the attachment. In the event you feel like a
concern was not addressed please understand that it was not intentional.
Feel free to bring it to our attention and we will answer accordingly. If
you email a concern please copy all the board members and Dennis listed in
the CC of this email.
Our next Board Meeting will be held in the clubhouse on *Monday,
September 8th at 6:30pm*. The meeting participation will only include
Board members however, *you are more than welcomed to listen in.
Concerns, suggestions, and the like can either be addressed before or after
the meeting. *
Notes:
75/85 Sign: A neighbor called the "Commuter Dude" to see if they could
move the sign from directly across from our street to closer to the
expressway entrance. As a result the city is working on a resolve for
this. The sign may not be moved but they stated they will add an arrow to
make it more clear for drivers that they must drive a few feet more to
enter the expressway.
In my previous emails I always asked if anyone wants to sign up for the
two committees below. We still need your support. The committees and
descriptions again just in case anyone else would like to sign up. Let me
know.
· Communications: Responsible for sending our communications to
neighbors which include emails and flyers in doors when needed.
· Planning: Responsible for coordinating with Communications when
planning an event such as a cookout or meeting (neighborhood watch meetings
and informative meetings to name a few). Responsible for coordinating the
event.
· Neighborhood Watch: Coordinate with APD to get one set up here.
Perhaps coordinating with the Old Fourth Ward Association.
Lastly, if anyone wants to be removed from this list let me know.
It takes a village....!
