Monday, October 20, 2008

Shall we really set the record straight?

In an attempt to muddy the waters of the Open Space discussion a vocal few have fired off a rambling tirade of gibberish. Their intention is to convince homeowners that certain Board members are conspiring to pull a fast one. They are saying that these board members are trying to sneak through some self-serving diabolical Architectural Guidelines. We give you a little more credit than that.

Let’s set the record straight.

1) The subject of Architectural Guidelines Change was on the agenda for the September 16, 2008 Board meeting.
a) The current schedule includes a Town Hall meeting on the subject.
b) This will then be followed by a 30 day period for a proposal to be reviewed by the community and input to be considered.
c) This is anticipated to result in a vote by the Board of Directors at the December 17, 2008 Board Meeting - hardly a “railroading” of the process.

2) Let’s contrast that to the changes made in 2005.
a) Let’s see… according to the Board meeting minutes, “modifications to the Architectural Guidelines” were proposed on April 14, 2005.
b) These Guidelines were then accepted by a unanimous vote on… what do you know? April 14, 2005!! At least they were good enough to publish the revised guidelines in the Pony Express after the fact.
c) There was no review, by the general membership.
d) No notice to the membership, nothing.
e) There was no input by the membership
f) There was no town hall.

3) Further evidence of how underhanded some of the current Board members are is the way they tried to hide the fact that they were considering changes to the guidelines.

a) Who would possibly have read the President’s message on the subject found on page 5 of the October Pony Express, or item #5 under the heading “Redefine the ARC” located on page 7?
b) Or the post card that was sent to the community.
c) Or the full page letter written by the Associations architect on page 9?
d) Or the large paragraph representing the bulk of the General Manager’s Message on page 11? - You’ve really got to watch these guys.

4) If the current Board truly intended to wreak havoc on the Open Space they would simply support the 2005 Guidelines as written.
a) You see, all specific guidance pertaining to allowable uses of Open Space found in the 1996 Guidelines was removed.
b) As a result, the ARC has no defining document to work from; residents are confused as to what is permitted and what isn’t permitted.
c) Now, all the power rests with the Board to wield at their discretion.
d) That policy worked for past Boards without a peep from the people who produced the gibberish you are receiving now.
e) The new Board wants change.

The current Board is working with the Association’s architect to create a revised set of guidelines that will be useful for all residents planning projects on their homes and properties. They are inviting input from the neighbors and putting everything out in the open for all to see (as per their Annual Strategic Plan on pages 6 & 7 of the October Pony Express.) By implementing Common Sense Guidelines, the power is in the details of the documents not in the hands of the Board.

The ranting you read in recent mailings is the desperate attempt by a small group of residents to hang on to the power grip they have had on our community for decades. Their ship is now sinking. And, have no doubt; it is being sunk by truth, transparency and for the common good of all Nellie Gail residents.

Please come to the meeting to see for yourself.

Nellie Gail Homeowners for Common Sense Guidelines


For 30 years the Nellie Gail CC&R’s were interpreted to allow for open space uses other than equestrian and agricultural.

That all changed in the spring of 2005 when a small group of individuals decided their personal interests took precedence over those of the rest of the community and took the following action:

Excerpts from Board Minutes:

Minutes of the Regular Meeting – Board of Directors – Thursday, March 17, 2005, 6:00P.M Item 9F
“An item for the Board of Directors to discuss and review the Architectural Guidelines.
MOTION BY DIRECTOR CURTIS, SECOND BY DIRECTOR MONSON TO CREATE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF DIRECTOR ABDO, DIRECTOR CURTIS, AND GENERAL MANAGER FRANCIS LANGLOIS. THE SUBCOMMITTEE IS TO REVIEW AND RECOMMEND CHANGES TO THE ARCHITECTURAL GUIDELINES. SUBCOMMITTEE IS TO BRING RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE NEXT BOARD MEETING. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

Minutes of the Regular Meeting – Board of Directors – Thursday, April 14, 2005, 6:00P.M Item 7, Bullet Point 4
“Architectural Guidelines Committee – Discussion by committee members of suggested modifications to the Architectural Guidelines.
MOTION BY DIRECTOR MONSON, SECOND BY DIRECTOR SPALDING TO ACCEPT THE ARCHITECTURAL GUIDELINES AS REVISED PENDING LEGAL APPROVAL; REVISED GUIDELINES THEN TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE PONY EXPRESS. MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

That was pretty clear. Thank you for making it so easy to see the difference between the 'old majority' and the 'new majority.


And how did that group get my address anyway?

Anonymous said...

The piece I received in the mail today suggests that there is a conflict of interest with the new board members. REALLY? Jan Curtis is a trainer at the Equestiran Center, and Dr. Bettey is the Dr. for more than half the horse at the center, as well as Mickey Hayden's (you recognize that name?) vet. Yet they both repeatedly voted on equestrian issues that directly effected their income. They had NO problem with voting and even mentioned at board meetings they had no problem.

Some of their supporters are the ones behind the trashy pieces that are being sent to our homes. And now they cry conflict of interest - yeah, only if it conflicts with the 'old majority' interest. Bah!

Anonymous said...

Guess who sent the nasty trashy piece?

Call the homeowners association and ask them who picked up labels. Perhaps you may want to ask for their address as well.

Anonymous said...

I was very happy to see so many people show up. I feel they were misinformed, by and large by the letter that went out by one of our residents and long term board members (I also suggest you call the Association and ask who sent those letters out.)

The good news is that people are participating and making their voices heard. I was a bit disappointed to hear Dr. Bettey's tally at the end. I believe that if people knew there was a score being kept, quite a few more would speak up.

One question I do have is what about all the emails? How do they come in on the issue? In reality, it sounds like the board will listen and use common sense to handle the issue.

None the less, it is fantastic we have people participating. Thank you to all of you who showed up - no matter what side you are on.

Anonymous said...

To the gentleman who said he didn't know anything about the board members;

At least two of them have web sites. The web sites are:

# Nellie Gail 4 Property Rights (NG4PR.com)
# Nellie Gail 4 Change (NG4Change.com)

They have been up for many months now. I would suggest that everyone visit them if they are interested in what is going on.

Anonymous said...

Rebecca, unless I am missing something, I don't believe those websites have been updated since July.

Anonymous said...

I believe you are correct. Perhaps they should be updated. I think I will send them an email. Thank you for bringing that up.

Anonymous said...

I am told that Candy Luddy (ARC member) spoke at the meeting claiming that Enholm, Frey and Cormie had lawsuits involving their property. First of all, not true. I can't share details because there are confidentiality rules that state you can't share that info with others. Candy ought to be fired from the ARC if she violated a similar policy. She is the epitome of what is wrong with Nellie Gail. I had many reports of her storm trooper tactics forcing her way into people's homes. She outright lied to the board when asked if she had ever made personal unprofessional comments to homeowners as an ARC member. She is unqualified, unprofessional and an embarassment to the Association. And in a public meeting it was Bill Frey who said that she deserved another chance to serve on the ARC despite all the nasty, mean spirited things she did to his family. Ask yourself who is supporting Candy and who is supporting Bill and that will tell you what you need to know about this issue.

Anonymous said...

Also- Many people have asked who is responsible for the hate mail being sent around Nellie Gail. I have it on good authority that it is Marlene Sandler. Since Marlene and Howard Sandler have your address information, here is theirs:
Marlene P and Howard Sandler
25901 RICH SPRINGS CIR
LAGUNA HILLS, CA 92653
(949) 643-0396

Feel free to contact them and tell them what you think of negative anonymous mailings. That is not what we think of as Nellie Gail community spirit. When I throw a punch, youknow it's coming from me. I stand behind what I do and say. The Sandlers owe Nellie Gail the decency to do the same.

Anonymous said...

Like that is a surprise. Come on, same old garbage same "old majority." Tell them what you think!

Anonymous said...

To be clear here. I NEVER mailed out, posted or otherwise said or did anything criticizing what was going on without identifying myself. In fact I often castigated people on both sides for not having the guts/courtesy to put their names to their comments. Dr. Bettey chewed me out because others posted anonymously on the blog. Ironically I've taken a hit in the community because I was willing to stand behind my views and not hide them. I hope Dr. Bettey will use the next board meeting to go after others who do things anonymously because I believe him to be a main of fairness and integrity even if he agrees with the message itself.

N554TA said...

It would be wonderful if our community could "just get along". Wouldn't that be great? I recall and was witness to the bitter sarcasm and horid treatment of association members by the previous board. We want to get back at them, they want to get back at us...there is no end. Let's get new blood - this only makes sense and is a natural process. Typically "the old" train and encourage "the new" - that's a win-win situation. Can't we have that? Out of all the associations we have been members of, we have NEVER seen so much petty bickering and such power struggles. If we "fight" - NO ONE WINS. Let's work together! How about it?!?!?

Anonymous said...

I think the Board & new General Manager are making some GREAT changes!! Change is difficult for people to accept, especially when those people have had control for the past 15+ years. Let's not let the LOUD handful of people stop positive forward movement. My hat is off to both the Board & new GM.