JUNE 2024 UPDATE
Greetings Readers. Going forward I will write you once a month with updates of issues I believe are important. Potential subjects include Policy and Procedures avoiding hopefully any of the political headwinds that this new board may be facing.
This new board is challenged because it lost critical guidance /supervision and advice relating to the governing documents and Nevada Laws. A competent experienced Community Manager hire ought to have been a priority so that this board would comply and protect homeowners rights. The past board made and condoned what I believe were” intentional” actions in some cases to meet their agenda goals. This new board ought to do better.
With the infrastructure depleted personnel wise in the Community Association Manager area, this new board needed to recognize the need and hire accordingly. So now no one has their back to properly advise the President as to process and ensure that governing documents and Nevada laws are strictly adhered to.
The new President is a rookie at being a President of an HOA so it is to be expected that rookie mistakes will happen. No other current board member would be any better as President since none spoke up when process was being violated. The mistakes ought to be minimized by competent personnel in place to ensure a smooth and lawful transaction of business. Competent personnel are not in place and the recent board decision to elevate James Arteaga to CAM without ever having acted in a CAM capacity in any HOA is absurd for an HOA of our size. That kind of judgment is indicative of rookie decisions and a board not yet in focus.
Case in Point ! I spoke to a couple board members to see if they were even aware of the proper procedures for setting agendas for meetings and providing proper notices. They were not up to speed nor was James Arteaga apparently as it was his job to prevent such errors.
At the recent Board meeting there was an agenda item regarding Anthem City Council. Was that an agenda item prepared by the Secretary and approved by the President as required or were steps left out and the President acted alone? It seems that way. In addition our SCA BYLAWS require a 10 day notice to homeowners that either includes the agenda or states specifically on what date and where an agenda may be obtained. Did that happen? No!
At the June 12th meeting there apparently was a dust up between David Berman and the Board President regarding procedures and Berman’s commentary. First of all Mr. Berman ought to be allowed his two minutes of comment like every other homeowner and the President need not engage. If I understood Mr. Berman’s point from his blog it appears there is merit to the procedures having been violated.
All of this could have been and should have been avoided by not having a rookie Community Association Manager. A rookie President and a rookie CAM is not smart policy and will likely continue to be an On the Job Training nightmare with too many unforced errors. I urge the Board to replace James Arteaga with a competent CAM to properly keep the board in line.
THE RESTAURANT
The Yorktown May 2024 Operating Results show the restaurant lost another ($ 46,218) bringing the 5 month total loss excluding utilities and insurance to ($187.460). The annual 2024 Loss per Budget was ($200,000 excluding utilities and insurance) so clearly the losses sustained are mounting so that by the end of August 2024 the board ought to be in a position to judge their action plan for the 2025 Budget.
ON A PERSONAL NOTE
Just returned from Northern Italy having visited among other places, Milan, Lake Como/Bellagio, Stressa/ Lake Maggiore, Verona, Bologna, and Venice. Highlights included date night Friday night in Milan at dinner show at Jazz Club/The Blue Note playing New Orleans Jazz. It was absolutely an extraordinary evening. Boat rides on both Como and Maggiore were so delightful as our weather for the two weeks was spectacular. Said hello to Juliet’s balcony in Verona before taking a visit to a Zoo near Lake Garda north of Verona. The Hippos were entertaining. Had a Bologna sandwich. And while arriving in Venice stopped at Murano island to see lots of glass. Venice was breathtaking. All of our hotels were top of the heap and the art and culture in each one was almost overwhelming. Of course we did shopping that included silk scarves, jewelry and especially my refrigerator magnets. Did I mention the food? OMG! And we had the best chocolate EVER in a Gelato at our hotel in Stressa. It was worth the airfare!
Again I will be checking in with you once a month commenting on issues of the day.
Until next time….Robert