Hawaiian Shores -- Recap Jan 2012 Board Mtg

WATCHDOG © 2012

Welcome Watchdog Readers,

Saturday's meeting was packed with interesting material; some positive and some not so much.

Positive: The reports from both the Office Manager and the Maintenance Foreman were entertaining and informative. The staff has apparently been given much more leeway to be themselves and reflect their frustration to the Board and members than staff has taken or been given in the past. It allows the members to peek into their personality and helps us get to know them. The characterization of the staff's directive to be chicken rustlers as an individual from the old television sitcom "Green Acres" was really way too funny. This whole chicken debacle will wind up being the chagrin of this Board at some time when they hire someone who is not intelligent enough to know that under NO CIRCUMSTANCES does anyone from the Association have permission to enter onto someone's private property and remove their personal property without the consent of the owner of both! Yet that is exactly the edict sanctioned to the staff several months back. At least the Foreman demonstrates the facts and reality in his delivery. 

It was a nice touch for him to include the savings the past month on the water power bill. It was one of the wettest months of late and traditionally when we have heavy rains our consumption is reduced thus reducing the power requirement. Another factor is the lowered fee charged for each kilowatt the past few months. The Watchdog's power bill was $140 less for December than 3 months previously. Helco's charges always affect the bottom line. Also, happening upon leaks and correcting them, a practice that has always been in place, certainly contributes to a reduction in power translating into obvious savings. It would be great to hear the amount that is being paid each month so there is a frame of reference over time which would be more helpful in the members understanding the impact of several factors in the increase or decrease of a bill. The cumulative effects of the past few years corrective measures and the continuation of keen oversight of the Water System necessarily should reflect lower costs as it becomes more and more efficient with all the changes. Lowered costs are always a positive!

The Office Manager's report was informative, definitely a positive. Was glad to hear there was an appreciation meal for staff during the holidays. The cost was modest for the event. Definitely a positive.

Negative: The Board of Directors has decided to suspend compliance to an entire body of law interestingly entitled "Planned Community Associations" Hawaii Revised Statute 421j. More on this in days to come. 

It appears the Board has tacitly allowed one of its own to act autonomously in response to a 'complaint log'. The director has announced that he regularly checks the 'complaint log' in the 'office'. He also admitted to there being 3 recent complaints he personally decided to investigate. That is fine. Having a log and having it monitored is definitely a positive. Every member should be vigilant in their neighborhood especially where situations may arise that could be potentially harmful. However, there are rules/regulations and even civil/criminal law that must be observed when investigating. At no time does a director or anyone else have the right to meander onto someone's private property to investigate a complaint without the owner's permission. During a discussion the director rightly suggested a letter be sent to the responsible party of a property which is the subject of a complaint seeking permission to enter the property in order to investigate the complaint. However, during discussion specific details about the property were discussed that led some to think there may have been unpermitted access to the lot. Hopefully this is not true. But in light of recent direction from the Board to the staff regarding the entrance onto someone's property to remove chickens does not promote good faith in the 'wisdom' of some on the Board regarding 'respecting' private and personal property. The general term of entering onto property without permission is trespass. The general term for removing someone's personal property without their permission is theft. Our staff has NO RIGHT to just enter and remove anything from anyone's private property regardless of violations and regardless of letters of warning being sent -- without the permission of both the private property owner and the personal property owner!

Information about the standing of a company with whom this board is negotiating catching the Board by surprise when they have several such deals currently in negotiation with similar industry related businesses was unfortunate. When tens of thousands of dollars and major overhaul to a key member asset are at stake the 'financial' officer and the CEO/President of this Association might wish to be more informed. The 'not in good standing' for the company was quickly dispelled by a simple phone call just after the first of the year to the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Those in charge of our treasures/assets were unaware of the status change. A member doing due diligence, not Watchdog, discovered the information and forwarded it to Watchdog. There are people in this community who are being responsible! There are many projects in various stages. Companies whose business is very new, or others, not meeting basic requirements to do the business, so it is prudent to stay engaged. These are not times to be caught off guard while considering major upgrades. It doesn't inspire confidence in some of the members. It may translate into a magnifying glass over all their decisions if not corrected openly. That can be either a negative or a positive depending on each situation.

All in all, there were positives and negatives for the year end regular meeting. That is not atypical of a Board of Director's meeting regardless of the Board. Former Boards were most grateful for a very supportive and loyal staff. There wasn't much role playing as characterizations but that is likely because there was a far more critical audience. It is nice to see the staff enjoy the ease of being themselves without harassment from members or the Board. That is a very positive note upon which to end this article.