Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Comment Archives: stories: Last 30 Days
Re: “Parkside residents get handed the bill for repairs”
I've known Terry Rector for five years. He has represented my friends and a family member in legal matters, all that ended well. I would not ignore Terry's direction. I've never known him to plot against Parkside. If anything, he is willing to risk his personal comfort to make sure that the officers and directors don't repeat the mistakes of the past. Why would you not file a D & O claim against the Board to receive the funds necessary to offset the previous officers decision to fail to comply with Parkside covenants? If the officers truly can prove that they shopped for a master policy, then that would be encouraging. But their decision to disregard the covenants and then fail to change the by-laws eliminating the master policy insurance requirement is not appropriate. They were out of line on both counts. You individual owners and members of Parkside deserved to know BEFORE the fire that you didn't carry a master policy and that you needed to increase your coverage and protection through other means. If the D & O claim was shepherded properly, there might not be ANY special assessments for infrastructure repair. If the officers were not so unwilling to admit that they failed to carry out their obligations under the marching orders of the covenants, this piece would possibly be finished now. Terry says, it's not about digging up the past. It's about correcting a problem by utilizing the insurance in place to satisfy any and all special assessments and MOVING FORWARD. How many more special assessments will surface in the near future as these homes are brought toward completion? The moving target is going to be the Drainage piece in the reconstruction. It's a moving target and NO ONE can get their arms around those numbers right now. If a D & O claim is filed, will a board member here and there be sad about the discussion? Sure. But that comes with the territory of volunteerism and the price you pay to be the leader. People in authority make the best decision that they can under the circumstances and we go on. But we need to remedy the outcome of the decisions made. Insurance agent, Mr. Cobb's comments at the last meeting stated that this master policy of insurance was not practical, wouldn't cover the items that failed and is not affordable. What's sad is that he has made this determination public without backing it up with proof. A lot of people drank the friendly kool aid. Don't be misled. While the availability of the insurance is important to this discussion, the resistance from the board toward filing a D & O claim is not for the benefit of you lot owners in Parkside. It's to avoid the confrontation and the sadness. You don't have time for this. The one-year statute of limitations deadline for a claim against the D & O Coverage is 26 June. Don't waste time. Urge your HOA to file that D & O claim immediately or you will regret every dollar you pay toward the special assessments in the years to come. Thank you to the author of this article for not laying down on searching out the details. The public needs to know and you are a good steward.
Posted by
Watcher777
on 05/17/2013 at 1:17 PM
Re: “Colorado Springs City Council to decide marijuana question”
If the mayor and city council think we will give them a pass if they vote to ban recreational marijuana shops in Colorado Springs, they are mistaken.
It is this kind of prohibitionist thinking that we are all working so hard to combat right now.
Marijuana is not a public safety issue...Prohibition is!
Posted by
WhiteRabbit
on 05/17/2013 at 12:31 PM
Re: “Pot-shop limit is an option in Manitou Springs”
I know that Woodland Park is always looking for some way to make it a "destination" town. Just sayin'...
Posted by
oldguyinWP
on 05/17/2013 at 9:09 AM
Re: “Want to support John Morse?”
rfk: After disregarding your feeble attempts to be sarcastically cute ("cap pistols", "play cowboy", "center of your universe"), one need only a single sentence to discern how ridiculously partisan and pathetic your post was. "But most people have grown weary of the ubiquitous NRA bullying tactics." "most people" It is hilarious how dim-witted, self-absorbed liberals think that, if they believe something, "most" other people also believe it. Please (attempt to) back up your theory that "most people have grown weary". You obviously have no clue what "ubiquitous" means. The only time I see the NRA mentioned is by anti-gun zealots looking for a phony boogeyman. Lastly, please provide examples of the "bullying tactics" of which you have grown so weary.
By the by, I am not a member of the NRA and the only guns I own are shotguns for bird hunting. I simply do not particularly care for loud-mouthed liberals.
Posted by
siggie
on 05/17/2013 at 6:40 AM
Re: “Want to support John Morse?”
Cowards? Really? You need 100 round magazines while many of us seem to get through life without needing a gun for life support. So who's the coward? We're not afraid of background checks, why are you? And no one's taking away your cap pistols - you can still play cowboy all you want and continue to have firearms as the center of your universe. But most people have grown very weary of the ubiquitous NRA bullying tactics. I'm proud that we have lawmakers like John Morse who have the courage to stand up to the NRA's one-sided interpretation of the 2nd Amendment.
Posted by
rfk64
on 05/16/2013 at 7:05 PM
Re: “Praise for pastry guy and the critic, and a pet-poop plea”
The 05/16/2013 at 3:34 PM post is in error
Posted by
Dave H
on 05/16/2013 at 3:56 PM
Re: “Praise for pastry guy and the critic, and a pet-poop plea”
"Being shot at close range by an automatic weapon"
Semi-automatic. 1 trigger pull = 1 bang. Much the same as a revolver. Full-autos (1 trigger pull = bang, bang, bang, ...) are already highly restricted items and have not been used in any of the recent shootings.
"with a 30 round clip "
Magazine. The difference may seem insignificant to many, but to those who know about firearms it is like the difference between shoes and socks.
"Asking people, some of whom may not be mentally stabl,e to submit to a background check - - and limiting clip capacity to 15 rounds (or 10 or 7) seems prudent in an increasingly violent society. "
At first glance, universal background checks and arbitrary mag capacity limits might sound like a great idea, but even a little bit of closer scrutiny reveal them to be nothing more than snake oil and these ideas fall apart. BTW, firearm related violence has been going down for some time.
"Yes, the argument is often made there are already 250 million guns in private hands."
Over 300 million.
The truth is that for 75+ years we have passed increasing restrictions on what firearms and ammo can be owned, who can own them, and how to buy them and there is no evidence that these laws have reduced the violence problem. In fact, in the years since some of these laws expired and the number of firearms in circulation has dramatically increased, the rate of violence with firearms has dramatically decreased. So clearly focusing on the object used does not work.
We need to break this paradigm of obsessing over the object used and start addressing the behaviors and their root causes (examples: education, ethics, economics, glorification of violence). Until we do that, the problems will persist regardless of how many gun control laws we pass.
The recall effort is the appropriate action to take. When an elected official passes bad laws, stifles debate, ramrods legislation through, publicly flips the finger at the people of Colorado by refusing to even look at or listen to our voices on the issues, and is subservient to DC and NYC, then we need to send a clear message to him and others that this will not be tolerated. By making excuses about expense or that he is term limited and will be gone in a year anyway, you are giving people like him a pass to do what ever they want without fear of being held accountable.
Posted by
Dave H
on 05/16/2013 at 3:38 PM
Re: “Want to support John Morse?”
“Attracts big money on both sides” my butt. Take the time to look at the facts and who is behind the $20,000 plus donated to help the misguided Morse and compare it to the hard working ordinary folk from Colorado who are donating to get him out. Democratic lawmakers “hard work”, well maybe, but “bravery” what horse poop. They are cowards for pushing through laws that serve no purpose other than to make them look good (only when looking in the mirror). They took the easy wrong instead of listening to Coloradoans and taking their time to do the hard right. This will be evident soon when they are looking for a job.
Posted by
Don Bennett
on 05/16/2013 at 1:54 PM
Re: “Parkside residents get handed the bill for repairs”
A bill of $1700 sounds like a lot but really is not exorbitant at all.
When the 2006 monsoon exposed the poor drainage aspects in our area of new homes, I paid twice that to remediate drainage issues to my property left behind by a cheap-ass developer.
I also made sure that the developer fixed the community wide (Common Area) drain issues at no cost to me or our HOA and residents.
It's money well spent and I urge the residents to accept the reality of their circumstances and fix it. Our developer left us with lousy common area landscaping and sprinklers; we ended up with a special assessment of $200 per home, which the residents approved and paid. We've been doing fine since and have a growing reserve fund to cover the unexpected unknowns.
Our HOA gets by on dues of $435/year, and it's a struggle to keep our common areas looking great on such low dues.
Posted by
OldCrank
on 05/16/2013 at 10:38 AM
Re: “Homelessness solution: Welcome to Bachville”
I would never do that to you, siggie. Children can be so cruel.
Posted by
Mr. K--
on 05/16/2013 at 10:01 AM
Re: “Parkside residents get handed the bill for repairs”
While it is essential to focus on the future rather than missteps of the past; without hindsight there is no progress or learning. This is an important article and subject. In order to rebuild and move forward, financial recovery is needed! There are many folks who lost homes and were under-insured due to no fault of their own - most insurance policy face values are designed for partial damage and do not take into account the increased cost to rebuild in a total loss/catastrophic event! Not everyone can afford additional assessments which are, again, due to no fault of their own. The HOA did have a liability insurance policy as I understand it. WHY NOT FILE A CLAIM??? This is EXACTLY the type of scenario which the policy would be purchased for. Filing an insurance claim is a business transaction based upon facts, IT IS NOT PUNISHMENT FOR THE BOARD, THE AGENT, OR ANYONE ELSE. If, in fact, there was a gap in property insurance for common areas due to the judgement or decisions of the HOA Board and there was a requirement in the bylaws to have it - it is reasonable to look to them through their liability policy for recovery. Rather than attacking the messenger, consider the message and it's value to the community as a whole! AT THE VERY LEAST, THE BOARD OWES ITS MEMBERS AN EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THEY DO NOT WANT TO FILE A CLAIM!
Posted by
Kerri Olivier
on 05/16/2013 at 9:25 AM
Re: “Parkside residents get handed the bill for repairs”
Shek-
Your example of neighbor-like behavior is heart warming. After reading your post, it is obvious that Parksiders cant wait to return to their homes, to live next to such a kind spirit.
Have a wonderful day.
Posted by
Parkside Homeowner
on 05/16/2013 at 8:39 AM
Re: “Homelessness solution: Welcome to Bachville”
K and progeny: What I think is that you turned over your responses to your 8 year old grandchild.
Posted by
siggie
on 05/16/2013 at 6:39 AM
Re: “Pot-shop limit is an option in Manitou Springs”
Hey Otto, maybe you should refrain from sniffing his breath.
Posted by
siggie
on 05/16/2013 at 6:36 AM
Re: “Have a say in oil and gas leasing of Pike forest”
But in Monument people actually live IN Pikes Nat'l Forest, not merely abutting it. And the Monument area will be a focus of drilling leases.
Posted by
Lalahartma
on 05/16/2013 at 6:10 AM
Re: “Pot-shop limit is an option in Manitou Springs”
please keep it local, we've got some rally good growers!
Posted by
laithe
on 05/15/2013 at 11:36 PM
Re: “Parkside residents get handed the bill for repairs”
It defies logic to leave such valuable property uninsured. If you own a home, you know that appropriate insurance is a necessity...in the event of a rare catastrophe. Why should property that an HOA owns be any different? The board of this HOA should have used prudent judgement and insured the common areas, in the best interests of the homeowners that it represents. Now, the D and O policy should be claimed to cover the mistakes of the board. An insurance agent that represents the HOA cannot be objectively heard, because his/her interests lie in protecting the policy against claims. The comments by the board stating the curbs and drives were "fine" after the fire carries no weight. Residents' private driveways and foundations were exposed to 1600 degrees, and so were the drives and curbs, so how can they be "fine". Also, there lacks data from an engineering crew to certify the damage. Thats alot of heat...meaning at the very least the drives were significantly stressed, and therefore more likely to crumble easier, enter damages from construction equipment.
The board provides no basis for their numbers at the two meetings to justify the assessment amount, only numbers that may work. Thus, there is likely more assessments to come. This is frowned upon by mortgage lenders, and will make resale difficult. Also, lets not forget about the 1500 refundable fee that builders (passed down to owners) need to pay, and the driveways that are shared...pay another special fee.
Parkside owners should hold board members accountable for their actions. We all want to return to the beautiful neighborhood we had, that is for sure. This scenario needs to be intelligently handled, therefore HOA board decisions should be critically examined, by the community as a whole.
Posted by
Parkside Homeowner
on 05/15/2013 at 9:54 PM
Re: “Homelessness solution: Welcome to Bachville”
This is a project for Mrs. Mayor to look like she is actually doing something for the community her husband is destroying. What a joke this Mayor is.
Posted by
pirate brands
on 05/15/2013 at 9:48 PM
Re: “Pitching City Council! to HBO”
At least the old group didnt lay down for Bach or his dirty attorney. Watching this Council is like watching paint dry.
Posted by
pirate brands
on 05/15/2013 at 9:45 PM
Re: “Want to support John Morse?”
Typical liberal hubris:
http://colorado.mediatrackers.org/2013/05/…