Votes for Directors

Votes for Directors
2009 Annual Meeting...32 members voted
2010 Annual Meeting...46 members voted
2011 Annual Meeting...41 members voted
2012 Annual Meeting...39 members voted
2013 Annual Meeting...66 members voted
Our Bylaws require that a majority of the members (a minimum of 64) must vote in order to elect our Directors.
From 2019 to present every Annual Meeting has been canceled or adjourned without an election taking place

An open letter to the homeowners who bought their townhouses since February, 2014

                    One way or the other, we're going to have to pay it.
$1,300,000! That's what it is expected to cost to replace our roofs, repave our loop drives, and install new fences. That's about $10,000 for each of us homeowners. A Special Assessment is the only way to guarantee that our money will be spent on those projects. If it is raised through the Annual Assessment, there is absolutely no guarantee whatsoever that tens of thousands of dollars of our money will not be wasted and misspent on other things. Gutter cleaning is a perfect example. According to long time Director Judy Kyrala, in the past the cost for gutter cleaning, “...was something like $70 for the fall cleaning as part of the general fall cleanup” Melanie Lashlee and the Board are now budgeting $4,600 for gutter cleaning!

We need a Special Assessment, not arbitrary increases of the Annual Assessment!

As you read the letter, please keep in mind that there are only a handful of homeowners who bought their townhouse since February, 2014, but there are 122 homeowners who are not on the Board. It is on behalf of all of us homeowners that I have been trying to hold the Directors and HOAMCO accountable. And it is all of us who will benefit if we take action, so it is all of us who need to get involved. After all, this is all about your home, your investment, your money.

                                      **********************************
On October 31, 2016, I sent the following complaint to the AZ Dept. of Real Estate Investigations Division, which has replaced the Dept. of Fire, Building, and Life Safety in having jurisdiction over HOAs. I sent it hoping that the ADRE would want to use it to prosecute for the various violations, so as to set an example for other HOA Boards and management companies. Unfortunately, that was not to be. I have used every means I can think of to hold the Directors and managers accountable, to very little effect. So, now I'm asking for your help.

The total cost of the projects described below will cost each of us about $10,000. After you've read the complaint, please take a long, hard look at the rest of the postings. I believe we have excellent grounds to sue the Directors (who are insured at our expense) and HOAMCO for substantial damages related to the misuse of HOA funds, fraud, failure to disclose information, willful negligence, etc. But first we need a lawyer, and then we need to remove the Directors from the Board so that they can't use our money against us, but, most of all, you need to get involved. I can't do this by myself; believe me, I've tried.

Article 33-1813 of the Arizona Revised Statutes gives us a clear way to remove the Directors from the Board. Because so much money is involved, we may be able to get an attorney to sue on a contingency basis, so we will risk nothing. However, even if we have to pay the cost of suing, once the Directors are removed, we can form an interim Board which will give us access to the HOA's bank accounts and we will have the means to bring legal action on behalf of the HOA.  No matter what though, we need to consult with an attorney, and, as a group, you homeowners who bought your townhouse after February, 2014 have the clearest grounds to sue; especially for non-disclosure.

I'm posting this before the holidays so that you can discuss it at family get-togethers, if so inclined.

                                                                                                                            October 31, 2016

Dear Investigator:

I am a former Director and Officer of Greenlaw Townhouses Unit Two HOA. On October 15, 2016, I saw the new owner of [****] Eva Loop moving-in and asked her if she had been provided any information about the need for a substantial increase in the annual assessment, or the need for a special assessment. She told me she had only been told that the annual assessment is $115 per month.

A few years ago, at the 2013 Annual Meeting, reconvened on February 18, 2014, at which time the annual assessment was $110 per month, Community Association Manager/HOAMCO's Flagstaff Regional Manager Melanie Lashlee said the HOA is responsible for replacing the roofs and that it would cost $800,000 to do so. She also said that the HOA is underfunded, and yet there is no mention of this discussion in the Minutes of that meeting. (I have included the Minutes [Exhibit A] and a recording [Exhibit B] of that meeting; the “underfunded” discussion starts at about the 19 minute, 30 second mark on the recording.)

That February 18, 2014 annual meeting was held at a location that seats about twelve people. This year's annual meeting can seat “six comfortably”. On October 19, I called HOAMCO and spoke to Debbie. I asked her how many people their conference room seats. Her answer: Six comfortably. We could probably squeeze in a couple more chairs; the table's big enough. Our CC&Rs [Exhibit H] state that we have 126 lots; we actually have 127. (Exhibits C and D are the notices for the 2016 Annual and Board meetings held at HOAMCO's Flagstaff office.)

Earlier this year on May 26, 2016, I emailed the following letter to the Directors, and copied it to Melanie Lashlee. My memory is not perfect, thus $1,000,000 instead of $800,000.

Dear Officers and Directors of Greenlaw Townhouses Unit Two HOA:

$1,000,000! That's how much Community Association Manager Melanie Lashlee said it would cost to re-shingle our roofs. At the February 2014 Annual Meeting, at which everyone who is now on the Board was present, I suggested doing a special assessment to begin raising the money to re-shingle our roofs and repave our loop drives. Melanie Lashlee opposed doing the special assessment even after saying it would cost $1,000,000 to re-shingle.

Over a three year period, 2003-2005, the original wood shingles were replaced with 25-year asphalt shingles at a cost of $363,000, not including any unforeseen expenses; the money was raised with a 5 year $50 per month special assessment. At that time the roofs were less than twenty years old. It's fair to assume that twelve or so years from now, when the shingles will again need to be replaced, a lot of repair work will also be necessary so an estimate of $1,000,000 may be too low.

In addition, our loop drives are about thirty years old so we can expect that before long they will need a lot of work. If memory serves, it has been estimated that a comprehensive repaving could cost $250,000 or more.

Based on the information Melanie Lashlee provided at my request, replacing the fences will probably cost at least $200,000 and take at least 10 years. Item 9 of the HOA's Rules and Regulations, and
Section V(a) of the CC&Rs authorize the expenditure of HOA funds for the maintenance and repair of fences, not the replacement of fences. No matter what Melanie Lashlee may claim, the approval of the Membership is required for any capital improvement project such as installing new fences, and the only mechanism the HOA's controlling documents provide to pay for capital improvements is the special assessment, as President Susan Jennings and Secretary/Treasure Judy Kyrala well know because they were both Directors when the roofs were re-shingled during 2003-2005.

The above raises a question every Member of the HOA needs answered: How does the Board intend to pay for the afore mentioned projects? If the above estimates are correct, the only way to make certain that, when the time comes, the necessary funds are available is to do a 10 year $95 per month special assessment. Director Cindi Sorrentino is a licensed real estate broker so she must understand the importance of full disclosure in real estate transactions. It is long past time for the Board and Community Association Manager Melanie Lashlee to provide full disclosure to the Membership, and especially to anyone who has bought a townhouse since February 2014. Please provide a letter, not just to me but to every HOA Member, detailing how you intend to pay for the afore mentioned projects.

Respectfully,
Bill Lee
(Exhibit E is a Repaving Estimate by then Director and retired contractor, Pat Mount.
Exhibit F is the bids for fence replacement.
Exhibit I is the HOA's Rules and Regulations)

To date, the Board has not responded to my letter.

Prior to the above letter, I wrote to Melanie Lashlee and the Directors on May 10, 2016 asking that they “please cite any passages in the HOA's controlling documents that authorize the expenditure of HOA funds for the replacement of the fencing.” Melanie Lashlee responded, writing: There is nothing in the CC&R’s that calls out fencing for the HOA. The HOA has been doing repairs on the fencing for years within the community . This replacement project is being done to replace the fencing that is literally falling apart due to rotten wood post . This will be a long term rotation replacement project which will increase the property value of the HOA . It will ultimately stop the need to repair the fencing in the community .

The claim that “There is nothing in the CC&R’s that calls out fencing for the HOA” shows just how arbitrary and capricious the management of our HOA is. It ignores the HOA's Rules and Regulations, which were adopted by previous Boards of Directors on which both Susan Jennings and Judy Kyrala were Directors. The Rules and Regulations serve as the HOA's official and binding interpretation of the CC&Rs, Amendments, Bylaws, etc., and are the basis for the Fine Schedule to which all Members are subject. Item 19 of the HOA's Rules and Regulations, states: The Association repairs and maintains the following elements of the Project as prescribed in the CC&Rs Section #V (a): the private streets, all Common Areas of the Project, all front yard areas of all lots (including sprinkler systems) roofs, repairs to fences due to normal wear and tear, fascia and trim, gutters and down spouts (lot owners are responsible for gutter and down spout cleaning) exterior painting siding material and any and all other required items specified in the CC&Rs.

As to the claim that the fencing “ is literally falling apart due to rotten wood post”, Exhibit G is a picture of the first fence replaced on Jeffery Loop; that fence is clearly not “literally falling apart”.

Also, this year and last year, only $1,500 per year was budgeted for the Maintenance and Repair of Fences. To put that in perspective, during the past few years since Melanie Lashlee became the Community Association Manger, three different contractors were paid a total of more than $9,000 for gutter and down spout cleaning even though Items 19 and 20 of the Rules and Regulations state that “lot owners are responsible for gutter and down spout cleaning”.

Furthermore, the claim that the “long term rotation replacement project” will increase property values is patently absurd: for many homeowners the fence replacement project hurts property values. Only the 11 fences on the southernmost block of Jeffery Loop were replaced, which means the other 116 townhouses suffer by comparison, with no guarantee if or when they will get new fences. Also, if the project is completed many years from now, the townhouses with fences that were replaced this year will then have fences that are many years old, so they will suffer by comparison. This could have been brought to the attention of Ms. Lashlee and the Directors if there had been an opportunity for the Membership to comment; unfortunately the Membership was not given the opportunity.

In the past, I have tried various means to hold Directors and managers accountable, with varying degrees of success. For example, I emailed on Sept. 21, and again on Sept. 25, 2015, the following request to Melanie Lashlee:

Dear Ms. Lashlee,
Please include the following statement with the Notice for this year's Annual Meeting/Election of Directors.
In response to last year's Amendment to the Bylaws, and the Special Election to remove Vice President Bill Lee from the Board of Directors, Mr. Lee filed a complaint with the Dept. of Fire, Building and Life Safety. In the Judge's Decision—which can be found at greenlawtownhouses.blogspot.com—the Judge ordered that Mr. Lee be deemed the Prevailing Party, and the HOA was fined $200 and ordered to pay half of the$2,000 filing fee.


Ms. Lashlee responded, writing:
Mr. Lee,
There is no legal requirement for me to include this information on the Annual Meeting Notice . Unless the Board request for this information to be added it will not be included on the notice .

The requested statement was not included on the notice. So, what did I get for my $1,000? Crystal-clear, unequivocal proof that HOA Secretary Judy Kyrala and Community Association Manager/HOAMCO's Flagstaff Regional Manager Melanie Lashlee committed perjury. If you are interested, you can find additional information at my blog, greenlawtownhouses.blogspot.com, which is why I bring this up: I very much want you to take a long, hard look at what's posted there. (For your convenience I have included the 2015 and 2016 postings: Exhibits J and K, respectively) Also, I recorded meetings, saved emails, and kept a contemporaneous record of HOA matters, much of which is posted at my blog.

But this is not about me or my blog. This is about the failure to disclose vital information: $800,000 to replace the roofs; $250,000 to repave our loop drives; more than $200,000 to replace the fences. Knowledge of the costs of these projects, and how the Board plans to pay for them, is of vital importance to the homeowners of Greenlaw Townhouses Unit Two HOA and yet the Board of Directors and the Community Association Manger have withheld this information from the HOA's Membership.

Sincerely,

William P. Lee
2521 Eva Loop
Flagstaff, AZ 86004
928-714-0145
billlee520@yahoo.com
or greenlawtownhouses@gmail.com (I only check the Greenlaw email on Sundays)

PS. Included with this letter are the following Exhibits: All Exhibits are on the included CD.
Paper copies are provided for Exhibits A, C, D, and E.
Exhibit A. The Minutes of the 2014 Annual Meeting (Paper copy included)
Exhibit B. The recording of the 2014 Annual Meeting
Exhibit C. The Notice for the 2016 Annual Meeting (Paper copy included)
Exhibit D. The Notice for the 2016 Board meetings (Paper copy included)
Exhibit E. Repaving Estimate by Pat Mount (Paper copy included)
Exhibit F. Bids for fence replacement
Exhibit G. A picture of the first fence replaced on Jeffery Loop
Exhibit H. The HOA's CC&Rs
Exhibit I. The HOA's Rules and Regulations
Exhibit J. 2015 Blog (Judge Douglas's decision is at the bottom)
Exhibit K. 2016 Blog

Board of Directors
HOA President Susan Jennings <sjennings@flagstaff.littleamerica.com>
HOA Vice President Jon Zimmermann <jonzimmermann2@gmail.com>
HOA Treasurer Cindi Sorrentino <cindi@flagstaffinnovativerealty.com>
HOA Secretary Judy Kyrala <j.kyrala@gmail.com>
HOA Director Barbara Tauritz <btauritz@hotmail.com>

Community Association Manager/HOAMCO's Flagstaff Regional Manager


Melanie Lashlee <mlashlee@hoamco.com> <melanie@hoamco.com  

                  ********************************************

The following are some of the Exhibits. 

Exhibit A. The Minutes of the 2014 Annual Meeting
Greenlaw Townhouse Unit Two
PO Box 30520
Flagstaff, AZ. 86003
Ph 928-214-0901/FX 928-714-0645


ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MEMBERSHIP


Date: Tuesday, February 18th, 2014
Time: Registration Starts 5:30PM – Meeting Starts at 5:45 pm
Location: Continental Country Club, Main Club House
Upstairs in the Conference Room
2380 N. Oakmont, Flagstaff, AZ.

Minutes


  1. Susan called the meeting to order at 5:52 pm
  1. Quorum was established and the minutes for the Annual Meeting on November 13th, 2012 were approved. There were several members in attendance.

     III. HOAMCO Report – Melanie Lashlee, Community Assoc. Manager
                           Melanie reviewed the current financials for the community as of January
2014. The current operating balance showed $ 46,702 and the Reserve account had a current balance of $ 84,099. Total assets of $130,801. HOAMCO was actively seeking any aged owner balances to ensure the community staying in good standing with collections efforts.
This past year the Board completed various projects on behalf of the community. The full scope rotation painting project continued to ensure the exterior of the units are well maintained. The gutters were repaired and cleaned throughout the community. Various landscape projects were completed; irrigation repairs, tree trimming and spraying for aphids and various other projects which will help keep the community looking well-tended. Mailboxes were replaced and posts secured. The entrance signs to each loop were redone and look new. The red curbs were repainted and the streets crack sealed and seal coated.

Members in attendance over all commented they were happy with how the community was looking and being maintained.

                         IV. There were 67 ballots received, meeting the 64 needed to hold the election.                                  Those elected to the Board were Susan Jennings, Judy Kyrala, Bill Lee and Barbra
                         Tauritz. The IRS Ruling 70-604 passed with 54 “Yes” votes and only 6 “No” votes.
                   
                         V. Meeting was adjourned at 7: 25 pm.


Exhibit E. Repaving Estimate by Pat Mount







Exhibit F. Bids for fence replacement


Exhibit G. A picture of the first fence replaced on Jeffery Loop




AZ Dept. of Real Estate Response
                                            **************************************
Today, November 23, 2016, Doug Clark cleaned some of the gutters on Eva Loop. I took a bunch of pictures as evidence to show that we did not get what we paid for. I also sent myself an email with a full description of what I witnessed, to be presented as a contemporaneous record, and to serve as a sworn statement, if we do sue HOAMCO and the Directors. However, to put what I saw in a nutshell, Mr. Clark spent no more than 15 seconds on my roof, and never set foot on the roofs, or cleaned any gutters, at the townhouses west of the alleyway across the street from me. 
I hereby swear that the descriptions of events here and in that mail are true and accurate. That email, was sent to my billlee520@yahoo.com account, and is dated today at 5:27 PM. 

2016 January thru Mid-November

Hi Neighbors,
Happy New Year!
The following is my New Year's gift to you, though it will probably be several years before you have a use for it. I have no doubt that when the time comes, we (and especially the newest Members/Lot Owners) will have excellent grounds to sue for mismanagement and for the deliberate waste and misuse of HOA money; and that we will be suing the following:
HOAMCO
Melanie Lashlee of HOAMCO, who is identified by the various titles such as Flagstaff Regional Manager, Community Association Manager, and property manager.
HOA President Susan Jennings <sjennings@flagstaff.littleamerica.com>
HOA Vice President Jon Zimmermann <jonzimmermann2@gmail.com>
HOA Treasurer Cindi Sorrentino <cindi@flagstaffinnovativerealty.com>
HOA Secretary Judy Kyrala <j.kyrala@gmail.com>
HOA Director Barbara Tauritz <btauritz@hotmail.com>
For the record, I hereby swear that I have made a sincere effort to make certain that everything posted here is true and accurate, and that it is intended to be used as evidence in any proceedings against HOAMCO and the aforementioned Directors. I strongly recommend that you make a copy of this posting and consider it to be sworn testimony. As you read what follows, please keep in mind that the CC&Rs is a contract, and that our HOA's Rules and Regulation are based on the CC&Rs, but do not supersede the CC&Rs. If the CC&Rs doesn't authorize the Board to spend our money on something, the Board doesn't have the right to do so; for example, even though plowing snow from our streets is an essential service, the CC&Rs had to be amended to allow the Board to use our money to pay for snow removal.


1. The deliberate waste and misuse of HOA money.
HOA Rules and Regulations (The entire Rules and Regulations are posted at the bottom of this page.)
19. The Association repairs and maintains the following elements of the Project as prescribed in CC&Rs, Section # V.(a):...gutters and downspouts (lot owners are responsible for gutter and downspout cleaning).
During the past two years $5,500 was spent on cleaning gutters, even though most gutters never need cleaning, and the HOA is not responsible for cleaning gutters. In 2014 Incline Custom Builders, INC was paid $3,200 to clean the gutters in June and late November. In 2015 Doug Clark was paid $2,300 to clean the gutters in April. It should be obvious to anyone that once the leaves were off the trees and the gutters were cleaned in late November of 2014 there would be nothing that could fall out of the sky that would require the gutters to be cleaned again in April, and yet Doug Clark was paid $2,300 to clean the gutters in April, so even if Mr. Clark put in a full eight hour day, that would come out to just shy of $300 an hour for unskilled manual labor to do work that had already been done.
(For further details and documentation please see 1a below.)


2. Special privileges for at least one Director.
This should be of particular interest to anyone who was told they're not allowed to put an air conditioner in a bedroom window.
Even though there is nothing in the CC&Rs that allows anyone to install anything on a roof, Director Barbara Tauritz had someone cut a hole in the north side of her roof and install what she described as a solar device to save on heating and cooling costs. Frankly, to me, it looks more like one of the roof-mounted exhaust fans sold at Home Depot, but you can judge that for yourself.
(See 2a for a picture and related emails)
Note: FCC regulations mandate that satellite dishes be allowed.

3: Deliberate deception of the Members/Lot Owners by the Board and Melanie Lashlee of HOAMCO.
From the third paragraph of the November 19, 2015 letter “To All Members” from Melanie Lashlee on behalf of the Board
With the winter months upon us it is very important to remember that there is "No Parking" on the streets or alley ways of your community...Please be advised the Board will be taking the necessary action to resolve this matter if street and alley parking continues.

Back when the HOA's Rules and Regulations were written in 2003, some Directors wanted to eliminate all parking on our streets. I thought this was unfair to anyone who had bought or rented a townhouse with the understanding that they could park on our streets, so I wrote the original Parking Regulations for our HOA, and can tell you with absolute certainty that you have the right to park on our streets. Both the CC&Rs and the Rules and Regulations state that you may not “store” a vehicle on Association streets but parking is definitely allowed. Along with myself and others, Susan Jennings and Judy Kyrala were on the Board in 2003 and participated in writing the Rules and Regulations, and Ms. Jennings and Ms. Kyrala were both on the Board in 2006 when the Rules and Regulations were revised, so they undoubtedly know that you have the right to park on Association streets, and Melanie Lashlee knows it, too; this is not the first time this matter has come up since HOAMCO began mismanaging our HOA.


4. Fraud, harassment, libel, and perjury.

In September, I emailed the following request to Melanie Lashlee of HOAMCO.

Dear Ms. Lashlee,
Please include the following statement with the Notice for this year's Annual Meeting/Election of Directors.

In response to last year's Amendment to the Bylaws, and the Special Election to remove Vice President Bill Lee from the Board of Directors, Mr. Lee filed a complaint with the Dept. of Fire, Building and Life Safety. In the Judge's Decision—which can be found at greenlawtownhouses.blogspot.com—the Judge ordered that Mr. Lee be deemed the Prevailing Party, and the HOA was fined $200 and ordered to pay half of the $2,000 filing fee.
Here is Melanie Lashlee's response:
Mr. Lee,
There is no legal requirement for me to include this information on the Annual Meeting Notice. Unless the Board request for this information to be added it will not be included on the notice.
This matter has already been to court, so it is now a part of the public record. Though it was not a criminal trial, the Board was in effect found guilty of Fraud, Harassment, and Libel. Any review of the proceedings will show that the Board failed to provide any evidence of any kind to support any of the charges against me because there was no evidence; the charges were a pack of lies. Also, any review of the proceedings will show that Melanie Lashlee and HOA Secretary Judy Kyrala committed perjury. Under Federal Law, perjury is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison, and yet HOAMCO is still our management company and Judy Kyrala is still an officer of this HOA.

If you have read the Notice for this year's Annual Meeting/Election of Directors, you already know that the statement I requested was not included, so the harassment and libel continue.
(See last year's posting for additional information.)

5. There is still a key question that needs to be answered: Why were they so determined to remove me from the Board?
In 2007, the HOA installed above-ground plastic pressure regulating valves (PRVs) on our sprinkler systems at an estimated cost of $10,000. I thought it was an obvious boondoggle, so I requested information from the Board; I was ignored. When I informed the Board that I was going to try to have the matter looked into by the proper authorities, I was threatened: I received a letter from Keith Hammond informing me that the Board had authorized him to sue me. Though they never did sue, and later denied having any knowledge or documents concerning the matter, at the time it was pretty intimidating.

At the 2010 Annual Meeting, I asked how much it cost to install and maintain those plastic PRVs. Property manager Jim Joyce answered, saying “I have no idea, Bill.”
In 2014, I learned that when sprinkler system stop/waste valves failed and had to be replaced, our current property manager Melanie Lashlee of HOAMCO was having a plumber install below-ground pressure regulating valves to protect the new stop/waste valves. Based on what I already knew about PRVs, this didn't make a lot of sense, so I did some checking. I had no trouble whatsoever finding a stop/waste valve of the exact type we use with a 40 year warranty; I could not find a single pressure regulating valve with a warranty of more than 1 year.

On September 3, 2014, I emailed the following Motion to the Board, requesting a test to find out if continuing to install above-ground plastic pressure regulating valves made any sense.
Motion: I move that the Board obtain a test sample, to find out if the above-ground PRVs installed on our sprinkler systems are worth the cost to the HOA every time one is replaced, by instructing the contractor to replace the next twelve (12) above-ground PRVs that fail with an appropriate section of pipe; the ongoing results will be determined by keeping track of the relevant work orders.

Susan, please do the role call for the vote.
****************************************
On September 9, Judy Kyrala emailed the following question:
I read the research done by Denver on this issue the last time this subject came up and it agreed with what the city and the vendors were telling us at that time. I reported back to the board at one of the relevant meetings at that time. The Denver report used to be online - it probably still is. Do you have any counter evidence? 

****************************************
On September 9, I responded, writing:
All,
The purpose of the motion is to answer all those questions by obtaining the real-world results of the experiment on our sprinkler systems. The only way we can obtain empirical evidence directly related to our sprinkler systems is by doing the test.

Also, we may well have a situation in which the landscaper is replacing the above ground plastic PRVs on systems where the plumber has already installed, or may install in the next year or so, a below ground PRV. And, so far there is not a shred of evidence that the PRVs have saved us even one penny, let alone the initial $100 per unit it cost to install them. And now Royal Plumbing is charging at least $325 per unit to install a different PRV.

One very important fact is that the Board budgeted about $4,000 a year for sprinkler repairs before and after Morning Dew was paid about $10,000 to install the plastic above-ground PRVs. Yet there is no evidence whatsoever that PRVs save more than they cost. It's time to get that evidence. Please vote "Yes" and approve the Motion to obtain that evidence.

*********************************************
The next day, on September 10, Susan Jennings called for a meeting to remove me from the Board:
All,
I am calling a special meeting for the purpose of requesting approval from the membership to remove Bill Lee from the Board. For notice requirements to the membership I would like to have this meeting on September 30th at noon. Please confirm your availability so Melanie can send notice to the membership.
Thank you,
Susan

*****************************
On September 11, Melanie Lashlee of HOAMCO emailed:
Notice will be sent to the membership per your request.
Thank you !
MELANIE LASHLEE| Flagstaff Regional Manager

(See the 2011 postings for further information about my removal from the Board.)

(See 5a for additional information about the maintenance of our sprinkler systems.)

#############################################
1a.     From my bedroom window, I can see eight townhouses, seven of which have gutters that never need cleaning. The picture below shows four of those townhouses. Please notice that the townhouses at either end, as with all end-unit townhouses, only have gutters over the driveway so that snow melt doesn't drip on your car when you pull out of the garage. Of the 127 townhouses in our community, 54 are end-unit townhouses. Also, even though the last gutter cleaning was in April of 2015, the next cleaning is budgeted to be in October of 2016. This in itself is a perfect example of how incompetently our HOA is being managed: not only were the Members not informed that the gutters would not be cleaned in the fall of 2015, the next cleaning is planned for October of 2016, before the leaves are off the trees, instead of late November, after the leaves have fallen. It is also worth mentioning that gutters are, by design, self-cleaning: in most cases, anything that gets in the gutters gets flushed our when it rains.






2a.     If you look carefully at the above picture, at the peak of the roof of the townhouse with the white pickup truck in the driveway, you can see what Director Tauritz described as a solar device.

Emails related to the work done at Barbara Tauritz's townhouse.
1. Sent by Bill Lee
Subject: Documents Request 
From: William Lee (billlee520@yahoo.com) 
To: mlashlee@hoamco.com; 
Cc: dlogsdon@hoamco.com; cindi@flagstaffinnovativerealty.com; 

Date: Thursday, November 12, 2015 12:36 PM 

Dear Ms. Lashlee:
Please provide me with any and all bids, contracts and invoices related to any and all work done at the home of Director Barbara Tauritz, 2530 Eva Loop, since Ms. Tauritz first became a Director in February, 2014.
Thank you in advance,
Bill Lee
cc: Cindi Sorrentino; Debra Logsdon
*******************************************
2. Sent by Melanie Lashlee
Subject: RE: Documents Request 
From: Melanie Lashlee (mlashlee@hoamco.com) 
To: billlee520@yahoo.com; 
Cc: dlogsdon@hoamco.com; cindi@flagstaffinnovativerealty.com; btauritz@hotmail.com; jonzimmermann2@gmail.com; j.kyrala@gmail.com; sjennings@flagstaff.littleamerica.com; 

Date: Thursday, November 12, 2015 1:29 PM 

Bill,
The HOA has not done any repairs to Barb’s unit that would require a bid . I know she has done some upgrades to her unit but it did not involve the HOA.
Bill, Debbie Logsdon works in our accounting department and has nothing to do with the management of your community .

Why do you keep copying her on emails ? If you would like to copy the Board you should copy all members and not just one .
I will check my records but again don’t remember anything of any consequence being done on her unit unless she was included in full scope rotation painting at some point . Maybe a simple repair on her fence ?

MELANIE LASHLEE| Flagstaff Regional Manager
**************************************
3. Sent by Bill Lee
Subject: Re: Documents Request 
From: William Lee (billlee520@yahoo.com) 
To: mlashlee@hoamco.com; 
Cc: dlogsdon@hoamco.com; cindi@flagstaffinnovativerealty.com; btauritz@hotmail.com; jonzimmermann2@gmail.com; j.kyrala@gmail.com; sjennings@flagstaff.littleamerica.com; 

Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2015 12:16 PM 

Dear Ms. Lashlee:
It is now two weeks since I made the following documents request. Please comply by the end of business today.
Please provide me with any and all bids, contracts and invoices related to any and all work done at the home of Director Barbara Tauritz, 2530 Eva Loop, since Ms. Tauritz first became a Director in February, 2014.

Bill Lee
***********************************************
4. Sent by Melanie Lashlee (Automatic reply)
Subject: Automatic reply: Documents Request 
From: Melanie Lashlee (mlashlee@hoamco.com) 
To: billlee520@yahoo.com; 

Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2015 12:16 PM 

I will be out of the office Monday , November 23rd returning on December 1st. If you have an after hour emergency please call 928-443-3593.
Thank you ,
Melanie
***********************************
5. Sent by Barbara Tauritz
Subject: Re: Documents Request 
From: Barbara Tauritz (btauritz@hotmail.com) 
To: billlee520@yahoo.com; 
Cc: mlashlee@hoamco.com; dlogsdon@hoamco.com; cindi@flagstaffinnovativerealty.com; jonzimmermann2@gmail.com; j.kyrala@gmail.com; sjennings@flagstaff.littleamerica.com; 

Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2015 3:00 PM 

No funds were sought from the HOA. Consequently there is nothing to send you
Sent from my iPhone
**************************************
6. Sent by Bill Lee
Subject: Re: Documents Request 
From: William Lee (billlee520@yahoo.com) 
To: btauritz@hotmail.com; 
Cc: mlashlee@hoamco.com; dlogsdon@hoamco.com; cindi@flagstaffinnovativerealty.com; jonzimmermann2@gmail.com; j.kyrala@gmail.com; sjennings@flagstaff.littleamerica.com; 

Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2015 6:02 PM 

Dear Director Tauritz:
As I'm sure your neighbors can verify, since you became a Director, a gutter was installed at the back of your townhouse, about half of your roof was re-shingled, and what you described as a solar device to save on heating and cooling costs was installed on the north side of your roof. Am I to understand that all this was done at your own expense, and without the approval of the HOA?
Bill Lee
*****************************************
7. Sent by Melanie Lashlee
Subject: RE: Documents Request 
From: Melanie Lashlee (mlashlee@hoamco.com) 
To: billlee520@yahoo.com; 
Cc: cindi@flagstaffinnovativerealty.com; btauritz@hotmail.com; jonzimmermann2@gmail.com; j.kyrala@gmail.com; sjennings@flagstaff.littleamerica.com; 

Date: Tuesday, December 1, 2015 9:07 AM 

Bill,
As I stated the HOA does not have any estimates for repair to Barbs unit . She had some improvements done to her home and paid out of pocket as the repairs were not the responsibility of the HOA.
MELANIE LASHLEE| Flagstaff Regional Manager
End of emails related to the work done at Barbara Tauritz's townhouse.

********************************************

5a.    Please take a look at the final posting for last year. After the bushes in the picture were trimmed on December 7, a sprinkler head began leaking. The water from that leak is running into the street and past two driveways, so it's easy to see and yet it hasn't been fixed. Of the five Directors, two live on Eva Loop--Barbara Tauritz, across the street from the leak, and Judy Kyrala, down the block and around the corner--so it's pretty hard to believe that any Director is making any effort to keep an eye on things. That goes for Melanie Lashlee, too: I'm pretty sure HOAMCO is required by contract to do an on-site inspection of our community at least once a week.

Just the fact that there is a leak raise some questions:
1. Why is that sprinkler head still leaking three weeks later?
2. To prevent damage from freezing, did a contractor turn off the water supply to individual sprinkler systems at the stop/waste valves?
3. If the water supply to that sprinkler system was shut off, why is that sprinkler head leaking?
4. If a contractor did shut off the water supply, does that contractor know how to shut it off without damaging the stop/waste valve?
5. Is it the same contractor that Melanie Lashlee hired to replace stop/waste valves, and install pressure regulating valves to protect stop/waste valves, at a cost of $325 to $375 per unit?


********************************************
One last thing: As I wrote above, this is my New Year's gift to you. It should give you a pretty good idea of what's really going on. I have no doubt that Melanie Lashlee and the current Directors, through their conduct, will eventually convince you that we need to sue them. Unfortunately for the Directors, when that time comes, they are probably going to find out that their Directors Insurance doesn't protect them the way they think it does, if it protects them at all. Unfortunately for us, that means we're probably stuck with them until the time comes to remove them from the Board and sue. As I'm sure you recall, they had the Bylaws amended to require a Board of five or seven Directors, so if one of them quits they won't have the requisite number of Directors, and I can't believe that anyone else would be foolish enough to join the Board if there is a vacancy. But you never can tell: I didn't think HOA Treasure Cindi Sorrentino would be foolish enough to put her Real Estate Broker's License at risk, though that's exactly what she's done.

##############################################################


Update: October
The following pictures were taken from in front of the home of Director Barbara Tauritz on the day the red zones were repainted. Because of the excessive use of cinders last winter, our streets have become severely pitted, and the sealcoat has been completely worn away, leaving our loop drives unprotected from any oil or gasoline spills or leaks. Please see the February 15 Update for my February 4 email to the Board and manager concerning the damage the cinders were doing.
10-07-2016 A
10-07-2016 B

August 4, 2016
 It appears that the sprinkler leaks in the front yard common area at 2529 - 2533 Eva Loop were finally fixed as of 10 AM, Monday, August 1.

Update: July 21, 2016
Okay, one more update. The landscaper was here yesterday with lawnmowers and leaf blowers, and yet, as you can see in the picture below, not only has the leak not been fixed, there are now two leaks.
Still leaking as of July 27.

Picture taken 7-21-2016

Saturday July 9, Update
As you can see in the following picture, the sprinkler leak that I wrote about on July 1 continues. It starts in front of 2533 Eva Loop, flows past 2529, past 2525, and then appears to sink under the curb in front of my driveway at 2521 Eva Loop. Director Barbara Tauritz lives at 2539 Eva Loop, directly across the street from 2533 Eva Loop, so there is no question that the Board of Directors knows about the leak, and yet it has still not been fixed. Unfortunately for our community, this is not unusual. As you can see from earlier Updates, the leak at 2525 Eva Loop (the NCHC property) continued leaking for the entire winter, more than three months, even though the water supply to the sprinkler systems is supposed to be shut off in the fall.
From here on, I will continue to take pictures but I will not write updates about this leak. After all, a broken sprinkler head should not require this much attention. In case you're not aware of it, we used to have our lawns mowed on Fridays, so that they would look their best for the weekends. At the suggestion of former Director Kurt Fenske, we moved the landscaping to Thursdays so that any sprinkler heads that the lawnmowers broke could be fixed on Friday without having to pay weekend rates for the repair. Now the mowing is done on Wednesdays and one can only guess when a broken sprinkler head will get fixed.
One final point: it was because of sprinkler leak that a townhouse on Eva Loop was so badly undermined that it had to be shored-up.
Picture taken 7-08-2016

Friday July 1, Update
>In spite of what the April Newsletter said, our streets were not crack sealed before monsoon season.

Also, this year, our streets were due to be sealcoated, but that too was not done. My twelve years of experience maintaining NYC streets and highways tells me that the damage done by the unprecedented use of cinders this past winter, and the failure to properly maintain our streets, will cost us dearly.

>As you can see in the following two pictures, there is a sprinkler leak at 2529 - 2533 Eva Loop. The landscaper was here on Wednesday yet it wasn't fixed.


>I'll let the picture of the common area in front of the North Country Health Care property at 2525 Eva Loop speak for itself as to how the HOA is maintaining that landscaping.


6-28-2016   2529 - 2533 Eva Loop
 6-28-2016   2525 Eva Loop





March 28, UPDATE:
I took these pictures last week.
The first picture shows that the leak at 2525 Eva Loop is no longer leaking,
The second picture is an example of the damage the cinders did to our loop drives.


March 20, SPRING UPDATE:
It is now the first day of Spring and the leak at 2525 Eva Loop is still leaking. It has been leaking all winter long. Awhile back I thought the leak had been fixed but it probably just froze. I'm pretty sure that was the only time the curb and gutter in front of the leak were dry. But that was then and this is now, and now there is absolutely no question that it is leaking everyday, and, and from what I've seen, it's leaking twenty-four hours a day.
Obviously the leak should have been fixed before Winter began, and yet here we are at the beginning of Spring and it has still not been repaired, even though we had the second warmest February on record and the landscaper started maintaining our common areas about two weeks ago.

 2525 Eva Loop Leak 3-20








March 16 UPDATE:
The next four pictures show the 2525 Eva Loop Leak and the street around it as of March 16.

3-16-2016a
 3-16-2016b
 3-16-2016c
 3-16-2016d



March 4, UPDATE: Okay, now things are getting really bizarre. As you can see from the 3/1 and 3/2 updates,
On March 1, before 8AM, workers with leaf-blowers came along Eva Loop blowing the cinders and cinder debris away from the curb and into the street.
On March 2, after midnight a 12:30AM a mobile broom swept up the cinders.
What's really bizarre, is that today, March 4, shortly after 11AM, a worker with a leaf-blower came along my side of Eva Loop blowing a cloud of dust along the curb as he went. Seeing him do it, I got my camera and waited for him to do the other side of the street. As you can see in the following three pictures, he went along blowing a cloud of dust from the sidewalk and from along the curb into the driveways and, in the case of the townhouse across from me, right into the garage.







March 2, UPDATE:
After midnight, at about 12:30AM, a mobile broom (street sweeper), with lights flashing and making a heck of a lot of noise, spent about 20 minutes cleaning up the cinders on Eva Loop, and in the process probably woke up everyone who wasn't still awake.

March 1, UPDATE:
As you can see in the following two pictures, this morning workers used leaf-blowers to move the cinders and cinder debris from close to the curbs on our loop drives, where they were a nuisance but didn't do much damage. Unfortunately, they didn't clean up the cinders and cinder debris. They just moved it all to where it is more likely to get under the wheels of traffic, which just increases the damage it will do to our streets.
Also, as you can see in the third picture, the leak at 2525 Eva Loop, which has been leaking for at least two and a half months, has still not been fixed.


2525 Eva Loop Leak as of March 1


2525 Eva Loop Leak as of February 20. Picture taken from the sidewalk in front of 2530 Eva Loop.



February 15 UPDATE
Obviously I hadn't planned on doing all these updates, but for the time being it seems prudent.
Yesterday I swept cinders and cinder dust from my garage, driveway and along the curb at my townhouse. Last evening, when I came home, I noticed that in front of three townhouses, a substantial area of the street had been sweep by the homeowners, so I did the same. It's hard to see the cleared areas, but I took the following picture to try to show them.
Below that picture is a copy of an email and picture I sent to the the Directors and HOAMCO concerning the cinders.
And below that are two more pictures of the leak at 2525 Eva Loop. Apparently the leak is now constant. I don't know if it's leaking twenty-four hours a day, but it appears to be leaking every day.


William Lee <greenlawtownhouses@gmail.com> Thu, Feb 4, 2016 at 3:40 PM

To: Susan Jennings <sjennings@flagstaff.littleamerica.com>, Jon Zimmermann <jonzimmermann2@gmail.com>, Cindi Sorrentino <cindi@flagstaffinnovativerealty.com>, Judy Kyrala <j.kyrala@gmail.com>, Barbara Tauritz <btauritz@hotmail.com>, Melanie Lashlee <melanie@hoamco.com>, dlogsdon@hoamco.com

All,
Consider this my last attempt to convince you to stop having cinders spread on our loop drives. On February 1, I emailed all of you a picture showing where the contractor had spread cinders on Eva Loop where there was no snow. Sometime between when that picture was taken and 9AM February 2, we got about a half inch of new snow on our loop drives and more cinders were spread. I took the attached picture today, February 4, to show how much of that cinder material remains on Eva Loop. Just simple common sense should tell you that having this much cinder material ground into our streets will do serious damage. If you don't believe me, take a shovel-full and spread it on your kitchen floor; obviously it will damage your floor, just as it damages our streets. Also, now that the seal-coat has been worn away there is the constant risk of extreme damage from any oil or gasoline leak or spill. Please put a stop to the spreading of cinders on our loop drives.
--
Bill Lee
www.greenlawtownhouses.blogspot.com

2525 Eva Loop Leak as of February 15
2525 Eva Loop Leak as of February 14

February 1, UPDATE:
Less than five minutes before this picture was taken the contractor spread cinders on Eva Loop. Look at the picture and decide for yourself if it was necessary or a waste of money. Also, next time you go outside, if you look closely at the street surface you'll be able to see just how pitted our streets have become this winter. Based on my twelve years of experience as a Highway Repairer with the NYC Department of Transportation, Bureau of Highways, I can guarantee you it's the cinders that are doing the damage.



January 27, UPDATE:
I took the following picture today, January 27, to show the condition of the leak and the surrounding area at the 2525 Eva Loop North Country Health Care Townhouse. Some days the water runs over the curb, some days it soaks into the ground, and some day it might get fixed.
Don't expect any more updates unless something extraordinary happens.


January 25, UPDATE: The leaking sprinkler head at the NCHC townhouse is still leaking!!!
As you can see from the previous update, I had hoped the leak had been fixed. It has not. When I checked today, not only was it clearly visible from my car but it was obvious the all the water is now soaking into the ground.

January 20, UPDATE: The leaking sprinkler head at the NCHC townhouse is still leaking.

About a dozen years ago a townhouse on Eva Loop was so badly undermined by a leaking sprinkler head it had to be shored up. The front yards are common areas, and the maintenance and repair of the common areas is the responsibility of the Directors and our property manager Melanie Lashlee, not the homeowners. After all, many of our townhouses are rental properties, or summer homes, or owned by snowbirds.

If Melanie Lashlee and the Directors were making any effort at all, they couldn't help but see where the water from the leaking sprinkler head is running over the curb, although now most of the water is soaking into the ground; the large wet spot at the corner of the front yard makes that pretty obvious. That water has to go somewhere, and if it's undermining the street and driveway at the NCHC townhouse, there could be a law suit much sooner than I had anticipated.
NOTE: After all these weeks, the sprinkler head may have been fixed today. If not, I'll let you know in a future update. 

Snow Removal:
Has anyone else noticed that a lot of unnecessary plowing is being done this year? Here in Flagstaff, our coldest average day has a high of 42 degrees, which means in many cases the snow doesn't need to be plowed; give it a few hours and it will melt. Also, on January 15 we had no more than two inches of snow and yet the contractor spent three or four hours plowing our streets, and after the snow was plowed, the contractor spread more cinders. Obviously, the snow that gets plowed has to be put somewhere, so it gets pushed into a pile, and when the pile gets too big it has to be moved somewhere else, so we have to pay the contractor to move it, and that requires a front-end loader and they don't come cheap.

Cinders:
When I looked out my front window this morning there was some snow in the driveways across from me, but almost no snow in the street, and yet the contractor had spread more cinders. We have a 10mph speed limit, very little traffic, and no hills, so pretty much the only thing the cinders are doing is hastening the deterioration of our streets. Also, I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of sweeping cinders out of my garage, and I pity anyone who has small children tracking cinders into the house onto wood or vinyl floors.



January 11, UPDATE: Cinders damaging our streets.
Today I sent the following email:

Subject: Cinders
From: William Lee (billlee520@yahoo.com)
To: jonzimmermann2@gmail.com;
Cc: sjennings@flagstaff.littleamerica.com; cindi@flagstaffinnovativerealty.com; j.kyrala@gmail.com; btauritz@hotmail.com; mlashlee@hoamco.com; dlogsdon@hoamco.com;
Bcc:
Date: Monday, January 11, 2016 9:09 AM


Dear Vice President Zimmermann:

In your first Letter of Interest you claimed that you know how things work. Have you looked at our streets lately? I assume you know that the sealcoat on our streets is a protective coating similar to paint. The contractor who is doing the snow removal has been spreading cinders on our streets. What do you think happens every time a car, truck, or school bus drives on the cinders and grinds them into the street? We are only three weeks into winter, and already much of the sealcoat has been worn away and our streets are showing signs of surface pitting. Please stop the contractor from spreading more cinders, and have someone clean up the cinders that are already damaging our streets.
Please know that I will post on my blog this email and your response.
Sincerely,
Bill Lee
www.greenlawtownhouses.blogspot.com

January 5, UPDATE: More Money Wasted
 Just after 6am, the noise of a snowplow on Eva Loop woke me, so I looked out the window to see how much snow there was. There was no snow at all in my driveway or on my side of the street, and not much on the other side, and yet the snowplow did at least a dozen passes. Our HOA, HOAMCO, and the snowplowing contractor all have billing records, and the City of Flagstaff has records for  snowplowing and snow amounts in different neighborhoods. When the time comes to sue, a simple comparison of who did what, when and where will tell the story.


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