Uncensored Edition – Vice President’s Message

GLEN OAKS MANOR HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. -- Sarasota

(If you don’t recognize me, it’s because my picture in the Newsletter was censored.) This is a special addition to the Glen Oaks Manor newsletter.  Your present newsletter is now being censored and manipulated by the President, which she has no authority to do. First, she refused to print my Vice President’s article as it was submitted.  She would only print the first paragraph.  The rest had to be condensed into one short paragraph, after removing some parts she didn’t like (like a court ruling in Broward County against an Association that took a homeowner to court for parking his pickup truck in his driveway; for details see http://www.ccfj.net/HOAFLpickup.html )

This court case deals with an Association who sued an owner for parking his 2000 GMC Silverado pickup in the driveway.  The court ruled in favor of the owner, stating:

“This pick-up is aesthetically equal to many new passenger cars and superior to many older vehicles presently parked at the condominium.  Virtually all Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) are truck-based and almost all are larger than this pick-up.  In fact an Excursion weighs over 7000 pounds.  Even the Chrysler PT Cruiser is considered a “truck” under certain federal government guidelines.  The Pontiac Aztec could be called a car, van, truck or a confused mess of a design, depending upon whom you ask.  In the past decade the most popular vehicle sold in the United States is a pick-up truck (Ford F-150).  Therefore, it is clear that the distinction among passenger cars, trucks, SUV’s and vans has drastically changed since this restriction was enacted decades ago.”

How does the President deal with a Board Member who does not agree with her?  She censors his article in the newsletter.  She must have learned some techniques that were probably developed long ago in a well-known newspaper – PRAVDA.

Here is what she did with the help of some “creative touches” by our editor.  First, dehumanized me by not allowing my photo to be published as all the other officers were.  Then selected a smaller font; then published only the first paragraph, out of context, with the intention of making the writer, namely me, look stupid; then placed the second, highly censored paragraph, in the next page under a different heading (Resident’s Corner), to disconnect it from the rest of the article, and to confuse you, the reader, further.  Every article in your newsletter has had to be approved by the President before it could go to print.

The Board has now plans in the making to create a committee to establish rules and regulations that will give the Board sole discretion and absolute authority as to what and who can be published.  Don’t let the Board take away from you the Association’s newsletter, which is YOUR newsletter paid for by your money.   Every resident and Board Member has a right to be heard and read without censorship (except for vulgarity). 

Here is a little history to let the members be aware of the manipulation involved in getting on the Board.   I received a call from our President saying,  “Max, please don’t say no, hear me out.”   She then told me if I didn’t agree to run for the Board this would open the door to certain residents to run from the floor that they did not want on the Board.  I was told that as Vice President I will not have to do anything, only sign checks during the summer months when she was on vacation.  Foolishly, I agreed!   One should not run for the Board to satisfy another person’s desires, and especially to foil others’ chances to be on the Board.  So I attended meetings, doing essentially very little.   I started taking interest upon reading the new revised parking restrictions.  Outrageous!  Huge vans, up to 9 seats  (really mini-buses) are now allowed to clutter our driveways, but a little non-commercial pick-up truck is banned.  I then discovered that 3 of the 4 members of the Document Review Committee own large vans and/or SUVs.   A coincidence?   You decide.   Mind you, unlike some Board Members who park their van and/or SUV in the driveway regularly, my pickup truck is always in the garage and I intend for it to stay there!   However, out of basic fairness I champion the right of any owner of a pickup truck to park in the driveway as long as SUVs and minivans (all classified by the government as light trucks) can do so.  It should be all lightweight trucks or none!

Other pernicious restrictions: 1. If an unapproved vehicle or a vehicle the Board considers a “nuisance” is parked outside, after a 24-hour notice it can be towed away at owner’s expense.  2.  No tarp or any cover can be placed on your car.  Does this Board live in Glen Oaks Manor?  You can leave your car outside but cannot protect it from the acorns, pollen, leaves and twigs that keep falling on the driveway!

When I persisted in trying to change some of these unreasonable restrictions, I was told by a Board Member who was only recently appointed, that I have 3 choices – move out; get rid of my pickup truck or support the passage of our revised documents with all the above restrictions.  As was mentioned by a resident in the last Board meeting, this board member neglected to give me a 4^th option – IGNORE the Association’s restrictions, something he has done for many months when he removed the slats of his window and had to be threatened with fines by the Compliance Committee.  He will tell you he had a 6-month reprieve to study the problem, but this was only after fighting with the Board for months and saying it was against the fire code.  The Board had to have it researched to prove it was grandfathered in and he continued to fight the Association for months.  He now walks around with a clipboard looking for minor violations by other owners!

As a Board Member I feel that it is my FIDUCIARY DUTY to make you aware of these injustices for some while granting privileges to others. 

Our attorney was asked to give his opinion on this issue.  He indicated the Board could restrict pick-up trucks “provided the Association had uniformly enforced the prohibition against all pick-up trucks.”  We all know this has not been the case!  Our attorney also said:

“Not withstanding the foregoing, it must be recognized that a sizeable portion of the population drive pick-up trucks, many of which are used primarily for passenger transportation.  As a result, many communities are choosing to permit non-commercial pick-up trucks.  Enclosed is a sample parking provision that permits non-commercial pick-up with a load rating of one ton or less.  Please discuss with the Board of Directors and advice if they would like to modify the parking restriction before mailing the package of documents to the members.”

Thank you for reading the Vice President’s column that was not allowed to be printed in the Glen Oaks Manor Homeowners Association Newsletter.