Welcome!

You can always post new "topics" in any already-available forum, such as "Recall Effort" or "General Chat." 

I was looking to replace the NPM forum, and perhaps I can replace it with an "Edgewood Finances" forum or general fiscal policy discussion.  That sounds like a good idea!

Actually there are too many ways they waste our money to list! The Board makes many stupid blunders and when they are brought up they get swept under the rug. Here are a few:

When Pat was ill, they put an interim person in charge. At the time the units were getting ready to be repainted. The person in charge was greatly self important and had the clubhouse painted the color he chose. It was institutional green! (Like the color in prisons and mental health facilities) Everyone screamed bloody murder and the clubhouse had to be repainted. That was supposedly a waste of $5,000-$10,000

Another time, the person on the board that was in charge of the pool area ordered tat the concrete area around the pool be removed and replaced with new concrete. That cost over $25,000. During the next year the concrete cracked and broke apart. That board member signed a release on the warranty or something similar. The Board had to pay another $25,000 to have the work done correctly. A homeowner, an engineer type named Scott warned that Board member not to sign that release but no one listened to him.  It was brought up in the meeting by someone and Pat stated that that debacle is in the past so let's move forward she said.

And how about those new cameras in the RV lot? They must have cost a lot! Did the homeowners vote on that or did the Board just install them? Anyone with info on those please respond here too.

I read that the RV fees are reserved for work or maintenance of the RV lot.  If true, they have essentially created a fund that encourages inefficient and unnecessary expenses.  Like the cameras?  This money needs to go into the general budget and RV lot projects need to be approved by priority compared to all community needs.  It makes no sense that more was spent on the cameras than is allotted for maintenance and repairs for 108 units.  Maybe a Board member can explain this?

@notanonymous1117 

RV parking was FREE for over twenty five years here. Then they charged $10/month and said that would be all.  Then they raised it to $25...don't know what the fee is now. They have all the spaces filled along the fence but there are a LOT of empty spaces now. AND they charge the same for a forty foot motorhome as they do a car. LOL those people don't even live in Edgewood that own those.

But we see your point. How many years of fees were spent on installing those cameras in the RV lot? No one voted on that.

One other thing: The clubhouse is used quite often. Why are we not charging for the clubhouse use? We are paying for appliance replacement, carpet replacement, maybe even cleaning - why are they not charged?

Went to the Board meeting tonight, 9/17, and once again brought up the topic of the RV lot and what certain homeowners pay to park their RVs in our community. 

This is fact, not fiction:  Cars, boats, trailers, and RVs, some over 40' long, pay only $25.00 a month.  That has not changed in over 20 years.  That's $300 a year per vehicle.  By my count, there are consistently 4 large RVs and 8 to 10 cars parked in our RV lot.  The going rate for RV storage in Sacramento is a minimum of $180 for RV storage a month.  Average for cars is $80 a month.  Right now that lot generates $4200 year for the "RV account," not the general HOA account.  If the going rate in Sacramento was charged for our RV lot it would generate close to $16,000 a year.    That would tremendously help our depleted reserves and stave off our dues going up again and also the possibility of an assessment. 

The RV lot has a separate account that pays for items ONLY associated with the RV lot.  Does that seem fair when some homeowners are dealing with drainage issues that the Board says they don't have the money to fix?  Does it seem fair that our dues have gone up 3 times in the last 3 years because the Board says we have no money?  How about the buildings that haven't been painted?  How about the dilapidated bridge that hasn't been fixed in the 3 years I've been here? That kind of neglect depletes all of our property values.

That RV lot is an eyesore.  Tonight the Board mentioned adding curb appeal to the RV lot by adding privacy screens and plantings.  Great idea.  What budget is that coming out of, though?  The RV account or the general HOA account?  Some homeowners think it's perfectly fair for them to benefit from discounted RV storage rates at the expense of the rest of us.  One person even suggested that we should charge for the pool and the pool chlorine if we're going to charge for the RV lot.  Ridiculous and also frustrating.  

I don't have all the answers.  I do try to play by the rules.  But I definitely know when I'm being taken advantage of by people trying to cheat the system at the expense of others. 

@katbar5767 We heard about that RV lot fee discussion. Evidently things got really tense - that is too bad, we should all be able to talk calmly to one another.

Aside from all that, people that live here and use the RV lot don't want to pay more. There really aren't that many vehicles parked in there. Since we already have people parking their RV in the lot that don't even live here (they get a person that lives here to park it in the lot. The outsiders add that person's name to the title of the RV to make things legal) why not open the other spaces to outside people at the rates you mentioned? Actual homeowners would pay a reduced rate. Maybe double the rates for the 40 footers because they take up two spaces each.

We also heard that someone said we should charge for clubhouse use and Pat went pale. That was an excellent suggestion.