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Community Corner

Reply to outgoing MVF/SVHC President

REPORT FROM DEPARTINGSVHC PRESIDENTROBERT SPARKS: "I will keep this short and to the point.While the business aspects of the association are in good shape, South Village faces a significant problem. And it is one which the association cannot fix. It is apathy.The vast majority of the homeowners in South Village do not care about the community. They don't read the Village News, since they don't bother to pick it up from their driveways and doorsteps,instead letting it become soggy trash for someone else to dispose of. They don't attend meetings, unless it is to complain about something very local and usuallyvery personal. They are lackadaisical about paying the assessments which provide for community maintenance and services. They are indifferent to community standards for parking, noise, public behavior and trash disposal.They allow their properties to fall into disrepair, creating eyesores and undermining neighbors' investments. Every community has residents who just sleep there. When only a few such are balanced by significant numbers who participate, things can be good. When the balance shifts, the community suffers. South Village was unable to make quorum for its annual meeting in February.It takes only 101 valid ballots and/or attendees. Just one household in ten!But homeowners couldn't be bothered.The same thing happened last year, and several times before that. Candidates for the annual election of board members were hard to come by. No one in the community volunteered and it took a draft to convince several civic-minded souls to stand.Three members of the current board are no longer residents or homeowners in South Village, but remain involved only because no replacements can be found. Several sitting directors have so much difficulty balancing their volunteer work on the board with the demands of career and home life that they have missed multiple meetings over the past year. On one occasion, the board itself could not make quorum and could not conduct its monthly meeting.All of this does not bode well for the future. The doers are disappearing, the complainers proliferate and the vast majority ignore the community. Until residents, and particularly homeowners,take the time to read the association documents, think a bit about what the community really is and how it operates and then pitch in and participate, things will not improve. South Village is not a government, it is a corporation. It does not have police, courts, jails or fines.The community cannot force people to be good citizens and neighbors.There are a few who still care about South Village. If you are hearing this,or reading it, then you are probably one of those who care. Thank you for that.Keep caring, and good luck." MY COMMENT to these parting words which appeared in the April 4, 2014 edition of the Village News on page 18.  Though the outgoing President's words speak volumes, it is not the entire 'sad story' here.  There seems to be and can't be totally placement of blame on Village residents (homeowners) for the deteriorating demise of South Montgomery Village.  When residents (this current writer making this comment)have been clamoring for the presence of elected HOA/SVHC for decades and sending alerts along with photographs begging for HOA's presence in fulfilling the responsibilities (responsibilities are a two-way street...both homeowner and HOA to work together) listed when they procured their 'corporation status' (which basically gave themauthority to mandate assessment fees for oversight and enforcement not performed/homeowners' investment not protected as promised in those corporation documents) and SVHC waited decades to begin 'serious inspections' of communities, then that corporation needs to step up to the plate and accept partial and largest % of responsibility of deteriorating communities.  For years have literally begged the "Umbrella of the Village"/Montgomery Village Foundation to get more involved in working with HOA's.  This ping-ponging concerned residents back and forth with 'that's not our responsibility; you need to take that up with your HOA.  So, MVF i.e. would issue Notice of Citation for front door that had not gone through their 'approval' or was a tad off  'acceptable color' but they would ignore the shamble residence that was right next door to this God forbid 'front door that supposedly "adversely affected property value"'.  And they weren't even getting back to the HOA i.e. to inform them that, while citing an architectural issue, they had also observed an HOA maintenance issue.  Talk about continued 'tunnel vision' and lack of joint effort in bringing communities up to 'acceptable and livable standards'.  Geesch!  One specific community was constructed in 1981 (I know the history as I am an original owner in that community) is just now seeing 'action' (Village hired and volunteers as well) just now performing what I can only hope to be 'thorough inspections, follow up and resolve'.  Now that too speaks volumes of the 'lack of representation and oversight' promised to protect the market value of my home when I signed purchase contract and also agreed to pay them mandated quarterly payments for that 'Protection Package Deal'.  Hummm!  Took from 1981 to 2014 to see some SERIOUSNESS here.  Pathetic!  In the meantime, most homes (at least in South Village though I really have observed the same dire condition in communities under MVF and other HOA's) resemble 'abandoned government housing projects'.  And, when you have one past President of an HOA (won't name which) loud and clear in the Village News that (paraphrased) 'we can't and don't want to force residents to maintain their homes 'cause maybe they don't have the money and we don't want to force them out of the neighborhood'.  That remark was BEYOND INSANE!!!!  I would be semi-happy just to see some of the homes in my community that have not seen a paintbrush (or any basic maintenance) since 1981 construction of community be held responsible for 'slapping a darn coat of paint' on the rotted home.  Hummm!  Yes, Mr Starks, there have been and are those of us who care and who have 'behind the scenes' working (taking our personal time to walk around neighborhood inspecting & providing photos to 'phantom representatives) relentlessly to bring neighborhood out of the depths of hell.  But we are also the ones that find ourselves, for speaking out, on the receiving end of (beyond suspicious) targeting and retaliation (agenda to shut us up and hope we are not just silenced but go away) by the (should be) embarrassed Powers That Be who have been dysfunctional and derelict in their (promised) duties.

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