These compiled emails explain it all
spelling remains as each person wrote thier emails
NEIGHBORHOOD CRAZINESS
*names changed to protect privacy including name of subdivision
THE PLAYERS:
Steve: River Walk Resident
Charles: another resident
Brad: VP of HOA, very nice, diplomatic fellow who has to deal with the brunt of the harassing emails.
Dave: my husband and treasurer of the HOA
Mark: The community service director of the HOA
THE CHRISTMAS LIGHT DEBACLE
From: Steve
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2008 11:27 AM
To: vicepresident@River Walk.org; secretary@River Walk.org;
treasurer@River Walk.org
Subject: Community Observations
Good morning,
I am not going to waste my time addressing notices to the President of
the Association because she must have some kind of block on certain
messages since they are always returned to me and others. I am also
not sure why she wanted to be President as well. My wife and
I are approaching our fourth year of living in River Walk and I wanted
to point out a couple of issues that have significantly changed the
appearance of our neighborhood and could lead to a decrease in the
resale values of our homes. With the market being the
way it is, it is hard enough to sell
First of all, when we moved in four years ago there was very little
overnight parking around the Park. Now there is an average of 11 cars
parked there every single night. A neighbor of mine who lives around
the Drive and is putting their home on the market commented to me
that "we don't have the issue of all those cars parked in front of our
house every day and night." He thinks that will make his house more
attractive to a buyer than mine would be because of where I live.
Isn't that sad? It was not that way when we moved here. We have
signs posted that say overnight parking, yet numerous cars are parked
consistently there daily. I have also mentioned the potential danger
this is causing to people who live around the park because it limits
access of emergency vehicles to our homes. I hear through the
grapevine from some of you that it is more complicated to change the
rules for this than I might think, but of course it takes effort to
try. I did run for the board, but was not chosen. I am not bitter
about this decision because my time is my time and I enjoy that. You
were chosen, why did you run? I think the answer to that will be
answered toward the end of the next section.
There are also more and more people who park their cars in the common
driveways behind their homes when there is really no room for this.
It limits access to the other homeowners who try to get to their
garages and in some cases forces cars to drive in the yards of their
neighbors. This is really inconsiderate. I know some of you say this
is something that neighbors should talk about with neighbors to
rectify. However, we live in a generation today where people do what
is convenient for them without regard for anyone else. I can tell you
that if this starts to happen in the common driveway that I share
between Riverside Lane and the south Drive that we will not be able to
access our garages anymore. If that starts to happen you can count on
hearing from me everyday. So when buyers come into a neighborhood and
see all these cars parked behind homes like this it is kind of a
deterrent to look here in my opinion. It takes away from the
attractiveness of the neighborhood, and is potentially dangerous.
The reason I decided to write to you today is that I went out for a
walk this morning and noticed on Feb. 3 that one resident still has
his Christmas decorations on the outside of his home. Once again, that
is a turn off to me if I am looking to buy in a neighborhood and
see that some people are so damn lazy that they cannot take down their
Christmas decorations. One of my neighbors still has his Christmas
tree up in the front room of his house, but that is on the inside and
he may think he is at the North Pole INSIDE his house and that is his
business. The outside becomes everyones business. What is
disturbing to note about this is that I believe the person who still
has his lights up is a board member. And on top of that, this board
member regularly parks a car behind his house extending into the
common driveway shared by his neighbors. Do you remember my question
about why did you run?
You have decided to open up the parking spaces at the pool, I think
that was a positive step and does not endanger access to anyone's
home.
I write to you this morning because my wife and I still like where we
live, but the signs of change are not good ones in the neighborhood
and you are in a position to do something about it. I know we tried to
Maybe we can have some kind of open forum at the pool or at the park
Maybe some can convince others of certain benefits.
It would be my hope that we can try to tidy up the neighborhood so it
remains attractive throughout and not just for those people who live
around River Walk Drive.
>Thanks for your time.
Steve Wilkins
Please feel free to drop by and we can discuss any of these issues or
so you can convince me that I am wrong in my opinion of the
neighborhood. Of course, I see a lot more than you since I live on the
Park and you don't. Remember, I am not counting the President in name
only.
ALICIA’S RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE EMAIL:
Dear Steve,
As a homeowner of 45 River Walk, it has been brought to my attention that you feel personally offended by the fact that we have icicle lights on our front porch.
I understand that your letter of complaint was directed to the members of the HOA board but since, as you know, my husband is a board member and your complaint was directed at the house that I also live in and own I have a few things I would like to say in regards to your letter.
First of all, I find it interesting that you are so toughly offended by what you deem as "inconsiderate" on the part of your neighbors by where they park and who leaves lights up past a certain date (obviously determined by you)yet it does not seem to occur to you how inconsiderate and callous it might be to write a scathing email to the board regarding these issues instead of politely addressing the offending neighbor personally. I could possibly understand your anger and need to write such a damming attack of your neighbors if you had taken the time to first politely ask them as to why they had a certain item in there yard and could they please remove it and they had not complied or were rude to you.
In regards to what you deem to be “Christmas decorations” we obviously define outdoor lights in the form of white icicles differently. To me, icicles are representative of winter of which it still is. I noticed that I did not get any complaints when I left my “summer” grape vine entwined lights up way past summer season. Also, you might not be aware of the fact that my husband’s father and my father in law was recently hospitalized for 8 weeks with a severe head injury of which he is still recovering, I can assure you that the health and well-being of my family is far more important to me than a string of icicle lights left up on my porch. Perhaps if you had taken the time to address us personally you would have known that and we would have been very receptive and open to your suggestions and perhaps taken them down immediately. I am truly perplexed that people in this neighborhood have enough extra time on there hands to spy on their neighbors and take offense to such minor things when clearly there are many many bigger and more life threatening issues facing our world and ourselves. I wish people in this neighborhood would worry more about being a good neighbor in the sense of having more concern as to what is going on in their neighbors lives rather than assuming that their actions are simply done out of lack of consideration and laziness and thus attacking them for it. I sincerely hope that in the future you consider first approaching us with any grievances before sending a derogatory email to the board. Thank you for your understanding
Sincerely,
Alicia Winters
STEVE WRITES BACK TO ALICIA:
Dear Alicia,
Your impression of 'scathing" is in the eye of the beholder. My letter to the
board addressed issues in the community that concern me as a homeowner when it
comes to the property values in a neighborhood that have been pretty good in the
time that I have lived here. I served on the parking committee to try to come up
with ideas that would address the overall safety of the neighborhood where
people park their cars that could serve as a deterrent to emergency vehicles
being able to pass. I am sure that is no concern of yours since you live on the
Drive where it is not an issue. However, if certain people had their way
parking would be allowed their as well.
It is my opinion that those who park in areas behind their home like you do
takes away from the attractiveness of the neighborhood, and it also makes it
more difficult for others to maneuver around the cars. I am entitled to my
opinion and express it to the board. I also share a common driveway with others
and if they parked the way you do I would not be able to get out of my garage. I
am concerned that the precedence that you are establishing by your decisions
could lead to it affecting me. You may choose not to use your garage for what it
is for, but I would like to continue to do so.
Please stop blowing my comments out of proportion by using terms like personally
offended, anger and damning. I am a resident of the neighborhood and have a
right to express my concerns. There are also times when the purpose of the board
is to deal with these issues so it does not lead to confrontation on the part of
neighbors, which it appears you are looking for.
If you say they are icicles, then icicles they are. I do not know how I could
have possibly made that mistake. I would suggest that we at some time get
together at a board meeting where we can voice our concerns and issues. I do not
believe in getting into others business, but when it could have an effect on the
resale value of my home then you have better believe I am going to speak whether
you like it or not. So please arrange for me to be able to attend a meeting so
we can discuss this in person.
DAVE WRITES BACK TO STEVE:
Steve,
I ran because I was getting really tired over fellow neighbors being
accused and personally condemned over petty issues being blown up as
if
end of the world was coming. I also didn't realize how offensive
outdoor lights were and their affect on residential values. I
personally was enjoying them on occasion, but now having seen the
errors
in my ways, I will take them down tonight in an attempt to raise
property values. Yes, I am being sarcastic here, and I will take them
down (was planning to replace them with some lights I had over the
summer/fall), but I will ask that you not refer to me as being "so
damn
lazy" because my decisions do not match up with your timetable.
Look, I do understand where you and others are coming from with
regards
to issues in the neighborhood. I also encourage you and others to
raise
these issues with the board, but please, as a fellow neighbor, let's
try
to concentrate on the more serious issues. I know there are those
around who just can not sleep at night knowing that someone may have
parked on the street for an hour or so. The board is meeting tomorrow
night, and I'm sure that parking will be an issue of discussion.
I have lived in River Walk for almost 7 years now, and I am constantly
amazed by how many neighbors feel really put off by the aggressiveness
of a small number of neighbors who get all upset over some things. I
am
not saying that you are one of them, far from it from all I can tell.
I
would just like to see neighbors working out their differences in
person
rather than making issues larger and more public than they need to be.
Do you have any solutions in regards to the parking issues that I can
pass along in our meeting tomorrow?
Dave Winters
STEVE HAS TO HAVE THE LAST WORD:
Dear Dave,
My stand on the parking issues are well known since I served on the
parking committee for close to four months of meetings this past summer.
I believe that parking around the park should be reserved for visitors
only and that residents should clean out their garages and park their
cars in the garage or if they have room in a driveway where they exist.
You have one home that is a multi family home with four cars associated
with one house. How many more houses like that do you want to see and
still maintain our property values? The constant parking of resident
cars around the Park every day and night will prevent emergency vehicles
from getting to homes on Morning Way Way and Riverside Lane. Did you not
see that when we had our picnic and the fire department brought their
emergency vehicles? This would also cut down on the number of renters we
have in the community who turn their homes into "rooms to let" units.
There are two houses that have three to four roomates who each have a
car a
nd park them on the Park every single night. So for three houses alone
that I mention that makes 11 cars parked on the park every single night.
That is why people have to park in front of homes when there are
parties. There is no room around the park. Some people's approach to
that is to allow parking all around the community on the street. I think
you know that if a fire broke out, all of our homes would burn down.
We now have the precedent of parking cars behind houses in areas that do
not have driveways to accommodate them. It will not be long before a
resident does that where I live and some of us will be denied entry and
exit from our garages because there will not be enough room. How long
will it be before one of them says, "well, look at all the other people
who live along the common driveways who do the same thing."This was not
the case when I moved here. It is something that has increased each
month so now more and more people are doing it, and yes I believe it
does detract from the neighborhood. When someone keeps me from getting
out of my house in an emergency because there was not enough room to get
my car out of the garage you might think about it then, or maybe you
wouldn't because it does not affect you.
Those are my main issues and you can tell that by what I wrote in the
letter to the board. I am sorry if you are offended, but I think we live
in a damn good neighborhood that has a quick resale of homes at good
value. I WOULD LIKE TO KEEP IT THAT WAY!
As for the parking for a brief period of time in front of homes, I do
not have a problem with that. The Board does because Mr. Chapman came to
my house personally two weeks ago to ask me to move my car after I had
left it in front after dropping something off at my house. So, one
person complained about where I parked and I got a visit from Mr.
Chapman. When he came to my house he had places to suggest where I could
park. They did not exist when I came home that day because the people
who are parked daily around the park were there at that time. I park my
cars in the garage every single night and rarely on the street, but I
got a visit Dave. Who complained that led Brad to immediately come down
to my house?
As for the "icicles" hanging from your house I think if I had come to
your house to say that directly that you would have told me to go
someplace and mind my own business. That is why I wrote to the board.
That is why we have a board. Yes, I would like everyone to get along as
well to have a nice friendly neighborhood, but we have covenants and
by-laws that should be enforced to keep our neighborhood attractive and
friendly. Unfortunately, we live during times where may people want what
is convenient for them without regard for others and that is why you are
on the board to make sure that the good of all is the first priority.
I did mean what I said regarding the President who appears to have
shielded herself from news that might not be popular. As a homeowner it
is my opinion that my suggestions are in the best interests of everyone
both for safety and the maintaining of a great neighborhood.
You asked for some ideas to bring up at tonights meeting? Here are my
concerns and if you reread my first note you will see it is consistent.
So will you bring it up and actually do something about it? Let me put
it this way, I am not holding my breath! As I mentioned to your
significant other who wrote to me, I would be more than happy to address
each of these issues with you at a board meeting. Carl knows where I
live, and now I am sure that you do.
Steve
AND IT KEEPS GOING…
-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Winters
First of all, I was not offended, just surprised on how much the lights
bothered you (seems rather minor, wouldn't you say Steve?), and secondly,
as for the reason for your visit... you know it was Charles (it is
always Charles). And by the way, Brad hated doing that.
As for your parking suggestion, only visitors may park around the
park... how is that going to be enforced? Will home owners "register"
their cars? Who is going to oversee that each and every day? Who has
this kind of time? This does not seem like a practical solution. And,
as for the parking committee, I am under the impression that nothing was
accomplished or suggested by this committee (please correct me if I'm
wrong, as I was not present for these meetings).
We do want the same thing: strong returns from our homes, a safe
community, and to enjoy our time here. But, I am not sure what the
Board can really do about something that "might" happen on your side of
the neighborhood.
and going………
From:
gWilkins@bellsouth.net
The parking committee started with about Cobblestone people on the first night with most having their own agenda for coming. The main focus from their perspective was to get out of the "tickets" they had received or to try to gain the right for people to park around the Drive. As I stated before, what's in it for me! The committee ended up with three people over four months with very few meetings because the chairman was out of town a good deal of the time. The chairman brought up at one of the meetings that "no resident should be parking around the park overnight." That became contingent on his gaining the right to park in front of his house on the Drive. If you do not believe me, ask Rick. He convened the first meeting and received updates periodically. Let's face it, those of you who live around the Drive do not want to hear about parking around the park because it does not affect you. I, on the other hand, get to see it everyday and night. I also have to live with the possibility that emergency vehicles cannot get to my house nor any house on Morning Way way and most of Riverside Lane. It also turns the "Park" into a parking lot. If you want to know who each of the cars belongs to I will be more than happy to point them out to you. One of them wants to know when more spots are going to be made available because I heard her say this at one time. It can be applied and enforced, but it does not affect you or anyone else who lives on the Drive. Why don't you come around and ask some of us who live on the Park, which should be a green space for goodness sakes. Ask my two neighbors to the right of my hosue as you face it. Instead it is the motor pool lot for five homes and four of them are renters. Why not just bulldoze the Park and make parking spaces for more people.
As for lights, I am not offended by lights so quit making that the issue. You have Christmas decorations, I mean icicles, up on February 4. I know, in your mind if we all did that we would be closer neighbors and better friends. Do you sense my sarcasm Dave because I can use it too. I did not comment on your previous e-mail where you said you ran for the board because you thought there was too much interference in the enforcement of the rules that we all agreed to abide by when we closed on our homes. I think I should interpret your comment that you ran to do nothing so people can do whatever they want.
Since it is your turn to reply to me I promise not to try to get the last word. You just go right ahead. After that, how about if we talk at a board meeting or maybe the board can convene some kind of forum for interested residents to express their concerns, which is what I did to start this. I also think it was extremely unprofessional of you as a board member to get your wife in on the action. As a board member you should be able to listen to the concerns of residents without making it a personal situation for other members of your family. So, I am done. Get your say in and that will be the end. However, I have a right to express my concerns to the board and I will continue to do so whether you like it or not.
Steve
NOW TO THE ISSUE WE ARE DEALING WITH CURRENTLY
• Preface: our neighborhood has shared driveways, the neighborhood looks like seaside – very cute. For the past 7 years we have parked on car perpendicular to the other, behind the garage in a very small driveway space. This is due to the fact that we cannot fit two cars in the garage and safely back one out without either hitting the other car or the house behind us. This has NEVER EVER been an issue for 7 years and no one on our shared ally has an issue with this but now Steve has been given the title of head of the newly formed Parking Committee (this because the HOA board was tired of his and Charles’s constant complaints) and he has deemed and gotten his committee to agree that we should not be allowed to park in this arrangement…see the below emails for more.
A. FIRST EMAIL
Brad,
This is the second day in a row for Dave being illegally parked. I left a copy of the notice in your mailbox. He should be fined $25 and since you are away, who is the Board member in charge of calling the tow company? As we discussed with Dave, there is no way he can fit a car there yet he still tries without cleaning out his garage. Board members should set a better example for the community.
Steve
BELOW ARE PICTURES STEVE TOOK OF OUR PROPERTY AT 4:30 am – freaky huh?
B. On Aug 20, 2008, at 7:30 PM, Brad/Anna Chapman wrote:
I have been notified by Dave that he will be appealing the fine to the Covenants Committee based on a property design flaw when his home was originally built.
Annie--- I hope you can find a time in the next few days for your committee to be able to meet to discuss whether this flaw merits an exemption or not.
Frankly, since I haven't gotten a complaint from anyone that lives on our street about the car in 2+ years of living here (and I live close enough that the car has never been a problem for me), my recommendation is that we let due process determine whether or not the exemption will be granted. Steve, you even said that if it is determined that there is a design flaw, then an exemption should be granted because the owner can and should not be at fault for something outside of their control.
C. STEVE AGAIN
From: Steve Wilkins [mailto:gWilkins@bellsouth.net]
Brad,
After members of the enforcement committee discussed the situation it was agreed that it could not be determined if he can or cannot get out until he agrees to clean out his garage. He had over one week to clean out the garage and then give us the opportunity to see if this is the case.
I again quote committee member Betsy Bryd who said "we are going to do this right, or we are not going to do it at all." There are other people who can make the same claim to park their car in this same area of their home. This is a precedent established that goes against our covenants and by-laws. There are other homes that have fences behind the garage that have no problem.
You can go through the process of the appeal and that is fine with me and I will go along with the decision. Since he continues to park in this area in the meantime I will not place any more warnings on his car until a decision is reached.
Brad, who was the person you left to make the towing call while you were gone?
Steve
D. On Wed, Aug 20, 2008 at 10:18 PM, Brad/Anna Chapman <mmChapman@bellsouth.net> wrote:
First of all, all of the board members have said they are willing to assist in the event of my being out of town. As such, you have their names and emails/numbers, but if not, please refer to the website.
As we have previously discussed, towing should always be considered a last resort, not a punitive measure against a fellow neighbor. It is this type of inflammatory rhetoric and behavior that has caused such anger and frustration to permeate throughout the neighborhood over the past two years.
Yes, Dave has had a week to clean out his garage. However, stepping back from the situation, you may need to know that his grandmother passed away this week, and in the aftermath of that, he had to be out of town for a wedding. Additionally, one night last week he participated in our VOLUNTARY Board Meeting, where he shared information regarding his persistence paying lucrative dividends for the neighborhood by getting the insurance company to finally pay River Walk HOA $15,000+ for damages caused by the fire. In this way, I believe Dave is setting a fine example of leadership for our community, and I'm sorry you are not privy to some of this during the fact (and base your opinion of his community contributions solely on the location of his car). You should realize that this will mean that we probably won't have to raise HOA dues this year, due in part to his thankless work on our behalf. I am expounding on all of this to simply say let's let the governmental structure of our neighborhood work – good government is often slow, but its diligence means it often gets it right too. I have every confidence in the Covenants Committee, and what they determine will be the end of it. [Actually, Dave can appeal all the way to the board, but hopefully, the Covenants Cmte will yield a result that is beneficial to ALL concerned so that it doesn't go this far.]
Again, thank you for your service to our community. Please know that this is being addressed and when a decision is made, you will all be notified of the outcome.
E. On Aug 20, 2008, at 10:40 PM, Betsy Bryd wrote:
I agree with you Brad that all board members who serve do not get the credit they desire with serving as board members. You give up your time with your family to volunteer to make this a better community, and I can only speak for myself, but we forget that and don't thank you enough.
From this may I please make this suggestion. We did set out the rules stating that no one could park behind their house if there was not enough space and said that Dave Winters was one of those houses. I propose that while he is going through the committee he be ask to follow the rules as they were set up. Once the committee has made their decision, if what Dave says is true, then he may go back to parking there. Until then he should follow the rules as they are stated and as we have asked all the neighbors to do so.
F. From: Steve
Date: August 21, 2008 4:57:55 AM EDT
Dear Brad,
I sympathize with any situation where people are having a tough time dealing with hardships that we all go through in life. We formed a committee of residents who expressed a concern about parking and about our rules. I believe all the members of the committee had the opportunity to express their concerns and most did. We invited every resident to participate on the committee. Some did and some did not. On the last night we toured the neighborhood including the common alleyways. We also followed your lead Brad in visiting all homes in the community to discuss this issue with homeowners and residents. I especially appreciate the people across the street from you who listened to what the committee was saying, cleaned out their garage, and are now parking their cars in the designated areas.
Your reference to the "inflammatory rhetoric" is directed specifically at me. I am the member of the committee who delivered the notices to Dave Winters's car two mornings in a row for violating the rules. There was nothing "inflammatory" on those notices. After a Board member parked like this, despite the numerous visits made by different members of the enforcement committee he still chose to ignore our suggestion to park at the pool until such time as we could better determine if he was entitled to an exception. The Covenant Committee will now do just that.
Yes, I did call for his resignation and I acted alone in this. I feel that it is a conflict of interest to have a Board member who intentionally ignores the suggestions made by at least three members of the enforcement committee. Dave placed us in a situation we did not ask to be placed in when he violated our rules. I do agree that towing should be a last resort and I was hoping since you live practically next door to him that you could convince Dave to follow the rules. You did not have any success.
I also called for the resignation of another Board member who struck a resident a few months back. However, the Board chose not to take action in this case. This same Board member and his wife came out of their home last evening when I was returning from speaking with a neighbor and ridiculed me about being a member of this committee as well as being a teacher.
If you would like to refer to my positions as being "inflammatory" you have that right, These comments are directed at me, but I am not the only one who seeks to have the rules enforced.
I applaud Betsy for sticking to her opinion and for her recommendation to you, Brad. After all, that was all of our recommendation to Dave from the start. I have heard comments from home owners who do not serve on the committee commenting on how nice the neighborhood looks, and it does look better. We shall see how the Covenant Committee rules and abide by their decision.
I would be more than happy to convene another meeting of the entire committee so we can hear again the concerns that were expressed from the onset. "We are either going to do this right or not do it at all." The very first time we have to deal with an issue we are asked to ignore the rules and suggestions and make an exception. I do not think that would be a good idea.
G. MARK RESPONDS TO THIS:
On Aug 20, 2008, at 8:04 PM, Banks, Mark wrote:
Steve,
Along with what Brad stated, I too live on the street where Dave parks and there has never been a problem getting in or out. I saw you pix and I went out to look at the car. It is inches over the line of his property. I clearly state that this is not an issue.
Pushing on something so small is what gets everyone upset. You are becoming the problem not the solution in this case. You are never allowed to touch someone’s private property nor are you allowed to tow and should not threaten your fellow neighbors that you will tow. I saw a note on Dave’s car stating that if you touch their car you will be reported to the police. That note alone tells me that this situation has been handled poorly and since the note only had your name on it, you have failed. In the future be more understanding and step back and ask are the couple inches hurting anyone or are you overstepping your authority. These are rules we have in place and we are to enforce them as we see fit. I am sure if anyone in our community is asked if they have a problem with Dave’s car being inches over their property line and not presenting a hazard, the answer would be no. We represent the community’s well being and only that.
Please remember towing is the last option and in this case it is not even a close option.
I appreciate you on the committee, but keep things in mind that you are to look at every incident and judge the severity.
If this were to come up again, I will clearly state my side.
Let’s move on to any other issues at hand that might hurt our community.
If anyone feels I am out line pointing out that we are heading back down the line that Charles set when he too overstepped his authority and upset the community, let me know.
H. STEVE HAS TO HAVE HIS LAST WORD:
* the verbal assault occurred when Mark and his wife Amy saw Steve walking home this very night and Mark mentioned to Steve that he had just sent him an email, Steve began to taunt and antagonize Mark, saying “you are a worthless board member, you think you are the neighborhood hero…” and so on and so forth….Mark got very upset with him and did Amy and said to please stop picking on their friends and leave people alone to which the schoolteacher Steve responded by saying “come on down and take a swing at me and I’ll put your ass in jail” The Bankss are afraid to let their kids out of their house now.
From: Steve Wilkins <gWilkins@bellsouth.net>
Dear Mark,
After the verbal assault I endured returning from a neighbors home this evening from you and your wife I will wait until the September meeting to speak with and about you when there is order being kept so that you have to listen and not always have the last word. I look forward to discussing any issue with you and your wife at that time.
Steve Wilkins
More from Steve…
From: Steve Wilkins
Date: May 3, 2008 1:58:57 PM EDT
From the covenant, which we all agree to abide by when we move into River Walk:
Parking of any vehicles on streets or thoroughfares within the Properties, or
parking of commercial vehicles or equipment, trucks over one ton, mobile
homes, recreational vehicles, boats and other watercraft, trailers, stored
vehicles or inoperable vehicles in places other than enclosed garages;
provided, construction, service and delivery vehicles shall be exempt from
this provision during daylight hours for such period of time as is reasonably
necessary to provide service or to make a delivery to a Unit or the Common
Areas;
It is my hope that you will address this issue with the respective homeowner regarding this violation.
Thanks for your time.
Steve Wilkins
*Images removed to protect privacy
22 Riverside Lane
IMG_0109.JPG
IMG_0111.JPG
Dumpster Issues
From: Steve Wilkins
Date: May 17, 2008 7:42:15 PM EDT
To: president@River Walk.org, vicepresident@River Walk.org, secretary@River Walk.org
Subject: Dumpster on Riverside Lane
Hello All,
I just asked my I guess you would call him neighbor from across the street about the dumpster on Riverside Lane that I was under the assumption would be removed yesterday. Once again I am concerned about really being cut off by illegal parking on the park and now a dumpster blocking access to my house. I asked the individual, who is a real personable guy, when he was planning on having it out of here and he said he " would try to have it out of here on Monday." I believe this answer is unacceptable and the placement of the dumpster is poor planning in the first place. I certainly understand the need for having this when you have not lived in a home for over four years and have used it as a storage facility. However, they do not appear to be in any hurry to move it.
They asked your permission to do this until Friday, but that does not appear to be honored at this time or in the next few days. I believe there should be some kind of assessment for their inconsiderate delay and I cannot wait to see what it has done to the street when it is moved.
Steve Wilkins
From: Steve Wilkins
Date: May 19, 2008 4:37:52 PM EDT
Subject: Dumpster
Good afternoon,
I am not surprised to see the dumpster still parked on Riverside Lane. I am happy to see, however, that the community took advantage of the opportunity to drop the burnt fence and other items in the dumpster. it is the least this homeowner should have to pay for the inconvenience to those of us who drive on this road every day and the danger she has placed us in. Tuesday will mark the seventh consecutive day it has been in this location and I think it is time for it to be moved. If that is not possible, and I do not see why not since the phone number is on the dumpster, then there should be a stiff penalty for continuing to leave it there. You informed us last Wednesday that it would be gone on Friday.
Also, I know of three people, other than myself, who are ready to get going on the parking committee. Let us know when you would like to have a meeting Brad.
Steve Wilkins
22 Riverside Lane
More stalking and photos from Steve…..
From: Steve Wilkins <gWilkins@bellsouth.net>
Date: June 9, 2008 9:40:34 AM EDT
To: president@River Walk.org, vicepresident@River Walk.org, secretary@River Walk.org, treasurer@River Walk.org
Subject: 787 River Walk Drive
Hello All,
As I have mentioned repeatedly, my main concern in sending you these photos is the upkeep of our neighborhood and trying my hardest to maintain our property values. It appears to be harder to do this with what is being allowed to take place in our community. We have the Life University House with sometimes seven people staying there, the house in the cul de sac with six cars parked in the driveway and street each night and now we have this house. I know that some of the photos will be hard to see but please feel free to walk by the home and see for yourselves. There are numerous windows in the house with broken blinds that are obvious to anyone who looks. Gee, I don't think I would want to buy a house next to this one. There is also a hose from a fountain that sticks out under the fence and runs down the sidewalk. The straw in this equation that breaks the camels back is the new window unit air conditioner, plugged into the outside socket that is propped up with a board and has a bucket on the porch underneath the unit. I believe the covenants refer to outside appearance of homes in the neighborhood. Is is also possible that the use of this unit could constitute a fire hazard? I am not an electrician, but I believe this units require a certain type of socket. Anyway, this house is becoming more and more of an eyesore. It also happens to be across the street to the home that has been on the market for around nine months, and one two doors down. Maybe by the end of October we can have a community haunted house?
I know this is not the popular thing to have to address and we have one board member who takes the Rodney King approach to the community of, "can't we all just get along" but unfortunately we have a growing number of residents, owners, boarders, renters and so on who just do not care about the neighborhood.
As always,
Steve Wilkins
Images removed for privacy……..
IMG_0Cobblestone1.JPG
IMG_0Cobblestone2.JPG
IMG_0Cobblestone3.JPG
A. MARK RESPONDS
On Jun 15, 2008, at 8:38 PM, Mark P Banks wrote:
Steve,
i spoke with Dick as a neighbor and he explained that his AC is
broken and
has a technician coming out. I have a follow visit to check on
progress.
Thanks for the alert,
Mark
B. STEVE AGAIN
To:
Banks3246@bellsouth.net
Cc: vicepresident@River Walk.org; secretary@River Walk.org
Subject: Re: 787 River Walk Drive
Mark,
Thanks for the info. I notice it is still up three days after you sent
this note. I know some may think it is none of my business to send
notes regarding air conditioning and renters who rarely prune, but it
does nothing for the appearance of the neighborhood that we all try to
maintain. The work you do with your property is a perfect example,
Mark. You spend a lot of time and it makes the neighborhood attractive
to prospective buyers and hopefully will bring in even more people who
would like to do the same. I think the tree pruned on Cobblestone looks
good, but why is it necessary for the board to ask when an owner/
renter plans to trim? I think you know the answer. See you on the
23rd.
Steve
C. MARK AGAIN:
On Jun 19, 2008, at 6:31 PM, Mark P Banks wrote:
Steve,
I have always said that I prefer any complaints be brought to the
attention
of the person causing the problem. If a neighbor is doing anything
that I
feel should be talked to, I do it.
All I ask is that if you got an issue goto the neighbor before you
come to
me. If you have done that and the problem still exist, i will talk
with
them. I think that is simple and neighbors agree that they prefer to
hear
from the complainer before a board member talks with them.
I will not be there on 23rd. I hope to see you on the 28th at our
block
party
D. STEVE HAS TO HAVE THE LAST WORD:
Dear Mark,
I have heard where you are coming from with the neighbor approaching
neighbor action that you are talking about. However, I think that is
part of the reason why we have a board to begin with, which is what
you chose to run for. I too submitted my name to be on the board but
from what I hear, since I could not attend the meeting due to work
commitments, was soundly defeated. I also understand that there were a
few owners at that meeting who collected numerous proxies from their
friends to get people elected who would take an approach that would be
less intrusive into the daily affairs of residents. That may or may
not be the case, but I feel that if it is indeed true that is part of
the reason why the neighborhood is taking the course that it is.
As I have mentioned repeatedly in my filling out of forms and
submission of photographs my main concern is the maintaining of
property values. I do not know the person who lives at the address
with the portable air conditioning unit still plugged into his window
almost two weeks since I brought it to the attention of the board. The
issue of someone doing this along with the unsightly broken blinds
that dot the windows of this home clearly visible to anyone who walks
or drives by could be a contributing factor to homes in that area not
being sold. So are you saying that I as a private resident and non
board member should approach the home with the six cars parked in
front and in the cul de sac, along with my neighbor behind my home who
continuously leaves her back door open even when she is not home to
allow her dogs to go in and out, along with the home behind Theresa's
that has not cut their grass in close to a month and leaves their
garbage can out in plain site every day, along with the house in
question for this e-mail, the house on Cobblestone that I asked to trim
their tree trimmed, and the people who live across from Dave Winters
who park their car on the grass? I really believe Mark that it is the
Board's responsibility to do this and not mine. I believe that if I
read the covenant correctly, Mark that the Board has a legal
responsibility to enforce the covenant. That is not being done, Mark
because we have some people, in the minority, who do not pay attention
to what we should all be required to live by.
Your Rodney King approach to everyone just getting along does not work
in my opinion, Mark. That house that we speak of specifically in this
e-mail has had the air conditioner in the window propped up on plywood
for close to two weeks now. The blinds have been broken for months.
All that it takes, in my opinion, is for us as a community to
continually allow this type of thing to go on and we can have more
people move in doing the same things. Since we all signed the covenant
at closing and are aware of the simple rules that we should all be
following I suggest that the rules be enforced for everyone.
By the way, the front of the community looks a whole lot better and I
appreciate your efforts to take care of this.
Steve
E. HERE WE GO AGAIN:
From: "Mark P Banks"
Date: June 19, 2008 8:30:Cobblestone PM EDT
To: "Steve Wilkins"
Subject: RE: 787 River Walk Drive
Reply-To: <
Steve,
i was telling you how i handle issues. I am not trying to convince you that
complaining of others problems is wrong, but the amount of time you spend on
complaining you could just knock on a door and talk to the neighbor. Example
of air conditioner, you could have asked glenn why he has an airconditioner
in the window. You would have got the same answer as me, main unit broken
and being repaired. That is reasonable reason to stay cool. Our values are
not dropping because his unit is broken. If done this way you would have
your answer and Glenn would know that neighbors do not care for the look.
That would have taken the time to walk to his house.
Once again Steve, i do not care if you do complain but be clear if you do not
take it up with the neighbor you are just complaining not fixing. Also, i do
not keep secrete of who is complaining to the board and not the resident. I
will tell the person who complained and that is why i am here. It is too
easy to just complain, it is harder to fix the issues.
The board is here to enforce rules that are being broken, but nowhere does
it say a neighbor can not speak to another neighbor about an issue.
Yes i think the front looks great and i got alot of volunteers to plant
flowers Sunday so it should look a little better.
F. STEVE AGAIN
From: Steve Wilkins <gWilkins@bellsouth.net>
Date: July 1, 2008 1:09:30 PM EDT
To: president@River Walk.org, vicepresident@River Walk.org, secretary@River Walk.org, treasurer@River Walk.org
Subject: Fwd: 787 River Walk Drive
Dear Board Members,
I am forwarding you the correspondence between Mark Banks and myself regarding the air conditioning unit sticking out of the window at this address and propped up by a 2x4 piece of plywood. With the home market what it is I believe this house is contributing to the difficulty of people buying in this area. Along with the air conditioning unit and the plywood on the front porch are the broken slats in some blinds that are clearly visible to anyone walking by and the overall need for a cleaning of the porch. The condition of the swing is an example.
Next weeks marks the end of one month since I first filed a formal complaint about this home. Mark Banks spoke to the owner and you can see the response in his comments to me. I do not believe that Mr. Banks knocking on this guys door, or my being more "neighborly" in going to personally bring this issue to the owners attention, as Mr. Banks suggests I do, has done any good. As I have tried to mention to Mr. Banks, I do not believe his approach of being "neighborly" and having everyone just get along, works. Unfortunately we have people who do not care about the appearance of the neighborhood. However, as I have mentioned to you before my goal is to help maintain property values and allow people a better opportunity to be able to sell their homes.
As you prepare to meet this week I would hope that you could convince Mr. Banks, who is in charge of the Architecture committee and therefore in charge of this issue, to take formal action as the covenant suggests regarding this house. It will mean much more as a formal action by you than any discussion Mr. Banks or I can have with this owner. Maybe while Mr. Banks is at it he can see if the owner with all the "Hawks" signs in his window, another violation of the covenants, can create a room inside his home for his memorabilia.
As you know, if you allow this type of activity to exist you are establishing the precedent of allowing it for everyone. Look at how difficult it is for us to get a parking committee going to address people parking illegally for close to two years now. Please stop allowing this exceptions to rules we are all expected to live by and is part of the paperwork we signed at closing.
Thank you for your time and I hope you all have a nice holiday. I am sorry that I have to send these e-mails and file complaints but I am determined to now allow property values to decline because of our neglecting the covenants. Mr. Banks does not think this air conditioning unit contributes to the lowering of values, however, I disagree. You allow one house to do this, one house to have signs in the window, one house to rent out rooms, three houses to park unlimited cars each night and the neighborhood will decline. I hope I do not have the opportunity to tell you "I told you so."
Respectfully,
Steve Wilkins
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