12-28-2017, 05:47 AM
If everyone quit bitching and started paying their road dues we could have some nicer roads.
This assumes that the associations will be well managed. The great majority of HPP owners and I have paid our road dues on time every year, and my road and those of everyone else I know on an unpaved road have gotten worse. This has been particularly true since funds have been used to pay for the paving bond and for chip seal.
The real problem is the model of governance of these subdivisions. The only oversight with any real muscle is the ability of the stakeholders to sue the association. Witness Orchidland's landing in receivership via suit, a fate many of us envy. In an environment of low participation, rogue boards which violate bylaws have nothing to fear but a lawsuit by the members. And even then, they can use the resources of the members to defend themselves.
I am convinced that the association model is broken and that "democracy" doesn't work, at least in HPP. A judge appointed board of non-residents with annually reviewed and published audits would be a huge improvement. We have proven to be utterly incapable of managing ourselves on a volunteer basis.
This assumes that the associations will be well managed. The great majority of HPP owners and I have paid our road dues on time every year, and my road and those of everyone else I know on an unpaved road have gotten worse. This has been particularly true since funds have been used to pay for the paving bond and for chip seal.
The real problem is the model of governance of these subdivisions. The only oversight with any real muscle is the ability of the stakeholders to sue the association. Witness Orchidland's landing in receivership via suit, a fate many of us envy. In an environment of low participation, rogue boards which violate bylaws have nothing to fear but a lawsuit by the members. And even then, they can use the resources of the members to defend themselves.
I am convinced that the association model is broken and that "democracy" doesn't work, at least in HPP. A judge appointed board of non-residents with annually reviewed and published audits would be a huge improvement. We have proven to be utterly incapable of managing ourselves on a volunteer basis.