12-23-2019, 07:39 AM
"they have refused to pay their road fees & threatened suit"
Not quite. They have been paying the fees that were agreed to, but not the commercial fees that were imposed after the fact. And they have only threatened to countersue should OLCA try to collect by suing them. OLCA is the one that is responsible for the majority of the threats, including the latest one.
The deal was made way back, and Mr. Watamul has upheld his end. OLCA is the one trying to change the agreement that was made. They added commercial fees to the bylaws thinking that they could be enforced, i.e., thinking that they can make law and enforce changes to contracts in the board room. The courts will not see it this way.
To add a little perspective as to why they might not want to agree to pay the commercial fees, you have to put yourself in their shoes. Once they agree to the change, they are now bound to it. Who sets the rate? The board? The membership? Either way they are vastly outnumbered and they would have little recourse if the fees become unreasonable. But of course we all know that our board and membership are always reasonable, right?
The deal that was made was not a good one for Orchidland, but empty threats and aggression will not solve it. In fact I expect it to backfire. They plan to go to the county with the threat of closing the road because it is unsafe. I would expect the county to say "OK, we'll put the responsible parties on notice". "Responsible parties" being OLCA, I would then expect an order to OLCA to fix the road or be responsible for the costs incurred by the county to fix it. JMO
Not quite. They have been paying the fees that were agreed to, but not the commercial fees that were imposed after the fact. And they have only threatened to countersue should OLCA try to collect by suing them. OLCA is the one that is responsible for the majority of the threats, including the latest one.
The deal was made way back, and Mr. Watamul has upheld his end. OLCA is the one trying to change the agreement that was made. They added commercial fees to the bylaws thinking that they could be enforced, i.e., thinking that they can make law and enforce changes to contracts in the board room. The courts will not see it this way.
To add a little perspective as to why they might not want to agree to pay the commercial fees, you have to put yourself in their shoes. Once they agree to the change, they are now bound to it. Who sets the rate? The board? The membership? Either way they are vastly outnumbered and they would have little recourse if the fees become unreasonable. But of course we all know that our board and membership are always reasonable, right?
The deal that was made was not a good one for Orchidland, but empty threats and aggression will not solve it. In fact I expect it to backfire. They plan to go to the county with the threat of closing the road because it is unsafe. I would expect the county to say "OK, we'll put the responsible parties on notice". "Responsible parties" being OLCA, I would then expect an order to OLCA to fix the road or be responsible for the costs incurred by the county to fix it. JMO