Chaska Herald - Jonathan Association - Comments

JIAPOS...a.k.a. MUD-SLINGER.

Kelster — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:17:35 -0500

JIAPOS...a.k.a. MUD-SLINGER. You didn't present ANY "facts"; just criticised MS. What did he distort? Maybe you can share with the community which of the removed board member(s) were appropriately elected. Or are you still blinded by the cronyism of past boards? And wasn't it the attorney who the past board hired that recommended the remaining three board members appoint four new board members?

Let's not allow the truth to get in the way of discounting someone, eh JIAPOS?

JIAPOS - Please remember

txaggie94 — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 20:21:21 -0500

JIAPOS - Please remember that 5 of the current 9 Board Members were elected by the residents of Jonathan by some pretty overwhelming margins.

2008 - Bensman, Tierney, & Rossoll.

2007 - Awes & Liebe

By the way - I would love it if, in the spirit of civil discourse, you'd be willing to share your names and stand behind your opinions publicly.

-Katie Tierney

MS just more Mud

JIAPOS — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:51:31 -0500

MS just more Mud Slinging.

Don't let the facts get in the way of multiple distortions.

I seem to recall that three board members selected 4 board members. So three people selected 4 - sounds like a solid majority!!!

Thank you, Mollee for

sfwug — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 09:44:32 -0500

Thank you, Mollee for posting the link regarding the nationwide issue of unpaid homeowner assessments. The information is interesting and goes to refuting most all of "JS's" assumptions. Although "JS" would have us believe the unpaid dues are an indication that homeowners do not support the removal of board members in February, it's obvious to most the matter is much more complex then this simple conclusion. Apparently "JS" must not have attended or watched the February 12, 2008 Jonathan Board Meeting. It was at this meeting the association's auditor stated that at the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2007 (before the removal of board members and the elections), the Accounts Receivable were critically high; the highest she had ever seen. The auditor, an objective opinion hired by the prior board surmised that much of the past due amounts could be attributed to the past boards actions. She also cited very poor record keeping practices by the Association which as you know "JS", is the responsibility of the Association's Secretary and those the board hires.

"JS" also seems to imply that Jonathan residents are not paying their dues because of "dissatisfaction with the current board" and calls this a "fact". Please enlighten us with the source of your "facts" "JS". Some residents have said that a previous board member told them not to pay their dues. In fact, within the last year one of the now removed board member wrote a letter to this paper saying he didn't think he should have to pay his dues. What example does this set for the Membership? In fact, this board member had NEVER paid any dues at the time of his letter. Yet, he was hand picked by the malcontents on the board to sit with them whenever a vote about dissolution or the lawsuit was held. What champions for the community!

"JS" must also be a mind reader. He or she states the legal and proper removal of the malcontents on the board was made by a "small group of individuals who are blinded by visions of recapturing the past dream of Jonathan" yet has made no attempt to discuss the matter with the person who put forth the motion, or the person who seconded the motion to know their "vision". I wonder if he/she has discussed the "visions" of the 97% of the homeowners and apartment owners who voted to remove the malcontents. Most would consider this virtually unanimous. As the person who put forth the motion, I can say I am NOT blinded by the past dream of Jonathan. I see many assets and opportunity within our community and only wish to preserve and improve them for everyone to enjoy. Not to use other people's money to attempt to destroy the community.

"JS" also seems to want to ignore the true facts about those who made up the previous board. Several were seated "improperly" by vote tabulation errors due to incorrect instructions being given to the Women's League of Voters; one board member was seated "improperly" and once this was challenged some on the board worked to conceal the associations attorney's opinion from the other board members. Other board seats were held open, even past announced dates to fill the positions, until some on the board could locate others that wanted to dissolve the Association. Illegal? No. But many might agree that it's improper and unethical. "JS" also wants to ignore the fact that the recently elected board members won their seats in a landslide over the three other candidates who supported dissolving the Association or pursuing the legal maneuvering the previous board attempted to shove down the shareholders throats.

The fact is that the board's over the last four to five years have done very little to add value to our community. In fact, they have recklessly and needlessly increased the Associations risk to litigation. Due to their lack of fiduciary responsibility such as lowering dues, spending everyone's money to see how Autumn Woods could secede, etc., it will take at least several years for any well intended board to get the Association financially back on track. As long as we have diligent stewards like Ms. Tierney objecting to foolish suggestions by at least one board member and apparently favored by at least one other to build new mail and bus stations in Oak Valley where the Association is not responsible to build or maintain these types of amenities, I'm confident the Members are being represented by a more responsible board of directors who are not serving their self-interests.

Unfortunately "JS" YOU took the opportunity to show very little to no respect for someone who is volunteering her time to make YOUR community better. Ms. Tierney took no "shots". She stated a reality. Is that a "shot"? Some think respect is being pleasant, nice or "politically correct" to someone publicly or to their face, but then criticize the person behind their back. Is that respect? Isn't it more respectful if we are accountable for our actions, acknowledge our mistakes and failures and work together to resolve them? Isn't it MORE respectful to honor our word and govern, act or play by the rules?

You were actually correct about one issue, "JS". The real estate market is indeed very soft. However, most Realtors will tell you that given the current inventory of homes for sale, street appeal is critical. Often a polite request from an Association to a homeowner to mow their lawn can address the problem versus unnecessarily utilizing more costly government resources. I'm confident the very nice people at the City you reference have more pressing matters to attend. Don't you?

Respectfully,
Michael Sibley

25 days to deposit my check

hadhad — Fri, 30 May 2008 19:34:56 -0500

25 days to deposit my check for dues! Are the records accurate with regards to dues payments? How much cash is in the bank?

The current financial report is not available at the web site. Where are the facts, where is the sunshine.

The herald articles says 1050 residents were past due for a total of $192,000. If the dues are $195 year, that equates to 985 people.

If the Jonathan Association no longer existed, would the residents miss it? Would they notice? would they care? I doubt it.

The Jonathan Association

Mollee Francisco — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:08:47 -0500

The Jonathan Association isn't alone when it comes to having trouble collecting dues. According to this story from USA Today: Skipped dues crunch home associations, many of the nation's homeowner's associations are facing increasing delinquencies.

(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

Wrong, wrong, wrong!! If

JS — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:37:20 -0500

Wrong, wrong, wrong!! If the current “unpaid dues problem” truly reflected a wide-spread dissatisfaction with some past Board, this problem would have corrected itself by now. After all, it has been 3 long months since the majority of the Jonathan Association Board of Directors were thrown out (in a widely-discussed move that many view as a sneaky and under-handed ploy by a small group of individuals who are blinded by visions of recapturing the past dream of Jonathan – a dream that likely can NOT be recreated without the benefit of millions of dollars in federal aid, similar to what was required to create Jonathan in the first place). If the majority of Jonathan residents actually supported that under-handed move, as some of the current Board members might like to presume, then we should expect that most of the “unpaid dues problems” would have quickly been paid-up after the election, in anticipation of a new Board. However that is clearly not the case. In fact quite the opposite is true: the record number of people who are not paying their dues this year reflects dissatisfaction with the current Board rather than any prior Boards.

Oddly enough, several of the current Board members ran under a platform of “respect for others.” However, I’m not seeing that “respect”... In fact, what I see in the above posting is a current Board member taking shots at people over someone who took the time to write of their frustration with the Jonathan Association. The fact that the association office told that resident that a complaint about a broken mailbox had to go before the Board does not necessarily reflect on a past or current Board. Instead of quickly defaulting to finger-pointing and blaming others, let’s expend a little energy to look at the problem and try to find a solution. Come on, enough already of trying to blame everything on a simple scapegoat like a past Board.

And, your remarks about the real estate market (re: a home that had been on the market for 21 months, due to an un-mowed lawn next door) are a stretch at best. We all know that the real estate market is soft throughout many parts of the country right now. Membership in the Jonathan Association will not save you from that unpleasant reality. As is the case with most other cities, Chaska requires property owners to mow and maintain their property through City Ordinances. If your friend’s home is located in Chaska, simply contact the City. They are very nice, and I’m sure they would be happy to help.

There are two problems that

txaggie94 — Fri, 23 May 2008 15:03:34 -0500

There are two problems that I think you're facing:

1. The previous members of the Board of Directors were focused on destroying the Jonathan Association (and said so themselves on numerous occasions). To that end, they spent over $150,000 of YOUR money on legal fees, which left very little for maintenance and upkeep. Thankfully, your neighbors spoke up, and a new Board of Directors was elected and appointed. This new Board of Directors is focused on improving the Jonathan Association, and addressing the problems you're experiencing. In fact, we've already worked to landscape a long-neglected area off Clover Ridge Drive, and have approved new garbage receptacles throughout Jonathan.

2. When people don't pay their dues, claiming that they "get nothing for them," they are essentially stealing from their neighbors. Just as the previous Board essentially stole your dues to fund their legal agenda, your neighbors who don't pay their dues steal our ability to maintain the property. If we don't get the money from the property owners, how can we possibly pay for the maintenance?

I think people really don't understand the benefits a homeowner's association can provide. I was speaking with a friend of mine last night who lives in a non-association neighborhood, and he was lamenting the poor upkeep on the $500K plus homes. He told me that one home in his neighborhood had been on the market for 21 months(!) because people would see the home across the street with weeds up to the windows and were not interested in living there. In Jonathan, you have protection against this kind of blight. And your property values reflect that.

You also make a very important point that most people don't understand: As a property owner in Jonathan, you signed a legally binding document to pay your Association Dues on or before March 31 of every year. If you don't pay the dues, the Association can put a lien on your home. This was an agreement that each and every property owner made with the Jonathan Association, and I am sure that most of the people who have not paid are upstanding citizens who will fulfill the obligations to which they agreed.

Give the new Board of Directors a chance to make it better. Send an email to jonathan@jonathaninchaska.com, and tell us what needs to happen. We can't make it better if you don't let us know what you need.

-Katie Tierney
Board of Directors - Jonathan Association
(member of the Finance and Communications Committees)

If there wasn't any legal

momof2 — Fri, 23 May 2008 09:27:03 -0500

If there wasn't any legal obligation to pay Jonathan dues, I wouldn't have paid mine. I look around my neighborhood and I see things that the association should be taking care of and I ask myself what am I paying them for anyway. All winter long walking paths weren't cleared to take my kids for a walk, garbages overfilling with excrement filled bags, broken playground equiptment, broken mailboxes, etc. When I contacted the association about broken mailboxes, I was told that the issue would have to be brought in front of the board and approved which could take months.

Thanks very much for

txaggie94 — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:01:20 -0500

Thanks very much for including this information! It is very helpful to the Jonathan members!

-Katie

Congratulations new board

sfwug — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:32:31 -0500

Congratulations new board members! The overwhelming support you received is indicative of the positive direction the vast majority of association members expect and wants the association to move towards. If your hard work and positive campaign are indicative of the direction the association is headed, we are in much better shape then we've been in the last 5 years.

Unfortunately, the actions of the board over the last 5 years have placed the association in a very difficult financial position. With reasonable, dedicated and responsible board members like yourselves and those appointed earlier this month, we can make Jonathan an attractive community again.

For those who may not be

sfwug — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:26:33 -0500

For those who may not be aware, Jonathan IS a part of Chaska. The roll of an association is to provide amenities over and above those provided by a city.

hadhad, had you been paying

sfwug — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 13:16:28 -0500

hadhad, had you been paying attention you would have noticed that three of those "removed" were initially "appointed" as well. A fourth was illegally "appointed" as a write-in candidate and the other two were "appointed" due to an incorrect tabulation of apartment votes. It's no wonder one of those "appointed" and later "removed" took it upon himself to shred the ballots from prior elections. Gotta cover those tracks, huh?

You also conveniently ignored the fact that the attorney representing the association and whom this “group” initially retained, recommended the last remaining board members fill the vacated positions.

I don't believe there is any dispute that the neighborhoods were indeed annexed incorrectly, but as the prior board learned, four states have addressed the issue of transferring development rights by intent, rather than by documentation. In each case the states have ruled that development rights can be transferred by intent. I wonder if that's why the board moved so quickly away from litigation to a "Settlement Agreement". You don't think they actually cared what anyone actually thought now do you, hadhad? If they HAD cared, why didn't they put dissolution or the legal action up for a vote?

I think you were "had" by the prior board.

Get rid of the Association

mnarch04 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:02:47 -0500

Get rid of the Association and make Jonathan a part of Chaska.

three people (one already

hadhad — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 21:43:12 -0500

three people (one already appointed) have picked four new board members.
Why bother with elections if everyone is appointed!
3,000 residents are completely ignored and treated as irrelevant.
Nothing wrong with this, it is exactly the same method that was used to annex new neighborhoods for the last 20 years.