"THE FOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION" - Thursday, April 27, 2006
SUMMARY OF THE ANNUAL MEETING - AND OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS!!!!!
I actually audio recorded the entire meeting but of course, much of it is unintelligible due to the over-talking, etc., but I will be uploading the entire audio .wav file to the filefront.com site at
http://hosted.filefront.com/TFOI where you can also download current copies of the Bylaws, Rules and Regulations, Monthly Management reports going back a couple of years and other FCC letters and information.. including a copy of the Louisiana Condominium Act. I am still trying to compile a full and accurate copy of the entire FCC condominium declarations so that I can scan it and upload it but that is a project for another day. The meeting lasted a little over two hours.
Now on to the SUMMARY....
Sultan Mirza, the out-going President, was not present so only two Board Members were present at the front table, along with Chet Hingle. The two Board Members present were Don Gauthreaux and James Williams.
There was a very good turnout and the Board says that it was the largest turnout EVER at an FCC Annual Homeowners Meeting... gee.. I wonder why?
I was wearing my digital recorder on my shirt V neck opening and it was clearly on and recording but in Louisiana, you don't even have to tell someone you are recording them as long as you are a party to the conversation... which obviously I was.
When I went to cast my vote as the proxy holder and mortgagee for unit #76, I was told by James Williams, that I "...could not vote as there were three lawyers discussing whether I would be able to vote". Chet then approached the front table and told me, "Go sit your ass down". I told Chet an appropriate response and stood there. I then placed my vote in the ballot box and Chet reached in and pulled it out and kind of threw it at me. I picked it up and stood there waiting for the lawyers to finish. I guess it really irked Chet when the lawyers ruled in my favor because he came up to me and snatched my vote out of my hand and put it in the ballot box. He is such a HORSES-ASS!!!!
The Board Members proceeded to count the votes after asking a few times if everyone had voted. Neither of the nominees for the Board were present at the beginning of the meeting, but Mr. Manuel Cordova showed up after he got off of work. It was announced that Mrs. Eileen Garey was out of the country for a family matter and would be back in two weeks.
Eileen Garey, Unit 42, was the winner of the vote for the Board Of Directors but according to the bylaws, you vote for members of the Board and then the Board Of Directors votes to see who will be President, Vice-President, etc., so we will have to wait and see if Eileen Garey will be the President. Don Gauthreaux kept saying she would be the President so I guess it will be that way.
Eileen has previously submitted writings to this newsletter along with her email address so you can go to the TFOI Blog website at
http://TheFountainOfInformation.Blogspot.com and do a search for "Eileen Garey" to find her writings but here is the link to one of her replies back in November 2005, when she thought the Annual Meeting was only a few weeks away...
http://thefountainofinformation.blogspot.com/2006/02/fw-november-10-2005-edition-of.html. I presume this is what led her to run for the Presidency of FCCA... when Chet and the Board illegally canceled the Annual Meeting last year. I had edited her email address out of the website posting but she did send it out in the TFOI newsletter so here is YOUR NEW PRESIDENT'S EMAIL ADDRESS -
mcshaneeileen@aol.com Remember that she will be out of the country for a couple of weeks so do not expect an immediate reply but I'm sure she will be grateful for your well wishes on her successful election.
Chet Hingle then gave a brief summary of the finances at FCC and went over a few other things before turning his attention to ME. He announced to the room that he wanted to introduce "Lenny the tenant who connived a mortgage in order to get a vote and be at the meeting". I stood up and Chet started to attack me verbally and when I rebutted his attack, he went into his finger-pointing mode and started telling me to shut up or get out. Of course, I refused to shut up or get out. Several people in the room started complaining about Chet's attack on me and Chet told other people, "Those are Lenny's disciples", to which there was even more rumbling and objections to Chet's actions. Don Gauthreaux stood up and told Chet he was taking over the meeting so Chet sat down and was mostly mute the rest of the night. He did continue to talk down to many people who questioned him about his actions or inaction's at FCC. Basically, if you don't agree with Chet and walk lock-step behind him, he resorts to mal-treatment or name-calling. Fortunately, Don Gauthreaux had the fortitude to finally stand up to Chet as James Williams just sat there like a statue. Hopefully, now that Don Gauthreaux and Eileen Garey will be on the Board, Chet will have to start "acting" like a Professional Manager, even though most of us know he isn't. If he does start "acting" like a Professional Manager, I will be the first to nominate him for an Oscar because it will have to be some great "acting" for him to appear to be a Professional Manager.
The Annual Meeting did not follow the Bylaws or Robert's Rules of Order but was more like a Q&A session but at least the owners finally got to ask some of the hard questions that Chet and the Board have failed to answer for the past eight months. Don Gauthreaux repeatedly told the owners that "any owner" could review the books and records of the association but he alluded the fact that Mortgagees are allowed to review those records as well. They did not give out copies of the Annual Budget for 2006 nor the Audited Financial Statement for 2005 as required by the Bylaws but nobody asked for them either.. except for me in my letter last week.
There were quite a few very good questions asked and most of them were not answered or not answered sufficiently but Don did say the Board would get the answers. Unfortunately, I did not see Chet or James writing down any of these questions so I'm not sure how they will know what the questions were. We'll have to wait and see.
Although Chet Hingle has said repeatedly, in his letters and last night, that the next time there is a catastrophe, the Board will hire ONLY ONE contractor but Don Gauthreaux explained that this will not happen as long as he is on the Board. He says that the ONE contractor proposed by Chet shortly after Katrina wanted to give each owner a choice of two different cabinet styles/colors and two different carpeting styles/colors. Don was vehemently against this as he knew that he could hire his own contractor to get his unit customized with upgraded flooring, cabinets, etc., and still have thousands of dollars left over or as Don put it... "put some duckies in your pocket".
I agree with Don 100% on his attitude about each owner hiring their own contractor and this is what the Louisiana Condominium Act (LCA) says about the matter. My reading of the LCA is that EACH OWNER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REPAIR OF THEIR UNIT AND THE ASSOCIATION HAS TO GIVE THEM THEIR INSURANCE PROCEEDS WHICH WERE PAID TO THE ASSOCIATION AND SHOULD BE PUT HELD IN TRUST FOR THAT PURPOSE.
COPIED FROM THE LOUISIANA CONDOMINIUM ACT OFFICIAL STATE WEBSITE URL BELOW:
I have highlighted in RED and made BOLD applicable sections for this newsletter but you are welcome to read the entire Louisiana Condominium Act by clicking this link or downloading a copy from the TFOI filefront.com site:
http://www.legis.state.la.us/lss/lss.asp?doc=106535
RS 9:1121.101
PART II. LOUISIANA CONDOMINIUM ACT
(snipped)
RS 9:1123.107
§1123.107. Upkeep of the condominium
Except to the extent provided by the declaration, or Section 1123.112, the association is responsible for maintenance, repair, and replacement of the common elements, and each unit owner is responsible for maintenance, repair and replacement of his unit. (Added by this author - Please note that the word "replacement" obviously means the complete rebuilding/replacement of the interior of the unit as if destroyed by fire, flood, storm, etc.)
(snipped)
RS 9:1123.112
§1123.112. Insurance
A. Commencing not later than the time of the first conveyance of a unit to a person other than a declarant, the association shall maintain, to the extent reasonably available:
(1) Property insurance on the common elements and units, exclusive of improvements and betterments installed in units by unit owners, insuring against all risks of direct physical loss commonly insured against. The total amount of insurance after application of any deductibles shall be not less than eighty percent of the actual cash value of the insured property, exclusive of land, excavations, foundations, and other items normally excluded from property policies; and
(2) Comprehensive general liability insurance, including medical payments insurance, in an amount determined by the executive board but not less than any amount specified in the declaration, covering all occurrences commonly insured against for death, bodily injury, and property damage arising out of or in connection with the use, ownership, or maintenance of the common elements.
B. If the insurance described in Subsection A is not maintained, the association promptly shall cause notice of that fact to be hand-delivered or sent prepaid by United States mail to all unit owners. The declaration may require the association to carry any other insurance, and the association in any event may carry any other insurance it deems appropriate to protect the association or the unit owners.
C. Insurance policies carried pursuant to Subsection A must provide that:
(1) Each unit owner is an insured person under the policy with respect to liability arising out of his ownership of an individual interest in the common elements or membership in the association.
(2) The insurer waives its right to subrogation under the policy against any unit owner of the condominium or members of his household.
(3) No act or omission by any unit owner, unless acting within the scope of his authority on behalf of the association, will void the policy or be a condition to recovery under the policy, and
(4) If, at the time of a loss under the policy, there is other insurance in the name of a unit owner covering the same property covered by the policy, the policy is primary insurance not contributing with the other insurance.
D. Any loss covered by the property policy under Subsection A(1) shall be adjusted with the association, but the insurance proceeds for that loss shall be payable to any insurance trustee designated for that purpose, or otherwise to the association, and not to any mortgagee. The insurance trustee or the association shall hold any insurance proceeds in trust for unit owners and lien holders as their interests may appear. Subject to the provisions of Subsection G, the proceeds shall be disbursed first for the repair or restoration of the damaged common elements and units, and unit owners and lien holders are not entitled to receive payment of any portion of the proceeds unless there is a surplus of proceeds after the common elements and units have been completely repaired or restored, or the condominium is terminated.
E. An insurance policy issued to the association does not prevent a unit owner from obtaining insurance for his own benefit.
F. An insurer that has issued an insurance policy to the association under this Section shall issue certificates or memoranda of insurance, upon request, to any unit owner or mortgagee. The insurance may not be canceled until thirty days after notice of the proposed cancellation has been mailed to the association, each unit owner and each mortgagee to whom certificates of insurance have been issued.
G. Any portion of the condominium damaged or destroyed shall be repaired or replaced promptly by the association unless (1) the condominium is terminated, (2) repair or replacement would be illegal under any state or local health or safety statute or ordinance, or (3) eighty percent, or such other percentage provided in the declaration, of the unit owners vote not to rebuild. The cost of repair or replacement in excess of insurance proceeds and reserves is a common expense. If the entire condominium is not repaired or replaced, (1) the insurance proceeds attributable to the damaged common elements shall be used to restore the damaged area to a condition compatible with the remainder of the condominium, (2) the insurance proceeds attributable to units and limited common elements which are not rebuilt shall be distributed to the owners of those units and the owners of the units to which those limited common elements were assigned, and (3) the remainder of the proceeds shall be distributed to all the unit owners in proportion to their common element interest. If the unit owners vote not to rebuild any unit, that unit's entire common element interest, votes in the association, and common expense liability are automatically reallocated upon the vote as if the unit had been condemned under Section 1121.107, and the association promptly shall prepare, execute, and record an amendment to the declaration reflecting the reallocations. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Subsection, Section 1122.120 governs the distribution of insurance proceeds if the condominium is terminated.
Acts 1979, No. 682, §1.
NOW BACK TO THE SUMMARY...
Don Gauthreaux certainly heard from quite a few people about Chet's attitude problems, his cursing at people, his ignoring of owners requests for information, etc. Further, Chet Hingle outright lied several times in the meeting when people told Don how they gave Chet a written letter or mailed letters that should have gone to the Board and Don says the Board never got them. Chet denied getting the letters.... even certified letters that were signed for. James Williams just sat there mute on these matters as well. Now... maybe Don Gauthreaux did not know what was going on with Chet Hingle and James Williams but that does not give him a complete pass since he should have known what was going on around FCC since he has been living here for the past couple of months. Maybe Don needs to go public and tell everybody if James Williams and Chet Hingle were doing things without his knowledge since that is what it seems like was happening. Don really did not seem to know many of the things that Chet and James were doing to owners at FCC.
Overall, the affected owners finally had a chance to vent and ask questions.. most of which were not answered but hopefully that will change soon. Nearly every time I went to talk, one of Chet's "disciples" :-D would heckle me but I did get to interject several bits of facts and information into the meeting. When Don finally was going to allow me to voice my questions, I decided that the Owners had done an admirable job of questioning the Board and since the Board failed to answer most of their questions, I knew they would not answer mine either so I withdrew my request to be heard.... but ATTACHED is a reprint of the questions that I wanted answers to.
COPY OF ATTACHMENT:
FCCA 2005 ANNUAL HOMEOWNERS MEETING FACTS AND QUESTIONS - (THESE ARE TYPED IN ALL CAPS, ONLY TO MAKE THEM EASIER TO READ)
(IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN AROUND THE PAST EIGHT MONTHS OR YOU HAVE NOT HAD ANY DIRECT INVOLVEMENT WITH "CHET'S BOARD", YOU CAN READ ALL ABOUT CHET AND THE BOARD BY GOING TO "THE FOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION" WEBSITE AT http://TheFountainOfInformation.Blogspot.com WHERE THERE ARE ALSO LINKS TO THE BYLAWS, MONTHLY REPORTS, LETTERS AND ALL PAST EDITIONS OF "THE FOUNTAIN OF INFORMATION"... THE NON-BOARD NEWSLETTER FOR THE TRUTH AT FOUNTAIN COURT CONDOMINIUMS)
WHY DID CHET AND THE BOARD REFUSE TO HOLD ANY OPEN MEETINGS SINCE HURRICANE KATRINA OR ANSWER THE UNIT OWNER'S QUESTIONS? (THE FIRST LETTER DID NOT COME OUT UNTIL 10/17/06, NEARLY TWO MONTHS AFTER KATRINA). NEARLY ALL OF THE HURRICANE AFFECTED OWNERS AND NON-AFFECTED OWNERS WOULD HAVE BEEN GREATLY HELPED BY OPEN MEETINGS WHERE THEY COULD ASK QUESTIONS AND GET ANSWERS AND INFORMATION FROM CHET AND THE BOARD AND THEY COULD HAVE ALSO EXCHANGED INFORMATION WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN INVALUABLE TO EACH OTHER. THE ROOFING COMPANY, FLEUR DE LIS CONSTRUCTION, WANTED TO HOLD OPEN MEETINGS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS BUT CHET AND THE BOARD REFUSED TO ALLOW THEM TO HOLD ANY MEETINGS AS WELL. CHET ULTIMATELY CURSED THEM OUT IN THE OPEN REAR COURTYARD IN FRONT OF SEVERAL OWNERS. THIS REFUSAL TO HOLD MEETINGS AND CHET'S CURSING AT PEOPLE AND HIS GENERAL ATTITUDE TOWARDS PEOPLE ARE SOME OF THE REASONS WHY THE ROOFING COMPANY WALKED OFF THE JOB. WHY DID CHET AND THE BOARD ILLEGALLY CANCEL THE ANNUAL MEETING FROM BACK IN DECEMBER 2005 WHEN IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HELD... WHEN SO MANY PEOPLE NEEDED AND STILL NEED INFORMATION AND ANSWERS?
WHY DID IT TAKE NEARLY TWO MONTHS FOR CHET AND THE BOARD TO ISSUE THE FIRST LETTER TO THE OWNERS... A LETTER THAT WAS AMBIGUOUS AND PROVIDED ALMOST NO VALUABLE INFORMATION? IT SURE SEEMS LIKE THERE COULD HAVE BEEN WEEKLY MEETINGS IN THE COURTYARDS OR IN SOMEONE'S HOME TO PROVIDE INFORMATION AND ANSWERS BUT CHET AND THE BOARD DID NOT AND DO NOT WANT TO ANSWER YOUR LEGITIMATE AND PERFECTLY LEGAL QUESTIONS.
WHY DID CHET AND THE BOARD REFUSE TO DO MONTHLY REPORTS FOR FOUR MONTHS AFTER KATRINA? A TIME WHEN PEOPLE WERE DESPERATE FOR INFORMATION BUT CHET AND THE BOARD POINT BLANK REFUSED TO DO THE MONTHLY REPORTS... WHICH ARE SUPPOSED TO CONTAIN THE MONTHLY SUMMARY OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION. WHY ARE THEY STILL NOT PROVIDING ALL OF THE INFORMATION THAT SHOULD BE PROVIDED? WHAT ARE THEY HIDING?
WHY HAS CHET AND THE BOARD REFUSED TO PUBLISH THE DEPOSITS AND BALANCES OF INSURANCE MONEY RECEIVED AND DISBURSED SINCE KATRINA? THESE AMOUNTS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ON THE MONTHLY REPORTS BUT THEY ONLY LIST THE REGULAR ACCOUNT BALANCES AND THEY DO NOT EVEN SHOW ANY BASIC SUMMARY OF HOW MUCH CAME IN (DEPOSITS) AND HOW MUCH WAS SPENT (WITHDRAWALS) EACH MONTH.. AMOUNTS THAT ARE INCLUDED ON EVERY MONTHLY BANK STATEMENT.
WHY DOES CHET AND THE BOARD ATTACK ANYONE WHO TRIES TO AVAIL THEMSELVES OF THEIR RIGHTS UNDER THE BYLAWS? MY LETTER TO THE BOARD WAS A SIMPLE AND LEGAL REQUEST TO REVIEW THE FINANCIAL RECORDS AND WHAT DID CHET AND THE BOARD DO???? NOT GIVE ME A SIMPLE YES OR NO ANSWER IN WRITING.. .THEY DECIDED TO MAKE FCCA LIABLE FOR LIBEL, SLANDER AND DEFAMATION BY PUTTING OUT THE TWO PAGE LETTER FULL OF LIES. (CHET AND THE BOARD HAVE STEADFASTLY REFUSED TO SHOW THE FINANCIAL RECORDS TO MANY, MANY OWNERS AND PREVIOUS OWNERS SINCE KATRINA. SEVERAL PREVIOUS OWNERS SOLD OUT OF FCC, IN PART DUE TO CHET AND THE BOARD'S REFUSAL TO FOLLOW THE BYLAWS. WHAT DO THEY HAVE TO HIDE?????)
CHET HAS PUBLISHED IN HIS MONTHLY REPORT THAT HE HIRED THE FIRST TRASH REMOVAL COMPANY AND APPARENTLY HE NEVER DID ASK THEM "HOW MUCH?" OR GET ANYTHING IN WRITING BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOW CHARGED YOU, THE UNIT OWNERS, $29,000.00 FOR THREE (3) DAYS OF WORK.. NEARLY $10,000.00 A DAY FOR TWO WORKERS AND A FEW DUMPSTERS. WHY DIDN'T CHET ASK THEM FOR A BID OR AT LEAST ASK "HOW MUCH?" BEFORE HE AGREED TO LET THEM START HAULING THE TRASH????? (SEE THE FEBRUARY 2006 MONTHLY REPORT)
WHY DID CHET AND THE BOARD TRY TO HIDE OVER $200,000.00 OF FLOOD INSURANCE PROCEEDS FROM THE REAR COURTYARD FLOOD VICTIMS? WHY WON'T CHET AND THE BOARD SHOW ANYONE THE "FIRST ESTIMATE" WHICH WAS FOR NEARLY $500,000.00 AND YET CHET AND THE BOARD ONLY OFFERED THE FLOOD VICTIMS $321,000.00????? CHET AND THE BOARD OFFERED ONLY $12,000.00 FOR A 1BR, $15,000.00 FOR A 2BR AND $24,000.00 FOR A 3BR YET THE ITEMIZED ESTIMATE WAS FOR MUCH, MUCH MORE. ULTIMATELY, AFTER THEIR MISDEEDS WERE EXPOSED AND LENNY OBTAINED A COPY OF THE ACTUAL ESTIMATE, IT WAS REVEALED THAT THE ACTUAL ESTIMATE WAS FOR OVER $500,000.00 AND THAT A 1BR WOULD BE GETTING AROUND $20,000.00, A 2BR WOULD BE GETTING AROUND $25,000.00 AND A 3BR WOULD BE GETTING AROUND $36,000.00 JUST FROM THE FOUR FEET DOWN FLOOD DAMAGE CLAIM.
DID CHET AND THE BOARD TRY TO HIDE THE FEMA/NFIP FLOOD INSURANCE SETTLEMENT BECAUSE IT WOULD MAKE THEM LOOK RIDICULOUS SINCE THEY SETTLED THE SCOTTSDALE CLAIM FOR THE UPSTAIRS ROOF VICTIMS FOR SO MUCH LESS????? CHET AND THE BOARD'S ATTITUDE IS THAT THE MONEY BELONGS TO THE BOARD TO "DISPERSE AS THEY SEE FIT" (SEE THE JANUARY 2006 MONTHLY REPORT) BASICALLY, THEY THINK THAT THEY COULD KEEP OVER $200,000.00 OF FLOOD VICTIMS INSURANCE SETTLEMENT MONEY AND NOT TELL THEM ABOUT THAT HUGE AMOUNT OF MONEY THEY WERE HIDING. HOW MUCH ARE THEY HIDING FROM THE REST OF THE KATRINA VICTIMS? HAVE YOU SEEN THE FINANCIAL RECORDS OR INSURANCE SETTLEMENTS?????
WHY HAS THE BOARD ALLOWED CHET TO TREAT YOU, THE UNIT OWNERS IN SUCH A DEGRADING WAY? CHET HAS CURSED OUT MORE THAN A DOZEN PEOPLE AT FCC SINCE KATRINA. CHET EVEN CURSED OUT A MOM IN FRONT OF HER CHILDREN WHEN SHE DARED ASK CHET A LEGITIMATE QUESTION ABOUT THINGS GOING ON THAT AFFECTED HER UNIT. CHET CURSED OUT BOTH MEN AND WOMEN.. HE DOESN'T DISCRIMINATE WHEN HE GOES ON ONE OF HIS TIRADES. WOULD ANY EMPLOYEE BE ALLOWED TO CURSE OUT THE OWNERS OF THE COMPANY WITHOUT BEING FIRED???? THAT'S RIGHT... YOU, THE UNIT OWNERS, ARE THE OWNERS OF FCCA AND CHET WORKS FOR YOU!!!! HE SEEMS TO THINK THAT HE WORKS FOR THE BOARD AND HE IS THE PROPERTY MANAGER AND YOU ARE MERELY TENANTS THAT HAVE TO FOLLOW HIS DICTATES. AND THEN HE TRIES TO INTIMIDATE AND SILENCE ANYONE WHO STANDS UP FOR THEIR RIGHTS!!!!! I'VE HEAR MANY OWNERS COMPARING CHET TO A MINI-HITLER AS IF FCC IS HIS COUNTRY AND YOU ARE HIS MINIONS.
WHY DIDN'T CHET APPLY FOR FEMA ASSISTANCE WITH THE TRASH REMOVAL? INSTEAD, HE AND THE BOARD JUST WANT TO PASS THIS HUGE EXPENSE ON TO YOU, THE UNIT OWNERS. I HAVE PUBLISHED THE FACT THAT THE BOARD COULD HAVE APPLIED FOR FEMA ASSISTANCE... EITHER AN OUTRIGHT FREE GRANT OR LOW INTEREST SBA LOAN TO PAY THIS NEARLY $100,000.00 EXPENSE AND IF THEY DID NOT GET THE ACTUAL FREE GRANT, THEY COULD HAVE TURNED DOWN THE LOAN BUT AS FAR AS CHET HAS REPORTED, THEY DID NOT EVEN APPLY FOR THE GRANT OR SBA LOW INTEREST LOAN... WHICH FCCA WOULD HAVE HAD TO APPLY FOR AS PART OF BEING CONSIDERED FOR A GRANT.
WHY DIDN'T CHET GIVE EACH OWNER A COPY OF THEIR ITEMIZED ESTIMATE SO THEY COULD REVIEW IT FOR ERRORS PRIOR TO CHET AND THE BOARD ACCEPTING THE FINAL SETTLEMENT? I KNOW OF AND HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF MISSED ITEMS AFFECTING THE INDIVIDUAL UNITS AS WELL AS THE TRASH REMOVAL EXPENSES BUT CHET HAS REFUSED TO FILE FOR AN AMENDED CLAIM WITH FEMA/NFIP/FIDELITY INSURANCE.
WHY DID CHET AND THE BOARD SETTLE FOR SUCH A SMALL AMOUNT FOR THE ROOF VICTIMS????? THE DOWNSTAIRS 3BR UNITS ARE GETTING AROUND $51,000.00 BETWEEN THE FLOOD INSURANCE AND SCOTTSDALE WHEREAS THE UPSTAIRS 3BR UNITS ARE ONLY GETTING AROUND $41,000.00. WHY IS THERE A $10,000 DIFFERENCE IN THE SETTLEMENT AMOUNTS? OR, MAYBE THIS IS THE REASON CHET AND THE BOARD TRIED TO HIDE AROUND $10,000.00 FROM EACH OF THE FLOOD VICTIMS... SO THEY WOULD HAVE GOTTEN THE SAME AMOUNT AS THE UPSTAIRS UNITS... TO HIDE CHET'S INEPTITUDE IN ACCEPTING SUCH A SMALL SETTLEMENT. IF THERE HAD BEEN MEETINGS, EVERYONE WOULD HAVE KNOWN THESE THINGS AND CHET AND THE BOARD COULD HAVE REFUSED TO SETTLE FOR SUCH A LOW AMOUNT FOR THE UPSTAIRS VICTIMS.
CHET CONSTANTLY COMPLAINS ABOUT SO MANY PEOPLE NOT HAVING THEIR UNITS RENOVATED YET HE TOOK IT UPON HIMSELF TO NOT ALLOW FEMA TRAILERS ALONG THE BACK FENCE BY THE CANAL. IF THE DISPLACED OWNERS COULD HAVE HAD A FEMA TRAILER, THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN HERE TO OVERSEE THEIR CONTRACTORS AND RENOVATIONS. I ONLY KNOW OF SIX OWNERS WHO ASKED FOR FEMA TRAILERS SO THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN INCONSPICUOUSLY PARKED BY THE REAR FENCE AREA.... BLOCKING THE VIEW OF THE CANAL AND THE INTERSTATE.... WHICH NOBODY WANTS TO SEE ANYHOW!!!!!
FURTHER, THE WINDOWS ARE STILL NOT REPAIRED FROM THE HURRICANE, THE ROOFS ARE STILL LEAKING IN SPOTS AND THE BRICK WALLS HAVE BEEN LEAKING INTO THE DOWNSTAIRS UNITS IN THE REAR COURTYARD. HOW CAN THESE OWNERS BEGIN THEIR REPAIRS WHEN THEY ARE NOT SURE IF THEIR REPAIRS WILL BE REPEATEDLY DAMAGED DUE TO BROKEN WINDOWS, LEAKY ROOFS AND LEAKING BRICK WALLS. CHET DOESN'T ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS IN HIS MONTH PROPAGANDA REPORTS.
PURSUANT TO THE BYLAWS, ARTICLE III, WHY HASN'T THE BOARD GIVEN EACH OF YOU A COPY OF THE ANNUAL BUDGET WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO BE PROVIDED TO EACH OWNER 30 DAYS PRIOR TO THE ANNUAL MEETING; AND FURTHER, WHY HAVEN'T THEY PROVIDED THE INDEPENDENTLY AUDITED ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT FOR 2005, WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DONE WITHIN 90 DAYS AFTER THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR, 12/31/2005, AND MADE AVAILABLE FOR ANY OWNER OR MORTGAGEE TO INSPECT?????
WELL.. I COULD GO ON AND ON WITH QUESTIONS AND INFORMATION BUT YOU WILL NEED TO GO TO THE WEBSITE http://TheFountainOfInformation.Blogspot.com TO READ ALL ABOUT CHET'S TIRADES AND THE BOARD'S FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE BYLAWS, WILLFUL MISCONDUCT AND BAD FAITH OVER THE PAST EIGHT MONTHS.... AND NOW THEIR EXPOSING THEMSELVES TO A LIBEL, SLANDER, DEFAMATION, WILLFUL MISCONDUCT AND BAD FAITH LAWSUIT.... AND THEY CLAIM THAT THEY WILL ASSESS YOU FOR LEGAL FEES FOR THEIR MISDEEDS. I HOPE YOU STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS.
SINCERELY,
LENNY VASBINDER
UNIT #94 AND MORTGAGEE/ PROXY HOLDER FOR UNIT #76
www.NeighborhoodHomeServices.com
NHSNOLA@Gmail.com 504-621-1870
After the meeting was finally adjourned, I and an owner met with Don Gauthreaux for about an hour and we went over some of the issues and concerns. Don Gauthreaux asked that we give the new Board a chance to fix all of the Management problems and Board problems. I specifically went over how Chet Hingle (with or without the Boards approval) was trying to hide over $200,000.00 from the rear courtyard flood victims and showed him the estimate that I had procured from FEMA - NFIP versus the figures that Chet told the owners they would receive and he did not have an answer to that.
Fortunately, this owner that was talking with Don and I had a copy of the 10/17/2005 FEMA - NFIP - Fidelity estimate for his unit, which Chet Hingle supplied him with in December, 2005, after this owner requested it but Chet LIED ONCE AGAIN TO THIS OWNER about how much he was supposed to get. Chet.. even in December 2005, was still trying to convince this owner that they were only going to get X amount of dollars, which was $7,000.00 less than FEMA-NFIP-Fidelity actually paid FCCA on this owners behalf. This owner had a letter from FCCA signed by Chet Hingle with this outright lie in black and white. I provided this owner with the correct copy of their estimate and I got a copy of the old one so I will be doing a comparison to see just how much Chet supposedly got the October estimate raised... but at first glance, it wasn't more than a few hundred dollars a room... not the $8,000.00 to $12,000.00 that Chet was trying to hide from people back in October and even until NOW!!!!!
Here is what has happened to the last two rear courtyard flood victims that have finished their renovations. They went to James Williams for their final payment, were told by James that he had to check with Chet, then James would bring them their final payment a few days later... which of course were short by thousands of dollars... and when these owners complained that it seems the 20% contractor overhead and profit were missing, James would act ignorant and say he had to check with Chet. Then a few days later, James would show up with the correct final payment which included the missing thousands of dollars. WHY IS CHET AND JAMES STILL TRYING TO DO THIS TO PEOPLE????? OR IS IT JUST CHET DOING IT AND JAMES IS CLUELESS???? EITHER SCENARIO IS NOT GOOD SINCE THESE PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ENTRUSTED WITH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF YOUR MONEY!!!!! I WONDER HOW MANY OTHER OWNERS WHO DO NOT READ THIS NEWSLETTER HAVE BEEN RIPPED OFF FOR THEIR CORRECT SETTLEMENT????
Once again... adequate communications and weekly, bi-weekly or even monthly meetings, since Katrina, would have alleviated nearly all of the miscommunications, actions and inaction's by Chet and the Board for the past eight months. We'll have to wait and see if things start to change for the better or the worse.
Until next time... let "The Fountain Of Information" flow.
***THANKS to everybody who did anything to help New Orleans and any other Hurricane Katrina victims. Please come down to New Orleans for Spring Break and JazzFest to help us recover from Hurricane Katrina. All of the tourist hot-spots are up and running!!!!!
