PRIORITIES OF THE VILLAGE

     If one sat through the most recent delegate assembly, one realized that there is a serious issue here in the Village. That is the issue of criminals being allowed to rent and/or own within the Village. Sometimes they are related to an owner and move in with them and that is an issue as well. It is quite disconcerting to think that when my grandchildren are here and I allow them to walk to the pool or take a walk somewhere in the Village, or even ride a bike here in the Village, that they are at risk for harm and endangerment. Why is that?
     When we bought here in 1998 we liked the fact that it was clean with no animal droppings around. Well, that has changed in a negative manner and while I am no fan of pets, I do understand that there are some pet friendly buildings and that is their right I guess, but the cleanliness MUST be maintained.
     The other very important thing we loved about the Village was the safety, perhaps implied by its gates, its security guards and the criminal check. We believed that there was a safe haven here, one which would allow one to walk late at night, alone, returning from a friend's house and certainly it would be a  safe place to have grandchildren visit.
     Sadly, we have found that this is a fallacy and while there have been no serious incidents, although perhaps I am mistaken and I seem to remember one attempt to perpetrate an attack on a resident, in any case, we need to remedy this in the future.
     David Israel, rightfully so, said that we do not want him to determine who gets to live here in the Village. Could not agree more! He certainly would not have let me in! The boundaries would be in very gray areas and we are not about to cede control of that aspect of our lives here. So, what to do?
    I believe that the first thing to do is consult with a lawyer or firm that knows condo law. We are presently rewriting our Declaration of Condominium and are planning to consult with the lawyer about including a ruling barring criminals of violence, property theft, and sexual related crimes. I believe that is what should be done by all associations. Amend your papers with legal consultation and in any case, insist on a criminal investigation into a prospective owner or renter and decide very carefully what you want to do.
     This is a priority for the entire Village. Never mind that Wi Fi will supposedly enhance property values.  These same values will plummet if it gets out that this is a haven for criminals and oh yeah, while you are sitting outside in the middle of the road playing Sudoku on your tablet, you might be sexually attacked. Wow, what great publicity that would be!
     Why does not UCO tackle this problem for the associations? If we had an ombudsman as we used to, that would have been something under his/her aegis and that of the ombudsman committee. Instead of a Wi Fi committee, why not reanimate this position? Instead of looking how to spend more money we do not have on cameras so that the PBSO could issue more tickets, why not consult a lawyer, a real lawyer, not Rod Tennyson, about this issue. That would provide more security than the cameras which would only invade our privacy. Maybe it could be a UCO by law or at least guide the associations in framing their statements in their declarations and if UCO consulted the lawyer then perhaps all the money by the individual associations would be unnecessary. That is UCO caring for the residents. But that will never happen.
     This is only one example of the lack of prioritizing skill that the present UCO president and administration demonstrate. It is more important to them to send Bob Marshall on runs to Costco to buy drinks and cake and candy for the building then to figure out how to truly improve our Village and its safety. (Well, what else is he going to do now that the lightning bolt struck? Now he keeps repeating that fact!)
     Why do these postings and sometimes delegate assemblies get hot under the collar at times? Because we are not getting served properly. The needs of the Villagers are being disrespected and ignored in favor of pet projects of administrators. One can spit into the wind only so many times before getting upset at the futility of it all and yet, we do not give up and neither the name calling nor the abuse nor the threats will stop us. You, the residents of the Village, are the beneficiaries of our care and concern for the careful spending of our money, for fair play, for a great place to live. Think about it and join the growing chorus of voices raised in opposition to business as usual.