INSANITY of the HSV CMP Written by Phil Lemler, June 1, 2019
Whether you are in favor of the Comprehensive Master Plan (CMP) or not … most of it is a substantial waste of time and money.
Cooper Communities (CCI) is against the CMP! And, the CMP needs CCI’s permission to move forward. CCI owns the easements between every lot in HSV. So, you cannot combine two (2) lots together without having CCI approve it.
This means HSV cannot build a “pocket neighborhood”, a “Town Center”, a “lodge”, a “grocery store” or anything else without CCI’s approval.
This CMP easement roadblock has existed since the discussions for the CMP began. It existed during the charades (oops, I mean charrettes), the planning sessions with DPZ/Crafton Tull and the POA board vote of April 2018. Certainly, someone within a 500 page, $500,000 plan would bring this up?
POA did not foresee the problems with the CMP?
Why did the POA not see this? Actually, they did finally figure this out (after the CMP was passed) as the entire “Declarations” vote was designed to eliminate CCI from the Village. Without CCI, the POA could get around this formidable “easements” issue. However, the easement problem still exists.
The past POA board didn’t see this and the new POA board continues to march on as if it did not exist. Yet, it does. So, we wasted the $500,000+ for the CMP, the monies spent on the “Declarations” vote, the re-writing of the covenants and other documents; and all of the management time invested in the CMP design and implementation. And, no one thought to “think this through”?
Now we have created the CMP Advisory Committee (CMPAC) which is designed to implement a CMP that cannot be implemented without CCI’s approval … more money and more time wasted. This is all because the POA is embarrassed to admit the CMP was not viable from the beginning … and the POA is trying to hide this major oversight.
My personal opinion is that the POA board, in their fiduciary responsibilities, owed the Villagers a realistic look at the CMP and have a strategy for obvious impediments like the “easements” issue. They have no strategy other than keep moving toward implementation because we (POA) cannot admit we wasted all this time and money!
This was simply poor planning from the beginning! The POA is afraid to admit it!
Absurdity of building a PIT
An analogy: several of us HSV residents get together and decide we will build a barbecue grill and fire pit (PIT) in Ms. Nalley’s back yard. We spend $thousands in the planning stages and create several variations to the PIT, including different rock/stone options, electricity to the PIT and other creative details. We design flyers to invite folks to barbecues and other affairs. We might even travel around the country looking at other similar PITs, employ a multitude of experts to give us advice and even form sub-committees to finalize the details.
However, if Ms. Nalley will not give us permission to build the PIT in her backyard … it will never happen!
If CCI does not give us permission to combine lots for the CMP … it will never happen!
Written by Phil Lemler, June 1, 2019
Edited and formatted by Cheryl Dowden
Connie
06/01/2019 — 1:17 pm
Wow!
John Dethardt
06/01/2019 — 1:21 pm
She is such nice lady I think LN would let us use it once a year. Very day is another thing. People that do the same thing over and over without success are not CEO material. But it’s not their money. Take Care
Lewis Robinson
06/01/2019 — 1:22 pm
so we or the BOD spent a 1/2 million on something that might or might not happen?
Kathy Henderson
06/01/2019 — 1:22 pm
So true, Phil!
Anonymous
06/01/2019 — 1:30 pm
But yet one single person has a lot of power and can spend our money frivolously. The board is neutered to stop it with the way the bylaws are set up now. Things are so different governance-wise than the way CCI left things on his exit from running things.
Lloyd
06/01/2019 — 1:42 pm
As always, Phil is stating the truth and is spot on. Many of us knew something of the CMP could not be implemented because of the easement situation and yet they went blindly ahead with it. Then to make matters worse, instead of trying to work with CCI to garner their support in these concepts, we set out to alienate them. The Declaration changes were nothing more than trying to remove CCI from the picture and it didn’t work. So now the POA continues to march forward as if they were in total charge knowing full well they cannot implement any of their plans without CCI cooperation. I venture to suggest we have wasted millions on this process when you consider all the items mentioned by Phil, but exactly what is our run rate with the organizational structure that has been formed with the sole intent of implementation of the CMP? Staffing, compensation, and benefits are all ongoing costs, so the tab keeps getting higher every day.
Anonymous
06/01/2019 — 1:48 pm
Excellent
Karen Lundberg
06/01/2019 — 2:03 pm
THANK YOU, Phil Lemler, for addressing this issue. I have seen all of the arguments over the Lodge and over this part of the CMP and that part of the CMP, while the whole time I kept wondering, “What about Cooper’s easements?” To me, the answer was so simple, I felt like I was missing something, and was too embarrassed to post about it, in case I was being stupid. Thank you so much for bringing this out. This happens to be exactly what I tried to point out about the security gates. The security gates contract came into play before they realized that to implement the CMP, there could be no gates. So they schemed and lied and somehow turned the whole debacle and put it on the shoulders of the security gate company, even going so far as filing a lawsuit. This is the exact same situation. So now you can add whatever amount we are going to lose in the counter-claim that the security gate company wins against us in their counter-claim. All of the security gate debacle took place because our CEO would not admit that she had been caught. How many more issues like this are laying in wait to rear their ugly faces? I have a feeling there are many.
Anonymous
06/01/2019 — 2:23 pm
Look out for what’s next!!! A proposal from the POA to purchase the declarent rights in HSV from John Cooper in the approximate amount of $8 mil. That, my friends is how Nalley will attempt to save face and move forward with her CMP. It has been discussed at a high level I can assure you.
Kirk Denger
06/01/2019 — 8:15 pm
I am not your friend. The POA does not have 8 mill and is broke because of the CEO’s/BOD/CNU/CMP have all robbed us of our two-tier assessment increase of over 11 million, way more than modestly described by Phil. Even if CCI were to loan us the money, 8 million is an insult and was rejected 1 1/2 years ago. For those with short memories, CCI stated that because their family’s reputation was at stake, that there is not enough money on Earth to turn over anything with the current CEO employed here.
Anonymous
06/02/2019 — 11:08 am
HURRAY FOR JC3!
George Phillis
06/01/2019 — 3:19 pm
I would like to address the anonymous post of 6-1-2019 at 2:23pm and other issues. Do the owners of property here in HSV understand where that 8 million plus will come from? You know…the 8 million plus to some how cover the mis-management by the CEO and our BOD. The irresponsible march forward spending $500,000 for the CMP when it could NOT possibly happen with the easement issue. Who has been pushing for that and who has been supporting it? The answer should be very clear to the property owners at HSV. Back to the 8 million plus, to maybe, buy out CCI. It will be a loan made to the HSV/POA. Do you realize that’s us, the property owners!!!??? Yes, that’s us property owners…ALL of us. Not Nalley, not the BOD members individually, but ALL of us property owners. How in the world do we think WE property owners (who are HSV/POA) that take out the loan will make payments on such a note WHEN the CMP fails…and it will! One way to pay on the loan is an increase in monthly dues, and or special assessment(s). If we really stop and analyze where and how the CMP came about there’s only one person responsible….and that’s the current CEO. And yes, we could point the finger at past and present board members, however they did not bring the CMP to the table. Yes the past and present BOD were convinced or coerced, whichever term you choose, to support the CEO’s plan (CMP). The way I see it the only solution to bring HSV owners together and rid ourselves of the division and the CMP is to terminate the current CEO’s contract. I would agree that HSV owners will never agree on everything however since the hiring of the current CEO there is a divisiveness that has never been experienced before in the Village.
Anonymous
06/01/2019 — 4:16 pm
I’m thinking of switching sides to the “YES” geniuses.
I was asked by one of my friends if I had a retirement plan. I replied, indeed I do but we never know if we are going to be “unlucky” enough to outlive our money. Optimum plan is to die the day your money runs out, right? He said, nay nay buckwheat. Die the day your credit runs out!!
Hmmm.
I told him I always keep myself within my budget. Proudly saying, I’ve never paid any interest on my credit cards, having always lived within my means.
That’s the way I was taught but evidently these fiduciary lessons didn’t come easy for many of our offspring. Mine included.
I was struck by Cindi Erickson’s statement that the POA budget is balanced every year. Yes, but to the detriment of infrastructure mostly. Just robbing Peter.
How in the world can we buy out CCI? If the price is inflated, I bet he will carry the note. Just make a monthly payment till you can’t anymore. That could be years from now. I’ll be gone but who cares what happens to these young whipper snappers that think they know it all.
My question is: why in the hell am I fighting this?
Anonymous
06/02/2019 — 1:42 pm
Their Budget May balance on paper but that is because they do not use actual projected revenues. None of their revenue projections have been met in years. They decided what they want their expenses to be then list a revenue that looks good. Revenues never met, expenses always used. In accounting it is a joke. With Nalley background she knows it’s a joke She thinks we are all so stupid to not understand budgets. Nalley must go
Vicki Husted
06/01/2019 — 4:18 pm
Excellent article and comments. Unhook those horses and back this cart up!
Tom Blakeman
06/01/2019 — 4:59 pm
First: Another Excellent piece of work Phil. Thanks so much! Where can I get those CMP marshmallows?
Second: Whomever Mr Anonymous is who thinks Mr Cooper would sell out to any board or POA of which Ms Nalley is in any way involved, I believe is totally wrong. John Cooper doesn’t need the money that bad and he surely has more character than to do something like that.
Third: If any board member is aware of “this has been discussed at a high level” and it is somehow even remotely true and they might even be thinking of supporting such a foolhardy adventure . . . If they are even considering it . . . . It would be best they fess up now and resign.
Finally: I’d like to see a “confessional” or “mea culpa” type presentation by all of our past leaders, you know past board presidents, board members and such, who have been leading us down this road to destruction for the last six or eight years. Let them ALL get up there on stage and explain to us why they they have created and continue to support this monster called CMP. And they should do this without the help of Ms Nalley and staff or armies of consultants and lawyers. Just them and all of us to grill them publicly with no three minute time limits. Not sure The Woodlands could hold the crowd.
Patrick McCarthy
06/01/2019 — 5:01 pm
Have you noticed that for each event/vote one party has been upset/confused and in opposition. I think Cooper became
disenchanted at some point in the past with the Bd and POA. Then the CMP gets passed by the Bd and, I think, Cooper and many owners end up in the opposition corner because of “town centers”, “pocket neighborhoods” and a “leather shop” that they saw an nonsensical, plus the fact that they had no say in it – no vote (not saying they were entitled to a vote but it did with other things noted above produce a lot of animosity).
Then comes the “Declaration” vote – some owners are mad at the Bd/POA and Cooper doesn’t like it because it limits his power. So, they team up and we have another event with a ready made opposition group and we get a “NO” vote. Maybe even against our own owner interest if the vote had been held in cooler times. After all at some point we might hope that the “developer” would either continue to develop or kind of step back and let us be in charge of our own destiny. Maybe we should control the easements, just like the ACC that was turned over to the Bd/POA. At least that’s the the way it is with most HOA”s – developer builds it, units get sold, HOA is formed and developer is a property owner, if they still own units, like the rest of us.
Not as simple in our case but in any process we need to try to have a decent relationship with Cooper period. As far as we are concerned with him we have to negotiate our way to success – for us and him too.
Kirk Denger
06/02/2019 — 10:28 pm
Good comment Pat, the BOD have run astray from a great relationship with CCI to a less than decent relationship. CCI is not on a power trip, only rightfully protecting a 50-year investment from kidnappers. Before the POA can run, it first must learn to walk, the ACC turnover is part of the walking process. The Prodigal son eventually returns home. No one wants HSV POA to be successful more than CCI.
Andrew Kramek
06/01/2019 — 5:44 pm
Could not agree more with this article. It says an awful lot about what has been happening the past few years, and the total absurdity of the “CMP”. However, what it does not address is the one question that I have been asking for some time now. WHY is the current POA management (I mean that in the broadest possible sense) so totally invested in this document that defines the CMP?
I simply cannot believe that people really believe that, not only is this the correct way forward, but it is also the ONLY way forward, for the village.
Of course, total incompetence, combined with an unwillingness to admit their errors is one possible explanation although, personally, I find that a little hard to swallow. If only because the level of intransigence displayed along with the complete lack of willingness to consider anything that is not specifically addressed in the CMP document is far beyond anything that can be explained by mere incompetence.
The behavior is willful and deliberate and there must be some explanation for it. What that may be is beyond me and I freely admit that I cannot conceive of any plausible explanation for the continued push to implement this, obviously impossible, CMP.
Walter
06/01/2019 — 7:40 pm
Spot On. Thank you. I hope the powers that be will read this.
George Phillis
06/02/2019 — 5:47 am
Andrew…..I take it the question you are asking is why would anyone support the CMP? I posted the scenario last year as to why there is a small group who are pushing the CMP down our throats. What I stated then has not changed. That small group stands to make a lot of money even when the CMP fails. Why do you think there is still a push for the CMP despite the fact the true majority are against it? The others who are blindly/mistakenly supporting that group have been duped.
Andrew Kramek
06/02/2019 — 7:08 am
George, I fear you are correct – some group, or some body, must have a vested interest in getting this monstrosity implemented. That interest can, logically, only be financial – nothing else makes any sense whatsoever. Given that the above assumption is correct, how do we go about exposing the truth?
Gene Garner
06/02/2019 — 8:31 am
The CMP is on the same path as the (now dead) plan to rent our sewer lines to Jessieville School District. Much time, effort and money was put into both projects without doing basic research to determine if they are doable. The CEO/BOD didn’t perform their due diligence that all corporations require and they have failed in their fiduciary responsibilities.
Phil’s analogy is spot on, and if I may, I’ll add my two cents. We’re at the point now where Ms Nalley (CCI) won’t even let us in her back yard. We’ve insulted her, blamed her for our mistakes and she now has a complaint in court wanting to know what deals we’ve made with fire pit construction companies.
“Pie in the sky” is the name of the game and if we spend enough money, retirees will flock to our gates and our future will be rosy. With the country looking down the barrel of another recession, it would be wise to economize and build up our reserves. —Gene
Andrew Kramek
06/03/2019 — 7:08 am
Gene, surely you were not seriously expecting a wise and prudent approach from the CEO/BOD? All the evidence points in the exact opposite direction. In considering their actions I am reminded of behavior of small children for whom the driving imperative is “I want it”. Consideration of other needs, financial realities or, indeed, anything, is not a factor. All that matters is that “I WANT IT and I WANT IT NOW”.
David Vuurman
06/02/2019 — 7:52 pm
Since my wife and I met with John3 late last year prior to the vote, I have known that CCI will not support the CMP and it was clear that the easements was his weapon. John3 stated that his grandfather layed out HSV the way he wanted and john3 supported his grandfather.
Gene Garner
06/03/2019 — 9:30 am
I wouldn’t call “the easements” weapons, they are CCI’s legal rights, just as we have legal rights to our properties.
I never met John Cooper Sr. but I’ve seen what he’s built and I think he did an outstanding job. He not only preserved the natural beauty but he gave us a set of laws and rules on how to govern our Village. All worked well until we had the misfortune of turning control over to the well intentioned but naive POA/BOD.
The POA/BOD then hired a series of less than competent General Mangers, culminating in a fast talking, exploitative, side-show huckster that’s now moved on. We are now dealing with his protege and the damage they’ve caused.–Gene
Anonymous
06/08/2019 — 2:05 pm
I agree wholeheartedly and want to find out how to expose the truth behind this mess which I also agree is financial.
Anonymous
08/18/2019 — 4:57 pm
Lesley has no common sense. Won’t work here. But what the hell, let’s give ‘er a go.