VOTE !!!!

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "comment":

hey thanks for all the info.if it wasnt for your blog we would have no idea the damage at la.tried calling the office for two days no answer,finally got thru tried to leave a message for a boardmember to contact me and was told that they donot leave messages for them and the donot have a voicemail setup,they told me to write a letter,thanks for the help.i also looked on the website for storm damage info and found nothing,but decided to check out trails ends and eagle lake and found info on damage and elect. outage well i guess when you pay alot more for your dues you receive better infomation, my mistake we pay more in dues.i will suggest that they hire you to update there site,its obvious there is no one providing any important infomation to us when we need it,once again thanks for your site RON 66BLUEASPEN


#77


VOTE TOMORROW !!!!!!

power outage + storm damage

the storm caused a regional power failure and the power was out at la for quite a bit of time -- this outage caused the water supply pumps to shut down and the water supply at la failed -- this can create a few problems for the members

if you didn't do the following you may have problems

if you didn't shut off your water hydrant and you don't have a back flow check valve on your supply line your water may have been siphoned out when the community water system failed and if you didn't shut off the electric to your hot water tank you may have burned out the tank heating element

the heating elements can be changed by a appliance repairman or a rv service man -- this is much cheaper than a new tank

when you have this done you should have a in line back flow check valve installed on your water supply line -- also at this service call have a in line pressure valve installed-- some are both a back flow valve and a pressure valve in combination

power loss also can cause you food in your freezer to spoil -- ice cream is particularly affected by this but others may have defrosted -- so you will have to decide what to do in this case

none of these utility failures were the fault of la and in no way was la negligent -- this was an unusual weather event that cause a regional problem for everyone through out the pocono mountain region

hope everything works out for you -- i know how it feels since i have had all the above happen to me -- not good!!

#78

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "comment reply":

There's a saying "talk is cheap" but in our case it costs over $1900 a year. There were a lot of promises during election that are not happening. Good point that the BOD let the PM go and changed attorneys without a succession plan. Who is working with the attorney on the 12' wide issue? Since we don't have a property manager I suspect no one will during the winter so another year lost. Getting 12' wides approved was a campaign promise. I need a new trailer as do many of my neighbors and I hate to spend tens of thousands on another tip out. I have to think long and hard if I want to keep giving dues to a place that is fast becoming the laughing stock of the RV communities. Still no PM, why not? From what I've seen happening to the economy people are looking for jobs so either the standards of some of the board members are too high or in order to have applicants meet those standards more money needs to be offered. As to the community web site, I get more information here than there. By the way, thanks Chipper for all the snow damage, insurance and contractor information. Without this site we'd all be like mushrooms living in the dark. This is the information age with our generation linked to the Internet and the LA website needs to accomodate the need to share information. If they aren't going to keep us posted on what's going on then this site should be a bullet on their menu so owners have a place to go to express their opinions.

anon--your right --- new housing is important to any community and a drive around la will tell you that there are plenty of trailers have have been allowed to deteriorate and replacing them is important to the overall welfare of the community-- they're derelict trailers and probably many of these owners of these trailers are no longer paying their dues-- so la gets a double whammy -- ugly unkempt properties and loss of the fees -- there are way to many of these and that will drive down the value of every one's property--investing in new housing requires la to get the ordinances changed-- a lawyer is needed to accomplish this action-- so far the membership hasn't seen any action on this matter-- not good

the selection of a person for manager is complicated by the process and structure the bod has in place for this task -- 7 people with 7 agendas and 7 set of qualifications--- no consensus between them, qualifications that weigh heavy on matters that are incidental to running la and much less on the need to find someone to operate la in a professional manner-- they are hung up on matters that are at best 5% of the responsibility of operating a community-- 95% of what is important to running a
operation like la is lost on them--- they just can't see that--- another issue is that none of these people know how to or are displaying any knowledge of the process of drawing up job dessciptions, qualifying candidates or interviewing candidates-- they are amateurish at best and dysfunctional at worst--- not much to work with here

my blog has been operating for 2 years and quite frankly i am unhappy that too few people even bother to read it or comment or send me anything at all -- i know that getting the members aware of the blog is difficult and word of mouth is the way most people find out about it--- i would hope that members would email their friends and help get the word out about this blog -- this blog is for the la members to have a place to communicate with each other and post their good - bad and ugly comments about la--- surely not everyone can be drinking the bod kool aid-- some must have some issues they'd like to post -- so let's see what happens and maybe by spring more people will check out and join the blog

#79

new indoor water park

SPLIT ROCK RESORT HAS OPENED A NEW INDOOR WATER PARK --- REAL GOOD FUN FOR THE FAMILY AND A GREAT TRIP DURING THE COLD WINTER -- CHECK IT OUT

http://www.splitrockresort.com/waterpark.php

comment reply

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "comment reply":

Lack of information breeds rumors. LA has a website and they (BOD) refuse to put any relevant information on it. If the BOD didn't operate in a vacuum the rumors wouldn't have a chance to start. A management company is one so called rumor; given the lack of information sharing there may be a few more rumors in the pipeline. Where are the Aug and Sept meeting minutes? Why no info on the 12' wide ordinance? Why no updates on the manager job opening? Why nothing about the snow storm damage? I agree regarding opening the club house to stranded property owners. This was an emergency and the management response fell far short. Why didn't the Compliance Officer (who I think is acting PM) or Maintenance Supv step up and help these people? Did any of the board members contact these managers to see if there were any problems and how they could help or did the managers call any of the board members regarding opening the club house? The BOD has left us in the lurch and chaos is starting to take hold. If this was Jan or Feb I could almost understand the lack of support but this is October so there should have been a reasonable complement of staff to help owners without power and water. A PM would have been on site and able to make some decisions. Perhaps a PM who lives on site is a good idea. If the BOD can't find adequate candidates they then need to reassess either the salary, the requirements or both. The new BOD has been operating for about six months and all they've done that I've heard about (I reiterate - that I've heard about) is terminate the PM and attorney. Certainly in the past six months something other then routine BOD and budget meetings has transpired that we're entitled to hear about. If not then the BOD isn't doing its job and we need to make a change next election.

anon-- your right on on all points--- it has been a neglectful relationship between this bod and the members -- they did take 2 major problems by the horns earlier this year by removing the manager and attorney but they obviously had no plan after that action-- not good ---the park is on auto pilot and when things go wrong they have no one in charge or for that matter to blame -- bad position for a bod member to be in-- some bod members are trying to do the best thing for the members and the community but the unfortunate thing is they are indistinguishable from each other -- the community members aren't able to determine which of the bod members are good and which are bums-- they're all getting painted with the same brush and right now that paint job is not good -- those bod members that truly want to do what's best for the community had better start taking control of the bod or you're right some will be held accountable at election time whether it's justifiable or not--- let's see what happens

WIDE SPREAD DAMAGE !

i drove around la today and there is a lot of damage -- many branches down, some trees down but i didn't see many on roofs-- just a few-- anyone who left the canvas up on their gazebos, screen rooms, or awning are in the worst shape-- all are down and the screen walls are bent and collapsed-- they are totally destroyed

i just finished clearing a path to the door through the remnants of my screen house -- i can't take it down and clean it up until my insurance company sends someone to look at the damage -- i took pictures and are sending them to the insurance company and hope that will satisfy them and maybe by next weekend i can finish cleaning up the mess

so i think a lot of the community members will have a lot of work to do to get their places back into shape--- good luck!!!

#80

security service

i have to say i appreciated that la security services called me this morning to inform me that i had sustained damage at my site -- thank you for your consideration and a job well done -- chipper

comment reply

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "contract management":

The bod of la has never discussed the hiring of managment company nor has it ever been our intentions to hire one .This is just rumors by people who believe anything they hear

IMPORTANT OBSERVATION !!!!

Please post this anonymously:

Attached are some photos we took of the snow Tuesday morning. A lot of tree limbs (and even some trees) came down Tuesday night. Most opened awnings and screen houses that still had the roof on have been damaged or destroyed because of the heavy wet snow and the high winds that night.

Power and water was off from Tuesday 4 AM until Wednesday around 1:15 PM (except for a short period of about one and a half hours Tuesday afternoon). It's unfortunate that the management of LA has no emergency contingency plans for times like this. We were not alone up here. We drove through less than one-fourth of the park on Monday night and saw at least six occupied trailers. So there could have possibly been 20 or more property owners and families here during this storm. I don't think anyone of us here expected the severity of it. It was 38 degrees in our trailer Tuesday night. There was no place to go. We called at least a half dozen hotels, motels and inns and all had no vacancies. Interstate 84 was closed late Tuesday afternoon/early evening in both directions due to downed power lines. Of course there was no one in the administration office Tuesday (I don't think they were in Wednesday either) and Security is limited in what they are allowed to do. Someone should have been available to make a decision to help provide us with some kind of shelter -- how about opening the club house, using that big fireplace, and setting up a kerosene heater (they have one in the guard house)?

ANON - I AGREE -- I HAVE HEARD FROM SOME OF THE PEOPLE HERE AT LA AND THOSE TRYING TO REACH THE LA OFFICE WITH QUESTIONS AND GOT THE SAME STORY AND THE CONCERNS EXPRESSED BY YOU -- I DON'T BELIEVE THAT LA HAS CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR THIS TYPE OF PROBLEM AND THEY SHOULD--- THERE IS NO REASON THAT MEMBERS ARE ON THEIR OWN WHEN THEY'RE AT LA WITH A SITUATION LIKE THIS -- THEY ALSO HAVE NO PLAN TO HANDLE THE MEMBERS WHO ARE LOOKING FOR INFORMATION OR HELP WHEN THEY CALL FROM THEIR HOMES TO CHECK ON THE STATUS AT LA --
THIS COMMUNITY IS NOT BEING MANAGED AND THE BOD CONTINUES TO SHOW THEIR INEPTUDE IN ANY THING THAT SURROUNDS THE MANAGEMENT PROBLEM-- THE BOD IS UNABLE TO SETTLE ON A MANAGER-- I INTERVIEWED FOR THIS POSITION AND THE MEETING WAS NOT VERY GOOD -- THE LEAD MEMBER OF THE BOD SHOWED COMPLETE DISDAIN FOR ME OR THE PROCESS AND I'M SURE THAT THIS IS HIS ARROGANT ATTITUDE HE DISPLAYS AT ALL THE INTERVIEWS THAT THE BOD CONDUCTS FOR THIS POSITION-- THE WAY THIS IS GOING I SUSPECT THAT THE CHANCES THAT LA WILL GET A QUALIFIED, CAPABLE MANAGER FOR THE MEMBERS ARE SLIM TO NONE-- SO YOUR CONCERNS ARE IMPORTANT BUT I DON'T SEE THAT MUCH WILL BE DONE TO ADDRESS THEM IN THE SHORT TERM OR MAYBE EVEN IN THE LONG TERM

Ps--thanks 4 pics

#81

WORLD CHAMPIONS

#82

Welcome to the Maureen in Sedona Arizona and the Grand Canyon Web Site

MAUREEN WAS THE PHOTOGRAPHER AT THE CRESCENT DRIVE BLOCK PARTY -- SHE HAS A GROUP OF VERY NICE PICTURES OF HER TRIP TO THE GRAND CANYON-- TAKE A LOOK

Welcome to the Maureen in Sedona Arizona and the Grand Canyon Web Site

COPY AND PASTE THE ADDRESS BELOW TO VIEW HER AWESOME PICTURES -- NICE TRIP!


http://maureeninsedonaarizonaandthegran.shutterfly.com/?email=lachipper%40gmail.com

OH NO ! MR. BILL !!!!!

LA IS BURIED IN HEAVY SNOWFALL (really only 6" but a heavy snow)-- NO ELECTRIC AND NO WATER AS PER THE SECURITY GUARD AT 6:30 TONIGHT-- WHAT IS THIS ---- THIS IS ONLY OCTOBER NOT NOVEMBER -- OH WELL I GUESS THE NEED FOR A MANAGER JUST GOT A LITTLE MORE IMPORTANT--- maybe i'll try again since the first interview went to hell in a hand bag and now they are probably more interested in getting someone on board -- have to think about that!!!!

#83

ps--- philly game tom'w night after obama special -- all the good things are on tv tomorrrow!!!

RAIN DELAY !!!!!!

ALL GOOD THINGS TAKE TIME -- NEED PATIENCE

#84

not wanting to jinx them

who would have believed it --- one more win and the phillies have the world series-- my my!!!!




#85

2 DOWN 2 2 GO !!!!!

#86

unanswered questions

a few observations and wondering what's going on with the following:

MANAGER SELECTION PROCESS AND THE WINNER IS?

THE 12' WIDE ISSUE WITH THE NEW LAWYER?

THE 12' WIDE ISSUE STILL A VIABLE ISSUE OR DEAD ISSUE?

THE CLOSING OF THE LAUNDRY -- TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT?

THE REMODELING OF THE LAUNDRY -- ON HOLD OR DEAD ISSUE?

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLES HOLDING UP OR ARE DEFAULTS INCREASING WITH THE TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES?

ANY CONTINGENCY PLANS TO SAVE MONEY IF DEFAULTS CLIMB?

any one got any answers it would be good to know since many members are interested in these matters -- maybe some one from the bod will respond (don't hold your breath)

#87

1 win 1 loss

#88

comment reply

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "comment reply":

Since no information is forth coming from the BOD on the LA website regarding the progress or lack there of on the 12' wide issue I'd like to know who property owners are contacting in town. I live out of state so I'm relegated to a phone call (I doubt a letter would get a response) but don't know what township department to contact. Has anyone gotten any information from the township? The new attorney has been "working" the issue since July so there should be SOME progress that we're entitled to hear about.


anon -- you're right not much has been said about this issue --perhaps it's dying on the vine -- the issue with dingman township is a need to change the ordinances and that hasn't happened as far as i can tell-=- maybe some one has an answer out there-- also you can call the office and speak to cheryl -- she's very helpful and maybe she knows the status of the 12' wide issue-- if you get any answers let me know so i can post it since a lot of people are interested in this issue

#89

WORLD SERIES

#90

WHO WILL WIN ?

2 weeks 2 go !

#91

ALTERNATE WEB BROWSERS

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http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

http://www.google.com/chrome

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http://www.download.com/Maxthon/3000-2356_4-10681895.html?tag=mncol&cdlPid=10886724

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "comment reply":

in answer to the above comment we can not get by with 1k less we have major work that has to be done. do they realize that the electric is old and how many weekends are water ban on and you can not wash your trailer. with the old electricity there are a lot of us who loose power or have brown outs.do they realize since people have been going to town to complain about 12 wides they also complained about the elec. water and sewers. that now we have to get permits through the town . there permits takes longer to get and cost more money..the town would like to add taxes for our trailer. we need to get this work done. and we need the money that was budgeted for it. i dont think anyone is stealing because the treasure is suppose to have control over the checking account and the present treasure is honest has a good job and would not put his reg. job on the line. i wish this name calling and fighting would end and the board would get together for the good of the community. work out the problems and come to the table with plans for the good of L A C A IF WE ALL COULD WORK TOGETHER WHAT A WONDERFUL PLACE IT WOULD BE

anon - i agree that la must continue and speed up the electrical and lateral upgrades when possible -- also the treasurer is a man that i'm sure is doing a good, honest job and is concerned about the interests of la members and the community at large--- i recently has an opportunity to be with mr. rohs at a bod meeting and i was quite impressed by his interest and concerns about la -- unfortunately i can't say that about some of the other bod members that were present -- la faces a lot of future problems and hopefully the current bod will be up to the task

#92

nice day

clear -- sunny ---mild temps--leaves falling pretty fast -- will do another clean up tom'w -- lot of people here at la with many working on getting set for winter-- awnings coming down-- boats being put away and just general cleanup-- nice day-- last night got cold enuf to hit the impatiants-- they're done

#93

time flying

yikes -- i went home last week and came back to la today -- the leaves were everywhere -- they're just about all down --- last year i cleaned up leaves several times over a few weeks -- not this year --one or two times blowing the leaves will do it-- if you wanted to catch the fall color foliage you missed it-- it looks like winter may come early this year-- oh well!!!

#94

GOING OUT WITH A BANG

THIS GUY HAS REALLY HAD IT !
Andrew Lahde, manager of a small California hedge fund, Lahde Capital, burst into the spotlight last year after his one-year-old fund returned 866 percent betting against the subprime collapse.

Last month, he did the unthinkable -- he shut things down, claiming dealing with his bank
counterparties had become too risky. Today, Lahde passed along his "goodbye" letter, a rollicking missive on everything from greed to economic philosophy. Enjoy:

Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.

Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, "What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it." I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.

There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don't worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer's company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life -- where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management -- with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government.

Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man's interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft's near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won't see it included in BP's, "Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions," television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM's similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country?

Ah, the female. The evil female plant -- marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other additive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let's stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.

With that I say good-bye and good luck.

All the best,

Andrew Lahde

comment reply

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "contract management":

IS IT TRUE THAT THE DUES ARE GOING DOWN 150.00 ONLY FOR THIS YEAR? WE THE PROPERTY OWNERS WERE JUST GETTING USE TO IT AND NOW IT IS DOWN 150.FOR A YEAR WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THEY SET THE BUDGET FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR HOW MUCH MORE WILL IT BE. WE NEED SO MUCH DONE SO WHEN THEY CAME OUT WITH THE EIGHT YEAR PLAN I COULD SEE SO MUCH MORE GETTING DONE. WE ALL WOULD HAVE NEW ELEC, WATER AND SEWERS JUST THE BASICS. BUT SOME PEOPLE NOW HAVE THE NEW ELEC. DONE BY THE NEW CREW THEY HIRED NOW I HEAR THEY ARE GONE AND THEY WILL BE GOING OUT OF HOUSE FOR THE REST OF US. HOW MUCH MORE IS THAT GOING TO COST THE PROPERTY OWNERS
I THINK THIS BOARD SHOULD SIT DOWN AND SEE WHAT IS BEST FOR EVERY ONE NOT A CHOICE FEW BEFORE THEY START CHANGING THINGS. OH DO WE HAVE A NEW MANAGER YET?? WHO IS WATCHING THE STORE.WHO IS DOING THE MANAGERS JOB???

FALL DAYS AT LA

ANOTHER BAD DAY !

THE SHRINKING DOLLAR



#98 DAYS 2 GO -- DO YOU THINK WE'LL MAKE IT???