fema

hey you guys must have fema running you storm rescue plan . sounds like you had a good time. i'm in sunny arizona this week -- days are 80 to 90 degrees -- hard to take -- huh????? enjoy

contractor+inspector

---- to me

I HIRED A CONTRACTOR TO PUT A HARD TOP ON MY EXISTING SCREENHOUSE. I FILED A PERMIT WITH L.A. AND THE CONTRACTOR FILED ONE WITH THE TOWN. THE TOWN REJECTED IT AND NOW MY SCREENHOUSE COLLAPSED FROM YHE SNOW. THE CONTRACTOR WHO IS MAC HOSE CONSTUCTION SAID HE HAS NEVER DEALT WITH SUCH TERRIBLE PEOPLE IN ALL HIS 30 YEARS IN BUSINESS. HE WENT TO THE TOWN HALL ON TUES. NOV 4 BECAUSE A MAN NAMED SEAN WHO IS HANDLING THE PERMITS TOLD HIM TO COME IN. WHEN HE GOT THERE HE FOUND OUT THE PERMIT WAS DENIED. THE CONTRACTOR TOLD THIS SEAN THAT ABOUT 75 SCREEN HOUSES HAD COME DOWN BECAUSE OF THE SNOW STORM AND HIS ANSWER WAS GOOD THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN PUT UP BY CODE. MY QUESTION IS ISN'T THERE ANYTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT HIM? MAYBE SOMEBODY HAS TO INFORM SOMEONE HOW MUCH MONEY IS SPENT IN THE SURROUNDING AREA BY LAKE ADVENTURE PEOPLE HARDWARE STORES,MR. ZS, RESTAURANTS, AND MANY OTHER PLACES. IS THERE ANY WAY WE CAN GET SOME HELP?

THANK YOU

(name withheld upon request)
LOT ----

complaints + web page

it appears that many members were dissatisfied with the way the recent storm disruption to the operations at la were handled by la management(?) -- i think everyone realizes that the storm was a regional wide event and la couldn't be held responsible for these events BUT -- but -- but

the lack of contingency plans for emergencies was evident -- there appears to be no plan in the event off a community wide shut down of community electric and water supplies -- no generator backups for water well pumps --

no designated facility for emergency shelter in the event of an accident -- a shelter that again should have emergency generator for minimal lighting and heat --

no community support from the office administration -- again the office is closed due to a lack of electric and heat and therefore no one comes to work-- this is unacceptable

today backup generators are available and the pricing while still rather expensive are not out of the realm of possibility -- key areas and services should have backup and the office staff should be on a emergency mode to provide basic services

again there is no plans for emergencies and no contingency to continue la operations when something happens --

there is no qualified management in place and that is not good for the community

the web page is nice but is not informative, relevant or up to date -- again communications is a management function and it is not present at la

this bod is not managing la properly-- as a matter of fact no one is managing la!!!!

comment

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

Has the BOD ever looked to outside assistance in hiring a new manager? How about the Community Associations Institute (www.caionline.org/about/designations.cfm)? There's a Pennsylvania chapter (www.cai-padelval.org/index.php).

#75

comment

Anonymous said...
I certainly hope that if there are some property owners with community association/development experience, they will consider running for the Board this year. We desperately need it. That doesn't mean business owners--I was a business owner for over twelve years, and I know I'm not qualified to run a COMMUNITY. Sure there needs to be some business sense involved, but it takes a lot more than that. Perhaps the Board of Directors Application needs to be revised with a question specifically asking if the applicant has any community association governing experience (other than LA committees), especially outside of Lake Adventure.

November 5, 2008 9:56 AM



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


Regarding the LA website: Why doesn't each board member have an email address with a link to it below his or her name on the Board of Directors page? It's been stated that you cannot leave a phone message with the administration office for any of them and writing a letter is too slow a process in emergencies (that's why it's referred to as "snail" mail). They obviously cannot be at LA all the time. What better way for communication, especially when the website is not kept current.

comment

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


all i ever heard was if you change the board things would be better well so far the board has been changed except for one and he was voted by the bod not to be president just a member of the board AND AS EVERYONE CAN SEE LACA IS FALLING APART WITH THE NEW BOD.
three of the old board were not voted in and one was vote to be a member.
there were very involved and were for the community. not for themselves.
they were DONNA GRYZBOWSKY i prob spelled her name wrong but you know who i mean JIM LEOPOLE a lawyer with license in new york and penn.real estate lic. ALLEN PANZER. who was always at the clubhouse to see what was going on and answer questions. TOM ANNUNZIATA who by the way is retired and would not have been considered an absentee bod. he would make sure the board was kept informed with emails every day he may not have been a yes man but of all the bod he cared he would listen may not agree but he was a good president.
Now we have bod following the workers asking questions of them all the time how can they do there work
remember they only have one vote but you have seven people that dont get along where L A C A IS CONCERENED
I DONT UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN BE MEMBERS OF C C L A and be on the board. As far as i know there are 2 bod members that admit they are members of CCLA and someothers that are not as honest as them. As far as i am concerned either you are for the board and work together or they are not.
i hope the people are not suckered in when they vote this year the 150dollars reduction of dues is for only this year and will be going up next year. looks like the bod members are looking for votes.there are several people who are running for the board that are ccla members. who started this anyway who was so bright to feel that they know everything.I never trusted some one that knows everything and what is good for everyone
if you figure out what you as members get for your dues. it is not expensive

#76

comment

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


all i ever heard was if you change the board things would be better well so far the board has been changed except for one and he was voted by the bod not to be president just a member of the board AND AS EVERYONE CAN SEE LACA IS FALLING APART WITH THE NEW BOD.
three of the old board were not voted in and one was vote to be a member.
there were very involved and were for the community. not for themselves.
they were DONNA GRYZBOWSKY i prob spelled her name wrong but you know who i mean JIM LEOPOLE a lawyer with license in new york and penn.real estate lic. ALLEN PANZER. who was always at the clubhouse to see what was going on and answer questions. TOM ANNUNZIATA who by the way is retired and would not have been considered an absentee bod. he would make sure the board was kept informed with emails every day he may not have been a yes man but of all the bod he cared he would listen may not agree but he was a good president.
Now we have bod following the workers asking questions of them all the time how can they do there work
remember they only have one vote but you have seven people that dont get along where L A C A IS CONCERENED
I DONT UNDERSTAND HOW THEY CAN BE MEMBERS OF C C L A and be on the board. As far as i know there are 2 bod members that admit they are members of CCLA and someothers that are not as honest as them. As far as i am concerned either you are for the board and work together or they are not.
i hope the people are not suckered in when they vote this year the 150dollars reduction of dues is for only this year and will be going up next year. looks like the bod members are looking for votes.there are several people who are running for the board that are ccla members. who started this anyway who was so bright to feel that they know everything.I never trusted some one that knows everything and what is good for everyone
if you figure out what you as members get for your dues. it is not expensive

#76

comment

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "IMPORTANT OBSERVATION !!!!":

Has anyone heard anything about the hiring of a manager? It seems with the occurance of a surprise, and early, snowstorm the board would've realized the need for one to make decisions on how to handle the situation. Guess they will come up to LA and take care of it themselves.


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

I couldn't agree more--if it weren't for your blog, property owners wouldn't know ANYTHING that is going on at LA! Everyone should spread the word about it.

The "official" LA website is totally useless. NOTHING is updated. Just look at the photo gallery--pictures from 2006 and 2007? Did we skip 2008 at LA? It's soon time for 2009! Not only is it lacking info for property owners, the LA site is not a very good showcase to prospective buyers who want to find out about LA. Who keeps up this site anyway? Certainly not doing a good job.

For instance, when were the bylaws changed to allow hard top awnings and screen rooms??? I was shocked to read and hear that they are allowed now. Not according to the bylaws which you can find on the LA website!

Also--we pay so-o-o-o much more in dues than Eagle Lake (they were 12 or 1300 last year there) and they seem to have better amenities, better activities, better management in general (www.eaglelakeca.com). Eagle Lake was built by the same developers as LA and is only a few years younger than our camp. I would think they have had to renovate water, sewage and electric at some point also. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to take Apple Management on board to run LA. My family has been at LA since the late 70's and its management has gone downhill drastically since 2000. I don't know if it's because of the GM or the people we keep electing on the BOD but somethings got to change and real soon. We have to hire a person or a group with PROFESSIONAL community management experience! So what if we hire a company to do the job--at least the job will be done and the right way! You can still have your BOD.

Madelyn Dunham

it really can't be happening !

VOTE !!!!

comment

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

comment

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