Board Meeting Scheduled for Tomorrow...or IS IT?

With the last (late as usual) assessment bill, there was a flyer for a Board Meeting on August 14th at the usual distant-from-the-condo location.
However, as of 7am this morning, only 36 hours before the scheduled meeting, there are no flyers in either building lobby...as required by law!
(Notice is supposed to be posted in a "public place" no less than 48 hours before a meeting.)
Has the meeting been cancelled?
Is the Board planning to have it in secret?
What machinations are the Board and their servant planning?
(Note: There have been no Board Meeting minutes issued in over a year, not since the "Security Camera Debacle" detailed HERE.)
We'll be there, one way or another, so be here on Thursday for a follow-up.

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The Meeting (featuring a surprise guest appearance)

The meeting on the 26th was held at the usual location, in the open area of the public library as it was once before, which, as you will see, will lead into an embarassment for the Board, as I'll show shortly.

As the meeting began, the Board's servant introduced someone she claimed was their lawyer.

Though his general description matched the listing on the firm's site, his demeanour and attire didn't quite sync in my mind with a high-powered attorney.

He was then fed a series of prepared questions, most of which he answered correctly, though with a heavy emphasis on levying fines ranging in the thousands of dollars, instead of points of law.

(Though he did mention if the person they fined took the Board to court over the fines, unless they could prove reasonableness [an unlikely event when dealing with this group], they would lose.)

He also claimed that no one but unit owners could attend Board meetings, despite the fact that the Property Manager had actually provided a form letter to M allowing other representatives (such as myself) to attend, meaning either the Property Manager mis-read the law (which would not be a surprise) or the presumed "lawyer" was wrong.

After this 15-minute bit of theatre (which he mentioned was free of charge as a "meet-and-greet", though little meeting or greeting occured), he beat a hasty retreat instead of sitting in on the rest of the meeting, which any intelligent lawyer would've done, in order to see if what his clients claimed was true.

Once the "lawyer" departed, yours truly was ordered out of the meeting.

The problem was that the meeting was in an open part of a public library, which they had no authority to command me to leave.

After some of the usual blustering, the Board sent one of their members to see if the room they normally-used had finally become available.

It wasn't, so they were forced to continue the meeting with me well within earshot...which is not what they wanted.

They discussed a number of mundane matters, and at the end of the short attempt at face-saving, invited questions from attending unit owners.

There was only one (as usual), M, she asked about the fact that no Board meeting minutes had been distributed since last July!

The Board members and their servant all started talking at once about unrelated matters, never explaining why they had failed in their duties and responsibilities.

There's much more, including a point-by-point analysis of the quiz session (and why the heavy emphasis on expensive fines) and the acrimonious aftermath of the meeting at our subscription-only website.

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Board Meeting Tomorrow...

Notice went up this morning, less than 40 hours before the meeting, a violation of the Condo Code (which requires notices to be posted more than 48 hours before the meeting.).
It's at the usual location over a mile away.
The Board and Property Manager are aware that, due to mass-transit budget cuts, the bus M and I use to get to the over-a-mile distant location (we don't have a car) no longer runs after the start time of the meeting, forcing us to pay for a cab to get home.
An obviously-deliberate ploy to keep us from attending, due to M's bad knees.
Despite the unwarranted additional expense and inconvenience, we'll be there to face them down.

Previously-Unannounced Meeting!

A notice posted in the lobby listed a Board meeting on May 15th.
This is curious for several reasons...

• 1) It's only two months since the last meeting. Usually they're three months apart.
• 2) It's at the usual location over a mile away. The Board and Property Manager are aware that, due to mass-transit budget cuts, the bus M and I use to get to the over-a-mile distant location (we don't have a car) no longer runs after the start time of the meeting, forcing us to pay for a cab to get home. An obviously-deliberate ploy to keep us from attending, due to M's bad knees. Despite the unwarranted additional expense and inconvenience, we'll be there to face them down.
• 3) The year-end report contained a number of inaccuracies or (ahem) fallacies. We reported a couple of these in our previous post. Combine that with the failure of the Property Manager and Board to provide minutes for the three meetings since September 2012, and it looks like somebody's trying to cover their collective asses.

We have suspicions as to what, exactly, is going on.
Check this public blog for the leads, and our subscription-only blog for full details on the 16th.
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The Return of an Old Problem Part 6, And the Property Manager's...Interesting...Grasp of Mathematics!

The plumber finally arrived on Thursday, over a week since we requested his services.
To his credit the work was done swiftly and efficently.

On another matter, the year-end report for 2012 finally arrived a couple of days ago.
Among the other fun factoids, according to our property manager...

A money market account had a balance of $17,527.52.
The current interest rate on this account is .01%.
The total interest income was $7.00.

Really?
A money market account with only .01% interest?
And .01% of $17,527.52 is $7?

...operating expenses in 2012 were budgeted at $48,479.
Actual expenses were $56,807 or 83% over budget.

$56,807 is 183% of $48,479?

At December 31, 2012, there were no past due assessments from one unit owners.

So, 1 unit (out of 13) is up-to-date with assessments?
What about the other 12?
It goes on, but you get the idea of how incompetent this woman is...

The Return of an Old Problem Part 5, Late Assessments...and a Humorous Note!

Since I hadn't heard back from the plumber since our brief conversation on Friday, I called him on Monday, April 22nd...and got his voicemail.

So I e-mailed the property manager the following...

It's now been a week since we informed you of the plumbing problem.
As of the posting of this e-mail, I have not heard back from (the plumber) since I reached him at 4:15 pm on Friday, April 19th, 2013.
He said he'd call back a half-hour later.
He did not do so.
I phoned him yesterday, Monday, April 22nd, at 5 pm and got his voicemail.
Left a message, but, as of now (almost 24 hours later), received no response.
If your chosen plumber is unavailable and you cannot provide another in a timely manner, I will secure another and bill you for his/her services.

Less than an hour later, I received the following e-mail from the plumber...

Hi All,

 I am available after my second call tomorrow about noon tomorrow or perhaps Thursday if that works. Of course if you have water on the floor you should have already called. Call my cell if you need me.

I responded...

Early Thursday morning will be fine.
The water hasn't crested over the top of the shower stall pan...yet.

BTW: If you remember, we spoke at 4:15 pm on Friday, April 19th.
You were doing a job and said you'd call back a half-hour later.
Probably because it was a difficult task, you lost track and didn't call back.
I phoned you yesterday, Monday, April 22nd, at 5 pm and got your voicemail, but received no response.
Again, odds are you were involved in some labor-intensive task and couldn't answer.

He confirmed for Thursday morning, and that's where we stand as of now.

On a side note, we received the assessment bill (late, as usual) along with a short (3-page) financial statement as well as a one-page "Year-End Status Report" containing an average of one typo per line.

(At least I hope they're typos, otherwise our idiot property manager can neither spell nor count!)

And, of course, we still haven't received the September 2012, December 2012, nor March 2013  Board meeting minutes.

We'll go into that tomorrow.

The Return of an Old Problem Part 4 and Bill to Property Manager for Services Rendered

On Friday, April 19th, around 3:45 pm I received the following e-mail from the property manager...
Dear B,

It is my understanding that (The property manager's favorite plumber) left you a message to schedule an appointment to correct the drainage problem that you reported.
Please confirm by return email that you have connected with (plumber) and scheduled a time.

Please note that you have been notified in prior communications - all Association business is to be reported to the management office and not the Board of Directors directly.  You know the email.

Thank you in advance for you (sic) cooperation.

I e-mailed back...

Dear Mara:

(Plumber) called today, April 19th, 2013, at 1:37pm
There was no contact before then.
I will call him back and schedule a time

Please note that you have been notified in prior communications that all matters regarding maintenance and repairs are to be reported to me and not M, who is busy with detail-intensive work and cannot be disturbed with these matters, which she entrusted to me.
You know the e-mail.

When you play by the rules, I'll play by the rules.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

You'll note the plumber called only two hours before she e-mailed me.
I called the plumber, who was in the middle of a job and told me he'd call back ASAP.
As of Monday morning, March 22nd, I'm still waiting...

In an unrelated note, welders arrived to fix the gangway front gate.
They banged on my door and asked me for access to the laundry room so they could hook up their tools.
I'm billing the property manager for my time, since the matter isn't of concern to me and is not my responsibility.