rochadale Village Social SerViceS

Last month I highlighted information regarding the purpose of this non-profit and the impact that would be felt community wide if the members of the RVSS Board did not actively participate.

Regrettably, on Wednes- day, February 1, 2023, there were not enough RVSS Board members present to meet a quorum. That meant that no formal business of the board could take place such as electing officers.

Therefore, my concerns are highlighted wondering why there is such a lack of commitment from some of the sitting board members. It is vital that board members are active and engaged on a regular basis. To not do so, is a disservice to our community.

It is my hope that the March 2023 meeting a quorum will be present to conduct business. If board members need to reevaluate their participation on the board, you are encouraged to do so. Your community is depending on you!

-Jean Hall

SynoPSiS oF cooPeraTor’S SeSSion

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For January 23, 2023 Board Meeting

Chair Dr. Althea Hicks opened the cooperator’s session at 7:05PM.

Question: Regarding the HCR field visit report conducted 8/22: Why was there a 5-month delay in posting the report? Also, the report stated the carrying charge increase is due to late payment by commercial vendors; why are bills not paid on time and what is the board doing about this

Response: Management will look into the timing for the posting of the report. The board nor management has made the formal reply to HCR. While the requirements call for a respond in 30 days, the board did not receive the report until January 2023. It is management’s intention to pay bills timely, however factors such as rising costs and inflation has made it difficult for the corporation to keep up with expenses. When income is not enough to keep pace with expenses a carrying charge is recommended.

Question: Did management provide the leases requested in the field visit report and for those vendors who are behind in their payments ($617,000 in arrears) how much have you collected?

Response: No, all of the leases have not been submitted to the State. However, we are working to ensure compliance. The arrears amount reflects August 2022 numbers. Since that time a number of vendors have paid their arrears. However, management will reference the exact numbers in the next report to be posted in the bulletin.

Question: The HCR field report indicates during the review period of 4/11/21 – 7/31/22 there were instances found of mov-ins prior to HCR approval. Please explain.

Response: The report highlights a handful of incidents that took place during the height of the pandemic. That was an outlier; management is following the procedures.

Question: The issue dates back two years; violations have been issued to my unit because of the doormat in front of my unit and my leaving shoes outside on the mat due to my religious beliefs/practices. I need this matter to be addressed and all violations rescinded.

Response: There was an agreement made several years ago when this was initially brought to management’s attention. At that time before the household turned in for the night, we would move the shoes inside of the unit. Management will have to investigate why there appears to be a breach of that agreement.

Question: The restroom in the management office has been out of service for two years. When will this be addressed?

Response: Management will review and make sure this is addressed.

Question: If you have a neighbor who by all their rights is a user of marijuana, for whatever reason that but the smell of their marijuana, permeates the entire floor and all the apartments are inundated with the smell. Is there something that can be done to prevent the smell. It makes me ill.

Response: Management We can work on creating a public service announcement, you can call public safety and report the odor in which case we case we can go the route of violations and have that conversation with the shareholder that is causing the smell and work on some solutions towards that problem.

Question: I want to know what management is going to do to incorporate people with emotional support dogs. Some of us feel ostracized, you have signs stating no walking your dog on the grass and the violation is $400.00 – these violations are not proper – is it unfair, you cause more emotional distress and we may need to sue Rochdale.

Response: The idea is not to make anyone feel ostracized, however, in the past couple of years, we have noticed an uptick in the amount of fecal matter from dogs, just throughout the complex, especially on the grass. A lot of people with dogs here don’t walk around with the scooper or the bag and they leave the mess wherever. We have events outside and kids are running and stepping in it dog mess and it has been a problem, which is why we would like the shareholders to walk their emotional support pets off property.

Question: If everyone who owed carrying charges paid up would we still need an increase?

Response: No, it would not prevent carrying charge increases. However, for those shareholders who owe us money we are actively seeking to collect carrying charges. This was way more successful pre-pandemic. It is way more difficult now. The courts are behind schedule by at least eight months, so typically when I would do what is called a nonpayment for someone that hasn’t paid, maybe it takes me five months to get through that and either get the money or get them out. That is now taking over a year to get done and when we talk about squatters, illegal shareholders, those are in court too and they are called holdovers which means you are in violation of the occupancy agreement and you don’t belong here. Those are taking much, much longer because you have to prove your case in court, so no matter how much somebody owes or if they don’t live there, I still have to prove that to the judge and while it may be evident that that is the case, it still takes time to get those things done. We are actively working on that. That is something that we just do and unfortunately, in some cases, we are at the mercy of the court with regard to the timing of that.

Question: My concern, is our laundry room. I want to be able to wash my clothes, have they dried and the machine not take my money. I have had that happen to me several times. You call the number. No one calls you back. Some dryers do not dry your clothes and shareholders need a solution.

Response: This is very high on the agenda as far as importance and there is going to be a comprehensive conversation about where we go with the laundry rooms going forward, but the idea is to make sure that the service of the machines and the reliability is increased, so that is going to happen.

No further questions, the Cooperators Session ended at 7:40 p.m.