3 minute read
Where the Money Goes
Where t h e Money Goes
By Executive Committee: Paul Szymkowicz, John Colley, Jim French, and Jim Swartzendruber
As many of you are aware, Canadian Lakes Property Owners Corporation (CLPOC) has been experiencing significant legal expenses for many months. This phenomenon has been the result of a multitude of issues raised by the membership that were not anticipated. Some of the issues are appropriate and steps need to be taken to address them while others are nothing more than harassment of the board and management.
You will recall that a group attempted to recall five directors through the preparation and submission of a petition. That effort failed in a major way, but legal fees had to be spent in order to make sure that the corporation was handling it appropriately.
Some members have been attempting to obtain the financial records of the corporation including salaries of staff on a “just because I want to know” basis. Again, legal fees had to be spent in order to understand what was appropriate.
Flaws in the language of the Articles of Incorporation have been revealed and the corporation is spending money on legal fees to review all previous filings with the State of Michigan from 1994 to present in order to correct any discrepancies.
The corporation has been taking non-paying members to small claims court which does not allow the participation of attorneys. Occasionally a small claims dispute gets moved to district court and then legal fees have to be spent as the corporation cannot represent itself in that venue. It should be noted that the small claims pursuit has been quite successful in collecting unpaid dues.
There have been members who contact the General Manager and claim that they don’t need to pay their annual membership fee based on some unusual theories. Again, the corporation lawyers have to be contacted to research the basis for the claim and provide enough information to deal with it appropriately.
The current Covid-19 issue has resulted in spending a great deal of money with our attorneys due to the need to navigate through the multitude of executive orders issued by the Governor and how they apply to Canadian Lakes operation. Any miss-steps in this regard could have serious consequences related to state licensing of the CLPOC.
Your board and management do not enjoy spending money on legal fees unless it is necessary to successfully guide it through potential trouble.
NEARBY WALK-IN URGENT CARE CLINICS Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Big Rapids Spectrum Health Hospital Walk-in Clinic
650 Linden St, Suite 1 | 231-796-3200
Reed City, Spectrum Health Hospital Walk-in Clinic
300 N. Patterson | 231-832-7170
Mt Pleasant, McLaren Central Michigan Ready Care
Walk-in Clinic | 1523 S. Mission St | 989-773-1166 Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. & Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Rockford, Spectrum Health Urgent Care Clinic
8001 Meadow Creek Dr. | 616-884-2910 Seven Days, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Grand Rapids, Metro Health Urgent Care
(UM Affiliate) in Metro Health Park East 4055 Cascade Rd SE. | 616-252-4082
Suggestions of when to go to Urgent Care:
(copied from website of Metro Health Urgent Care) Urgent Care is a great option for treatment of medical conditions that are not life threatening but need to be taken care of right away, especially when your doctor’s office is closed. In most situations you’ll save time and money by going to urgent care instead of the emergency room.
If you experience the symptoms below, you could go to urgent care:
Low-grade fever (less than 101 F) | Rash
Sprain or injury without deformity | Painful urination
Sore throat | Cough or cold symptoms
Nausea or vomiting without pain | Eye Infections
Sinus infection | Small lacerations
Mild asthma | Earache
Foreign object in your ear | Back pain without injury
NEAREST HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOMS:
Big Rapids | Spectrum Health Hospital, 650 Linden Lakeview | Spectrum Health Kelsey Hospital, 418 Washington Ave.
