Quote:
Originally Posted by rubicon
Let me add this into the mix....Some one on behalf of the residents needs to file an action to watch out and protect our interests. The District is being accused of wrong doing which the residents ahd no knowledge, no involvement or control and hence creates a conflict of sorts between the residents and the district. I do not believe we should be using the amenties fees to defend this lawsuit. The POA continues to sit on the fence . Why? If the district was negligent in their dealings don't they have some sort of liability insurance for that and shouldn't they contact their insurance company to see if they will cover this situation? I wonder if the POA had asked the district about this insurance stuff since they are the watch dog group for residents? I wonder why the POA doesn't get its attorney(s) involved to see what is best for us? We may be losing some important time and or opportunities to direct this legal action away from us and point it to where it belongs. If the information is accurate in the POA Alert then what occurred is that the Developer threw a big party that overstated profits and not only were we not invited also are getting stuck with the bill
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I agree 100% with your concerns.
It particularly irritates me that the VCCDD is paying the legal-defense costs out of the amenity fees, and I wish that the POA had spoken out more forcefully on that issue. However, in fairness to the Developer and the VCCDD, their contractual obligation is to continue to furnish the amenities at the pre-existing levels, and I have not noticed a degradation as a result of the drain on amenity-fee revenue from paying the legal-defense costs.
In other words, the problem is that AT THIS POINT, it seems awfully hard to figure out what legal action the POA or anybody else can take. Also, where would the money for attorney fees come from? (You refer to the POA's attorney, but there is no such person on retainer.) I think, that by:
1. informing residents of the facts of the IRS investigation, at meetings and through the POA Bulletin;
2. starting a legal defense fund; and
3. writing the IRS and asking that the IRS be sensitive to the impact of its actions on Village residents
the POA has done about all it can for the time being.
It is unfortunate (or perhaps deviousness on the Developer's part) that the Developer structured The Villages so that we do not have a regular home owners' association-- with mandatory membership, dues, and the legal power to represent us. Then, when the POA became a nuisance to him, the Developer supported and subsidized a rival organization, the VHA in order to weaken the POA.
I have personally expressed my concerns about the IRS investigation to the POA officers and board members. I am personally convinced that they are both aware of, and concerned about, the situation. Let's also remember that these folks are all volunteers, and the ultimate responsibility for protecting our interests rests with us, not with them. Do I always agree with the POA? No. But in this kind of situation, it's the only organization we have.
I would suggest you attend the next POA meeting (I will be out of town, myself or I would be there) and ask the kind of questions that you raise here. They are good ones and thought-provoking, but I think that we all need to be aware to keep in mind that this Forum is a good way to exchange thoughts and information, especially in the absence of a genuine newspaper in The Villages. But posting, in and of itself, doesn't get anything done. If the IRS investigation does "go south", we are all going to have to get off behinds and away from our keyboards and take some kind of action ourselves.