Elder abuse
According to our internal policies in Leisure World, our administrator is supposed to have a degree in business administration and a minimum of 10 years managing at least one property of 50 or more units. He has neither, and as a result, has cost the Shareholders of Leisure World more than a million dollars. Many of these people are on fixed incomes and many are bed-ridden. They may not even be aware that they pay him more than $250,000 per year (if you add in his “perks.”)
I managed my own and other’s properties for 42 years so it didn’t take long to see what’s going on in here. The unpaid tax cover-up was going on when I purchased, so I didn’t know about any of this until I moved in. It may have been covered up to influence voting that was going on at the time. Perhaps we need a re-count; one guy we needed to vote out won by two votes. If people had known about the unpaid taxes, he might not have gotten back in.
None of the Golden Rain Board or their staff who are supposed to be bonded have bonds, so it’s being left to the share holders (all seniors) to pay for all the mistakes and rip offs that appear to be occurring on a somewhat regular basis. Administrator Schaeffer even has the audacity to appear at meetings, parading around in expensive suits, shaking hands, and acting as if there’s no problem.
I’ve been told there are those who want Leisure World to fail so they can tear it down and redevelop the property (including someone in a high governmental position in the city of Seal Beach.) It’s a very valuable piece of property. I’ve been told they want to build high-rises.
It’s wonderful living here (except for the above mentioned mess) and many senior residents have their last dollars invested in this place, so what are they going to do if it fails? Where will they go? To me, it appears to be Elder Abuse.
Shalla Callahan
LW board executive sessions held in good faith
After reading the comments on a recent GRF Executive Session by LW activist David Lyon within the article by Charles M. Kelly in the November 2011 edition of the Sun I was prompted to review the relevant provisions of the Davis-Stirling Act and Roberts Rules of Order.
When reviewing Subsections b, c, & d of Section 1363.05-Open Meeting Ac t(in D-S Act ) I was not able to locate any special provision which prohibits the Members of the GRF Board from managing its affairs in good faith in the Executive Session as determined by the Board itself in a manner that the Directors believe to be in the best interests of the Shareholders in Leisure World.
And a quick perusal of the parliamentary procedures found in the Roberts Rules of Order did not reveal any other relevant restrictions. I did find, of interest, that votes can be taken in an Executive Session and the proceedings/activities conducted in such Sessions are not restricted in any other way.
Les H Cohen
Legislative Advocate Emeritus
Leisure World-Seal Beach
Information Please!
Give the people all of the information! Is that too much to ask of our elected officials? It is in Los Alamitos, when it comes to paying for trash pickup.
Council members Troy Edgar, Marilyn Poe and Ken Stephens keep saying we received a 19 percent reduction from Consolidated Disposal in our residential rates, the second lowest in the county and an 8 percent reduction in the commercial rates.
The whole truth: had the contract been awarded to the lowest responsible bidder, Athens Disposal, the reduction in residential rates would have been 22 percent and the reduction in commercial rates 54 percent.
The residential rates would have been $11.76 per month instead of $12.20 from CDS.
Commercial rates would have been $57 per month instead of $117 from CDS. The businesses, apartment owners and renters are paying an extra $717 per year. The combined overpayment according to the city’s trash consultant is over $600,000 per year and $6.5 million over 10 years.
As you can see, the users of the blue commercial bins are the ones most damaged by the failure of the city council to follow their own ordinance.
The politicians know that most of the commercial users are individuals who do not live in the city, do not vote and thus are easy prey in the “business friendly city” of Los Alamitos.
Which companies were disqualified because their bids were too low and “problematic” (Page 5 of the consultant report)? CR&R, the largest private hauler in OC, services Rossmoor; Rainbow Disposal services Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley; Athens Disposal, is the largest private hauler in LA County. Council members Edgar, Poe and Stephens are currently proposing an amendment to the trash ordinance removing the “Lowest Responsible Bidder” requirement and will award the next contract to … ?
May I have the envelope please!
Art DeBolt
Los Alamitos
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