HIDDEN VALLEY LAKE, Calif. – Bill Waite, president of the Hidden Valley Lake Association Board of Directors, denies that his board intends to ignore the rights of HVL residents to vote on a multimillion dollar construction and restoration project.
“To the best of my knowledge, no director is trying to take away any members right to vote. . . . Those rights are set out in the governing documents (for HVL) ,” said in an email to Lake County News.
“Should an event occur that triggers a vote of the members, I assure you that all steps will be taken to make sure that we comply with the governing documents of this association,” Waite added.
Waite’s comments were in response to a short series of questions Lake County News emailed to him after member-residents last month went public with their concerns that the board intended to circumvent an HVL regulation limiting how much a board of directors can allocate for improvements without membership approval.
Section 11:05 of the HVLA Property Owner and Tenant Information Manual states that association debts of more than 5 percent of regular member assessments cannot be entered into without the prior vote or written consent of two-thirds of members who have voting rights.
Originally, the cost of the HVL construction project – a new clubhouse and a new community center – was estimated to run as high as $8 million by some. But Waite said that price tag was just a rumor.
“Since we do not even have the conceptual design in place, I don’t know how that figure was derived,” he said. “What I do know is that at the last forum . . . (the cost) was stated slightly above $5 million.”
Copies of the plans that recently had been circulated in the community included an initial $7.3 million figure, with the most recent revision reducing the cost to $5.3 million, as Lake County News has reported.
The disparity in cost estimates will only be cleared up when final determination is made regarding what the construction project will include.
Among the considerations, will a new community center be built or the present one refurbished?
Waite was also asked how seriously he regarded a petition making the rounds for his recall.
“I do not believe that I can answer this question other than to say that I believe that the members are acting within the rights set forth in the governing documents,” he said.
Among associated issues that have developed between residents and the HVL board is a possible censure of director Steve Greenberg, who has raised concerns about the project. Greenberg has denied any wrongdoing in the matter.
Said Waite: “The Board of Directors (is) in the process of doing its due diligence by trying to have a meeting with Mr. Greenberg to discuss the issues in question. Therefore, at this time, there is not a censorship meeting scheduled nor has there been one. If, in fact one should happen to occur, it will be done to the utmost letter of the law and by a vote of the entire BOD.”
Waite and other board members are optimistic that the hiring of highly credentialed Cindy Spears as general manager is a move that will lead to a better understanding between the HVL board and its critics.
“I have the highest regards for the Board’s unanimous choice (of) Cindy Spears as the General Manager,” Waite said. “She has a great deal of experience in working with associations similar to ours and with others that have issues similar to the growing pains we are experiencing.”
Waite is not a member of the HVL Men’s Golf Club which some residents charge is dictating to the general membership regarding a construction project. But he did say that three of the seven directors on the board are Men’s Golf Club members.
He added that the documents governing HVL require that the board of directors “is required to maintain all of its amenities, (so) doing nothing is not an option.”
Email John Lindblom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .