The history of questionable behavior by swim team activists dates back to our 1994 earthquake when our main pool was heavily damaged and had to be reconstructed.  The pool was originally built with standard coping… the type you would find at most pools.  The Summit HOA Board members at the time decided it was prudent to spend extra homeowner HOA dollars far beyond earthquake insurance coverage to construct a cantilever deck, wave less pool strictly designed for competitive swimming.  This major project included relocating our children’s wading pool and the gazebo, which was completely unnecessary had the pool simply been replaced to its original configuration.  This massive and very costly project was accomplished without benefit of a homeowner vote and capital improvement rules were disregarded to accommodate their mission to construct a competitive swimming pool for their swim team.  This action, which decimated our HOA accounts, brought tremendous angst into our community and several board member recalls were implemented. 

As you can see, this current swim team flair up is not a new Summit HOA controversy.  We’ve had other controversies too, notably the willingness of board members to go after a homeowner for installing a majestic “Bronze Horse” statue in their magnificent front lawn.  Tens of thousands of HOA dollars in legal fees were wasted fighting that homeowner and in the end, our HOA was again broke and the bronze horse was moved a mere 10 feet.  Things got so bad that we couldn’t even pay our bills.  By the time I became a first time board member in January 2009, it was obvious that maintaining our facilities had been the furthest thing from anyone’s mind for at least 15 years.  Our recreation center shade structures were riddled with dry rot to the point that serious safety hazards existed.  Had an earthquake occurred with people there, serious injuries could have easily resulted.  During demolition, a number of posts literally fell right over from dry rot.  Our tennis courts were also shabby and run down. 
 
By the way; the home with the majestic “Bronze Horse” mentioned above actually graced the front page and was featured in Santa Clarita’s magazine, “Inside SCV”, in its April 2009 edition.  Don’t you find our HOA’s selective policy enforcement interesting?  Does “The Bronze Seals” era lie in our immediate future?                              

Be advised that “NO DIVING” signs have always been posted at our pools since the beginning of this fine community and despite those signs and our no diving policy, diving has always been the practice of the Seals, even into the 3½ foot shallow end of our pool.  To read Randle’s Signal article you would automatically believe there has never been any diving.  He would also have you believe the swim team always had been properly insured and now the Stratfords are outrageously demanding a $20M insurance policy; I find this incredulous. 

As a former Summit HOA Vice President I can tell you that when I personally contacted our insurance carriers last March I was informed that our $15M umbrella policy did not apply to swim team activities.  And when I pursued details of a $3M liability policy, I was told that if they knew swim team activity was happening they would NOT renew our policy when it expired May 2010.  As of today, I do not know if adequate swim team insurance coverage has been obtained or not, however based on my findings last March I would suggest caution. 

Entitlements beget dissension.  This defines the Seal’s (a so-called separate entity) $1.00 annual contract to use our facilities.  All other homeowners have to rent the clubhouse, but the Seals have always had free usage on predetermined dates during prime months of the year.  If you are a paying homeowner who wishes to rent/conduct a summer wedding reception or baby shower at our clubhouse, you will likely be superseded by the Seals.  This represents a loss of revenue to the HOA.

To reiterate, I resigned from the Summit HOA last month for reasons previously reported and I did not choose to go public with this swim team controversy.  Going public to attack others is a pattern we’ve seen here before.  Those extremists who made this a public issue have done nothing more than diminish the image of our Valencia Summit community – how does this attract new homeowners and enhance property values?  I have been forced to respond publicly here because my name and reputation is under siege.  It is common knowledge by those who have lived in the Summit for any length of time that when you question swim team activities, you will be promptly demonized and personally attacked.  

I believe Signal reporter Jonathon Randles was used unwittingly to support radical elements here.  In my opinion, Tim Myers, a non Summit resident, is a willing participant and is being used to continue the frantic behavior of swim team extremists. 

I also firmly believe that while both boards were attempting good faith negotiations to resolve differences, radical elements disrupted that process and forced the Summit Board to violate a written agreement it had with the Stratford Board.  This led to a complete breakdown in communications and it seems, I fear, a legal course cannot be avoided at this point. 

In deference to Holly Thompson’s view (Seals Manager) that certain people want the Seals to go away, I do not believe Summit homeowners are striving to eliminate them.  Rather, I believe there should be appropriate insurance coverage and equity in their use of our facilities.  Having previously discussed the favoritism aspect of the Seals activities with swim team officials, I believe there is much common ground here and compromises could be reached if cooler heads prevailed.

William L. Reynolds- Commentary
Valencia Summit Homeowner since 1986

William L. Reynolds is a community volunteer who has served on the Summit HOA board. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.

Since you used my name, you could have at least given me the respect of hearing the other side of the story; apparently that is not your agenda, hence you have deemed yourself ready for the Soylent Green Factory.  Tim Myers would have you believe that this argument resides between loving families who want nothing but the best for their kids and a band of crotchety old grumpy people who hate kids having fun, when in fact it’s sensible adults who placed their energy, resources and reputations on the line making responsible decisions for the benefit of our entire Summit community.  As a good friend of mine stated, this entire issue is a microcosm of our national political arena.

If Tim Myers had been present at our Summit HOA board meeting in January 2009 he would have heard my comments regarding the Summit Seal’s annual contract.  My concerns were simply that our governing documents (CC&R’s and Pool Use Rules) prohibited much of the swim team activity, plus I felt it was inappropriate for the swim team to have a free clubhouse use whereas all other homeowners must pay rental fees. 

It should be noted that board members assume a great deal of fiduciary responsibility; therefore I simply could not rubber stamp the board president’s decision.  That particular board meeting was my second board meeting that I had ever attended as a board member and so I carefully studied our documents in preparation. 

Until that time, I rarely attended board meetings.  I recall that Cam Noltemeyer was firmly concerned about safety and liability.  Shortly thereafter, pro swim team board members and pro swim team sympathizers ousted Cam from our board claiming she was an “obstructionist”.  It’s a fact that when Summit homeowners voice their concerns about swim team activity, they are immediately demonized, lied about, and personally attacked even going so far as making false accusations to employers and law enforcement.  Tim Myers, a useful special interest pawn, created a “one sided” column attacking my reputation and character right in line with those tactics that have existed here for years.

During that January Board meeting, I asked that the board take more time to match swim team activities to our governing documents; after all, their activities would not begin until May.  I was stunned at the blow back from two of our board members; you would have thought I had assaulted Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy.  Swim team sympathizers who had crowded into our clubhouse that evening screamed and yelled at both Cam and myself; there we were as volunteer board members and we were denigrated and shouted down for voicing our concerns.  At one board meeting, a pro swim team mother stood up and yelled, you old people should move to retirement homes.  One man yelled at me claiming I had no honor; as a combat Veteran and Purple Heart recipient that was hard to take.  But I kept my mouth shut.  In the end, a vote was forced and the Board approved the swim team contract three to two which resulted in children diving into the shallow end of our pool for yet another season.

This year, after much haggling, it appears that the swim team is well on its way again with free use of the clubhouse and most of its usual activities.  However, if you read the blogs it appears that the swim team has agreed to cease allowing children to dive into the shallow end of our pool, they’ve stopped various dubious events and they have possibly corrected their historically inadequate insurance coverage. 

If these changes are indeed true, then much credit goes to the Stratford HOA because if they had not stepped up, it would be business as usual, meaning our HOA would endure yet another year with unnecessary and excessively high liability with children diving into the shallow end of our pool. 

Based on my observations, the behavior of pro swim team board members and many pro swim team activists forced the Stratford board to pursue a legal course to resolve these critical matters.  That special interest swim team group, including certain board members, adopted an entitlement mentality some years ago and they have not concerned themselves with conducting any level of rational conversation towards resolution, which is why I finally resigned from the board in protest. 

In fact, following a signed agreement by the Summit board that stated swim team activities would not proceed while the two boards’ negotiated resolution, the Summit board immediately violated that agreement and approved a new swim team contract. 

Additionally, the Summit pro swim team board members recently changed our clubhouse rental policy and our “No Diving” policy strictly favoring the swim team.  They have shown that there are no bounds to their limits of providing entitlements for the swim team to the encumbrance of our community at large.  Entitlements beget dissension.

In closing, I strongly believe that the Stratford HOA was forced to take action and for that I thank them for reducing our HOA’s liability and greatly reducing the risk of injury to swim team children.  Furthermore, it’s now abundantly clear that Cam Noltemeyer’s concerns have been vindicated.

William L. Reynolds- Guest Commentary

William L. Reynolds is a community volunteer who has served on the Summit HOA board. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.

Today, on our history special, we have census figures, water pressure, a local highway made of gold, nude CalArts graduates, and, one of my favorite phrases, “…an ax-wielding Canyon Country man…” 

WAY, WAY BACK WHEN —

— Prior to the Big Bang, the Santa Clarita was a highly-compressed point of matter and wasn’t even called the Santa Clarita Valley then. Beat that.

— Prior to 1914, all California license plates were privately made for individual customers. 

MAY 20,1920 —

— The Deciduous Fruit Growers Association, that would be the agricultural get-togetherers, not the rock band, met at the Swall Hotel on this date to talk about, well. What else? Fruit trees that shed their leaves at the end of their growth period.

MAY 20,1930 —

— Newhall Water Company was busy modernizing. They started installing the first water meters on this date. They also handed out rather complicated tables for residents to figure out their water pressure depending on their address and time of day. “To find your new pressures, deduct your estimated altitude from 1466 and divide the result by two, which will give you the approximate answer in pounds, subject to deduction for frictional pulls.” Say what?

— We got our census figures back and there were 3028 people in the greater valley (when we were the Soledad Township, our boundaries stretched all the way to Gorman, Palmdale and Chatsworth). Of that figure, there were 1104 people living in Newhall and 151 in Saugus.

— It was the Great Depression and money was more than tight. Local deputy Sheriff J.D. Story quipped that he was going on vacation to the midwest with his family and that he withdrew 75 cents from the bank to finance it.

— Retired entertainment mogul Charlie Mack used to live on 8th Street in a spectacular rock house. On this date, his house guest for the week was the silent film star, Clara Bow. Clara spent the week horseback riding.

MAY 20,1940 — 

— On this date, Newhall Land and Farming sold 20 acres at $550 per to the Los Angeles Unified School District. The Newhall Avenue frontage would be used to build the first high school in the SCV. Tom Frew’s dad was president of the local school board and had been working for two years to help make the deal.

— William S. Hart finally won his “Tumbleweeds” suit. Hart had sued United Artist 11 years earlier for denying him profits on his film by “dumping” a cheap film in 7,000 of their theaters instead of releasing his. The epic silent Western cost a staggering $302,000 to make. Hart won a $278,210 judgment. Interestingly, UA got a slap on the wrist and a big L.A. judge earned a felony conviction for bribery and jail time for being paid off in the first trial, won by UA.

— The war in Europe touched home here. The Nazis bombed Holland, killing hundreds of thousands. Joe Gibson and Ted Kornelissen had relatives there.

— Several oldtimers acting as sidewalk supervisors really gave N.M. Ball something to think about. Ball was building the Sierra Highway/Placerita Canyon intersection. Seems the locals pointed out that Ball was using a lot of rich soil for his road — “auriferous” they called it. In English, gold rich. An ex-assayer estimated that the road base the construction company was putting down had gold, silver and platinum in it to the tune of between $2 and $14 a ton. 

MAY 20, 1950 —

— Bill Bonelli Jr. ran for the state assembly. His father, “Big” Bill Sr. was just starting what would be a decades-long feud with the powerful Los Angeles Times over liquor licensing. The Times would run, just a few days before the election, a trumped-up front page story accusing the Bonellis of being Mafia gangsters. The Times printed a retraction — after the election Bonelli Jr. would lose.

— Congressman Richard Nixon ran for California senator on a lead plank of counter communism espionage.

MAY 20, 1960 — 

— I can’t say it was a message from God, but it does make you scratch your head. Some out-of-town preachers set up an old fashioned revival meeting in a big circus tent at 9th and San Fernando. The tent, all the bleachers, porta-potties and stage were ripped to shreds by a freak tornado touching down. It hit the tent and only the tent.

— Maybe it’s something that ought to be brought back and added to the City’s Cowboy Music and Poetry Fest. We used to have a big event called Placeritos Days, celebrating the big discovery of gold in Placerita Canyon by Don Francisco Lopez in 1842. The 1960 event had over 5,000 people in attendance at the park.

— On this date, the international arm of Rotary granted the SCV a charter membership for 28 individuals and businesses. Jim Keysor, a San Fernando Valley Rotarian, was responsible for bringing that first Rotary Club here. If the local Rotary doesn’t know it’s their 40th anniversary, everyone should really fine themselves severely at the next lunch…

— Newhall matriarch Martha Ann Arman died at 93 at this date — leaving 93 descendants.

MAY 20, 1970 — 

— The building of North Oaks park continued to stall. One county engineer called the vandalism on the site, “worse than Watts.” Vandals had poured sand into bulldozers and broke water mains, flooding and eroding the site to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars.

— Long before there were plans to level rustic Placerita Canyon and turn it into a condo project, there was another Golden Valley. It was a half-trillion dollar project to make Gorman into a major city. The William Morris Talent Agency was part owner in the project. The Supervisors, of all people, nixed the idea, noting that there were too many earthquake fault lines within the project.

MAY 20, 1980 — 

— They were wild times at CalArts and the avant garde campus was world famous for bizarre antics at graduation. BFA Ana Han accepted her degree nude, save for a G-string and high heels. Patricia Burns stumbled to the podium in a strait jacket. John Boyce “hacked off” his “hand” (complete with special effects fake spurting blood) after accepting his diploma from president Bob Fitzpatrick, followed by sprinting to a rented helicopter that flew him away.

— Got one better. CalArts prez Bob Fitzpatrick was whisked away from the graduation ceremonies in a hot air balloon he piloted. The balloon only traveled a few miles and landed in a field. Fitzpatrick neglected to arrange someone to pick him up, so he tried hitching a ride back to the campus. Problem. When someone pulled over to give the tony arts administrator a lift, they noticed his “blood”-spatted hand and suit and screeched away. Bob the Bloody had to walk back to school.

— For the first time in decades, a California condor chick was hatched in the wild. Audubon Society and Fish & Game officers attended the birth, somewhere in the Sespe.

— Here’s something they haven’t done in a long time — the Castaic Spring Parade through downtown. Too many trucks today?

— An ax-wielding Canyon Country man (and how that flows tripling off the lips) attacked his nearly ex-wife and her boyfriend in their bed. The boyfriend was able to wrestle the ax away from the hubbie. Get this. The man and woman were still married, living in the same house and waiting to settle up property. The man comes home and catches HER in HIS bed with HER boyfriend. That is cold. I guess you could call it, “The Ax Man Cometh…” 

Well. That was a perfectly swank ride. I’m going to find an Epsom salt bath for me and the pony and feel rather confident after a good soak, nap, beer, doughnuts and red meat that we’ll be doing another one of these trail rides next Thursday in the West Ranch Beacon. Until then, vayan con Dios, amigos! 

© 2010 thebostonreport & John Boston. All rights reserved.

(From the L.A. Times)

Weinberg won, and the Spanish Hills Homeowners Assn. was ordered to not only permit the solar panels but to cover the tens of thousands of dollars that Weinberg had spent on legal fees. Since last fall, when he installed a double row of matte black panels, three other homes in the hilltop neighborhood of luxury estates have added panels.

“We didn’t set out to be green activists,” said Weinberg, 39, a real estate attorney. “That’s not where we’re coming from. We honestly looked at it from a financial standpoint.”

Whether motivated by pocketbook or environmentalism, similar battles between homeowners groups and property owners are cropping up across the state as the installation of solar systems becomes more affordable and utility costs rise.

Read more here: Solar panels causing some storms

Board members Don Whaley, Betty Griffin and Kristen Drasper all spoke and stated that the county is extremely responsive to the community’s needs and concerns. They also pointed out that there have been no complaints to the HOA Board from residents regarding the County and that the County has been very responsive when an issue arises. Mr. Whaley stated that, “if it ain’t broke, don’t try and fix it”

There were the usual 10-12 people in attendance on Tuesday evening.  There was only one resident that argued that two separate government entities in the valley will certainly lead to competition and tension. This man then acknowledged that he’s been very satisfied with county governance!

The Stevenson Ranch Community Association, on the recommendation of Civic Committee volunteers, the show organizers, voted at the Monday, May 11, 2009, regular monthly meeting to cancel the fireworks show for this year.

The decision was made for a variety of reasons with safety of the community the most important.

This year is another drought year as many have been reminded by the recent fires in Santa Barbara and Topanga. Our region is six inches below normal rain fall so far this season the mountains surrounding our communities are extremely dry.

That coupled with the construction of the new tennis courts at Richard Rioux Park; the lack of volunteers and the state of the economy have all been contributing factors in the cancelation of the show.

The lack of volunteers has been an on going problem for many years in Stevenson Ranch. Often residents have believed that the firework show is an event that is part of homeownership in the community and some have not realized that it has been put on exclusively by volunteers.

The Stevenson Ranch Fireworks Show was started in 1999 by the Civic Committee and had been staged for the first ten years by both the Civic Association and the Civic Committee. Both organizations were made up of community volunteers.

The fireworks show was funded exclusively by donations from local businesses and the Stevenson Ranch Community Association. The show was presented by the Stevenson Ranch Community Association and Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation. The County Park contributed the location and some volunteers.

Those interested in volunteering for next year can contact Euclid Management at 661-253-3100.

The Stevenson Ranch Community Association, on the recommendation of Civic Committee volunteers, the show organizers, voted on Monday, May 18, 2009, at the regular monthly meeting to cancel the fireworks show for this year.

The decision was made for a variety of reasons with safety of the community the most important.

This year is another drought year as many have been reminded by the recent fires in Santa Barbara and Topanga. Our region is six inches below normal rain fall so far this season the mountains surrounding our communities are extremely dry.

That coupled with the construction of the new tennis courts at Richard Rioux Park; the lack of volunteers and the state of the economy have all been contributing factors in the cancelation of the show.

The lack of volunteers has been an on going problem for many years in Stevenson Ranch. Often residents have believed that the firework show is an event that is part of homeownership in the community and some have not realized that it has been put on exclusively by volunteers.

The Stevenson Ranch Fireworks Show was started in 1999 by the Civic Committee and had been staged for the first ten years by both the Civic Association and the Civic Committee. Both organizations were made up of community volunteers.

The fireworks show was funded exclusively by donations from local businesses and the Stevenson Ranch Community Association. The show was presented by the Stevenson Ranch Community Association and Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation. The County Park contributed the location and some volunteers.

Those interested in volunteering for next year can contact Euclid Management at 661-253-3100.

This article, which was originally posted on Wednesday May 20th, will be repeated several more times leading up to the July 4th Holiday.

The email dated Thursday, January 29, 2009, states:

“Effective midnight tonight I am resigning from the Board of Directors for Stevenson Ranch.  While I can work through troubled times and difficult situations, it is precisely clear to me now that this Board lacks the integrity and professionalism necessary to tend to our homeowner’s needs.” 

“I had thought that with the absence of Ms. Findlay from the Board all of the underhandedness and infighting would end ~ but I was obviously wrong.  The only constant through all of our HOA’s troubled history (current and recent past) is Mr. Whaley ~ a simple fact that cannot be argued.”

“If there are any committees to which I am a part of please consider this letter as my resignation from those committees as well.”

Regards,

Greg

To some residents it appears as though Mr. Waugh is continuing to blame others for his apparent lack of leadership at the helm of the HOA Board in recent months. An opinion not lost on some that attended the January HOA Board meeting although many had hoped that Mr. Waugh would have performed better.

In an exclsive, The Beacon obtained several emails from a resident (not a board member) in which Waugh said; “…..my resignation does not need any sort of approval” He went on to write that; “I’ll be seeing you at the next board meeting from the other side of the tables. Good day.”

The embattled Mr. Waugh asked Board member Kristin Draper to make the apology on behalf of the HOA Board of directors. After Ms. Draper’s effusive Board apology Waugh continued to make flaccid excuses for his actions; something that fell on deaf ears by many who attended.

Waugh continued to deny that he refused to install the Menorah nor that he said in the context of not putting up the Menorah that; “Times are changing”. These were comments that he did in fact say according to numerous community members that were present at the time of the conversation.

Mr. Waugh also denied a number of comments that he made to the local press and in emails that he had written and sent to some homeowners and several individuals outside the community. One resident commented, after the meeting, that Waugh was a “liar” while another said he was clearly “not being truthful” about what had taken place.

It was evident by a few homeowner comments that Mr. Waugh brought some friends and neighbors to lend support to him over this highly charged incident.

Waugh was questioned on the total cost of the Holiday event which was at over $8000 and counting according to Board Treasurer Don Whaley. Don indicated that not all the bills had been paid yet and that to date the HOA had written checks totaling $8060. That included $200 for someone to play Santa Claus a task usually handled by a volunteer.

The event was attended by 150-200 residents according to the CHP and between 300 and 500 estimated by some volunteers. That would put the cost of the event at somewhere between $16 and $40 dollars per resident that attended making it a rather pricey event that insulted a segment of the community.

Waugh tried to deflect any responsibility or criticism as homeowners discussed the Menorah incident and looked for ways to avoid such problems in the future. One resident commented after the meeting about how Greg Waugh behaved saying that; “The first rule for anyone digging themselves into a hole is to stop digging! Greg didn’t seem to get that”.