December 11, 2011 by THE VOICE.

The Ray Grant Show

on KDWN, AM 720, Sunday evenings from 7:30 to 8 PM has continued to feature HOA Issues and Solutions Program as moderated by Anthem VOICE’s Bob Frank during the past few months.

The December program will be tonight, December 11, 2011 at 7:30 to 8 PM.  Ray Grant and Bob Frank will be interviewing
Nevada Assemblyman Lynn Stewart (District 22) 

and Nevada State Director of  Business and Industry Terry Johnson

Assemblyman Stewart has earned great respect from Nevada homeowners as a champion in support of legislation and services to help protect HOA unit owner property rights.

Director Johnson was appointed by Governor Sandoval to lead the Business and Industry Department.  One of his major responsibilities is to directs the activities of the Real Estate Division, led by Administrator Gail Anderson, where all NV Homeowner Association policies, procedures and justice processes are managed.

During tonight’s December 11th program, the focus will be on matters of concern to Nevada HOA unit owners and what improvements can be envisioned for the future.   Discussions will focus on the increasing numbers of HOA board abuses of authority and the many concerns raised by the FBI’s 4-year investigations into Nevada HOA fraud and abuse.

KDWN is at AM 720 and live streams over the Internet at this link:
http://www.kdwn.com/streamer/

Sound clips of the December 11 program will be mounted on this site in the near future.

————–previous info—————-

The October 9, 2011 program featured Sun City Anthem HOA unit owner Tim Stebbins and Calico Ridge HOA unit owner Dr. Gary Soloman, PhD.   

Tim Stebbins responded to questions about critical HOA management problems and reported on his experiences with Nevada Real Estate Division failures to provide fair and balanced support services to both HOA unit owners and HOA board members.

Dr.  Soloman reported on his professional research and experiences concerning health problems caused by abusive, dictatorial HOA Boards and explained his rationale for putting up billboards on the freeways around Las Vegas such as illustrated below.

See the previous Anthem VOICE article for more details.
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/03/31/could-living-in-an-hoa-be-hazadorus-to-your-health/

In November, Bruce Baxter from a HOA North of Las Vegas and Bob Frank were interviewed by Ray Grant on topics that elaborated on the points made during the October program.   11 sound clips in MP3 format from the November 13, 2011 program are attached at the end of this article.

—————-

Here are the sound clips in MP3 format from the November 13th program.

1-13nov11-hoa-kdwn.mp3
2-13nov11-hoa-kdwn.mp3
3-13nov11-hoa-kdwn.mp3
4-13nov11-hoa-kdwn.mp3
5-13nov11-hoa-kdwn.mp3
6-13nov11-hoa-kdwn.mp3
7-13nov11-hoa-kdwn.mp3
8-13nov11-hoa-kdwn.mp3
9-13nov11-hoa-kdwn.mp3
10-13nov11-hoa-kdwn.mp3
11-13nov11-hoa-kdwn.mp3

Posted in Truth Squad, Community Questions, SCA Board, Laws & Rules, Lifestyle, Operations, News! | Print | No Comments »

December 4, 2011 by admin.

See:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug75diEyiA0

Our AnthemVOICE article dated March 7, 2011 reminded Sun City Anthem members that the SCA Board’s 2009 Federal Tax Returns had reported $4.8 Million of untaxed and un-refunded surplus member dues held in a working capital (slush fund) account.  

Here is the page from Sun City Anthem’s 2009 budget planning presentation reporting the $4.8 Mil. surplus.
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/__oneclick_uploads/2010/07/surplus-build-up-2002-2009.pdf

But, when Finance Committee Chair Candance Karrow was asked during the November 2011 Annual Membership Meeting why assessments were being increased by $714,400 in 2012 when there was such a large accumulated surplus account balance, she stated that all of the surplus had been spent. 

When asked “what for” she just shrugged her shoulders, and claimed she did not have the details!  Even worse, not a single board member was willing to answer the obvious questions about the missing millions of surplus funds.

Imagine a corporate board and its finance committee responsible for the assessments, collections, accounting and spending of a 2-year total of $16 Million of member assessments plus an additional $4.8 Million for expenditures of unidentified “stuff” and they have refused to explain such outrageous over-expenditures!

Imagine that all seven board members, all community managers, and the association attorney  just sat there and said nothing to help Ms. Karrow explain where the missing $4.8 Million had gone! 

And, imagine that the former board member and disgraced attorney tried to misdirect the audience from the hard questions during member comment period by reminding people of the 4th quarter 2008 “$100 dues holiday”. 

Anyone who can use simple math can readily see that such a $100 reduction in the 2008-mandated $160 increase in annual assessments had absolutely nothing to do with the reported $4.8 Million surpluses carried over and declared during the 2009 budget year.  In fact, one has to wonder how in spite of the $714,400 “dues holiday”cut in 2008 assessments it was possible to report an increased total of $4.8 Million accumulated assessments a year later in August 2009!

Come to think of it, one has to wonder what kind of serious conflicts of interest that man might have for so often seeming to work to cover up the mismanagement of past and present board members?  Year after year, on advice of counsel and RMI, the boards have refused to clean up the past financial disasters while the former VP creates smoke screens and misdirections to keep members confused about the essential facts.  As many say, follow the money through independent forensic audits, and we will find the truth.

So, where’s the “beef” (missing surplus funds)?   Since embezzlement has been found so often in national HOAs and during the current Nevada FBI investigations of HOAs, prudent/ethical people will not allow such major questions involving apparently missing millions of dollars to go unanswered.  Honorable directors cannot continue to tolerate such obvious signals of past and current financial mismanagement.

Even if the boards can eventually prove they legally and properly spent all those millions in such a short time in such secret ways, how will they explain away the apparent waste and abuse of funds that were required by federal and state laws to be refunded to our members?  It is absolutely required that the boards return those millions of surpluses or ask the members to vote via formal ballots to authorize the boards to pay the income taxes and spend the resulting funds on clearly identified capital improvement projects.

Considering the FBI’s ongoing investigations, this matter would seem to be an extremely high priority for the board to resolve.  Each serving director in recent years could face criminal allegations if nothing is done.  It will be truly painful for all directors and SCA members if we wait to act until the FBI announces an interest in SCA’s financial and board election affairs.  Out of self-interest, our members must stop ignoring the obvious signals of serious problems.

———————-

FYI:   For those who have not been following the “over-charged dues/slush-funds–working capital funds/False Income Tax Reports” fiasco since it was first identified in 2007, the following links contain some details.   

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/03/02/irs-report-released-boardauditor-has-no-more-excuses/

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/02/19/reject-the-boards-shell-game-on-income-taxes/

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/02/11/irs-audit-finds-sca-owes-1345-million-in-back-taxes-for-07/

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2010/09/18/dues-holiday-is-bogus-tell-the-board-you-know-the-truth/

Posted in Truth Squad, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

December 2, 2011 by admin.

After over 3 and 1/2 years of unexplained delays, the first of dozens of allegations of illegal acts submitted against (former and current)  Sun City Anthem Community Managers employed by RMI has finally reached the point of a public disciplinary hearing.

The accused person is long-time Del Webb, Pulte and RMI employee, Terri Da Silva.

The Nevada Commission for Common Interest Communities and Condominium Hotels (CICCH) will hear the formal prosecution by the Deputy Attorney General during a session scheduled at 9 AM for December  6-8, 2011. 

The PDF case report is attached at this link:   Da Silva Prosecution by Attorney General

This hearing/trial for alleged law violations in 2008 follows by only a few weeks the previously scheduled prosecution against certain 2008 SCA Directors (led by 2007 and 2008 Board Presidents Mike Dixon and Roz Berman) where the individuals were excused from trial due to a surprise technical error in the State’s paperwork. 

But, because the facts of the previous case were never heard by the Commission, AnthemVOICE hears that the State is considering resubmitting revised charges in 2012. 

That case was reported on in the previous AnthemVOICE and LV Review Journal articles at these links:

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/06/18/attorney-general-office-removed-bob-frank-from-sca-board-indictment/
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/09/01/did-defrocked-attorney-berman-mean-to-disclose-the-truth/

http://www.lvrj.com/business/2008-case-tossed-in-sun-city-anthem-hoa-dispute-128659613.html

Coming so soon after the IRS issued its 2011 audit findings against the 2007-2008 SCA Boards claiming SCA owed $1.3 Million in back taxes and penalties, 2012 looks like it could be a hard year for some former SCA board members, auditor, attorneys and collaborating community managers.  Link to one of the reports on IRS Audit:
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/03/02/irs-report-released-boardauditor-has-no-more-excuses/
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/03/12/what-are-the-odds-of-success/

Finally, since there have been dozens of extremely well-documented State Law violation complaints filed by SCA members against SCA Boards and RMI Community Managers since 2008, perhaps there could be some distant hope for homeowner justice, after all?  

At this point, we have only seen the tip of the iceberg of potential State prosecutions against the SCA Boards and contractors.  Meanwhile, the FBI criminal cases of HOA fraud, abuse and racketeering are reaching an ever-wider group of involved board members, community management company employees, and public officials.  

Posted in Truth Squad, SCA Board, Operations, Lifestyle, News! | Print | No Comments »

December 1, 2011 by admin.

As most Sun City Anthem members know, we have 4 different members running 4 completely different web sites with blogging capabilities and a wide variety of community services available for free to our residents.

Besides this AnthemVOICE (blog and archival sites) operated by a group of residents, there are 3 other forums/blogs operated at no cost to residents by Ron Johnson (the original SCA community web site), Rana Goodman, and David Berman.

All 4 services have been running successfully for many years without any help by the SCA Board and without commercial support.

But, in spite of having an $8,000,000.00 annual budget with dozens of contracted staff, dozens of volunteers on various committees, a highly competent SCA Computer Club with hundreds of members, and numerous full time RMI staff assigned to this function, none of the SCA Boards of Directors since 2005 have launched a community web site with all of the needed services required by our 7,144 households.

Why not?   Some people describe this abysmal record as “tragic incompetence”.  Others call it “GROSS negligence”.  Still others call it “fraud and abuse of authority”.   Finally, some members consider the board’s annual demand for dues increases without delivering the web services promised to be a case of “theft”.

What ever you call it, after 6 years of total failure, members have to be considered stupid and lazy for putting up with this ridiculous game!  No wonder we seniors are considered senile when they see this sort of scam being tolerated–for years!

Evan a unity-apologist for the board has to admit that no organization has ever spent more time and more money to accomplish less in terms of SCA web services than our Boards and the RMI Community Management staff.  Maybe this fiasco qualifies for the Guinness Book of Records–or at least a mention in the Channel 13 Hall of Shame?

Why have the boards failed so consistently?  Board excuses for failing, year after year, has not yet included “the dog ate their plans”, but the crappy excuses we have heard from the boards and RMI are no less juvenile and insulting.  Nothing they have said makes any sense when you look at what the rest of the world is doing with web services.  A start-up business can launch a really professional web site within a few weeks and only spend a few thousand dollars.  Clearly we have the wrong people with the wrong plans billing time against SCA!

Contrary to their lame excuses, it is clear the SCA boards, RMI and professional consultants have no interest and no intent in using web services to keep all SCA members informed on policies, procedures, activities or  lifestyle matters.   It is clear the board is practicing the “mushroom” strategy of keeping members in the dark and covered with dung.  The boards want members to be uninformed and afraid of being personally attacked to make it easy to get away with their mismanagement and deceptions.

So, our community will have to continue to depend on private, free web services to serve the community unless or until we finally get mad as hell and demand the community management company be replaced, force there be a large reduction in dues, and/or fire the board members for such failures of their fiduciary duties.

But, maybe you have had enough of the board insults with having to tolerate the lousy web services they are providing?  Ready for a petition drive and public demonstrations to force the boards to deliver?

If not now, when?  Just as in the case of the constantly failing restaurant operations,  we know that nothing will get better until the failed board members and their failed contractors are fired, and we get competent people elected and appointed to our leadership positions.  At least, that is how we see it.

Posted in SCA Board, Truth Squad, Community Affairs, Laws & Rules, Operations, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

December 1, 2011 by admin.

Nevada Energy’s massive program to install digital “Smart Meters” in every home and every business is an outrageous waste of our money, an unacceptable attack on our constitutionsal rights to privacy and freedom of unreasonable search, and a potentially serious health risk to many citizens. 

See these links if you are not familar with the background on that situation.
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/09/26/should-you-refuse-smartmeter-installation/
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/10/20/ca-counties-cities-prohibit-installations-of-smart-meters-why-is-henderson-refusing-to-act/

And, here is are parts of our citizen member filings with the PUCN representing 2 of over 50 official objections to Nevada Energy’s/PUCN smart meter programs:

mike-hazzard-complaint-to-pucn.doc

ltr-for-docket-11-10007.pdf   
exhibit-a-overall-comments-on-docket-11-10007.pdf
exhibit-b-safety-concerns.pdf
exhibit-c-health-concerns.pdf
exhibit-d-privacy-legal-concerns.pdf
exhibit-e-smart-meter-silent-killer.pdf
exhibit-f-smart-meter-prog-conflicts-with-arra-eo.pdf
exhibit-g-privacy-issues-convert-to-opt-in-policy.pdf

But, “smart meters” and the “smart grid” are only the latest attack on our privacy and health.  The so-called “progressive” agenda to eliminate our privacy and bankrup our nation by massively increasing utility costs, government fees and taxes is just the latest outrage.

The following article fills in some facts on many other similar actions to give the govenment total control over ever aspect of our lives.In case we have not noticed it, this is a civil war to 

“Every Breath You Take, Every Move You Make –

14 New Ways That the Government Is Watching You

End of the American Dream

If you live in the United States today, you need to understand that your privacy is being constantly eroded. Our world is going crazy, government paranoia is off the charts and law enforcement authorities have become absolutely obsessed with watching us, listening to us, tracking us, recording us, compiling information on all of us and getting us all to spy on one another. If you doubt that we are rapidly getting to the point where the government will monitor every breath you take and every move you make, just read the rest of this article. The truth is that the government is watching you more closely than ever, and they are spending billions upon billions of dollars to enhance their surveillance capabilities even further. If our society stays on this current path, we will eventually have zero privacy left. At this point, it is not too hard to imagine a society where we will not be able to say anything, buy anything, sell anything, assemble with others or even leave our homes without government permission. We truly are descending into a dystopian nightmare and the American people had better wake up.

Sadly, most people living in the United States and in Europe do not realize what is happening. Most of them think that everything is just fine. The “Big Brother control grid” that is being constructed all over the western world squeezes all of us just a little bit tighter every single day, and most people don’t even feel it.

But when you step back and take a look at the big picture, it truly is horrifying.

The following are 14 new ways that the government is watching you….

#1 In many areas of the United States today, you will be arrested if you do not produce proper identification for the police. In the old days, “your papers please” was a phrase that we used to use to mock the tyranny of Nazi Germany. But now all of us are being required to be able to produce “our papers” for law enforcement authorities at any time. For example, a 21-year-old college student named Samantha Zucker was recently arrested and put in a New York City jail for 36 hours just because she could not produce any identification for police.

#2 The federal government has decided that what you and I share with one another on Facebook and on Twitter could be a threat to national security. According to a recent Associated Press article, the Department of Homeland Security will soon be “gleaning information from sites such as Twitter and Facebook for law enforcement purposes”.

Other law enforcement agencies are getting into the act as well. For example, the NYPD recently created a special “social media” unit dedicated to looking for criminals on social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

#3 New high-tech street lights that are being funded by the federal government and that are being installed all over the nation can also be used as surveillance cameras, can be used by the DHS to make “security announcements” and can even be used to record personal conversations. The following is from a recent article by Paul Joseph Watson for Infowars.com….

Federally-funded high-tech street lights now being installed in American cities are not only set to aid the DHS in making “security announcements” and acting as talking surveillance cameras, they are also capable of “recording conversations,” bringing the potential privacy threat posed by ‘Intellistreets’ to a whole new level.

#4 More than a million hotel television sets all over America are now broadcasting propaganda messages from the Department of Homeland Security promoting the “See Something, Say Something” campaign. In essence, the federal government wants all of us to become “informants” and to start spying on one another constantly. The following comes from an article posted by USA Today….

Starting today, the welcome screens on 1.2 million hotel television sets in Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, Holiday Inn and other hotels in the USA will show a short public service announcement from DHS. The 15-second spot encourages viewers to be vigilant and call law enforcement if they witness something suspicious during their travels.

#5 The FBI is now admittedly recording Internet talk radio programs all over the United States. The following comes from a recent article by Mark Weaver of WMAL.com….

If you call a radio talk show and get on the air, you might be recorded by the FBI.

The FBI has awarded a $524,927 contract to a Virginia company to record as much radio news and talk programming as it can find on the Internet.

The FBI says it is not playing big brother by policing the airwaves, but rather seeking access to what airs as potential evidence.

Potential evidence of what?

This is very creepy. Why is the FBI so interested in what is being said during Internet talk radio programs?

#6 TSA VIPR teams are now conducting random inspections at bus stations and on interstate highways all over the United States. For example, the following comes from a local news report down in Tennessee….

You’re probably used to seeing TSA’s signature blue uniforms at the airport, but now agents are hitting the interstates to fight terrorism with Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR).

“Where is a terrorist more apt to be found? Not these days on an airplane more likely on the interstate,” said Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons.

Tuesday Tennessee was first to deploy VIPR simultaneously at five weigh stations and two bus stations across the state.

#7 Thermal imaging face scanners are becoming much more sophisticated. Law enforcement authorities in the western world are getting very excited about “pre-crime” tools such as this that will enable them to “prevent crimes” before they happen. The following is from a recent BBC News article….

A sophisticated new camera system can detect lies just by watching our faces as we talk, experts say.

The computerised system uses a simple video camera, a high-resolution thermal imaging sensor and a suite of algorithms.

Researchers say the system could be a powerful aid to security services.

But face scanners are not just a tool that will be used in the future. The truth is that face scanners are being used all over the United States right now. The following comes from an article posted on Singularity Hub….

Law enforcement continues to adopt new technologies in an effort to make their jobs easier and keep us safer. The latest gizmo attaches to officers’ iPhones and turns them into biometric face scanners. The scanners have already been street tested in Massachusetts. Pretty soon cops all across the US will be using them to ID suspects.

Before long, technology like this will be all over America. In fact, the FBI has announced that it will be activating a “nationwide facial recognition service” in January.

#8 Another “pre-crime” technology currently being tested by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is The Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) program. The following description of this new program comes from an article in the London Telegraph….

Using cameras and sensors the “pre-crime” system measures and tracks changes in a person’s body movements, the pitch of their voice and the rhythm of their speech.

It also monitors breathing patterns, eye movements, blink rate and alterations in body heat, which are used to assess an individual’s likelihood to commit a crime.

The Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST) programme is already being tested on a group of government employees who volunteered to act as guinea pigs.

Do you want government officials to pull you aside and interrogate you just because you are feeling a little bit nervous one particular day?

#9 Sadly, “pre-crime” technology is even being used on our children. The Florida State Department of Juvenile Justice has announced that it will begin using analysis software to predict crime by young delinquents and will place “potential offenders” in specific prevention and education programs.

How soon will it be before this type of things is applied to adults?

#10 Our children are being programmed to accept the fact that they will be watched and monitored constantly. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is spending large amounts of money to install surveillance cameras in the cafeterias of public schools all across the nation so that government control freaks can closely monitor what our children are eating.

#11 The U.S. government is also increasingly using “polls” and “surveys” as tools to gather information about all of us. In previous articles, I have noted how government authorities seems particularly interested in our children. According to Mike Adams of Natural News, the CDC is starting to call parents all over the U.S. to question them about the vaccination status of their children….

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control, which has been comprehensively exposed as a vaccine propaganda organization promoting the interests of drug companies, is now engaged in a household surveillance program that involves calling U.S. households and intimidating parents into producing child immunization records. As part of what it deems a National Immunization Survey(NIS), the CDC is sending letters to U.S. households, alerting them that they will be called by “NORC at the University of Chicago” and that households should “have your child’s immunization records handy when answering our questions.”

You can see a copy of the letter that the CDC has been sending out to selected parents right here.

#12 As I have written about previously, a very disturbing document that Oath Keepers has obtained shows that the FBI is now instructing store owners to report many new forms of “suspicious activity” to them. According to the document, “suspicious activity” now includes the following….

• paying with cash
• missing a hand or fingers
  
• “strange odors”
• making “extreme religious statements”
• “radical theology”
• purchasing weatherproofed ammunition or match containers
• purchasing meals ready to eat
• purchasing night vision devices, night flashlights or gas masks

Do any of those “signs of suspicious activity” apply to you?

According to a report on WorldNetDaily, this document is part of a “series of brochures” that will be distributed “to farm supply stores, gun shops, military surplus stores and even hotels and motels.”

#13 In some areas of the country, law enforcement authorities are pulling data out of cell phones for no reason whatsoever. According to the ACLU, state police in Michigan are now using “extraction devices” to download data from the cell phones of motorists that they pull over. This is taking happening even if the motorists that are pulled over are not accused of doing anything wrong.

The following is how a recent article on CNET News described the capabilities of these “extraction devices”….

The devices, sold by a company called Cellebrite, can download text messages, photos, video, and even GPS data from most brands of cell phones. The handheld machines have various interfaces to work with different models and can even bypass security passwords and access some information.

#14 The government can spy on us and record our conversations seemingly without any limitation, but in many areas of the country it has become illegal to watch them or record them in public. For example, one 21-year-old man down in Florida was recently arrested for trying to document a confrontation that he was having with police on his iPhone. But if we can’t record them, how can we prove our side of the story in court?

America is becoming a much different place.

Our privacy is being eroded in thousands of different ways.

National governments and big corporations know far more about you than you probably ever would imagine.

Yes, there will always be “security threats”, but we should not have to throw away any of our rights in order to be “safe”.

America is supposed to be about liberty and freedom.

America is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave.

If given the choice between living in “1984″ and living in “1776″, I know what my choice would be.

I would choose 1776.

I would choose liberty and freedom even if it meant that the world around me was a little bit less “safe”.

What about you?

What would you choose?

Reprinted with permission from End of the American Dream.

November 7, 2011

Copyright © 2011 End of the American Dream” 

Posted in Outside Politics, SCA Board, Operations, Lifestyle, News! | Print | No Comments »

September 1, 2011 by THE VOICE.

Suspended attorney (since 1991), former Sun City Anthem (SCA) Board Vice President, and self-appointed “spokesman/public relations director” for the SCA directors, David Berman said on his blog concerning law violations prosecuted by the Deputy Attorney General against his spouse:

“There is no excuse for allowing complaints of any nature to gather dust for more than three years as this one did, or for matters that can be resolved through discussion, letters of instruction, etc., to be treated as quasi-criminal matters. ”

Right! 

So, why DID the board-president-spouse of a convicted forger/defrocked attorney FAIL for over 3 YEARS to follow the laws and protect the rights of every one of our SCA homeowners?   Did she ignore her spouse’s advice?

After being clearly told and officially opposed by a fellow board member in March 2008, as well as by homeowner Tim Stebbins in May 2008 of her  violations BEFORE she voted (on both occasions), why did Roz Berman willfully act wrongfully?   During the recent hearing, the Senior Deputy Attorney General (DAG) told the Common Interest Communities Commission (CICC) and those in the hearing room that board members can not blame their failures to comply with statutes on bad advice from their “professional advisers”.  The DAG said each director is personally responsible for their bad actions.

So, why did Roz Berman and Mike Dixon FAIL to act to correct their known law violations in 2008 and 2009 after being notified by the State of Nevada in late 2008 that they were being formally charged with violating the laws?

After such a State notification the proper, moral, and legal action would have been to revoke the changed by-laws and CC&Rs and to ask the association attorney for a refund and/or future cash credits.   Instead, the boards played “chicken” with the State and we must presume this was upon advice of the (conflicted) association attorney who had profited handsomely from the whole affair.

Unfortunately, the “victory” celebrations by the accused may have been premature.   The matter may NOT be “over”.   The CIC Commission “decision” may be subject to review and reversal. 

But, as of today, it is clear the NV government Executive Branch Agencies responsible for ensuring HOA justice have universally failed the citizens of this State.  

The indicted board members, the equally complicit/uncharged SCA board members from 2007, the association attorney who advocated and profited by at least $30,000 from the law violation, and the community management company that failed to provide competent “professional” advice may be subject to future indictments/charges from the Real Estate Division and Attorney General. 

The State agencies are not “done” until THEY say they are, and growing public pressure for justice may force this matter to be continued until it is properly resolved.

The facts are that NONE of the involved individuals have ever been properly charged/indicted, and that is why the CICC could not complete its hearing.  A proper hearing still needs to be conducted to determine the guilt or innocence of the alleged violators–as required by NV Statutes. 

The Deputy Attorney General and Real Estate Division are confident they can prove certain SCA directors willfully violated the NRS116 statutes.  And, where there is government will, there are likely ways for those State Agencies to complete their duties.

Furthermore, the four CIC Commissioners who voted in favor of dismissing the case “with prejudice” (without  hearing any of the evidence) could find themselves charged with negligence.  If so, they could be asked to resign by the appointing authority. 

The apparent negligence and toleration of corruption by the CICC on this case taints the credibility of the CIC Commission, the Real Estate Division and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General.  The future on this matter is murky, and the involved board members  and their “professional advisers” since 2007 should not be resting easy.

For additional details, see this prior Anthem Voice Posting:
http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2011/06/18/attorney-general-office-removed-bob-frank-from-sca-board-indictment/

Posted in SCA Board, Truth Squad, Community Affairs, Laws & Rules, Lifestyle, Operations, News! | Print | No Comments »

May 19, 2011 by Norman McCullough.

Why Sun City Anthem was awarded Entry into “The Hall of Shame”
By Resident - Norman McCullough

It’s time to have compassion, and to listen to our seniors who have earned the right to live in peace without being threatened by fines (and worse).  Sun City Anthem is a community of people who deserve better than the abuse that has been the hallmark of the past.  If the newly elected Board members really meant what they said before they were elected, we may see some changes, if not we will all be witness to the next generation of “Hall of Shame” candidates.

Posted in Ann_Small, 2011 Campaign, Truth Squad, SCA Board, Operations, Community Affairs, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

March 4, 2011 by admin.

A new election initiative created by Wade Terry and AVR’s Rich Hogan for the benefit of the community started last Monday, and it is
planned to continue this next Monday and throughout the 2011 SCA election.   We call it the Monday Morning Forums (MMF) at AVR.
Some details follow:

“Coffee or Breakfast with the Board Candidates–Monday March 7th and Following ondays” ome one,
come all. Meet six of the SCA Board Candidates and ask them your ard questions. Q & A will begin
at 8:30am at Anthem iew Restaurant.  Breakfast will be available from 7:45 am.

We will provide a sign up sheet for questioners starting at 8am — Questions will be taken in
order of signup. Guidelines for the discussion will be read at 8:25am. We are going to rotate the
questions to each candidate to balance the opportunities. 

Each candidate will have two minutes when it is their turn to reply first.  Other candidates
will have 30 seconds to comment–if they wish. We did this last week and it worked well for both
residents and candidates. Please think of questions that any candidate may answer–not just a
specific one for one or two candidates.

Rich Hogan of Anthem View has said he will  provide a breakfast buffet for $7 including meal,
resident discount and tax. The buffet will include your coffee.  Tip will be extra and optional.
Or, residents may order off the menu and lighter fare will be available. While we are encouraging
you to have breakfast, Rich says “it is not a requirement.” (The buffet will also be vailable to
customers not attending the meeting.)

We have a diverse group of candidates so this will give you a chance to get to know them and
find out what they think on issues important to you.  We all hope to see you there. 

Please, please call 260-1135 and make your reservation if you intend to place an order.
Reservations are needed to assure space,food and staff to make this a great event. “

We urge all members to participate.  This is the least constrained and most convenient  opportunity you will
have to get to know candidates and to get unrestricted responses to your questions.

No doubt every event will cover some past ground and open up new debates on the SCA policy and procedural
issues that concern the attendees.   You will learn more of value than any of the official “forums” and get your
personal questions individually addressed by 6 of the 7 candidates.

And, AVR does not require members to buy anything to attend and participate.  What more could you ask for?
See you there on Monday mornings during the next few weeks?

Posted in 2011 Campaign, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

January 9, 2011 by admin.

Below are files containing the words in 5 recent Nevada Real Estate Division Intervention Affidavit requests filed by Norman McCullough against one or more of the SCA Directors.

Normally, such formal Intervention Affidavit words are held confidential by those making the allegations in hopes of reaching some kind of private settlement or justice from the State agencies.  But, that has not been the case.  This time, we have posted the affidavit details, and some online links of validation, to respond to those members who complain that insufficient detail is available to know what is going on.

Some readers will complain of having to deal with too much detail.  Others will complain about there never being sufficient facts posted to know the whole truth.  So, consider the following to be a middle ground.  Those who want the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, can contact us for even more details.  Either way, a fair-minded person should see that the directors can not be blindly trusted to always make honorable and legal decisions.  And, members should wonder, what they would do if the board’s unchecked wrath is ever turned on them?

In the meantime, we are not aware of one single dispute over board actions between a SCA member and the SCA Directors that has ever been settled to mutual agreement.  Nor has there been any punishment against past SCA Board misconduct, so one has to conclude the system is unfair to homeowners, and there are no reasons to keep the detailed allegations private.  It is past time to show the entire membership how they have been deceived by the directors and CAMs, and the only way to do that is through the public media channels.

This change in approach may draw some adverse public attention to the board’s gross negligence and other misconduct, but before anyone tries to condemn the victimized members for going public, it must be remembered that it was the Director’s choice to abuse their power, and to refuse to resolve major conflicts in private.

Also, each filing with the State of Nevada requires Norm to certify under oath that he is telling the truth to the best of his ability, and to recognize there could be State punishment if any allegation is found to be willfully false or frivolous.  Each filing also requires the Directors to formally respond to the member about the allegations, and they have refused to do so.  But, the directors are never punished for failing to tell the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

So, no matter who you are, or if you have previously supported the unity and other SCA political party activities, how can you have blind faith in the Director’s perfect judgment and behavior?   In these reported cases (which are a small percentage of the more than 100 filed by various members in the past couple of years), what conclusion can there be except that the Directors have been aggressively working to “retaliate” against Norm and Mary McCullough for refusing to shut up about the financial errors and omissions committed against the villas owners in the past few years?  The McCulloughs have suffered real financial harm involving hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars from SCA Board’s uncaring, mismanagement and RMI participation. Are there not significant litigation risks apparently willfully created by the Directors for SCA and themselves by such unexplainable director behavior?

It is particularly sad when one realizes that the money owed to the villas owners could have been refunded instead of wasted on association attorney fees paid to cover up the Board’s mistakes.  And, if you disagree, please post your common sense explanation for the board’s behavior.   We just don’t understand it….

—–Norman McCullough’s Allegations Against SCA Board Statute Violations——–
Affidavit #1
Affidavit #2
Affidavit #3
Affidavit #4
Affidavit #5

——————–
There has been massive evidence previously posted online by most of the SCA blogs concerning apparent SCA Board deception, fraud and corruption.  Here are just a few links to corroborating evidence of apparent willful board law violations against Norman and Mary McCullough. No one can honestly claim that no hard evidence against the Directors has been previously released.

For example, Ron Johnson has consistently reported the truth on SCA-View.  Here are just some recent examples:

http://www.scaview.org/TheCoverUp.html

http://www.scaview.org/Deceit.html

http://www.scaview.org/JusticeDenied.html

http://www.scaview.org/TheMcCulloughHearing.html

http://www.scaview.org/BermanComplaint.html

http://www.scaview.org/BoardLost150000sf.html

Previously posted on Anthem Today:

http://www.anthemtoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=2218&p=3923&hilit=mccullough#p3923

http://www.anthemtoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2073&p=3588hilit=mccullough#p3588

Previously posted on this Anthem VOICE blog:

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2010/09/10/mccullough-foundnot-guilty/

 http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2010/08/29/was-it-a-charade-or-fraud/

http://blog.anthemvoice.org/2010/08/25/board-to-hold-kangaroo-court-on-august-26-2010/

Those who help cover up and blindly ignore such blatant board misconduct must be considered parties to what clearly looks like fraud and abuse.  NV history shows that if similar conduct was performed by (for example) the Henderson City Council or the Clark County Commission, the responsible officials were criminally charged and some went to jail.

But, because of apparently corrupt HOA enforcement, our board has skated free–without any accountability for their misconduct.  The only solution is to abolish political parties in SCA and elect independent truly directors who can be trusted to be ethical and honor their promises to SCA members/shareholders/homeowners.

Posted in Truth Squad, Ann_Small, 2011 Campaign, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, Laws & Rules, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

December 30, 2010 by admin.

Harry Flagle, Country & Western Songwriter and Recording Artist, has written and recorded a song about his terrible Las Vegas HOA/Condo Board experiences. 

This song may strike a resonant chord in the minds of many Sun City Anthem homeowners who hate the way SCA Directors and their attorneys treat our homeowners.

Here is the music clip of the recording by Harry Flagle, “One Way Ticket to Hell”.
1-way-ticket-2-hell

And, here are the words:

Bright lights and lots’ a people ….. .Pretty women everywhere

I gamble till my heart’s content….. .Win..loose..it’s all the same

Bought A Condo run by CCRs…. ..Life’s over…I’m fair game

(Chorus)

Those petty rules and regulations ….  …It’s enough to make you cry

No statues, ponds or Christmas trees … …And no one knows just why

Slick manager and lawyers …..  .Slither close, but they won’t tell

If your condo’s in Las Vegas …..  .You bought a one way ticket to Hell

Now there’s lots of open meetings. ….. Closed to “Justice For H.O.”

Those arrogant board members… …Say what they want you to know

The NARC and CAI conspire …… To help you lose it all

But, I wouldn’t sell my condo yet ….. .The writing’s on the wall

(Chorus)

Well, we’re not afraid or stupid ….. .All your threats mean nothing here

Time marches on…you’ll soon be gone .. ….”United”…we’ll be there

So!  put your rules and CCR’s .. ….Up where the sun don’t shine

Just enjoy your precious “Golden Years” ….. .Stop messing round with mine!

(Repeat Chorus)

Posted in SCA Board, 2011 Campaign, Community Affairs, Laws & Rules, Operations, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

December 15, 2010 by admin.

 (The following article has been updated as of 9:40 PM on December 18, 2010.)

As found on Anthem Today and Anthem Journal, the following political hate mail is quoted and shown to be a potential violation of Sun City Anthem Governing Documents.  It is to Henderson Mayor Hafen and other City Council members, and drafted by former Director/Attorney David Berman, Current Director/Attorney Ann Small and about a dozen other hateful old people as listed below.

We are wondering if the Directors who falsely charged and illegally punished a SCA member recently for daring to question their financial management will also move to punish members of their own board for violations of the SCA governing rules and failing their fiduciary duty?

In the past, there have been some really hateful and all-round dirty political tricks played on some of our Sun City Anthem seniors by the members of this group, but this one is perhaps the most outrageously bogus action in some time.

“November 30, 2010

Dear Mayor and Councilors:

The undersigned signatories are all residents of Sun City Anthem (SCA), and the purpose of this letter is to express our concerns over what we believe to be unacceptable behavior by fellow SCA resident Rana Goodman, an appointed member of the Henderson Senior Citizens Advisory Commission.

Ms. Goodman owns and publishes one of several online blogs/forums that serve our SCA community. Her blog is titled Anthem Today, and its Internet address is www.anthemtoday.com. As the owner and publisher of this communication channel, Ms. Goodman holds ultimate responsibility for the content posted on her publication, including the authority to remove or delete offensive or inappropriate material.

In a community such as ours, with 7,144 homes and about 13,000 residents, it is inevitable that differences of opinion will arise over the policies and decisions of our elected HOA leaders. Most of our residents are fully capable of expressing their differences in a respectful, responsible manner, and they demonstrate this capability when they have strong opinions to share with our elected leaders and their fellow residents.

As is their right, Ms. Goodman and the vast majority of those posting to her blog are quite vigorous in opposing SCA management and operational decisions. This is an ongoing expression of their collective freedom of speech, and they are breaking no laws in doing so.

But Ms. Goodman has recently allowed articles to be posted on her blog which are so extreme as to anger a wide segment of SCA, especially those of the Jewish faith but also many of other faiths. Specifically: She permitted an article to be published which, in expressing disagreement over the temporary suspension of our SCA community website message board until a method of moderating the messages can be devised, compared our Board of Directors’ action to the murder of millions by Adolf Hitler in The Holocaust. The article was illustrated with a cartoon showing Nazi soldiers beating Jews in the street and two photographs of concentration-camp prisoners.

Several residents who lost family members in The Holocaust were among those who were outraged by the article.

After a firestorm of protests ensued, with Ms. Goodman refusing to remove the offending article, the writer of the article removed the images and instead changed the slant of his writing to compare our Board’s actions to McCarthyism, illustrating the revised article with several images from the McCarthy era.

Ms. Goodman did not write the offending articles, but she has, on a continuing basis, tolerated these types of written attacks which diminish the level of discourse in our community and refer to community leaders and residents who disagree with her viewpoints on many issues in the most vile and near-defamatory terms.

You might ask why we are putting our names on this letter to you (reverse side). It is not a petition, and we are not asking that Ms. Goodman be removed from her volunteer position on the Senior Citizens Advisory Commission. Rather, we want to put ourselves on record as believing that as a member of a body that is supposed to be sensitive to the issues and concerns of Henderson’s senior citizens, her tolerance of such divisive behavior is not sending the right message about what our wonderful city and its dedicated volunteers and elected leaders stand for.”

Signed by:
1.   David A. Berman (former SCA Vice President and former MA attorney)
2.   Ann Small (SCA Director & Secretary, Member of NV Bar, Former member of Henderson City Attorney
staff, Former Henderson Judge Pro Tem, Former Nurse)
3.   Michael Wolf (Former NY attorney)
4.   Gerrie Katz-Wolf (Former member SCA Web Site Committee and member,
SCA Communications Committee)
5.   Robert Sansing (Former SCA Director and Former President, SCA Current Events Club)
6.   Roberta Sansing (Has since demanded her name be removed–had not approved the letter as claimed)
7.   Al Daly
8.   Sherryl Daly
9.   Stuart Schweit (Active member of Performing Arts Club/Channel 99as “Chef Stu)
10. Robert Murphy (Former member, SCA Finance Committee and 1 of 3 members of
SCA Restaurant Selection/Lease Negotiation Committee with Roz Berman & Dan Forgeron)
11. Elaine Izaks
12. Paul Fogelson
13. Deborah Fogelson (Has since demanded her name be removed–had not approved the letter as claimed)

 AV COMMENTS:

Lawyer/Director/Board Secretary Ann Small, Former Attorneys Wolf and Berman, former Directors Berman and Sansing,  Former Finance Committee member Murphy and (especially) Communications Committee Member Gerrie Katz-Wolf know that such an obviously political and potentially defamatory letter can not be sent to the Henderson City Council without being reviewed by the Communications Committee and approved by the Board of Directors.

Why is it NOT considered an item of free speech by the signatories to the City Council?  Because Board Secretary/NV Attorney Ann Small is a CURRENT  Director and the others with relevant expertise are not free to ignore the SCA governing documents .  They have a lawful, fiduciary duty to the Association that governs every act they take as long as they are serving as a SCA Director.

Since this letter could be considered highly damaging to the community’s reputation with the City, as well as to Rana Goodman, active participation by Director/Attorney Ann Small might be judged violations of NRS 116.3103.1 on fiduciary duty, the NV Bar Association Code of Ethics, and NRS sections on defamation.

Also, Communications Committee Member Gerrie Katz-Wolf should not be allowed to ignore that SHE KNOWS such types of PUBLIC communications to government officials containing multiple personal endorsements by current directors and standing committee members MUST be reviewed by the new Communications Committee–before it is released.  And, she knows the letter would have failed to get official approval by the CC and the Board.  So, why did she participate if not to play dirty political tricks and to try to hurt Rana Goodman’s reputation in the City?

Director-Secretary/Attorney Small is REQUIRED by Statutes and Bar Ethics Codes concerning fiduciary duties to ENSURE that anything going to any government or other official organization with her name, or any other current director’s name, is properly reviewed before being released.

Board Secretary Small knows that she is required to ensure that the “Editorial Content Committee (ECC) Standards” are used to review everything citing sponsorship by Directors (regardless of whether their titles are used or not).  Although the ECC has been merged into a new “Communications Committee”, nothing has been said about declaring the SCA communications Standards of Acceptability have been revolked.  Those standards are:

“STANDARDS OF ACCEPTABILITY
1. Communications shall serve the good of the Sun City Anthem community as a whole, by
promoting the community lifestyle and fostering a sense of community.
2. Information shall be disseminated in a variety of media formats in order to reach all
residents and support their pursuance of independent living within the Sun City Anthem
community.
3. Priority shall be given to items of significant interest to a majority of the community.
4. With the exception of breaking and emergency news, all media shall be produced
according to a predetermined production schedule.
5. Clear visual/verbal presentations and/or readability are essential for all communications.
All material shall be professional, including quality sound, lighting and editing for video.
6. All material shall he accurate, and all sources shall he attributable. Accuracy shall be
established, fact shall be distinguished from rumor, and content shall not be colored by
personal opinion.
7. The media shall conform to the Association’s legal documents and to the policies of
SCACAI Board of Directors. The Board retains the option of final review.
8. No libelous, defamatory, inflammatory, or insulting material shall be used.
9. No obscene material shall be used.
10. No vulgar or offensive language shall be used.
11. Material shall not be presented in an adverse or antagonistic manner.
12. The media shall not be used to express religious or political views with exception of
issues approved by the SCACAI Board of Directors and official SCACAI elections for
which equal time and/or space will be provided each candidate.
13. Legitimate controversies of interest to all residents shall be reported objectively in a balanced pro/con format. Scripts, video and sound bytes shall be fair and balanced.
14. All advertising shall be informative, targeted and representative of Sun City Anthem’s
uniqueness.”

A review of the letter shows it flagrantly violated a number of the SCA rules and it deserves to be asked,

Why was this violation allowed by the informed directors, former directors and members mentioned?

What sanctions for the involved director and current standing committee members should be recommended?

Should SCA Members ask Ann Small and Gerri Katz-Wolf to resign?

Should SCA members who truly care about Rana Goodman’s good name and those of others who have been defamed by this group write to the Mayor and City Council and expose the long record of hateful behavior by certain signers of that letter?   Although the City Council is probably smart enough to recognize the defamatory intent of the letter, such a bogus letter should not be allowed to stand without being corrected–or get ready to see many more like it in the future.

By the way:

1.  Why were the names of Lanie and Joel Berg missing on the letter?   They were the ones most outraged at the board meeting and subsequently expressing hurt feelings at the original blog post.  Maybe this David Berman letter was just too disgusting for even their tastes?

2.  Why would SCA Director, Board Secretary, and NV Attorney (and former Henderson Assistant City Attorney and Henderson Judge Pro Tem) allow her name to be placed on that political attack letter if not to try to defame and seriously damage the reputation of Rana Goodman with the Henderson City Council–her former employer?  Imagine Ann Small trying to claim in front of a judge that she never thought of that aspect of the letter?

Posted in Ann_Small, 2011 Campaign, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, Laws & Rules, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

November 29, 2010 by bobfrank.

The true path to financial success in the SCA restaurant lease is the catering kitchen–which (the board has been told) is equal to many of the major kitchens of the major casinos where they serve many thousands with their buffets.

There are over 100,000 people living in ABOUT 35,000 upscale homes in the greater Anthem community area who are likely to respond to unequaled, quality food and service–when and where they want it.

* Catering to SCA clubs and SIGs and neighborhood groups.

* Catering to SCA and other Anthem-area special entertainment events.

* Catering to Anthem via meals-on-wheels to seniors and families with 2 or more working adults who can not, or prefer not to cook for themselves.

* Catering to other Anthem communities who do not have a restaurant or prefer an alternative.

The previous Trumpets lessee proved there were millions in the catering business and we were only half built-out and occupied at that time. Boulevard Cafe owners said they were mostly interested in the SCA catering kitchen to augment their area restaurants that could not handle their catering volume.

The bottom line business opportunity in this venue is for CATERING — NOT GAMING!

And, we are seeing proof that AVR lacks food service experience. AVR truly does not seek to develop the FOOD SERVICE business, or gaming would not be the key interest.

Posted in Community Affairs, SCA Board, Clubs & SIGs, Operations, Lifestyle, News! | Print | No Comments »

October 29, 2010 by admin.

The Board claims to be “neutral” while its public relations group (Anthem Journal) aggressively promotes gaming for Anthem Center–on behalf of the Board.  It claims to be only wanting to know what the majority THINKS about adding gaming to Anthem Center–before anyone is told what it will cost, who will pay for which items, and what kinds of returns on investment will members receive?

Does that have the cart before the horse, or what? Who could choose in favor of such a major policy item without knowing the pros and cons of the issue?

The Board has appeared desperate to salvage its disastrous restaurant lease while summarily dismissing the mounting losses to our members.   How can it be explained when the directors claim the restaurant lessee’s so-called “poll” is not a “vote”, is not a “ballot”, and the results will not be binding on the membership.  Outrageous!

Unfortunately, this proves the board is in denial of reality while it continues to treat other members as if they are stupid.  We know when we are being conned–and this is a classic example!

While some of us may be too old/too senile to deal with reality, we submit that the majority deserve much more respective treatment.  Unfortunately, it has become increasingly obvious that Sun City Anthem’s Unity Party and its directors are cursed by the same sort of “progressive/dictatorial” beliefs that we see so prevalent in the national political parties.  Power and money attracts them like mosquitoes to bare skin!

For example, ask yourself, if the directors were truly “neutral”, why would they ask us to vote for installing gaming in Anthem Center BEFORE all of the costs and other pros and cons are known and communicated?  If they were using common sense, the vote would not be allowed until AFTER the pros and cons are known.  What the Board is doing is just like Speaker Pelosi asking House members to vote on Obamacare and Cap&Trade bills BEFORE anyone is allowed to read them!

Asking members to vote for gaming without first providing business case details is a gross insult to us all. 

Even those who favor installing some gaming in our facilities should vote NO and demand to know before a final vote is taken exactly much it will cost, and when will the restaurant lease be modified to ensure 100% of its costs to members are being reimbursed.

In our view, voting NO this time around (and demanding all the data before being asked to vote again) is just exhibiting common sense.

Posted in Truth Squad, Ann_Small, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, Laws & Rules, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

September 23, 2010 by admin.

The following has been posted verbatim at Yun Lee’s request:

QUOTE:

This is a very busy time of year for me as I haven’t completely retired and do a lot of consulting in Hong Kong and Hawaii. There seems to always be a surprise in store for residents at each SCA board meeting as well as disrespect for anyone that disagrees with the FEW that control our lives and Association. Decisions seem to be made BEFORE the meetings are held and issues are presented to residents. This is not typical for a professionally run Home Owner’s Association and what has to be done to change this? Discussions and suggestions appears to be ignored, as opposed to being honored.

I am not happy with the Security Patrol name change as it will not deter potential vandalism or thieves and the attorney clearly stated that it’s WHAT the volunteers do, NOT the NAME that would be a problem. It appeared obvious to me and the two residents that I sat with that it was a “done deal” and the board had already made a decision. The disrespect shown by a board member who was a judge/attorney and the president was inexcusable. I would call their actions verbal abuse!

Mr. & Mrs. McCullough were introduced to me about two years ago and I was absolutely shocked that the Board of Directors would even think about placing a BAN on ANY resident.When one ages, one’s health issues magnify. At 78 years old, a six month BAN is a LIFETIME. Shame on the President of SCA and shame on EVERY member of the board of directors for NOT objecting to this unreasonable decision! The SCA attorney is present for every meeting, regardless of issues, yet the board FINED Mr. McCullough $564….why?

We voted on NOT having gaming in Anthem Center when another president of SCA was in place and is it necessary to repeat this issue? I would like to know, WHO benefits, other than the restaurant Tenant and it’s financial backers. Who are the financial backers? There is one gentleman that resides in Anthem Country Club that has bragged, at the bar area, that he provides financial assistance and while not a SCA resident, is friends of the board of directors. No doubt he will be there on a regular basis and I’ll be able to find out his name. The backers WILL benefit, and the SCA residents will NOT, but WE will continue to pay for everything that the restaurant (now foolishly listed as an amenity, while still a profit making BUSINESS) needs on a ongoing basis. Whoever put this restaurant contract together knew NOTHING about business or commercial real estate, it is a disgrace and in no way benefits the Residents of Sun City Anthem. I am tired of Mr.Berman constantly pointing the finger and specifically NAME CALLING, that in itself is disgraceful and how anyone could have respect for someone that needs to constantly bring negatives to a community is beyond me. I would like to think that he is capable of refraining from this apparent hatefulness as it hinders, not helps our community. I fully expect to be named specifically in the next editorial of Anthem Journal as ANYONE that disagrees and elaborates on how they really feel about the PROBLEMS in this community (and there are MANY) and are not supposed to elaborate. I read ALL of the editorials and while I do not agree with some of the issues or ways they are written, this ongoing “resident bashing” and criticism will destroy the reputation of this community even more.

Mr. Johnson continues to do research that will benefit the residents of Sun City Anthem and I am grateful for the plumbing editorials and suggestions as we ALL benefit. WHEN will this ongoing criticism and lack of respect for our fellow men and women stop?

Monies seem to be foolishly spent on things, take a minute and read the agendas, financial documents, and attend committee meetings. The Bocce courts at Liberty Center were built incorrectly, yet this problem remains and it’s not possible to stand in the rocks to throw from the far end close to the tennis courts. The tennis courts are being occupied by pickle ball and paddle tennis players and I overheard a staggering dollar amount that would be needed to make changes. There is a large list of DISCREPANCIES with Liberty Center and I’m at a loss to understand why the developer doesn’t have to repair these items. I understand that SCA will pay for “modifications” but the basic a/c/heating/solars etc ? Why do WE have to pay? Perhaps someone on the Lifestyle Committee or Property and Grounds or Finance Committee can address these resident concerns.

Lastly, no one wants open pit mining close to Sun City Anthem. Mixing politics with the mining issue takes away from what has been accomplished thus far by our volunteers who have kept us apprised, created petitions, and are attempting to protect our values and health. I do not care who you prefer to vote for in the upcoming election but we have enough “dirty politics” in the Review Journal and television. WHY bring it into the local venues when we are concerned about THIS community and the problems we are having in SCA?

I have posted on Anthem Today, but have no objection if my email is placed on Anthem Voice, and/or SCAView, but I do not want it on Anthem Journal as the content would be distorted. . . My consent is for it to be printed “AS IS” or not at all.

Sincerely,
Yun Lee

UNQUOTE

Posted in SCA Board, Ann_Small, Community Affairs, Laws & Rules, Operations, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

April 16, 2010 by admin.

In case you have missed it, the hottest blog this year for board campaign topics is AnthemToday–operated by Rana Goodman and Dick Arendt.  It is really doing a great job of daily reporting on the news stories, board issues, and the candidate opinions.  Here are just a few interesting links:

http://www.anthemtoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1604&start=0

http://www.anthemtoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1603&start=0

http://www.anthemtoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1606&start=0

http://www.anthemtoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1605

http://www.anthemtoday.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=1426

Posted in 2010 Campaign, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

April 6, 2010 by admin.

Is it time to shift strategies on how to oppose the open mining issue?

We believe the DOI/BLM authorities in Washington are deceiving and distracting us from the basic issues.

And we believe that the DOI/BLM folks in Washington have secretley decided to approve the leases-regardless of how many opposing signatures are submitted to them.

If true, then we need to shift our strategy and put all our attention on letters, email and voice calls to Senator Reid and Congresswoman Titus to submit a legislative amendment to remove BLM’s authority to grant mining leases at the site in question near Anthem and Inspirada.  As a reminder of the situation:

·         100% of NV Congressional Members Publicly Oppose the Mining Leases, But the Project Lives On.

Because thousands of personal objections were received in the past 2 years, ALL of Southern Nevada’s elected members of The Congress have written and spoken out in STRONG OPPOSITION to BLM plans to award 30-year mining leases for operating an open pit mine for building materials near I-15, Sloan Canyon, Anthem, and Inspirada.  This unique, 1-square-mile area of BLM land is on the proposed extension of Democracy Road–West of the Madeira Canyon development and near Las Vegas Boulevard.  It a really bad initiative that must be killed.  BLM should not waste any more money “studying” the idea, but BLM can not unilaterally kill the project.

But, even after 2 years of aggressive opposition by many thousands of Southern NV homeowners with all NV members of Congress, the BLM project continues to waste funds studying the impacts as the leases head towards a Washington DC decision.  The lack of a clear decision to terminate the lease suggests problems are ahead.

·         The Henderson City Council Has Serious Conflicts of Interest.

Strangely enough, the City of Henderson supports BLM’s plan for the mining leases.  A few years ago, the City secretly signed a long-term support agreement with certain mining and development companies.  The full facts behind this situation could become embarrassing for some past and present members of the Henderson City Council and Planning Commission.  While Henderson is unlikely to reverse its position, we can ask them to explain why it can not be absolutely neutral.

Common sense should have told those involved at all levels (especially in the City of Henderson) it was a really bad idea to agree to an open pit mine that was planned for:

(1) SOUTHWEST of the massive Anthem development projects with tens of thousands of upscale and/or senior residents,

(2) Immediately SOUTH of another massive housing development that was subsequently named Inspirada, and

(3) Surrounded by the long-range gaming/business development corridor extending for many miles along both sides of South Las Vegas Blvd. and South I-15.

·         BLM’s National Director is Bob Abbey (From Reno, NV)    See this link:
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2009/august/NR_0807_2006.html

Director Abbey had to be well known and personally sponsored in 2009 by Senator Reid and Congresswoman Titus to be appointed to BLM by President Obama. From 1999 through 2005, Abbey was chairman of the Executive Committee for the implementation of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act.  Prior to being selected for BLM Director, Bob Abbey served as a partner in a private consultant firm called Abbey, Stubbs, & Ford, LLC. with offices in Las Vegas and Reno Nevada.

Most importantly, Mr. Abbey had previously served for 8 years as Nevada State Director for the U. S. Bureau of Land Management.  He provided direction and oversight for 48 million acres of public land managed by BLM in Nevada.  It was during those Nevada years that a few legislative sentences were mysteriously inserted in the land management act to allow the unusual exception for the leases in question.  We should not expect Director Abbey to favor anything except to move ahead with approving the mining leases.

·         BLM Does Not Give Priority to Our NV Citizenry.

The Federal Government (BLM and other agencies) collect hundreds of millions of dollars from federal mining leases throughout Nevada, and other Western States, but NV does not receive those revenues.

BLM Director Abbey controls over 80% of the land in Nevada–vastly more than Nevada’s Governor.  But, Abbey is not accountable for his “land management” actions to our Nevada citizens.

And, while BLM employees in NV are required to follow certain procedures and make recommendations, they do not make the final decisions.  The final decisions are made by Washington DC politicians and lobbyists.  In the past, Washington has not demonstrated much interest in the needs and concerns of Nevada citizens.

·         It Therefore Appears Reasonable to Conclude That:

1. National BLM Director Bob Abbey has been personally aware of and quite involved in the NV BLM processes leading to the creation of the so-called “do-nut hole” exemption legislation,  and subsequent BLM mining leasing actions.  And, Abby and his BLM Washington DC committee structure are likely to be motivated to approve the granting of the mining leases—no matter how many letters of objection have been received by BLM.

2. Business and federal government interests have trumped citizen/homeowner interests on this matter from the start. No matter how many opposing letters are produced under the EIS, we should expect the Washington political power system to approve the mining leases, and provide empty words to deceive us in the meantime.

BLM can be expected to disregard the facts that the proposed mine is:
(a) in the middle of massive home development projects,
(b) immediately adjoining the Sloan Canyon National Preserve,
(c) planning to consume hundreds of millions of gallons of the critically-short ground water in the Las Vegas aquifer, and
(d) surrounded by the I-15 commercial development corridor along South Las Vegas Blvd.

3.  The legislative plans and BLM actions used to create this open pit mining fiasco and enable it to continue appears to be a deceptive, political process.  Citizens have been led to believe their voices can make a difference in the outcome, but that is extremely unlikely.  There appears to be serious conflicts of interests by BLM Director Bob Abbey, his former business partners, some Henderson officials, and the leading NV members of The Congress-especially those of Senator Reid and Congresswoman Titus. We can not trust the current BLM process to respect our urgent, medical and lifestyle needs.

Bottom Line:

1.      We appear to being treated by the national political system like old, ignorant fools.  The leasing project should have been terminated over a year ago.  It was not, so we have to believe the FIX is in, and the leases will be approved by Hqs. BLM–unless we follow a modified approach in the future that concentrates on modifying the law that allows BLM to lease the unacceptable mining area.

2.      BLM Director Abbey, Senator Reid, Congresswoman Titus, and other NV Congressional and their business associates have not initiated the critical actions needed to terminate the mining lease projects.  All they would have to do is use the political authority they have in this Administration to  insert just a few words into just about any House or Senate Bill, and the mining lease matter could be over.

3.      The decision to approve the leases is likely to be made without regard to how many citizens oppose the mining operations.  To avoid unnecessary expenses and efforts, we need to initiate much more aggressive actions and demand that the project be killed via legislative amendment–immediately.  Our focus should be on getting Reid and Titus to sponsor the amendment needed to remover BLM authority to lease the mining operations in the area of our concern.

When we think of the authority used by Senator Reid on his earmarks, and on the so-called “Cornhusker Kickback” and the “Louisiana Purchase” agreement, Senator Reid could have terminated this mining lease matter at any time during the past two years.  We need to focus on getting Senator Reid to do what only he can do–remove BLM’s authority to lease the mining area of concern.

Our Southern Nevada citizens need to insist that the thousands of signatures already gathered opposing the open pit mine are sufficient to justify that legislative action be taken immediately to terminate the mine leasing program in question. We urgently need to submit hundreds/thousands of more letters and emails and phone call to Sen Reid and Congresswoman Titus and insist they  submit modifications to the legislation that removes BLM’s authority to lease the properties.  Can you agree to help in this regard?

Robert and Kay Frank
Henderson, NV 89044
April 7, 2010

Posted in Truth Squad, 2010 Campaign, kay_frank, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, Laws & Rules, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

January 23, 2010 by admin.

Sun City Anthem homeowner Marty Winger has asked to post personal opinions under an area called “Winging It” under our IMHO (In My Humble Opinion) Category.

Visitors to this blog are invited to read and (after opening up a user account with your real name) to comment on his articles.

Good luck Marty!

AV Administration

Posted in 2010 Campaign, IMHO -- "Winging It", Community Affairs, Clubs & SIGs, Operations, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

June 19, 2009 by admin.

Friends have advised me that a few Sun City Anthem residents are upset that I filed a complaint with the Nevada Ombudsman concerning the lease of Trumpets restaurant.  Further it has been reported at least some of these residents have used defamatory language in an apparent attempt to damage my character.  That is indeed unfortunate. 

Please be very clear that the complaint to the Ombudsman was not filed frivolously.  This action was taken only after extensive consultation with several highly qualified experts in Nevada law including State officials. 

The basic issue concerns who has the authority to approve a lease committing thousands of square feet of space in our common element recreational facilities to an outside third party business entity for use as a public commercial enterprise. 

It is my position, and that of my advisors, only a majority of Sun City Anthem homeowners can make such a commitment.  This is a right as well as a protection guaranteed by Nevada law.    

I am a passionate advocate of homeowner rights.  These rights are very important to me and I believe must be rigorously protected from those who would deny them or abuse them. 

It has been said, but never documented as far as I know, the Association attorney does not agree with my position.  If that is true, that is his opinion and he is entitled to it.  But that does not make him correct.   

I believe it is in the best interests of all concerned - Sun City Anthem homeowners, the executive board and the lessee - for this matter to be clearly resolved as promptly as possible.  Under Nevada law the Ombudsman is the first step in this process. 

The remedy is quite simple.  Provide all qualified Sun City Anthem homeowners the opportunity to vote to approve or vote to disapprove the specific lease now on the table.  This could be done immediately and the whole issue would go away. 

Tim Stebbins

Posted in Truth Squad, Community Affairs, Lifestyle, News! | Print | No Comments »

April 18, 2009 by bobfrank.

(This article in response to a vicious personal attack today on Ron Johnson’s bog.)

Thank you David Berman for that last attack. It shows your true colors.

For homeowners: Please note that key founders of the Unity Party (David and Roz Berman) have again demanded that I file a law suit against the association. Is this the “cooperation-not confrontation” policy claimed by the unity party? Is this the party of peace, harmony and team work? Or, is this just a clear sign of a phony mantra? Will we see any unity candidates, unity directors, or other members of the unity party disavowing the Berman misconduct?

In my various postings below and on the AV website, I explained why I am entitled by law to have my expenses reimbursed. David Berman’s serious conflicts of interest and his background of ethical misconduct and status as a suspended attorney makes his legal opinions worthless.

Filing a law suit to collect what is due me would have to be my last resort. As long as I am a member of the board, my fiduciary duty requires me to be concerned about the impacts of any law suit on our association. David and Roz Berman know that, and have used it against me.

Meanwhile, SCA homeowners deserve to be fully informed on the legal issues and the potential costs BEFORE the board decides to invite a law suit. Such a law suit could be very expensive and very damaging to the property values and lifestyles of the whole community. Members should also be allowed to express opinions before the board confirms it wants to go to court to directly challenge the distinguished Nevada Trial Lawyer Association President, Bob Maddox.

Of course, no one has the right to demand that I absorb a lawfully-authorized $30,000 legal defense bill. I was falsely and unjustly attacked through the State of Nevada by the SCA Board of Directors. And, after the Attorney General had reviewed the allegations and months of investigations, I was found innocent, and all charges were DROPPED. The association is obligated to pay for the board’s willful misconduct–one way or another.

In addition, before a final decision is made by the board, SCA homeowners should receive a written opinion from a totally independent attorney. There is no public written opinion from John Leach.  And, even if a Leach opinion was released, it would be of no value since he has such UNRESOLVABLE conflicts of interest on this matter.

Finally, it would be appropriate for the current board to pay this bill and not dump it on the next board.  Passing the buck would be cowardly.

Bob Frank
SCA Director

Posted in 2009 Campaign, Truth Squad, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Lifestyle | Print | 1 Comment »

March 25, 2009 by bobfrank.

 Here are the PDF versions of the hate mail and my response seen below:

scarfs.pdf     Response to SCARFS Political Hit Piece

—————————————–

Bob Frank’s Response to the Sun City Anthem Residents For Sanity (SCARFS) Political Hate Mail

Only cowards and scoundrels distribute hate mail without their names on it. The recent SCARFS community-wide mailing by “dozens of SCA friends and neighbors” is an insult to the entire SCA community, and a false representation of Bob Frank’s service to our community.

Below is a partial response to the slanderous accusations in the SCARFS hate mail. The smartest thing for SCA residents to do is simply trash the document. Even better yet, if you have any information as to the individuals behind this mailing, please send that information to bobfrank@cox.net.

Allegation 1: “For the past two years …Bob Frank, has practiced a confrontational, obstructionist brand of politics that has created great friction among his fellow directors and discouraged residents from stepping forward as community volunteers.”

Bob Frank’s Response:  Yes, I confront dishonest and dishonorable people when they do something wrong; and yes, I try to block Board actions that would hurt our community.  I am the only person on the Board with the integrity to stand up to flawed policies.  If this is bad, then I plead guilty.

Allegation 2:  Bob Frank entered office on a promise of giving and showing respect, but he has proved that even mild criticism will be met with bullying and threatening, intimidating responses.

Bob Frank’s Response:  The criticisms referenced here by Linda Krivec and Frank Blaha were public and quite hateful. I can share with anyone interested, the nasty items they posted, and my private, respectful responses to them.

Allegation 3:  A senior Air Force officer in an era when relatively few women were in the upper military ranks, Bob Frank has been especially hostile to the two women on the current Board.

Bob Frank’s Response:  I have never been, and never will be hostile to or discriminate against anyone—especially women. Hostile is what the SCARF hate mail is!  I am proud of my 22 years of military service, and I deeply resent the callous attempt to denigrate it.

Allegation 4: This is what Mr. Frank wrote… “I believe that HOA standing committees tend to evolve into social cliques that function something like high school, college and other social fraternities. Instead of being solely focused on the high-value business matters of this community, standing committees tend to be just another kind of ‘club’.”

Bob Frank’s Response:  I am not alone in this thinking. Nearly everyone in SCA has been exposed to the controlling and petty thinking of some committees. If telling the truth is a crime, I deserve to be punished.

Allegation 5:  Frank voted “no” on issues we think he should have supported.

Bob Frank’s Response:

1.    I voted against the 2009 SCA Budget because the proposed dues level of $960 was TOO HIGH. The board could not justify the raise of dues from $940 to $1,100 in 2008, and I also voted no at that time. Then they had to reduce them and grant credit on the accounts. This confusing fiasco was obviously avoidable.

2.     I voted against retaining the auditor selected/hired by Del Webb/Pulte for SCA during the past decade—and that was the correct position.  We need fresh eyes and different expertise to help protect our homeowner interests.

3.    I voted against the 3rd Rec. Ctr. sellout orchestrated by the board majority where they agreed to give away over a million dollars to the developer for no good reason.

4.    I voted against proceeding with a Trumpets sole-source negotiation with just one candidate because having more competition could allow us to reduce our risks and negotiate better terms and conditions. The board’s gross mismanagement of the Trumpets lease for the past 5 years has cost members close to a million dollars.

Allegation 6: When Bob Frank and his spouse were working to get a fellow resident elected to the Board last year, they provided information on how bypass the log in rules.

Bob Frank’s Response:  The fact is my wife did absolutely nothing improper.  If anyone had violated anything, the Board or CAM would have certainly issued a warning or sanction.  Complaints about this matter point right to David Berman as being a key player in the SCARFS group.  No one else cares about this trivial topic.

Allegation 7: Bob Frank has frequently threatened our home values by going to outside media with allegations of irregularities in the operations of Sun City Anthem.

Bob Frank’s Response:  My claims were accurate and appropriate.  Cleaning up our financial management issues will greatly enhance our home values. I must have been close to the mark or they would not have over-reacted as they did.  Imagine sending a political hit piece about me to all owners, at association expense, without allowing me to respond in kind?  They are intensely worried about what I am saying and doing!

Allegation 8: Don’t vote for Bob Frank.

Bob Frank’s Response: Don’t vote for me unless you value ethics and openness.  And, be prepared to take full responsibility for your choice if I am not re-elected to continue pressing for honesty and professionalism.

Posted in Truth Squad, 2009 Campaign, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Operations, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

March 16, 2009 by bobfrank.

For those who have called and/or may be wondering:   I was invited, but elected to not place any re-election information on David and Roz Berman’s Unity Slate blog.

I want nothing to do with the site and the people who have developed and promoted SCA political parties and slate campaigns. Slate politics and politics of personal destruction have done our community great damage. These practices should be rejected by all SCA members.

I urge all SCA members to get to know all of the candidates. Make individual choices for whom you will trust to assess and spend your hard-earned money to maintain and grow our community. History shows that only when electing directors do you have any real power to make a difference for the next year or two.

Spend a little time to get to know the character, ethics and business management qualifications of each candidate, and then, VOTE SMART.

Sincerely,

Bob Frank
SCA Director

Posted in 2009 Campaign, SCA Board, Lifestyle, Other | Print | 4 Comments »

March 12, 2009 by THE VOICE.

BLM Mining Project Update Report Attached: blm-news-12mar09.pdf

Posted By Request of:
GEORGE MEESE
BLM Mining Project Leader

Posted in SCA Board, Community Affairs, Lifestyle | Print | No Comments »

February 3, 2009 by Mark Cook.

 The photo above shows the trail being constructed above the East end of Crescent Heights Avenue.  The lower photo shows the trail being constructed above the water tanks, going back up to the power line road.   It’s barely visible, you’ll have to look closely directly above the water tanks to see it. 

 Now, for the  first time in history, the power line roads that ended on each side of the valley above the water tanks have been connected for the benefit of hikers, and mountain bikers, and Henderson police officers on horseback. 

Posted in Truth Squad, Community Affairs, Lifestyle, News!, Other | Print | 1 Comment »

January 23, 2009 by admin.

Here are Director Frank’s Responses to the Political Statements by Finance Committee Chair Joe DeMao at the 2008 Annual Meeting and planned to be mailed at community expense by the BoD. 

 The Board has unfairly refused Director Frank’s request to have his rebuttals to the FC allegations included in the Board’s mailing–which will occur during the campaign.

The article can be reviewed online at this link: http://www.lvrj.com/business/34543364.html?numComments=21# or in this file: R-J Article

Finance Committee Made 5 Allegations (they are only summarized here since the full complaint is available from the Board’s mailing and since most of the FC words are political attacks or unrelated to the Review Journal article.)

1. FC Complaint:  Focused on defending the financial management before, during and since the transition in May 2005, and claimed there was no evidence of misconduct or mismanagement by anyone.

My response:  The statement is not correct.  The time frame I was referring to was May 2005 until the end of 2006.  Because of the many changes in management and companies, there is some ambiguity on exactly which individuals were responsible for the association’s accounting and financial management in 2005 and 2006.  The official file records from Del Webb prior to March 2006 were not even made available to the members for open review until mid 2007.  I was told that RMI manually transferred the records and developed a new chart of accounts and other key accounting records when they took over in 2006.  That provided many opportunities for errors and/or financial misconduct.

RMI replaced its own accounting system again–during the following year.  So, the SCA accounting system was rebuilt—again—with a new chart of accounts and extensive re-keying of records.  The conversion in 2007 was supposed to be handled electronically between the old RMI systems to the new RMI system.  But, the conversion failed and the transfer processes had to be manually accomplished during the summer months.  Meanwhile, there were many problems reported while trying to manage the SCA finances and develop the annual budget.  At one point, the SCA member account data was so corrupted by RMI during the conversion that a manual spreadsheet had to be keyed in for the 7,000+ members in order to accomplish the monthly mailing of SCA’s magazine.  The amount of overtime hours required due to the conversion failure was not reported.

So, SCA’s multi-million-dollar accounts had to suffer two complete overhauls of its accounting systems in less than 2 years.  And, since only one member of the current Finance Committee was serving on the committee at transition time, and none of the FC members were ever SCA Directors, the current Finance Committee members do not have the first-hand knowledge to make group allegations against a director.  

2. FC Complaint:  Although he was not involved at that time, Mr. DeMeo insisted that nothing happened during and after transition that would justify an investigative/forensic audit.  The FC has pretended that in spite of the transition activities, nothing could have been missing while millions of dollars of bank accounts were transferred between Del Webb management company’s bank accounts and SCA’s bank accounts with RMI.  FC claimed that during such a multi-million-dollar transfer of assets and management companies, no one should be concerned that only routine audits were performed and the auditor (inherited from Del Webb) reported no significant issues in 2005 or 2006.

My response:  A forensic audit was clearly called for in November 2006 because of the simultaneous transitions of both the Board of Directors and the Community Managers.  The Finance Committee’s use of the term “outside auditor” is deceptive.  The same auditor, Mr. Gary Lein, has performed every audit since Sun City Anthem was initiated.  Of course, he is not an employee of SCA or Pulte or RMI.  But, no one is an employee of SCA.  SCA has no employees.  We only operate with sub-contractors.

In my opinion, the auditing company should have been changed at transition time from the developer’s choice to the community’s choice.  And, the auditor should be changed again every three to five years.  This policy would just be following common sense.  And, since there were some poor financial decisions made during 2005 to 2007 that cost the association hundreds of thousands of dollars, and since the two accounting system conversions and transitions between community managers and boards were so irregular, there is more than sufficient cause to look into the potential for financial misconduct and/or fraud.  If the records and accounting procedures were as clean and complete as the Finance Committee members claim, it would not take a qualified forensic auditor long to verify the results. Everyone would benefit from having such a validation of the associations funds and financial records.

3. FC Complaint:  Because the Del Webb-appointed auditor worked for his own company, members of the FC believe it could be unfair to claim Mr. Lein might have had conflicts of interest with the SCA community’s interests at transition and since.  And, because Mr. Lein is a very nice fellow, has earned high credentials within the auditing community, and because he was endorsed by previous developer-controlled and other SCA Boards, he is above being questioned about possible conflicts of interest.

My response:  It is deceptive and improper for the committee to claim that because Mr. Lein is a named partner in his own firm that he was not retained/did not “work for” the Del Webb Community Management Company—a Pulte Corp. company.  Mr. Lein has admitted he has been the auditor for the SCA since he was originally retained by Del Webb before the year 2000.  And, Mr. Lein’s firm can receive new business from developer referrals when Pulte opens up new communities. 

There is nothing factually wrong with what I said in the paper, or above.  As a Director with relevant business experience in this auditing area, I have the obligation to question Mr. Lein about potential conflicts of interests related to his Del Webb/Pulte business, and he should not feel uncomfortable with such questions.  Nothing untoward or improper was suggested or inferred.

4. FC Complaint:  Because Mr. Lein has always followed normal auditing practices, and because there are 4 CPAs on the FC, no one should question the results of the past audits.  Also, because a forensic audit would cost more money to validate some of Mr. Lein’s work, it would be a waste of time and money.

My Response:   My statement is factual, and the FC’s recommendations have been noted.  As an elected Director I have legal fiduciary duties and responsibilities that appointed FC members do not have.  The FC advises and the Board makes the decisions.  In the case of potential misconduct or fraud, a Director is required to consider and advocate the matter of an investigative audit until being satisfied–even if the majority of the board does not wish to do so. 

We have many examples in this State and Nation where large numbers of highly experienced CPAs have hundreds of years of cumulative experience, but they still failed to identify and act on findings pointing to significant fraud in companies and government agencies.  But, under Nevada law, the boards of directors can be held accountable for failing to use their own business judgment to detect and correct financial problems.  My objections are fully within my authority and duty.  The Finance Committee serves at the pleasure of the Board.  Its charter does not provide it the authority to politically attack a Director.  Only the SCA Board members have such authority.  If a Directors want to challenge another Director, he/she must sign their name to the statements and not use a committee to speak for them.

5. FC Complaint:  The FC continues to categorically deny that there has been any past problems with SCA’s income tax filings.  The FC insists that it was proper for SCA to pay zero income taxes in 2004 to 2006 while we were accumulating over $3 million in “profits” from charging more dues/assessments than could be justified for operating expenses and reserve funds.  The FC and Mr. Lein also claim that the SCA Boards used good business judgment to fail to refund or credit the surplus dues to members and also failed to report the surplus dues as corporate profits—as required by Revenue Ruling 70-604.

My response:  The FC comments are deceptive and incorrect.  This is just a political statement carried over from last year’s board campaign.  It is designed to try to negatively influence the upcoming board campaign against me.  The facts do not support the FC claims.

My retired IRS agent advisers (who are also SCA members) have frequently made themselves available to meet with the FC members, SCA Treasurer and Board President.  But, the Board officers and FC members have refused to meet and discuss our well-documented and precisely explained concerns.  This fact is well-documented. 

The past rationale used to circumvent Revenue Ruling 70-604 has not been proven to be valid.  Until the IRS has provided written confirmation that our tax returns for 2004-2007 were correctly done, I will remain unconvinced of the legality of way our returns were prepared and submitted.  And, I will remain concerned over SCA’s back income tax liabilities that could exceed $1.5 million.  As a Director, I have the fiduciary duty to pursue the matter until it is settled.  The FC can advise, but it can not decide the matter.  And, the FC must not be used as a tool of other board members to try to bully me into agreement by using SCA funds to mail out politically-charged materials to influence the SCA membership.

In addition, the FC and auditor Gary Lein refused to state categorically that there is zero risk to SCA for owing back taxes.  They know that I am right in stating there is a reasonable chance they made mistakes on past income tax returns for this community.  They know there is a chance that our returns that reported zero tax due for 3 consecutive years are wrong.  And, they have refused to join me and my IRS retired tax advisers to consult a qualified, national IRS Agent to settle this dispute.   Instead, they insist on rolling the dice and taking chances while waiting until an IRS audit is conducted in the future.

In summary:  my tax concerns have been clearly stated.  Upon advice of highly competent professionals, I am convinced that SCA’s income taxes have been wrongly submitted in the past few years; and, I am quite worried that significant tax filing errors have been made on our $3+ million of accumulated surplus assessments (profits) have been made in the past.  There appears to have been a cover-up of those errors in hopes that the IRS will not notice.  As a Director, I can not condone that kind of misbehavior.  If our tax preparers (Mr. Lein and Jack Troia) and past SCA Treasurers (West, Dwyer, Roz Berman and Cheri) have made some mistakes or errors in judgment in filing our tax returns, then we have to make the corrections and ask the IRS for permission to make the necessary corrections. 

In the meantime, I am compelled to insist that SCA asks the IRS to confirm that we previously filed our returns correctly.  We can not afford to take the risk of waiting until we are audited to learn we have done our returns wrong.  Such a mistake could cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and penalties. 

Bob Frank
SCA Director
January 22, 2009

Posted in Truth Squad, 2009 Campaign, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Lifestyle, News! | Print | 3 Comments »

January 16, 2009 by bobfrank.

Whatever is said about the safety of the Anthem Parkway/Drive loop, we need to stay focused on the real traffic control and safety issues.  Those few who attended the Henderson Citizens Traffic Advisory Board meeting in City Hall last evening learned that Sun City Anthem’s traffic safety issues are being influenced by individuals who obviously have already decided to recommend that the City Council retain the high speed limits on the road that circumnavigates our senior community.

I apologize in advance for the need for such a long posting.  But, there is so much misinformation and confusion, I am obligated to try to explain the facts.  If you do not want this much info, just ignore it, and accept that many others may benefit from it.

One thing that was made very clear last evening was that many community members (including myself) put “member safety” and “retaining the beautiful and scenic parkway through our community” as our TOP priorities for the future of the “Anthem Parkway/Drive Loop”.  However, the meeting also showed that the long struggle to defend those priorities is at high risk of being lost.

The City, aided and abetted by David Berman’s and Chuck Davis’ sustained aggressive advocacy, is clearly intending to seriously modify the landscaping along the parkway to make the 45-55 mph speed on the Anthem loop a permanent decision.  That would probably eliminate the possibility of this becoming the “golf cart permissible community” that was promised to most homeowners, and has been declared on the Del Webb-erected monument at the entrance to Sun City Anthem.

However, this decision may not yet be over.  There are still many nagging issues flying in the face of making such a major change without more facts.  Moreover, few individuals among the tens of thousands residents of the full Anthem Community have been consulted on this critical safety policy issue.

To illustrate some of these issues, here are just a few of the important items discussed last evening:

- The City’s traffic survey team reported that when no speed limits are enforced, “most drivers” find it “COMFORTABLE” to drive at 45 to 55 mph.  That was no surprise since there is almost no speed enforcement and little knowledge of the high risks involved traversing the blind intersections along the parkway.  This is particularly true for those living in such communities as Anthem Highlands since they problem never use the interchanges between SCA villages and the parkway.  In addition, mechanically measuring vehicle speeds at selected parkway points does not reveal what SCA residents think about the serous dangers of entering, exiting and crossing the parkway (both in vehicles and on foot).

- The survey team declared it will NOT recommend reducing the current 45-55 mph speed limits on any portion of the 7+ miles of the Anthem Parkway/Drive “loop”.. (Note: 55 mph is mentioned because everyone knows that speeding tickets are not issued unless a person exceeds a speed limit by more than 10 mph.)  The rationale to stay at 45-55 is for the “public benefit” and not intended to be for the “Anthem Community benefit”.  As shown below, that may be a seriously misplaced objective as those who are “more comfortable” at the higher speeds are just as likely to be seriously injured from a collision at a blind corner as a slow-moving senior. Such  “comfort” at the higher speed is not based on the facts of the roadway hazzards.

- The team/board admits that the way the “parkway” has been built and maintained it does not safely support more than 35 mph speed.  It was reported that it is very dangerous to drive faster than 35 to 45 mph because cross traffic at almost all intersections is not safe when parkway traffic exceeds 35 mph.

- There was great confusion on whether the “Anthem Parkway/Loop” was designed and approved in the master plan as being intended to be restricted to 35 mph.  The confusion was due in large part to the many steep hills, very sharp curves, massive landscaping in the medians and along the sides of the “parkway”.  These items of designed natural beauty for the parkway also provide clear evidence that Del Webb was not intending for this loop to be a high speed (45 to 55 mph) artery for general commuting.  This beautifully-designed and landscaped “Anthem parkway/drive” was obviously intended to be a “SCA amenity” to support the Anthem “golf-cart-permissible” community lifestyle.  Anthem was designed to FEEL LIKE a special, gated community without requiring the burdens of maintaining gated controls.

- Further evidence that the Anthem loop was not intended to be a general purpose 4-lane “public traffic artery” was revealed when it was reported that the Anthem “loop” was the ONLY “4-lane, divided, public road” in Henderson where the median and side properties were owned/maintained by the community.  WOW!  That would seem to be a BIG deal!  The traffic board/survey members said that all other 45 mph divided roads in Henderson were specifically designed for the higher speeds, and they were owned and maintained by the City.  Further confusion was due to the fact that Del Webb had to have received Henderson City approval before it could declare SCA to be a “golf cart permissible community”.  That designation requires parkway speeds to be set at 35 mph or lower.  Perhaps setting the speed limit to 45 mph for the long-run may even require a master plan change with public comments by all those affected in Anthem–before it is final?

- Evidence was also presented suggesting that much of the traffic increases in the past two years and the current speed-related problems were related to new residents in Anthem Highlands, and adjoining communities to the South and West.  Most of these individuals have to use the parkway to connect to Eastern for their commute to work.  These major community increases were not anticipated in the original design and construction of the Anthem Parkway loop in the late 1990’s.  And, the roads required to support the new communities to allow exit/access to the North and West have not been completed.  Some believe THAT very critical issue needs to be addressed before a permanent conversion of the Anthem loop into a high speed artery is considered.  In the meantime, most (if not all) of the former law enforcement professionals living in SCA believe that a posted 35 mph speed limit and traffic lights at the most dangerous intersections will provide the needed traffic/speed controls–without having to butcher our parkway landscaping and ruin our community style.

- Also confirmed was that the intersections at such places as Thunder Bay, Scotts Valley, Williamsport, and Atchley were examples of VERY dangerous intersections and worthy of high consideration for future traffic light controls.  It was also reported that the DW/Pulte master plan agreement required the company to pay for any future traffic lights.  That might be a good reason why there is so much invisible resistance to the ideas of traffic lights at key intersections. Proposing some cost savings through a slower speed limit may also be a way to motivate Pulte to support our desire to retain Anthem Parkway/Loop as a golf-cart-permissible roadway.  Worthy of consideration?

- It was reported that improving line-of-sight abilities at most intersections may make it safer for those who are “comfortable” driving at high speeds and for those entering and exiting SCA villages along the parkway.  But, no conclusive evidence was presented to show that massive changes to improving line-of-sight barriers will finally solve the dangerous blind intersections problems.  There are just too many steep hills, sharp curves, utility boxes, walls, monument signs, etc. to be able to make it function like the flat terrain of the typical 45 mph roadway.

- The City intends for landscape removal actions to be just a first step, but it was clear that most of the expenses for improving the Anthem loop safety would be BILLED to Anthem residents.  In the meantime, it appeared that a much higher accident and injury rate at the intersections may have to be experienced in order for the City to justify installing new traffic signals at the blind crossings.

- The traffic board/survey team is proposing to City Council that Pulte (that means Anthem residents) pay the high costs of major landscape reductions near the intersections since the Anthem residents own or will eventually own the medians and side landscaping. While some line-of-sight landscape work in the intersection areas has already been done, and more needs to be done, the proposed plan is to wait to consider adding traffic lights ONLY if parkway accidents continued to increase to MUCH higher levels.

David and Roz Berman appeared to be the only ones present from SCA that supported the City’s plans.  Roz said nothing. But, since she does not drive, and she does not believe that SCA Directors should get involved in public policy matters, her lack of action was typical.  Meanwhile, David deceived those in attendance by issuing a prepared statement claiming that “70% of surveyed SCA members” preferred the higher speeds.  That was just plain wrong and totally deceptive. For example, during his statement, David did not report that:

(1) No community-wide, or Anthem-wide survey (affecting tens of thousands of people) has ever been taken on this vital matter.

(2) At least 3,000 new SCA homeowners have moved in since the previous (limited) survey was conducted in 2005.  In other words, David Berman’s survey results contain no representative or statistically significant data in the year 2009.

(3) Many thousands more (of all ages) live in new homes built/occupied in Anthem Solara, Anthem Highlands and in the many other adjacent communities to the West and South. None of those thousands of potentially concerned residents have been informed on the key safety issues involved by driving at high speed across the extremely dangerous intersections along the parkway.  They do not know that it is next to impossible for cross traffic at many blind intersection to see fast, oncoming traffic in time to avoid a collision.

In other words, thousands of Anthem residents are not aware of the very high risks to their lives and property from the slow-moving, slow-reacting senior residents trying to cross the parkway at the blind intersections–without the protections of traffic signals.  And, SCA homeowners are not aware of their potential liability risks if our SCA insurance is insufficient to settle a suit from an unusually serious accident involving the combination of high speeds and blind intersections.  Where the the board has prior knowledge that SCA community property features can increase the risks of accidents, and where the board has failed to act to mitigate those risks, our liabilities could be greatly increased.  We need to act to help reduce the accident risks along our Anthem Parkway through reduced speed limits and new traffic signals at blind intersections.

Conclusion: it was clear at the meeting that David Berman’s obsolete community survey, and his personal opinions, are dangerous paths to follow.  I am one of those who were deceived by his arguments in the past.  But, we have now learned that Mr. Berman’s arguments are not useful for making decisions in 2009. His flawed positions must be soundly rejected in the future.

In the meantime, our community must become better informed and prepared to defend our rights and lifestyles for the future.  Our Board must become far more involved in protecting our community lifestyle.  Traffic safety and community security must be recognized as being far more important to our senior homeowners than being able to drive up to 55 mph on the parkway before being ticketed for speeding.  Even if you prefer to drive 45 mph, a posted 35 mph does not automatically force you to slow down.  I believe that reasonable people can agree that 55 is NOT an acceptable speed on the parkway.

But, regardless of the speed limit solution, we urgently need some type of traffic signals at the most dangerous/blind intersections. I can not accept that just removing landscaping is a viable solution, and I refuse to wait for more of our members get killed or injured before being mobilized to demand approval of the necessary traffic signals.  I hope you will join me in this effort.  It is clear that if more SCA residents do not get engaged in this issue, the original intent and beauty of the Anthem Parkway will be lost, and the traffic dangers to our residents will steadily increase until many more parkway deaths and injuries are experienced.

How about all of you past and present Security Patrol members?  What do you think?  I welcome statements on both sides of this issue–so we can continue to learn and sort out the truth!  <bobfrank@cox.net>

Bob Frank
SCA Director

Posted in 2009 Campaign, Truth Squad, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Lifestyle | Print | 5 Comments »