north channel

At the last meeting the Board didn't acknowledge the petition that was presented to them last week although 2 speakers talked about the petition. Jerry Conrad announced at the end of the meeting that a resolution was expected in two weeks. Again I ask: resolution about what? It has been almost a year that the current Board has given the community NO information about a lawsuit that's is estimated to have cost the association 100s of thousands of dollars.  And now they are planning to resolve the matter without anyone knowing why we filed the lawsuit or why we are resolving it.  From what Barbara Prezlock says we are not going to prevail. Write the Board and tell them not to do anything until the residents have been informed about the details.  They should not sign away our rights without telling us what occurred.

A petition is being circulated to demand the Board of Directors hold a special meeting to provide information on the lawsuit against Coachella Valley Water District. Also the petition asks the Board not to act on the settlement of the lawsuit until the community is fully informed. As stated below, one Board member has stated we have little chance for success in this lawsuit.  Yet, according to at least one proponent of the petition, the costs of the lawsuits have reached multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars.  If this information is true, the community needs to know now.  The only way to find out if this is true is to have a special meeting with the Board.

The recent rainstorms have wreaked havoc in our community. Tropical Storm Hilary flooded roads, toppled 100 trees, and caused severe damage to our golf courses. Replacing the pumps on the golf course cost over $300, 000. The recent storm at Christmas again closed our South golf course for 10 days, the North course for 2 days, and flooded the dog park by the Jefferson Street Bridge. The South course was closed again during the most recent rainstorm. During the event in December, 9 million gallons of water were pumped into our ponds from the construction site for the CVWD flood project. According to Board President Jerry Conrad, this type of flooding is expected to be repeated during future rain events. The flooding so far has caused a loss of revenue to our golf course and restaurant of over $100,000.

A complaint was filed in December, 2022 alleging various causes of action against Coachella Valley Water District. All Board members agreed to file the complaint.  The community was not informed about this court filing until March, 2023. This failure to advise the community was a violation of our bylaws.  Current Board member Scott Pessin stated in the Board meeting last March that they were never told not to disclose the filing of the lawsuit.  Director Pessin also stated the court filings and details are public records.They were only told not to discuss the details of the lawsuit. However, that was the last detail ever provided by the Board until January 29, 2024. The causes of action in the lawsuit have never been discussed with the homeowners.  No one dislosed that the Judge in the case found the filings inadequate.  No one disclosed that we dismissed the first law firm and hired another. Barbara Prezlock disclosed in the January Board meeting that they were advised by three attorneys we had little chance to win our lawsuit. Jerry Conrad stated settlement discussions are ongoing with a resolution expected soon. I guess the question should be: settlement of what? Nothing about the lawsuit has ever been disclosed to the homeowners who are paying the legal fees. Settlement discussions certainly should be kept private. But most of the details of the litigation are public records, and some information should have been disclosed. 

Our golf course was built in a flood channel. To this point that has rarely been an issue.  This has now changed.  Not only is the flood channel a threat to our golf course, but it is a potential danger to the Jefferson Street Bridge. In 2021 the Board set aside $1.5 million to address the potential damages if we had a large rain event.  During the budget process for the year 2023, both Directors Conrad and Pessin advocated returning that fund to the homeowners because they didn't feel there was a need to set aside that money.  During the 2024 budget process, four Directors cut future homeowner contributions to the fund. That contribution was $1 per month. While that doesn't sound like a lot of money, our fund for the North Channel continues to be depleted without being replenished.  According to the Finance Advisory committee, a major event could require a special assessment unless there are adequate funds already set aside.