Parades and Progress

Editor's note: The Blog would like to thank Glen Iris Lofts homeowner Steven Sharp (Ph II, Unit 501) for submitting the following post.  If you would like to guest author a post on the Blog, simply let us know via e-mail. 

I remember my first gay pride parade in Atlanta.  I had spent the night at, let's just call him, a friend's place.  I lay in bed after a night of not much sleep.  Get your minds out of the gutter, people... I am a chronic insomniac :-)

I remember that morning well. His small 1920s apartment with the worn, faded hardwood floors and large crown moldings and baseboards, was in one of those older brick apartment buildings close to Piedmont Park, when they still had older brick apartment buildings close to Piedmont Park.  The bedroom was flooded with too much sunlight, too much brightness on that Sunday morning in June so many years ago.

"Get out of bed!" he said to me, a cross somewhere between a request and an order.

"I don't feel like it," I said.

"It’s an important day," he responded.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"It's gay pride."

"I'm not marching, and I wasn't planning on going."

"Parades don't just happen," he explained to me.  "There's a lot that goes into them."

He continued, "The ones who are brave enough and take the time to march are just a very small part of what makes a parade a success."

"Imagine a parade with only floats and people marching with not a single spectator, no applause, no friends congregating along the route as the parade passes them by.  It would be a much different experience than what Atlanta's gay pride is with over 300,000 spectators and bystanders who traverse Piedmont Park gay pride weekend."

"I guess I never thought about it that way," as I threw my legs onto the floor, smoothed out my hair and realized that the only thing I knew about gay pride was what I had seen on the six o'clock news.

I still wasn't sure if I was going to go to the parade on that way-too-bright day for someone with a pounding headache, but my head was certainly filled with racing thoughts.

When I asked if I could submit a post to the Glen Iris Blog, all I could think about was our amazing gay pride parade - not the one as it actually is, but one with only people marching, no crowds on the sidewalks spilling onto tenth street, no cat calls, no cheers, no applause, just an emptiness along the parade route.  I imagine the looks on the faces of those who are marching compared to their expressions when the streets are packed, and I realize that the residents of Glen Iris Lofts are very much like I was all those years ago. Not aware that they are an integral part of the parade, that their voices are needed, that the Blog needs comments, it needs cheers and it needs more people posting comments to help it thrive and keep those who write it motivated.

Make an effort to get involved with the things that affect your life. Leave a comment, post a reply.  With everyone's input, comments and energy, Glen Iris Lofts will become a place where everyone has a voice; everyone has an opinion that is valued, where everyone has the same rights and opportunities as their neighbors.

A message to our readers

The Blog would like to inform its readers that our posts will resume tomorrow, Saturday March 17, 2012 and assure all of our neighbors in the Glen Iris Lofts community that our mission to effect greater transparency and more ethical conduct on the part of our Association's Board of Directors is alive and well.  A more detailed update on the status of this effort will be posted in the coming days.

Thank you for your loyal readership and the care and concern you have for our shared community.

The Blog

Board stalls homeowner group's request for information

This post is an update to our original post titled Homeowners hire attorney to obtain information from GIL Board, posted February 29, 2012.

The Blog has just received information from a homeowner, who did not wish to be identified by name, that the GIL Board has communicated to the homeowner group's attorney, Mr. Randall M. Lipshutz, that it needs more time to prepare for the document review requested by the homeowners.  The reason behind the Board's delay is unclear.  The Blog did attempt to find out more information by contacting Christopher Gorton (Ph. II, Unit 611) - the only homeowner mentioned by name in the group's original request - via e-mail, however Mr. Gorton declined to comment on the matter, stating only that the Board had, in fact, responded to the homeowner group's request via the Association's counsel, Mindy Waitsman.

If any of our readers have any more detailed information regarding this developing story that they would like to share with their fellow homeowners, we invite you to contact the Blog anonymously at gil@go.to.

Homeowners hire attorney to obtain information from GIL Board

Although winter is not yet over and the drop in evening temperatures can still fall below freezing, things sure seem to be heating up here at Glen Iris Lofts.

The Blog has recently learned that a group of Glen Iris Lofts homeowners have hired Atlanta law firm Lipshutz Greenblatt, LLC in an effort to enforce compliance on the part of the GIL Board to provide access to information the homeowners claim they have a legal right to review, following the Board's latest denial of their request for information. 

According to a letter sent to the Association this week by the group's attorney, Mr. Randall M. Lipshutz, Esq., (a copy of the letter obtained by the Blog has been included with this post, below) the homeowners have requested; to review all ballots, proxies and other material related to the most recent election of Board members in December; to view the emails that evidence proper Board approval of the 2012 budget, given that the budget was not approved at a Board meeting where minutes were taken; all maintenance contracts maintained by the Association in excess of $25,000; all documents related to the Board's decision to seek a loan to pay for exterior stucco work and window repairs (the so-called 'mega-loan').

This is not the first time Mr. Lipshutz has been involved in the legal affairs of Glen Iris Lofts.  Most notably, he was the attorney that drafted the Association's By-Laws, Articles of Incorporation and filed the initial Declaration of Condominium.  In their selection of legal counsel, the homeowner group could probably not have found someone with greater knowledge and familiarity with the governing documents of our Association.

The Blog sent an e-mail to the GIL Board seeking comment on the homeowner group's action, but did not receive a reply.

The Blog will keep our readers abreast of any new developments that pertain to this story as details emerge...stay tuned!


Copy of letter sent to the GIL Board from Randall M. Lipshutz, Esq., the homeowner group's attorney, can be viewed, below.  Note that if you are unable to view the letter in-line on this Web page, simply click the link below to open the letter in a new browser window.

Document Inspection Letter

Brace yourself: Minimum 22% increase in HOA fees for 2013

We hope you are sitting down.  If you aren't, you should have seat before you continue reading.

If you thought the Board's rush to borrow $450,000 was something that won't have a dramatic impact on you, think again.  When you do the math, the loan necessarily means that monthly Association assessments for 2013 will have to increase a minimum of 22% in order to make the payments on the Board's mega-loan.  And that's on top of the 15% we just got hit with this year.

Here's why.  Our current year budget (2012) is $468,000, however, only $15,000 of that is for loan payments for 2012.  If you subtract the $15,000 anticipated 2012 loan payments of $15,000 from the total budget, the result is a core budget of $453,000.  Now, add twelve months of loan payments on the $450,000 Board advertised loan request, borrowed at the rate Stuart Sutherland gave homeowners at the most recent Annual Meeting - 7.75% - and amortize that out over the five year loan term.  You will arrive at a monthly loan payment of just over $9,000 per month.  But the Board will have to collect even more than that, because we are required to set aside 10% of monthly assessments for reserve account funding.  The result is that 2013 monthly assessments will have to be at least $104,000 over and above what homeowners are paying under the 2012 budget.  That's an increase of 22% for 2013, assuming that the core budget is flat compared to 2012.

No wonder why the Board has been so miserly with details about the loan and has been otherwise mum on the subject - they were no doubt hoping no one would put all the pieces together and realize the that it's not just a loan, it's a game changer.  

We will be number one on at least one list under the Board's proposed plan - we will be the most expensive loft building per square foot in all of Metro Atlanta.  That's quite a feat, although not entirely surprising given the Sutherlands' combined years of business education training and years running an actual business enterprise total precisely zero.

If you are okay with a 2013 dues increase of 22%, then do absolutely nothing.  That certain future will be here soon enough and you'll be able to pay what you do today, plus an additional 22%.  However, if you think what's coming down the pike is outrageous and completely unacceptable, then click here right now to send us an e-mail with the subject line "Count me in" and, together, we will work to restore sanity to this clearly insane Board.

There is no time to waste.  Get involved now - before the Sutherlands drive our Association straight over the cliff of their own ineptitude.

Your neighbors at the Blog

Board ignores homeowners' demand for loan approval

In an unfortunate but predictable development, the GIL Board has ignored repeated homeowner demands that they seek homeowner approval before borrowing nearly a half a million dollars.  Further, the Board has has refused to allow any homeowner involvement in the process whatsoever.

If anything, the growing demand for answers seems only to have resulted in an effort on the part of the GIL Board to move faster to secure a loan that has grown in size from an initial projected request of about $300,000 to nearly a half a million dollars, at last mention.  When added to the budget that was pushed through at the most recent Annual Meeting, the present Board will have a total haul of homeowner cash for 2012 of almost a million dollars.  And, so far, they have done all of this behind closed doors, without any homeowner input or involvement.

Their position is as clear as it is untenable - they want our money, but they don't want to have to answer to anyone about what they choose to do with it.

Your help is urgently needed to put an end to what has become a very costly imperial system of Association governance, whereby those who have controlled the GIL Board for nearly a decade are so entrenched and removed from the rest of us, that they no longer even bother to stand for election or see any need to consult homeowners before borrowing hundreds of thousands of dollars in our name.

Join your neighbors in putting an end to this madness and restoring transparency and accountability to our Board of Directors by sending an e-mail with the simple subject line 'Count me in".  There isn't any time to delay - join the effort to save Glen Iris Lofts today.

When managers are mistaken for leaders

It's no secret that the Blog has been highly critical of the Sutherland's managerial performance of our Association - and for good reason.  Despite their near decade-long reign in dictating just about every facet of life here at Glen Iris Lofts, finding examples where traditional business management principles have even been discussed - much less implemented - is next to impossible.  The reason for this is pretty simple.  Despite the fact that they manage an annual budget that is now nearly a half a million dollars and that by the end of this year, will have enjoyed the unfettered ability to determine how and where almost $4 million dollars of Association funds will have been spent, the Sutherlands don't run our Association like a business.

More dollars burned...

Continued from A penny saved is a dollar burned...

6.  $21,600  The money the Sutherlands have spent to have our community Intranet hosted with WebEx and the most expensive options package they had.  Never mind that nearly all of the money spent for those features was for naught, as everything that would have made it a truly useful resource for homeowners necessarily also enabled them to sometimes criticize the Sutherland Board - and Kit wasn't going to have that - not for a minute.

A penny saved is a dollar burned

The Sutherland's are always eager to point out anything and everything they do or are responsible for that saves our Association money.  However, there are really two sides to that coin.  A more balanced assessment of their volunteer efforts and their financial impact on our Association would also have to include the less well known - and certainly less well polished side - the additional cost incurred as a result of their wasteful spending, mismanagement of Association affairs, their uneven pursuit of Association receivables and the additional bloat in the cost of contracted services borne of their cozy relationship with - and over-reliance on - our management company, CMA.

Use of surveillance cameras within our Association

Given the extraordinary amount of time required to both research blog content as well as author posts, the Blog now posts original content six days a week, Monday through Saturday.  However, every Sunday we will post other articles, blog posts, etc. that may be relevant to the Glen Iris Lofts community.

Today's post is a re-blog from the HOA Law Blog, titled Surveillance Cameras Within Your Association, authored by Steven J. Tinnely, Esq., posted January 26, 2012 and addresses the use of security cameras in HOA common areas.

Video surveillance cameras are now being installed almost everywhere, so why not in your homeowners association (HOA)? When used properly surveillance cameras can provide additional security, a greater sense of safety and a deterrent to would be criminals. Yet several questions and considerations are often raised with respect to the installation of surveillance cameras within a HOA.

Board's mega-loan poll results: 54 to 1

The Blog recently conducted an online poll that many of you participated in. We asked if you thought the Glen Iris Lofts Board should be required to get homeowner approval before proceeding with their plan to borrow more than $400,000. The results were an overwhelming fifty-four affirmative votes and only one ‘no’ vote. While not a formal poll, readers were only able to vote once and, given that fact, it’s a pretty clear message to the Board of Directors that homeowner sentiment is clearly and heavily weighted toward their inclusion and consultation before proceeding with obtaining a loan of this size – especially when doing so comes with so many ramifications for the members of this Association.

Surely, the GIL Board will respect the wishes of such an overwhelming number of homeowners and schedule a time and place where those that have questions can ask them and the Board can provide more specific information than it has to-date on the subject.

If not, then everyone would at least have to acknowledge that Glen Iris Board, indeed, serves only a community of two.

the Blog

 

Fix for all Phase II parking garage problems finally identified

It seems like the problems – and cost to remedy them – surrounding the Phase II parking garage never seem to end. Specifically:

1. Every effort to prevent birds from building nests in the insulation and spreading diseases and mold as a consequence has failed and birds continue to damage the property and leave behind copious droppings on people and their cars; 
2. The third floor lofts located above the second floor of the parking garage are adversely impacted during cold weather as the thin layer of patchwork insulation is insufficient to enable those units to maintain warmth; 
3. Cold weather has also necessitated the purchase and installation of an elaborate web of plug-in electric pipe heaters to prevent the exposed plumbing that snakes along the ceiling of the second floor parking level from freezing and bursting (potentially raining raw sewage onto everyone and everything below...yuk!) during winter months – driving up utility expenses for a ticking time bomb solution that has no way of being monitored for the mechanical failures that are inevitable as the heat strips age;
4. The northern and western sides of the first floor parking level serve as lawsuit in-waiting as there is no barrier to prevent a small child – or pet – from suffering as much as a ten foot free fall from the grass to the pavement floor of the garage below. While it is unclear if the lack of a barrier violates building codes, the Blog has confirmed that the deficiency would prevent our property from passing a housing safety inspection by the Atlanta Housing Authority; 
5. The lack of personal and property security inherent in the parking garages has been a persistent source of very vocal complaints from homeowners for the past nine years as their cars have been broken into repeatedly and a few have even been stolen from the property outright. 

Sutherland support dwindles as homeowners shut out of loan process

KNOW WHEN TO SAY WHEN  Being in the driver's seat of our association has its perks - just ask Kit and Stuart Sutherland; they've had their derrieres planted firmly there for the past eight years.  Not only do you get to bend and stretch every detail of the home lives of over one hundred of your neighbors until it can be shoe-horned into something more to your liking, you always have a steady supply of sycophant vendors and homeowners lined up to stroke your ego and whisper sweet yeses into your ear.  And best of all, the job comes with your very own girl Friday, who's commanded by your every wish.

She has your money to burn

About a month ago, on January 16, 2012, the Blog ran a post entitled the $3,064 phone call, where we pointed out that our Association was on the wrong rate plan with Georgia Power. In that post, we detailed our analysis of prior and current electricity usage, which indicated a minimum possible savings of $3,064 on the Board's budget for common area electrical expenses over the coming year. We even included the phone number so that they could easily call and switch our rate plan.

Hijacked

Outwardly, they have been the poster children for the archetypal community volunteer and concerned neighbor. But underneath their meticulously crafted public image, tireless self-promotion and thin veneer of volunteerism and community service, has been a nine year calculated endeavor to subvert the democratic will of GIL homeowners by engineering at least one election outright, contorting election procedures in every election, keeping a sharp eye out for new homeowners that can be easily manipulated and by making Board service so untenable for the ones that can’t be that they either resign or decide not to seek re-election.

GIL needs your vote TODAY!

Dear Neighbors-

Many of you have already voted in our online poll, and to those of you, we would like to say 'thank you'.  As of the time this post was published, about a third of you had raised your voice by voting 'yes' or 'no' on the question of whether or not the GIL Board should be required to get homeowner approval before borrowing up to $400,000 in your name.  So far, homeowners have overwhelmingly said 'yes', the Board should seek homeowner approval.

But many of you have not voted yet and we need to hear from you!

The GIL Board is preparing to borrow as much as $400,000 in your name but without any opportunity for input, review or approval by homeowners. And we think that's just plain wrong.

Our By-Laws require homeowner approval for the budget every year - and all but two budgets in the entire history of Glen Iris Lofts were less than $400,000. If the Board spent that money via a special assessment, it would need homeowner approval for a tenth that amount. The Board is exploiting a loophole in our By-Laws that does not restrict the Board's authority to obtain loans to circumvent the implicit requirement found throughout our By-Laws that homeowners should have a say in how much is spent by their Association.

Tell our Board how you feel about being cut out of the process but stuck with all the bills. Vote in our poll on the Main page - just to the right of this article - and SPEAK UP!

Do not forget to VOTE!

The GIL Board is preparing to borrow as much as $400,000 in your name but without any opportunity for input, review or approval by homeowners. And we think that's just plain wrong.

Our By-Laws require homeowner approval for the budget every year - and all but two budgets in the entire history of Glen Iris Lofts were less than $400,000. If the Board spent that money via a special assessment, it would need homeowner approval for a tenth that amount. The Board is exploiting a loophole in our By-Laws that does not restrict the Board's authority to obtain loans to circumvent the implicit requirement found throughout our By-Laws that homeowners should have a say in how much is spent by their Association.

New GIL Mega-Loan has CMA sharpening the shears

Editor’s note: Michele Richards from Community Management Associates was twice invited to comment on the subject of this post and have her perspective of events included. The Blog did not receive a reply to either invitation.

The Glen Iris Board is in a big hurry to borrow big – and guess who is celebrating? CMA. And guess who will be picking up the hefty party tab for years to come? You guessed it, GIL homeowners.  Most of whom would be surprised to learn how much they paid in fees and commissions the last time we got the CMA ‘hook up'.

The Blog’s review of accounting records for the $200,000 loan that was arranged by CMA in 2004 revealed not only hefty fees, but some rather amateurish attempts on the part of CMA to conceal the true nature of the costs as well.

The courage deficit

For those of you that couldn’t make the Glen Iris Board meeting Monday evening, you missed a good show. The usual cast of characters was there, and in a sign that the Blog is causing real and growing concern about their ability to remain so, they had their attack dogs in tow and their guile polished to a blinding gleam. 

It quickly became apparent that the Board had met in secret at some point before the meeting as the minutes from last month’s meeting had already been approved - proving that their pledge not to have secret meetings to do so this year lasted all of a few weeks. No surprise there. But things got more interesting when Stuart delivered his remarks about the authorship of the Blog. Acting as if he alone was this century’s only university graduate that learned more than they ever cared to know about the National Socialist German Workers’ Party – a/k/a the ‘Nazi Party’ - and their bottomless hat of slick rhetorical devices, subterfuge and demagoguery, he implored all in attendance to ‘come forward’ with the name of the Blog’s author if they ‘had any courage’.

AJC article may hold clue to Sutherlands’ developer ties

Both the Dun and Bradstreet Credit Report and the Hoover’s Company Report that claim an ownership interest by Mary “Kit” Sutherland in Miller-Gallman Developers – the developer of Glen Iris Lofts – noted that her involvement began in 2005. And, given that the Glen Iris Lofts development was completed in 2002, an involvement by Mrs. Sutherland starting in 2005 has been a bit of a sticking point.

But a recently discovered article written by David Pendered of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, dated May 23, 2005 (included below) may hold new clues to help explain the timing of the information reported by Dun and Bradstreet and Hoover’s. In Pendered’s 2005 interview of Jerrold Miller and W. Bruce Gallman, they shared an interesting detail about important changes being made to Miller-Gallman Developers at the time:

“Miller-Gallman Developers is poised to add a consulting arm. The aim is to advise other residential developers about the potential for adapting and reusing the innumerable old buildings that flank the Beltline and dot the inner city”

-Atlanta Journal Constitution, May 23, 2005

This raises an interesting question.  Who better to provide that additional talent than

Cart-Gate: No carts? Kit says just make two trips

It’s not exactly news to anyone who’s read Kit’s e-mail that she has a petty streak wider than The Home Depot parking lot, but what may be news to many homeowners at Glen Iris Lofts, is just how quickly she’ll throw them under the bus to accommodate it.

In a stunning display of just how little the Sutherlands really care about the needs of GIL homeowners, they announced yesterday that they intend to have the janitors throw the one brand new utility cart the Blog recently donated to the community into the trash and said ‘no’ to the donation of four additional carts!  And, in a year when we are staring down the barrel of over $400,000 in necessary building repairs with only $250,000 in the bank – and had to increase monthly assessments by 15% just to pay the regular bills – you think they'd have been happy to have the nearly $1,000 donation.  Yet they weren’t.  And that’s because from their perspective, when - and if - they decide homeowners can have more carts, they will just roll that cost into whatever increase they’ve got brewing for everyone next year.  Problem solved.

Isn’t it time that our community be treated like something more than a grade-school playground where immaturity reigns, petty trumps practical and all you can hear from those that are supposed to be leading us and setting a good example is ‘I know you are, but what am I?’

Might Glen Iris Lofts be a lot better off if the janitors left the new utility cart where it was and threw the Sutherlands out instead?

the Blog

Call the APD: Sutherlands steal funds from police, fire and schools?

[POST UPDATE: The amount of tax evaded by Stuart Sutherland's fraudulent filing to receive a homestead exemption on more than one property for each of the years between 2005 and 2011 totals $1,614.55.  Per Georgia Code, the Sutherlands currently owe $3,229.10 (twice the amount of the tax evaded) to the Fulton County Tax Commissioner]

Fulton County and City of Atlanta property taxes are a vital source of funding for a multitude of services provided by local government. They fund the police and fire departments, local schools, parks and recreation, county and city government administration, courts, and the list goes on. And despite the fact that many Atlanta taxpayers feel that property taxes are excessive, everyone understands the important role they play in keeping our community safe, healthy and vibrant.

Of course, most taxpayers can get a small break (about 9.5%) on their property tax bill if they qualify for the homestead exemption. Basically, If you own your own home, it’s your primary residence, your drivers’ license was issued in Fulton County and if your vehicle tag was likewise obtained in Fulton County, you qualify.

Like all tax deductions, the homestead exemption does come with a few rules – one of which is that you can only claim a homestead exemption on one property. (Continued...)

There’s a thief in our midst

All of the brouhaha that has followed 'Cart-Gate' has certainly brought one question in particular more sharply into focus for everyone living here at Glen Iris Lofts.

AND THAT QUESTION IS by what authority is Kit Sutherland running about investigating key finders on carts, authoring ‘community announcements’ in the name of the Glen Iris Lofts Board of Directors (in that headmaster tone like only Kit can do) summoning the Atlanta Police Department to ‘investigate’ delusions of ‘compromised security’ on GIL property, authorizing billable time by Association attorneys and, unbelievably, having the audacity to confiscate utility carts when they are in short supply and desperately needed, when she hasn’t even been elected to serve on our Board for more than three years now? (Continued...)

CART-GATE

Dear Neighbors:

The Blog recently donated a brand new cart for homeowner use, since they always seem to be in short supply.  Fully knowing that Kit Sutherland would sooner take it away and deprive every one of its use than she would have anyone who doesn’t already know about the Blog find out about it, we installed an RFID tag on the cart so that when it went missing, we would know who took it – and that would be unit 519, Andrew Mark Hicks.

But you know Kit – being a bit of a tech-not (by her own admission), she didn’t know what an RFID tag was and became convinced it was some sort of sinister plot to upset the security of our community, and sent out the (somewhat embarrassing) e-mail, below.  (Continued...)

Election fraud bombshell: 2003 rental cap amendment FAILED

For anyone that still harbors the quaint illusion that GIL elections are fair, honest and accurate, prepare yourself.  The Blog recently obtained a folder that contained the ballots from the February 13, 2003 Annual Homeowners’ Meeting, at which homeowners voted on whether or not to amend the By-Laws to include, among other things, a 25% rental cap.

But an audit of the vote count reveals a startling discovery - the amendment actually failed.  (Continued...)

High cost of free counsel: Stuart Sutherland's cost us $200K

The following is an intriguing timeline of events that surround Kit and Stuart Sutherland’s acquisition of the unit adjacent to their own that curiously unfolded at precisely the same time GIL homeowners found themselves the only ones left at the dinner table when the nearly $200,000 tab was delivered for a construction defect that no one – not even the developer – argued they should have to pay for.  No one, except Stuart Sutherland, that is.

HOW IT CAME TO BE

02/19/01

Kit and Stuart Sutherland purchase 660 Glen Iris Dr, NE, Unit 409 (their primary unit) for $342,000, of which $273,600 was financed via a conventional mortgage obtained from First Union Mortgage Corp.²⁹

05/30/02

While the Glen Iris Board was still under developer control, Jerrold Miller, of Miller-Gallman Developers – the developer of Glen Iris Lofts – appoints Kit Sutherland to the GIL Board of Directors publicly at a Glen Iris Lofts homeowners meeting.  The Board then consisted solely of Jerrold Miller, W. Bruce Gallman and Kit Sutherland. 

“Kit Sutherland of Phase I was appointed to the current Board of Directors by Jerry Miller and Bruce Gallman”¹

At the same homeowners’ meeting that Miller announced Kit’s appointment to the first homeowner Board, Miller acknowledges responsibility of the slope stabilization project when he responds to a homeowner question on the subject.

“Homeowner question for Jerry Miller:

3. What are we doing about the landscape at the rear of the building that washes away when it rains?

The landscape architects have been assigned to examine the erosion and give a plan of correction to us.”¹

10/02/02

In a meeting with the GIL Board of Directors, developer Jerry Miller again openly acknowledges responsibility for correcting the slope stabilization problem behind the Phase II building.²¹

02/11/03

At the Annual Meeting, held at 7:00 PM, Stuart Sutherland voted by proxy for Ellen Hines - the owner of the unit adjacent to their own that they would buy the following year.

06/04/03

Sandy Jones, the first President of the homeowner-controlled GIL Board, sends an e-mail requesting Gary Caruso, an engineer with Criterium-Caruso Engineers, to perform a forensic study of the failed retaining wall to determine if the developer should have taken steps to shore up rear retaining wall.²

06/12/03

In a noteworthy halt to the momentum to build the case that the Miller-Gallman should be held accountable for correcting the failed retaining wall, the GIL Board minutes note that it has decided to take the Erosion Engineering Control Study off the table for the time being.

“Bid for Erosion Control and Next Steps (Kit and Sandy) Kit will you please bring the letter from Craig Howell?

Erosion Engineering Control study is taken off the table”³

GIL Board votes to approve a special assessment to fund the slope stabilization project, although the amount of the assessment will later prove to be only about one-tenth the amount eventually required to remedy the problem.³ (Continued...)

Why all the secrecy? The Blog investigates this central question

It is a widely known fact that our Board, under Sutherland control, has gone through extraordinary lengths to deny homeowners access to Association records. The rights of inspection spelled out in our By-Laws have been largely ignored - even flouted - for years, as repeated attempts by a parade of former and current homeowners seeking to exercise their rights of inspection were - almost without exception - summarily stonewalled. 

There is a relatively straight forward way around that brick wall – although it is costly. Given the clear rights of inspection that are due members of the Association, not only as guaranteed by our By-Laws, but by the Georgia Non-Profit Corporation Code (O.P.G.A. 14-3-101) – state law by which our Association is governed – an aggrieved homeowner can obtain judicial enforcement of their rights without having to leap any extraordinary legal hurdles. But the mere fact that our Board forces the issue itself creates an extraordinary hurdle – because the only way to bring the power of judicial enforcement to bear is for the homeowner to sue their own Association. And, given that the costs of bringing such legal action must, almost invariably, be underwritten by a single member, that cost is usually sufficient to discourage any casual interest that homeowner may have in reviewing Association records.

Of course, there is one homeowner among us who has been pulling the levers of power on the Glen Iris Lofts Board of Directors since its inception, and who knows better than anyone - by virtue of being an attorney - that the cost of suing one's own Association will nearly always trump that member's interest in reviewing records, and that person is Stuart Sutherland.  This, despite the fact that professional codes of conduct and the ethical requirements of his profession would appear to demand that he demonstrate a greater respect for the law. But, for some reason, he doesn't.  And this apparent willingness to simply disregard what the law would require - knowing that the eventual cost for doing so could be professional censorship or even possible disbarment from practicing law in the State of Georgia – raises a number of interesting questions. (Continued...)

Our broken election process: Ripe for proxy abuse

GIL ELECTION PROXY FORMS ARE NOT CERTIFIED   Given that substantially greater than half of all votes cast in elections since the inception of our Association have been by proxy, the fact that proxies are not certified as the valid instrument of those that purportedly signed them represents a serious challenge to the legitimacy of election results.

Without a process of certification, there is very little way to know if a proxy is legitimate or fraudulent. It wouldn’t take much for someone with an interest in a certain outcome to identify those who perennially fail to vote and whose non-attendance at the annual meeting is all but certain and to use that information to fraudulently vote on behalf of those members.  And if any ballots so produced were cast by mail and sent to CMA, the chances of getting caught doing it are nil. (Continued...)

Dun & Bradstreet Credit Reporting also notes a Sutherland/Miller-Gallman affiliation

Last Monday, the Blog posted a copy of the Hoover's Business Report that noted the alleged affiliation between Kit Sutherland and Miller-Gallman Developers.  We have since been able to obtain a copy of the Dun & Bradstreet Comprehensive Credit Report for "Miller Gallman Developers", that, like the Hoover's report, supports an apparent affiliation between Kit and Miller-Gallman Developers.  Note: The Dun & Bradstreet report is included at the end of this post.

As with the Hoover's report, we wondered why no other executives (namely Jerrold Miller) were listed as having an affiliation with the company.  Upon further investigation, (Continued...)

Sutherlands bounce check to Association

No one is particularly thrilled about the prospect of having their lesser moments made public, and that's even truer when those that would make them public would do so with the apparent objective merely to embarrass or discredit. Worse still are the occasions when lesser moments are fabricated out of whole cloth for the same purpose. One wouldn't have to walk too far down either direction of any hallway here at GIL to find a homeowner that will claim to be a victim of this sort of demagoguery at the hands of the Sutherlands. And I personally have witnessed people that have found themselves caught up in a Sutherland gossip and discredit campaign that was either a dramatic embellishment of facts or that had absolutely no basis in fact at all.

This 'sort of behavior' - to borrow a phrase from Kit Sutherland - is dangerous politics, because with each successive engagement, the retail price of hypocrisy is ratcheted upward, should one ever find one's self at the cash register paying retail for their own lesser moment. But knowing this doesn't require any special insight; admonishment that reportedly came from Jesus' own mouth more than two millennia ago has served to better advise those that would 'cast the first stone'.

That's why I think it would be surprising for many to learn that Kit and Stuart have bounced a check to our Association at least once. It's true (documentation included and follows post conclusion).  Of course, (Continued...)

Next time around, election ballots will list all the names of those wishing to serve

GIL BALLOTS DO NOT LIST THE NAMES OF ALL CANDIDATES  The fact that the those currently on the Board would not add Scott Reno’s name to the ballot in the most recent election – and, in fact, have never placed anyone on the ballot other than those recommended by an incumbent Board, represents an egregious assault on the democratic process and the rights of GIL homeowners.

When buying their home, every member of our Association agrees to bind themselves to the decisions and actions of the GIL Board, and in exchange, homeowners are supposed to have the right to fully and genuinely participate in the governance and affairs of their Association. At GIL, homeowners only get half of that bargain. They become bound by the actions and decisions of the Board but, ultimately, their rights of full and genuine participation in those actions and decisions are not forthcoming.

In future elections, the Board can keep their 'ballot' and save us the $.20 a page CMA copy fee.

WE WILL BRING OUR OWN BALLOTS - ONES THAT FAIRLY LIST ALL THE NAMES OF THOSE WISHING TO SERVE.

Remember: Rules best serve those who make them

OUR BALLOTS ARE NOT SECRET  When the ballot on which you are asked to cast your vote requires your name, unit and building number and contains a written admonishment that ballots that lack such information are ‘invalid’ and will be ‘discarded’, that’s generally a sign that your vote is not secret.

Worse, your secret-to-everyone-but-the-Sutherlands ballot then serves as an excellent tool to accurately determine whom among us is a ‘good resident’ and who needs ‘re-education’ - lest they become an object of scorn, gossip and retribution.

Our By-Laws mandate ‘secret ballots’.  AND SECRET BALLOTS ARE WHAT WE WILL HAVE.

The $3.4 million hayride

According to information presented by the Board of Directors at the most recent Annual Meeting, our Association ended 2011 with $214,035 and it expects to collect $46,106 in reserve additions from assessments over the coming year.  Those two numbers total $260,141 – which doesn’t sound like we would be doing too badly at the end of 2012, does it?

But in order to leave homeowners with that false sense of financial security, the Board had to perform the budgeting equivalent of moon walking – the act of appearing to make forward motion, when in fact, we will be going backwards.  The only difference being that they arguably did it better than the late Michael Jackson ever hoped to do as we will be going backward over the coming year by about three full stage lengths.  How so, you ask?  Because they skillfully left $400,000 that they plan to spend over the next twelve months out of the budget.

  

The Board stated that the more than $400,000 that they expect to spend off budget in the coming year will be for stucco and window repairs.  This trick is not new.  The Federal Government has been doing it for nearly a decade in the way it accounts for war spending, the only distinction being that (Continued...)

Hoover's Company Report: Mary Sutherland is Secretary of Miller-Gallman

The Blog was finally able to get a copy of the Hoover's Company Report for Miller-Gallman developers that, does indeed, list Mary C. Sutherland as Secretary of the company (see below).  We wondered why no other executives (namely Jerrold Miller) were listed in the report.  Upon further investigation, the Blog discovered that information is contained in the company report for "Miller-Gallman Developers" (with a "-" in between the words "Miller" and "Gallman"), whereas the company report that mentions Kit was filed with the company "Miller Gallman Developers" (note the absence of the "-" between "Miller" and "Gallman").  If you combine the two reports, you would have the complete company information, at least as far as Hoover's is concerned.

You can judge for yourself, but in the Blog's opinion, it doesn't look necessarily like a "telephone marketing" roundup of random names.  Hoover's is a name that's well respected in the business world as a reliable source for corporate information, and there is no reason to believe that they simply concocted the information out of thin air.

At the very least, I think most would agree that it's a situation that certainly warrants a statement from Kit herself as to whether or not the information is accurate.  To-date, Kit has not denied the allegations that she has financial ties to the developer of Glen Iris Lofts.  Doesn't it make you wonder why she hasn't?

Join your neighbors in support of change by sending an e-mail to gil@go.to with the simple subject line ‘Count me in’ – and be a part of where Glen Iris Lofts is going.

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Hoovers Company Report

What's my share? A unit-level detail view of assessments from 2003-2012

WHATS MY SHARE?
Courtesy of: Chris Gordon (Ph II, 611)
A unit level breakdown of every budget line item for 2012, your unit's assessments for all years 2003-2012 and the total assessments paid by your unit since 2003. For readers who are into numbers or just curious, this is the file for you!

Note: If you see the message "Sorry, embedding multiple documents..." below instead of the file contents, simply click the link below and open or save the file to your computer.
Whats My Share

Change is coming to Glen Iris Lofts…

No one who reads the Glen Iris Board meeting minutes is going to walk away with anything other the clear and sobering assessment that our Board leadership isn’t much interested in change of any kind.  Precious little time is spent on discussion of how things may be improved – unless of course one counts the time the Board leadership spends shooting down suggestions for improvements.

The list of resident demands for change that have gone unheeded is long and distinguished.  Whether it’s the enclosure of the lower Phase II car park that the homeowners who park there were willing to pay for themselves, the constant clamor for the installation of security cameras on the property to do something – anything – to address the serious property crime problem we have struggled with from day one and still continue to struggle with nearly ten years later and whose rate of occurrence hasn’t decreased at all, or whether it’s a guest parking policy that doesn’t really match the ‘needs curve’ of guest parking accommodation by homeowners.  And there are countless other issues or ‘hot buttons’ that various homeowners have that fail to be addressed – or even considered – year after year.  Most who are knowledgeable about the political realities here at Glen Iris will tell you the simple truth: it doesn’t really matter what you or any other homeowner wants, if Kit doesn’t want it, it ain’t gonna happen.

But, finally, there is some good news for everyone that calls Glen Iris Lofts 'home'.  Although the (Continued...)

In her own words: An e-mail from Kit Sutherland

There are some who claim that Kit Sutherland is simply misunderstood - and that she isn't caddy, nosey, conniving and always up to something nefarious, as many have alleged.
So the Blog decided to let you decide for yourself.  In an e-mail (see below) recently obtained by the Blog that was sent by Kit Sutherland to then Board President Sandy Jones, Kit trashes a GIL homeowner and one of her closest neighbors - a person who has been, by any account, an outstanding neighbor and a reliable pillar of support for our Association - Frank Lynch, the owner of Cactus Car Wash.

"Apparently, Frank's inability to sell or lease his investment property is not hurting his cash flow. His Jeep Cherokee, which was fairly late model(ed) and in good condition, was replaced this week with a massive, brand new Range Rover. I expect to see it parked soon in the center of the driveway in front of the elevator, where he parks regularly when he is unloading groceries, dry cleaning, etc. Can't wait to get a management company that can supply pre-printed "courtesy" warnings about this sort of behavior..." -Kit Sutherland

The e-mail also reveals the shocking revelation that, beyond harboring ill will toward GIL resident Lynch, Kit and Stuart Sutherland were even milling over what they could do with the Glen Iris Lofts commercial space that Lynch owned at the time, should the Association find a way to wrest it out from under him by way of playing hardball in resolving a technical error made in the drafting of an easement agreement granted to Decker Car Wash (d/b/a Cactus Car Wash) the year prior.

"Speaking of Frank, Stuart and I keep pondering what we (i.e. the association) might be able to do with the ground-floor level of #206, if it became an element in re-negotiating the easement situation..."      -Kit Sutherland

But she didn't stop there, no.  The e-mail goes on to reveal that Kit was also plotting to pull a fast one on her BFF, Jerry Miller, by trying to (Continued...)

SAFETY ALERT! Many GIL lofts at risk for fire

VERY REAL DANGER  Most GIL homeowners are probably blithely unaware that their loft has a serious construction defect that substantially increases the probability of having a potentially devastating house fire.  Although the Blog has not been able to determine how the Glen Iris developer, Miller-Gallman, was able to skirt the local building code and slide the defect past city building inspectors, the dryer venting assembly of every loft we inspected was found to be in substantial violation of the local building code. (Continued...)

Win a free $30 Cactus Car Wash gift card by solving the Glen Iris anagrams!

Solve the following Glen Iris anagrams and you could win a free $30 Cactus Car Wash gift card! 

1.  CREDIT USE BEGAN (2 words)                                             I                            E

2.  SCORN PIGPENS (2 words)                                            E                                    

3.  SLY DRAMA HUNTER (2 words)                                                                          

4.  BOD AT RISK (2 words)                                                                                         

5.  RECENT LOFT FICTIONS (3 words)                                                                     

6.  TRANSLATED HURTS US (2 words)                                                                    

7.  EACH COMING SIGN (3 words)                                                                          

Jot down the correctly unscrambled words in an e-mail and send to the Blog at gil@go.to by midnight, this Sunday (January 22) to win your free car wash.  If more than one correct (and complete) entry is received, the winner will be chosen at random from among the correct entries received.

Please be sure to include one of the following methods to receive your gift card, should you be the winner: your mailing address (if you would like your gift card sent to you via U.S. Mail); your parking space number at Glen Iris Lofts (your gift card will be left under your windshield wiper blade).

Also, be sure to indicate if we have your permission to use your name when we announce the winner or, if you would prefer that we use a screen name to identify you as the winner.  Either way, just let us know :-)

*One Cactus Car Wash gift card in the amount of $30.00 will be mailed to or left on the winner's car on Monday, January 23, 2012.

Enjoy!

the Blog

The solution to this anagram puzzle can be viewed on the continuing page. (Continued...)

BREAKING NEWS: We’re broke.

2012 should be a year to celebrate – our Association will have its 10^th birthday.  But the guests to that party will have to bring their own kazoos, ice cream and cake – because, after nearly a decade of Sutherland control and domination of Board operation, we are, effectively, broke.  Yes, you read correctly, broke.  You could say that we are an island surrounded by a sea of Sutherland red ink.

We ended 2011 with total assets of $214,035 that are expected to be augmented by an additional $46,106 in reserve fund additions over the coming 12 months, for a projected total of $260,141. However, we also have repairs that have been identified and determined to be necessary expenditures (Continued...)

The $3,064 phone call...

Given that we pay nearly $25,000 a year for the services of a professional management company and given that we have a treasurer on our Board, who, presumably is given the freedom to do her job by her supervisor (which is doubtful, so I would remind folks to be careful and not lay too much blame at Jennifer Keir's doorstep), it's vexing that one can hardly turn around in our budget without bumping face-first into wasteful and unnecessary spending or instances where costs are higher than they would be if we weren't paying a 'stupid tax'.

Although the Blog shouldn't have to tell our Board and professional management company about it, we are on the wrong rate plan with Georgia Power.  Pick up the phone, call 888-660-5890 and tell them that you want to switch from the 'Small Power and Light Plan' to the plain old 'Standard Residential Service' plan.  We'll save 8.63% on our electricity costs by doing so.  And with this year's expected spend of $35,500 on electricity, that comes out to about $3,064.

Look into it.  Do the math.  You'll see.  We could have $3,064 more in our pocket at the end of the year without having to give anything up in return.  It's free money.  It doesn't get any better than that!

Whomever is baking all the cookies ought to share!

Not that the Blog would presume to do the Board's job - because certainly they are capable of doing that themselves. Or, are they? Natural gas usage - which only our stoves are supposed to be consuming -  has increased steadily between the 2003 to 2012 budget years - partly due to errant under billing by the gas company that went undiscovered for a time and partly due to rate and usage increases.  The Board carved out $15,500 for natural gas costs in 2012, a modest increase over the prior year, because, according to Stuart Sutherland, 'gas prices are going up'.

But has Stuart or anyone else on the Board stopped for a moment long enough to do a reality check? At the current price of natural gas, to consume $15,500 worth, every single unit at Glen Iris Lofts would have to have their stove top burners going all out for eight hours of every day for the entire year! And I mean all 110 units...8 hours...every day, seven days a week.

Perhaps there are units that have installed gas water heaters or gas heating appliances? Who knows, but the Board needs to wake up and pay attention to business and get to the bottom of this issue, rather than have the hand-off of thier out of control spending to homeowners every year continue to serve as the poor substitute for the management of our Association's affairs that it is.

The Glen Iris Lofts Neighbor Map (Download)

The Blog would like to thank Chris Gordon (Ph II, 611) for creating the Glen Iris Lofts Neighbor Map and sharing it with everyone!  It's an easy way to get an idea of who lives down the hall or across the way!

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Glen Iris Lofts Neighbor Map

Exciting news and an open letter from the founding author of the Blog...

AN OPEN LETTER FROM THE FOUNDING AUTHOR OF THE BLOG

TO THE BLOG’S MANY SUPPORTERS
The generosity of your loyal readership, comments, e-mails and offers of support has been truly amazing, and I thank you.  Apart from making the countless hours required by this endeavor more rewarding, your support has provided incontrovertible evidence that a new day is dawning for our shared community. Your overwhelming support is witness to the well spring of interest, concern and desire to participate that exists in the hearts and minds of everyone here at Glen Iris Lofts. (Continued...)

The Cozy Developer Do-It-Yourself Kit

There may be a few - as in, maybe five - homeowners out there who haven't figured out by now that the developer has a lot to thank his friends Kit and Stuart for. And to those blind, remaining few, I invite you to do a little test yourself to see just how cozy the Sutherlands are with Jerrold Miller.

The next time you see Stu-Kit, just ask them this simple question: What is the Board doing to actively pursue the more than $5,000 in unpaid assessments that Jerry Miller owes our Association? They will tell you one of three things - none of which will be a straight answer. They will:

1. Hide behind a claim that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits them from disclosing that information - which it does not. So, if that's what they tell you, consider yourself lied to (but you would be in good company, since that's what one reader told the Blog that's the garbage he got when he asked).

2. Tell you that once his unit is sold, the Association 'may' receive some funds. If this is the baloney you are given, repeat the part about asking when we will get the more than $5,000 he owes our Association? You still won't get a straight answer, I assure you...you'll see.

3. Barring an answer similar to either of the above, you will then get a nuanced version of 'there's not much we, as an association, can do - which is absolutely untrue.  Our Association can pursue (Continued...)

Tech-No: Zero Web presence is a cinderblock around the ankle of GIL home values

WE’RE A DINOSAUR   Nearly every loft development in Atlanta maintains a public-facing Web page where prospective home buyers and others interested in learning more about a particular loft community, can see which units are currently on the market and 'for sale', learn what sets thier community apart from others, the available amenities, etc.  But ours does not – even though the Blog couldn’t find a single instance of a loft development our size that didn’t. And, as anyone that knows anything about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) could tell you, our domain name (glenirislofts.com) would all but guarantee a top – if not the top - ranking in Google’s search results for the search term ‘glen iris lofts’...if there were a publicly accessible page at that address with any meaningful content.

In this wired age, missing an opportunity to appear on page one of a Google search is a major fumble that should be addressed immediately. And it’s not just the homeowners with units currently for sale that would benefit, either. Greater exposure attracts more interest and more potential buyers, a fact that could only positively impact resale prices, and resale prices directly and profoundly impact the value of everyone else’s unit in the development. (Continued...)

Glen Iris Farm, Pt. 2: Napoleon gets an attorney

It was always the pigs who put forward the resolutions. The other animals understood how to vote, but could never think of any resolutions of their own.

-George Orwell, The Animal Farm, Chapter 3

THE PROBLEM (Oink)  The only problem with giving people the right to vote is that, all too often, they don’t vote correctly.

THE BACKROOM DEAL  Although the By-Laws specifically state owners are to write the names of those for whom they are voting, what we pigs must do is help them be better Comrades and voters by writing down only the very best choices for them, so they don’t become hopelessly confused and make the wrong choices.

‘But then what shall the purpose of voting be?’ squealed one pig, after pondering the scheme for a moment. ‘So there’s voting!’ boomed Napoleon. ‘And so that people have the opportunity to vote for my wise choices’, he added.  And, then, with a watery snort that misted the air a full three feet in front of his snout, he turned his attention back to the hushed and ominously intense conversation he had been having on the urgent matter of his continued Stewardship of the animals with a very sinister looking pig with nervous, darting eyes and whose eerie ability to move about a room unnoticed reminded everyone of a pig they had known many years ago but whom had not been seen since the day Jones left the farm and it was decided that one pig would go to the city to learn how to read laws and make resolutions and things.

A VIDEO PRIMER  The Blog created this video to help better explain exactly how homeowners were duped into a system where there is voting, but no choice.

THE BARNYARD SCOREBOARD  Pigs 2, Homeowners 0!

 

As long as people continue to accept the Board’s ‘ballots’ as though they are the only 'true' ballot, when, in reality, they are only an artifice specifically designed to ensure that homeowners actually (Continued...)

Glen Iris Farm, Pt. 1: The rise of Napoleon and the Stewardship of pigs

They had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes.

-George Orwell, The Animal Farm, Chapter 7

PROBLEM (Oink!) Too many homeowners participate in the Annual Meeting in February and, to make matters worse, they are watching their money more closely, after having over-spent during the holidays.  This untenable situation simply creates too much unnecessary risk to our eternal Stewardship of the poor animals – and they need us!

BACKROOM DEAL  Move the Annual Meeting from the middle of February, as the By-Laws clearly appoint as the time for the Annual Meeting, to the middle of December. ‘But people are so busy around the holidays!’ squealed one pig. ‘Oink, that’s the point’, grumbled another.

COVER STORY  By moving the meeting to December, you also make the new year's budget official starting January 1, as opposed to March.  As a result, the the new monthly assessment amount can be collected on a schedule that's more closely aligned with the budget and our fiscal year.

COVER STORY FACT CHECK  From a budgeting perspective, there's nothing more ‘magical’ about January than December.  If the two months present different levels of expense or income, then you plan for that - that's the purpose of a budget!  Contracts with vendors expire at staggered periods throughout the year, depending on the month they were first signed, so it isn't like our expenses are all radically different in January than they were the month prior.  And even with a December budget adoption, the marginal increase in revenue (this assumes every budget is bigger than the last because, I think everyone would agree that's the pretty much the norm anymore) comes only one month sooner than it would have otherwise – and we have sufficient working capital to cover well beyond the incremental new revenue represented by just one month’s assessment increase.  As for alignment with the fiscal year, whats so difficult about budgeting January and February with what you know will be the revenue and then budgeting the remaining ten months with what the new revenue number will be?

A change in the budget process that would make more sense than bumping forward its approval would be to construct it in an orthodox manner where 'pine straw' isn't its own budget category, but, rather, is included in a 'Landscape Maintenance' category. (Continued...)