Will Reason and Logic Prevail?

September 18, 2022 Swansboro, CA

Perspective and Opinion by Tom Harris, Associate Editor

The mission of the Swansboro Sentinel is to provide information that would help members hold accountable those sitting board members entrusted with the mandatory dues and taxes they collect and spend.

____________________________________________________

Breaking News
The Sentinel has learned that on August 24, 2022, members of the Swansboro Country Owners Association (SCPOA) attended a Meet and Confer hearing before the SCPOA Board pursuant to Civil Code §5910. The subject was the planned community building. Attorneys representing both the Members and SCPOA were present. The resolutions of that hearing were twofold:

1. The SCPOA Board publish an information letter to provide the membership more information with respect to the community building. The information includes greater details as to scope, description, amenities, purpose, accountability and costs that was not available to members unable to attend board meetings.
   
2. The board consider to table the community building project for membership review and vote, and postpone the project until a comprehensive proposal can be obtained. The information letter has been published on SCPOA’s website https://scpoa.info/, and consideration to table and postpone is part of the September 20, 2022 open Board meeting agenda is available at https://scpoa.info/board-information. From the SCPOA agenda:

“D. Request to Postpone/Table Community Building Project to involve the membership to review the details of the project and conduct a member vote to approve the project to obtain member vote to approve the project.”

“E. Request to Postpone/Table Community Building Project until a comprehensive proposal can be obtained.”

SCPOA September 20 Agenda

SCPOA board meetings are important, especially when considering expenditures and construction such as a community building. Support for or against a community building may hinge on several factors besides how quickly we can get the building put up. Its scope, size, usability, utility, long term expenses and construction costs are just a few. After all, SCPOA has never had a dedicated community building in its long history. Members are urged to attend the meeting on Tuesday, September 20, 2022. Time: 6:00PM Outside Pavilion at Dyer Lake 6770 Sluice, Placerville, CA, to voice your opinion. Assuming reason and logic prevail, the Sentinel considers these developments a step in the right direction. But only time will tell.

____________________________________________________

http://www.Sentinelblog.net is an LLC created by a small group of Swansboro residents for one important reason: to provide a source of information independent of social media sites. It was alarming to see the tactics used on some social media sites fall far short of any standards of decency and respect normally associated with neighborly correspondence. These tactics typify a toxic blend of laziness, ignorance and group-think that are all too common on social media today.

It’s normal to react on social media to opinions expressed in the Sentinel, but when doing so, it would benefit the reader by responding to the ISSUES being discussed rather than by switching subjects, playing “gotcha”, or name-calling. Responses like these provide no value to a conversation. Logic and reason should preclude anger and emotion.

The Swansboro Sentinel will continue to discuss and render opinions on specific issues and hold accountable those elected officials who claim to represent all residents. The Sentinel believes the best way to assure responsible and accountable representation while respecting the privacy rights of residents, is to shine the light of day and provide full disclosure on all financial activity conducted by elected officials who spend our money.

The apparent confusion and lack of transparency and accountability regarding financing the off-budget expenditure of a “SCPOA Community Building” appears to be creating ill-will and tarnishing the reputation of the SCPOA Board of Directors (BoD) as a legitimate governing body. Their lack of planning makes it appear that the majority on the present SCPOA board is not concerned with the costs involved with the building. The “SCPOA Community Center” project may need an oversight management committee – independent of the SCPOA board. Long time Swansboro residents are beginning to suspect that the ultimate goal of the board is to hurry and get four walls erected in order to install a placard on the entry with their name on it.

Has anyone on the SCPOA BoD ever talked to any other local organizations about a community center? Seems like a basic component of any plan. Maybe what the Swansboro community really needs is a SCPOA BoD that can talk with all its residents, not just those who always agree with them. For example, there are members who reside close to Dyer Lake who have expressed concern for the noise and parking issues that would be caused by an event at the Dyer Lake “Community Center”.

What’s more, in numerous communications to residents, SCPOA board president and other board members tried to explain that the $50,000 down payment for the “Community Center” was obtained from sources other than membership dues. This is a red herring because some of the money would have been paid in dues if the member in question had not defaulted on his dues obligation. The other source was the result of reimbursed legal fees that had been paid with dues money. Sources aside, the fact is, the $50,000 belongs to the residents of Swansboro, not the SCPOA BoD.

It has come to the attention of the Sentinel that the Mosquito Volunteer Fire Association (MVFA) is re-opening discussions about building a Community Center at Finnon Lake – for use by everyone – both Mosquito residents and SCPOA members alike. This project has been under discussions for years, and was described in the Finnon Lake Capital Plan of a few years ago. The project would be funded privately and neither SCPOA nor the Fire District (MFPD) would be obligated to provide any funds.

Many Mosquito residents know that MVFA was reorganized in late 2006 as a 501(c)(3) public charity from the former Mosquito Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD). In 1997, MVFD purchased the Finnon Lake property from the state of California, and has owned and maintained the property ever since. This includes overseeing the dam reconstruction, restoring wildlife habitat, restructuring the campground, providing parking lots and a boat ramp, bringing electrical power to the bathrooms, refurbishing the café, and overseeing the creation of a 27 basket disc golf course – mostly with labor provided by local volunteers. So, MVFA is not without experience in building and maintaining large projects.

In this, and other posts, the Sentinel has provided logical alternatives to an unplanned, off-budget “community center” proposed by the current SCPOA BoD, with unbridled, out of plan costs, and virtually no input from members. In upcoming posts, the Sentinel will interview SCPOA residents who have a keen interest in our community, regularly attend community meetings and events, and can respectfully discuss controversial issues using logic and reason.

SCPOA Update:
The SCPOA board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 20 has two new agenda items regarding the debate over the off-budget, out of plan “community center” proposal. These agenda items may have been added due to an IDR (Internal Dispute Resolution) hearing outcome. The hearing was prompted by a complaint filed by residents last month. Attending this board meeting may be in the best financial interest of resident members.