| Gateview’s insurance premium for 2025 was likely to go up. But between a last-minute insurance vote in 2024 and another one at this March meeting (the policy expires on April 1st) there was a 10% premium increase for the same coverage! The board did not get a single competing quote against FirstService’s favored vendor or to save any of that added $45,000. Instead, candidate Ketki Shah said, “because First Service has a vast number of properties they could get insurance. They did try to get other quotes, but we never got any,” At the meeting, directors admitted none of them bothered to call a single other HOA in the Bay Area to see who provided their insurance. If owners elect someone to represent them, shouldn’t that person fight for their best interest and savings rather than for a management company and its partner’s profits? When I brought up the fact that based on the data, post-disaster insurance payouts have remained the same for 50 years (inflation adjusted) and insurance companies are making big profits, Ms. Harris exclaimed, “I don’t care about the past, only the future. I don’t believe the data. I believe what I see on the news.” With a person like this who does not believe in the truth, it’s no wonder she is willing to spend money like crazy. | | With no Capital Improvement Fund, incumbent candidates just point to reserve items they've padded or a contingency item in the operating budget and claim there is money for any personal project. Members aren't given a chance to vote on anything but better directors. | | All the candidates on Ms. Harris’ campaign including Michelle Dunton, Janos Horvath, and Ketki Shah, voted to INCREASE our insurance premium without shopping around. They also put hundreds of thousands in the reserves without telling owners just for a four slow EV charging stations. And those still have no fire suppression system and, it seems, no battery fire insurance! When asked about this at the meeting, the First Service manager said he would only answer that privately. Why? Because he didn’t want to admit on public record that one battery fire without insurance could cost us millions and destroy our whole property. Our practices are so bad that one attending former director even suggested no insurance company may want our business soon. | | August 12, 2024. A Mercedes-Benz electric sedan caught fire in the underground garage of an apartment in Incheon City, South Korea. The fire took more than eight hours to extinguish and damaged about 140 cars. A total of 23 people were rushed to the hospital due to smoke inhalation. | Shouldn’t directors carry out their fiduciary duty without bringing in politics? Ms. Harris mixed them again when she condemned oil drilling while discussing the new gas contract. Despite being told our energy representative said gas rates are trending down and that’s likely to continue, Ms. Harris convinced the entire board to vote with her for fixing our gas price at a 60% higher rate rather than putting in the research to see if we can save money with a variable rate; the current contract doesn’t expire for several more months. No one on this current board nor First Service management engage in any due diligence now. | | Incumbent candidates brag about super short meetings. No agenda sponsor; just a first and a second on a motion; a unanimous vote; and finally, they pat each other on the back. Does this ensure best value for your dues? | All three condominiums on Pierce Street own undeveloped hillside acreage. Ms. Harris said her vision is having all that land be donated to the City of Albany. We would lose control of the property above Gateview and any future development or tree clearing there. The board already lets Albany and other fire departments use our buildings to train cadets several days a year for free. When they break things, we must pay for it and now she wants to donate our land that we paid for! We used to have units worth $600k before FirstService came here. At this March meeting, FirstService announced a 2-bedroom unit sold for $475,000 which they and board were bragging about. It is clear to me that this board does not care about our property values and will stop at nothing to accomplish their personal projects even when it’s costing us so much money. | | Source: Clear Community LLC | Our garbage fees shot up this year. Waste Management now uses AI cameras to charge a $75 penalty for each plastic item they see in our recycling bins. For February alone, we paid an extra $900 in plastic penalties. And their base fee already increased 105% this year! I suggested switching a recycling bin back to trash for residents who pack waste in plastic bags, but the board refused to discuss it. Waste Management is supposed to provide free recycling; we should do everything possible to keep it that way. This board doesn’t want to defend our rights and money, but I will. | | The clock is ticking. Check the Reserve Study; in 2024 incumbent candidates secretly added $250K to the reserves for painting the entire garage interior this year. Do you think an all white garage should be a priority that costs you $1,000/month dues? | | There was plenty more: - After our freight elevator broke down months ago, it was revealed we can’t afford to fix it until next year. That’s because we overspent on unnecessary things like new garage stripping which continues to scuff off.
- Several residents complained about elevator noises, but all they got from the FirstService was “it empathizes with loud noises, but they happen all the time.” Can you imagine spending $1,000/month in dues just to be told by your board and manager that they won’t even try to fix a noise that keeps you awake all night!?
- Since 2014, there’s been a big leak in the garage under the pool the board won’t fix. Instead, they covered that entire area with a giant tarp to hide it. Not fixing the leak creates an expensive eyesore.
- Our hot tub remains broken after many months. Instead of emailing owners about this or challenging the county to let us fix it, the board announced a massive multi-year plan to move the tub, which will cost us millions of dollars.
- The Office slowed ballot delivery, marring this year's election after hundreds of ballots were left in bulk cartons instead of mailboxes. At the meeting the manager said he didn’t want to “give those ballots back to the postal carrier” for proper delivery. Ms. Shah said, “we can't put a gun to their heads and make them pick up their ballot.” That’s her explanation? The legal 30-day minimum time for 1st class ballots to be delivered into a voter’s mailbox expired almost 2 weeks ago!
Even if your ballot was not delivered, get one from the Office if you must. And please don’t vote for Ms Harris, Ms. Shah, or anyone else that keeps voting unanimously to raise our HOA dues. Otherwise, we’ll lose even more money! Thank You.
You don't have to vote for all 4 seats. You can vote for just the candidates who really care about your investment and will try a lot harder to get the best value for your dues. | | If you don't vote, it's like throwing your money away. | |
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