January 1, 2010

Post Summaries — Current Year

Year 2010
Last update: 2010 Jan 01. Click History for a list of changes and updates. 


__This post provides short summaries of recent posts in reverse chronological order. The full introduction and body for each post are available by clicking on the post title. The summaries for the previous year are also included.

__See Recent Posts for an explanation of the content. Click Continue for the listing of recent posts with brief summaries.

Don Nordeen
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Click Continue for Post Continuation plus Comments. Or Click Show All for Above plus Post Continuation and Comments.
Post Summaries — Current Year (continued)

Last Update: 2010 Jan 01

__To access a post of interest, click on its title. To return to this listing, click your browser's back button/arrow. You may also use your browser's search command to locate key words in these summaries for items of interest.

__Date of Post followed by Post Title and Brief Summary.

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Year 2009
  • date — title — summary
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Year 2009


  • 2009 Nov 24 — Proposal for $100 Dues Increase Plus COLA — This post is my email to MOA members concerning the Board's Proposed Vote on a $100 Dues Increase Plus COLA. Members are obviously polarized on this issue. Accordingly, this email attempts to provide information and discussion to help in the decision. Comments from members have been added with permission at the end of this post.

  • 2009 Nov 23 — Email to MOA Board Re Notice for Dues Increase is Defective — Not only was the 2009 Nov 29 dues increase proposal a surprise to most MOA members, the notice is defective likely because everything was done at the eleventh hour. Haste makes waste. Because of the defects in the notice, an affirmative vote for the dues increase is likely not enforceable, in my opinion. MOA has enough problems without that cloud having over an "approved" dues increase. This post is my email to the board providing the specific defects and recommending specific corrective action. Anyone who agrees with this approach should immediately send an email to the board so recommending. The new notice will have to be in the mail by Dec 01 for a vote on Dec 30.

  • 2009 May 18 — Comments on the 2007 Audit Reports — MOA has had two different auditors (CPAs) in the years since 2000. Significant changes were made in the format and content in the review/audit reports by the CPA from 2000 to 2005. A major restatement of MOA's 2000-2004 income statement and other accounts was made in 2005 to correct the handling of the losses in the Pines Club Corporation. Beginning in 2006, a new CPA firm was engaged, who made further changes in both format and content. The new CPA used a different method for entering PCC's losses into MOA's accounting. This post is my email to MOA's CPA commenting on the 2007 audit reports which contain the possible errors and discrepancies.

  • 2009 May 04 (Document date: 2007 May 18) — A Discussion of "User Fees" or "Charges" for Michaywé — This post is a summary of Kate Nordeen's proposal concerning the subject of User Fees which was submitted to the board of directors in 2007. This concept has been discussed by MOA homeowners at Open Forums in Board meetings. Many voiced support. However, no formal discussion or proposals have been made by the board to give all members, both homeowners and lot owners, the opportunity to better understand and comment on the concept. The fees suggested were included after studying fees charged by other Home Owners Associations and other entities like the Sportsplex. Many other owners associations use this concept.
  • 2009 Apr 27 — Accounting Discrepancies — MOA vs. CPA — This post is my email to the board on this subject. There are a number of discrepancies between MOA's account (that provided in Business Reviews and usually available at the MOA website) and the CPA's accounting in the audit reports. Except for year-end adjustments, these should be the same. The email describes and discusses five major discrepancies between MOA's accounting and the CPA's. The accounting should be based on Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. MOA's accounting does not appear to conform to GAAP.
  • 2009 Apr 07 (Document date: 2008 Nov 23) — Venue and Michigan Case on Amendment of CC&Rs — This post is an email to MOA Board Director Jay Welter concerning the board's proposal to seek an amendment to the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions ("DMCCR") defining venue for all purposes to be the courts in Otsego County. The reason for considering the amendment is a companion decision of the board to pursue collection of unpaid dues and special assessments in small claims court in Otsego County. the email discusses the concerns and significant questions as to whether or not the proposed amendment and the actions in small claims court are valid under the law and governing documents.
  • 2009 Apr 06 — Dues Collection Small Claims Lawsuits — This post discusses implications of the decisions and actions of MOA’s board of directors to pursue collection of unpaid dues and special assessments as personal debts of the owner. I believe the Board has the obligation to determine the validity of the collection as personal debt under the law and governing documents before proceeding. Part of this obligation is to examine the likely arguments against validity and to determine that the likely arguments are not valid. This post discusses (at least some of) those likely arguments.
    Under the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, DMCCR (sometimes called deed restrictions), liens can be filed against the property unit (lot) for unpaid or delinquent dues and assessments. There are no provisions in the DMCCR making the unpaid dues and assessments a personal debt of the owner.
  • 2009 Apr 03 (Document date: 2007 Apr 03) — Recommended Bylaws Provision re Operating Plan and Budget — This post is an email to the MOA board of directors recommending an amendment to the bylaws concerning the balanced budget requirements. This amendment merely makes more specific what is to be included in the balanced budget calculation, and would require a monthly projection for balance (unbalance).
  • 2009 Apr 03 (Document date: 2007 Feb 23) — $25.00 Late Fee Likely Inconsistent with Master Declaration — This post is an email the bylaws committee providing an analysis of whether or not a $25.00 late fee for delinquent dues is authorized in the Master Declaration. Answer is likely not. The matter was discussed at the 2007 Feb 21 bylaws committee meeting approved by those in attendance. Bob Allaben and I voted no. This is an example of one of the things that is very wrong at MOA, namely, adherence to the governing documents is not taken seriously. Members may not like that other members do not timely pay the annual dues. But that dislike does not provide the authorization to assess an illegal late fee of $25 per quarter.
  • 2009 Mar 25 — MOA Financial Information Re Dues Increase Vote — The most critical information concerning a proposed dues increase is the financial information, operating plan, and budget. The financial information provided by the board in the 2008Q4 Business Review has significant discrepancies and omission relative to the financial information in CPA's audit reports which include the financial statements. Further, the board states in the Business Review that the CPA's audit report for 2008 will not be available before the vote. This post is my 2005 Mar 25 email to MOA members with a copy to the board of directors on this subject. The email explains my concerns and recommends a NO vote and to write to the board requesting a comprehensive plan. See Welcome post for access.
  • 2009 Mar 24 — 2008 MOA&PCC Financial Results — This post discusses three aspects of financial reports: importance of high-quality financial information, explanation of the Preservation (reserve of replacement) Fund, and Estimated financial parameters for the end of 2008. See Welcome post for access.
  • 2009 Mar 21 — Comments Concerning MOA's 2008Q4 Business Review — The 2008Q4 Business Review is significantly better than prior ones. It includes serious letters from the board and the general manager. We should also thank the board for these improvements. Where members question or have concerns about what is represented as "facts" in the Business Review, we should speak out and ask for clarification, further investigation, and correction where appropriate. This post speaks out and asks for clarification, further investigation, and correction where appropriate for selected items. See Welcome post for access.
  • 2009 Mar 20 — 2008 Year-End Financial Statements — This post is my email to Todd Chwatun, general manager of MOA, concerning the 2008 year-end financial statements published by MOA to the members. A number of serious accounting errors is described. Use of accounting information with such error misleads everyone. Recommendations are included in the email.
  • 2009 Mar 11 — Accounting for the Reserve [Preservation] Fund — This post is my 2008 Dec 13 email to Vice President Kirk Yodzevicis concerning a possible misuse of $80,000 from the preservation fund (reserve for repair, replacement and renovation) which occurred in 2007. This shortfall of deposits into the preservation fund is reported in the 2007 audit report as described in the email. After three months, there is still no reply.
  • 2009 Feb 14 — Board's Proposal for a Dues Increase — As part of the 2009 Feb 14 email to MOA members concerning the availability of a Discussion Forum, questions concerning the Board's Proposal for a Dues Increase were included. The continuation of this post is that part of the email.
  • 2009 Feb 02 — Discussion Forum for MOA Members — Several years ago, I explored the possibility of using the discussion forum software for organizing comments on recommendations concerning possible amendments to bylaws. The software and practices are well established. The liability issues are settled. A pilot, Discussion Forum, is described in this post.
  • 2009 Jan 20 — Are delinquent dues & assessments a personal debt? — The analysis indicates that the answer is NO. The consequences of this conclusion is that, since the unpaid dues and assessments are not personal, there is no personal debt that can be collected in the courts. This post provides an analysis of the considerations related to the question.
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