esrosedotblog

Condo Board today.

I love to go once a month to report on the month's business and listen to the stuff people come up with.

Also to help them out. Rarely have to say no.

We are pretty easy.

But I think they know that nonsense will not be tolerated. But we do have a good time. I aim to be the "class clown". A serious one but still. Sense of humor and sense of proportion..

A friend who sits on the Board just drove past me getting mail and said he appreciated my membership. He is a past Chairman and knows whereof he speaks.

Some people who have moved here do not understand the idea of condo ownership.

I aim to teach them gently that their "property line" ends with the interior paint surface of their unit.

They cannot alter the outside structure in any way. None of their own paint jobs on the outside. Only approved landscaping in front of their patio wall. No fussing with the grass outside the line of their patio on the back and no expansion of that patio either.

There aren't many other rules. Well, there are but they make enough "good neighbor" sense that they do not get questioned.

Sometimes they want us to do more than we can about stuff. We are not gated so sometimes "outsiders" come in and cause problems. You know, steal bikes that are left unattended outside. Remove materials left in unlocked cars. Most anything that an idiot would let go. Or someone with blind trust.

I lived in a big city. This is nothing here.

We do have homeless who break into our pool bathrooms for some reason. Pry open the doors. I guess to sleep in there or something.

But on the whole we are pretty safe.

Today, we heard from someone who wants to put in an "illegal" porch light. Another person wanted us to do something about putting solar on our roofs. This is a new one. We explain each time that we are not candidates for solar. I forget why now. We do heat the pools with solar.

And so on.

I enjoy this work because I always have put in some public service time and now, this. It is my contact with normal life. I live in a rarified atmosphere and this helps me keep my feet on the ground.

I am the Treasurer of the Board. I sign the checks and read a report prepped for me by the professional managers we hire to do the real heavy lifting.

I comment as a Board member on each proposition. I try to keep a sense of humor. A friend just stopped by with his car to say that to me. He is an ex Board member.

I suppose this is boring to an outsider but it is how most of good government gets done. Small boards, committees, councils and so on all over the country in each little municipality and subdivision. When people talk about the "American System" this is what I think they are talking about. Grass roots democracy.

Believe me, the issues before the nation are nothing compared to the shock of finding non-owners using our pool (you cannot lock all the gates, egress). And so on. You get the idea.

Labels: condo