How Your Board Talks To Its Members

I have been at Pine Valley for over 10 years.  Though there have been disagreements in the community before, I have never quite seen the level of harsh and threatening communications from a board of directors in my life’s business or personal experiences.  I thought I’d share quotes from actual emails coming from the Pine Valley board of directors.  Is this right?

Last year a significant number of our members sent their payments to the address we’ve had for years.  The result was we had a significant amount of money piling up at the Scroggins post office.  One member volunteered to get them.  The board’s response was:

Don’t worry they will get a late notice with a $30 bill in May if they can’t get the payment in without using an address that is 12 months old.   Ignorance is only excusable for so long.

We can just let the USPS follow their own regulations and return the mail to the sender and make the sender responsible for getting their payments to Pine Valley like every other business in the developed world.   Are you kidding me – Where the hell is Nurse Ratchet.

In reference to the high number of foreclosures and people who can’t afford the exorbitant dues increases, the board responded:

But expecting ANY Board to set dues or assessments on ability to pay shows an amazing naiveté and really shouldn’t even be acknowledged.

In reference to anyone who speaks up or has an opinion that is not 100% in line with our current board’s opinion:

the Board doesn’t have time to educate the uneducated or nurture inexperienced business people through business 101. It’s been a distraction but needs to stop.

An email to me that was not in the form of a collection notice:

If you are withholding payment because you are unhappy with the dues increases as articulated in your web site response, non-payment is not a very good way express your discontent as it will force an expensive showdown in the next couple of months.

A member in financial distress who, by chance, learned of her property was going into foreclosure:

In spite of what I would consider to be a VERY RUDE letter and the fact that that Pine Valley has wasted valuable resources to continually try and collect your payments, I will offer you a compromise of waiving the legal fee for foreclosure and charging you three late fees per lot ($90 each), provided this money is paid with 30 days. In addition, I will drop you from the  foreclosure action on October 5th. Please understand that if you elect not to accept this compromise or fail to pay in thirty days, the full late fees will continue to accrue each month and will become a lien on your lots and pass to the next owner.

I’m sorry you are so unhappy with Pine Valley but it is a pretty simple business run by volunteers that want to make sure values in Pine Valley remain intact. Spending time on these activities is a pure waste of everyone’s valuable time.

We have been in one of the most significant financial downturns in this country’s history.  People are challenged beyond what they ever dreamed imaginable when they purchased their property at Pine Valley.  Is this the right way to treat members in our community during times like these?  Is this the right way to talk to any human being regardless of financial times?