Global Homeowners' Oversight Coalition

FEATURED STORY

Scottsdale, Arizona - Gainey Ranch Homeowners: WAKE UP OR PAY UP!

May 29 , 2009

Note: Click on the pink lettering in this article to go to the Web site or document, then on your browser's "back" button or arrow to return to this article.

Gainey Ranch is a beautiful gated community situated just north of downtown Scottsdale that was established in the late 1980s. It has a master association called the Gainey Ranch Community Association (GRCA) with its own board of directors. Within the gates of Gainey Ranch are of 18 separate satellite communities, each with their own board of directors. Unfortunately, the satellite boards of directors have, since the beginning, been relegated by the master board of directors to puppets and "yes men/women" who either agree with them or "hit the road." One only has to look around the room in a council-of-presidents (presidents from the 18 satellite communities) meeting and see a bunch of Jack Nicholsons after his frontal lobotomy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to picture that.

Those faint of heart don't dare go up against the master association board of directors on anything the board of directors railroad down their throats. On day one of Gainey Ranch's inception, its first executive director, an employee who was kept in his job until December 2008, much too long by the current master board of directors, established a set of governing documents that effectually allows the master board of directors to run Gainey Ranch with an iron-fisted, totalitarian government and use tactics similar to those used by the Nazi Gestapo to suppress homeowners or satellite board of directors who dare to disagree with their management decisions and methodologies. On rare occasions when those tactics don't work, they waste homeowners' money to file frivolous lawsuits and conduct well-orchestrated smear campains via homeowner mailings and meetings (all paid for by homeowners) to put a stop to the individual or individuals who challenge their authority.

The master association board of directors have used their control to lock contractors out of Gainey Ranch who had been called by a satellite community board president. Next, they took over that satellite community because the board president challenged their authority and began disclosing, among other things, their wasteful spending and unscrupulous management practices involving plans, contrary to Gainey Ranch homowner wishes, to design and build a new Estate Club facility. When the satellite board president would not buckle under their duress, the master board of directors sued him and conducted a massive smear campaign against him in a final attempt to discredit him throughout Gainey Ranch - all using thousand of dollars of Gainey Ranch homeowners' money. Ultimately, their lawsuit disintegrated when they realized that they could not prove the claims in their lawsuit, so they admitted no fault on the satellite board president's part and dropped the lawsuit.

To exacerbate the problems with the master association board of directors, and many of the satellite boards of directors, many of their members lack the qualifications and/or, quite possibly, the ethics described in Mike Cadden's and Cat Coltrell's article from the Community Associations Institute's Central Arizona Chapter's Community Resource magazine titled "The Common Traits of Great Board Members and Managers - Can we Really Be Cut from the Same Cloth?" After reading that document and reviewing the current master association board of director's resumes and service track record, one has to question why they were ever elected - perhaps more qualified homeowners just didn't want to volunteer their time. This group cumulatively do not have the business acumen for the job and certainly have not been open and fair with all of the Gainey Ranch homeowners in their dealings. Their spending of homeowners is wasteful and out of control. They overspent by almost double the original budget to recruit and hire the new executive director. They haven't the slightest clue how much of the homeowners' money is being spent to maintain the satellite communities, except, of course, in 2 of them where they live - the Greens and North Meadow. Perhaps that is why they don't care that many of the maintenance management, though most are decent people and try hard, are unqualified and over-compensated for their positions (more on that later) and that they have new company trucks and cell phones for their personal use that are maintained by Gainey Ranch homeowners.

Now, as Paul Harvey used to say, here's "the rest of the story,": GAINEY RANCH HOMEOWNERS BEWARE - Vote a resounding "NO" on both Proposition 1 AND Proposition 2 on your ballots to amend the GRCA governing documents. Voting "yes" irreparably damage your Gainey Ranch investment and lower lessen your quality of life if you live there.

The Gainey Ranch master association has sent out ballots for Gainey Ranch homeowners to vote on the revisions to all of the master association governing documents. Except for the changes made to delete references to the developer and to comply with current Arizona Statutes, the documents are worse than the originals! Not only do they still contain provisions such as those that allow totalitarian control over the satellite communities and current master board selection of new board candidates, but they also add restrictions regarding master association board eligibility that would allow the current master board to file a lawsuit against a potential candidate to keep him/her off the board of directors.

It is inconceivable that the master board of directors would send the governing document amendments out for a vote at the beginning of the summer when a very large number of homeowners are gone, and their minds are on leisure, not business. It is frustrating and unfair to those homeowners who wanted to have input to the changes, but their voices went unheard. It's unfortunate that the amendments are being railroaded by this board of directors, as always, without a thorough consideration of ALL the Gainey Ranch homeowners. One homeowner expressed his concerns in a letters dated April 12, 2008 and May 18, 2008.

Next: Issues at the Courts at Gainey Ranch.

LINKS	FEATURED STORY Scottsdale, Arizona - Gainey Ranch Homeowners: WAKE UP OR PAY UP! May 29 , 2009 Note: Click on the pink lettering in this article to go to the Web site or document, then on your browser's "back" button or arrow to return to this article. Gainey Ranch is a beautiful gated community situated just north of downtown Scottsdale that was established in the late 1980s. It has a master association called the Gainey Ranch Community Association (GRCA) with its own board of directors. Within the gates of Gainey Ranch are of 18 separate satellite communities, each with their own board of directors. Unfortunately, the satellite boards of directors have, since the beginning, been relegated by the master board of directors to puppets and "yes men/women" who either agree with them or "hit the road." One only has to look around the room in a council-of-presidents (presidents from the 18 satellite communities) meeting and see a bunch of Jack Nicholsons after his frontal lobotomy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to picture that. Those faint of heart don't dare go up against the master association board of directors on anything the board of directors railroad down their throats. On day one of Gainey Ranch's inception, its first executive director, an employee who was kept in his job until December 2008, much too long by the current master board of directors, established a set of governing documents that effectually allows the master board of directors to run Gainey Ranch with an iron-fisted, totalitarian government and use tactics similar to those used by the Nazi Gestapo to suppress homeowners or satellite board of directors who dare to disagree with their management decisions and methodologies. On rare occasions when those tactics don't work, they waste homeowners' money to file frivolous lawsuits and conduct well-orchestrated smear campains via homeowner mailings and meetings (all paid for by homeowners) to put a stop to the individual or individuals who challenge their authority. The master association board of directors have used their control to lock contractors out of Gainey Ranch who had been called by a satellite community board president. Next, they took over that satellite community because the board president challenged their authority and began disclosing, among other things, their wasteful spending and unscrupulous management practices involving plans, contrary to Gainey Ranch homowner wishes, to design and build a new Estate Club facility. When the satellite board president would not buckle under their duress, the master board of directors sued him and conducted a massive smear campaign against him in a final attempt to discredit him throughout Gainey Ranch - all using thousand of dollars of Gainey Ranch homeowners' money. Ultimately, their lawsuit disintegrated when they realized that they could not prove the claims in their lawsuit, so they admitted no fault on the satellite board president's part and dropped the lawsuit. To exacerbate the problems with the master association board of directors, and many of the satellite boards of directors, many of their members lack the qualifications and/or, quite possibly, the ethics described in Mike Cadden's and Cat Coltrell's article from the Community Associations Institute's Central Arizona Chapter's Community Resource magazine titled "The Common Traits of Great Board Members and Managers - Can we Really Be Cut from the Same Cloth?" After reading that document and reviewing the current master association board of director's resumes and service track record, one has to question why they were ever elected - perhaps more qualified homeowners just didn't want to volunteer their time. This group cumulatively do not have the business acumen for the job and certainly have not been open and fair with all of the Gainey Ranch homeowners in their dealings. Their spending of homeowners is wasteful and out of control. They overspent by almost double the original budget to recruit and hire the new executive director. They haven't the slightest clue how much of the homeowners' money is being spent to maintain the satellite communities, except, of course, in 2 of them where they live - the Greens and North Meadow. Perhaps that is why they don't care that many of the maintenance management, though most are decent people and try hard, are unqualified and over-compensated for their positions (more on that later) and that they have new company trucks and cell phones for their personal use that are maintained by Gainey Ranch homeowners. Now, as Paul Harvey used to say, here's "the rest of the story,": GAINEY RANCH HOMEOWNERS BEWARE - Vote a resounding "NO" on both Proposition 1 AND Proposition 2 on your ballots to amend the GRCA governing documents. Voting "yes" irreparably damage your Gainey Ranch investment and lower lessen your quality of life if you live there. The Gainey Ranch master association has sent out ballots for Gainey Ranch homeowners to vote on the revisions to all of the master association governing documents. Except for the changes made to delete references to the developer and to comply with current Arizona Statutes, the documents are worse than the originals! Not only do they still contain provisions such as those that allow totalitarian control over the satellite communities and current master board selection of new board candidates, but they also add restrictions regarding master association board eligibility that would allow the current master board to file a lawsuit against a potential candidate to keep him/her off the board of directors. It is inconceivable that the master board of directors would send the governing document amendments out for a vote at the beginning of the summer when a very large number of homeowners are gone, and their minds are on leisure, not business. It is frustrating and unfair to those homeowners who wanted to have input to the changes, but their voices went unheard. It's unfortunate that the amendments are being railroaded by this board of directors, as always, without a thorough consideration of ALL the Gainey Ranch homeowners. One homeowner expressed his concerns in a letters dated April 12, 2008 and May 18, 2008. Next: Issues at the Courts at Gainey Ranch.	NEWS
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