It walks like an emperor, talks like an emperor, looks like an emperor, and is an emperor. Unfortunately, this emperor doesn”t wear new clothes. He parades up and down Clearlake Riviera”s streets stark naked. He thinks nobody can see.
His name is Clearlake Riviera Community Association. His letters have official looking letter-heads. He uses words like “abatement,” “code enforcement,” and “members in good standing.” His envelopes seem legitimate. Board members wear sanctioned titles like “President” and “First Vice President.” Some people say they admire his new clothes.
Riviera-Little-Boy saw President Alan Siegal and First Vice President Sid Donnel violate two year term-limit laws of the Riviera CC&R”s (Article VI, Section 1of Riviera rules that establishes term limits, “Directors shall be elected for terms of two years and shall serve until their successors are elected and qualified, and not be eligible for re-election after serving a 2-year term until they shall have not been a director for at least one year?” Also , Article VI, Section 5 of the By-Laws says, “The board may fill a vacancy by calling for a special election to choose a new director.”). Alan and Sid didn”t call a new election. They didn”t get the approval of the homeowners to break the By-Laws. People saw they were naked and they resigned.
The little boy also saw Allan and Sid (along with board members Boone Bridges and Sandra Orchid) amend Riviera CC&R”s without the acceptance of the owners. Their amendments (mailed to the owners in June, 2006) wasn?t approved by the owners but the emperor started enforcement, anyway; flagrant violations of Riviera CC&R”s (Article One) and California civil code (section 1355a). One of the unclad Sultan”s amendments instituted a wolfish fining policy.
Outside the above laws, the rapacious and plundering emperor devours Riviera widows and single parents like a dragon. His fines are $250.00 per month if they don”t cut Manzanita bushes according to some freakish desires of his bush inspectors. The little boy saw many disadvantaged and poor people crying because they didn”t have money to cut the bushes or pay the unlawful fines. One widow in Los Angeles can”t sleep at night. She can”t figure out how to raise $3,600.00 required (by one emperor-recommended bush contractor) to trim her chaparral. She had a worried look on her face because she knows Live Oak grows fast and the emperor orders it cut every year. He saw money pouring out of the savings accounts of Riviera”s elderly and into the pockets of the emperors” brush cutting contractors.
Riviera-Little-Boy saw the emperor 1099 an office worker to evade state and federal taxes and other fees. Unbelievably, the emperor alleges the office secretary was a “contractor” because she was new.
Riviera-Little-Boy also saw the disrobed Kaiser”s illegal election of 2008. The emperor showed no respect for CA civil codes that govern elections of HOA”s (1363.03a1, 1363.03 a2, 1363.03 a3, 1363.03 a4, 1363.03 a5, 1363.03 a5a, 1363.03 a6c3a, 1363.03 a6c3d, and 1363.03 a6h). He violated nine laws. Also, the emperor”s ballot said four openings, vote for two, when the law says vote for four when openings are four. Most voters only voted for two in a very close election.
The boy saw ballots thrown in the trash and heard board members tell owners they couldn”t see ballots when laws say they can. People saw all the nakedness of the election. The emperor ordered a new election after consulting his attorney. Unfortunately, the little boy thinks the emperor will break the same laws in a new election and the people will see the same nakedness.
It gets worse. Riviera-Little-Boy saw one elderly lady drive three hundred miles to attend the annual meeting described in a 2008 voting package the emperor mailed. The meeting was canceled at the last minute because a crowd of angry homeowners showed up. The law says emperors must notify shareholders in advance when annual meetings are canceled so they don”t waste time and money traveling. The emperor didn”t care about this law, either. Homeowners who had questions didn”t get answers from emperor au naturel.
Riviera-Little-Boy sees all this injustice and wonders, where”s the law? Who”s protecting the loyal subjects from the wicked ruler? Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, he said. The elderly, poor, and disadvantaged, are suffering everywhere. The emperor is crossing state lines and using the US mail to collect his atrocious fines of $250.00 per month, outside laws of his own CC&R?s. The boy says, it”s not “just breaking civil laws” when dishonest business practices cause the elderly to lose large amounts of money.
He says anarchy reigns in the Clear Lake Riviera Community Assoc. clubhouse. Sheriff Mitchell, DA Hopkins, and Attorney General Brown, all have investigation teams. Riviera-Little-Boy thinks they might be friends with the emperor or don”t care. Why don?t they make the naked king keep the CC&R”s? “Hire an attorney,” they say. The little boy may hire an attorney. Something must be done to stop the beastly crimes against humanity.
DA Jon Hopkins has a record of investigating and prosecuting anyone in Lake County who takes a relative”s credit card and charges two or three thousand dollars without permission. That”s a white collar felony. He”s extremely concerned when credit card companies lose money. Apparently, he”s not concerned for real people like retired homeowners in the Riviera. How long can he turn his head and pretend he doesn”t see?
Editor”s note: Darrell Watkins has lived in Clear Lake Riviera for twenty-three years. Guest commentaries are the opinions of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Record-Bee or its staff.
