More Questions for the Candidiate (me!)

 

1.       What is your take on how the POA handled "The Roof"? 

       The Board originally ruled that a fine would be levied because the wrong color roofing material was used at a residence.  They realized that mistakes are made and the fine was sufficient enough to cause other homeowners to not follow this procedure.  The public outcry was deafening.  Big Canoe residents felt that rules are made to be followed and if one is allowed to break them, then many will follow.  The Board heeded the wishes of many  residents and rescinded their vote and made the homeowner remove the roof and replace it with the approved material.  The Board responded to the wishes of the community.  I think that is what they are elected to do, not subjectively decided issues based on their own points of view, turning a blind eye to one group and enforcing stringent regulations with another. Hard choice in which nobody wins.  (As an aside…the exact same thing happened to me in Peachtree City with a  house.  We put the wrong color roof on, one that looked terrific, an upgrade to the previous one and a color already represented in the neighborhood. That POA made us replace it…  we sure were unhappy with the decision, cost, waste.... My point is that Big Canoe is not the only place that rules are taken very seriously to the determent of mistake prone residents.) 

2.       What is your take on how the POA handled "The Deer Incident"? 

       More than rules there are laws that say that you cannot fire weapons in neighborhoods. I think that a bit of hysteria followed this incident…with the Board reacting to the community again. I am a REALTOR®, a landlord and a property manager and I understand the relationship that must be between a landlord and tenant. The (Georgia’s)GAR lease clearly states that tenants must follow the rules of the community in which they live. If not, it is grounds for eviction.  Again, there are State, Local  and National laws that were in play with this incident and if the homeowner used a GAR lease there would have been very definite actions that the landlord could have taken to protect his investment.  I do not know if a GAR lease was in place, I just hope there was.  The heavy handedness that was bantered about was a result of misinformation and fear.  I am certain that after the dust settled, a more reasonable remedy would have been arrived at and certainly IF I AM ELECTED I would have gone down the reasonable trail!  As is was, a gap in our rules caused the Board to not be able to do anything, end of story. That gap is being filled, by the way, through our Governance renovation that is underway today.  As a Board member, I plan to be thoughtful, explore all pertinent information and come to reasonable conclusions.  I think that it is imperative that the community is listened to and their opinions taken very much to heart, but facts must be made available to the citizenry so that they are not reacting to rumor, innuendo or misinformation.  Very intelligent, fair and kind people live in Big Canoe that make very good decisions and I hope to represent them in the near future.

3.       What is your take on a resident being fined for changing his yard without a landscape plan? 

       Again, we do have our rules! If you look at them, objectively, you can see the wisdom of the rules. One of the big reasons that people purchased, move to and love living in Big Canoe is that we emphasis that we are living in a natural environment.  We all want to remove a tree here and there and for the most part it is ok to do so.  Then there is the neighbor that wants to strip all the trees off the front of his property and plant cactus….he hates leaves getting into his gutters and causing water damage to his home.  He has a legitimate complaint, but not a Big Canoe remedy! The ARC trys to maintain our forest so that it remains  today as it was many years ago.  A hard undertaking considering the population that has descended upon it and more are coming! Talk to Treena and get the real scoop about the does and don’ts of Big Canoe.   Once you do you will REALLY walk away with a better feeling about the true rules and understand the thought process that went into their implementation.

4.      What is your take on the increase in Traffic Fines? 

       I think that first and foremost, we ought to remember that we are a small-ish community of neighbors and Big Brother ought not to be watching us at every turn. That being said, people speed, go over the center line and breeze through stop signs.  The shoe has got to fit on both sides of the fence…  we need to follow the law for our safety and those around us, and Public Safety needs to now and then give us a break!

5.       What is your take on Big Canoe being overly HARSH?

       Big Canoe CAN seem overly harsh, but really it is for the betterment of the entire, diverse community. Once you understand the rules, understand WHY the rule is in place, it is a very easy community to navigate through. I have lived here 5 years and have had a rental for the same period. I have had one note from Treena about a tree that I SWEAR beavers attacked in the night and absolutely no incidents from my renters…so far all has been peaceful! I also had my daughter’s wedding here and had 140 out of town guests and they had a terrific time and no run-ins with the law!  It really isn’t that hard to live with the RULES! (Though the band had to stop at precisely 10pm!! )