Bill Reynolds has weighed in once again over at the West Ranch Beacon http://westranchbeacon.com/blog/2010/06/guest-commentary-summit-community-a-bastion-of-personal-attacks/ on the Summit Seals swim team controversy. For those that may not want to spend the time reading this because you feel you may not be long for this world (like over 40), here is a short summary:
1. Bill represents the forces of good and the angels;
2. Seal parents and supporters are in league with Satan and are primarily motivated by some desire to “get Bill”;
3. Supervised competitive diving will cause a mass casualty;
4. The Seals need a gazillion dollars of insurance; and
5. HOA amenities really should not be used by residents.
There is also a strange story about a horse statue in the middle and if someone can explain that to me I would be most grateful.
However, I wish to address a question posted by a Commenter named “Lurker” who wondered why elements in the Summit were so hostile to the swim team while other HOA’s “embraced” the teams. Here is some more color on that.
In a Signal editorial I related how Northbridge and Northbridge Pointe each have a competitive swim team that utilizes the HOA pools (the Bluefins and the Piranhas) and I had never heard an ill word against them. After speaking with a friend who is active in the teams, I learned that they get their fair share of complaints. (The first time someone shows up to use the pool and a swim meet is going on the management company is usually contacted.) He said, however, that the complaints never gain traction because of the following:
1. The swim organizations have a large emeritus board that includes residents whose children have aged out of the program but who still support it. This increases the chance that a complainer will have a neighbor or friend they like and respect who supports the team and they will back off because they crave this person’s approval; and
2. Swim team parents and supporters mobilize their votes to make certain that pro swim team residents elevate to the HOA Board.
What appears to have occurred in the Summit is that a sub-Board with access to homeowners’ funds can actually move forward and fund legal challenges to the Seals, where any single curmudgeon homeowner in Northbridge and Northbridge Pointe would need to fund hourly legal challenges out of their own pocket. Better to just swim during the many hours (and months) when the swim team does not use the pool.
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