There was light talk of action at the new UCO building site by some of our association neighbors. There appears to be just a trailer. Anyone know anything about this? Right now, when you go to the present UCO office, it is cramped, noisy and filled with people coughing. Let's get that new building started.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
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14 comments:
Explain what does UCO actually do and why does UCO do it, why do they need any building to do it in and why should we pay for this building.
UCO does so very much. They are all wonderful volunteers and give their precious time for all of us. We need them and should be very thankful for what they do for us.
As far as the new building discussion goes, I will leave all that to the folks that know much more than me.
To chrisj.
Please itemize exactly what UCO does. "So very much" doesn't mean anything.
ok, I'll name just a few,
1. volunteer their precious time to drive around the village to help make sure all is safe and secure.
2. volunteer their time to issue guest passes for us so that it will be a little easier for our guest to visit us, while still keeping our community safe.
3. Volunteer their time to help keep our village beautiful.
4. Volunteer their time to get us the best deal in the area for us for cable TV.
5. Volunteer their time to secure every aspect of our living so that we can feel safe gettingh out of our cars in the evening, without looking all around to make sure we don't get mugged.
6. Write and distibute the UCO newspaper so that we may all know what is taking place in our community and exactly what is going on.
7. Have put the UCO reporter on-line so that snowbirds can keep up while they are away from their winter home.
These are just a few. I will get back to you with more after I make some coffee, this is going to take much time.
to be continued....
8. spend much time with insurance people, trying to get us all the best price as far as insurance needs to keep our village secure as far as hurricanes, fire, etc.
9. In charge of investigating the background of people that want to live in our community and be our neighbors.
10. In charge of getting shows to our clubhouse so that all may attend the theatre without even leaving the community.
11. Organize transportation so that our neighbors that don't drive will be able to get to shopping, market, doctors.
There is so much more. I do admit that I am not the one that should be answering you. My knowledge is limited. But I am entitled to my opinion just as you are. I believe that the volunteers of UCO are wonderful and I appreciate them all and respect their knowledge.
You can say what you want on this blog. That is what it was started for. You are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine.
I appreciate the UCO volunteers. Chris
1.Security is a contract we pay for. Volunteers work for COP, not a UCO function.
2.Guest passes are a money making activity of UCO.
3.Contracted to a landscape company we pay for
4.Professional management could make the same deal, if not better.
5.Every aspect of my living is none of UCO's business.
6.The UCO newspaper is a self-serving publication that treats us like mushrooms...keeping us in the dark and feeding us ....
7.See #6
Please inform yourself. Stop spending other people's money.
Chrisj,#8. Insurance is the rsponsibility of the individual association.A professional manager can do the same.#9.Investigation is not a responsibilty of UCO, it's a responsibility of the association.#10. Shows are a WPRF function.#11.We pay for court ordered tranportation. Administation could easily be handled by professional management. As you said, there is so much more that you don't know. You are not unique in this village; you have plenty of company. And therein lies the problem. Professional management would have to follow the documents and the law, and that is what is beneficial for everyone.
It appears that someone writing here does not have a very good knowledge of how this Village operates. Professional management would have to charge for the various services now done by volunteers. It appears that the writer has no idea how many man or women hours are donated and how much time the various committee people spend in solving many of the day to day problems in the village.There is little doubt that if we went to professional management this person may be the same person to yell about the high cost of living in the village.
It would be nice if each association would do their own investigations as an example. However most are unequipped to do so and do not even know where to begin the process.The writer has no idea for example how much time the insurance chair spends DAILY on insurance related matters.
The writer has no idea of the questions or problems residents take to the UCO office daily and request help.
ChrisJ said...
ok, I'll name just a few,
1. volunteer their precious time to drive around the village to help make sure all is safe and secure.
EB I believe US Security is paid to oversea Village security. We have a contract with them for that very purpose! Certainly the COP force is greatly appreciated, but they work under the Sheriff’s office direction.
2. volunteer their time to issue guest passes for us so that it will be a little easier for our guest to visit us, while still keeping our community safe..
EB. Gate Passes, Transponder Sales, etc. ALL should be sold at the Clubhouse. Plans were in place to move that function to the Clubhouse to provide “ONE STOP SHOPPING” at the clubhouse, where all needs could be met.
3. Volunteer their time to help keep our village beautiful.
EB. Why then does Haverhill gate look so WORN? Besides, we have a paid contractor that maintains the “boulevard” sections and common roadway maintenance areas.
4. Volunteer their time to get us the best deal in the area for us for cable TV.
EB. Requiring multiple conversations every 5 years, on contract renewals.
5. Volunteer their time to secure every aspect of our living so that we can feel safe gettingh out of our cars in the evening, without looking all around to make sure we don't get mugged.
EB. Once again the function of US Security, with whom we have a contract for security.
6. Write and distibute the UCO newspaper so that we may all know what is taking place in our community and exactly what is going on.
EB. The do write a newspaper while greatly restricting opposing views. Distribution is the result of each area picking up their groups papers and delivering for their own area. They are notnecessarily a part of the UCO volunteer force.
7. Have put the UCO reporter on-line so that snowbirds can keep up while they are away from their winter home.
These are just a few. I will get back to you with more after I make some coffee, this is going to take much time.
to be continued....
Mar 30, 2008 9:13:00 AM
ChrisJ said...
8. spend much time with insurance people, trying to get us all the best price as far as insurance needs to keep our village secure as far as hurricanes, fire, etc.
EB. If only this were true. Certainly it is true for the UCO side but the Operations Committee failed to mitigate the enormous deductible required from the Zurich Insurance for WPFF, leaving us responsible for $ 2,400,000.00 should any storm hit during the August 2007 through the July 2008 period.
9. In charge of investigating the background of people that want to live in our community and be our neighbors.
EB. They only act as a conduit for the Investigation to be completed by our contractor. They recommend based on results of investigations completed, however the decision is strictly the decision of the ASSOCIATION. Frankly, we could obtain better results with a paid employee, obtaining the credit reports and background checks directly and probably still not increase our expenses while creating enhanced results.
10. In charge of getting shows to our clubhouse so that all may attend the theatre without even leaving the community.
EB. This is the function of an employee working for all 4 Century Villages. They engage more professional talent in Florida than any other entity. That is why prices are kept low, as all performers work at the other Villages aiding in control of the expenses. UCO operations committee only approves the prices for each performance, not the performances.
11. Organize transportation so that our neighbors that don't drive will be able to get to shopping, market, doctors.
EB. Transportation is another of the contracted services we all pay for and that company is responsible for the extraordinary service our residents receive. Initially UCO required that one owner only would ride the bus service requiring other users to pay for a monthly bus pass, until a court determined that the service was a “Common Element Expense” and every owner was permitted to ride as a part of the monthly payment required by the cost of the contract.
There is so much more. I do admit that I am not the one that should be answering you. My knowledge is limited. But I am entitled to my opinion just as you are. I believe that the volunteers of UCO are wonderful and I appreciate them all and respect their knowledge.
You can say what you want on this blog. That is what it was started for. You are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine.
I appreciate the UCO volunteers. Chris
EB. This should in no way be construed as anything but appreciation of the value of commitment of volunteers at UCO. However, with nearly $ 15,000,000.00 between the two budgets, WE need to evolve into a professional staff to control and maintain the common elements for which UCO was initially established.
Just my View
Ed Black
To add a little to Ed's reply....
Guest passes are issued in the ID Office at the clubhouse. They are to be issued to any guest of a unit owner that is going to stay or sleep over. This then entitles that guest to all entities of the Village except Transportation, that requires a bus pass. Gate passes are issued by UCO for the guest that is in and out the same day. Yes Anon, there is a charge for them, but why not? A roll of the passes issued is over $20.00 and the printers are fairly costly as they burn the info so as to not be able to be altered.
Ed, Ken, Anonymous, Anonymous and Anonymous, it is quite obvious that you all can all out-write me, out-speak me and out-knowledge me any day of the week. I realize I am way over my head trying to debate with one or all of you. The debate on whether to keep UCO or go with a private management company will probably go on and on and on. I, and many others I am sure, will be following these discussions, trying to see both sides of the issues and come to our own opinion as what we feel will be for the best for our community.
But in the meantime, I would like to say that I have much respect and do honor the UCO volunteers for all that they do for our community every single day.
Chris
Please, do not misunderstand me, Chris, as I was only trying to clear the air about gate or guest passes. Many residents do not know the difference. I have the utmost regard for the volunteers of UCO. As a former Office Mgr. in UCO, we could not operate without them. They are the greatest.
Hi Ken, after reading your earlier comment, I realize that I did use the wrong terminology. Thanks so much for clearing that up. I was referring to gate pass and wrote guest pass. I am one of those people that didn't know the difference.
And I also realize that every writer on this blog very much loves and cares about CV, because if they didn't, they wouldn't bother trying so hard to share their views with all of us (especially when it is not the popular view to have). It would be much easier for them not to give a darn, but they just can't do that because they do care so much. Change never comes easy and I appreciate every person that is trying to better our way of living in CV, no matter what their views may be.
I hope these issues continue to be discussed on this blog, because many people that really don't know what is going on can read, learn much and have more knowledge when it is time for them to make their decision on where to stand.
Chris
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