Canyon Lake Insider invited the Canyon Lake POA Board of Directors candidates to answer a series of questions in the weeks leading up to the election. During this period, residents will have the opportunity to hear directly from the candidates and learn what they hope to accomplish if they are elected to serve on the board.
This week, the seven candidates were invited to answer the following question in 350 or fewer words:
What do you believe is the greatest challenge(s) facing the POA at this time and how will you being elected make a difference?
The order of the candidates is rotated each week to provide each candidate an opportunity to be heard first.
Kalon Morris
The greatest challenge facing our community is the transition from a vacation/retirement city to a home for families with children. Our leaders need to be in touch with what today’s kids want and need since it has changed dramatically in recent years!
My dedication to my young daughters, the insights I gain from them, and my desire to make our community as great for families as possible is what sets me apart from most of the other candidates. I hear every day from my kids (and their friends) about what our POA can do to make this a better place for children. Thanks for your consideration.
Alexis Prince
As a woman, safety and security are of critical importance to me. One of the main reasons my husband and I felt comfortable moving here almost eight years ago was that it was a gated community and the community was patrolled by a security force. This made me feel comfortable. However, I now know we need to improve our security as it seems that there is an increased number of incidents.
If I am elected, I would like to create a security committee using volunteers in our community who have security and safety expertise who can make recommendations to improve the safety of our community. I further believe that our security patrol needs to have more power to enforce the rules such as being able to detain and assist the local authorities.
One of the things that I have noticed is that many of the incidents that take place are crimes of opportunity, such as leaving car doors unlocked, leaving valuables in plain sight, leaving work tools in truck beds, etc. I would like to begin a public service awareness campaign to make members aware of steps that can be taken to cut down on these crimes of opportunity that occur to make Canyon Lake a safer place.
Additionally, we need to take steps to make our roads safer, such as cutting down on speeding and other vehicular violations. Many of the main roads seem to be used as speedways. This endangers the youth, pedestrians, motorists, and property. We need to
form a focus group who can study this problem and make suggestions.
We also seem to be having a problem with uninvited guests coming into Canyon Lake and using our facilities, such as fishing, parks, basketball, golf course, etc. This also needs to be addressed.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but if elected I promise to do my best to address these issues with common sense solutions.
Tony Schwarzman
I believe that the greatest challenge that this community faces is security both inside and outside of the gates. When I moved here, I traveled on a regular basis and was not home for extended amounts of time. When I would leave, I could leave with peace knowing my family was safe inside the gates.
That being said, our security is not perfect. In fact, it is far from it. This is an ongoing problem that will take leadership and direction, not just hiring another company. The goal for our security company is the same goal for this community: protect the property owners, restrict unauthorized access, and protect POA-owned assets.
If I am elected as a POA board member, I will work with my fellow board members and the city council to work with our current security company and law enforcement to bring forth a plan that will provide the highest level of security. It will be key for the POA and the city to be aligned on these goals.
Bill Van Vleet
I believe our community and the POA face two primary challenges: rising costs and security. We are in an inflationary financial environment and will need to exercise disciplined fiscal management in our future plans and budgets to maintain a healthy financial status.
As the CEO of multiple companies, I had the ultimate responsibility to establish plans, create and manage budgets, invest for the future, and deliver value to our customers and shareholders. Each of the companies achieved over 100 percent compound annual growth under my leadership.
If elected, I will bring this experience and fiscal discipline to our community to stop wasteful spending and manage our dues responsibly. When we invest in projects, I will place a priority on those that provide a return on our investment.
The other challenge facing the POA has to do with the security of our community. Our current Community Patrol is responsible for patrolling POA facilities and enforcing POA rules, yet we continue to see incidences of vandalism, theft, and even assaults in the community. We need a more effective solution for the security of the homeowners and residents.
I dedicated a 40-year career to protecting things that matter most in the defense and security industries. I was one of the architects of a layered missile defense program for the US and our allies. I worked with state and local law enforcement to develop real-time situation awareness in a program called Urban Shield. I provided an integrated security solution for seven Super Bowls and Pope Francis’ visit to Washington DC.
As a result of these experiences over decades, I have unique insight to provide solutions to our security challenge. If elected, I will implement a five-point approach to provide multiple layers of security for our community: This approach creates a Public-Private Partnership between the city, POA, and homeowners that allows our community to reduce crime and create an alert community by teaching simple crime prevention steps and providing information on crime and safety in our neighborhoods. Security is my personal mission and I will make this my top priority.
Rita Bendlin
I believe what appears to be a situation here and in many other places as well: lack of clear communications with each other. What is known or thought of, the wants and needs of each other. Many common-sense decisions are often made with or by gossip, misinterpretations, assumptions, and lack of insight of what the others need and want. Communication style leaves many outside of understanding styles with communication.
With so many choices to communicate, often I feel everyone should have the facts, clear with understanding and justice fairly examined and not quickly dismissed. Cell phones, computers, tablets, person to person, voicemails, emails, body languages, etc., etc., everyone wants to communicate what is best for them, leaving many left out of important information, perhaps assuming the receiving party or parties do not understand, many only communicate and use their method assuming the message got to other party. Not true. Each age group, countries, states, their upbringings, do affect the way we communicate.
I feel we need to use many methods of languages to be available so all members receive understanding of what is expected. This brings peace, organization, and a happy community. Example: We can understand and know the one way the rules go on the streets of driving, the organization of rules clearly understood. Americans are very mixed races, religions, interpretations. California is no longer just a Hollywood, surfing, materialistic world. We are in need of organization. I am very good at my career and experiences working with many or even thousands of people, myself coming from Brooklyn, New York, where most of our families came from in the last 100 plus years. Justice, non prejudice, and open.
Greg Doherty
I will speak to three things in response.
Communication on Fiscal Matters
Something I’ve learned in this campaign is that many residents do not clearly understand how their POA dues are calculated, allocated, and ultimately spent on projects, improvements, and maintenance of community property. Folks need to understand that the Davis-Stirling Act of 1984 (a CA law)legally requires the POA and its board to exercise a fiduciary duty to raise the required funds necessary to accomplish that objective.
Also, per Davis-Stirling, the board must set aside additional money in so-called reserved accounts, so adequate money is set aside to repair/replace those things the association is obligated to maintain. Here in CL, we have three reserve accounts.
I could go on and on about this. I strongly feel that if folks were more educated about the legal/fiscal responsibilities of their board, they would have a better understanding about how CL is managed. If elected I will embark on this education program.
Security
This has risen on my radar after a lot of feedback from residents. I’m now of the opinion that our security is “soft” and needs to be improved. Did you know that in January there were 88 gate runners and only 6 citations issued to them? Who are these people running our gates and why is there not better enforcement? I believe we need to re-establish a Security Committee and consider hiring a chief of security to manage this process.
Adapting to the Future
Canyon Lake is 53 years “young.” Yes, the demographics are changing, and we must take that into account because there will be a lot more children and young families residing here. But we are now in an enviable position.
My view from 30,000 feet: There is not a whole lot of room (land) left to do big capital improvement (new) projects like Sierra Park North. After the road repaving project is completed, there’s a saturation point out there where repair and replacement of existing facilities may be a bigger part of the budget than new projects. If elected I will keep this vision close.
Carl Gardner
The biggest challenge facing the POA is transparency and following the law. Take the emotions out of the decision-making process by enforcing the rules fairly against all members. No special favors. Citations issued to members need to be timely and include all the relevant, necessary information for the member to understand the citation and enable them to defend themselves against specific issues. Be transparent.
Editor’s note:
The election schedule is as follows:
- April 4: Notice of Annual Meeting, ballots, and statements will be mailed to members. Civil code requires they be sent out at least 30 days prior to the meeting date, which is May 12.
- May 4: Last day it’s recommended a homeowner mail a ballot.
- May 12: Annual Meeting of the Members and Election of Directors at 8 a.m. in the Holiday Bay Room at the lodge. The meeting will be called to order and polls will close at approximately 9 a.m.
- May 14: Alternate meeting date if a quorum is not met on May 12.
Only prime members are allowed to vote in the election. Prime members have one vote per unit/lot/parcel owned.
The Canyon Lake Chamber of Commerce will be hosting a Meet the Candidates Forum on Wednesday, April 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the lodge.
