Pahio Kauai Beach Villas board election

[KYHOME]

Happy 4th of July! Hope it is cooler where you are! It is currently 95 degrees here, with a heat index of 104!

I am responding to questions about the KBV Board of Directors (BOD) meeting that was held on 2/23/16 to discuss the Management Contract at KBV. I cannot reveal details about that meeting because it was held in Executive Session, which means it is not shared. I can tell you that Dani Ramos, as a Wyndham employee, should have recused herself from the vote - - but I cannot tell you whether she did or did not during an Executive Session.

Regarding my use of the term "unethical," I choose that word because I see WYN's actions have been "Underhanded", "Under the Table," "Questionable," "Shady," and "don't conform to an acceptable standard of business operations." These terms are all used to define the term "unethical." I believe these words are appropriate descriptions of what WYN did - please see the "Smoking Gun document if you are not aware of this document, dated 9/6/2016, you should be. In this internal WYN document, it is explained that WYN had already successfully taken control of the IOA board, and they're intent is to use it to gain control of the AOAO board as well. (By the way - they were successful in gaining control of the AOAO Board.) Here is the text from this WYN internal document:

"...our only way to influence the KBV IOA bulk vote is to control the IOA board. (Please refer to the KBV IOA 2016 Annual Meeting Strategic plan). Thus successful execution of the IOA plan created an IOA board of:

Linda Kolstad - President
Troy Spalding - Vice President
Dani Ramos - Treasurer
Karen Blackford - Secretary
Trish Harrington - Officer

With majority control, Dani, Linda and Troy can now determine how to cast IOA votes in the AOAO election.

…In the May5 KBV Annual Meeting, WVO successful took control of the IOA board. As the singular large bulk owner with KBV AOAO, the IOA vote will sway the outcome of the AOAO annual election, which will be held on Thursday, October 20 at 9am."​

If you want to see the whole "Smoking Gun" document, go to www.savekbv.org. , click on Wyndham's Smoking Gun. Then click on the green link at the bottom of the page.

 

[KYHOME]

Sorry, this post was in error.

 

[Jeff From Salem]

Sorry, this post was in error.

But, yay! No harm in reminding the folks here, Karen!

I'll be commenting about something that's a-brewing. Good news as well as questionable news.

I have a question, though. Is there anyone in this group who is a lawyer AND is familiar with the real estate laws of Hawaii? If so, could you contact me through a private message? This has to do with KBV business that affects everyone. I have an important question, but I don't want to take it public if it doesn't have relevance. Thanks!

Jeff

 

[foscomoss]

it appears that i was given bad information and for printing it, i am sorry. but there are a few things on my mind. one, the board should consist of professional people, not professional board members. 12 years is a long time to be on a board. i am sure there are many qualifies people who could bring a new perspective into matters. hopefully, jack is one of those. next the owner's list. when this all started, mr belin, sent out his blast supporting ms harrington and blasting wyndham. on the bottom of the blast was ms harrington's contact info. mr belin stated he used an old wyndham list. where did he get it is my question. lastly, a campaign shouls be built on positives, not fear and hatred. ms kolstad was called many nasty, mean and vile things at the may meeting by those who opposed her and wyndham. totally childish and unprofessional. i hope we all want what is best for kbv so lets stop the fear mongering, hate mongering and work to make this the best resort possible

 

[Jeff From Salem]

it appears that i was given bad information and for printing it, i am sorry. but there are a few things on my mind. one, the board should consist of professional people, not professional board members. 12 years is a long time to be on a board. i am sure there are many qualifies people who could bring a new perspective into matters. hopefully, jack is one of those. next the owner's list. when this all started, mr belin, sent out his blast supporting ms harrington and blasting wyndham. on the bottom of the blast was ms harrington's contact info. mr belin stated he used an old wyndham list. where did he get it is my question. lastly, a campaign shouls be built on positives, not fear and hatred. ms kolstad was called many nasty, mean and vile things at the may meeting by those who opposed her and wyndham. totally childish and unprofessional. i hope we all want what is best for kbv so lets stop the fear mongering, hate mongering and work to make this the best resort possible

Hi. I'm not sure of who you are. But you're bringing up old talking points. And they just obfuscate the issues that are at hand. All points that have been brought up by me and Karen and others have been substantiated. So please go back and read the Wyndham's Smoking Gun and the like so you can educate yourself as to what is going on at the resort and with the IOA.

Secondly, whether it be old blood or new blood, it's what they stand for that counts. Trish Harrington may or may not be a perfect board member, but she's the only one who has spoken out about Wyndham. I'd like to see her speaking out even more strongly than she does. But new blood for new blood's sake? [Political comments deleted.] Right now, we have Trish on the side of the individual owner. For me, the jury is out with Jack. I'll have to see his how he votes on issues.

And the board needs to be filled with professional people? I'm not sure what that means. All or most on the board are professionals outside of the board. They each have their own strengths. And you certainly want visionaries on the board, not just bean counters.

I know that Linda has decided NOT to post the complete minutes of meetings, meaning we only see the actual votes. We don't see what was discussed, what was dismissed, we don't get to read/see any of the nuance that goes on during the board meetings. Grand Pacific keeps detailed minutes of the meetings. Having worked on a board in my home city (and my wife works on another board), we get the entire meeting's minutes posted. You get to read public comment, comments by the individual board members, and anyone else who contributes. You get to see disagreements, and who proposes and supports different issues. Linda has chosen to have us only see the votes, with all the other things stripped away. That other stuff is important. I know. I have been there. I have talked to those who have been at the IOA meetings. We're only getting to see what Linda, essentially, wants us to see.

I will continue to speak out for issues that I think are important to most, if not all of KBV owners. And areas that I feel that are in crisis, I will shout about. There are certain aspects of our ownership that are in critical condition, and if we don't act big time and fast, we'll lose. Again, the Wyndham Smoking Gun, which showed concrete evidence of Wyndham trying to take control of the board in order maintain their management contracts, is an example of underhandedness that is solely in their own (Wyndham's) interest, NOT necessarily in the interest of KBV. Some here may have liked the job that Wyndham was doing. But that's different than their secret, non-democratic plan to wrest control of the board for their own corporate interests. Linda and Dani have stated publicly that their sole interest is preserving Wyndham's interests. Neither owns a deed or has any personal stake in Kauai Beach Villas. So to have someone whose purpose is to soley serve Wyndham's interest be the IOA board's President, and to be able to control the board agenda, seems counterproductive.

And the majority of the IOA board informs what gets done on the AOAO board. Members of the IOA board, along with other representatives, votes for who gets on the AOAO.

I'm strongly considering a run for the IOA board next year. In my opinion, we need to rigorously keep our power as individual owners to affect change at the resort, while looking ahead as to how to have it be the best experience for everyone who stays there.

Aloha,

Jeff Bellin

 

[jacknsara]

. . .
I know that Linda has decided NOT to post the complete minutes of meetings, meaning we only see the actual votes. We don't see what was discussed, what was dismissed, we don't get to read/see any of the nuance that goes on during the board meetings. . . .

Aloha,

Approved minutes of several KBV board meetings were posted today, 8/30/18. These are accessible by owners at http://kauaibeachvillasresort.com/ under owners community / board of directors

The special meeting of August 3, 2018 addressed the KBV IOA’s commitment to assure funding for use of the hotel pool beginning Jan 1, 2019. Per 3.12 of our bylaws, our meetings are conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order. As a result of Roberts Rules, the minutes do not contain any discussion or explanation of why this approach was appropriate. As a new director considering the options and facts, I concluded that this deal was better than no deal. The motion passed unanimously.

Jack Goodstein

 

[jacknsara]

Aloha,
KBV owners whose emails are on file with Grand Pacific should expect to receive an email Friday 9/7/18 inviting them to participate in a very short survey.
The board of directors are hoping for a substantial response rate. The purpose of this message is to alert owners to look for it, open it and respond to it even if it winds up in a spam folder.
The email and survey are self-explanatory. Owners seeking to understand more about it might want to refer to the new business item b of the 7/9/18 minutes (accessible by owners at http://kauaibeachvillasresort.com/ under owners community / board of directors / meeting minutes 2018) and the second half of the first pdf in the list at https://sites.google.com/site/jackgoodstein/kauai-beach-villas (or attached to TUG post https://www.tugbbs.com/forums/index...las-board-election.240675/page-5#post-2124393 )
Other than pointing to the already released information, I cannot comment further at this time.
Jack Goodstein

 

[ecwinch]

Aloha,
KBV owners whose emails are on file with Grand Pacific should expect to receive an email Friday 9/7/18 inviting them to participate in a very short survey.
The board of directors are hoping for a substantial response rate. The purpose of this message is to alert owners to look for it, open it and respond to it even if it winds up in a spam folder.
The email and survey are self-explanatory. Owners seeking to understand more about it might want to refer to the new business item b of the 7/9/18 minutes (accessible by owners at http://kauaibeachvillasresort.com/ under owners community / board of directors / meeting minutes 2018) and the second half of the first pdf in the list at https://sites.google.com/site/jackgoodstein/kauai-beach-villas (or attached to TUG post https://www.tugbbs.com/forums/index...las-board-election.240675/page-5#post-2124393 )
Other than pointing to the already released information, I cannot comment further at this time.
Jack Goodstein

So the net is that we gain access to the pool at the Resort, but at a cost of approx $60ish per unit week/interval.

Of which $125,000 (or $23 per week) is the timeshare owners subsidizing the fully owned condo owners - allowing them to use the resort pool for free.

I understand you might not be able to comment, but what I dont understand is the following comment from the BoD minutes:

The Board discussed the proposal for the IOA to subsidize the program in the amount of $125K, to prevent a significant increase to the 2019 AOAO maintenance fees, given that the AOAO is unable to generate revenue.

Perhaps one of the long-time owners can comment on that aspect.

Thanks

 

[jacknsara]

Aloha Eric,
I guess I do not understand how you calculated $60ish. Perhaps you are including a number twice that is only included once. But yes, there is a cost for access.
Once both AOAO and IOA budgets are released (perhaps November), I should be able to provide more detail than I feel comfortable doing now.
Jack

 

[ecwinch]

Jack,

"$60ish" is my SWAG on how much each timeshare unit/interval is paying for pool access. As I understand it, KBV is approx 2/3rd's timeshare and 1/3rd fully owned condos. So an approximation is that each interval is paying $40ish for access and $23.34 to subsidize the condo owners. Also, comparing the 2018 annual budget (5,787,195) to the expense (275,000) - means the expenses will increase by about 5%. Which aligns with the $60ish SWAG based on my 2018 dues.


From the minutes:

commencing January 1, 2019, in the amount of $23.34 per interval to subsidize the Pool Licensing Agreement between KBV AOAO and Kauai Beach Resort Association of Apartment Owners (KBR AOAO),

 

[jacknsara]

Jack,

"$60ish" is my SWAG on how much each timeshare unit/interval is paying for pool access. As I understand it, KBV is approx 2/3rd's timeshare and 1/3rd fully owned condos. So an approximation is that each interval is paying $40ish for access and $23.34 to subsidize the condo owners. Also, comparing the 2018 annual budget (5,787,195) to the expense (275,000) - means the expenses will increase by about 5%. Which aligns with the $60ish SWAG based on my 2018 dues.
From the minutes:
commencing January 1, 2019, in the amount of $23.34 per interval to subsidize the Pool Licensing Agreement between KBV AOAO and Kauai Beach Resort Association of Apartment Owners (KBR AOAO),

Aloha Eric,
Again - I feel the need to wait until both AOAO and IOA budgets are shared with owners before commenting in detail.
Just looking at what you wrote, I notice that in at least one case you appear to be using an AOAO number for an IOA number without proportioning and/or double counting.
You are correct in asserting there is a cost. I am just suggesting that your estimate of that cost is too high.
Jack

 

[ecwinch]

Aloha Eric,
Again - I feel the need to wait until both AOAO and IOA budgets are shared with owners before commenting in detail.
Just looking at what you wrote, I notice that in at least one case you appear to be using an AOAO number for an IOA number without proportioning and/or double counting.
You are correct in asserting there is a cost. I am just suggesting that your estimate of that cost is too high.
Jack

What AOAO number are you referring to?

 

[jacknsara]

What AOAO number are you referring to?

Eric,
There is not much I can say at this time other than pointing to released information such as what is in the KBV Owners Community. This will be my last attempt for now. Perhaps if you re-read the first sentence of section II of the August 3 minutes and my previous posts, you will be able to answer your own question.
Just for clarity:
AOAO is the association of apartment owners - the entity that represents all 150 apartments in the complex. IOA is Interval Owners Association.
Jack

 

[ecwinch]

OK - the published BoD minutes show that the BoD voted to subsidize the pool agreement "in the amount of $23.34 per interval" and that IOA will "subsidize the program in the amount of $125K".

There are 150 units in the AOAO, and 105 units in the IOA. The IOA has 51 intervals per unit, so 5350 interval weeks.

So the subsidy is $125k divided by 5350 or 23.36 per interval. Close to what the minutes reflect.

So at 150 units in the resort, the cost per unit is $1833.33 per year to use the pool.

And if only the 105 units in the IOA are funding his fee, then the cost per unit is $2619.04, or $51.40 per interval. Not exactly my $60ish SWAG, but certainly not a doubling of any amounts.

This would seem to be a fairly straight-forward issue. So while I am glad to hear that we will getting access to the resort pool, I was surprised to hear that the timeshare owners are subsidizing the condo owners. In particular on the basis that the AOAO "cannot increase revenue".

It seems more a decision based it being easier to pass this on to the IOA because we have more members.

I wonder if the BoD has a legal opinion that this is permitted under the governing documents for the AOAO? Which certainly has a formula for allocating common expenses to the IOA.

 

[DeniseM]

Eric - Jack has posted his reason twice - I think you should respect that:

Again - I feel the need to wait until both AOAO and IOA budgets are shared with owners before commenting in detail.

 

[ecwinch]

Eric - Jack has posted his reason twice - I think you should respect that:

I did respect that - note my comment "I understand you might not be able to comment."

And he chose to engage.

 

[magmue]

Barring an unforeseen cataclysm, I am a soon-to-be owner of a 1BR at KBV (thank you Denise!) so I can't look at the minutes linked to above, but I will have skin in this game soon. I'm having trouble backtracking your math, Eric.

...at 150 units in the resort, the cost per unit is $1833.33 per year to use the pool.

When I start with the $125,000 subsidy and divide it by 150 total units, I keep coming up with $833 per unit.

The other piece that is not clear to me from the information posted in this thread: Is $125,000 the total cost for next door pool access per year, meaning the AOAO units are paying zero? Or is there some contribution from their budget as well?

 

[ecwinch]

The minutes reflect that the total cost of the pool agreement is $275k per year. So if each unit at the resort was covering that cost, the cost per unit would be 275k / 150 = 1883.33 per unit.

And while the minutes do not explicitly state that the condo owners are not making a contribution, the $125k subsidy is the approx amount the condo owners would have had to contribute. So it would appear they are not.

Jack apparently is unable to verify that.

 

[magmue]

Ah, the minutes. Thanks

 

[ecwinch]

Ah, the minutes. Thanks

Here are the minutes:

KBR POOL USE EXPENSE President Kolstad advised the Board that the total cost for KBV IOA and AOAO pool use is approximately $275,000. The Board discussed the proposal for the IOA to subsidize the program in the amount of $125K, to prevent a significant increase to the 2019 AOAO maintenance fees, given that the AOAO is unable to generate revenue. On motion of Vice President Warner, seconded by Director Goodstein, the Board moved that the Kauai Beach Villas Interval Owners Association (KBV IOA) provide an annual payment to Kauai Beach Villas Association of Apartment Owners (KBV AOAO), commencing January 1, 2019, in the amount of $23.34 per interval to subsidize the Pool Licensing Agreement between KBV AOAO and Kauai Beach Resort Association of Apartment Owners (KBR AOAO), for the duration of that agreement. Furthermore, this sum is to be revisited annually by the KBV IOA Board of Directors to ensure that the subsidy amount is sufficient to support the continuation of the pool usage program, should the IOA determine that continuation of the program is in the best interest of our owners. The motion passed 5-0. On motion of Vice President Warner, seconded by Director Goodstein, the Board moved to ask the KBV AOAO to start the agreement effective August 1, 2018 if the KBR AOAO will agree to accept not to exceed $18,000 per month, inclusive of General Excise Tax, for August through December 31, 2018 and the KBV IOA will pay the full fee. The motion passed 4-1, Director Harrington voted against.

The KBV AOAO is the master association for all the apartments at the entire KBV resort (150 units). The KBV IOA is the association for the timeshare owners who collectively own 105 of those 150 apartments. Under the Declaration, the developer sold 51 intervals were sold per unit, so the IOA is comprised of 5350 intervals.

To make just a little more confusing, the resort next door (Kauai Beach Resort) is also a mix of ownership interests governed by the Kauai Beach Resort Association of Apartment Owners (KBR AOAO). The executed agreement is between the Kauai Beach Villas AOAO and the Kauai Beach Resort AOAO.

 

[bianchicycle]

I just looked at the ballot again. It is for the IOA (timeshares). It does not include the 45 whole ownership apartments – they are included in the AOAO.



Aloha,
That is a fair question which cannot be definitively answered until after April 27. If a quorum is achieved, it is unlikely that tugger votes will be a major determinate (though all votes do count) since tuggers are a very small minority of all owners.

I deliberately crafted my original candidate statement to appeal to owners for whom both of the following apply: (1) they do not respond to being asked to vote based on negligible useful information (150 word self-promoting statement) other than who is an incumbent and (2) they are interested enough in changing that situation that they are willing to vote this time. Whether the condensed version will be sufficiently effective remains to be seen. I had no advance information about the change in management companies. I wonder if that will motivate more owners - particularly those who converted to Wyndham - to vote.

I am encouraged by the one phone call I got from an owner I had never previously met. He so liked my candidate statement that he was willing to assign me his proxy if I were planning to attend the annual meeting (I am not – but of course would in the future if elected).

The one part of the original statement that I had to cut that I most regret I have already shared here – the one including one of my email addresses.

I believe it is possible to create an effective (high enrollment) KBV community forum without being on the board provided that there are enough owners who stay at KBV at different times who share that particular goal. I’d prefer to see it happen as a board sponsored/embraced occurrence. That is both faster and mo betta than (to quote a former manager of mine) feeding the horse from the wrong end. I’ve been a leader in succeeding in the latter before; it takes several years:

http://www.powershow.com/view/23f59...uitos_Perspective_powerpoint_ppt_presentation
Jack

Jack, my email tom@mediapage.com and I have been here for over 20 years. Count me in on anything that helps this property ( I have been here for the past 3 weeks).

 

[bianchicycle]

Guys and gals, from my perspective, Karen Blackford and Trish Harrington NEED your votes. It's imPERative that we get them voted back in. Wyndham is trying get them both off the Board, particularly Trish Harrington. Doing so would essentially give Wyndham all the power. And that would be ironic, as well as bad news, as they are no longer our manager of the timeshares. The developers chose to hire Wyndham Management company to run/manage/maintain the resort. It was never their property. It has ALWAYS been owned by the individual timeshare owners as well as the few condo owners. There has been 2 Boards that work together. The AOAO and the IOA. The former's responsibility was essentially taking care of the grounds and buildings, as they are common to both groups. The IOA is responsible for the inside of the timeshare rooms, as well as rental and sales.

When we first found out that Wyndham Management was using the timeshare sales pitch to get individual owners to give them their deed for nothing, plus pay them money, in order to get into Club Wyndham. When I was there in 2005, I went through an "owner's update". Wyndham tried to get me to give up my deed to them (And I have a premium oceanfront building deed) and give them $7000 to get into their vacation club. For one, that's unethical. We hired them to manage the property, not use that as a way to gather deeds for taking over the resort.

The IOA noticed that the quality of the maintenance under Wyndham was going downhill. At first, they tried to work with Wyndham to improve things. Eventually, though, they found them not being responsive. The IOA started looking into other management companies and chose Grand Pacific Vacation Services. They started later last year and they have been great so far. GPVS had also taken over from Wyndham at the Makai Beach Club after they had found the level of maintenance that Wyndham provided was unsatisfactory. Apparently, since 2013, GPVS has done wonderful things a the MBC and the resort sparkles. Keep in mind, they're supposed to be working for the owners. Clearly GPVS has been very responsive.

So now that the IOA brought in GPVS, Wyndham has been fighting to wrestle power away from actual individual owners. And through a lack of information to the ownership, few owners have actually been casting votes. Wyndham controls about 1100 deeds, compared to the roughly 5500 deeds overall. Only about 600 owners, to my understanding, have voted in recent past elections, allowing Wyndham to throw actual individual owners off the Board. They're gunning for Trish Harrington this time around.

We need to make sure that Trish Harrington and Karen Blackford remain on the IOA Board. Wyndham successfully got Trish thrown off the AOAO Board last year. I'm guessing that she'll try again the next time for voting for that board; and with our more aware ownership (I hope), we'll be able to get her and others back on. And congratulations to her, Trish Harrington was voted onto the board at Shearwater last week. She really is a great person to have represent us individual owners.

There are others who are worthy to be on the boards, and we (including me) will work to get them on. But we don't want water down our vote either. If enough of the individual owners vote, we have way more votes than Wyndham does. But Wyndham is predicated on apathy, hoping that most owners will not vote, so that can use their voting power to further take over the board, allowing them to make decisions that will help Wyndham Corporate, not the actual individual owners at Kauai Beach Villas.

One final thing, if you're looking to get rid of your deed because you can no longer use the timeshare, please avoid merely giving it away for free to Wyndham. At the very least, first try putting in a classified at RedWeek.com (they deal in higher end sales, rentals, and purchases), or a classified in TimeSharing Today, a 6-times per year periodical (that also has an online edition). In case you're not familiar with TimeSharing Today, it's a non-profit run by and for timeshare owners with many interesting articles written by owners and industry experts. A classified ad starts at $40, I believe. You should be able to get something for your KBV deed, and it keeps it out of the hands of Wyndham.

Thanks for reading. Aloha!

Jeff Bellin
Salem MA (A city with several connections to Hawaii, including the Peabody Essex Museum, owning one of only 3 existing Ku statues, the Hawaiian war god)

While Linda and Trish are good people, I feel it is just as important to vote people on the BODs that are activally willing to contribute their time and efforts to “this” property. I am sure that there are many talented people here that would do well on the BODs.

 

[jacknsara]

Aloha,
I am hopeful that the next newsletter from the KBV BOD will be released soon. It was ready shortly before the holidays, but non essential things do slow down at year end. That next newsletter will announce to all KBV owners (both email and USPS for those without email) that we now have our own forum on TUG:
https://www.tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?forums/kauai-beach-villas-ioa-public-square.61/
Many regular Tuggers have already discovered it and read its initial posts. Once that announcement is officially released, all my responses to KBV matters will be in that forum.
Jack

 

[DaveNV]

Aloha,
I am hopeful that the next newsletter from the KBV BOD will be released soon. It was ready shortly before the holidays, but non essential things do slow down at year end. That next newsletter will announce to all KBV owners (both email and USPS for those without email) that we now have our own forum on TUG:
https://www.tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?forums/kauai-beach-villas-ioa-public-square.61/
Many regular Tuggers have already discovered it and read its initial posts. Once that announcement is officially released, all my responses to KBV matters will be in that forum.
Jack

That should be a good way for Tuggers who own at KBV to connect with each other, too. Good idea, Jack!

Dave

 

[bianchicycle]

Hey Jack. Sorry you didn’t make it here this year. Much better health in the new year. I will be here the last week in Jan of 2020. Look forward to meeting then.

Tom Kravitz