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Update, July 31st, 2009
As of today, this website will only be updated
with developments in CCSL's lawsuit and settlement with Sunnylands,
Inc. & Sunrise Ventures.
For all information concerning the new
Sunrise Lake Property Owners Association, please visit:
http://sunriselake.org/
WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you to all those who took the time to vote -- we showed up and it counted!
Meet your new board!
Two Year Terms:
Andrew Mellen Jack Ritter Clarence “Chip” Dingman DeAnna Margiore
One Year Terms:
Gary Johnson Janice Schneck Lou Sancio
The community spoke for change and now the work begins.
Here's to transparency and sound financial management and the restoration of our homes.
There is much to do
and hopefully the many of you who showed up and spoke up
will continue to express yourselves in positive ways
and find opportunities to strengthen and repair our community!
Together there are no limits to what we can accomplish -- staying within budget, of course!
Here are the tallies of all 18 candidates. 409 total ballots were submitted:
1. Andrew Mellen 258
2. Jack Ritter 234
3. Chip Dingman 233
4. DeAnna Margiore 232
5. Gary Johnson 214
6. Janice Schneck 209
7. Lou Sancio 199
8. Brendan O'Sullivan 194
9. Barbara Chapman 194
10. Lisa Krenkel 191
11. Barbara Borriello 186
12. Heather Koferl 158
13. Roberto Mendoza 145
14. Donald Post 136
15. Richard Babcock 121
16. Matt Colello 103
17. Jim Furno 71
18. Debbie Jacks 16
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Please note that what follows below is a chronicle of our
communication to the residents of Sunrise Lake. It is a documentation
of previous email updates and postings to Sunrise Lake community
members.
Some of the questions raised by the volunteer committee and community
residents that are referenced in this chronological list of updates
have now been addressed by both the owners of Sunrise Ventures and
Sunnylands, Inc. and two of their employees in deposition (please see the links to download the .pdfs of these depostions on the left). We feel these answers are inadequate and therefore continue our pursuit of a legal remedy.
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Dear Neighbor,
The meeting on June 13th was very well attended, with over 175 people there!
DeAnna Margiore called the meeting to order, laid out the agenda for the meeting and then introduced Andrew Mellen, who updated everyone on the current status of the lawsuit and the transition to a homeowner's association.
It was reiterated that there are two things going on -- a lawsuit between Concerned Citizens and Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands, Inc. AND a transition to a homeowner's association. While they are related, they are not the same thing and one did not cause the other.
LAWSUIT:
The lawsuit is still active. SV/SL can transition to a homeowner’s association but that doesn’t magically mean that what they were and still are responsible for goes away.
A key piece of the settlement agreement was for the Ramagosas to establish an escrow account for the money that is currently in the Road and Rec account and any 2009 dues collected. They have refused to do this.
Our position is that if they won’t establish an escrow account where they can’t spend our dues money without some oversight, then there’s nothing else TO negotiate. So if the escrow account is not going to be established, we’re looking at heading to court.
Why, if as they are telling people, they are leaving in 60 days, won’t they put the money in escrow? They have told people that all they are doing is mowing the lawns, they are doing no repairs – so if they have no intention of spending any of that money, why will they not set it aside where their attorney and our attorney together can monitor any activity?
TRANSITION:
The transition is happening. The Ramagosas have made it clear that they are committed to turning over the common areas and amenities and roads to a homeowner's association and allowing the owners to manage the community themselves.
At mediation, Concerned Citizens AND the mediator both suggested that SV/SL retain ownership of the community and simply allow a management company to collect our dues and manage the funds – put out bids for work, oversee the paying of invoices … and the Ramagosas rejected this. Their position was that if they can’t do as they please they’d rather do nothing.
CCSL is not now and never has been interested in forcing them out. What we want, what we’ve been asking for all along is transparency in how they manage the money and the restoration of the community. But they’ve made it clear that if they can’t do as they want without any responsibility or accountability to the community, they’d rather just leave.
UTILITIES ON SPRUCE LAKE:
SV/SL have been managing these for someone or some entity. We have asked them repeatedly to tell us who actually owns these utilities and the other shared utilities in parts of Sunrise Lake. They have not answered us but we have heard from at least one resident that the homeowners themselves own these utilities and that the Ramagosas merely manage them. If this is true, then those homeowners will continue to own them and will work together to secure a manager and service company to maintain them.
ELECTIONS:
We are committed to ensuring that the upcoming election will not be a free-for-all. Some of you may have seen or been approached by a group of folks interested in running for the board calling themselves 'Responsible Residents.' The elections are not about competing slates of people -- anyone who wants to serve on the board has a right to run for the board. And everyone has right to voice their concerns. Every lot will be given one ballot and on that ballot we’ll each get to vote for individual board members. And the candidates with the most votes will be the ones elected to the board. One thing we have been working on is ensuring that the Ramagosas don’t control the elections and that the elections are run and overseen by an independent third party.
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION BOARD:
We all have deeds that guarantee us certain things. That’s what this lawsuit has always been about. And while these folks calling themselves 'Responsible Residents' are planning to run on a platform of minimum spending and just maintaining the roads and no other amenities, that doesn’t change that in our deeds we are guaranteed a pool, a ball field, tennis courts, mailboxes, etc. Just like the Ramagosas were and are being held responsible to honor these deeds, so would any new board. You can’t create an association that says, 'it doesn’t matter what your deeds say, you can’t have what you bought. You can only have your roads plowed and that’s that.'
RUMORS:
There are lots of rumors flying around, a few people want to blame Concerned Citizens, saying this transition wouldn’t be happening if we hadn’t started this lawsuit.
We didn’t ask for the Ramagosas to leave, we just asked them to show us where all the money was going and to give us all what we’re paying for. And they didn’t and don’t want to do that.
Most of these rumors are trying to stir up everyone’s emotions and get people scared.
We are hearing from some people that they are afraid their dues will go up substantially for the community to rebuild the broken amenities.
This doesn’t have to be the case at all.
We keep telling people, it’s on the website, in our expert witness accountant’s report, and even Billy Ramagosa’s deposition:
1) They do NO competitive bidding. So we’re paying top dollar for whatever maintenance they do. In addition they mark up every single invoice by 25%.
As soon as they no longer control the community’s checkbook, that 25% mark up remains in the community’s checkbook, and all services will get properly bidded upon so we get the most for our money.
Our accountant has actually documented that for what we’ve been receiving we’ve been OVERPAYING.
And again on the website is a grid of many of the surrounding communities and their annual dues and for basically what we’re currently paying, they have pools and ball fields and all the same things our deeds claim we have and that we’ve paid for but actually aren’t currently maintained.
So there’s no reason to be afraid that suddenly the dues are going to go sky high just because the Ramagosas or someone else says so. Competent management means we ought to be able to spend the approx. $400,000 a year in dues money and keep this community healthy and in good shape. All our neighboring communities can manage it, why can’t we?
And then there are the rumors about streetlights or boards that are going to control how we live here – where does this stuff come from?
We all moved to Sunrise because we wanted a community that had few regulations so why would anyone think that, if the board is made up of regular folks like you or me that moved here for few regulations that suddenly we’d decide we wanted a bunch of regulations? It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t think I’ve met a single person who lives in Sunrise who wants that kind of a board or community association and since we all get to vote on it, why would anyone think that someone who WANTED to make a bunch of regulations would stand a chance of getting elected?
Certainly all we want as Concerned Citizens is what we were promised, what our deeds guarantee us and what we’re entitled to.
INTRODUCTION TO ATTORNEY & EXPERT WITNESS:
Our attorney Jim Fareri stressed that the lawsuit was very much alive and that if the Ramagosas do not cooperate in an orderly and transparent transition, we will take them to court to ensure that a transparent transition occurs.
He also stressed that as he was addressing a mixed group of members of CCSL and non-members, he couldn't go into much more detail.
Then expert witness Jim Ott, from Appletree Management Co. talked about typical transitions:
These are the recommended steps that almost all elections follow:
1.) There is a call for nominations - the word is put out so that everyone who wants to run knows about the elections and is free and encouraged to place themselves on the ballot.
2.) It's established how many will sit on board - it needs to be an odd number, it could be as little as 3 or 5, but typical is 7 or 9 (every neighboring community has at least 7 board members).
3.) A timetable is created - setting deadlines for submission of candidates , establishing an election day, advertising that date through the mail and press, hold a "meet the candidates" night, cast ballots).
4.) All of the above should be done by an independent third party, at the least the election should be overseen and ballots tallied by an independent third party.
Once the election process is complete the following would take place:
1.) The new board is seated, and at their first meeting they vote among themselves to establish officers.
2.) Together with an attorney and other counsel, they write and establish by-laws - this is the first and most important document governing the new board and the community.
3.) Establish committees - each committee gathers info/executes tasks pertaining to their committee and reports back to the general board (and community) on a regular basis.
4.) A working budget is created for the maintenance of the community.
REMEMBER, WE NEED EVERY MEMBER OF CONCERNED CITIZENS TO COME OUT AND VOTE FOR A BOARD THAT WILL WORK FOR ALL OWNERS, NOT JUST FOR THE FRIENDS OF THE RAMAGOSAS --- LOOK AROUND YOU. BUSINESS-AS-USUAL means NO AMENITIES ... JUST PLOWED ROADS. IS THAT WORTH OVER $400,000 A YEAR???! CERTAINLY NOT FOR ANY OF THE NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES and hopefully after July 26th, NOT FOR SUNRISE LAKE EITHER!!!
Volunteer Committee
Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake
Update, June 9, 2009
Dear Neighbor -
We've got some scheduling information to update and some very exciting news:
1) Our meeting has been rescheduled. We're now meeting at 10am, this Saturday, June 13th at St. Vincent's Church.
2) We've changed the time of the meeting so that our attorney Jim Fareri and our expert witness Jim Ott (Appletree Management) could attend our next community meeting.
We've talked about both of these men at our meetings and in our email updates and now is a chance to meet with them in person! They'll provide updates and feedback on our current settlement negotiations.
Both these men have extensive experience in planned communities here in the Poconos and particularly with the kind of transition Sunrise Lake is embarking on.
And given their wealth of knowledge, they'll probably be able to answer many of the questions and concerns we all have as we transition from a developer-owned community to a homeowner's association. Please attend this meeting and spread the word to your neighbors and friends to attend as well!
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday--
The Volunteer Committee
Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake
Update May 24, 2009
Dear Neighbor -
Having become aware at this point in time that our lawsuit would not just go away, with no ability to further mismanage the community and overcharge for services, and with the community in as poor condition as it is - Sunrise Ventures, Inc./Sunnylands, Inc. have decided it's time to walk away.
In an about face, SV/SL "have determined that it is more appropriate for Sunrise lot owners to manage the roads and facilities." This sentence is from a letter from Bill and Bob Ramagosa that will soon be in your mailbox.
They now intend to deed all of the common areas and the roads to a homeowner's association whether we want one or not.
As we have mentioned repeatedly, this was not what we were pursuing with the lawsuit: our goal was to force SV/SL to accept the oversight of a professional management company to assure that our dues monies were being properly spent and the community was being properly maintained. However, this was an arrangement that SV/SL rejected out of hand.
Now, in answer to our lawsuit, and also because of the legal framework of the Planned Community Act of PA which requires that after certain criteria are met -- number of developed lots, number of owners, etc. -- that a developer must turn common areas of a planned community over to a property owners' association, the Ramagosas have become extremely eager to turn everything over to an association.
It appears that by doing this, they hope to satisfy CCSL and put the lawsuit behind them. However, be assured that CCSL must agree to terms of the settlement agreement, and through this agreement, we will work to protect the interests of the community in this transition.
Because of the sudden swiftness of this change of course from SV/SL, several things will now happen quickly and simultaneously:
1) The settlement agreement both sides have been working on will now become a transition/settlement agreement. The terms will still be negotiated based on our lawsuit, but now the outcome creating an owners association will be part of this agreement.
2) A board of directors will be elected to help guide the newly formed owners association.
3) By-laws will be drafted for the owners association and voted upon by the community.
The settlement/transition arrangement is being hammered out between SV/SL's attorney and our attorney, Jim Fareri. Mr. Fareri has worked hard and long to get us to the point where the Ramagosas will no longer be able to misspend the monies they collect from us to care for the community.
CCSL is still committed to the hiring of a management company to manage the community and interface with the association board so that the community is always informed of management decisions and expenditures. This management company would tell us exactly how much things cost, not mark up our invoices, and competitively bid out work in the community. However, the hiring of a management company must now be suggested to the elected board and then voted upon by the community.
While this transition will be quicker and different than we all anticipated, together we'll make it through and begin to rebuild our neighborhood. And please resist listening to fear mongering and rumors about dues being raised etc. As we have maintained since the beginning, and as we have demonstrated through the comparatives on our website, other neighborhoods who are charged just about the same amount as we are can have working and cared for amenities and things like security and garbage pick-up, why shouldn't Sunrise - if properly managed - have the same things for the same cost?
We plan to have a final community meeting on either June 13 or June 20, depending on the church's availability. We'll discuss all of the above in greater detail. We'll hopefully also discuss how we can, as a group of concerned citizens, continue to work to restore our community to its fully functioning self -- with well-maintained paved roads, amenities intact and transparent bookkeeping.
Thank you again for you trust in us as a committee and your steadfast commitment to a Sunrise Lake community that is safe, pleasant and well-cared for.
We look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!
Volunteer Committee
Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake
Update, May 4, 2009
Dear Neighbor,
Here's our latest update.
You've all received your 2009 dues statement by now. We are working as quickly as we can to come to some settlement with the Ramagosas. Since dues payments are not due until June 1st, and we have some time until then, we'd like to suggest that you wait on payment of dues until a settlement is reached or until an escrow account is established, where we can ensure that any money deposited remains beyond the reach of Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands, Inc. -- our attorney feels that we are close to finalizing something and that it should be in place soon. We're trying to stay pro-active and keep things moving forward even when each step requires so much back and forth between each attorney and CCSL and SV/SL. We will get back to you well prior to June 1st on this issue, so no one will be late paying their dues.
Some of you may also have seen or heard of a petition being circulated. Without taking it apart item by item, we will state that it mischaracterizes our efforts on several points:
1) We are not interested in taking over the management of the common areas, we're interested in having a management company take over the management of the common areas. We are definitely interested in ensuring that SV/SL no longer manages these common areas -- their current condition demonstrates the fact that SV/SL has no interest in properly maintaining these areas.
2) We are not interested in changing anyone's deed or creating some entity that will impose arbitrary rules -- it has been explained to us by our attorney that PA law, the PA Planned Communities Act, states that if the private developers of a community wish to no longer hold title to that community, the alternatives are either another private entity or an association of owners.
We didn't know of this law when we began seeking a remedy to our deteriorating amenities and lack of transparency in the managing of our dues. Neither was our goal to remove SV/SL from their position as owners of the common areas. We had hoped that the brothers Ramagosa would continue to hold title to the common areas and agree to oversight by an independent management company that would collect and disburse our dues as appropriate for the proper maintenance of Sunrise Lake. They (SV/SL) have made it clear that they reject any such arrangement and they remain unwilling now to be overseen or supervised by an independent management company in any way. The only other option that ensure transparency is an association that exists to hire and work in collaboration with an independent management company.
The management company will responsibly collect our dues, seek competitive bids for all services provided, and begin the slow process of restoring our decaying amenities. This managment company and/or any association of owners will not micro-manage each of our lives or how we live here.
3) We too would not want to see any sort of special assessment imposed for the repair of our dilapidated amenities -- no one could afford that and no one wants that. We are committed to the slow and steady repair and restoration of our community which includes the amenities that we are entitled to in our deeds. Nothing more or less. If it takes a few years to recoup adequate funds to accomplish that goal, so be it. We've waited this long, we can wait a bit longer. Remember that SV/SL is charging us a 25% mark-up on EVERY SINGLE INVOICE -- that money alone would go a great distance in repairing Sunrise Lake. And that money is in addition to their profit -- it is above and beyond the invoiced (and not competitively bid) cost of road maintenance and any other service provided.
If you visit the website, you can see the charts of comparable dues/fees charged by our neighboring communities -- they all manage to have full working amenities and services for around what we're currently paying. If they can do it, it only makes sense that with a responsible independent management company managing our dues, we ought to be able to enjoy the same services and amenities. Any talk to the contrary is just fear-mongering and scare tactics. In fact, the accountant we engaged to examine SV/SL's accounting explained to us that, given the lack of amenities and services currently available here, it could be argued that we've been OVERPAYING all these years. Any statement to the contrary or suggesting that to have working amenities and a well maintained community will require a dues increase is just not true. Do not be bullied by half-truths and exaggerations.
Rest assured that we are working as fast and as diligently as we can to draw this process to a conclusion that finally gets the management of our dues into the hands of impartial and prudent managers who will work to ensure that every penny is spent wisely and is completely accounted for. Our only agenda is to restore our community to its proper condition and, thus, maintain the value of all of our homes.
Please continue to talk to your friends and neighbors, invite them to visit our website so there is no confusion as to what we hope to achieve.
Volunteer Committee
Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake
Update, March 18, 2009
Dear Neighbors,
As you are aware from our last community meeting, the trial regarding the complaint of Concerned Citizens agains Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands, Inc. was scheduled for 3/24/09 with Judge Joseph Kameen.
After a pre-trial conference between Judge Kameen, our attorney and the attorneys for SV/SL, the volunteer committee met with our attorney for an update and debriefing. At that meeting, our attorney, Jim Fareri, suggested that we postpone the trial as he feels we are moving in the direction of a settlement agreement that will be beneficial to the Sunrise owners and community. He advised us that it is in the best interests of Concerned Citizens and the Sunrise community to follow through on these settlement negotiations. He reminded us that there is always the opportunity to return to court if the settlement agreement is unacceptable.
At present both sides are discussing transitioning title of the common areas (including amenities) and roads to a nonprofit community organization (as required by the Planned Community Act) that would work in consultation with a professional management company to collect dues money and effectively and efficiently run the community.
We will update the community as the process proceeds, and we will call another meeting when there is definite and finalized information on the settlement.
Thanks again for your steadfast commitment to restoring Sunrise Lake and the successful management of its resources and amenities.
The Volunteer Committee of CCSL
www.concernedcitizensofsunriselake.org
Update, February 15, 2009
Hello Neighbors:
The following is a summary of the Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake meeting held Saturday Feb. 7, 10AM, at St. Vincent's Church.
1. Mediation:
CCSL and Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands, Inc. (SV/SL) met in mediation with court appointed mediator Alan Young on November 27, 2008. At the end of the day, although no settlement could be reached, it was decided by both parties that mediation would continue.
As part of the mediation process, CCSL and attorney Jim Fareri were asked to draft a point by point offer detailing our terms for a settlement. This offer was then submitted to SV/SL. The main points of this offer reiterate what we have always asked for: a management company to collect dues and transparently manage those dues and maintain all of the common areas of our community; and a cash payment from SV/SL for enough money to repair our amenities and restore them to full working condition.
In their reply to this offer, SV/SL insists that they will not agree to a management company while they continue to hold title to the common areas.
They are now willing, however, to transfer to some community organization the title to all common areas. This is good progress.
They also have become willing to turn over all community assets (the balance in the ROADS and REC account at Wachovia) and accounts receivables (uncollected back dues). They are still not willing to offer any amount of additional cash to repair our deteriorated amenities.
So while there is significant progress being made, there still needs to be more before a settlement agreement can be reached. Remember, when we all began this suit three years ago, they were unwilling to even negotiate any of the above so having SV/SL agree to anything that removes them from "managing" our dues is progress.
CCSL will follow up with our attorney Jim Fareri this week on how to proceed with a response to SV/SL's response to the initial settlement offer.
2. Upcoming Trial:
Even though settlement discussions continue, CCSL is prepared to go to court on March 22 and 23 should a settlement not be reached prior to those dates.
The following outlines the steps between now and our trial -- at any time during this process a settlement may be reached, and it is often encouraged by the judge to settle before a trial happens. The judge understands that trials are costly both in dollars and time and they usually work hard to get both parties to agree before trial begins. He also understands that sometimes a settlement can't be reached and the only alternative left is an actual trial.
A pre-trial hearing between the attorneys and Judge Kameen will take place on a date in the coming weeks, but certainly prior to March 22.
Our attorney has informed us that if no satisfactory settlement has been reached prior to the pre-trial hearing, there is the possibility that, during the pre-trial hearing, the judge will ask for a court mediation. This means that both parties, CCSL and SV/SL and both attorneys, would meet with the judge prior to trial to continue to try and work out a settlement. CCSL will follow the advice of Mr. Fareri should this be requested by the judge.
A question was asked at the community meeting on Saturday if these initial hearings are open to the public. These initial hearings are before the judge only and are not open to the public.
Mr. Fareri has reminded us, and we reminded the community at the meeting as well, that we have a very strong case. He also stressed that no one can ever predict the outcome of a court proceeding. If we do not reach an appropriate settlement prior to the March court dates, the outcome will depend on the decisions of the court.
3. SV/SL Interrogatories:
SV/SL's attorney submitted a series of questions that they want answered when he sent along their response to our settlement offer . These questions should have been asked at a much earlier date; however, our attorney has advised us to respond to them to the best of our ability.
SV/SL has asked for a list of all members of CCSL.
We have already provided them with this list when they asked for it at the onset of these proceedings.
However, they continue to maintain that CCSL is just a small group of people and not representative of most of the property owners of Sunrise Lake. Therefore, it is to our benefit to again make clear to them that CCSL is over 230 donating members strong with additional members joining every week. We are not just a few malcontents.
There is a membership form that we have circulated at our community meetings and that you may also download from the website. We are also attaching a .pdf version of the document to this email. Simply double click on it and it will open up with Adobe Reader so you can print it.
This form states that you are a member of CCSL and that you are aware that DeAnna Margiore and Virginia Kennedy of the Volunteer Committee are signing documents on behalf of CCSL with regard to this legal complaint.
If you have not yet filled out this form, or if you can't remember that you have, please do so now. Remember, you can download it, print it, sign it and mail it back to CCSL at:
Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake
PO Box 494
Milford, PA 18337
A list of all CCSL members who have signed these documents will be turned over to Mr. Seaman, attorney for SV/SL.
It is important to our case that we demonstrate that the dissatisfaction with SV/SL's running of the community is widespread and that CCSL has a strong and supportive membership. If you wish to remain anonymous for any reason, please state that fact at the bottom of the form.
Also, SV/SL has asked for a record of all oral communication between members of CCSL and SV/SL.
We need to demonstrate that numerous complaints have been made via phone call or visit to the SV/SL office. Please make a simple list of any and all times that you have called or visited the office to complain about conditions in Sunrise. If you can remember the dates of these complaints, please state them. If not, don't worry. But, please be as specific as possible regarding the nature of the complaint and the response you got from the Sunrise office.
You may return this list to us either via email (just click the link on the left of this page) or by regular mail to CCSL, PO Box 494, Milford, PA, 18337.
These complaints cannot be anonymous, so please include your name. If you reply via email, your email address will be blacked out to protect your email privacy.
These complaints will also be given to Mr. Seaman, attorney for SV/SL and will demonstrate that the members of CCSL have made repeated efforts over many years to seek remedy from SV/SL for the conditions and problems of Sunrise Lake.
4. Fundraising:
We made a sincere plea at the meeting and we make it here again for contributions to the legal fund.
As you can see from the above, we are making good progress in restoring our community and gaining transparency in the management of our dues.
We realize that these are difficult economic times and that money is tight for everyone. We've come a great distance together and we are getting closer and closer to a positive resolution. We are all working very hard together to make sure that the values of our homes stay as strong as possible. And we have to be able to finish what we've started. Every dollar we invest together in achieving a positive outcome to this case is an investment in each and every one of our own homes. When our community is restored to its proper condition, we all win!
So if you have not yet contributed, please consider doing so. And if you have, please consider making another contribution at this time.
Please mail checks to:
Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake
PO Box 494
Milford, PA 18337
Thank you!
Volunteer Committee,
Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake
Update, December 8, 2008
Dear Neighbor -
Here's the latest update. Our attorney, Jim Fareri, feels that mediation can still bear fruit so on his advice, we continue to participate in the mediation process.
Brian Seaman, attorney for SV/SL, requested a continuance until March, and while we are all eager to resolve this case as quickly as possible, the judge has granted that continuance and scheduled our court date for March 22nd and 23rd. Our attorney assured us that this is nothing to be concerned about - when trial dates are scheduled so close to the holidays and the end of the year, they are often rescheduled. We are actively pursuing a good resolution in mediation, but are committed to going to court in March if mediation is unsuccessful.
We will hold a public meeting after the holidays to update everyone on where we're at at that time. If anything significant happens between now and then, we'll be back in touch.
In the meantime, enjoy the holidays!
Volunteer Committee
Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake
Update, October 28, 2008
The Volunteer Committee of Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake, along with and represented by our attorney, Jim Fareri, met for mediation Monday (10/27) with Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands,Inc. as was outlined at our last community meeting. Both Bill and Bob Ramagosa were present and represented by their attorney, Brian Seaman. The court-appointed mediator Alan Young conducted the mediation.
After a full day of discussions, there was no conclusive settlement at the end of the session. Based on the advice of our attorney, Concerned Citizens has agreed to continue with mediation to see if a settlement compromise can be reached. Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands, Inc. have also agreed to continue with mediation. The next step will be a conference call between both attorneys and the mediator Mr. Young. This call is scheduled to take place within the next 7-10 days. We will update the community again when we have further information.
Thank you for your support and commitment.
Volunteer Committee, Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake
www.concernedcitizensofsunriselake.org
Update, October 22, 2008
MEETING SUMMARY: Community Meeting October 17, 2008 7:30pm, St. Vincent's Church
At this meeting community members were updated on the following:
1. Deposition of a representative of Concerned Citizens has, after much delay by Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands, taken place. On September 22, 2008, Virginia Kennedy was deposed at the office of our attorney, Jim Fareri. This completes depositions for both sides.
2. As was explained at our last meeting, the Court had suggested (at the pre-trial meeting July 7th, 2008) that we enter into mediation with SV/SL and attempt to reach a settlement out of court. Concern Citizens, based on advice from our attorney, agreed the next day and so stipulated in writing. SV/SL verbally agreed one week later and then delayed returning the signed stipulation until August 27th. Once we received this it was forwarded to the judge and signed by the judge on September 5th.
3. The mediation order stipulates that mediation begin within 60 days, and that Allan Young, attorney and specialist in planned communities, be the mediator. Mediation is taking place on Monday,Oct. 27th.
4. Based on the advice of our attorney, our position for mediation is in line with our complaint - the restoration of our amenities to good and usable condition; a transparent accounting of all community payables, receivables, and operating costs; and the engagement of a certified disinterested professional management company to run the community properly.
What specific form any settlement will take or whether we can reach a settlement at all remains unknown until we go through the mediation process. If mediation is not successful, we are ready and committed to pursuing a satisfactory conclusion in court.
After this update, the floor was opened to discussion, and community members expressed their views and asked questions on the upcoming mediation and the situation in general.
Thanks to those who donated to the legal fund during the meeting on Friday, and thanks to all who have contributed thus far. If you haven't yet, please consider sending in a contribution at this time. We continue to make excellent progress thanks to our attorney and every dollar raised goes towards covering the costs of this lawsuit. Please join us in this important work of remedying our decaying community.
We will update the community via email after mediation on October, 27th. If you haven't already, please take the time to read the complaint, the Appletree Management Expert Witness Report, and all relevant documents on our website, so you are well versed and up to date on the lawsuit. Please note that we are awaiting a copy of Virginia Kennedy's deposition - once we receive it, we will post it to the website alongside the other depositions.
The Volunteer Committee
Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake
www.concernedcitizensofsunriselake.org
Update, September 4, 2008
Hello Neighbor,
As you are aware from our previous update, on July 9th we agreed with Judge Chelak's suggestion to attempt mediation before trial. And after two weeks of no commitment from Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands, Inc., on July 21st, SV/SL verbally agreed to mediation. A conference call between the two attorneys and mediator Alan Young (also an attorney and a community planning expert who is from outside Pike County) was scheduled for July 28th.
That call took place on July 28th. Following that call, our attorney requested a stipulation (a written agreement which the judge approves and signs) from SV/SL agreeing to mediation and to naming as mediator Alan Young, However, after repeated requests from our attorney Mr. Fareri, he still did not receive the written stipulation.
On Wednesday 8/20, SV/SL attorney Brian Seaman informed Mr. Fareri that he would be putting the written stipulation in the mail that day. When Mr. Fareri had not received it by the following Wednesday, 8/27, he emailed Mr. Seaman who responded that he had mailed it not on the 20th, but on Friday 8/22.
On Thursday, 8/28, the written stipulation finally arrived. It took a month (!) for this document, which simply confirms in writing what has already verbally been agreed on, to be produced. And without this document, of course, mediation could not proceed.
The stipulation has now been filed with the court. This stipulation specifies that mediation must take place within sixty (60) days. Mr. Fareri is now making arrangements with mediator Alan Young to schedule Mr. Young's review of the case documents. Following his review of these documents, there will be a meeting between both parties' attorneys and Mr. Young. We will keep you informed as things progress.
It is worth pointing out that Mr. Seaman has requested several times to depose members of the Concerned Citizens volunteer committee. Twice in the past six months, Mr. Seaman sent us dates for the depositions, and twice we agreed to meet on those dates. Both times, he did not follow through with the planned depositions. He continues to request depositions and has asked for them to be conducted prior to mediation.
In the spirit of good faith, we have, for a third time, sent a variety of possible dates. And again, after a month of silence, Seaman has acknowledged those dates and confirmed which ones will work for him and his clients. We will now see whether the depositions will happen on one of the agreed upon dates.
As we have seen over and over again in this lawsuit, SV/SL is extremely resistant to do anything at all in a timely matter, and must always be compelled by the judge to comply.
This kind of stalling is transparent. And it has yet to deter us from our common goal – which is to finally have responsible and accountable management of our dues and expenses and to have our amenities that continue to decay restored to their proper and functional condition. What these delays attempt to accomplish is the one thing that they hope will deter us – and that is that these delays eat up our time and cost us in attorney's fees.
Please remember what we are fighting for.
We have included below section V. from Appletree Property Management's expert witness report. Please read it or re-read it, if you have read it already. And please take the time to read or re-read the entire report along with the depositions of the Ramagosa brothers regarding their management practices. All of these documents can be found in their entirety at our website, www.concernedcitizensofsunriselake.org.
It is important to understand, especially in this difficult real estate market, how much their disregard for our deeds and the current condition of our community damages the quality and value of our homes and neighborhood. And that as each of us face the rising costs of fuel and food and other necessities, how crucial it is that every dollar used to maintain our homes and neighborhood is wisely and prudently managed and spent on all our behalves.
We are not and will not back down in the face of their repeated stalling tactics. We continue to push hard, and we will get there. Please support us by staying informed about our case, spreading the word about what we will accomplish when we succeed, and by contributing to legal fees.
Every $25, $50, or $100 helps tremendously. This is a neighborhood effort. It is our COMBINED contributions that will enable us and our attorney to achieve success and restore our community to a safe and well-cared for place for all of us to live.
Make checks payable to:
CONCERNED CITIZENS OF SUNRISE LAKE
P.O. Box 494
Milford, PA 18337
Thank you!
Volunteer Committee
FROM APPLETREE MANAGEMENT EXPERT WITNESS REPORT:
V. Finally, has the developer negatively impacted the Sunrise Lake Community?
Owner’s ability to maximize use enjoyment (i.e. common facilities) and/or their overall individual property investment value?
The developer, by virtue of its continued ownership of the common areas, remains encumbered by the deed covenants, condition and restrictions. And, as long as ownership of the common facilities remains in the name of the developer, the obligations under the encumbrances will continue.
Therefore, with ownership comes control. Control can be mismanaged in
particular after many years of perceived comfort and/or being unchallenged which appears to be the case until now.
o The developer’s lack of properly administering the property owner funds,
non-existent collection procedures , lack of creating a reserve account,
conducting commercial activity for personal gain, closing facilities and
clearly overlooking “best practices” are all characteristics of
mismanagement. Such mismanagement occurs because the developer of
Sunrise Lake conducts several business activities (real estate
development, real estate sales, mining, lumbering, common facility
maintenance) all of which, from time to time, compete with or conflict
with each other. In the long run going unchallenged, someone loses
priority. In this case, it is the property owner’s interests and common
facilities.
o The closed facilities and overall common area and facility condition
minimizes attraction and curb appeal and results in both loss of existing
property owner use enjoyment but also adversely impacts resales and
individual property owner values. In a 2005 study conducted by Davis R.
Chant Realtors, Milford, PA and Shepstone Management Company,
Honesdale, PA for the Lake Naomi Club and related community(s), when
evaluating the potential impact of a new proposed Community Center on
property values the researcher’s indicated the following:
o Study indicates that a strong relationship of amenities such as pools (indoor/outdoor) and other recreational facilities to both home prices and rents. The positive impact typically ranges from 5% to 15%. (Imagine the adverse impact should such existing facilities then be closed.)
o The market population in one of Pennsylvania’s largest growing counties (Pike) consists of both families and baby boomers. Not only is this market segment looking for quality, services and recreational opportunities, they are also very astute purchasers. Many have bought and sold prior homes and/or properties. Therefore, they (and their lenders) review and analyze the financial health of the environment they are considering, evaluate facility maintenance and services, respect and understand the value of curb appeal and read the issued resale certificates issued from seller to prospective owner, which in this case, if properly presented would be fairly negative.
Has the developer’s lack of “best practices” adversely impacted individual (and future developed) property values?
Most certainly. The non-collected account value of $1.69 million may be small when compared to the overall sum of the discounted individual property values.
Update, July 27th, 2008
Dear Neighbors,
On Saturday July 19th, Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake met at 10am at St. Vincent's Church. The following new information was shared and discussed:
* On July 7th, our attorney, James Fareri, and Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands’ attorney, Brian Seaman, attended the scheduled pre-trial hearing. Please note that Mr. Seaman first attempted to cancel the meeting and when rebuffed by the judge, then requested to phone in his appearance rather than actually attend. Again, the judge insisted he be physically present.
At the pre-trial hearing the presiding judge, Greg Chelak, suggested mediation to settle the matter prior to trial. Both attorneys agreed that mediation would be possible with client approval. Our attorney made clear that we would want someone outside the Pike County Bar to avoid any conflicts of interest and so suggested Alan Young, a community-planning expert who is from outside the Pike County area. Both attorneys agreed they would suggest Mr. Young to their clients. In addition, our attorney requested a court date in any case, to be sure that mediation, if agreed upon, would take place in a timely fashion. The judge said he would consider setting a court date for that reason once we all decided on mediation. He set a deadline of that Friday, July 11th, as the date he wanted to hear back from both parties with their decisions.
* On July 9th, the Volunteer Committee of Concerned Citizens met and, based on our attorney’s recommendation, agreed to mediation and agreed to Mr. Young as the mediator provided he was available and could take the case. SV/SL failed to meet the July 11th deadline.
* On July 18th, two full weeks after the pre-trial hearing, SV/SL's attorney communicated with Mr. Fareri that his clients were still exploring the issue. Since SV/SL has stalled at every opportunity throughout this court case, from providing discovery to the giving and taking of depositions, we asked Mr. Fareri to inform SV/SL's attorney that we would not wait any longer while they “explored”. We requested that Mr. Fareri either get a response by Monday, July 21st, or ask the court to order a response by a date certain.
After the above update on the case’s progress, community members asked questions and voiced concerns regarding the proceedings, which were then discussed and elaborated upon. The main questions concerned the nature of mediation and settlement. As was explained to us by Mr. Fareri, a mediator reads the case and anticipates what a judge will do based on the facts of the case. He then advises the parties to the lawsuit what their negotiation position should be based on the merits of the case. We, and Mr. Fareri, believe that we have a strong case with simple settling points. If mediation does not produce adequate results, we will not hesitate to proceed to trial.
As of July 25th:
* On Monday July 21st, SV/SL's attorney, Mr. Seaman, contacted Mr. Fareri and agreed to mediation and to Alan Young as mediator. On Tuesday July 22nd, Mr. Fareri spoke to Alan Young who agreed to take the case. On Monday July 28th Mr. Fareri, Mr. Seaman, and Mr. Young will conduct a three-way phone conversation to set the terms of mediation. Mr. Fareri will still request a court date from the judge to establish a time limit for mediation. We will update the community when we have further information.
______________________________________
Thanks to all those who attended the July 19th meeting and who donated to the legal fund at that time. Those of you who were not able to attend, we missed you, and we hope you'll be able to attend future meetings. We continue working hard pursuing a satisfactory resolution to this suit – the restoration of our community into the healthy, safe, and fiscally responsible community that we as dues-paying residents are entitled to. We are making excellent progress. If you have not yet contributed to the legal fund, and even if you have, please consider making a donation of $25, $50, $100, or whatever you can afford. As you can see from this update, we are getting closer and closer! We need to have the funds to reach success – so please – every dollar counts!
Thank you,
The Volunteer Committee
Update, July 1, 2008
Dear Neighbors,
As you may know from our last email update and the website, our attorney listed us for trial on June 17th. We just heard from our attorney that we are now listed for a pre-trial hearing for July 7. Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands' attorney filed an objection with the court to the listing of the case for trial. Our attorney is filing an answer to this objection. Both attorneys must attend the pre-trial conference on July 7, where our attorney will push for a date-certain for trial against the objection of their attorney. Since this is a non-jury trial, the date-certain could possibly be outside of the jury session in August and take place in September, depending on when the judge schedules it. Although nothing is ever certain when dealing with lawsuits, our attorney feels that it is likely we will have a date-certain for our case this coming trial period.
There will be a community meeting on Saturday July 19th at 10AM at St. Vincent's Church. At this meeting, we will give any further updates on the case, summarize the substance of the case to go before the judge, and discuss any questions community members have. Please do your best to attend, and spread the word so your neighbors do the same. We are headed to court! It is important that we all stay energized and focused on a successful outcome in court -- which will bring us that much closer to restoring our community and amenities to the well-maintained condition for which we pay our dues each year.
We will update the website with this information in the next few days. In the meantime, please forward this email and spread the word about the July 19th meeting. Come and share in the excitement as we prepare for our day in court -- we are continuing to make great progress in this neighborhood-wide effort to repair the condition of our community and restore and protect the value of our neighborhood and our homes.
Please do not underestimate how important and valuable your participation is for all of us. Each and every resident of Sunrise Lake is crucial to our success. Regardless of how much and how often you've contributed financially (and we always welcome donations!), your presence at these meetings encourages all of us as we work together to restore our community. Please come on July 19th at 10AM to St. Vincent's Church and please spread the word and encourage your friends and neighbors to join you!
Thank you,
The Volunteer Committee
Update: May 19, 2008
Dear Neighbors,
The next meeting of Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake will be in July. We had previously announced we would schedule for May or June, but unfortunately between Bingo and other spring events, we can not get St. Vincent's at a time that would be convenient to the majority of people - including weekenders - who would want to attend. We are thankful to St. Vincent's for their assistance in letting us use the church facilities for free, so will need to be patient until we can get a weekend date. We are confident we'll be able to do this for July, so please watch the website and email updates announcing the specific day.
As you know, our case is ready to go into court. Our attorney will be scheduling us at the next hearing scheduling session (called the "praecipe for trial") in Pike County Court which is June 20. Provided we don't experience any unforeseen delays, we'll be in court in August. We should have a specific day in August by the time of our community meeting in July.
The website has now been updated to include the report from the expert management company. Follow the link to the left to download and view it. Please also be sure to read the case-related documents on our website, particularly the depositions taken from the Ramagosas and employees of SV/SL, which detail the mismanagement of our community.
Have a safe and happy spring.
Volunteer Committee
Concerned Citizens of Sunrise Lake
Update, April 22, 2008
Hello neighbors!
Spring is here -- it's been a long winter and the committee members of CCSL have been working hard to move our case forward. This is the most current information available:
1.) We have a good strong case. All our ducks are in a row and we are ready for court. Trial terms in Pike County run every other even month. Since we could not get on the trial calendar this Spring, our trial date will be scheduled for August in Pike County Court. The exact date will be announced as soon as we have it. Please be aware that we fully expect delaying tactics by Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands, Inc. and their attorney. Since we have to wait until the August term, our attorney is prepared to navigate any potential stalling tactics, and to mitigate them as fully as possible.
2.) The committee members met with state representative Mr. Mike Pfiefer to discuss our situation within the community and the lack of response to community complaints filed with the Attorney General's office. Mr. Pfiefer stated he would follow-up with the Attorney General on our behalf. He was very sympathetic regarding our situation within Sunrise Lake and will have his staff investigate further. We will keep you updated on this matter.
3.) We have received the final copy of the report from the management company CCSL hired as an expert witness, which is needed for court. We’ll post this on our site soon for your review. Our attorney feels this report will be quite beneficial when we are before a judge. It details how the practices of running our community fall short of standard operating practices on many fronts for an efficiently and professionally run community. It also details some suggested remedies to the current management practices. Please take the time to download and read it. All proposed remedies entail removing the Ramagosas and Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands, Inc. from direct management of our dues monies.
4.) The '07 annual statement has arrived. Our attorney has advised that all residents continue to pay our annual dues per our deed agreements. It is not in our best interests to withhold funds. Please write “For Deposit Only, Acct.# 2000003093766” on the back of your check when paying dues this year. Regarding the common facility fees -- as many of you are aware, you are not required to pay this fee (per the letter from Bill Ramagosa which accompanied the annual dues statement). Paying the common facilities fee is a personal decision. If you choose not to pay the fee, please remember that they will not allow you to have a mailbox in the community.
We noted the following curiosities within the statement:
A.) The total monies collected for ‘07 was $571,923.50 vs. $576,645.92 in ‘06. Even with an annual dues reduction of $15.00, Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands, Inc. is still collecting over a half million dollars from the residents each year yet we still have no amenities.
B.) They show a “net gain” in ‘07 of $318,305.84 vs. ‘06 which showed a “net loss” of $491.00. What is the source of this net gain? And with a “net gain” of $318,305.84 why is the pool closed, basketball and tennis courts unusable, and the ball field in such poor condition?
C.) The charges for “Road Repairs and General Maintenance” for ‘07 were $104,913.56 vs. $229,167.54 in ‘06. That’s a difference of $124,253.98 in just one year. Does this mean that there was less road repair and maintenance done in 2007? And was the difference attributable to the comprehensive paving around Sprint Lake last year? Most surprisingly, this charge does not include “sanding and plowing”!
D.) The “Common Facility” fees for ‘07 were $18,883.50 vs. $92,845.98 in ‘06. How can there be such a huge difference of $73,962.48 from one year to the next? What did they spend almost $100,000 on in 2006? And after spending almost $100,000 in 2006, what did they spend an additional $18,883.50 on this year? Do you see $120,000 worth of improvements to the common facility areas?
There is still no consistency to any of these charges and we still lack a clear and transparent accounting of what exactly our $500,000 is spent on
each year, even though we are entitled to this information. It remains our goal that standard and accepted accounting principles be used to clearly and simply show every owner in Sunrise Lake exactly what is being collected, what is being spent on their behalf, and how the annual budget is created and maintained.
Hopefully this case will move swiftly through the judicial system and these questions will be answered in a court of law. And finally our community will be repaired and restored to a clean and well-cared for development.
As you are aware this effort has cost a great deal of money and every penny has been well spent to better our community. Though our attorney, our accountant and the expert witness have been extremely fair with their fees will still have a trial to get through and funds are dwindling. We need your financial support.
If you haven't already done so, please send a donation now.
If you have already donated and are able to send a little more it is greatly appreciated. To all who have contributed once or every time we ask, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! We’re in this together and we’re in this for the long haul!
Please send your checks to: CCSL, Inc., PO Box 494, Milford, PA 18337
The Volunteer Committee CCSL
www.concernedcitizensofsunriselake.org
Update, March 10, 2008
Progress Toward Trial Date
On Friday Feb. 29th, the Volunteer Committee met with CCSL's attorney, Mr. Jim Fareri. At this meeting, we completed the "discovery requests" from Sunrise Ventures/Sunnylands (SV/SL) which will be mailed to their attorney this upcoming week. "Discovery requests" are standard requests for information from opposing parties in a law suit. In addition, Mr. Fareri summarized the report prepared by the community management professional who has been engaged to be an expert witness for our case. This report will be given to SV/SL's attorney with the rest of the discovery documents. It will also be posted to the website in the near future. The accountant will do some final calculating of expenditures by SV/SL for the community relative to dues collected. With these final things in place (the report from the expert and the numbers from the accountant), our case will be ready for presentation at court, and Mr. Fareri will petition the court for a hearing in the upcoming spring. When we have a firm date for court, we will notify the community immediately.
We anticipate our next community meeting to be at St. Vincent's in early May after the spring holidays and communions etc. The church will not be available until then. In the meantime, we will keep you posted via email update and through the website.
For those of you who have sent contributions recently: THANK YOU! Every dollar donated contributes to moving us closer to repairing these distressing conditions in our community. And now more than ever (because of the weak housing market) it is essential that our neighborhood be everything it should be -- fully restored to the conditions guaranteed by our deeds. We can not afford to accept lack of amenities and lack of services any longer - we are paying dues monies for services we are not receiving AND the value of our homes is negatively affected by the poor condition of our community. If you have not contributed, and even if you have, please consider sending $25, $50, $100 or whatever you can afford. We are getting there! We will have our day in court! Please help with the legal fees. It matters to every resident and home owner of Sunrise Lake that our community be as healthy and the absolute best it can be. Thank you!
Update, January 26, 2008
Happy New Year, Neighbors! We wish everyone the best of health and happiness in 2008.
Our last meeting was on Friday, January 25, 2008, at 7:30pm, at St. Vincent's Church on Route. 739. If you are new to our group and need more specific directions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
We are moving toward a trial date and shared some important update information!
**Note: The transcripts of the depositions taken by our attorney ARE NOW AVAILABLE!!! Follow the links on the side to download and read the depositions in their entirety.
So read up and we'll look forward to seeing you at the next meeting!
The above is only the most recent info on the last few meetings/events -- to read more about our meetings and activities, please click on the HISTORY button on the left. Thank you!
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