Thank you to outgoing board members

Commentary by Dan Hardebeck

This coming Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m., I will attend my fourth annual meeting of The Esplanade’s Home Owners’ Association. This is a general meeting for all homeowners, where we will elect new members to the HOA board. Board members serve a two-year term.

When I last spoke to them, board members Jose Rivera and Terri Day both informed me that they would not be seeking re-election for another term. Perhaps in the last few days one or both of them have changed their minds, but I could not allow this opportunity to pass without offering a public “thank you” to both of them for their years of service.

When Jose and Terri were first elected two years ago, the board at that time was controlled by representatives of iStar (AKA 1515 Dock Street), the company which originally sold all of our condos. I remember sitting through one or two very contentious HOA meetings where resident-owners sparred with iStar representatives, and the resident board members (who were the minority on the board) prudently attempted to walk a conciliatory line somewhere in between. The history of iStar’s development of the building, and its somewhat controversial handling of the HOA in those early years, is not the subject of this blog post. But I briefly recap because in agreeing to serve on the first HOA board controlled by us small, individual condo owners, in many ways Terri and Jose stepped into a minefield of past resentments and uncharted waters. And while not every board action (or inaction) has been perfect in these last two years, it should be noted that by any reasonable measure, the HOA board is far, far more transparent, responsive, and attentive to the needs of current resident-owners (as opposed to corporate interests or future sales prospects) than it was in those early years.

Today, board meetings are no longer held out of the public view, as they were then. Today, homeowners are much better informed about board deliberations and actions, even if we happen to disagree with those actions. Today, homeowners can be confident that the board is attempting to conciliate the differing views of all HOA members, rather than wondering if the board is merely working in its own self-interest. These things matter a great deal, and we’ve come a long way in two years.

Jose and Terri, thank you for paving a good path. Thank you for doing the best you could to reconcile different interests and points of view. Thank you for putting up with our pettiness at times. Thank you for the many hours of hard work, for which you were uncompensated.

To the homeowners in the building who may have been dissatisfied with the board in the past, now is your opportunity to let your actions speak as loud as your words. Please consider very seriously this opportunity to take on the responsibility of serving on the board. If you are not willing – in some way – to participate in the process, then you forfeit at least some of your right to complain. I know that we have many intelligent, hard-working, civic-minded folks here at The Esplanade, and I urge some of you to help out the community in this way.

I have been asked a couple times in recent weeks if I plan to serve on the board myself, and I would absolutely agree that I have as much responsibility as the next person to do so. However, I do feel that if I were to run for a board position, I would need to discontinue working on “The Esplanade News.” I would view the dual roles of news reporter and board member as something of a conflict of interest. I guess I also believe that my meager talents are best spent on this blog, as this work better suits my skill set than a board position. So I will stay here on the blog, and urge others to serve in ways commensurate with their skills.

Please feel free to add your own thoughts, using the "comments" feature below. Hope to see everyone at this Thursday’s meeting!

-Dan Hardebeck, Esplanade News Editor, #514