Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "speed racers on motorcycles":
This is my first post because I was once a board member and did not want to use this as an outlet. However, I am no longer a board member and wish to get some stuff out to people. Last night or the night before, my three month old truck was broken in to. No other vehicle was touched and the after market stereo I installed was very stock looking. There is a select group of boys that hang out in the alley and saw me installing it. I suspect that a friend of someone who lives here might know something about the excessive damage to my truck during the theft of the stereo. I would like to see better security or cameras or something to protect our property and children.
With that said, I am sorry I failed to address this issue while I was on the board. I did not take this matter seriously until something happened to me. Please accept my apologies.
Kevin
15 comments:
Sorry to hear about your truck. Parkridge is just as vulnerable to theives as any other neighborhood despite the gates. I'm curious where your truck was parked during the break-in and if it had an alarm system?
There seems to be a lynch mob mentality brewing on this site about these dirt-biking "thugs" that hang out in their garages. I can tell you that the guy with the toy helicopters, Joey, is actually a nice guy. He helped me with a stubborn water shut-off valve 2 weeks ago when I was struggling to install a dishwasher on a Saturday afternoon (he's a plumber). His brother (who also lives here) was helpful too as he is also a plumber.
I can't say I know these guys on a personal level, but don't judge them from a distance if you haven't ever introduced yourself and said hello. We don't live in Coto de Caza, folks, but this isn't Gangland either!
As far as I know, our lives and our children are still safe here! Did something happen to prove otherwise??
-Shawn
Think again about safe. I just noticed someone poped the door lock of my truck also. I guess they tried to steal my truck . I say we keep the front gate locked at all times and only allow the gate openers to work them. If anyone knows who it might be or might know something about it I would greatly appreceiate it. Please give me unit numbers. Also by keeping the gates closed it would prevent other people from using this place as a park and ride. Joel
Shawn,
Thanks for pointing out the error in my working of my post. I am actually one of the motorcycle guys in this complex and most of the guys in here are very nice. Joey happens to be a really nice guy and most of the others are very polite when they come by my garage. I was frustrated and did not know where to focus my depression and anger. I do know there are a few bad seeds in this complex or at least visitors to this complex.
I do feel that security is a concern and the GATE is a good place to start. When I was on the board, I suggested and was approved to contract a company to maintain the gate. I see no improvements in gate functionality and thus, would like to see new action.
Secondly, if I had been re-appointed I would have suggested a 2,000 dollar camera system that would record for days. It would cover major public areas. My hope would be that the laundry and pool areas would be safer by discouraging poor behavior and criminal activity. After several garage break-ins and automotive break-in's I would have asked to expand coverage to parking areas.
As a result, thousands of dollars would be invested, and a security company might have been a possible option. Knowing that the current board loves this board (blog), my hope is that some suggestions might get to them. (Good job getting our landscape company into gear by-the-way).
Again, sorry for the confusion...
Kevin
PS – I was parked in carport 1 and my alarm was going off, which is why they started cutting wires under the hood to make it stop. Thanks for asking and I hope we can all watch out for one another.
Hello Kevin I feel and understand your pain my car very cheap if you will '94 honda also was stolen from the parking area when that happen I was very upset my baby's stroller was gone and the car seat too.The car was found in Santa Ana two months after and my baby's car seat found in the trash area here in park-ridge car stereo gone but at list they put back the old one since I had it in the trunk I do not know what the solution could be for this situation all I can say is as for me the bad feeling against who ever stole my car is gone and may God bless this people too.The way I have been bless.
Golda
And this again is why you were not re-elected Kevin!
$2000.00 wasted on an inside security system to be watched by who? a private secuity firm? no.. that would cost too much. How about a nosey ex-member of the board or a current member of the board- Bad Idea. I'm sure there is a privacy law somewhere that says monitoring a pool area with a camera that records would make sunbathers feel uncomfortable and I bet somebody will find a reason to sue for that. I know you fear lawsuits Kevin that will raise your insurance!
That sucks that you were violated by theifs but come on man, when trees fall on cars and water pipes burst on other people your board turned your noses up and left them jumping through the rules and regulations loop-holes untill they move, sell or gave up. Bottom line is that there is a bigger elephant in the room here called Enforcement. The new board should have at least taken that from Renee and start handing/mailing out warnings to violators.
-Robert.
I'm glad that Kevin let us know about the break in. We all need to keep an eye open for each other. He probably knew he would be opening himself up to anger from past issues. Good for you Robert for signing your comment. Some recent anonymous comments barely made it.
I see virtually no connection between vandalism and the volunteer board. If we lived in stand alone homes we would have fewer targets. Just because something goes wrong does not necessarily mean that someone/entity is to blame. The kids who hang out in the back of Parkridge need to be watched and I take a loop around the lot from time to time to do so.
Last night there were kids (teen boys) throwing stuff at passing cars on Associated from the park. That may be unrelated to what is happening in our community but very near by none the less.
Let's all take care of the neighborhood.
Personally, I can't imagine a camera system providing much protection; especially without someone viewing the system in real-time. A hooded sweatshirt or baseball cap can make identifying an individual impossible and we could even experience situations where the cameras themselves are stolen!
The front gate is a false sense of security. Any bad guy that has ever broken into a vehicle here in the last X years already has a remote and the gates can be climbed over if necessary.
The single best way to protect your vehicle here is to park it in your garage. If your garage is full of stuff you can't part with, public storage for a 10'x15' area is about $150/mo. If you already park a car in your garage and are worried about your second vehicle, look into anything from a hidden kill switch (~$60 labor) to an alarm system with a backup battery/pain generators/ravelco/lojack.
However, perhaps Parkridge could use an onsite security guard in the evenings for a few months?
-Shawn
Thank you to everyone who has said kind things to me. I am sorry to hear that others were hit too and wish there was something I could do to help improve the security here. I wanted to hire a security company to drive thought, but our budget was very tight and I was foolishly hoping to save for plumbing repairs. It is important we address other needs as well as keep planning for the plumbing.
I think the board is doing a fair job and this letter is not meant to take from that.
Robert,
Thanks for taking the time to write me such a lovely comment. The only thing I did was make a few suggestions, but I can see that you are one of the few people in the complex who likes to push buttons and go out on a crusade against people you know nothing about.
1. I was the one who suggested we ask for an interest free payment plan to get the trees cut. We got 32 payments on 10s of thousands of dollars and all the trees were cut. I do care! Any why were the trees so over grown? Who was in charge when that happened?
2. The pipe problem cannot be fixed even if we all came up with 5000 dollars each tomorrow. The piping problem will cost over one million dollars and is the only solution. Also, the roofs need to be replaced and bids were well over 500 thousand dollars. You might ask yourself where all of our money is. I just moved here three years ago and there was only 20,000 in reserve when I first started the board. Who was in charge for years and years and has gotten us to where we are now? I do love the rock sides that leaked into closets and cause thousand of dollars of mold repairs.
3. The gate is always broken and the board does little about it. I wanted to replace the actuators, but we keep spending thousands a year to fix them anyway. There was a task to remove the codes months ago and it still hasn't been done.
4. Common areas can be monitored by video especially if posted. Don't worry; no one wants to look at you on camera. Plus, no one would see the video unless something happened. And weeks could be recorded on a hard drive. I bet clothing would not get stolen and the laundry room wouldn't get trashed and women would feel more safe going there at night, but what do I know?
5. The only reason I did not get re-elected is because XXXX and XXXX smeared my name with lies. This community wants friends to walk around and talk to them, not someone who analyzes the budget and balances needs. Do you know that none of the board read the budget for this year and were willing to approve it without a second though. I cut several thousand dollars out and made the dues increase reflect operating costs plus savings.
You don't know what you are talking about, so get your facts straight before you try to trash me some more.
If you really want to contribute something other than your rude comments, why don't you run for the board next year? I will even vote for you. But, you have to promise to show up to meetings. I bet you are too lazy to contribute something substantial to our community. At least the current board actually cares enough to give us their time and they are doing their best with the little money we have.
Bring it,
Kevin
Great re-election speach Kevin.
Any-who, I lost faith long ago in going to meetings to witness the pissing contests between the old board and angry homeowners,
I have popped in to a recent meeting and saw allot of change (No more podium as one YAY!)
But Mr. Blogger, please allow my reply to Mr. Sharp’s opinions-
RE: (Thanks for taking the time to write me such a lovely comment. The only thing I did was make a few suggestions, but I can see that you are one of the few people in the complex who likes to push buttons and go out on a crusade against people you know nothing about.)
Rebuttal: Push buttons? I was just calling you out! And in MY opinion, you’re kind of a jerk.
Now that that's out of the way-
Everybody who got a ballot in the mail voted fairly on common sense thus creating our current change of board.
I have only lived here a few years and only saw you at one meeting when that board was pointing fingers at each other and belittling anyone who had an issue or concern only to receive a snotty answer or was interrupted and told to write their concern down and stick it in their suggestion box.
Remember, these are just my opinions and I am openly letting you know how I feel about your past involvement in Partridge’s past leadership.
I don't hate you nor am planning or have ever been involved in any smear campaign and yes, I am too lazy to join the board but not ignorant or lazy when it comes to helping a neighbor.
I do support the greater needs that common sense says to support like the water issues and community safety and values. But making residents feel uncomfortable in their own home with unnecessary violations or creepy verbal confrontations before given proper warnings was the way of the old board.
Lucky for us the majority of the old board was weeded out.
I do feel that the new board needs to sharpen their pencils and hand out a few warnings or fine the habitual violators to flex their authority a bit when it is needed.
I can tell that they do not waste time wondering who likes or dislikes any individual one of them. They know that they are here for our COMMUNITY and not here for THEMSELVES.
This is a group governed by the community that as far as I have noticed, relies on community vote not individual board appointed decisions like the last board thrived on.
-Robert.
Shawn,
Most of the vandalism done here is by residents. I agree that it would not have done much, but the police would have something to see. As for the rest of the community, people would hesitate to steel clothing, break the washer/dryers, and leave unwanted things of the bulletin board. Plus, some camera’s come with audio, which can also give the police clues. We could also make it so that there is a digital log of access to the recordings. The pool area does not necessarily need to be covered. Remember when Todd refused to put in an out going mail box. You can see that living in fear was a mistake. Simple security would prevent most of the petty crime. And, most neighborhoods in OC have a security patrol, I saw you at the neighbors last night.
Also, my short bed truck will not fit in the garage, but my fiancé’s will be going in there. This is why the other silver Tacoma’s garage door is not closed when he/she parks in there. Good idea about the battery back up!
Just a few thoughts,
Kevin
Robert,
Well, it seems that we are both jerks, and as far as re-election, never. This community wants a friend, not a leader. I was in the Army for 8 years, I have a degree in Engineering, and could build an entire house myself if I had too. And, my credit score is currently around 780. I am qualified to run this community. Maybe I am a jerk, but that is okay. It was not me who ran meetings. I missed only about three meetings the entire time I was on and that was only when I was out of the country working. You are high if you think any one person can make a decision for this community. Finally, the only two people missing from the current board is the guy who got us a new management company, created accountability, and who enforced the very first rule, with warnings and fines (according to established rules), in years. The other guy created a budget from thin air because the old company and "lost" everything, helped got the trees, sidewalks, and railing fixed, created expense categories and tracked them, hired a gate maintenance company (who is not being held to their contract), identified that the blower on one of the boilers was tripping and needed replacement even after the boiler company came out and did not fix it (twice), purchased new bulletin boards and put them up, helped with the laundry room renovation, clean dirt off sidewalks, and who’s name or photo does not appear anywhere on any of the volunteer propaganda. Please note, that this is the first time I have patted myself on the back to the extent others do. Oh, and I was the first to analyze the budget and raise dues according to a budget and not always just the full 20% a year. Some complain about the high cost and others will say it is not enough. I was the only one who wanted to compromise between the two.
I only cut people off because the board and neighbors were getting sick of hearing people whine about things that were either in the works or could not be address until we had more money. Meetings lasted hours and order had to be maintained.
Everyone is all friendly now, but what real progress is being made? Only time will tell. Hopefully if won't cost us 10,000 dollars each to see.
Thank you Robert for setting me up to vent on this form. I do not dislike you either. So please let this be my peace. You are entitled to your opinions; I just hope you keep them in prospective.
Kevin
Blogger Dude. How about putting some kind of link here on this website so we can report observations of possible suspicious activity?? If we keep some kind of log we might be able to see patterns of people in question. Also it will help some to possibly keep an eye out in known areas of vandalisim. What do you think?
does anyone know Bill's address or phone number or last name that use to be on the Parkridge board four or five years ago? I haven't talked to him in awhile and I would like to get in touch with him. Thank you.
hi
i don't have a solution but an idea
since many of us have experience similar situations about our cars,i like to propose a walking patrol by us neighbors working together since the break-ins had happen at an early hour of the day they happen when every body sleeps i will sacrifice some of my sleep from 12: to 2: but i will not do it by my self we need to be at least four people walking the complex, crazy i know,any body?
I'm part of this community and my name is Golda Norton
You know, it's been quite awhile since I've gotten in and read this blog and I've got mixed feelings whether I should have or not because I find most of it pretty irritating.
Let me start by saying it is absolutely IGNORANT to assume that because a group of kids watched someone install an item in their vehicle, that they were in any way connected to the break-in! I hope I never watch anyone do anything to their car, or I'll be a suspect too! BUT, if you know that as a fact, then the police should have been called.
I also think it's out of line to assume that most break-ins were done by residents here!!! That makes me just SICK to hear someone say that. My son & I have been broken into 3 times. My son's vehicle twice - busted window each time and stole basically everything out of it including ripping out the entire dash. I also had my garage broken into twice, my car stepped on and bike stolen. I sure don't assume it was done by residents here. I didn't see who did it - so how and why would I assume that?
It is also IGNORANT to assume that because kids are out working on their bikes which are their hobbies that they are BAD kids or THUGS!! It is unacceptable to cast that kind of judgment.
I will agree that zooming up and down the alley's should be curtailed as it's not only dangerous to kids, but also dangerous to the riders themselves. But to call names and sterotype people based on how they look or if they have a wrench in their hand, while they work on their bikes in their own garage is unacceptable and makes me sick.
I have lived at Parkridge for 15 years. It's always been relatively safe, besides the obvious break-ins. Name calling and trouble making does not make for a happy community. People need to be more accepting and if there is a problem, be forthcoming and talk it out; don't make assumptions based on limited knowledge of the situation or the people.
I do my best to be a thoughtful neighbor and I find most of the people here are the same.
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