they are just lazy slobs

Almost forgot another item from the Rules Committee. It had been suggested that they extend the hours for depositing trash down the trash chute. The current hours are from 7am to 10pm. Some people it seem, come in after-hours and just leave their trash in the room, next to the chute. Either kind residents or the maintence people then come along and put it down the chute for them.

The rules committee decided NOT to extend the hours, as "those people are just a bunch of lazy slobs, and extending the hours would not alter their behavior." And yet the person who reported this from the rules committee took offense when the representive from the architecture committee cited "the way people live" as a potential reason for not allowing glass doors. Luckily there were no rocks in the meeting room, or someone might have gotten injured.

On a happier note, each floor will be getting new recycle bins so that in addition to paper, residents can also leave plastic, aluminium and glass. Previously it was required that you go to the garage to do so. B (who spent maybe one too many semesters at Berkeley) is thrilled.

What You Won't Find in the Minutes

I dragged B down to the monthly homeowner's meeting. This was actually February's meeting (more to follow).

One of Emeryville's finest came to discuss the incident that occurred now over two weeks ago. They still don't have a suspect or the car. There was an antenna found, or part of one, in the cross walk, which did belong to a Ford. But at this point he didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. This wasn't one of those cop shows on TV. And as much he hoped it could be resolved in a hour, it wouldn't be. And even with the antenna and the car, it is really only a confession by the person that will put him in a jail cell.

But he's in his own private jail cell right now. Imagine living with the fact that you took a life and just drove off. They estimate that he was going about 40 mph (in a 25 mile zone). He stopped, but then kept on going. The officer was genuinely concerned about his demeanor. I was going to suggest they check the bars and liquor stores, but held my tongue. There were many people in the audience who wanted to help.

There is a family friend who has taken it upon himself to post flyers. He is also offering a reward. But there wasn't anyone in the room who had seen any of said flyers. It's not that they felt he wasn't doing enough, but that perhaps several people working together would be better.

An older couple who had been involved in a similar situation reported that the break came when a group of people literally hit the pavement. Going door- to-door, talking to people. Someone remembered something, and that led to the person, which led to a conviction.

The next big issue was allowing glass doors on the top three floors of the building. This caused quite a ruckus. It was the task of the architecture committee to make a recommendation on this item. They recommended against it, as primarily it created randomness in the building (and there will be none of that here).

Security helped set up a mock up on the third floor. The woman from the architecture committee said her eye was automaticall drawn to it. One of the board members took a picture, and passed them around. Most people couldn't tell which door was glass.

The member of the architecture committee then got quite miffed. She felt that the recommendations of the committee were being ignored. What was the point of them going through all this trouble, if they weren't going to be heard?

After a very long debate it was decided that anyone in the building (not just the penthouse units), if they so desired, could change out their patio door to a glass one (despite the fact that someone pointed out that you could walk into a glass door, and hoped that these liability issues would be addressed). The vote was 3 to 1. The "no" vote was from a member who clearly wanted to show support of the architecture committee.

Still no resolution on the message board. Apparently there are some legal issues to be addressed. Yes, I am talking about a cork board located in the mail room, on which 4x6 index cards will be posted.

The social committee reported that they were able to donate $125 to the local charity as a result of the rummage sale. That was 25% of total sales. That means total sales were $500. B and I made just a little less than that at our moving sale! But she said they had fun, so maybe they will try again next year. Book club meeting is on Monday.

The final item that closed the meeting was a resident who reported that when she called to ask about why the meeting time had been changed (apparently she marks the first Wednesday of the month on her calendar), she was treated with hostility, and her question was NOT answered. She went on and on about how she was hurt and how this was completely unacceptable. Well!

By that point, I wanted a glass door so that I could run through it, and over the edge. Who on earth are these people?

B had fun. Enough in fact, that he wants to attend next month. He thinks I should join the social committee. I really think I am more a rules kind of girl.