Some people will never change. When they show you who they are, believe them

Sent to HOA Board members and fellow former committee members on 10/7/2021,

Our HOA board president thinks that new wrought iron gates that are wide open at least twice a day when they are not broken and open all night are “functioning very well for our needs”. Antiquated, clearly rusty access control mechanisms that shock us daily are not adequate for our needs.

It seems so obvious that certain board members will keep awarding no-compete high-value contracts for roads and gates. Yet, all ethical efforts to require three companies to bid for every contract over $300 and require board members to disclose any previous dealing with contractors have been declined.

Have you seen crosstimberhoa.org? It was my effort to disclose the truth with regard to the ongoing failure of certain board members to exercise ordinary care, in a reasonable and good faith manner, in the performance of their duties. Certain board members hired a lawyer to ask me to take it down. I asked the lawyer one question: “Do I have to take it down just because someone doesn’t like the truth?” This is why crosstimberhoa.org will stay up until enough homeowners get alarmed by the level of ongoing malfeasance that it is no longer truthful.

In closing, we now know that an affordable modern solution to the ongoing problems that we have been having with validating guests and accurately capturing video related to security events that involve unauthorized vehicles and tailgating. And we don’t have any good rational reasons for declining to let them demo their solution since we don’t have one that works. When something really bad eventually happens and nothing was done to mitigate known security concerns at a low affordable cost…. Who will be accountable?

 

Crime in our gated Rogers Ranch Crosstimber Community

Sent to HOA Board Members on 10/6/2021,

 

Homeowners share  burglary and theft stories with each other on social media daily. The obvious answer is that we should increase security. This HOA has studied this problem for years and concluded annually that increasing security with manned patrols and guard houses costs too much. 

 

My research indicates that "SafePassage" is a company that provides 24/7 H virtual security guard capabilities and services for commercial and gated communities. Their service includes visitor access control via a live human remote operator for a fraction of the cost of an on-site guard. Their remote security guards can see live 360 degree traffic and can converse with visitors as they come through the access point. Authorization is then provided easily using their gate control software. 

 

What's the rough price? 

$3712.50 monthly covers one visitor entrance lane, one home owner entrance lane and one exit lane (Salado Canyon, Fallingbrook, Point Bluff). 

$4455.00 monthly would cover four entrance lanes and two exit lanes (Crosstimber). There's also an equipment install service price that seems negotiable.  

 

Here's an overview video link so you can see how it all works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0G6dwJwQ3Y

 

To help clarify my understanding of the current problem with accessing gate camera footage: Let's assume that there are four RR Crosstimber gates and each gate opens automatically at least 700 times a day. A homeowner's request for relevant security footage becomes a manual, error-prone, tedious, and time-consuming process that can take some time and additional labor expense.

 

With modern video intelligence technology from a company like SafePassage, HOA Boardmembers, our property management firm, and/or our gate access control provider would be able to access the information (just like they currently do). The only difference is that newer technology would automatically classify surveillance videos in a quantifiable and meaningful way for easy and quick review after a security incident. 

 

Therefore, the review process would be less time consuming and allow users to accurately search for video footage that matches descriptions like "red truck" or license numbers. Neighboring communities that share this capability could quickly search their intelligence for relevant events when the need arises without a lot of time and expense.

 

NOTE: This discussion began online @nextdoor.com. Here is the link:

 

https://nextdoor.com/news_feed/?post=203168592&is=neighbor_profile_5549636

 

In closing, hiring 24/7 human security guards is expensive. Using up to date technology to remotely manage and/or automate surveillance processes that we want to improve is affordable if we go with a Virtual Security Guard.