To All Owners, From the Candidates for the Steering Committee

Valle Escondido has just been through several very difficult years. These difficulties have impacted real estate values, caused the expenditure of significant amounts of dollars on non-productive activities, and strained numerous friendships. There is no way to undo all of the events that brought these conditions about. What we can do is begin today with a renewed commitment to grow a community that does justice to our amazing surroundings.

The election that is being held on January 10 at 2 p.m. is simply about making VE a better place to live, not about rehashing old wounds and injustices.

We, the undersigned group of individuals standing for election to the VEHOA Steering Committee, will not dwell on the past. We intend to concentrate our time and energy on the current issues facing our community and towards activities that will positively impact the future. We are also committed to carrying out these activities in a transparent manner.

If elected, our first priority will be to take action on the following items:

• Restore the HOA bank account and funds
• Establish a reserve bank account to hold all specific capital asset related funds. This account will have independent signers and will to be used for capital expenditures only.
• Deliver a 2015 budget to the community by mid-February. This group has already been working on preparing a new operating budget. Because we are already into the year and we have not had existing accounting information available to us, it may take weeks. At that time, the complete budget will be presented to the community.
• Form a Transfer of Asset (TOA) subcommittee to immediately sit down with the developer and negotiate in good faith the transfer of assets and a working plan on managing such assets. We wish for this process to be completed with Panamanian legal experts who understand the laws as it relates to such transfers and keep this process outside of the HOA discussions. This subcommittee will be responsible for giving regular updates to the entire community and, when appropriate, present the transfer plan to the community for a vote.
• Reform the Security subcommittee with the intent of having clear and concise security requirements written. These requirements will then be provided to all qualified security companies for bid.
• Research and price a new entrance design and then present said design and budget to the community for review. This design may include input from the Security subcommittee. The ultimate goal is an entrance that is aesthetically pleasing, secure, and easy for residents to maneuver.
• Review and plan segmented budgets for our roads.
• Create a defined emergency fund to insure that we are protected should any emergency occur in the future with electric, water, or septic.
• Several months ago a group of residents started, on their own, the formation of an emergency medical response plan. We are in discussion with those individuals about reviving this potentially lifesaving plan.
• Explore the feasibility of hiring a community manager.

If elected, we will post notices as to where and when formal meetings will be held. Except under extraordinary circumstances, no policy, spending, or regulatory votes will be held in closed meetings. In those instances where an issue needs immediate attention and a subsequent meeting and vote must take place in an abbreviated time frame, we still intend to post a notice of the event prior to the actual vote. We are researching ways to enable remote attendance to all formal meetings.

In pursuit of transparency and community-building, we would also like to restart the monthly newsletter. The newsletter that had been published until recently was very well written, interesting and informative.

Events of the past few years are just that. Past. Each of us were drawn to this special place for a number of reasons, but we presume that pursuit of our own personal paradise was part of it. Let’s work together and move forward.

Sincere regards,

Lindy Aaron

Dennis Griffin

Stan Hime

Joel Mahler

Antonieta Sherrard