August 2004 |
September 2004 |
October 2004 |
November 2004 |
December 2004 |
January 2005
February 2 | 6 | 23
March 3 | 11 | 13 |
15 | 16 | 19 |
24 | April/May 2005
======== <February 2, 2005> ==========
As I read through the referenced information, I understand that there will be some consideration of a maintenance fee "rebate", based on expenses incurred in 2004 and 2005. The expenses incurred in 2005 are unknown, at this time, largely due to the uncertain date of reopening the resort. However, I am concerned about the manner in which this "rebate" will be distributed.
Our maintenance fees are roughly divided into fixed (taxes, association fees, etc.) and variable (cleaning, utilities, maintenance, etc.). When the resort is closed for an extensive period, the fixed expenses are still incurred, but the variable expenses are not. I do not dispute the need to pay for the fixed expenses. There are three possible ways of accounting for the savings of the variable expenses:
· The savings are kept by HGVC
· The savings are distributed to all of the owners
· The savings are distributed to the owners not able to use their units in 2004 and 2005 because of the hurricane repair close-down
The first alternative, obviously, is not fair. My concern, based on what I have been reading, is that the second alternative, which is based on an interpretation of a Florida statute, is the one that will be pursued, even though it does not meet the test of fairness, either. Such an outcome will result in the approximately 40% of the owners fortunate enough to have been able to use their units in both 2004 and 2005 realizing a windfall, while the remaining 60% will have their relief diluted. I'm sure this was not the intent of the cited statute, and believe a revised interpretation should be pursued.
I am disappointed in the perfunctory manner in which HGVC, and our boards, have been dealing with this issue. Communication has been non-existent (except for Carl's emails).
Many of us have realized significant financial losses as a result of the resort closing. I, myself, had purchased 8 airline tickets to fly my children and grandchildren to Sanibel, and reserved a second Casa Ybel unit for a week. The airline tickets were non-refundable, and, as a result, will cost $100 each to rebook for next year. To declare that I also need to pay for cleaning, maintenance, etc for a unit I could not occupy, or state that any refund of these prepaid expenses must be shared with others who were able to use their units is, in my view, unconscionable.
I'm hoping for a better outcome of this issue than what I currently understand is likely.
George C. Earl
Unit H187
Weeks 51,52
---------------
Dear Carl
We have been owners initially & then timesharers(8 weeks)since the
resort was first opened.My son,David has received correspondence from
you & passed it along to me.
Our invoices are due Feb. 15 & I agree with the position taken by George
Earl & Mike Rice that some accomodation should be offered us to offset
our total loss of usage in 2004.
I'd appreciate any guidance you could provide on this issue.
Fred Berlet
fredberlet@aol.com <mailto:fredberlet@aol.com>
======== <February 6, 2005> ==========
Dear Carl,
We own five weeks at Casa Ybel and will not be able to use our units in 2005.
We agree with Mr. Earl's very well-written letter. He explained his position clearly and without rancor.
Thank you again for maintaining the web-site so that we owners can
express our opinions.
We understand that serving as a member of the board of directors must
be a thankless and time-consuming job, especially during extreme
situations such as this. However, we believe that the boards could do a
better job of communicating to their constituents, not only concerning
the decisions made but also the logic behind them. As an example, we
had requested that the boards institute a non-smoking policy in what
will be essentially new units; however, we've heard nothing concerning this.
Again, thanks to you, thanks to board members for their service, and
thanks to owners such as Mr. Earl.
Ron and Paulette Smith
======== <February 23, 2005> ==========Good morning, Carl
I have just today sent in our listing to rent our Week 16 Unit (216). I
do not have any current info about reopening dates. Both the 800 number
and the HGVC listing are many weeks old. Do not post my listing if, in
your opinion, Casa Ybel will not be open by April 22.
I have been less than pleased by the performance of our leaders.
Communications were poor, except for your emails. Money was wasted
sending out letters with no new information. Details of our insurance
coverage have not been revealed to owners. Overall, a very substandard
performance by our officers.
I hope we can back candidates for the board this year who will truly
represent the owners. Perhaps you can be the catalyst to bring this
about. I'd appreciate your comments.
Regards
Ed Sealy
=============
I called Friday and the front desk said the meeting with the contractor
concluded and there will be no occupancy til April.
Linda Seaver======== <March 3, 2005> ==========
Hi, Carl:
I can't imagine how much time and effort you are having to put into this
situation. Since I retired, I haven't received any direct emails from
you as you had my business address. My email now is
janette.reid@rogers.com <mailto:janette.reid@rogers.com> (it used to be
janette.reid@nbpcd.com <mailto:janette.reid@nbpcd.com>.
Anyway, I'm quite distraut over the lack of information that our boards
have put out. I'm in IJK, weeks 12 and 13. It's impossible to realize
that the boards think that it's acceptable to have the last update on
the 1-800 number to be January 13 when Linda gave everyone such hope
that the resort would be open on March 18, or earlier on March 11 or at
the latest March 25. I have listened carefully very many times, what
else can I listen to? and she states categorically that these dates are
"fairly certain". I have since heard from someone at the Interval
Office (I think Joel) that there's no chance of March 25 and in fact
April 1 is also a faint hope. Who is advising on PR at this point. We
are (at least most of us) resonable people, we understand that the cast
iron pipes can be found to be in need of replacement at this late date
because no water has been flushed through them (dare I ask that someone
in the contractor's team might have known that water had to be flushed
through them?), we can also understand that when wallpaper was stripped
damp patches were found and more drywall had to be taken out and of
course replaced. I remember being told that each unit was being taken
back to the studs, but let's not quibble about that. I think that most
reasonable thinking people would understand that things happen that were
not expected, but why in tarnation were we not kept informed????? How
can anyone in a position of responsibility think that a message dated
Thursday January 13 is reasonable on February 23? Especially when
things have changed so dramatically?
I had been thinking about running for the board of IJK a couple of years
ago and now that I have retired, I decided that this is the year. Do I
need my head examined? Anyway I have submitted my application. If
nothing else I can bring a service oriented mindset to this
organization. This is a service industry, we have to deal with people,
we also have to understand financials, contracts with management
organizations and suppliers etc. but at least get someone on here who
understands how to deal with all these owners who are in limbo. They
have invested a lot of hard earned money in this vacation resort, they
have paid their annual dues and they have had a wonderful, well managed
resort to visit year after year, but what the heck happened once we hit
a hurricane? Do you remember the problem Tylenol had some years back?
They immediately withdrew all Tylenol product from the shelf. Do you
also remember Exxon Valdeeze? They didn't show the world that they were
willing to take responsibility and now that's the situation we are in.
Noone is responsible for the hurricane, but there are people there,
HGVC, Casaybel Hospitality and the boards of FGH and IJK who are
responsible to the owners to let them know what is happening and they
have failed miserably in this particular area.
Once again, thanks, Carl, for providing this forum for owners. What
would we have done without some sort of conduit through which we could vent.
Janette Reid
Weeks 12 and 13 174 and 172
=====================
Carl: Needless to say I was most unhappy to get the message the
otherday that the work on FGH will not be completed until "maybe" the
end of April. I thought we would be getting more updates on the
situation but the message before that [Jan.13] was encouraging for
owners of wk. 11, 12, & 13. I should have guessed that there being no
new message until this last week of Feb. that something was amiss. More
frequent communication would have been greatly appreciated so please
pass that on to the board.
Have there been SandScript news letters? I have not received one since
Autumn 2003. We did move and perhaps the newsletter did not come under
the heading of forwardable mail. My new address, for the record, is
1950 Westfield Ct. SW Rochester Mn. 55902. Please pass that
information on also if you are the messenger for this sort of thing.
I would appreciate a response to this email so I can be brought up to
date and in the loop. Thank you.
Barb Feldt
=====================
Remove my listing for unit G 205 week 14 since the resort will not be
reopened despite the assurances of my board president that would occur
Mar 18, plus or minus a week, as per her Jan 13 telephone message. I
wonder how many travel plans were made based on that message, which has
not been revised as of Feb 24, despite board meetings with contractors
in the intervening time.
Disgustedly, Bill Trader
======== <March 11, 2005> ==========
I am sure you are all being bombarded with emails and questions lately and I apologize in advance for adding onto it!
We have a timeshare (220G) for week 18 (May 6-13th). The HGVC website gives a possible reopening in late April but I am wondering if you have any more specific information as that is cutting it pretty close to week 18. I know there is an 800 number with updates on status but that
message is almost two weeks old.
Also, I have been trying to get in contact with the HGVC Management Team for Casa Ybel, who I believe are Lael Kilpatrick and Nina Kennedy, regarding what will happen if our condo is not ready in time for our trip. Do you have phone numbers or, even better, email addresses for them? I was initially told by HGVC - - and also in an email/letter authored by Linda Dettery - - that HGVC members could “bank” their points to use another time if the condo was not reopened by their week; however, I just called HGVC and was told if I “canceled” my reservation, regardless if the reason was because the condo wasn’t even livable, that I would lose all my points.
Any information, help or assistance would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Melissa Biedlingmaier======== <March 13, 2005> ==========
I own Weeks 11 & 12. We've had no word from Ms. Dettery in over a month. Can you get her to update her 800 # "frequent message" or otherwise assist in owner communication ? THANKS
David J. Byron, Esq. dbyron@riderlaw.com
==============
Also I am supposed to have board members approval in order for me to forward our minutes from last boardmeeting (by phone) to interested owners. Requested by Cindy) Do I have your approvals? Thanks
Carl
==============
As I have not been informed if there are revisions to the last set of minutes, I feel that no report should go out until a formal approval has been obtained. It does not feel right that one Brd. member should be skipping ahead of the process, so I vote no.
Janet jfwilder@insightbb.com
==============
Hi guys,
I had my mom & dad go to Casa Ybel and check it out, here is what they found......
Let me know if you have any questions about it.
Perry perry.kellogg@cox.net
Pe:
We checked out Casa Ybel, walked around and looked real close.
Three buildings are under repair: East, West, and Center Lodge.
Five buildings are being rented out, all on the waterfront. They are: Eucalyptus, Date Palm, Chinaberry, Banyan, Acacia. The buildings on the Acacia end (they are all in alphabetical order) are best, as they are farthest away from the repair work.
The Restaurant, Thistle Lodge (remember, we ate there--it has an olde Florida flavor) is in good shape and operating. The swimming pool area, also very nice is also operating. The swimming pool is huge, and very nice, with swim lanes, etc.
We noticed bicycles being delivered to one of the buildings (from Billy's, the place Dad used to work), so, apparently, they don't provide bicycles (some places do). It wouldn't be difficult to get
bicycles, however, just a phone-call or an email. Billy is online, as are two other bike rentals.
Casa Ybel is very quiet, especially now since there are three buildings closed down. It's really very nice and could be a nice spot as long as you didn't end up real close to the repair work.
If Hardy is in Acacia, Banyan, or Chinaberry, he's all set. If he's in Date Palm, not too bad. Eucalyptus is the only building real close to construction, but it might be okay, too. I mean, there are afew power tools running now and then, but that's all.
You can forward this to Hardy if you want. Let us know if you need anything else.
Love to Gus. Sophie, too.
M & D
=============
Carl-
I'm forwarding this message to you with the hope of confirming my long-standing late April reservation. Please let me know what building we are staying in?
Thanks, and please read this before you answer because we really need to be in one of the buildings that's mentioned as in good shape, and away from the construction.
Best regards,
Hardie Stevens STEVENS134@aol.com
=============
Please remove our week 16 listing as the units will not be ready by that date. I am disgusted by the overall lack of communication. It did not take 2 months to ascertain that the original projected opening date was not possible. I thought we could have had a weekly update from the project manager on the reconstruction. It seems like we are not a top priority, yet we are the ownership group.
Why could they not post pictures of the progress?
SUsan Stone susan.s.stone@gmail.com
=============
Dear Carl,
We hate to bother you, but we are getting different answers when we call about our unit (155F)beingn available 4/22. We are being told that the resort is not open yet & won't be until all bldgs, pool & restaurant can be opened at the same time. We got a call tonite from a potential renter who told us that the restaurant, pool & the 1 BR units are already open. Is this
true?
Thank you again,
Joan Neustedter joan__n@hotmail.com
======== <March 15, 2005> ==========
Carl,
I went to Casa Ybel in October to see first hand the damage. I live in
Ga. but was visiting relatives in Fla. so I went over to see for myself
since I could get no answers from the office. My unit is Building I
-top unit. There was nothing but a tub and toilets there. Everything
was stripped and mold was growing on the remaining frames inside. The
office was checking in guests and they were rude to me. They claimed to
have lost 80 trees on the property. It still looked pretty to me and my
favorite palm was still outside my porch! It was devastating to look at
but a relief to see it was still standing. The island was functioning
with businesses open. Captiva looked like a war zone. It was so much
more damaged looking then Sanibel. So now I am asking them if it will
be open for my May occupancy. I own week 19. They say they should be?
But it looks like everyone who owned in April was given the same false
hope. I am disappointed in the way this was all handled. I would have
like some photos and updates from our management and board. Can you
tell me if you think May is optimistic for a reopening? It is still
closed for trading on interval site. Would you like the pictures I took
to post anywhere. If anyone owns this unit and would like to see
pictures they can e-mail me. It truly was unbelievable to look down
into the other 2 units of my building. All my kitchen was torn out but
the other units kept theirs (cabinets) and the bathroom cabinets. I
must have had more damage from the roof? or something since everything
was gone- cabinets and all -nothing was there again but the toilet and
tub! & mold !
Doreen dlubin@alltel.net
======== <March 16, 2005> ==========
Carl/Nina,
Among so many others--we have been so hoping to have a vacation week at
the beach. My daughter Kathy & her 2 young daughters, 3 1/2 and 2, are
coping with Daddy so far away in Iraq (National Guard, Lafayette Indiana
police force, Ft. Bragg paratrooper). Your CasaYbel website seemed
hopeful where the hgvc info does not (certainly not our Stuart location
is not). I know so many want to get back to normal--any chance for a
place for "D"ramma & Mommie & kids? If any last minute cancellations
please call 765/477-7631. Thanks, Jean Terry
======== <March 19, 2005> ==========
Carl
We never received any forms for election of Board of Director members. I
have to wonder if it has anything to do with our criticism of the current
management and board of directors?
Bob & Annette Warren rwarrenjr@woh.rr.com
=================
Thank you! I finally got frustrated enough to write a letter to "management", a copy of which you will be receiving within a few days as I cc'ed Directors. And, you are correct, my greatest frustration remains how to organize all of us who are owners in order that some needed management changes can happen.
Thanks again, Carl...
carl@casaybel.com
======== <March 24, 2005> ==========
Carl
This is the response that I received when making an inquiry about the Board of Directors election forms.
Bob Warren rwarrenjr@woh.rr.com
=================
Hi Mr. Warren, I'm sorry I didn't answer immediately, but I was out of
the office last week. The Board of Directors candidate forms were
included in the package with the maintenance fee statements that were
sent out in November 2004. The letter that accompanied the budget and
maintenance fee statement indicated that the candidate form was enclosed
and had to be completed and returned by January 31, 2005. I think that
there may be some wrong information circulating about running for the
Board. I'm sorry that it is too late to include your name as a
candidate this year, but do encourage you to run for the Board next
year. Please look for the candidate form to be included with the next
budget and maintenance fee mailing in November 2005. Thank you for your
interest in your association.
Sincerely,
Cindy Glasenapp cglasena@hgvc.com
Administrative Assistant
Hilton Grand Vacations Company
1509 Periwinkle Way
Sanibel Island, FL 33957
Phone: 239-395-3840, extension 209
Fax: 239-395-3844
e-mail: cglasena@hgvc.com
E-Mail: Carl@CasaYbel.com
Carl Appelberg
2213 Colefax Court
Westminster C.C.
Lehigh Acres FL 33971
239-368-6354
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