Ocean Grove north end boardwalk. October 30, 2012–the day after Sandy. Paul Goldfinger photo. ©
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
The Ocean Grove Homeowners Association recently sent letters out to their members asking them to renew their dues at $10.00 per year per “household.” The letter contains a summary of their “accomplishments” in 2014.
But, if the members are to decide if they will get their money’s worth, they must consider not what the OGHOA did in terms of meetings, wheel spinning, touring derelict houses, misleading the public in the Coaster, and other nonproductive activities, but rather what have they actually done that has made a substantial difference?
They say that that their goal is “the maintenance and enhancement of property values in Ocean Grove.” Really? So have they achieved that goal? We will look at their “accomplishments” in a series of Blogfinger posts and let you comment.
Let’s begin with The North End Committee report: Anne Horan, the President of HOA said, “Last year the restoration of 4 Boardwalk, the building near the north end of OG, was halted as a direct result of the North End Committee’s information to the Township that the builder did not obtain the required permits.”
Is it the job of the OGHOA to police the town and look for builders or homeowners who are doing construction without permits? The Code Enforcement officers used to patrol the Grove and take pictures—-sort of like a junior secret police. Then they would pounce if you had peeling paint, the wrong retaining wall, or plants that were too high. But there was a public outcry, and they stopped doing that spying. The citizens spoke.
So now, the OGHOA has taken upon itself the job of junior secret police. Was it their job to complain to the Township about a building owner who is trying to bring his property back from the Sandy destruction? Are we better off now that the work has been halted?
Do we want our HOA to be patrolling around the Grove watching for derelict construction permits? Where will they take this task next? Will our HOA neighbors be watching us if we put up a fence or the wrong window replacement? Is this Pogo redux: “We have met the enemy and he is us!”
OGHOA members should demand that the Board of Trustees stick to their mission and not become enforcers for the Township.
What do you think? Do you say “hello” or do you say “goodbye?”
THE BEATLES
If work is being done that is dangerous, that’s something that should be reported
If work doesn’t comply with HPC, then the HPC should deal with that
The HOA shouldn’t be doing permit checks, that’s the job of code. I pay taxes for them to work and handle this stuff. Though the fact that I need government permission to do work on my own home is absurd in its own right.
When the HOA assigned a committee for the North End they came up with 88 condo’s, 7 houses, and a hundred room hotel. I lost all interest in the HOA; The town is zoned single family. What were they thinking?
I was the one forcing Neptune’s construction office to shut down the work on 4 Boardwalk, questioning why they have been working on 4 Boardwalk for a YEAR with no permits then they closed them down; It was I, not the HOA; give me a break.
The issue is still not resolved why aren’t the HOA asking questions regarding why 4 Boardwalk has had its taxes reduced by 75% for 3 years; and now their property evaluation has dropped.
Also there are discrepancies regarding their property taxes, and the property value has been reset downward. This is what the HOA should be concerned with.
Also Mary’s place with 3 stories and no parking.
Maybe the new businesses that will be built on Main Avenue should have NO apartments above the stores. That was pre- existing non-conforming then, BUT NOW they need to conform to code.
These are the issues that should be challenged by the HOA.
Its absolutely right for OGHOA to be looking for folks who are not properly maintaining their homes or trying to do work without proper permits. I want much more oversight as many of my neighbors are not maintaining their homes well and/or are doing work without full permits and HPC approval. It high time for homeowners in this town to be held accountable. The lack of enforcement and oversight hurts everyone’s property values.
As to the North End. I think the HOA is just after the money. Clearly this project as now conceived is folly. I’m sure even they know that.
Blogfinger has many times written about the noble, courageous and effective HOA of the era that you are referencing, led by Herb Herbst and others. But that HOA is much different from what we now have in the Grove. —-Paul
As a 15 year part time resident of the Grove, I can recall the most important work that HOA did addressing the problems of the relocation of the fragile population into the Groves run down “hotels”. I haven’t been following the HOA efforts of late but I think your comments are not applicable with what the HOA has achieved in the past. For those who lived in the Grove in the late 90s you will surely agree that without what HOA did to turn things around things would be quite different today.
Let’s not knock an organization that has done so much for the community.
Happy: Not having permits is the issue at hand. No one from the HOA mentioned “shotty work.” And besides, it is the Township’s duty to be on top of permits and work quality—–not the HOA.
If you want your HOA to be running around checking for “shotty work,” then you better stand up at their next meeting and say so. But don’t be upset if someday an HOA “shotty work” inspector knocks on your door having received a complaint from your neighbor.—–Paul
The NERP is a public project supported by the OGHOA from day one.
Anyone, and that includes the OGHOA, with concerns about the plan should present their comments to the Township Committee as I have been doing over the past 3 years.
However, the HOA, acting as an arm of the Governing body, recently arranged a meeting with the CMA’s Chief Operations Officer, and informed him of their new position in support of single family homes, instead of the 80 condominiums; and the CMA is now in negotiations with the developer.
The HOA would only have this authority if they had been appointed by the Mayor to the Township Committee’s redevelopment sub-committee. They were not.
This is very troubling.
I a happy the HOA reported the shotty work going on at that building. The town certainly wasn’t doing its job. I will pay my dues again this year.