Friday, May 30, 2014

Our Swimming Pool

Memorial Day weekend (when our pool has opened for the last forty years) has passed, and we still have no pool.  The weather is getting hotter and summer break for most Cedar Run children starts in just a few days.  Sher has workmen scrambling tirelessly to get the pool running as he sees his support continue to dwindle. 

Many homeowners have questioned whether or not Sher is performing this work in accordance with regulations and whether or not he is using licensed contractors where required.  From what we can see, there doesn't appear to be a bonafide pool company doing this work. At most, we've occasionally seen men working out of an unmarked work van. We have also gotten reports that crews have been performing pool work at odd hours like 1 or 2 AM.  This is probably being done to avoid detection by Village of Wheeling inspectors.

History
All that aside.....now that Sher is firmly committed to finally reopening our pool, we thought we'd give a brief history of Robert Sher's stance on the pool.

2012
In May of 2012, Robert Sher stated flat-out that the Lifeguards hired to safeguard our pool were a complete waste of money.  He vowed to make Cedar Run's pool 'swim at your own risk' with no lifeguards present.  Sher even harassed some of the lifeguards for simply doing their job, stating that their presence in unwanted.

Soon after taking power, Sher shut down our pool by bouncing a check to Aquaguard, the company then hired to provide lifeguards.  (FYI, they are now suing Sher's board for over $20,000. See lawsuit #5 from our blog entry on 5/22.)

2013
As the 2013 swimming season approached, Sher had no plans to open the pool.  Instead he went on a campaign of excuse-making, blaming the old board for a leak that caused the pool to lose water.  He also claimed that the old board left him with too much debt, making it too expensive to operate the pool.  He even suggested that with the savings we would get from keeping the pool closed in 2013, we could enclose the pool and operate it year-round. (?!?)

Yet, while making these statements, Sher did a complete remodel of the clubhouse (for which he still hasn't disclosed the cost).  He also boasted about how much money he had in the bank (what about all the so-called debt?).

2014
Sher finally stated that he would open the pool.  In his February 'newsletter', he spelled out his new pool policy.  (Do notice that he left himself an opportunity to delay or cancel the pool opening and blame it on the Village of Wheeling)  Sher once again affirmed that there will be NO Lifeguards on duty.  Swim at your own risk!!  Any parents not attending to their kids will have to answer to DCFS and face child abuse charges!!

In our blog entry from 3/3/2014, we pointed out how absurd Sher's policy was, and we gave an explanation and example of what a good pool/lifeguard policy looks like.

On March 19th, Sher announced a sudden reversal in his lifeguard policy.  He even stated that some associations have a 'Swim at your own risk' policy, and he has no idea how they could possibly pull it off.  Was it our liability insurance company that finally convinced him to reverse his adamant opposition to Lifeguards?  Was it the backlash he got from homeowners over his DCFS threats?  Or maybe he read our blog and took our advice....

Dear Robert,   You're Welcome!!!


The Infamous Leak
Another item that Sher criticized his predecessors for was a leak in Cedar Run's pool.  He criticized them for deciding to operate the pool with the leak, replenishing any lost water over time.  Again on March 19th,  Robert Sher announced that he will be doing the exact same thing - operating with the leak instead of repairing it.  So after 18 months of blaming the former board, Sher has basically reverted back to the former board's policy.

But wait....there's more!!  In an attempt to distinguish his pool policy from the former board's, Robert Sher announced that he has come up with a cost-saving solution to replenish our leaking pool.  He announced plans to drill a well and refill our pool with FREE water from the ground water table.

Okay, there are so many things wrong with this idea.  But we won't even get into them because this notion of drilling a well is already a non-starter.  We have confirmed with the Village of Wheeling that the village codes do NOT allow the drilling of a well on Cedar Run property.

Just like the ponds that he swore he would turn into soccer fields and/or parking lots, the well is just another example of Robert Sher blowing smoke.

What now?
Sher will continue to race against the clock and try to get the pool open before the hotter weather arrives and the school year ends.  Will he be able to pass inspection from the Village of Wheeling and Illinois Health Department and renew our expired license? After opening the pool, will he be able to comply with the strict health department codes?

Only time will tell.  If we see the pool being sporadically shut down, we'll know exactly why....

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*****UPDATE******
FLIP-FLOP ALERT!!!!!

Apparently, there are now 'No Lifeguard On Duty' signs posted around the Cedar Run swimming pool.  Sher seems to have done another 180 degree turn back to the 'Swim at Your Own Risk' policy despite his long speech on 3/19 (which we have on video) about child safety in our pool.

Robert Sher - a man of his word........NOT!!!!!!
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Please email us at restoreCR@gmail.com with any questions, comments or observations that you'd like to report about the pool.  Feel free to call or text us at 224-544-9058.

5 comments:

  1. June 2 2014

    The Pool is being drained.....could it be from the lack of proper cleaning? Would love to know The MasterBoard/Sher's excuse ...2 wks now..No Pool......This gives us a reason more to have a election to get rid of this so called Homeowners Corporation.....No Pool...No proper landscaping...Increase in Club House Rental Fees....My question is where is this so called $450,000 going to..That Mr.Sher say's we have.....I know...paying homeowners to do his dirty work...such as book keeping ( no budget).....I could go on but it is all hear say.......Homeowners will are a community divided... Let's become a community united! Speak up at the board meetings..no more writing our questions on paper...Go to our phase meetings...be herd.....We can make Cedar Run a Wonderful Place to live again......

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  2. Good points; well stated.

    We can't really speculate about what they're doing to the pool and why they are draining it...It's anybody's guess. Although it appears they have reverted back to the "Swim at Your Own Risk" policy, as there appear to be "No Lifeguard on Duty" signs posted.

    For those interested in attending phase meetings, the next ones should be around August timeframe. Notifications will be mailed to all homeowners......unless you live on phase 5 or 10 and your phase board has been (illegally) dissolved.

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  3. NO POOL STILL.....WAS BEING FILLED....THEN EMPTY AGAIN.....WHAT IS GOING ON? LATE NIGHT/EARLY MORNING PEOPLE HAVE NOTICED PEOPLE WORKING ON THE POOL.....ALSO..WHAT IS THIS ABOUT A POSSIBLE ADDITION TO THE CLUBHOUSE? HOW? I DO NOT SEE ANY ROOM....MAYBE I MISUNDERSTOOD???? IF I DID NOT...WHAT IS THE COST AND WHO WILL BE DOING THE WORK? LIKE..WE WILL EVER KNOW....UNLESS WE SIT THROUGH ONE OF THE MASTER BOARDS LONG ...DRAWN OUT MEETINGS...

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  4. Hey everybody, guess what!? The pool is finally open and no positive comments? I guess people only point out the negatives but I see most are positively now enjoying it. One final note to the author of this blog, quit using the word "not", were not in the 90's anymore or in high school. It gets really anoying, love the updates and information though. Greatly appreciate it!

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  5. After nearly two years of dealing with the finger-pointing, excuse-making, and flip-flopping.....yes, homeowners can finally enjoy their pool.

    Thank you for the feedback about the use of the word "NOT". We sincerely apologize for bringing back unpleasant memories from your high school days in the '90's.

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