Stephanie, our HOA Board President, has chosen to respond in a very public unrelated forum, Nextdoor Morgan Creek, to owners concerns over firing FirstService and the new ButterflyMX gate access system. Definitely not the place to air our dirty linen. Why not through the official email system or here on this forum? Below is her post:

“Dear Morgan Creek Members, As President of the HOA Board, I would like to clarify some misinformation circulating to members. First, an email went out yesterday that stated Machelle was removed from her role as General Manager by the board. That is not true, the board ended our contractual agreement with FirstService Residential. The board never dismissed Machelle, that was a FirstService Residential decision, and as a result, they brought on Jim Pryor to take over for Machelle. The only action the board took on September 14th was to terminate the contract with FirstService Residential. It was the board’s understanding that Machelle would continue in her current capacity, until a new Management Company was identified, hired, and the transition process was completed. Please be assured that all community operations and services, including landscaping and maintenance, will continue uninterrupted under FirstService Residential thru November 30th, 2025. Residents should continue to follow all established community rules and procedures, including the timely payment of dues per current processes. Be assured the board is working tirelessly to find a new management company that will be more responsive than FirstService, decrease assessment dues, and ensure a smooth transition. While the board always truly appreciates all the suggestions, ideas and comments shared by members of this community, only the five board members are held to a higher standard of fiduciary trust by the association. Any member can suggest ideas and campaign for change that benefits themselves more than the community. The board members cannot. Directors are voted to serve on the HOA board by all voting members of the community. Therefore, they have the authority to make decisions on behalf of the association. They also must act primarily in the interest of the association above our own interest. For these reasons, the majority of the board acted to remove FirstService Residential as our managing company, for the following imperative concerns: The cost for FirstService Residential has gone up over 50% in less than 3 years since they started managing the association. The board anticipates a reduction in management costs to the association to a level below that at which FirstService Residential started as our management company in November 2022. The board will work to ensure that the new management company serves our community better than the former. FirstService Residential has failed to correctly apply the mandates in our Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for our budget. Multiple errors in our budget have been found that required correction which cost members, including two board members, increased assessments. These errors should have been noted by the management company, but were instead uncovered by our current treasurer. Consistently poor communication and response to issues in the community, specifically, how FirstService Residential mismanaged very concerning back to back break-ins to our mail boxes. The lack of attention to the severity of the concern of residents was unacceptable, and many residents were extremely concerned with the lack of priority to help mitigate or follow up with solutions. The majority of the board perceived a bias by the management company in addressing its concerns. Several of the board members’ valid concerns were not prioritized appropriately. Less than three years ago, the management company was changed from Associa to FirstService Residential, and there was no request by the board at that time for a vote from the entire community. And yet, our management company was changed from Associa to FirstService Residential. Since that change, our fees to FirstService Residential have gone up over 50%. On January 29, 2025 , the President of the board at the time, sent out a survey on Nextdoor to rate the Morgan Creek HOA management company, FirstService Residential. Obviously, there were concerns even back then of the performance of FirstService Residential. In fact, the survey revealed approximately ~51% disapproval rating of this company. Since that survey, the board also noticed significant deficiencies in the performance including the above mentioned finance discrepancies, bias in responding to board members, and potentially legally liable failures to provide documents. Additionally, the board has noted a determent in the performance of FirstService Residential to the point that the board gave notice of its dissatisfaction with both the community manager and FirstService Residential. The board requested a performance improvement plan in March of this year, since that request, the performance deteriorated rather than improved. To address the costs of the new ButterflyMX gate system, the cost analysis the board conducted was $7.85 per owner as a one time fee for the equipment. With an additional $10.24 per owner (less than $1.00 per month ), for annual subscription. Installation costs for the system will be a one time cost of $20.25 per owner. Because the board acted before July 1st, the board saved the association $6,600 in annual subscription fees and $13,385 in equipment costs. I understand the frustration and confusion this situation has caused our community. As your President through the end of the year, I want to assure you that I am committed to full transparency and open communication, so we can work together to bridge this gap and move forward positively. Thank you for your time and patience during this transition. Sincerely, Stephanie Bernal President, Morgan Creek”

Just a few simple observations:

• She claims the firing is because of a price increase. Does anyone know what competitors charge for the same service? Do your homework first.
• She claims Machelle was dismissed by FirstService. Amy effort to keep her for smooth transition? The alternative will be chaotic.
• The claimed survey results was not on an internal site, but the very public and broader site, Nextdoor. We don’t know about you, but we never saw a survey.
• Still no reason why we need the new ButterflyMX System. We’d like to hear.
• She says a big deal was made about minor and historic bookeeping precedents relative to assessments for the Lake community. We believe one or more board members has a lake front home. The recent discovery and assessment change lower their dues? Higher standard?

We could go on.

The HOA recently shared their ButterflyMX Privacy Statement with us. You can download it from their email. We’re not lawyers, but reading through it, we have serious concerns. I hope we have a lawyer on this blog or in our community who can shed light on what we’re risking. If so, please come forward and share. Our quick reading exposes a few immediate concerns.

The app tracks our movements and those who visit us. They have the expressed right to turn information over to law enforcement.

since the app is web based, our information can be exposed to social media, e. g. Meta. It is suggested we have to opt out if we don’t want this exposure.

if the company is acquired or bankrupt, they can turn over our personal data.

we have no choice if we want access to our community other than through our RFID tags. I don’t know about you, but it appears we are being backed into a corner with no say and without being given a valid reason this is happening.

If anyone with more knowledge than us can shed some light on our rights and options, please come forward.

We need your help. Demand that FirstService Residential be reinstated immediately to prevent disruption and financial risk.

    •    Board President: Stephanie Bernal — morgancreekcommunityevents@gmail.com

    •    Vice President: Rod Delwar — delwarusa@outlook.com

⸻

URGENT: Keep Morgan Creek Stable — Reinstate FirstService NOW

What Happened

    •    While acting as president, Rod Delwar signed a letter terminating FirstService Residential, the HOA’s professional management company. This is completely irresponsible.

    •    No replacement management company is in place, leaving 586 homes without professional oversight during a critical period.

    •    The termination was not based on performance but appears to be a response to FirstService advising against certain board actions that have already harmed our community.

Why This Is Concerning (Immediate Impacts of a Management Gap)

    •    Financial Oversight: Without professional management, invoicing, collecting dues, paying vendors, reconciling accounts, and managing reserves could be disrupted, risking mismanagement of our multimillion-dollar budget.

    •    Critical Budgeting Season: Budgets, reserves, and dues are set now. Lack of oversight increases the risk of costly errors.

    •    Vendor Management: Landscaping, security, lake maintenance, and other contracts may stall or go unpaid.

    •    ARC Applications: Homeowner requests for architectural approvals may face delays, preventing timely home improvements.

    •    Homeowner Services: Work orders, repairs, gate issues, and communications could be neglected.

    •    Legal Risk: Mishandled contracts or delayed processes may expose the HOA to lawsuits.

Why the Timing Is Critical

    •    A new gate system is being installed, requiring close coordination for access, vendor management, and resident support.

    •    Terminating management during this transition and budgeting season risks financial instability and operational breakdowns.

    •    FirstService is already familiar with our contracts, vendors, and procedures, making them essential for continuity.

Track Record Matters

FirstService has successfully managed our finances, vendor contracts, ARC processes, and community operations. Their expertise ensures stability and accountability during major transitions.

The last post here indicated there is a recall petition for the recall of HOA Board members Steve and Rod. That was incorrect. The recall is actually for Steve and Stephanie. There will be a Special election where this proposed action needs your support. We apologize to Rod and for any confusion this may have caused. More details will follow.

Tuesday night’s open meeting was deeply disturbing. It was attended by over 100 people, both Zoom and in person. What they witnessed was a meeting totally out of control. It revealed a dysfunctional board. Two members, Steve and Rob, seemed disruptive and out of step.

Here’s some takeaways you need to pay attention to:

The new gate access system seems to be a pet project with little transparency. Questions were asked about costs with no clear answers. Privacy issues were raised with the response that a Board member will look into it.

The Board is firing our management company. No clear reason was given. It’s our experience over the last 20 years is First service has been the best and most responsive we’ve had. Changing them is something not to be taken lightly. It would be a major disruption with little or no benefit. We urge you to weigh in. Let your board know your opinion. Email today through the First Service portal.

A petition has been circulated by James Shelby, a former Board member, to remove the two disruptive Board members, Steve and Rob. He has enough signatures to hold a special election. YOU MUST PAY ATTENTION AND VOTE.

As part of the dysfunction, Lorenzo was “fired” as president and Stephanie was elected. Even so, she deferred to Steve to continue running the meeting. STEPHANIE, TAKE CHARGE!

So much more transpired that we can’t cover. Please, if you care at all about the community, step forward. We need two new responsible board members. We have to take our community back.

comments are encouraged.

In response to a request from a BLOG member, here are the Tuesday meeting details:

The meeting is alosa available on Zoom at the following link.

Join from Zoom Workplace app – Zoom

Meeting ID: 882 1399 4461 Password: 629142
Join by Phone: +1 (669) 444-9171

Attend the HOA open meeting next Tuesday, September 16 to make your voice heard.

The Board has contracted to install a new community access system, ButterflyMX at the gates to control access to the community. Due to limited transparency and no community involvement we know little about the system. But there are legitimate concerns.

• We assume ButterflyMX is some kind of cloud based app driven system. If so, it means the HOA is putting our personal information (email, phone number) as well as that of our guests in the cloud without our OK. More concerning is that it is likely that the system will be able to track our movement in and out of the community and record who visits us when. Is this what you want?
• We don’t know, but it is likely this system is a SAAS based. Does it install hardware to lock in the community, then require a long term unlimited subscription based contract? How much will it cost each of us, both up front and on a continuing basis? We don’t know because we were never asked.
• Do we really need to change the existing system? Why?

It is likely the board does not have the authority to implement this unilaterally since it is a new capital project when considering the initial costs along with a long stream of payments. It may need a community vote. At least it should have community support. Is this a violation of the Board’s fiduciary responsibility? We leave that to our legal scholars.

We know nothing about the procurement process. Were there multiple vendors evaluated? Was it competed? Do any of the Board members have a tie to the vendor that we don’t know about. The Board needs to provide answers.

It is important you attend the meeting Tuesday night at Creekview Ranch School at 6 pm to make your concerns known and questions answered. You should have gotten an email from FirstService with particulars. If not, let us know and we’ll post it.

Should we praise the Board for its forward thinking, or stop this in its tracks? Your choice. As always, comments welcome. See you Tuesday night.