There will be an HOA open meeting next Tuesday, November 18 at Creek View Ranch School at 6 pm and also by zoom.  We strongly encourage you to attend in person to find out why a recall election has been called and challenge the board to provide fact based honest answers to the issues raised.

The board members being recalled, Steven Lalliss and Stephanie Bernal, have created several brochures and flyers and opened a website to tell you about the great job they’re doing.  They contain a lot of misinformation without any supporting documentation.  The meeting is your chance to understand what’s really happening.  The following are some verifiable facts and questions you need to ask:

• The recall and annual election timing.  They allege the recall has caused a delay in the annual meeting and caused unnecessary election expense.  The Facts:  Davis Stirling (The legislation governing HOA’s in California) regarding recall elections specifically provides that the board has up to 20 days after petition receipt to set an election date.  They took the full 20 days.  It requires the election be held at least 30 and no more than 150 days from that date.  The petition was submitted in mid-September.  Thus, the recall election could have easily been held at this upcoming meeting along with the annual meeting and election.  The board chose the maximum of 150 days to put it in February.  Google Davis Stirling recall rules to verify if you wish. YOU NEED TO ASK WHY?
• The annual meeting and election of directors has been held in November for as long as we can remember (20+ years).  The board chose to delay that until 30 days after the recall election.  It could have been held on schedule at this November meeting. YOU NEED TO ASK WHY?
• 2026 Budget: The package emailed to owners contains no detail, no comparison with current year actuals and projections. It raises dues for 377 homeowners by $18.20/month while lowering Directors Stephanie and Steven’s dues by $57.86/month and raises major concerns over reserve funding levels.  The lake reserves were reduced to about 10% of required.  It’s in your budget packet.  ASK STEVEN ABOUT THIS APPARENT CONFLICT OF INTEREST?
• The board must receive the final budget for approval at least 4 days before the meeting called to approve it. Our information is that Steven. the treasurer, prepared it on his own without review and presented it to the board the night before the meeting. Steven has claimed in public that his budget was reviewed by the FirstService controller. Contact with the controller revealed no such review took place. ASK WHO CAN VERIFY WHAT, IF ANY, REVIEW TOOK PLACE AND TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF SUCH?
• Honey, I bought this dress on sale and saved us $200!  Logic sound familiar?  The new gate access system claimed $18,985 “savings” but the incumbent system, Door King, had no ongoing costs:  Actual new costs for ButterflyMX per the board are $16,460 for equipment and installation and $6,000 annual subscription.  That’s $22,460 for an unbudgeted capital expenditure made without any community involvement. It’s your money.  ASK ROD, THE ARCHITECT, WHY WE WEREN’T CONSULTED?
• Management company change: The board says FirstService raised their costs by, initially 50% later walked back to 32%, over their tenure. The board claims massive savings of $65,000 with a switch on management companies  Initially, FirstService had one full time manager.  Due to the size of our community and workload a part-time assistant was added.  We will now have Action Properties as manager.  We expect at least the same level of service.  ASK THE BOARD AND ACTION PROPERTIES, WHO WILL BE ATTENDING, IF THEIR BID INCLUDES THESE TWO MANAGERS?
• Director Steven Lalliss claimed someone singled him out for punishment by disabling his community access, without supporting evidence.  He brought suit against the HOA  and, without admitting fault, he was awarded several thousand dollars in small claims court.  We understand he now has a new claim for $2,500 in attorney’s fees.  The HOA has also spent on attorney fees to defend these actions.  In addition, Lalliss withheld dues for several months during this process.   ASK STEVEN FOR AN HONEST PRECISE ANSWER TO WHY HE HAS COST THE ASSOCIATION SO MUCH?
• Removal of volunteer: A Social committee member and business competitor of Director Bernal was removed after most of the social committee filed a complaint against Director Bernal; the board ignored the complaint and conducted no investigation. ASK STEPHANIE TO EXPLAIN?
• Use of HOA-funded events for business promotion: Director Stephanie Bernal’s public social media posts describe community events as “value-driven events,” a way to “turn neighbors into clients,” and “getting visible without feeling salesy” for her real estate business.  ASK STEPHANIE TO EXPLAIN?

Our community deserves transparency and due diligence in financial and management decisions. The upcoming open meeting is an opportunity to ask the hard questions and demand accountability from those in charge.  This recall is not about personal disputes or politics. It’s about safeguarding our community and ensuring that decisions are made with integrity and transparency. Join us in voting yes on the recall to protect Morgan Creek and demand the due diligence our community deserves.

The following is a copy of the agenda. Note, the agenda has an entry that suggests the board will limit open forum comments to 20 minutes. That’s about 6 commenters. We’ve never had this restriction before. The room is usually available until 9 pm. ASK THE BOARD WHY THEY WANT TO THROTTLE THE COMMUNITY’S RIGHT TO TRANSPARENCY?

As always, comments are encouraged/