Our condo association board has tabled discussion on the conceal/carry flap, leaving us to wonder: “Hey, is it okay to stroll into our building armed?” What “armed” means these days is murky and leaves me wondering what other condo buildings are doing to take a stand on the issue.
A month or so ago, the Milwaukee Police were in our south parking lot, with guns drawn, allegedly trying to get to the bottom of someone driving a Jeep who is currently living in our building. No shots were fired, or you would have likely read about it somewhere online. There was a lot of swearing though, but words rarely kill—not that it was the intention of the police to kill.
But what’s going on here? Following a lengthy conversation with another owner who lives a few floors below me, I thought about our incoming new board (one vacancy on that thankless job as I write) and the tsunami of items they will either need to solve or ignore. Having rules on the books doesn’t amount to much if they are ignored by owners, renters or condo association boards. Of course, the rules weren’t put in place to be ignored, but some of them are. It’s depressing when only a few association members (the same old faithful ones who own property here) show up at monthly meetings to air their concerns.
There was a time when I attended each meeting faithfully, and in the early years, owners actually showed an interest in what they owned, unless, of course, it involved their pocketbooks and condo fee increases. But frankly, everyone who owns property here has a stake in the place. Those were the days when anxious owners complained that the roses on the terrace didn’t match; days before owners ran into financial problems and gave their units over to renters. Lest I seem biased against renters, I am not. I rented many places for many years and never considered myself as a second-class citizen.
The trouble starts when when real problems began rearing their multiple heads: problems with water leaking in where it shouldn’t be, plumbing gone haywire, wood floors being ruined (who pays? who pays?), plus myriad other genuine concerns about why oh why when the rules clearly state otherwise, are a few residents given a free pass on keeping dogs that are well-beyond the weight limit. Fear of litigation? Is that it? Condos themselves are a fairly recent development in Milwaukee, and the “rules” regulating each building are diverse and clouded by agendas.
But we have made progress. I note that software has been ordered in an effort to track our employees who use the front desk computer to entertain themselves. A simple solution, but honestly, what took the board so long to implement this? Well, if no one is around to check on what’s up, and if no one “sees,” no one cares, etc., and so the abuse of the use of our equipment is ongoing. Anyone who gripes should take those gripes directly to our building manager, and further, to our monthly board meetings. I know at least a few people read my blog, and if you’ve experienced similar problems, leave a comment.
