(Edited for Clarity)
April 3, 2009
Good evening! I hope you guys and the other members of the “gang” (I thought that you would enjoy that… I have been doing my reading on the Condo Communicator!) are doing well. Guess what the mailman dragged in today? ... a response (from Shores Association Manager, Joseph H Smith III) to our questioning the Shores Landscape Bid Process. (Questions were raised because this company was the lowest grounds maintenance contract bidder by thousands of dollars)
While I appreciate his prompt response, I am shocked that he told a bold-faced lie regarding his alleged inspection of our facilities. Upon your review of the attached letter, (The Condo Communicator has obtained a copy but for legal reasons, has decided not to post the referenced letter) you will see that he alleges that the Board took a bus-load of people to our facility to “ask questions.” He reaffirmed his position on this issue with a resounding “not true” when I initially mentioned in my letter that there was no inspection of our facility.
Needless to say, our equipment is kept in a locked building inside of a fenced-in compound that no one could access without Patrick’s or my permission. Obviously, Smith assumes that I am sitting in an ivory tower somewhere and that I would not know any better.As a contractor who had to trust this manager with my bid, I can tell you that it is disheartening to have had him bold-face lie about the bid process.
However, as members of the community, I can only imagine how it must feel for you as homeowners to know that someone representing your resources and community on a professional level would lie about an issue as “costly” as this one. If his errant reporting of an inspection of our facilities / phantom questioning of our staff was not enough, he mysteriously tagged on a fictitious 6 years of property management (note his reference in his letter to “20 years of property management” when state records indicate that it has, in fact, been 14 years).
Unfortunately, the bid process for the landscape maintenance contract at your community appears to be ...
"As dirty as the Hudson River flowing through Manhattan Sound"
I do wish you and your team the best of success as you work hard to “make the crooked straight” and restore some reputability to the governing body for your community. Thank you for your kindness, and if I can help you in any way in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Respectfully,
Pete Lucadano, MBA, CLP, President
LUKE BROTHERS LANDSCAPING
Website: www.lukebrothers.com
