Greetings everyone.
We have a date and time for the first tenant meeting. It is Wednesday November 3rd at 7:00pm in the clubroom. I hope everyone can attend.
I think it's a good idea to have a moderator to keep things organized and moving in a linear direction. It so happens that one of our residents has expertise in human behavior and effective communication and he has volunteered to serve in this capacity.
There have been several people in the building who have volunteered to be representatives already and I hope others will step up as well. I think somewhere between 8 and 12 people who can meet once a month or so would be optimal.
I hope this turns out to be a fruitful meeting where residents can resolve some of the issues that have been expressed on this blog. It is an imperative that management take the residents concerns seriously, respect their concerns, and come through with real results when possible; otherwise this discontent will continue to fester.
I'd like to discuss the following about the grounds: cross-walk safety, pet cleanliness, stolen bikes, and the horrible elevators here.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I would like to thank Melanie and the rest of the Jefferson support staff (leasing agents, front desk personnel, and cleaning and maintenance staff). While my interactions with management have not always gone as smoothly as I would have liked, I believe this small staff has done a commendable job supporting our building.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I agree with some of the posts which express discontent with certain policies. These are policies which range from inconveniences (guests being ID like a college dorm and no alcohol on the roof) to somewhat ridiculous (the size of dogs allowed in the building). To be honest, I would love to be able to drink on the roof and walk in with a guest. The reality of the situation is that these policies are the direct result of actions from residents (fights, broken bottles by the pool, bottles thrown off the roof). That is not to say that there is not room for improvement on management’s part. I know it’s difficult to evict people, even if that corrective action would have meant I can drink while grilling.
(note: the whole canine urination in the elevator is a direct correlation to people not taking care of their dog, i.e. taking him/her for a walk in a timely manner, not the size of the dog. Also, I am not sure how one expects management to solve this problem, without banning dogs. I personally think a dog friendly policy is a great perk to the building.)
Finally, I would express some concern over how these tenet reps are selected. Someone who has “expressed concern” the most vocally on a blog and having volunteered may not represent the building as a whole or facilitate a constructive working relationship with Melanie and the other support staff. For example, the outrage that Melanie did not respond immediately to the request for the bar space is ridiculous. As, hopefully, she was working to address tenet concerns and manage the building, I think responding in 48 hours is perfectly acceptable. I would be concerned if she had the time to check this blog hourly.
Anonymous @ 11:17 - I agree on most every count and hope you, too, will be at the meeting on Nov 3rd.
ReplyDeleteWe need to focus on the airing the issues, offering workable solutions, and then waiting a reasonable period of time for them to be implemented. My fear is that the meeting will turn into a bitch session and be destructive rather than constructive - I for one, will make a conscious effort to keep these goals on the table instead of adding fuel to the fire and derailing the purpose of meeting in the first place.
I completely understand why Melanie has chosen to stay away and speak to appointed reps about the consensus from the group - it is not just management that has to prove themselves as reasonable here, it is we tenants as well.
- 5th Floor
Anonymous at 11:17. Would love to have you attent the tenant meeting and share your thoughts. You appear to have had far more success than most with management, and your insights would be very helpful as most of us have not had the same success as you appear to have with all of your positive remarks. Please be sure to send your information to TJ to represent your floor, if in fact you actually live here.
ReplyDeleteVery condescending comment from Melanie in the prior post “I am sorry to disappoint you all but I do not go on here every day. As I have stated in the past if you have something to discuss with myself or any of the staff please feel free to email us or call the office. Contacting the office directly is the best way to ensure we have received your concern, work order, complaint, etc.”
ReplyDeleteSadly, most of us have tried to contact Melanie and the staff, with no success. Thus the blog as a resourceful tool and outlet for tenants.
I doubt most of the people reading and posting on this blog want to be spending their time complaining on here – it would be nice to leverage this blog as a more uplifting, informative, and engaging outlet, but unfortunately some tenants have been ignored by management, have experienced concerning issues in the building, and seek to remedy the situation.
Management has left us no option but to rally together to enforce much needed change. It is unfortunate that Melanie and management refuse to engage the community.
Most of the tenants would like the opportunity to meet their neighbors, communicate and resolve issues in a timely and mature manner – this is what we’re seeking to do here. There is so much animosity towards management for their lack of engagement – the tenants are unhappy, and this needs to be fixed.
On your point regarding selection of tenant reps, I think we should make sure that the scheduled meeting is well publicized. I would expect that we will select tenant reps through some sort of democratic process from among those that choose to attend the meeting. We obviously cannot control who attends the meeting though. Decisions are made by those that show up.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anony at 1:33pm - the meetings should be well publicized to gather attention from all available tenants and give everyone an opportunity to participate. It would be nice to see representatives from each floor of the building. (But I think its important that only tenants - and management if they change their mind - show up).
ReplyDeleteIt appears that a few folks have drafted agenda items.
ReplyDeleteIt's unfortunate that some people think this will be a "bitch fest". Two points - it wouldn't have to be a bitch fest if management would take the time to responsibly respond and engage tenants, 2) our goal is to resolve issues productively, not waste our time on a "bitch fest"
I think a moderator is a necessary component for this meeting in order for it not to "become a bitchfest", so I have arranged for professional, who is also a resident, to lead the meeting. If everyone respects his willingness to do this I think everything will work out fine.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that those attending the meeting will be people of good character who genuinely wish to resolve the issues that everyone cares about most. We've come a long way! Let's all have positive attitude about this process and look to one another as neighbors, not adversaries.
I, Anonymous @ 11:17, do live in the Jefferson. At this time I am planning on attending the meeting on 03 NOV at 1900. I reserve the right to commit to being a "floor rep" until after I hear the tone of the first meeting. That said, I will reach out to Thomas Jefferson (thomas.jefferson@gmail.com?).
ReplyDeleteV/R,
Anonymous @ 11:17
I would love to be able to attend this meeting, but unfortunately I will be out of town that evening. I think it's essential though that we create some sort of regular schedule for tenant meetings. Especially since doing so would lessen the likelihood that they function solely as a "bitchfest."
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, there is a great deal to complain about, not least of which is management's nonchalant attitude. As a result, if we could formalize some process for collecting and dealing with problems we might be able do more at these meetings than simply provide a forum for people to air grievances.
Although I will not be at this first meeting, I would be willing to serve in a capacity that might be helpful. Please let me know who to contact via this blog.
Thanks
dear Anonymous@7:26
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that you won't be able to make the meeting, but hopefully this will become a regular event and you can attend the next one.
I'm sure the first one might be a bit scatter-shot and whatnot, but subsequent meetings will iron themselves out. I imagine that most people will contribute by way of email and that a core of folks will develop.
I hope that at some point we can even have representation by management and maybe the concierge desk. I can understand that they don't necessarily want to extend their day by sticking around for a meeting, and maybe they might be tentative to open themselves up to an angry mob.
In the future maybe a Saturday afternoon meeting where they could pop in for a few moments might be possible.
I will be posting the email addresses of all of the representatives on the blog. and hopefully the "minutes" from the meeting.
Have a god trip!