Comments Off on Open Letter to the Royal Pelican Community
April 2, 2021
Dear Fellow Royal Pelican Owners,
Let me begin by underscoring that this letter is written by me, Richard J. George, current board president. As such, this letter reflects my position on a nagging issue. It is not a board mandate. I take total responsibility for its contents. It is written to provide some clarification to the recent proceedings relative to the maintenance coordinator position. In the recent lobby posting, we stated the following:
“As you know, the Board is going through a proposal process with multiple property management companies. In this process, we are reviewing and redefining the roles, responsibilities and requirements of the property management company, the account manager, the maintenance coordinator, and the janitorial position.
As such, we have advised Steve Harris that it is the Board’s intent to make changes to the duties and requirements of the maintenance coordinator position from the current full-time Royal Pelican employee position. It is the board’s intention to no longer manage a separate full-time Royal Pelican maintenance coordinator position. Our expectation is that the property management company will assume these duties. In doing so we wanted to give him advanced opportunity to seek employment elsewhere. While some will wonder about the timing, it is important to know that Steve Harris is not being fired. The position is being redefined. He has dedicated himself to the Royal Pelican community for the past few years and for that, we are grateful.
Steve will remain working here onsite until this transition takes place. We hope that everyone in the community will wish Steve success on his future endeavors and thank him for his dedication and service.”
As noted, we announced it at this time to give Steve ample opportunity to secure new employment, plus give folks a chance to thank Steve while they are still here. The alternative would have been to say nothing now & have the new management company eliminate Steve’s position. We were concerned that this would not give him enough time to secure new employment. Plus, we did not want folks to miss the opportunity to thank him for his dedicated service.
In retrospect, not sending such a notice when we did, has some merit. It would have avoided the political fallout that I have experienced the past few days. In one lobby the announcement was torn to shreds. I have been told that people “hate the board.” I find these comments hurtful. The current board has worked tirelessly & unselfishly in your interests. If someone else feels they can do a better job, I will gladly step aside.
I also realize that some of the reaction stems from the appearance Steve has been fired for perceived performance issues. I can unequivocally state that is not true. If Steve were fired, he would not be here. I also realize that many owners are upset with the ongoing efforts by one owner, whose mission has been to get Steve fired. This owner has repeatedly filed complaints with the Fire Department, Health Inspector & the City of Fort Myers Beach, resulting in several citations. In January, before I even assumed the position of board president, I asked this owner for a meeting to discuss the situation. I was rebuffed on a couple of occasions. When we finally had a meeting, I asked the owner to hit the “pause” button on filing complaints, giving us an opportunity to rectify any problems. The owner responded that as soon as we fired Steve Harris, the pause button would be pressed. I told the owner that the board had no intention of firing Steve Harris. This position has not changed. Another board member was present at the meeting. In his notes of the meeting, the other board member made the following statement: “During this meeting the owner made it very clear that the owner’s sole purpose was to get Steve fired. The owner was agitated during the meeting and at one point slammed a hand on the table and said Steve had to be fired.”
Please be aware of the time & effort that has been spent in responding to the issues created by this single owner. There have been over 500 email threads involving this owner. In a recent email to me, the owner stated, “Step down and get a life!” To this owner, despite attempting to make Steve’s life miserable the last four years, you were unsuccessful in your pledge to get him fired! He is still here & still highly respected! Likewise, unless the community wants a change in leadership, I intend to complete my term. I refuse to allow the board or myself to “get pecked to death by a single duck.”
To that owner and to all owners, please see the excerpts from my letter of recommendation for Steve:
“This letter is written in support of the application for employment of Steve Harris. I have had the pleasure of knowing Steve for over four years, since he became the maintenance coordinator at Royal Pelican Condominiums on Bay Beach Lane on Fort Myers Beach. Currently, I am president of the home owners’ association. In this capacity, I am leading the review of our condominium management company. Currently, we have a portfolio management agreement with our own management coordinator (Steve Harris). However, we are transitioning to an onsite part time maintenance/part time account manager position. This means the current position will be eliminated.
This has been a very difficult process for the board. On the one hand, we believe moving from a portfolio to an onsite manager with combined management/maintenance responsibilities makes good sense for Royal Pelican in today’s environment. On the other hand, we are losing Steve, someone who is universally liked within the community.
Steve has all the talents one would desire in a maintenance coordinator, including knowledge of facilities, problem-solving, responsiveness to issues, availability (often returning to RP when off the clock in the evening or weekends to address a problem), etc. Steve has always said “this is my property, and these are my people.” As an example, during hurricanes and other severe weather Steve ventured onto the island in challenging and often unsafe conditions to make sure everything was secure.
I could go on about Steve. However, attached are a couple of documents (Completed Projects and Tasks List) that highlight his talent and accomplishments. Please review these to see what type of person you may be fortunate to hire.
I recommend Steve Harris with enthusiasm. Please feel free to reach out to me with any specific questions.”
I am in touch with Steve every day. When we discussed the change with him, I asked him how he felt. His answer was “relieved.” I am only sorry we could not have better shielded him from any unnecessary abuse. He also told me today that the search process is going well.
I apologize for airing some of our family’s dirty laundry. However, in my desire to provide transparency & honesty, the full story needed to be shared with you.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and thank you for being a member of the Royal Pelican community. I look forward to continuing to serve you. However, as stated earlier in this letter, if need be, I will gladly step aside for the good of the community.
