Multiply forwarded emails circulating after the 9 April 2012 El Parque board meeting might have one imagining attendants verging on throwing chairs. Yet, board minutes released a week later cast more impression of a well managed kindergarten enjoying milk and cookies.

The hushed point of contention seems the board’s stance there are allowed no other El Parque web sites than its own. Further proclaimed is that board permission is required for creation of an El Parque related web site, which, in such case granted, must be an integral part of and internet accessible only through the board web site.

Entering "El Parque" in Google Advanced Search quickly returns 46 million blog references. Most refer to a something or somewhere called "El Parque" rather than condominium web sites bearing the name. But not all. Adding terms "condo OR condominium" to the search produces 270 thousand references. There are more El Parques on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube than you want to count. El Parque condos and their web sites abound.

Whether or not board members are cognizant of their not so special commonness, it is clear the dictates can only refer to THEIR El Parque, that given birth in April 2005 and which then grew to announce its first website in October 2006. That one was cyber located at http://www.elparquelife.com/ but has since dissolved into the ether wind. Its current replacement seems to have appeared around 2008 at http://elparque.weebly.com/.

El Parque's developer has a web site at http://www.elparque.info/. Along with its more recent local developments, it commercially touts glory of our condominium complete with current board member testimonial.

Then there is the Social committee site the board insists cannot exist independently but may be allotted space on and only be accessible through the board's. Well not quite. There it is all alone at http://epscnews.weebly.com/. Chalk one for freedom. Of related interest might be the domain for sale notice at http://ww1.weeblv.com/. Things come and go, Again though, not all.

The El Parque web site you are now reading was and is the first, longest lasting, and countinuously existent OUR El Parque site. It settled into cyberspace at http://el-parque.blogspot.com on 11 October 2005 and has been there since. That was six months after our condo's birth, a year before the early board's now vanished first attempt, and when the current weebly inhabitants who would now enforce pretended uniqueness still had a few years to wait in the wings.

OK, so there can be just one. Well, this was first and that of the board a come lately. One might think the board would honor its own reasoning and remove its web site from the internet. That is doubtful but not to worry. There is room for all among the many and this one will be here. They can use it. They just can't control it. And is not that what this is all about? Or, does money also figure in there somewhere?

The board and its committees sprinkle down information they would like known, for the most part leaving no avenue for questioning what they might not. This one takes a different tack. That is to offer means for anyone to express, absorb, and ignore what they choose, when they choose, as they choose, and if they choose. Go where you wish.

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The Social Committee should be independent from the Board, like they use to be and should not need permission from the board the have their own website.

posted by Anonymous : 6:08 PM, May 26, 2012

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Well said, Anonymous. I'm not sure how the social committee became intertwined with the board. Logic suggests that one of the boards over the past few years decided they wanted control over every possible source of income and the social committee didn't stand up to them. However, I have also heard that the social committee, at some point, shackled themselves by voluntarily contributing to a project or projects that were the sole responsibility of the board. If this is true, then no matter how well intentioned the social committee's actions were, it was a mistake. The task now is to remove themselves from under the thumb of a board that is obsessed with rules and control. Frankly, the majority of homeowners need a social committee a lot more than they need an overbearing board. The majority of homeowners come here during the high season to enjoy themselves. I find it very ironic that that same majority of homeowners seems to want all the rules and control they can get. They certainly won't speak up against ridiculous rules.

posted by Anonymous : 6:56 AM, May 27, 2012

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