I often find myself in a position where I have to make a difficult decision -where I really do not want to get involved with something - but inevitably give in and putting myself, not necessarily in harm’s way, but in an uncomfortable place. I am not indispensable nor am I particularly smart in agreeing to stay another year as president of my condominium.

Now, I have been pressured in a passive aggressive manner by the members of my Board of Directors to continue on as their President. They do this by continuing to expect me to do most of the work connected with running the affairs of this 5 million dollar condominium riddled with problems left by former owners and directors. Decision making is not easy but inevitable.  If I am not for myself, who will be?  This is an ancient question and comes into play when I have to think about the greater good of 51 other apartments in a building where Carol and I have made our home. I am also selfish in wanting to do the right thing for us.

We are lucky.  The raises in costs for the services the building needs will not break US but are hard for others on more limited incomes to afford. I find that the Board will make bad decisions in order to help one member and thus set a precedent which others will soon discover and demand for themselves.  You cannot run a business or a condominium in this way. You need not know all the problems that we have encountered such as being sued by a neighboring condominium for our parking spaces ON THEIR PROPERTY. These were given to our condominium thirty seven years ago. But we have to budget for the coming year on the uncertainty that we will either go into mediation or to court and could lose and, if there is such a thing, go into bankruptcy.  But, then, I know little about finances and the law and I have been chosen and sort of forced into being the goat and the leader by the feckless and less knowledgeable eight other members of our Board of Directors.

Decision making is not easy but inevitable for time marches on and the calendar tells us a Building election is in two months and the old Board is in the position of at least knowing a little more about the problems we face than the vast majority of apartment owners who just want to be left alone AND, don’t raise our maintenance costs or hit us with another assessment.

I do feel comfortable with at least the knowledge that I have learned on the job and it WAS inevitable that I would have to be responsible when no one else would or could be as responsible as I have been and am sort of willing to go on for another year.  I could hope that I will NOT be reelected and that would be a relief.

By the way, my knees are loosening up and I am now driving.