Board Member or Bully?

By Connie Lorenz / Published September 2024

The audacity of some people who take positions on their HOA board and profess that they have the best interest of the community at hand yet also use that same position to harass some and seek favor from others never ceases to amaze me. As a contractor for the last 25 years, I have seen it many times; and each time it happens, I am shocked and saddened by the individual doing the bullying, the person receiving their wrath, and even more saddened when I learn why!

     The most recent confrontation with a board member happened right before I was getting ready to host a “What to Expect” meeting for the residents of the community where we were getting ready to apply our surface treatment, PDC asphalt rejuvenator, to their roadways. The current board was very proactive and made the meeting mandatory. That in itself caused a lot of commotion, but I wasn’t complaining as knowledge is power; and the more residents that attended, the more confident I became in the project being a total success. After all, when it comes to surface treatments, the results will only be as good as the residents let them be!

     I had met with this property MANY times before, and I do not mean that in a bad way! I mean that the board was very active in their research, interviewed me along with other companies, and truly did their due diligence in researching what they wanted, why they wanted it, and when they wanted it! I wanted this project more than anything because of the board and their efforts.

     Arriving at the meeting, I discovered that the board had replaced an area of pavement that I had proposed for repair. At first, I was thrilled as the community was pristine up to this area, and with it being the focal point, of course I was supportive! However, I wasn’t supportive about the end result and how bad the paving project looked. Based on my experience, and I have A LOT of experience, I could tell that the contractor was working with the wrong equipment and maybe even the wrong trucks as well; temperatures were probably not even taken into consideration nor compaction rates and densities.

     It was clear that it was none of the work of the local contractors whom I had provided. Before the board president and vice president could even ask my opinion, I blurted out “What did you do? Hire someone from the local do-it-yourself store?” I instantly saw the looks on their faces and knew I had hit the mark!

Photo by iStockphoto.com/AaronAmat

     Two of the board members were very gracious and explained what happened, and I almost felt vindicated as many others had approached them as well and asked what had happened. They told me, “Even people who knew nothing about asphalt knew that it didn’t look right,” and were anticipating my visit and opinion.

     I don’t think they understood my frustration as I couldn’t understand why the community was going with the “Mercedes” of surface treatments yet hired the local out-of-state contractor to do the most important work. I started asking questions, got the story straight, and found out that they had nothing to do with it. A former board member on the roadway committee was responsible for the decision, and worse, here he was walking in the door!

     They asked me if I would talk to the committee member and let him know my concerns about the work after the “What to Expect” meeting. After all, it had already been corrected once, and they were still very unhappy with the work and rightfully so. They wanted it “right,” and the committee member wasn’t “hearing” them.

     When the committee member walked in, I was going to pull him aside and get a little more information. However, the board members I was talking with took it upon themselves to introduce the matter in a more aggressive matter, like right between the eyes by saying, “Connie, why don’t you tell _____ what you think of the paving job?”  I saw the headlights, I heard the horn, but I  didn’t know the bus was coming at me!

     When I asked him about the work, who the contractor was, what type of warranty was given, if he had the certificate of insurance, and if he had paid them yet, the man got a little upset with me. Now, as a female in a male-dominated field, I know what buttons to push and how not to insult men, but his response was a little bit more aggressive to the point I almost cancelled the contract and walked away. He said that my turn was coming up with my team, and before I made a quick judgment against this contractor, let’s just see how good my crew does. In my mind I thought to myself that my crew could do it better backwards, blindfolded, and without equipment!

     The committee member was livid with me; and understanding there were hurt feelings , I told the board that there was a way to fix it, but I needed more details before I would put my equipment on it. I continued to be disrespected by the committee member, and it became apparent that he did not like me or at least did not like what I was saying. I informed the board that I wouldn’t touch the area until the full year warranty had expired and hopefully that would not be too late!

     I knew that the asphalt was installed cold and  without the proper trucking based on those that watched it being installed. I knew that they didn’t have the right roller size to compact the asphalt, and even if they did, it was probably too cold to compact it by the time they did put the roller on it. I also knew that they used an abundance of chemicals that are used to clean equipment in my industry, but not on the asphalt that had just been installed. The shiny areas they saw were where the binders were being weakened by the contractor’s cleaning agents.

     There is nothing worse, as a contractor, than seeing a board battle one of their own. Sometimes we have board members that demand to be right out of pride rather than acknowledging they might have made a mistake, letting the community come together and “fix” the situation.

     The board president sent me an email late at night on a Friday, which apologized on behalf of the residents/committee members/former board members. She stated that he has been a problem in the past after not being re-elected to the board, and he was known to give the current board—where both the president and vice president positions were filled by women—a hard time, criticizing them at every meeting! How sad for them!

     Therefore, please know that when you run for the board or you volunteer for a committee, it is an unpaid, unappreciated position that involves a lot of work. Sometimes you get what you want, and other times you have to side with the majority as two percent  of the community takes care of 100 percent  of the problems while the other 98 percent complain about it. Board members and committees are the most valued part of a community, and its members should recognize that they are there for the betterment of a community, not for bullying to get their own way!

     The project has been completed and the PDC application went well! I warned my team about the aggressiveness of the one resident and forgot to focus on another problem resident that revealed himself at the meeting…. who was he, you might ask? Well, he was the luckiest resident in the community, who had full access both days as we split his driveway between the two shoot days, and he thought this meant he could bring in a landscaper to install pavers in his yard. He allowed the contractor into the community and damaged the pavement near his unit at the entrance! Sigh! That story will be for another time!

Connie Lorenz

Owner, Asphalt Restoration Technology Systems Inc. (AR Tech)

     Asphalt Restoration Technology Systems Inc. (AR Tech) is led by Connie Lorenz, also known as the “Asphaltchick,” and provides education and consultation services on proper asphalt maintenance. As a multi-year recipient of the Florida Readers’ Choice Award and Pulse of the City Awards and one of the Top 50 Asphalt Contractors in the country four years and running through Pavement Maintenance and Reconstruction Magazine, we are the team to turn to! We provide a no-cost, detailed evaluation, property specific, with our proposals and offer board presentations to explain the different options available for pavement maintenance today. For more information on Asphalt Restoration Technology Systems, call 800-254-4732 or visit www.asphaltnews.com.