[The following is a copy of a letter written to management concerning problems with the tennis courts and children riding bikes and playing ball in and around the buildings, shrubs and parking areas.]
30 October 2008
To: Amanda Porter, Property Manager
CC: Barbara, Vice President – Olen Properties
Cindy Dougherty, Controller – Olen Properties
Subj: Issues with Mr. James Kenyon, Unit #511
Let me start by saying that the situation concerning Mr. James Kenyon of apartment #511 is getting completely out of hand and that managements’ failure to resolve the issues associated with this tenant by not evicting him is beyond me. The problems of him allowing his children to bounce basketballs, hit baseballs, and ride their bicycles on the tennis courts, as well as playing and throwing footballs and other objects in and around other tenants entranceways, walkways and parking areas has been going on since August. Myself, and several other tenants, have repeatedly voiced and filed complaints, not only against Mr. Kenyon, but others as well who have been violating Players Club policies. Apparently, management either has no control over the actions of tenants or doesn’t care about the concerns and satisfaction of its long-term residents. I know this letter appears lengthy, but please take the time to read it in its entirety.
This tenant’s blatant disregard for the rules and policies of the complex is only exacerbated by his rude and disrespectful confrontations with other tenants. The facts are that he has painstakingly sought to learn through direct confrontation, which person(s) have made complaints against him for his failure to adhere to the policies. In at least three of the instances where he has confronted other tenants asking, “have you been making complaints about me and my children?”, he has personally threatened the tenant, one being me, noting that he and his children will continue to do “and play anywhere they want” and that if we continue to complain, that he will, “file a harassment lawsuit against us.” On separate occasions, he personally told both myself, and the tenants in apartment #323, to “move if we didn’t like it.” Some of us have personally witnessed him talk disrespectfully to and threaten the management personnel, Amanda and Kristin, with the same language. Where does someone with a 6-month lease get off talking like that to tenants who have been here for nearly 6 years?
Well, maybe your employees have to put up with this type of behavior from a tenant, but the rest of us, many of which have been responsible tenants, abiding by the policies and paying rent on time for more than five years, should not have to put up with threatening behavior from any other tenant! It is to the point that my wife is afraid of this guy, and afraid that his behavior could turn to violent action against me or some other type of retaliation.
Just a few days ago [on 10/27/2008], after I had left the apartment for the evening, my wife witnessed him and his children bounce their basketballs down the sidewalk in front of our deck to the 6-foot cement pad in front of the east entrance gate to the tennis court, and then, not entering the court, stood there and had his kids bounce the balls for nearly 15-minutes. It was so obvious that this was being done as an act of direct “taunting” and harassment in retaliation for receiving a complaint notice, that my wife, who was home alone, became very nervous.
This was compounded by the fact that there have been two other occasions when he has had his kids out on the tennis court hitting baseballs or playing basketball, when he has walked back and forth along the fence looking up at our deck while we were sitting there having a cigarette, and another time when my wife was sitting alone on the deck with the slider open, that he stood there looking up calling out my name.
During the week of [10/19/2008], after the placement of a sign on the court entrance noting tennis court rules, there were at least three instances of him and his children using the tennis court for activities other than tennis. I know that I’m not the only tenant complaining about this to the office. On [10/25/2008] they were out on the court bouncing basketballs for about a half hour. After they left the tennis court, instead of heading toward their own unit, they started bouncing balls on the sidewalks next to buildings three and four. Once again, this action could only be construed as intentional taunting and harassment, knowing that he was having his kids do this directly in front of two units that he knew had filed complaints against him.
On [10/24/2008] I spoke to several children, not all of them belonged to Kenyon, who were running around and between buildings 3 and 4 and in and around the cars parked in front of building 4 throwing a football. As we have no children their age living in buildings 3 or 4, I told them to go play in front of their own building. The two oldest looked at me and just smirked. I waited for them to finally move to the next building, before going back inside. I eventually reported this to the office noting that I have seen them running in and out of the shrubs along the tennis court in front of my unit. Though generally, the property rules are lacking and vague on many issues, they are very specific concerning this behavior.
"For ... the respect of other residents, the following must be observed:
· Children should not play in or around parked cars, driveways, parking lots decorative landscaping such as trees or shrubs, dumpsters or other residents' apartment windows, entrance ways or gates.
· Toys and bicycles must not be left in driveways, parking lots, and sidewalks or in front of stairs.
· All toys must be of a type that does not make noise that would disturb other residents. Toys that may be thrown or flown shall not be used within the confines of the perimeter wall of the property.
· Bicycles, roller blades, roller skates and skateboards shall not be ridden on sidewalks in the property."
Mr. Kenyon’s direct response to property management on this matter, was again, “My kids can play anywhere they want.”
On [10/06/2008] I reported to the office that there were 6 kids not just riding bicycles on the sidewalk and grassed areas between buildings 23, 5, 4, and 3, but “racing” each other. A couple of times someone ran into shrubs due to a loss of control of their bikes. I spoke to the oldest and told here that they were not suppose to be riding on the walkways, and that she should so inform her parents. In reporting this, I noted to the manager that all these kids did not belong to Mr. Kenyon and described some of them as best I could in an effort to help her identify them. However, Mr. Kenyon stated to me on a later occasion, “that his kids can ride their bikes on the sidewalks if they want.”
On [09/23/2008] a woman was letting her two children ride around the tennis court on Big Wheels. This was the second time this happened and I reported it the first time to the office, noting that the mother appeared to be oriental.
It was noted in a meeting on the morning of [09/15/2008] with Amanda, the Property Manager, that Mr. Kenyon was allowing his children to run around playing and riding bicycles on the tennis court, even at times when others had been on the court trying to play tennis. I also noted that he had approached me on the sidewalk in front of my unit earlier in the morning and inquired if I was the one who was "calling the police on him." When I responded no, he then asked, "had I complained to management about his kids riding bikes and playing on the tennis court?" I noted that I had and began to explain why. I tried to explain that in the past we had had some real problems with the tennis court being used as a playground, that took us nearly six months to finally get resolved, and that the real problem was that when one resident sees another allowing their children to play on the court, then they in turn think it is alright for their children to do it as well.Mr. Kenyon then informed me, "that there was no rule or policy specifically stating that his kids couldn't ride their bikes on the court, and that he was only staying here for six more months and that he was going to continue to be out there with his kids and that I better get used to it." He also stated that they would also be riding on the sidewalks and parking areas if they wanted. I noted that he had presented this to me in a very personal and threatening manner, and that I wanted something done. Apparently this is acceptable behavior, as he threatened another tenant, as well as a property employee, just this past week, apparently without any retribution.
On [09/08/2008] I noted to Amanda that since August, there have been numerous instances of persons using the tennis courts as a play area for their children. In the beginning, we let this slide a little, hoping that it might not become a regular occurrence, however, that proved to be wrong. I noted that there was more than one family letting their children use the court for riding bicycles and big wheels and that just last night [09/07/2008] there were two different families that were riding bikes on the courts at different times. I emphasized that we went through this problem for nearly 6-months the first year we were here and certainly did not want to have to go through it again. I received an email from Amanda noting that they knew who was doing this and that the problem “has been taken care of.” Well, since they were out there the next night after I received her email, and that it still continues to be a problem to this day, I guess it still hasn’t been taken care of.
In summary, it’s not bad enough that you not only treat your long term residents with less respect than newer residents with short term leases, but continue to charge us more as well. We are paying $1,000.00 a month for an apartment that is nearly 18 years old with outdated kitchens, flooring and carpet, while some newer residents are getting fixed up units, getting “move in” breaks and paying far less.
As you can see from the aforementioned, that we have in no way “singled out” Mr. Kenyon, even though he seems to be the primary offender and cause of recent problems, but reported on other violators as well. He has even gone so far as to bring some of his neighbor’s kids out on the courts with his, in the hopes of trying to garner more support for his continued behavior and total disregard for the properties’ policies.
The primary reason many of us chose this property if for the recreation amities that The Players Club advertises such as, “A Sparkling Pool, Indoor and Outdoor Spas, Sauna, 2,000 sq ft Fitness Center, Aerobic Studio, Sand Volleyball Court, and Lighted Tennis Courts”. Not only is that what we signed up for, many of us paid a higher rents for units that supposedly have a “pool view”, easy availability to the tennis courts, etc. If we thought we would be living next to a playground, we never would have rented the units we are in. If someone wanted basketball courts, bike riding paths and a playground for their children, they should have looked elsewhere.
Someone needs to explain to us why management has been unable to get Mr. Kenyon to abide by the rules and policies of the Players Club and why, when he has clearly demonstrated harassing and threatening behavior toward other tenants, that he hasn’t be evicted from the premises. We would appreciate a face-to-face with someone in upper management explaining what steps are going to be taken to correct these issues.
Sincerely,
Kenneth and Connie Clarke
Unit 422
Master Post Date: 09/03/2008; 8:50am
