Hello!
I’m Houston Laney.
I am running for a seat on the Board of Directors for The Place at Corkscrew.
My family has lived at The Place for nearly two years and we are very happy to call this community our home. I currently work in corporate communications for a Fortune 500 company and previously worked for nearly a dozen years in media and public affairs and legislation and policy for a large long-range transportation and land use planning agency in Southern California. In addition, I served for nearly four years as a planning commissioner (and the last as chair) for a 70,000-person city in Southern California.
After having observed many Board meetings since becoming a resident in 2022, I believe the three biggest challenges facing our Board (and committees) and community today are:
- A lack of structure, which largely feeds into what many in our community view as a lack of transparency. The lack of consistency in how our Board operates and makes decisions – and the role our Board plays in the community – has created a lot of the distrust that exists today. I don’t believe our property management company is perfect, and we will never find one that is, but the patchwork decision making processes and fulfillment of duties that change every month will never result in an environment where our property management company or Board can succeed. Our Board and committee meetings need to observe and practice uniform procedures to ensure decisions are made above board and so our residents can stay informed. Committee appointments also need to follow uniform procedures to ensure accountability.
- Our Board needs to stop getting involved in the day-to-day tasks of property management – that’s why we pay handsomely for property management. If our property management is not fulfilling their contractual obligations, we can make our concerns known, and if they refuse to correct their deficiencies, we can pursue other options. Ultimately, our residents will never trust the process if they think certain Board members are making decisions in a vacuum or that they have to go to certain Board members for access to services or information.
- An inability to focus on the basics. We have a lot of grand ideas as to how we’re going to take our community from good to great, but until we meet and resolve our basic challenges, no amount of additions or amenities will help our community. We need to curb spending on unnecessary projects until we’ve resolved our core issues.
With nearly a dozen years of experience with city and community planning and development, public meetings, and an in-depth familiarity with the practice, importance, and necessity of open meeting laws, I believe I can help bring the structure and accountability that is deeply necessary to build the foundation for how our Board operates for generations to come. Until we fix our basic problems, we’ll never have the trust required to enhance and improve our community for all those that call The Place home.
I would be honored to have your vote so we can thrive together.