The Volunteer

Today my husband and I saw Unit __, but only in the presence of our Office Co-ordinator, a Board member, our maintenance man, his son, and a new contractor - a building inspector. I was not allowed into the unit myself, as the Office Co-ordinator stated that due to our concerns with the basement and other issues, it would be best to have all these people present. I wrote the Office Co-ordinator and stated that given all that my husband and I have been through in this co-op, it is evident that the co-op does not care two whits about our 'concerns'.

I kept being reminded, prodded and scolded that we were there just to look at the basement. The maintenance man seemed perplexed as to what to do with the broken vegetable bin I pulled out of the refrigerator. I heard him mumbling about having to order another.

But the biggest visual was not the basement, but the outside Board member, yanking off a black garbage bag apron covering her white semi-office attire. Yes - she had arrived maybe fifteen minutes before us, saw the toxic waste dump site yard, and right then and there, decided to mow and hack the gigantic weeds down with a weedeater - in her high heel shoes - unbeknownst to the newly hired housing inspector. By the time we all stood on the somewhat rotten deck, the outside Board member proclaimed that she volunteered like this in 'many' co-ops. She then went on to ask our Office Co-ordinator how many volunteers have helped her, whereupon our Office Co-ordinator promptly replied that in the two years she's been here, that no one has come forward to help. OH, the shame of it all! The outside Board member obviously failed to take note that when the semi-takeover of our co-op happened last summer, our committees were disbanded. Here, I'd like to point out that our Office Co-ordinator earns $62,000.00 a year, plus benefits, for work which she does not do.

The yard, the outside Board member commented, was 'not a problem' - that she could get volunteers in here to rehabilitate it in a flash. Count on those high school students who need volunteer hours, for example. I rather doubt that this Board member is as altruistic as she says she is. Rather, she is scoring brownie points as she climbs the co-op sector ladder and is honing her controlling skills carte blanche. She knew absolutely everything that one needed to know about co-op living - volunteerism, maintenance and how to dish out sarcastic jabs and put downs. She knows what's best for us!

The basement? The building inspector looked at the white walls in the basement and commented that if there was mold, one would see a 'dusting' of black mold around the top edges of the dry wall. 'They were painted in March', I said. I didn't get a chance to inspect the basement floor slab, other than to show the inspector photos I took of the unpainted floor. He didn't comment on the water stains evident in the photos, but did utter a big 'OH-H-H'. When the basement door was opened a dank, nostril-searing pungent mold odour cut into my lungs. 'It's nice and cool in here', uttered the building inspector. Not a word about the pungent lung-collapsing odour.

He stated that the unit looked like it was in good condition. I stated that repairs were only done to the unit after I had sent the Board and the Office Co-ordinator photos of the deficiencies. I pointed out the new upstairs bathroom sink as an example. The Office Co-ordinator then said, 'Oh did we change that?' This confirms to me that she does not have a clue as to what she is doing - nor cares.

The building inspector, while standing in the living room, commented that it appeared that the unit had good insulation, implying that this would be found throughout the co-op. 'You'll see', I said, at which point the Office Co-ordinator tried to shut me up. He asked the maintenance man if he found insulation to be in place when he changed windows. The maintenance man said yes. I interjected, 'Ah, but we have rotten windows - in fact, we've had rotten windows just plain fall out.' I told the gentleman that our entire window frame had been eaten away by army ants, whereupon the Office Co-ordinator tried to put the clamps on me. The outside Board member struggled to look busy with her cell phone in a Holier Than Thou manner. The Office Co-ordinator jumped on board to let me know who was in command.

I managed to get an opinion from the Building Inspector regarding the gouges, scratches and scrapes of the oak parquet living room floor, which was also devoid of varnish throughout. He said that the floor could certainly be refinished, at which point our Office Co-ordinator burst out, while taking refuge in the kitchen: 'Anything you say __, I'll do what you say'. This was said in a most frustrated, angry fashion as refinishing the floor has been a contentious point between the Board, herself and us. In fact, we were told in no uncertain terms at a Board meeting, that the floor would not be refinished as it was 'BEAUTIFUL' - with emphasis.

So, how do I rank as someone who is listened to in this co-op? All the volunteer work I have done over the years has absolutely no value at all. All our letters we've written to the co-op about our concerns regarding this unit have been ridiculed. Today I volunteered my expertise with regards to maintenance of units in Phase I and Phase II of this co-op and was treated with utter contempt and ignorance - to the point of being annihilated as a person and as member.

We were treated like children by a know-it-all outside Board Member and a completely dysfunctional Office Co-ordinator, who time and time again is proving to be one gigantic liability to this co-op.