Jamie,

Thank you for taking the time to clear things up for those who may still feel like they are in the dark on this issue. I appreciate it.

To Alan,

I know who Tim Waltz is, but we’re discussing an individual in California, not Minnesota, who is not a violent offender and who has not been found guilty of a crime in court. We’re discussing someone who has been an ASSET to our club in multiple ways and considered as such by multiple pilot members in good standing with the club. He’s not perfect (who is??), but he is considered one of us.

We are discussing the board taking actions AGAINST our by law rules. Certain board members are the ones not following the rules, abusing their position and citing legal reasons that don’t exist, as reason for calling the police. I’ve known these people for years, I’ve worked with them before, I am not enjoying having to call them out on their wrong-doing. I am blowing up friendships over this, because wrong is wrong and right is right. I am acting on behalf of multiple members who don’t want to participate here, but feel very much the same as I do.

You are entitled to your opinion on wrong vs. right, but it would help a great deal if you did have personal experiences with those of us relevant to this discussion. Unfortunately you have to rely on the information here rather than on your own personal experience. Corporate word salad sounds and looks good, but it doesn’t mean it’s rooted in reality. The outcome of this doesn’t affect you the same way as it affects those of us locals who are frequenting AJX multiple times a week for years on end. Now excuse me while I step away for the day and go do some flying with these people.

Thursday, July 9th: Steve entered CSS property around 8:00 PM, which was documented.
Friday, July 10th: Steve returned to the property around 4:30–5:00 PM to charge his one-wheel under the shade structure.

The horror!!! Lock him up! Especially after I paid for his club membership, which Luke then decided to void without a hearing (as is required by the club’s by laws and as was correctly pointed out by Rob earlier). So much for following the club rules and making us feel safe!

Apparently Luke tampered with the LZ cameras without the camera owner’s permission, so that he could surveil the BBQ area from the comfort of his home! He has gathered evidence of pilot members collecting water from the sink into jugs, to possibly hand to Steve. He then accused a pilot member of “stealing” water for the purpose of aiding and abetting this homeless criminal. Mimi should call the non-emergency PD line to file a complaint! We need to keep a record of all the pilot members stealing the LZ’s resources! Luke is making a list and checking it twice.

When the officers asked during that meeting if I knew where Steve was currently located in the area, I answered their direct question and shared that his RV had been seen parked nearby.

In other words, he wasn’t on CSS property at the time, but you were prepared to make sure he doesn’t feel safe anywhere.

We completely understand that members care about Steve and want to help him through personal channels. However, the board’s responsibility remains strictly focused on upholding club rules, protecting Andy Jackson Airpark, and keeping the LZ safe and operational for everyone.

Allow me to translate. “We understand that most of our paying club members want this person to be allowed back on the property and that our actions are highly unpopular, but we don’t care what you or the lawyers think, we’re smarter than all of you and we will go ahead and press forward. We will continue to ignore your citing of the by laws and ignore the fact that Steve is entitled to a proper hearing before we can take these actions against him. We will also continue to spy on you and frivolously call the police, until we are satisfied. We really want to make sure that our member pilots thoroughly despise us for our actions and start a petition to remove us from our volunteer positions before the next scheduled election”.

Good news everyone, Luke’s access to the cameras has been suspended by the owner. We can now feel a little safer. Did I mention Luke was entertaining the idea of removing the refrigerator and BBQ from the LZ in order to give Steve less incentive to come on the property? I guess he forgot about the other 300 members who might want to keep their drinks and food cold during their visit, who pay club dues for the privilege. He must have forgotten that we have events which involve cooking food and storing it during 100 degree temperatures.

As for “upholding club rules”, for some reason one of the board members has been parking his RV at the LZ over night (sometimes over multiple nights in a row) countless times. I’m not sure why there is an exception to his squatting. Maybe because he has an actual house to go back to, so it’s cool? I’d like to make it clear that I have nothing against that board member personally, I’m just pointing out the double standards in Luke’s and Mimi’s selective club rule enforcement. It seems they DO know how to look the other way.

To preserve the momentum, Gene got a new letter warning of violations including smoking and dog leash and the anti Sandy and Dale defamation league’s laws against frank speech.

Dan,

It gets even worse. Sandy NEVER said to them that Gene was bothering her. She never complained and didn’t feel threatened by Gene’s presence. In fact, she’s quite upset about this letter being given to Gene, because it could make him think that she was behind it! All this letter did is create more anxiety and drama for her.

Jerome,

I think it’s pretty important for all of us to know why our board members are resigning, don’t you think? Why should that be a secret? We’re all equal in this club, we vote, we volunteer and we’re supposed to be working together to make sure the club continues to exist in peace and harmony.

When certain members volunteer to be on the board, they’re tasked with working AS A TEAM. If one or two members act without the prior approval of the other board members, or don’t bother to communicate to the rest of us what is happening with the club operations, I think that’s a huge problem.

When a board member or two, or three, decide to act against the club’s explicit by laws to kick people out, or don’t respect their other board members enough to listen, discuss and apply appropriate measures and instead act as they please against better advice, it is dangerous to the club. I will always speak up against such people. I don’t care who they are.

P.S. Are you suggesting I’m making things up to serve a narrative? Do you know me as someone who makes things up?

While we were on vacation, apparently one or more of the board members called the police yet again, trying to make Steve R’s life even more difficult than it already is. I want you to know that if you are calling the cops and continuing to harass Steve R, we cannot continue to be friends, or on good terms. I can’t be a friend to someone who can be so cruel and inhumane. Feel free to avoid me. The premise upon which Steve R is being removed, is absolutely bogus. Can’t wait for the next board election to come along.

P.S. For those of you who don’t know, the only actual lawyer who was incredibly valuable to have on the CSS board, resigned two weeks ago. Why? Because certain individuals on the board like to think they know better than lawyers do. This resignation is causing actual harm to the club. I would certainly much prefer the resignation of the President at this point, because from my observations, his lack of respect for his team is driving members away from volunteering. This club cannot survive without willing volunteers and we don’t need tyrannical board members chipping away at people’s will to help out.

“Thanks for alerting me that my name is not on the club roster, although when I checked to see if I am current, the renewal link shows I am.  I have been flying Crestline and Marshal off and on for over 30 years and before the current AJX LZ even existed, and I have supported the CSS in varying ways over that time.  I don’t understand what the frequency of my flying there has to do with this discussion.”

If your name is not on the club roster, your membership is not current. Maybe the CSS webmaster can fix that for you, or fix the subscription info under each member profile. It can be unnecessarily confusing and you wouldn’t be the first to have that problem.

Your frequency of flying is relevant, because if you don’t spend a lot of time at the LZ, you are not familiar with some of the personalities on the board, their level of honesty, their familiarity with the site & its members, their treatment of others around them, their personal history with Steve, or their biases. It’s hard to imagine someone would make things up in order to justify unpopular actions, but unfortunately it happens. I have seen it with my own eyes.

“You are also projecting quite a bit when I refer to Steve as homeless as if I consider calling someone homeless to be a pejorative or look down on their situation.  I don’t disparage folks for being homeless but I also don’t absolve them from being responsible and accountable for their actions or their effects on others. Regarding Encore, I have no illusions that they will not act in their own best interests, possibly to our detriment but I believe that the chances of them wanting to take the clubs interests into consideration can be greatly diminished by granting club membership to someone that they have been in an adversarial relationship with.  It literally boggles my mind why you think having Steve become a club member would be a good thing for the club while use of our current and future landing approaches are, (pardon the pun) “up in the air”.

Steve is being held responsible for his actions. He vacated the property where he was squatting. He is no longer an issue for Encore.

The other neighbors are not, and have never complained about him. The “what ifs” aren’t actual crimes, they’re imagined scenarios, and some of the board members would like to punish him for the crimes they imagine he might commit. He never had a chance to defend himself and he deserves to be able to do that, because he’s been a pilot, a member and a volunteer.

Besides squatting on Encore land, he has never done anything egregious, unlike a few current members who get to enjoy the LZ after committing violent crimes, severely threatening the site with their illegal actions and harassing other members, or they continue to leave their campers on CSS property for days and nights at a time. Selective enforcement once again.

Encore is NOT monitoring CSS memberships. They care about one thing and one thing only, Steve off their land. He is off their land. They don’t care what happens to Steve now that he’s off their land, but the President and Events Coordinator don’t seem to care about these facts, they simply want a reason to make him go away and they will push this imaginary “threat to AJX” to scare some of you into believing that Steve will somehow bring the club to an end.

Meanwhile the board has been ignoring many of their necessary duties since last year and has been jeopardizing our 501c non profit status. Hypocrisy, abuse of power and dishonesty at work.

“Please tell me that you don’t think a members conduct outside of the confines of AJX should have no bearing on their membership.”

I don’t recall the board EVER doing background checks on its membership. I don’t recall the board ever going around the parking lot, checking license plates and removing people for crimes committed outside of AJX. I have no idea what crimes you may have committed outside of AJX. We may have serial killers among us and I wouldn’t know it. I have, however, witnessed physically violent behavior at the LZ by members who are currently continuing to enjoy AJX! Selective enforcement.

“You can disparage my humanity, but I make no apologies about being more concerned about the CSS/AJX then about Steve’s association with our club and site”

I’m reading what you write and that’s all I have to go on. Steve is not an actual threat to the club, though a board member or two would like to misrepresent the situation to accomplish their personal goals of removing him. I’m still waiting for proof that Encore requested Steve is never to set foot on CSS property, after he vacates their property.

Alan,

You don’t need to agree with me. I don’t expect everyone to agree. You are free to have your own opinion based on the information that you have.

To you and to other infrequent visitors to AJX, Steve is “just some homeless guy”. Why care about some poor, unsightly homeless guy? He ruins the view and the visitor experience, doesn’t he? Homeless people are a real drain on society. They’re useless, aren’t they? They don’t deserve our compassion, our friendship, or monetary reward for their labor. They’re subhuman, they’re nobody’s children and we really shouldn’t be wasting our precious time or resources on them. They don’t deserve it. Why won’t they simply call a social services number, ask for help and GTFO of our sight??

Encore is finished with Steve. He is off their property now and no longer their concern. So long as he stays off Encore property (and he will), he is no longer a “threat” to the club. Banning him from the LZ for future crimes that haven’t happened, is wrong.

Some of our board members have hypocritical tendencies. They break the club (and sometimes FAA) rules themselves, they pick and choose what club rules to enforce with whom, and I don’t agree with the way things are being handled. This selective enforcement based on personal issues is what bothers me. Their inhumane treatment of Steve is abhorrent.

Where is a current letter from Encore stating that they will go back on their word with the CSS if Steve is allowed to visit the LZ during the day? Where is a letter from Encore stating that if Steve is banished from the LZ, they won’t build houses right at the edge of our grass? It doesn’t exist! If it did, they would have presented it long ago.

Do you know what Encore is doing? They’re currently trying to shut down the park completely by claiming that we are performing illegal activities at this site. They’re not trying to work with us, they don’t care if we get to fly, they want their millions. I’m not going to sacrifice Steve for these people, just so Encore can go ahead and do what they were going to do, regardless of how much cooperation we give them.

Steve’s business outside of Encore and the CSS property is his business alone. There are no neighbor complaints. If there were, the board would have presented them as evidence. Instead, the reasons given for trespassing Steve is to “help” him, and the “proof” they presented to me is from a year ago, already resolved. I’m not allowed to share that letter, but I was able to see it, because I am on the LSFFC board. There is no other outstanding issue, but these board members would like to use this opportunity to make him disappear.

I don’t see your name on the CSS members list. Maybe I missed it. How often do you fly at AJX? I’m just curious how well you know Steve and whether you’ve had a chance to realize why many of us members find him valuable at the LZ. I haven’t seen Billie in about a year, maybe longer, and he’s also not on the members list. I know he likes to visit for a few days and then goes right back to Vegas. We like to have him, we enjoy conversations with him, but he is not all that familiar with the personalities running the board. I’ve noticed that none of the current CSS members are complaining about Steve, only a couple of the board members and the two of you. Don’t you find that interesting?

P.S. I contacted Jeremy Bishop to get his side of the Soboba story. Here’s what Mimi wrote above:

“Following that, Steve tried to move and squat at another flight park (Soboba), but because he was trying to do the exact same thing there that he did at AJX—living on-site without authorization—they also had to ask him to leave. According to the staff at that flight park, Steve didn’t even vacate until four days after they explicitly asked him to go.”

Here’s what Jeremy said:

“Steve did absolutely nothing  at all. He was great to have around, we had a family emergency that has turned into an extended period. I asked him to leave while we deal with this and reset when we get back. Hope this clears any rumors up!”

Steve R. received this notice from the board yesterday. I’m curious as to who typed this up. Doesn’t a “final” notice usually require a previous written notice? Did he receive one? May we see a copy of that notice?

This notice comes after my conversation with Luke on the 14th. Luke told me over the phone and in a text message; “I promised you that I wasn’t trying to kick Steve out and I have not done that nor do I have any intention of doing that.” He also stated that he did not forward the current motion, it was a board vote. How did you vote, Luke? Who brought up this subject?

I truly believe that Steve should be given an opportunity to defend himself and to have others speak on his behalf during a meeting. Due process is important and Steve can’t be reduced or dehumanized into “some homeless guy”, because he is not just some homeless guy to many of us who’ve known him longer than we’ve known some of you.

Also, it is every club member’s right to listen in on board meetings, even if we can’t participate until the general members meetings. That’s the way it’s been for decades, until Covid came along. Since Covid we’ve moved away from this model, but I think it’s time to bring it back. Board meetings need to be transparent. None of these discussions should be held in secret anymore. We need to know how each board member is representing us, or whether they are representing us at all.