Sins of the Fathers

    When I started getting involved in the inner workings of Pine Mountain Club in the early 80's, it soon became clear that a few things were amiss. Not the administrative or political problems that plague most communities-- those are facts of life, especially in California. But Pine Mountain Club was barely in its teens, and some "cracks" were showing.
     Anyone who watches reality TV has seen, or is aware of, the "flip" programs: "Flip This House", etc. Well, Pine Mountain Club was a real estate "flip". Dart Industries and Georgia-Pacific started the trend in the '60's, buying tracts of land in or near "resort" areas, making necessary improvements, and then selling the properties at a tidy profit. Tenneco did not acquire the land that became Pine Mountain Club with the primary intention of developing it. Tenneco was an OIL company, and Kern Land Company was for sale in the 60's. Kern Land Company, which came to be as a grab for water rights in the late 1800's and early 1900's, owned a vast tract of land (more than 170,000 acres) that had once been a Spanish/Mexican land grant, and had subsequently belonged to General John C. Fremont, called Rancho San Emigdio. Tenneco primarily was after the OIL that lies beneath the grassy hills to the north of us; the water rights to the land, and the 3000+ acres nearly surrounded by national forest on the southern edge, were a bonus. Tenneco knew that the likelihood of extracting oil from this particular area (PMC) was nil, but you never know. (If you check your property documents (deed), you'll see that Tenneco reserved ALL the mineral rights after the first 100 feet to themselves, and ALL the water rights to Mil Potrero Mutual Water Company.)
     Tenneco managers left their mark on our community: Symonds was CEO; Askin and Freeman were VPs of Tenneco in the 60's/70's.
     Anyway, Tenneco, coming somewhat late to the game, decided to get into property development. Following the "flip" concept, the plan was to buy cheap (already done), invest the minimum amount to pass inspections and have "curb appeal", and then sell getting out with a tidy quick profit. Like any good flipper, they cut corners everywhere possible, and "worked around" any unforeseen obstacles. Case in point: the original plan submitted to Kern County called for underground utilities throughout the entire project. Once excavation began, it became clear that the terrain and the size and quantity of rock where the trenches for utilities would go made it extraordinarily expensive to put underground service everywhere (cutting into their profits). There's no proof that I know of, but it's been rumored that SC Edison, (then) PacBell, and Tenneco lobbied Kern County (maybe with cash), to forego the underground requirement, except in the area immediately around the Clubhouse--the original real estate sales office. (there's your curb appeal). All three companies benefited by significantly lowering their construction costs.
     Like an undertaker that gets to bury his mistakes, Tenneco cut lots of corners on drainage. Streets and lots cut across stream beds, and only the absolute minimum was done  to mitigate any possible damage in the future from water flow. Drain pipes and culverts worked fine for a few years, but when the development was turned over to PMCPOA, no plans or procedures were given to the maintenance department to keep the system working as designed, so gradually those systems clogged with silt or deteriorated. The Association inherited an expensive problem that still continues to give its managers headaches, and keeps its lawyers in billable hours.
     Those unforeseen hazards can have frightening consequences. A culvert and gutter up on the top of St. Bernard Drive backed up and partially washed out during an autumn rainstorm in 1989 or 1990. The rush of water flowed down the ravine for three-quarters of a mile or so, eventually ending up in a gully just above San Moritz Way. Tenneco had built the county-required catch basin to absorb and deflect just such a water flow, and to protect the homes on San Moritz Lane. But nobody knew that the catch basin needed to be cleaned out occasionally, and so it had become filled with silt and debris. The water overflowed the basin and started eroding the foundations of two of the homes below, wiping out most of their yards in the process. PMCPOA didn't cause the problem, Tenneco's poor design and lack of foresight did, but the Association (all of us) accepted the development from the Developer with all its flaws, so we were legally and financially responsible, and we paid-- attorneys, and engineers, and contractors.
     The electrical system in the clubhouse was barely adequate for the original small structure, and when the building was enlarged (several times), the system was just expanded, instead of being upgraded. I once got a call from the then General Manager, Mike Duffy, that the power in the Club bar area was out, and it was New Years Eve. I'm not an electrician, but he asked me to look at it anyway and see if it was something simple (is it ever??). I found one of the bar sinks had overflowed and gotten an outlet wet, causing the breaker to trip. I turned off all the breakers for that area so the water could be cleaned up. While the crew was working, I saw some of the equipment was still on. One of the crew said there was another breaker box. After some extensive checking, and getting a real electrician to come out on the holiday, he found that TWO panels were hooked to the same circuits, so turning one off didn't cut the power! You'd think after the fire a few years earlier (caused by a faulty circuit), that nearly destroyed the entire clubhouse, SOMEBODY would have hired a licensed electrician to properly install the wiring in the clubhouse. (Note: it should ALL be up to code, now. :-\ )