John Peterson, a current director and one of the Slate of Five has taken exception to statements made by the Webmaster regarding the Dox, a teen center operated in Lake Forest last year.  His remarks may be read, unedited, by selecting this link.  What follows are my responses to the charges that were made in Mr. Peterson’s letters.  Please allow me to state up front that this is in no way meant to suggest that Mr. Peterson is not sincere in his beliefs and interest in the well being of Lake Forest.  He wrote as an outsider without the facts and without making any attempt whatsoever to verify his “perceptions” with the people involved.

First, the opponents of the Dox commonly referred to the facility as a “night club”.  While it is true that the kids did have events down there at night, they were also open in the day during the summer for the swimmers and other young people who needed a place to go while school was out.  They had video games, pool tables, ping pong tables and other types of recreation.  The term “night club”, in my opinion, was used purely to create a negative connotation regarding the place.

Mr. Peterson takes exception to young people outside of Lake Forest visiting the facility.  It should be noted that Lake Forest has always allowed children from the area to use our facilities.   The swim team, for example, for years has had more non-property owner children than Lake Forest members.  We have outside children playing on our tennis courts, golf course, and Yacht Club.  We held fireworks at which anyone was welcome to attend.  Frankly, most members would agree that as long as they followed the rules and did not interfere with the enjoyment of the amenities by our members, allowing children to use the amenities speaks well of Lake Forest. 

When the general manager and the young operators originally agreed on the idea of letting them try to offer something for young people at the old building, they assumed they were talking about a summer program and wrote their agreement accordingly.  Frankly, the GM thought they would fail, as all other efforts had, and soon lose interest.  However, it did not turn out that way.  When they found that the teens would enjoy the bands one or two nights a week during the rest of the year, they simply continued on.   The “agreement” was nothing more than a way for the gm and the operators to know what was expected of everyone involved.  It was never intended to be some kind of ironclad contract to be argued in court.  The “term” of an agreement that had no legal standing really meant nothing.  These were Lake Forest teens, who thought that they could do something that the association had never been able to do; provide a safe place that teens could go and have some fun.  They were successful.  Furthermore, Mr. Peterson’s accusation that the general manager did not oversee the operation is not true.  The GM was in constant communication and issued instructions to them frequently.  In addition, there were board members, parents and other adults at every show they put on.

The remark, “the building grounds were littered with cigarette butts and discarded beer containers”, is meant to suggest that the kids were being allowed to use these items in the club.  That was never true.  No smoking was allowed in the building.  I and others personally saw that rule being enforced.  Those teenagers that did smoke were allowed to go outside of the building.   So, if there was a failure related to this, it had to do with the guys not sweeping up the next morning before one of their opponents could get out there.  Absolutely no drinking of alcoholic beverages was allowed in or around the center.   As one City councilman said, “I can take you to any cul-de-sac in Lake Forest and show you beer cans.”   To suggest that these guys were allowing that kind of activity in their club is out of line and it also suggests that the police officers who were on duty for those shows were terribly negligent.  These unsubstantiated charges show the depths to which unprincipled adults can reach to satisfy their own personal ambitions.

 “Was the GM pressured by the President to allow this to continue?”  That comment is untrue, insulting and beneath Mr. Peterson.

Regarding the comment about Lake Forest accepting liability for injury around the club, no one who uses an amenity in Lake Forest accepts responsibility for liability.  That is why the association maintains liability insurance and according to our insurance carrier, we were covered at that building just as we were at all other facilities in Lake Forest.  Furthermore, the Board of Directors went to extraordinary lengths to insure that the association was sufficiently covered.  They received letters from the attorney and the insurance carrier assuring them of that coverage.  The only exception to this is the stables which are operated by an independent agent.  The guys who ran the teen center were always accountable to the general manager.  This liability issue was nothing more with than a red herring meant to scare our members.

The comments regarding a conflict of interest by Ed Kirby, a current director, are just not correct.  As a member of the Lake Forest Property Owners Association, Mr. Kirby has the right to serve the community just like any other member.  Furthermore, Mr. Kirby, who is also a former president of the association, has done an outstanding job for Lake Forest.

As far as his remarks concerning the president’s child working for the association, those are also beneath Mr. Peterson.  "How can the board President’s child obtain a job so easily? Does he even have to do the work he is hired to do? "  Do you notice how one who wants to smear the character of a person without risk can do so by putting the charge in the form of a question?  For his information, as a tennis family, every one of the president’s children have at one time or another worked at the tennis courts.  They were doing so long before the president became involved in association politics.  Their family believes in working to earn one’s way and being involved in the community.  The attempt to disparage their reputation is shameful and had absolutely nothing to with the Dox, other than to try an discredit the president.

“What safeguards are in place to insure the GM and President have not had irregularities in our finances.”  What meaning does the reader give to this last statement?  It seems a pretty straight forward accusation that the parties involved were up to something illegal or, at the very least, irresponsible.  They were not.  As for safeguards, remember that detailed financial reports are produced and displayed in public every month.  Furthermore, the association has had an outside audit every year and no irregularities have ever been found or even suggested.   The more I read of Mr. Peterson’s submission, the less respect I have for him.

Finally, the following remark deserves a response. “The club was definitely a nuisance to the neighbors”.  When George Lieb complained about the club, the three young operators went to every house on that street.  They managed to actually talk to twenty-three.  The told them who they were and what they were doing and asked if the resident had any problem with the teen center and also asked how they could help.  With the single exception of Lieb, himself, they received 100% support from the people on that street.  That includes Mrs. John Peterson.  It wasn’t until sometime later when John became involved with Lieb and Dubose that Mrs. Peterson asked that her name be removed from the list of supporters. 

Mr. Peterson and friends were pulled into the Dox controversy and apparently believed and even participated in the innuendo and distortions that were perpetrated on the people involved.  At the same time, they ignored the documentation and testimony from the other side.  Clearly, they had no interest in anything but closing the place down.  There was never a significant incident at the teen club.  The police, who actually investigated and/or were involved in the operation, gave it high marks.  The Dox episode was nothing more than Lake Forest politics at their worst.  Finally, regarding John's opening statement that "the Dox, as intended, would have been a great thing for our kids", we have seen no effort on his or anyone else's part to create anything remotely like it for Lake Forest kids.  Speaking of "perceptions", my perception of that statement is that it is phony.