Vehicle towing at Esplanade Circle ceases

Following several weeks of tenant turmoil, vehicle towing at Esplanade Circle has come to an end. As of Friday, we received a letter from the (Homeowners Association) board members saying they were ceasing towing for safety reasons, said Esplanade resident Chuck Tolbert. Yeah, probably for their safety.Repeated phone calls and e-mails to VierraMoore employees in charge of the property management at Esplanade Circle were not returned.I have no authority to talk to any member of the media, said Laura Young, assistant to George Moore, president of VierraMoore.Tolbert, who has been one of the most vocal critics of the private condominium community's recent parking changes, said outside of the letter, nothing had been heard from either the HOA board of directors or VierraMoore, the Esplanade property manager.While the letter officially cites safety as the reason for the ceased towing, Tolbert believes the Esplanade Owners' Association's reasoning isn't that simple.I think we made them look quite bad, he said. Even with all the finger-pointing, they pointed the finger right back at the city, at the Parkway (Esplanade Master Association), even the police department. According to Tolbert, at least 50 cars were towed since the beginning of the month, and to retrieve those towed vehicles, residents were forced to pay at least $220.Tolbert and about 140 Esplanade residents went on to sign a petition voicing their outrage at VierraMoore and the HOA board of directors.So now, for the time being, Esplanade residents can rest easy knowing their cars won't fall victim to more midnight tows.But Tolbert and company aren't done yet.Tuesday night marks the first board of directors meeting since November, and according to Tolbert, it'll be one for the books.He said only owners, not tenants, will be allowed admission to the meeting, and it will be supervised by Paladin Private Security, the same company that cited Esplanade cars for tow.Matt Carroll, vice president of Paladin, was not allowed to comment per instructions from VierraMoore.Personally, I really wish I could (comment), he said. Unfortunately, we really can't because we have been instructed by VierraMoore (officials) not to comment.Despite the difficulties he'll face at Tuesday's meeting, Tolbert remains undeterred.We are not accepting anything less than the resignation of the board members and we want VierraMoore to back out of any contract they might have, he said.In the meantime, Tolbert and his supporters are speaking with attorneys as they prepare to take legal action.We're looking to litigate with VierraMoore, the security company (Paladin), the towing company (H B Towing), and once they all step down, we'll file civil suits against the board members, said Tolbert.John Bowman, general manager of the Parkway at Folsom Owners' Assocation, the Master Association of Esplanade, said the original decision to tow came from VierraMoore and the board of directors, not the Parkway.Those are the rules they've adopted, Bowman said. We don't enforce those rules. Because Esplanade has private streets and amenities, they have their own private sub-association.Bowman did receive an invite to Tuesday's meeting from VierraMoore, but said that's been the only contact he's had with the property manager since the towing began.I haven't talked with anyone from VierraMoore for a couple of weeks, Bowman said.Tolbert has no hard-feelings towards the Parkway, but did fire a clear warning shot to VierraMoore and the HOA board of directors.If they (the Esplanade Owners' Association) were smart about anything, they would run and hide, he said. The litigation is coming, and they can't get around that.The Telegraph's Jim Ratajczak can be reached at jimr@goldcountrymedia.com, or post a comment at folsomtelegraph.com