Dear Madeline,
I check your blog regularly and appreciate the time and energy that you expend on behalf of all the residents of Wedgefield. I have had similar experiences as you have with this 2012 Board. After the election of 2011, I had hoped that we had managed to elect enough adults on the Board and that the days of petty turf wars were over. I was hoping that some serious business would be accomplished. Boy, was I ever wrong!
The Organizational Meeting was the first sign of trouble. Bob Garrison knew that the attorney had suggested, as John McBride said, that the meeting be open. He feigned surprise at the number of residents present and took a vote to close the meeting. Why was it important to leave the residents out? I believe that a few deals had been struck. Jacky as President, Bob as Legal Chair. Although Jacky may mean well, he seems unable to , as he promised, follow the By-laws, Covenants, and Policy Manual. Bob Garrison as Legal Chair is a joke. He was one of the three Bobs, now he’s appointed a second, that advised all of the members of WPA to break the law and put their assessments in an escrow account. !
The December Board Meeting was a continuation of nonsense. John McBride was chastised for contacting the attorney, Moody, regarding some questionable billing. Included in Moody’s bill, were a number of meetings with the Wedgefield Plantation Board of Directors. Interestingly enough, not ALL Board members knew about these meetings. John questioned who was invited and what was discussed. Thank you, John, for looking out for us. Bob Garrison asked for money in order to get written opinions from Moody on several issues where we already had a written legal opinion from the previous attorney or were relying on Moody’s oral opinion. The Board approved Bob’s request.
Included on the same bill were charges in excess $1300.00 for Moody to communicate with Turner Perrow. At the time of this meeting, Turner was representing Zieske, Thomas, and Wilson who sued the 2009 Board individually and collectively. Why would Moody, in the presence of Wilson and Thomas be contacting Turner Perrow? Johnny Huggins was also being sued by Turner and may have been present without his lawyer! Is this a violation of ethics on the part of both attorneys? Were George and Fred using WPA funds for personal gain? I asked to see the bill and the work product resulting from the charges. I had to wait until the January meeting to find out if I could look at the documents I requested. I checked the By-laws, and the By-law says that a resident may look at any document for a proper purpose. It doesn’t say upon Board approval. There seems to be some concern on the part of a few Board members that I may use access to documents to further the countersuit. Gee! Bob Garrison is being sued and has full access to ALL documents. Is he using official WPA documents for his personal gain? It’s happened before!
I looked at the bill and the resulting work product under the supervising eye of the Corporate Secretary—that was a first for me. Needless to say, although the bill exceeded $5,000, the work product was not there. No one can, or is willing, to explain the numerous meetings with a select few from the Board or explain the $1300+ for Moody to confer with Perrow. According to the recent Wragg article, they are still waiting for Moody to produce written copies of his opinions and other work documents. This all goes back to December! Someone needs to light a fire under the legal chair and Mr. Moody. I believe that the President is responsible for the action, or inaction, of the committees.
At the December board meeting, Larry McMillin raised the issue of areas of excessive dog excrement. He named four areas of concern-- the marina road and three in the condo and village area. He proposed signage and possible fines. He suggested that residents police other residents. I believe the discussion lasted about 20 minutes. Money was allocated for the signs. This same issue came up in January with the proposed signage still under discussion. Perhaps an additional 30 minutes was spent at a recent policy manual meeting concerning the wordage of the new Pooper Scooper Policy! Responsible dog owners pick up after their pets without a sign; irresponsible dog owners will leave a mess under the sign!
All of this fuss, time, and money and the correspondence file has only one written complaint about dog poop! We have over $100,000 in overdue assessments, little ARC oversight, and a legal file that is woefully incomplete, and the Board spent their time discussing CRAP! It seems that they have their priorities mixed up.
Like you, I’ve given up on expecting an answer from the Board, although some of the individual Board members respond in support of my questions. Instead of answering concerns, our resident cynic, the Community Liaison, uses his time to ridicule and try to belittle my general concerns. I know that I need to go on record as questioning some of the actions of this Board. I think its time others did , too.
Jude Davis
DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT? SEND IT TO: wedgefieldexaminer@yahoo.com. Please state whether you would like your name published with your comments.
