This report at first glance, may appear to be about roads, our roads. Some of the content will be about roads. The real issue presented however, is about YOUR BOARD'S total continued disregard for fellow Board Member McBride, and the concrete information he tries to bring to the Board table on a monthly basis. He was disregarded a year ago, as he tried to bring good business sense to the table about roads. The Board and all residents are being bitten in the proverbial butt, for their lack of voting in the best interests of the association, rather than in behalf of their cronies. We are not only back to ROADS, but to some of the same POT HOLES, that were repaired last year. As you read, remember some of the 2011 Board are out of the picture - Thomas, Wilson, Huggins. As you read, remember some of the same players - Garrison, President Walton, Barrier, McMillin - who scoffed, ignored, and voted against sound business advice, are now listening to a new player - Anderson- singing the same song McBride did, and they are humming in agreement with him. This is not against Anderson's efforts to do the job right. It isn't even specifically about McBride. It is about any Board Member who isn't in the club. I have not spoken to McBride about this. He has not been involved.
It is time for you to think about these current players, including Anderson, and their regular disregard and violation of the Code of Ethics. They all signed it. Back to roads to completely make the point.
2012: During the June Board Meeting, Anderson reported he had completed a study of the roads and mapped the areas to be considered for repair, with priority notations. He and Mr. LaFrance were going to work together on securing bids. In July as I listen to the tape Anderson begins to speak of the need to bring in a arborist to look at the large oak root damage to the roads, individuals to look at the other underlying problems beneath the surface of the problem areas in our roads, etc. This is great, the way it should be. Remember, Garrison, Barrier, McMillin, and President Walton appear to think it is great. These same Board Members, who you are suppose to have confidence in, in determining how we will allocate monies, all voted against McBride in 2011. Think I'm mistaken? Not so! Remember we spent $29,000 on roads last year, on a contractor that had no contract, no license, no insurance, and didn't return to finish for months! That was with the first $20,000. There was another $9,000 to be spent. Garrison, Barrier, McMillin, and Walton gave it to the same vendor. McBride argued all the way.
I've taken the following quote from the August 16, 2011 Meeting Minutes. It should be noted that the minutes are noted as "corrected & replaced Road's Report". The quote from the minutes is long. It is important to read through this garbage to get the point. HERE IT IS:
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John McBride: What I would like the board to approve, is to approve the roads committee to search for technical support to determine what we actually need to do with these 42 spots that we have out there. Before they get any worse, ok, and procure bids for that at the same time we need to search for what money we might have available to do the job. But there will be a cost with this help that we need. I think we need the help because there are too many different ways to patch something and the best way and there is an affordable way and we need the affordable way.
Bob Garrison: In my view, that’s what we’re paying the guys that’s doing the paving to figure out. To bring in an engineering firm or a manager, whatever you’re suggesting I think is just wasted money. We’re not talking about sending something to Neptune here, we’re talking about paving roads. That’s a fairly straight forward concept I think there’s enough expertise here with people that do this and have done it, Johnny & Jacky, that we don’t have a pretty good idea of what we can spec to without having to spend money to tell us that. That’s just my view.
Jacky Walton: Can I make a comment? This is just my recent past experience, I used a paving company to come out and do some patching for me. This particular company had their own engineer in-house, so when we contacted them they sent him out to observe and to give a quote based on their engineers specs.
Johnny Huggins: So that was included in the quote?
Jacky Walton: Right, that was included in the quote.
Johnny Huggins: We should be able to get that.
Jacky Walton: You may even need to ask that John, If they have an in house engineer that would come out and would spec it. That would save that money in my opinion.
John McBride: Do we know of a paving company that has that around here?
Jacky Walton: I’m pretty sure that Palmetto Paving has their own engineer.
John McBride: Palmetto Paving does?
Jacky Walton: If I’m not mistaken.
John McBride: I can ask.
Johnny Huggins: Why can’t we get the road committee look into the specs?
John McBride: I did, I got a book, I haven’t had Kathy print them out because the book probably 100 pages long. I’m not a road expert, I cannot do this. I can look at what we need to do but I cannot specify what we need to do the right job on these patches, some of these patches wouldn’t have been done with what I know now, would not have been done the way they were done, ok, so I don’t feel like I can rely on a contractor to do what I need an engineer to tell me what’s the best most affordable to make, let’s just say, a cul-de-sac useable to us for a long period of time. Stuff we have going through these cul-de-sacs today they are tearing it up. Just tearing it up, so what do we need to do, how thick does that asphalt need to be, how thick does that base need to be, what kind of base do we need to use its complex, it’s not simple. One of the things we’re seeing where these roads are alligatoring you see a lot cracks and you see a lot of sand on there, that’s the base coming through the cracks. So you’re losing the base. New base has to go in, all that has to come out and it’s because of water. But I can look and see if there’s a company that has that but what do I do if I can’t find one?
Fred Thomas: Talk to George
John McBride: George?
Fred Thomas: George Wilson, he had a bunch of contacts.
Johnny Huggins: He might have something useable.
John McBride: I’ve got every contact in Conway and it’s right on the computer. That’s approved, ok.
Fred Thomas: George has got contacts. And he said most had their own in-house engineer.
Bob Garrison: Let me ask you a question. Are ya’ll prepared at this point to move ahead you already got this other $9,000 approved, right? We’ve got plenty of stuff to do that doesn’t take an engineer or a rocket scientist or anybody else to figure out where some of these holes are. Now what the best way to fill them is to be is open to question, I understand that, are ya’ll prepared to spend that $9,000 now with the guy we got?
John McBride: Well I am willing to spend up to $20,000 with the guy that we have. And that will take care of like entrance here and another pot hole down…..
Bob Garrison: What $20,000?
Johnny Huggins: The remaining of the $20,000. I would like to not postpone it anymore and let him finish this piece, and if we can find more people with better bids then I’ll just tell him thank you and get a job with Earthworks.
John McBride: Let’s spend up to the $20,000 and leave it at that and then…
Johnny Huggins: Then you have another month without any road repair.
John McBride: It’s not going to hurt us? We’ve been months right now. I just don’t want to spend money and not get value for it.
Jacky Walton: Well, here’s one of the problems if we don’t address some of these holes now, if we wait another month, we wait another 2 months instead of spending $1,000 to repair these holes we’ll be spending $10,000 to repair because we didn’t repair them now.
(Board Commotion) Inaudible
Fred Thomas: We start getting into the fall, these things are going to be gigantic.
John McBride: We’ve got enough money, whether 1,000 square feet….1,000 square feet is a lot of holes.
Johnny Huggins: The $9,000 has been approved. Plus pending with you coming in here with a real quote which we don’t really have, I’m not saying you’re not doing a wonderful job but we don’t have it and we’re getting into another month behind is the problem. And I’ve been telling these people every time they walk in here that you got to be here tomorrow.
Fred Thomas: We started this thing in May?
Johnny Huggins: I just want to finish this little chunk of change here, the $9,000 with the guy we got and then we’ll kiss him goodbye.
John McBride: (Inaudible) ….will put $5,000 with that chunk of change to offset the extra pot? Do you want to do that?
Johnny Huggins: Do what?
John McBride: I’m saying, to spend $9,000 it will take $15,000 to do the same amount of work….in other words he’s going charge us too much money, by $5,000. I’m not willing to spend $5,000 to throw away. That’s more than $10.00 a person here. That’s a lot of money Johnny.
Jacky Walton: I agree with what you’re saying, but here’s another problem, do you know asphalt? You don’t have a couple more months and they’ll be shutting the plants down. So now you’ll be waiting until the spring of next year.
John McBride: I think we can take the major holes we have and fix them.
Bob Garrison: How many big holes do we have?
Jacky Walton: Who’s going to check them?
Bob Garrison: Well you know where they are.
Jacky Walton: I make a motion that we use Myrtle Paving to continue with the paving using the remaining $9,000 from the budget.
John McBride: That’s not going to complete the work, though.
Bob Garrison: Well, we know that. You’re never going to complete the road paving work because….
John McBride: I want to take that $9,000 with a new contract, if we put it out for bids and do it in the right way, ok. Use some of that money with an engineering company so we correct these problems the right way.
Bob Garrison: John, you haven’t convinced me yet that you got anybody to come in here and do for $1.25 a square foot.
Johnny Huggins: We got a motion.
Bob Garrison: Second of all if you’re using some of the money for this engineering firm then you don’t have much money in terms now it’s not a $1.25 a square foot anymore. It’s $1.25-1.30 a square foot plus the engineering firm divided by that number of square feet. When we get all done, we probably talking about less than $1.00 a square foot and waiting 3 more months to do it.
Jason Barrier: I second Jacky’s motion.
Fred Thomas: I already seconded it. We got a motion and a second.
Bob Garrison: Alright, any other discussion?
Larry McMillin: For the sake of timing and everything I think this is the right way to go with this. I think if we prioritize the areas that we want done to get the worst ones done first and whenever he runs out of money that’s it. We have a new budget coming up give me some figures you think you need for next year and dollar amount and we will work it in. For expediency and the fact that the school buses are going to start coming in next week we need to get something done. We’ve waited all summer.
Bob Garrison: Alright, any other discussion?
Johnny Huggins: Ok, he just resigned. From Roads.
John McBride: Yep, I’m done. If I don’t get the help I need to do….
Bob Garrison: If you don’t get your way….. (Commotion)
Johnny Huggins: That’s ok, let’s not argue.
Bob Garrison: All those in favor of the motion presented by Jacky , signify by saying aye.
Motion passes 7 to 1.
A motion was made and seconded to release the remaining $9,000 to Myrtle Paving, Danny Lee to repair the remaining potholes. Motion was passed with 7 ayes and 1 no.
John McBride then resigned from the roads committee.
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What changed since last year? What caused Garrison, Barrier, McMillin, and President Walton to change their minds? Nothing except, I believe if you are John McBride, you aren't part of the fraternity of brothers, and you don't have a chance to be heard. Why? I think the rest are making back room deals. I'm not talking about money. I talking about, "you wash my arrogant heavy handed controlling BACK and I'll wash yours." That's why we have Garrison as Legal Chair, Walton, as President, and McBride left out of important meetings.
It is time to think about all of this. Anderson, Walton (John), and DeMarchi are running for Board, along with Taco Wijthoff. I'm doing research on their voting records. You'll be the judge as to whether they vote in the best interests of Wedgefield, or in the best interests of the fraternity brotherhood. Wijthoff, gets my vote.
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