The Wedgefield Examiner is back and preparing to publish again. Our schedule has been broken up with holidays and on a personal note, the adoption of three grandchildren. They arrived safely this week.
BACK TO BUSINESS. What better way to get started than to use our national model and give a "state of the union"? The Wedgefield Examiner has been reviewing 2013. It is viewed as an indication, possibly foundation, of what we can expect from this board in 2014. The information has been compiled and we hope to publish it late on February 1st.
LET'S HOPE THE BOARD WILL DO BETTER THAN LEAVE US FOR MONTHS WITH SOMETHING LIKE THIS:
The Wedgefield Examiner has had a lot of breaks with the holidays, travel, home projects, and best of all helping a daughter prepare to adopt three children. The children arrive in 8 days from now. The Wedgefield Examiner will miss this months meeting - more preparations for the children, but will listen to the tape and be back up and running in about a week.
PLEASE NOTE: The Wedgefield Examiner has researched this topic to the best of their ability. All attempts have been made to present all pertinent documentation. The documents are presented to the best of my limited computer skills.
The Wedgefield Examiner doesn't know the answer to the question posted above, BUT has spent time pulling together information to attempt to answer the question. Your questions might be, "what difference does it make", or "how important could it be"?
Let's start with the questions a concerned resident might have. As far as the importance of the committee, the current job description states the following: "The Compliance Committee is to assure adherence to the Wedgefield Plantation Association Charter, Covenants, By-laws and policies, and all laws, regulations and rules (local, state and federal) affecting the Home Owners Association. The president may appoint, or the board may select, any board member to chair the committee." That's a pretty important role to play in our governance. It sounds like it might be the role of the Legal Committee, backed up by the board attorney of record. The Wedgefield Examiner's question is how did it get in the policy manual and who approved it? We'd ask the board but they don't have a record of answering residents, and our board president hasn't cared for almost two years. A resident's time is as valuable as any board members. If you write, not only don't they answer, but you become a pariah as far as this board is concerned.
The Wedgefield Examiner was left with going back through records such as the old Policy Manuals and checking in with some who had served on the committee organized by board member, DeMarchi, to get the Policy Manual in order to be reviewed and approved by the board. Granted, the question as to where this job description came from, is driven by distrust. Why? If you remember, one of the other documents that dropped from no where was the Confidentiality Agreement. DeMarchi said it had been part of an old manual and it wasn't. Later, he presented a tattered stand alone document that was printed on a piece of association stationary, without any back up as to where it had come from. The bottom line is that it could appear that this was just another way for your board to bless each others' actions, and tell us they had the authority to do it. Also, remember many of these same board members ignored the 2011 By-law, passed several changes to this very manual without following it, and hadn't even registered the 2011 By-law until 2013! This board has named DeMarchi Compliance Chair. He didn't list his committee members as others did at the December meeting, and doesn't appear to have a report, except to initiate more changes to the Policy Manual, while he serves as Treasurer, and most of the changes relate to finances.
LOOK AT THE FACTS TO TRY AND DETERMINE WHERE THIS DOCUMENT CAME FROM:
There was a committee called the Audit Committee as of 2006. The approved Policy Manual, prior to DeMarchi's work on the manual. In early 2009, this committee was called upon to review 2008. DeMarchi served on that committee. When the report was completed they had reviewed the records, but had chosen not to follow the financial trail. There was a former noted Concerned Citizen board member who suggested that the committee should be more of a compliance committee, meeting regularly and preparing reports to the board as to whether they were following our governing documents. No written or approved changes were made. Review the audit job description and you will note that the treasurer cannot serve on the committee. THE 2006 AUDIT COMMITTEE JOB DESCRIPTION IS PRESENTED BELOW.
The Wedgefield Examiner contacted a couple of members of DeMarchi's policy manual group and asked if there was ever a discussion of removing the Audit Committee job description and designing a Compliance Committee job description for the board's review and approval. They stated there was no discussion or action by the committee. HOW DID IT GET THERE AND WHO DESIGNED IT? DID THE BOARD EVER REALLY APPROVE IT?
The Wedgefield Examiner then went to the changes approved by the board and posted on the WPA website. Two lists were located and are posted here. None of those listed pertain to the Compliance Committee. THE LISTS ARE POSTED BELOW:
The Wedgefield Examiner has provided a copy of the Compliance Committee job description below for your convenience. Please take the time to review it against the duties of the old Audit Committee. Granted the old job centered around use of the committee in the years that an official audit wasn't contracted. Yet, it wouldn't have taken much to remove the audit language and retain the intention of the original document "The Auditing Committee shall make, or cause to be made, such written reports to the Board that will attest to all actions taken by it." It could appear that this board doesn't want proper auditing/compliance review by residents, but continued closed, hidden self serving agenda. Putting any board member in charge of open auditing of COMPLIANCE, let alone the treasurer, is like putting the fox in the hen house. HERE IS THE COMPLIANCE COMMITTEE JOB DESCRIPTION:
NEXT: To make the point the Wedgefield Examiner will transcribe the Compliance Committee report from the December meeting. Your Compliance chair, we don't know who his committee is, is making another request for a change in the policy manual that relates to money. Please note, it may be a few days before it is published. The Wedgefield Examiner is auditing her home life and there are many projects, while trying to keep the blog up.
I'm sure many of you read the January 3rd Sun Times' article, "Georgetown Course Sold". It was encouraging to read that the buyer, Ray Watts will keep the golf course open and make improvements on buildings and amenities. Questions arise, not from anything Mr. Watts said, but because of the history of sales, new owners, and their problems. Mr. Watts should have all of our best wishes in fulfilling his promises and benefiting with growth of membership and increased use of the course and associated facilities.
The golf course, separate from our association, yet tied with roads, land boundaries, water, drainage, etc., has changed hands through sale and court actions, three or four times in the 10 years that I've lived here. Yet, it is all part of our PUD. Each time the new owner has declared it will be bigger and better. Each has implored the residents to utilize their facilities. One of the owners sold off golf course land with the buyer intending to build homes. That board organized members to attend hearings and defend our PUD at county meetings. No homes were built on the land but we are left with an eye sore - an over grown mess. Again, we have a developer. He deserves our trust and any usual assistance we can give, unless there are indications that the interest is in building, rather than golf.
If the new owner does move forward with his plans, wouldn't it be an additive to us and the golf course, if our board cleaned up our association? We have violations to our covenants and by laws throughout the association. Unmoved lawns, curbs and other such structures allowed if you are in favor with the board, equipment parked on vacant lots, clothing on clothes lines left for days, torn screening hanging off from old structures, vehicles that haven't been moved in months, yards stacked with multiple boats & utility trailers, and battered items left to rot. Will your board and ARC clean up to make this a first class area, as the golf course properties improve?
The bigger question is whether this secretive, cohesive, verbal rather than written legal opinion, make their own rules board, is capable of protecting our PUD if the situation arises?
