PLEASE NOTE: Member residents if you have a comment, or concern - agree or not, you are welcome to write the blog at: wedgefieldexaminerthe@yahoo.com As always, I will remove your name - any identifying information, and publish it.
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The following is provided to the best of my ability. I took notes during the meeting. To confirm the information for yourself, please check for the recording at The Wedgefield Times website, when it becomes available. The tapes of meetings were provided on the WPA website for years. Your board no longer provides the tapes - another article. COMMENTS will be provided in red at the end of the article.
During the resident comment section of the January WPA board meeting, a resident commented on the importance of the WPA website, and the fact that there were problems with it. It wasn't an attack on the board, as he stated he knew they had been working on it. He asked if the board would again, be posting tapes of the meetings. One board member answered simply saying "NO". The resident asked if the minutes would be available on the website. The answer - YES, after they were approved by the board. The resident went on to say something about the minutes being very brief. Someone from the board responded - yes.
COMMENTS:
Once again, it appears that your board has made a decision without discussing it at the board table, or a vote. This lack of discussion, or vote, at the board table is another in the pile of debris of disregard for the members of our association's right to know, and disregard for the intent, or any respect for the power of our governing documents. It is more in the board's grand scheme of cover up of their actions. We are left with their abbreviated minutes, much left out by their authorship, and approval.
The tapes of the meetings have not been published for our review since July of 2015. These tapes provided actual verification of their words - discussion, and votes. We no longer have the ability to verify the content of their miserable, abbreviated minutes.
Note that the board is so embolden by their self appointed grasp of power - self designed - a law onto themselves, that when asked about the recordings that they simply answer "NO". They don't say that the board discussed it, when they discussed it, that they voted on it, and informed the membership. That is the case in so many important decisions over the history of this board. They have nothing to stand behind on record, because there isn't one, and it appears that they don't want you to verify that.
How important are the tapes - very! Think about a very recent event - the dredging. When board member Anderson sent a response to articles I had posted on the blog to when the board had addressed dredging, and the water amenities committee's work on the proposal in open meetings, Anderson wrote, "We began discussing this in April of this year and have had approximately one meeting a month ever since. These meetings have been reported at EVERY board meeting." I went in and cut and pasted the water amenities report from January of 2017 on, from the official WPA minutes, and posted them on the blog. There were no reports. I had been at the meetings, and there were no reports, and I verified it for you with their brief minutes. I've always advised you to go listen to the tapes, to verify for yourself. NOW, WE HAVE NO OFFICIAL BOARD RECORDINGS FOR YOU TO VERIFY THE BOARD'S LIES, WHEN EVEN THEIR MINUTES MAKE THEM LIARS. Board member Anderson attended the closed canal lot meeting last August where the following was reported in their handouts. HERE IS THE QUOTE FROM THE HANDOUT PROVIDED BY THE WATER AMENITIES COMMITTEE, AT THE CANAL LOT OWNERS MEETING: "Meet with WPA leadership and garner their support and find out what they expect in order to gain that support. We did this on May 12 2016. We met with the president and vice president of the WPA to gather their ideas and support the project. They were receptive to our ideas. The general consensus of this meeting was if the waterfront properties can privately raise the money needed, the WPA will contribute the monies set aside for this purpose in the reserves. The WPA will allow the use of the WPA name, permit and will generally support the project so long as these contingencies are met. The WPA is willing to allocate up to 1/3 of the total cost not to exceed the reserve funding already in place. For the past 5 years the WPA has allocated roughly 15% of its yearly budget for canal dredging. This money is already in place and our plan will NOT cause any rise in assessments or cost ANYONE not living on the canal ANY additional money."
A little further into the handout we hear what else the WPA is willing to do, and I quote: "The WPA currently has approximately $115,000 earmarked for dredging and by next year that number will be in the $135,000 range. Once we have our funding in place the WPA will contribute their funding earmarked for dredging and then enter into a contract to dredge the canals. All of the permits, contracts, etc. will be in the WPA name. The WPA will be the responsible party." Go to the May 2016 board minutes. Your board does not mention the May 12 meeting, let alone vote.
I suppose that when I questioned this promise to pay, and the canal lot owners' reliance on it - they collected, and referenced a WPA court case where there was a RULING, by a judge, at the January WPA meeting, that your board doesn't want you to be able to listen to a tape of me stating it was illegal, Anderson telling me from the board table to "call the police", Cline attempting to silence me saying"they don't want to hear that", or president Walton pounding the gavel, and shutting the meeting down, blocking other resident comments.
This board doesn't want you to hear what happens during the board meetings, doesn't want you to be able to verify, doesn't want you to hear another resident commenting, and you can't trust their minutes.
