HERE IS THE RESIDENT LETTER: (as always - resident name removed) The Wedgefield Examiner comments below in red.
Madeline,
Here's some brutal honesty about our board and how they operate. Someone has to put it out there because residents talk about it behind closed doors, but never bring it to light because the challenge of change just seems like a uphill battle. But it will get worse before it can ever get better.
Wedgefield's biggest problem is our board. We cannot thrive with weak regressive leadership.
First of all the good ol' boy mentality of bullying, ridiculing, posturing, and self serving agendas are practices of the past; when the world was less civilized. But unfortunately, this is Wedgefield's board and we can no longer accept this mindset. They are one dimensional people with no clue that their obsolete ways of doing business is no longer sufficient or appropriate in the 21st century. And the younger board members just cower down to this behavior and are learning the ways through osmosis. Shame!!! Anyone who is multi-dimensional is befuddled at how this type of governing in our community can continue and be accepted by those who are afraid of change, stand by their good ol' boys no matter what, or those who just think the battle is futile. Sadly, the latter being most of us....
Go through the board meeting minutes on the HOA website month from month and you will be enlightened. Hardly anything really gets accomplished. It's all hot air. For example, last fall, Adam Anderson brought up the fact that the stop signs needed replacing...... 6-7 months later as of the April meeting this is still an unresolved issue. Adam finally put out for bids and only got one response with a quote of $11,000. So does this mean we will have rotting and rusting stop signs because of one dimensional thinking? Or should the residents just be charged $11,000 because it's easier than actual problem solving? Stayed tuned for the next episode of the May board meeting to see if Adam has anymore thoughts about this stop sign issue. (Hint... hint, shop around for cost effective weather resistant materials and hire a non-relative to do the repairs).
What does Keith Johnson do besides make you wait weeks to get a home improvement project approved? And the board wonders why residents do projects without permits and then has the nerve to threaten them with fines. Who wants the aggravation of waiting on good ol' Keith to get around to it. Oh, I forgot, he's only a "volunteer" and he "works." And getting your deposit back is another battle within itself. So why is Keith warming a seat on the board? If he's accomplished anything for our community it's a mystery to me based the compliant silent act he so grandly performs during board meetings.
Bob Garrison is the mouthpiece for the board, despite the fact that he's only the VP, (but Jacky has to be Pres...he's good at slamming the gavel down multiple times when he thinks someone's pissing him off... he also does it to wake himself up). Having someone like Bob with such poor communication skills in charge of our HOA is a disaster not only because he talks down to us, but anyone who comes into our community to do business is subject to his tongue lashing and sarcasm. YIKES!! Communication with residents is reduced to the filtered and sometimes inconsistent information being blathered during the board meetings or through the gossip chain that exists only because of poor communication outlets. Use technology to communicate more effectively with the residents?????...... nah, that's means a lot of work....and "we don't work for you," "we're volunteers." And speaking more honestly, do these people really know how to use a computer to its fullest capacity? Remember, the WPA used a "dial up" system until recently when they discovered this thing called high speed internet. (Hopefully they aren't still using the MS DOS and dot matrix systems).
I'm sorry but the remainder of the crew doesn't excite me either. They are just bricks in the thick wall between the board and the community. I can't help but wonder how these people get re-elected to the board term after term .....like prison wardens, they hate the job, but keep reporting to work.... will the madness ever end? I do know that last November, a few board members made an effort to clean up Wedgefield from the hurricane conveniently days just before the election. After they were re-elected, that was the end of their generosity. As you can see, it's the residents of Wedgefield taking on the challenge of mowing a golf course while the board keeps using a "hold harmless" provision to hide behind so they don't have to exert any energy or actually do their jobs.. Yeah, whether paid or unpaid, being on the board is a job that you signed up for when you made the personal decision to run and plop your butt in that seat. Please do us a favor and step aside if you don't agree. There are people who would enjoy the challenge of healing this community.
Residents need to stand up. Only through solidarity can we remove the board members from their seats and replace them with multi-dimensional people who would be happy to work with the community and move Wedgefield forward into the 21st century. Start discussions, think about running for the board... let the Wedgefield Examiner know where you stand and what you have to offer our community. We will stand by you. But the community can't help if we don't hear your voice.
COMMENTS:
The Wedgefield Examiner often just prints the letters sent to the blog without comment. I had to comment on this one. First, I thank the resident for being brave enough to write. I am pleased to see that some residents are beginning to do their homework to help Wedgefield by investigating for themselves, the true state of the union of Wedgefield. This resident mentions going to the WPA website and examining the WPA board meeting minutes. Additionally, it appears the resident is attending board meetings or they wouldn't have the atmosphere of the meeting down pat enough to speak about it. Listen to the message from another voice in your community, and start taking action. Others are beginning to do their own research. Last night I reposted an article from February 2014 because several individuals had gone back to read it. I don't know whether they were all from one of several little groups of residents that are forming, but people are following The Wedgefield Examiner's advice to go to the minutes, attend the meetings, and go all the way back to the beginning of the Wedgefield Examiner and read the DOCUMENTED articles. I hope you will go to The Wedgefield Times, and read through the documented articles there.
As to becoming a candidate for the board, now is the time to start thinking about it for yourself, or encouraging some of your talented neighbors. You can make a difference. You can change Wedgefield. We need 3 good people to stand up, and be willing to run for board. The qualifications for the candidates are simple. You shouldn't come to the board table if your personal agenda is the golf course, or the canals. You must come to the table with the single focus of following the governing documents, open and honestly, and working toward making Wedgefield whole again, with all of its amenities included, and that also means cleaning up the common areas, and enforcing the restrictions on homes and lots. We need people willing to do the right thing for Wedgefield.
You might say, "even if we could win 3 seats, there would still be six of them left, how could we get anything accomplished?" First things first - run for board! Support two other candidates who are willing to get the job done, and aren't coming to the board table with there own focused agenda - canals or golf course. Finally, let me share some Wedgefield history with you in case you weren't here.
My husband and I moved here in 2004. We were as dismayed very quickly about the state of affairs at the board table then, as many of you are today. Over the years it became apparent, much like this board, that we had the same group of people over a 10 year period, rotating in and out of the board chairs. The meetings were like they are now. There were very few members in attendance, and the board did what they wanted, when they wanted, failed to follow the governing documents, and were nasty and abusive from the board table.
When we approached the 2008 annual meeting, three new candidates ran for board. A candidate night was held, and these three said what many of us needed to hear. On the day of the annual meeting, the three new guys won, and displaced three of the old crew! In less than 24 hours, three more of the remaining six resigned, leaving three of the old crew. In less than two weeks, the remaining three of the old crew resigned. It should be noted that current board member, Peggy Phillips was one of those who resigned from the board, when her total old boy's network didn't get re-elected. Can she only work with dysfunctional
boards? The whole board ended up being replaced in one election. You see, the board fills the seats of those who resign until the next election.
You have more power to change things than you think. You only have to be brave enough to try. Wedgefield is the place we each call home, and it has to be important enough to us to speak out, take action, and do the work!
A few more things to think about. (1) Make sure potential candidates "walk their talk". It should be noted that board member McMillin was one of the "new three" that won on that day in 2008. During his first term in office, he was an excellent board member. He could put out a proper request for proposal, get three real bids, on any level of project. It appears that he bought into the old boy's network, and began to ignore all that was legal, and ethical, to gain his own power place on the board. He was a turn coat to our governing documents. I actually started the blog, because of McMillin and his cooperative, manipulation of fact of good governance, with the Garrison arrival to the board. Read the documents suggested above from the beginning, to understand it all. (2) Make sure that any potential candidates are willing to speak out, identify the government document necessary, and question anything that doesn't meet the smell test. It takes a strong person to take the guff from the smelly element on this board. (3) Even if you won't run for board, get to the meetings, and support the action of any new strong board member who wants to save all of Wedgefield LEGALLY, ETHICALLY, ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNING DOCUMENTS, by speaking out during the resident comment section of the meeting.
COMMENTS:
The Wedgefield Examiner often just prints the letters sent to the blog without comment. I had to comment on this one. First, I thank the resident for being brave enough to write. I am pleased to see that some residents are beginning to do their homework to help Wedgefield by investigating for themselves, the true state of the union of Wedgefield. This resident mentions going to the WPA website and examining the WPA board meeting minutes. Additionally, it appears the resident is attending board meetings or they wouldn't have the atmosphere of the meeting down pat enough to speak about it. Listen to the message from another voice in your community, and start taking action. Others are beginning to do their own research. Last night I reposted an article from February 2014 because several individuals had gone back to read it. I don't know whether they were all from one of several little groups of residents that are forming, but people are following The Wedgefield Examiner's advice to go to the minutes, attend the meetings, and go all the way back to the beginning of the Wedgefield Examiner and read the DOCUMENTED articles. I hope you will go to The Wedgefield Times, and read through the documented articles there.
As to becoming a candidate for the board, now is the time to start thinking about it for yourself, or encouraging some of your talented neighbors. You can make a difference. You can change Wedgefield. We need 3 good people to stand up, and be willing to run for board. The qualifications for the candidates are simple. You shouldn't come to the board table if your personal agenda is the golf course, or the canals. You must come to the table with the single focus of following the governing documents, open and honestly, and working toward making Wedgefield whole again, with all of its amenities included, and that also means cleaning up the common areas, and enforcing the restrictions on homes and lots. We need people willing to do the right thing for Wedgefield.
You might say, "even if we could win 3 seats, there would still be six of them left, how could we get anything accomplished?" First things first - run for board! Support two other candidates who are willing to get the job done, and aren't coming to the board table with there own focused agenda - canals or golf course. Finally, let me share some Wedgefield history with you in case you weren't here.
My husband and I moved here in 2004. We were as dismayed very quickly about the state of affairs at the board table then, as many of you are today. Over the years it became apparent, much like this board, that we had the same group of people over a 10 year period, rotating in and out of the board chairs. The meetings were like they are now. There were very few members in attendance, and the board did what they wanted, when they wanted, failed to follow the governing documents, and were nasty and abusive from the board table.
When we approached the 2008 annual meeting, three new candidates ran for board. A candidate night was held, and these three said what many of us needed to hear. On the day of the annual meeting, the three new guys won, and displaced three of the old crew! In less than 24 hours, three more of the remaining six resigned, leaving three of the old crew. In less than two weeks, the remaining three of the old crew resigned. It should be noted that current board member, Peggy Phillips was one of those who resigned from the board, when her total old boy's network didn't get re-elected. Can she only work with dysfunctional
boards? The whole board ended up being replaced in one election. You see, the board fills the seats of those who resign until the next election.
You have more power to change things than you think. You only have to be brave enough to try. Wedgefield is the place we each call home, and it has to be important enough to us to speak out, take action, and do the work!
A few more things to think about. (1) Make sure potential candidates "walk their talk". It should be noted that board member McMillin was one of the "new three" that won on that day in 2008. During his first term in office, he was an excellent board member. He could put out a proper request for proposal, get three real bids, on any level of project. It appears that he bought into the old boy's network, and began to ignore all that was legal, and ethical, to gain his own power place on the board. He was a turn coat to our governing documents. I actually started the blog, because of McMillin and his cooperative, manipulation of fact of good governance, with the Garrison arrival to the board. Read the documents suggested above from the beginning, to understand it all. (2) Make sure that any potential candidates are willing to speak out, identify the government document necessary, and question anything that doesn't meet the smell test. It takes a strong person to take the guff from the smelly element on this board. (3) Even if you won't run for board, get to the meetings, and support the action of any new strong board member who wants to save all of Wedgefield LEGALLY, ETHICALLY, ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNING DOCUMENTS, by speaking out during the resident comment section of the meeting.
