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Do you have information, or an opinion - agree, or not, you can email The Wedgefield Examiner at wedgefieldexaminerthe@yahoo.com. We'll remove your name to protect the innocent, and publish it. P.S. If you would like your name published, please note that on your email, otherwise we leave your name out.
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Today I went to the office to review the correspondence file, and take notes. Before I go on, I want to thank the board officer who insisted that he be present - not to observe me, but to make sure that I did not get the "McMillin treatment", that the resident who had an appointment at the office yesterday got.
I took notes, resident names are removed, and have a serious article to write about what I found. I came across a 3 page document regarding the current canal dredging and what a resident wrote to the committee, and just what that committee communicated - had to say amongst themselves about this canal lot writer, and what they would do to anyone who didn't conform and pay. We'll start with the canal lot owner's letter:
March 11, 2018
Subject: Wedgefield Canals
Dear Wedgefield Plantation Association (WPA) & Team
I appreciate the time, energy and work you have put into developing a dredge plan for our WPA Canals.
On 11 March 2018, our friendly neighbors (names removed) dropped by our house to give us our "Water Amenities Committee" packet dated 2-27-18 and to discuss the next step in the canal project. I've read your document package dated 2-27-18. Here are my questions and concerns.
1. An estimated cost of the proposed dredge is not listed in the document. This is a problem. If you're proposing that every canal lot owner pay additional funds on top what we've already been legally required to pay in the form of annual assessments and already voluntarily paid n the form of a one time $400 voluntary contribution, an estimated dredge cost must be identified and provided. This is fair and reasonable to expect and ask.
2. The verbally requested $4000 amount per canal lot owner you request is not listed anywhere in your 2-27-18 document. It should be listed in writing in your document along with methodology used to arrive at the $4000 amount. Who is to say it won't be $5K, $7K or $20K two months or two years from now?
3. More importantly than above points 1 and 2 is duty that WPA has to provide me and all WPA property owners in writing where a relevant court, judge, a relevant government official or current law has said that WPA is not responsible for the maintenance and dredging of the "Wedgefield Plantation Canals" as identified in your package on the bottom right corner of page 4 entitled "Permitted Plans". It's interesting to note the WPA's Permitted Canal Dredge Plan (page4 of your 2-27-18 package) correctly implies and identifies the canals as owned and maintained by WPA. The reason why the WPA Canals Permitted Plan dated 03/08/2004 identifies WPA as the owner and maintainer of the canals in WPA is because WPA is the owner and maintainer of the canals. See page 4, Section 4, Article V of the "By-Laws" of Wedgefield Plantation Association (amended 1 Nov 2008) where it references and lists WPA "canals" in the same section and sentence as other original common areas requiring WPA oversight and maintenance. "...subdivision streets, roads, water system, sewer system, and canals."
In summary, unless WPA answers our above vary reasonable questions including providing me in writing where a court, a JUDGE, a relevant government official or the law says that WPA is NOT responsible for the maintenance and dredging of the "Wedgefield Plantation Canals". I in good conscience must follow the WPA By-Laws as written, which indicate WPA has a duty to maintain and dredge original WPA canals just like WPA roads, water system, sewer system, etc.
Bottom line is no one put a gun to our heads and forced my lovely wife and children and me to move to WPA. If we didn't like the way the WPA covenants and By-Laws were structured, and we profoundly disagreed with them, we should not have bought property and moved in to WPA It is not right for us or any other WPA property owner to pick and choose what parts of the covenants and by-laws to honor and obey unless the by-laws illegal or immoral, and neither is the case from what we can tell and from what you have told us. I humbly suggest WPA do the same and not pick and choose what parts of the covenants and by-laws to honor. WPA must live up to its duty of abiding by and enforcing WPA's legal and moral covenants and by-laws.
In WPA's misguided desire to not offend disgruntled WPA members who don't want to follow the legal and moral rules that were established and in effect when they bought property PLEASE NOTE: WHOEVER PLACED THIS RESIDENT LETTER IN THE CORRESPONDENCE FILE APPEARED TO HAVE COPIED IT, AND CUT PART OFF, SO THE CANAL RESIDENT'S RESPECTFUL LETTER ISN'T FULLY PROVIDED.
The copies do include the following responses, and ultimately this committee's disregard for anyone who fails to step up and pay according to the committee's questionable tactics, and disregard for their "WAY OF DOING THINGS - NO MATTER WHO IT HARMS, OR IGNORES OUR GOVERNING DOCUMENTS. I'm not going to add any more comments, but to tell you that I don't know this resident, have never had any communication with him, and therefore have not conspired in his writing. I'll remind you that we have 5 board members who live on the canals, and all the committee members involved with what follows in quotes. I'm
sick of this board claiming they don't pit neighbor against neighbor, and this way is the only way to go. This path to dredging again has caused people in our community destroy long standing friendships, placed neighbor at neighbor's doors helping them "force" friendship into illegally paying for this mess. LET'S SEE WHAT THIS GENUINE TEAM HAS TO SAY ABOUT A RESIDENT WHO HAS GENUINE QUESTIONS, AND WHAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO TO THOSE WHO WON'T VOLUNTEER TO PAY ON A VOLUNTEER BASIS.
1) "THOUGH WE SHOULDN'T TOUCH IT AND LEAVE WHO/WHAT IT IS ALONE. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE AND ANSWER TO HIM SO HE CAN'T SAY "WELL THEY WON'T EVEN RESPOND."
FACT IS, YOU HAVEN'T ATTENDED ANY MEETINGS SO YOU DON'T KNOW.
I THINK ADAM CA MAKE A GOOD ONE.
SHAME LIST PUBLISHED AFTER DREDGE."
2. "I AM NOT ANSWERING THIS, AT THE END OF MY LINE. MY LIFE AND FAMILY ARE MORE TO ME THAN HIM. WE'LL JUST BE $4K SHORT."
3. "GOOD, WE'LL NEED TO MAKE UP FOR"
4. "I MAY HAVE THE BEST ANSWER FOR HIM, INVITE HIM TO OUR NEXT MEETING AND I'LL GIVE HIM THE 2 SUIT CASES I HAVE ALONG WITH MY VIDEOS, WITH ALL MY DREDGING INFORMATION FOR 9 1/2 YEARS AND TELL HIM TO PERUSE THRU THEM, WE WON'T HAVE TO SAY ANYTHING. AND TELL CLEVALOUX THE SAME THING. THINK ABOUT IT. Please note that I CLAVELOUX, never got involved and wrote this crew. THIS IS YOUR WATER AMENITIES COMMITTEE AT WORK FOR WHAT THEY CLAIM IS THE ONLY WAY. BE CAREFUL VOLUNTEERS GOING DOOR TO DOOR, THIS IS WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO YOUR NEIGHBORS, AFTER YOU HAVE BEEN THERE.
