Barony Place I/Barony Place II

The following question arises after examination of the February 2025 Financial Overview Report, Page 2. See the graph at the top of that page. Notice that Reserve Accounts totaled approximately $765,000 in February and March, 2024. Two months later, Reserves totaled over $1,000,000. However, the amount budgeted for Reserves in 2024 was Zero. See Line 8000 in the 2024 Budget. Where did that $200,000-plus increase in Reserves come from?

Just got my first look at the February 2025 Financial Overview Report. Let's start with Page 1.  Look at the Reconciled Operating Cash (Balance Sheet) graph. It looks like an EKG for a heart patient in th ICU. Why in the world would Operating Cash dip to $100,000 in May 2024? Didn't anyone get nervous last May? Does anyone on the Board, on the Finance Committee, or in the office (or at CAMS HQ management) understand that graph? Why isn't it ever explained at a Board Meeting? Because no one ever asked any questions! Next, look at Operating Expenses (Significant Variances). This is for the first two months of 2025 GL-5010. There is a note that "I have requested to move this invoice to GL-3810 reserves." First, who is the anonymous "I"?. General repairs don't get paid out of Reserves. Replacement might be paid out of Reserves, but not repairs. And why are electricity and Lighting Repair in the same category? GL-5011 Are the "2 lights [ sic ] poles...

I wasn't at the April 1st board meeting, but word has reached me that the Board voted to give the management company contract for 2026 to a different company. CAMS will likely continue as the management company until December 31. There should have been thorough discussion at the board meeting, disclosure of the bid amounts, and why the bid winner was selected. Was there? When the Minutes of the board meeting are published later this month, there should be enough disclosure for Members to understand how the bid process worked. What did the RFP look like? How many bids were there? Who was on the committee that reviewed the bids? Were they kept sealed until being opened? Did the Contracts Committee review the bids and make a recommendation? Did the Board accept that recommendation? The Members of the Contracts Committee are Brenda Bryant (Director), Carmen Claud, Jeff Lummel, and Vicki McCarthy. Several years ago I suggested that the HOA establish email addresses for the office, ...

About two years ago a long-time homeowner and active committee member suggested to a previous board of directors that monthly, in-person, board meetings should be streamed. This would greatly increase the number of homeowners who could view the monthly meetings. The idea never got any consideration. What if the April 1st meeting had been streamed? How many "WTH?" emails would have flooded the office on Wednesday morning? One person with a good video-camera and proper microphone could record the meeting and simultaneously stream it on Zoom or Facebook Live. It could be recorded and archived for viewing at a later date, in the event a homeowner had a time conflict with a school or work event or even dinner-hour. One downfall is that the organization of the meeting would have to tighten up, so that only one person spoke at a time. No side-conversations among board members. No side-conversations in the audience. Use of the microphone/sound system that all could hear everything. N...

Some wise person once said, "If you don't know your rights, you don't have any." How does this apply to The Summit's HOA? The HOA's seven-member board of directors seems to be divided into two factions; Danny Trapp and three others (now being referred to as "Team Danny" by some) are the majority; the other three directors are the minority. The minority is not to be considered out-of-sight and out-of-mind. They are important. At the April 1st meeting one director (in the minority group) made a Motion. A second director (also in the minority group) seconded it. It was reported to me that Danny Trapp, President of the Board, stated that no vote was going to be taken and he stated to table the Motion.  If that happened, Trapp exceeded his authority as President and fellow board member. But none of the board members knew the rules, as stated in Robert's Rules of Order . The HOA has never had a Parliamentarian. Does anyone on the board even have a copy...

Because homeowners do not elect directors of the HOA, it is all the more important that Voting Members be properly elected in compliance with the By-Laws. As a homeowner, you do not have a direct say in who becomes a member of the Board of Directors. It is your neighborhood's Voting Member who votes for directors. Almost all neighborhoods in The Summit do not have duly-elected Voting Members! This means you are not legally represented. For years the boards of directors have allowed homeowners to be recognized as "Voting Members", even though they were not elected by their neighbors. This is a serious problem. Because I have spoken about it and written about it for five years, the HOA is suing me. They don't want money; they just want to shut me up. This year (2025) there may be an attempt to amend the By-Laws and the CC&Rs. It should not happen, because there is nowhere close to the number of Voting Members who can approve it. This will not keep the current Board...