Barony Place I/Barony Place II

The HOA board failed to hold a meeting in September. Why? The first Tuesday (September 7) was the day after Labor Day. Last month, without announcement, the meeting date of the board was changed to September 13. Presumably the board was told, but at least one committee chairman wasn't. There was no announcement to Members (homeowners).  Why was it changed? No explanation was given. One could guess but shouldn't have to. Then the September 13th meeting was canceled. Rumor has it that the president was out-of-town. Well, the HOA has a vice-president, and that's Auby Dellinger. Auby is a board member with years of experience, and he is fully capable of conducting a monthly board meeting. Why was the meeting canceled? Board members, Voting Members and homeowners (the Members of the HOA) should be demanding the answer. That should not happen again!

Today is only September 25, so it's a little soon to be griping about non-delivery of the September Summit Scoop. Right? For months the board has been grappling with delivery of The Scoop late in the month. Recently, they did institute one change, and that is when the August Scoop, for example, came out, it contained the September Calendar. That was good. For the Scoop to be delivered early in the month, several things would have to happen. I don't even need to list them. You know what they are. So, when the Scoop isn't delivered early in the month, you know those things are not happening. The question is, Why not? Last month the August Scoop was posted to the HOA website before the Scoop was even delivered. That was a great move, but who knew to look for it there? Anyone? The board should create a Publicity Committee and put a detail-oriented person in charge of it. Then improvements might happen. If they don't, you replace that person with someone who will make change

How should unauthorized signs on HOA (or homeowner) property be handled? This sign popped up on Timber Crest Drive at Barony Place Drive, in the Barony Place Neighborhood. This is a popular corner for advertising and garage-sale signs. When I emailed the photo to the office and asked for it to be removed, I suggested that Neighborhood Representatives could be authorized to remove such signs. I received a reply from the HOA president that read, " It's not illigal [ sic ] to remove signs that shouldn't be there in the first place. " I'd like to agree with him, but I don't own the HOA property. If I took the sign, I'd be committing theft. When I lived in Illinois, I contacted the police department in the small town in which I lived to ask if there was any reason I could not remove Garage Sale signs that were placed in violation of a City Ordinance. The cop and the city manager told me I would be subject to arrest for taking something that did not belong to m

For months I have been relying on the By-Laws for the correct annual meeting time for the Voting Members. Today I found an amendment to the By-Laws. The annual meeting of Voting Members is to be held in November of each year. "Section 3. Annual Meetings. The first meeting of the Association, whether a regular or special meeting, shall be held within one (1) year from the date of incorporation of the Association. Meetings shall be of the Voting Members or their alternates. Subsequent annual meetings shall be set by the Board so as to occur at least thirty (30) but not more than sixty (60) days before the close of the Association’s fiscal year, on a date and at a time set by the Board of Directors.  "Recorded in Deed Book 1280 at page 674-676 on September 26, 1995"

Remember the protests in Lakes at Barony Place in April? How could you forget? The State newspaper reports today that Sgt. Pentland is being transferred from Fort Jackson to his next permanent duty station. As a result of unfair and uneven reporting of this news, I shall cancel my subscription to The State. Here's the article, if you care to read  it:    https://www.thestate.com/news/local/military/article253972593.html Now who is Deandre Williams, the man whom Pentland confronted? Little has been written about him. Today I found this article:    https://conandaily.com/2021/08/24/deandre-williams-biography-13-things-about-northeast-columbia-south-carolina-man/ Read it for the details that should have been included in articles published by The State. Remember that 150 protestors (99% of them black) showed up and mobbed the street on April 14. Remember that the sheriff's department refused to clear the street so that emergency vehicles could have gotten through. Three deputies st

The following email was sent to Ryan McCabe, the attorney for The Summit HOA, on August 30. A copy of the email has been sent to the six board members (one Director position has been vacant since April) and to most of the Voting Members. Five-six of the Voting Members have asked that I not send email to them. They need this information but will not receive it. A few of the Neighborhoods don't have Voting Members. Refer to The Scoop. Dear Mr. McCabe, Your client, The Summit HOA, desperately needs your legal advice. There is a pre-board meeting on August 31, in advance of the September 13th Regular Board Meeting. I understand you cannot reply to me without authorization by the board. I hope they will seek your legal advice on these important matters. The Board is misinterpreting the By-Laws - Art. III, A, 7 Removal of Directors and Vacancy. The Board apparently intends to ask the Voting Members to elect a director this fall to fill the vacancy resulting from George Reynolds' deat

If you are a homeowner in Barony Place Neighborhood (Barony Place I and Barony Place II), you are legally entitled to be represented at the Board of Directors of The Summit Community Association (HOA). Would you be concerned if you were not? The By-Laws provide for each Neighborhood to be represented by a Voting Member/Neighborhood Representative. What if the person holding the title as Voting Member for Barony Place is not a legitimate Voting Member? Then you are not represented at the Board. This problem occurs for many of the Neighborhoods in The Summit. Why? Because the Neighborhoods have not held Neighborhood Meetings annually. There have not been the required annual Neighborhood Elections. There is no three-person Neighborhood Committee. It is from that Committee that the Voting Member and two Alternates come. In 2019 Doris Covert was listed in the Scoop as the Voting Member for Barony Place. The last board meeting she attended was in October 2019. In January 2020 the Scoop liste