ATTENTION: Homeowners. Don't Be Shut Out!!!

Here is why you should attend board meetings and know what is going on.

The Minutes for the March 1, 2022 board meeting carry this entry at the very end of the Minutes, just before the financials.

"New Business"
"It was questioned whether homeowners are allowed at board meetings. It was stated that board meetings are for board and voting members and it was decided that meetings will remain closed to homeowners unless invited. It was suggested that this should be correct in The Scoop."

First, since when have meetings been closed to homeowners. For at least four years, they haven't been. In fact, for a long time they were open to ALL residents. Then Justin and George decided that they didn't want me there. But all other residents (including homeowners) could attend. 

Then they decided they'd better clean up the language in The Summit Scoop, and they changed the message last summer that had read "Board meetings are open to ALL Summit residents" to "Board meetings are open to ALL Summit homeowners". That made it a little less like "Board meetings are open to ALL residents, except Gus Philpott".

The board's decision on March 1st apparently did not reach the editor of The Summit Scoop, beccause the March Scoop (online about March 30) still reads, "Board meetings are open to ALL Summit homeowners".

Why would the Board want to turn the HOA monthly meetings into a private club open only to those whom they choose to invite? 

In the By-Laws, read ART, III, B, Section 15. "Open Meetings . Subject to the provisions of Section 16 of this Article, all meetings of the Board shall be [sic] Voting Members, but Voting Members other than directors may not participate in any discussion or deliberation unless permission to speak is requested on his or her behalf by a director."

Notice that sentence is incomplete and doesn't make any sense. Certain members of the board cannot just begin filling in words willy-nilly.

NOTHING in the By-Laws grants the Board any right to conduct business in private. The HOA is a South Carolina non-profit corporation. It is not a private business. 

Homeowners should show up and demand transparency. Homeowners should get busy and hold Neighborhood Meetings, elect Neighborhood Committees, select a Voting Member, and toss out the members of the board who approved that New Business item.

But was there even a vote? The Minutes do not reflect any Motion made by a board member, any Second, any Discussion, or any Vote. What does "it was decided" mean? WHO decided? Did Justin decide? He wasn't even there. Who brought it up? Who agreed? Who disagreed?

The Board handles $1,250,000 of your money each year. YOU have the right to know what they are doing with it and to ask them questions face-to-face.

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