Barony Place I/Barony Place II

  Would you like a neatly-painted address on the curb in front of your house? Would it help first responders, UPS or FedEx, or even USPS to find your house? If you would, email me at gusphilpott@gmail.com   I'll be happy to connect you with this merchant. Then you can contact the small-business merchant directly for pricing. If several homeowners order at the same time, there might be a discount available. I have not asked the merchant about this; I'm just assuming that a discount might be available, if 5-10 addresses could be painted in one trip, instead of in multiple trips. If you'd like your school or university included, ask about that.

In July the HOA canceled the July 11th board meeting on one day's notice. Today, July 28, the HOA announced the re-scheduling of Tuesday's board meeting that is scheduled for August 1. The new date for the board meeting is Tuesday, August 8, 6:30PM at the Brookland Baptist Church Northeast. The reason for the change is the National Night Out (NNO) event being held on August 1st. The July Summit Scoop featured National Night Out on Page 1.  Did CAMS and the board just wake up today and realize that the NNO event coincided with the board meeting? Is that why the announcement about the change in board meeting date was made today? What kind of management team does the HOA have? Didn't anyone notice the conflicting events before today?

The June 2023 financials have not been posted yet to the website. Is the delay because the Board blew off the July board meeting?  At the August 1st meeting, will the June 30th financials be available? Will the Accounts Receivables be correct or will they still show 30-60-90 days past-due when, in fact, all late dues are actually more than 90 days past-due? Why didn't the Treasurer do something about that false reporting long before now????  Will the July 31 financials be available? Probably not.  When the financials are not posted, it is impossible for the homeowners (the Members) to know what's going on with the money. The HOA has about $2,000,000 in banks.  For some absolutely stupid reason the HOA has $930,897.30 in six Operating Accounts. That is the worst possible money management decision. The Reserve cash accounts total $868,479.83. These balances are as of May 31, 2023. Having enough cash-on-hand to pay bills is good. Having money in reserves to meet future ...

The 2022 Annual Audit still has not been posted to the HOA's website! The Audit was presented publicly to the board at the June 6th monthly board meeting. What is the delay? Of what is the board afraid? The board members probably received a copy of the Audit before the June 6th meeting. At least, they should have. Then they could have studied the audit and been prepared to ask questions on June 6th. Is there anyone smart enough on the board to understand the Audit? Is there anyone brave enough to ask important questions in public? Apparently not. A request was put to the board prior to the July 25th pre-board meeting to discuss the delay and direct the CAMS property manager to post the Annual Audit without further delay. Obviously the board doesn't consider anything that I might have to say as worthwhile, but a smart board would have posted the 2022 Annual Audit by now. The longer the delay, the more suspicion centers around the Audit. Exactly what did Becca Brendle, CPA, put i...

The next election of four (4) directors of the HOA should be November 7, 2023. On that date four directors should be elected, according to the By-Laws. How will the board correct the problem of having eight directors on the board, instead of the seven authorized directors? Who was elected in November 2021 (and, therefore, whose terms should expire in 2023)?  Justin Martin Mary Ann Game Paul Hill (d. April 2022)* Greg Thomas Brenda Bryant  Wait! That's five, not four. Too many directors were elected in November 2021. (George Reynolds had died in April 2021 after being re-elected in Nov. 2020. His position was never declared vacant or filled by the board). Instead of appointing a successor to Reynolds, the board set up an election of five Directors (not four) for November 2021. It disregarded the vacant seat of the late George Reynolds. This threw off the cycle of electing four directors in one year and three in the next. Because there were three other directors (Butler, Delling...

As a homeowner, are you waiting to see the 2022 Annual Audit? The Audit was presented to the HOA board on June 6. Right; June 6! That was 6½ weeks ago. You'd think that, by now, CAMS would have figured out how to post it on the HOA's website. But it's not there. I can only guess why not. The President of the HOA has not directed CAMS to post it. Or has directed CAMS not to post it. It should have been posted on June 7th, the day after the June board meeting. If you are a homeowner and you want the Annual Audit posted without further delay, contact the office at 803.865.0609. Better yet, contact the President at jdmartinsdx@gmail.com or the Treasurer at vernellbutler88@yahoo.com and tell him to post it now. Where will the 2022 Annual Audit be found, when it is posted? Go to the HOA's website . Then click on RESIDENTS, then DOCUMENTS, then Annual Audits. As of today (7/21/23) the latest Annual Audit published is for 2021. While you are there, look for the June 2023 fina...

  This Scam Alert is taped to the storm door at 6 Barony Place Circle, in Barony Place II. The house is now vacant. I had noticed two piles of discarded household items outside the house last week-end, and a trash hauler was there at the beginning of the week to remove them. As I walked my dog this morning, I saw this Alert on the storm door. The Alert states that the property is owned by Pathlight Management and Home Partners. However, the online real estate listing states " Professionally managed by Pathlight Property Management, the exclusive property manager for Home Partners of America." The Richland County Recorder of Deeds shows the owner as SFR ACQUSISTION [ sic ] 1 LLC, of Chicago.  The Alert seems to warn against listings for this property on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. Let's hope the HOA is on top of dues collection on this property.

The Summit's HOA has approximately $2,000,000 in several banks. Who is in charge of that money? Is it CAMS? Is it Justin Martin, the President of the HOA? Is it Vernell Butler, the Treasurer of the HOA? HOA Minutes are silent. And the Minutes are exactly where the information should be. Most HOA Members (homeowners) should know by now that large blocks of money were allowed to sit at embarrassingly-low interest rates for far too long. Whose responsibility was it to alert the Board that the HOA was losing money every month. That would be the Treasurer. And the CAMS property manager. Who are the signers on the bank accounts? If you look at the Board Minutes, you'll never find the answer. Who is authorized to move the money from one bank account to another? If you look at the Board Minutes, you'll never find that answer. Those decisions are not made in public; ex., at monthly board meetings. Where are those decisions made, if they are made at all? In the private, secret "...

Did the HOA's Finance Committee meet as scheduled on Tuesday, August 18th? The 2022 Annual Audit still has not been published on the HOA's website. Did anyone on the Finance Committee ask why it hasn't been published or when it will be published? The Board received the 2022 Annual Audit publicly on June 6th, and it should have been published on June 7th. That's over six weeks ago. Angela Adleman, the HOA's property manager, is out of the office all week. Did she leave anyone in charge? There are two Assistant Community Managers on the CAMS payroll (not on the HOA's payroll, contrary to Line Item in the monthly financial statements). One of them should know how to publish it. Who told the office not to publish it? Note to Homeowners: the HOA won't inform me of the reason for the delay in publishing the 2022 Annual Audit, but they might inform you, if you ask. 

There were many important topics that could have been discussed at the July 11, 2023 board meeting. Instead, the board (or someone on the board) canceled the meeting. It was probably canceled at the June 27 pre-board meeting, which is a private, secret meeting of the board, at which no Minutes are kept and where decisions are sometimes made out-of-sight and -hearing of the Members of the HOA. Why then? Because the July 11 meeting was scrubbed from the July Summit Scoop, where it had appeared in June. It was also omitted from the Calendar on Page 8 of the Scoop. The Scoop was published very early in July, about ten days before the meeting date. What could have been discussed at the board meeting? - Direction to CAMS to publish the 2022 Annual Audit. - The RFP for HOA management services for 2024. - Status of 2024 Budget planning. - Appointments of Chair and members to the Summit Assets Committee. "Mission: This Sub-committee, is responsible for establishing a balanced annual budget...

Two killed in SUV crash that started as law enforcement pursuit in northeast Columbia If this chase had started in The Summit and involved a RCSD deputy who was working for the HOA for $48/hour under the Special Duty Agreement that was effective on February 1, 2023, could the HOA end up footing the bill? Let's say that the family(ies) of two dead people in a wreck got a lawyer who saw the "deep pocket" of the HOA and decided to go after the $2,000,000 in cash and more. They might allege that all three in the stolen car were afraid of the deputy(ies), and so the driver fled.  The Liability clause in the SDA reads "The Requestor (the HOA) will hold harmless the Richland County Sheriff's Department from all and all claims or liabilities resulting from service ..." Let's say the families sue RCSD and the HOA and win a huge settlement. You know how juries are. They are often quite liberal with OPM (Other Peoples' Money). RCSD stands back, bows to the HOA,...

If you would like to know the reason that the July 11th HOA board meeting was canceled, all you have to do is ask. Angela is out of the office until July 24, so ask Justin Martin, President. His email address is jdmartinscx@gmail.com   I wrote to the board, which includes Justin, earlier today and asked, " Why didn't you hold the July meeting as announced? " Justin responded today with, " Anyone who required a reason why the meeting was canceled was provided an answer. " Okay, what do you think? Did he provide an answer? Most intelligent people would read that asking for a reason. I guess he figures that, since I'm just a lowly resident, I don't "require" a reason. Notice his wording - "was provided an answer." So he's correct. He provided "an" answer. Not "the" answer, but "an" answer.  If I were out in a pasture, I'd be watching where I stepped next. What Justin hasn't learned yet is that hi...

The Summit's HOA has numerous committees. Are you on one? (Or does your name appear as a Committee member, but you aren't on the Committee?) Committees and their members are listed in The Summit Scoop and on the HOA's website. In the Scoop, see Page 2. Where can you find the Scoop? Go to the website; then scroll to the bottom of the homepage. Click on Recent News. (I have suggested a change in name to "Summit Scoop". Maybe if you suggest it, they'll change it.). For past issues of the Scoop, go to the website. Click on RESIDENTS. Then click on DOCUMENTS. Then click on The Monthly Scoop. You can find the Committees and members' name on the HOA's website. Click on RESIDENTS. Then click on COMMITTEES. Following are the Committees and the number of members (parentheses indicate number of members according to the HOA's website): Activities (5) Contracts (2)* Covenants (5) Energy (0) Finance (9) Modifications (5) Nominating (7) Neighbors Helping Neighbor...

When did the board really cancel the July 11th meeting? Regular monthly board meetings are held on the first Tuesday of the month. Since the first Tuesday this month was July 4, the July board meeting was scheduled for July 11. On July 10th it was canceled (by email from the CAMS office) - without explanation! Pre-board meetings are normally held on the Tuesday before the Regular board meeting. Since that would have been July 4, the pre-board meeting could have been held on June 27th. If you look at the Calendar on the HOA's website, neither the July 11th board meeting nor the pre-board meeting (June 27th) is on the Calendar. The June 2023 Summit Scoop calendar shows a pre-board meeting scheduled for June 27th, 6:30pm at the HOA's office. And the June 2023 Summit Scoop shows a July board meeting for July 11, The June Scoop does show a board meeting for July 11th, but the July Scoop does NOT show the board meeting for July on Page 2, where dates of future board meetings are show...

This photo is of the undeveloped lot just east of 204 Barony Place Drive, in the Lakes at Barony Place, including an illegal fence. The fence extends from the corner of the house at that address to a fence behind a line of houses on Lakemont Drive. What's wrong with the fence? Some part of it blocks the Common Property of the HOA from the small lot that faces Barony Place Drive to the large unfinished lot between the backs of houses on Barony Place Drive and Lakemont Drive. Two years ago, at the time of protests on Barony Place Drive, I was able to learn the ownership of the small lot. The HOA didn't even know that it owned it! It had been transferred to the HOA by the developer before the homes were finished, and I was told that a former Treasurer accepted it. Why the Treasurer, instead of the President and the Secretary, following board action? We'll never know; he died in April 2021. I alerted the HOA and the board to the illegal fence. What action have they taken in two...

If your yard looked like this, how fast would a Violation Notice find its way to your mailbox? And what would happen if you left it that way for two years? This yard is in the Lakes at Barony Place, next door to 204 Barony Place Drive. It's a small lot, too small to be developed. It's part of a large parcel (Richland County Parcel No. R23107-10-10 ) that was quietly deeded to the HOA in October 2018, well before the development was finished.  The portion bordering the street has not been seeded or sodded, irrigated, or cared for.  The 80 homeowners and the "Voting Member" ought to be all over the board of directors. They pay $44,000/year in dues! When the HOA itself violates the By-Laws, should it send itself a Violation Notice and, if the problem is not corrected, fine itself? Who should pay those fines? The officers of the board? The Directors? CAMS?

Here are some questions that the HOA ought to be asking its insurance companies (plural). There is an insurance company that handles general liability issues, and there is an insurance company that handles insurance for Directors & Officers (D&O). Q. If the Board of Directors does not comply with the By-Laws in significant ways, is there a problem? Q. If the HOA does not have a legitimate board of directors, is there a problem? Q. If the HOA does not have a legitimate board of directors and, thus, has no officers, is there a problem? Q. If the board entered into a Special Duty Agreement (SDA) with the Richland County Sheriff's Department and exposes the HOA to a significant increase in liability risk, should the board have submitted the SDA to you for review and consideration of an increase in premium? Q. If it didn't, and there is a large claim made against the HOA, might you deny coverage? Q. Under a D&O policy, if there are no legitimate Directors and Officers, d...

Is Classic Voter Fraud occurring right under your noses? How do I define "Classic Voter Fraud"? Here it is ... when people who are not entitled to vote, do vote. Pretty simple, eh? Is that occurring at The Summit Community Association, Inc. (SCA), the formal name for the Summit's HOA? It starts with the Voting Members. According to the By-Laws, the Voting Members elect the Directors. Where do the Voting Members come from? Every one of the 28 Neighborhoods in The Summit is to hold an Annual Neighborhood Meeting of the homeowners. Barony Place (Barony Place I & II) has not held a meeting in more than five years! Is yours? When was it? At that Annual Neighborhood Meeting, an Annual Election of a Neighborhood Committee is to be held. Three homeowners are to be elected to the Committee. One of the three becomes the Voting Member for the next year. It's a one-year term, until the next Election. For one year, only. It's not a lifetime appointment, like the Supreme Co...

For those who think it's a lot of fun to live in a community with a HOA, read this article.  https://travelermaster.com/hoa-ruined-everything-ol-ext/ Maybe I'll make a book out of three years' worth of my blogposts. Think anyone would buy it? or read it? Do you have a favorite HOA story?

The 2022 Annual Audit of the Summit's HOA was presented to the Board of Directors at its monthly meeting on June 6, 2023. That Audit has not yet been published on the HOA's website. Why not? Did the Board's last-minute cancellation of the July 11th board meeting have anything to do with the withholding of the 2022 Annual Audit? Is the news that bad? The Auditor, Becca Brendle, also handed in a Management Report and another document, which are separate from the Audit. They probably contain the really bad news, and those documents will probably never see the light of day, if you aren't on the board. The Audit could have been posted to the HOA's website by the CAMS personnel in the office on June 7th.  If you are a homeowner, contact the HOA President or the HOA Treasurer or the CAMS Association Property Manager for The Summit. Ask for the Audit. President, Justin Martin. JDMartinscx@gmail.com Treasurer, Vernell Butler. VernellButler88@yahoo.com CAMS Prop. Mgr., Angela...

Each month a boiler-plate report appears in the Minutes of the board meeting about the actions of the HOA's Modifications Committee. This is the Committee that receives the Form 201 when a homeowner wants to do any work on his home's exterior or yard. The  Mission of the Committee, as stated on the HOA's website is: "The Modification Committee is responsible for ensuring that all exterior modifications, alterations and additions meet the current Summit Community guidelines during inspections of all completed approved projects.  They review all 201 modification forms submitted for consideration and approval for workmanship, design, and its compatibility with existing community structures, locations, topography, and finish grade elevation.  The committee conditionally approves or rejects all requests prior to work beginning and gives final approval upon its completion ." [ emphasis added ] This Committee is populated by  Justin Martin ( Chair), Jesse McClinton, Kris...

At 10:06AM the HOA office sent out an email, announcing cancellation of tomorrow night's HOA monthly board meeting. No reason or explanation, of course. What's up with this board? It owes the homeowners the 2022 Annual Audit, which was presented publicly to the board on June 6. Why is the Board hiding out from the HOA members and not making itself available to hear complaints and questions from homeowners? Is it that Justin can't attend the meeting? He's the HOA President. What about having the Vice President run the meeting? That's Mary Ann Game. She's the one who announced incorrect election results last November and named Auby Dellinger, who was chairing the monthly meeting (due to Justin's absence) as being re-elected. But he wasn't, and she had to correct it right in front of him and tell him he was not re-elected! Or did four board members 'fess up and say they would not be attending? That would eliminate a quorum. OK, homeowners. Call the offi...

Are legal buzzards circling over The Summit Community Association, Inc. (SCA)? Why would they do such a thing? Does the SCA conduct its business in accordance with the By-Laws? What are the consequences of failing to do so? Does the SCA have a legitimate Board of Directors? Has any of the so-called Directors read S.C. Code of Laws ¶33-31-830 - Standards of Conduct? Does the SCA have any legitimate Officers? Is there even one legitimate Voting Member? Is "getting signatures" a legitimate method for selecting a Voting Member? Has there been a vacancy on the board of directors (disregarding the fact that there is no legitimate board) since November 1, 2022, when Dennis Rybicki had to resign in order to take his seat as a Director for a new two-year term? Why wasn't his resignation announced?  Which of the five directors from November 2021 should not be seated?  State law (¶33-31-801(a)) requires a (legal) board of directors.  If the State investigated the SCA (S.C. Code of L...

Does anyone wonder why the HOA has not posted the 2022 Annual Audit? It was presented to the Board on June 6, 2023 and could have been posted to the HOA's website on June 7th. Today is July 9th. It's still not there. Why not? You might consider asking the Treasurer, Vernell Butler, whose email address is vernellbutler88@yahoo.com The 2021 Annual Audit carries these important statements in the Notes, which begin on Page 6.  Income Taxes "Tax years 2019, 2020, and 2021 remain open with major tax jurisdictions." What will the 2022 Annual Audit say? SCA is a South Carolina not-for-profit corporation, and it elected to file as a homeowners' association under IRC §528 in 2021. How did it file in all the previous years? Membership and Voting Rights The Audit fails to clarify what voting rights are described. A homeowner only gets to vote for a Neighborhood Representative, not for any Directors on the Board. Because no Neighborhoods are holding Annual Neighborhood Meeting...

What would a Richland County Magistrate or Circuit Court judge decide, if he were asked to rule on whether The Summit's HOA should be declared defunct? What will the S.C. Attorney General decide when he realizes that the HOA (The Summit Community Association, Inc. (SCA)) does not have a valid board of directors, which is required of every non-profit corporation organized in South Carolina? Would the A.G. dissolve the SCA? Or would the State take it over, until such time as a board could be put in place that would follow the By-Laws? All the people on the Board have been "elected" by people who are not eligible to vote for Directors, yet this goes on year after year. What exists in The Summit is classic Voter Fraud . Because there are no legitimate electors (Voting Members), there are no legitimate Directors. Because there are no legitimate Directors, there are no legitimate Officers. Yet there are people sitting at the head table every month, acting in those capacities. ...

The 2022 Audit was presented to the board at the June 6th board meeting with very little oral explanation. Two additional documents were referred to - a Management Report and another report. The Audit has not yet been posted to the HOA's website. Why not? Will the HOA release those extra documents to Members? Call the office (803.865.0609) on Monday before 3:00PM and ask Teresa Rigon or Kenyana Williams, the new Assistant Community Manager, when the 2022 Audit will be on the website. If they say they don't know, ask who does know. Then call that person. Or call on Wednesday, when the office re-opens after the July 4th holiday. If you can find out, let me know, and I'll post the answer here.

From the Minutes of the June 6, 2023 HOA Board Meeting. Said the Treasurer's Report, "The finances are in good shape and assessments will not be going up." Now, if that isn't a Treasurer's Report to relieve all your worries, I don't know what is. That's sort of like writing "A good time was had by all" after a high school prom. And "The committee is researching all avenues to recoup past due accounts..."  What have they been doing for the past 2-3-4-5 years??? Where are the suggestions, the advice, and the action from the "professional HOA management company" that is paid over $200,000/year for its services? But the icing on the cake in the Treasurer's report is the final sentence: "The work cost reduction rate method is used for preparing the budget." What a line of manure!

Are there any homeless camps in The Summit? Why ask this question? In the July Summit Scoop, HOA board member and Chair of the Safety Committee, Dennis Rybicki, asked "residents" (thanks, Dennis, for not limiting it to "homeowners") to notify RCSD of any homeless camps. The written Safety Committee Report that is included in the June 6th Board Minutes also includes that request. Too bad the office didn't think that was important enough to send out an email blast to all homeowners and residents. Do you know of any homeless camps? The time to get that stopped is N-O-W.