Barony Place I/Barony Place II

Just how bad is the 2022 Annual Audit? The board of directors probably received the 2022 Annual Audit by April 30, 2023, and it was publicly delivered by the Auditor at the June 6, 2023 monthly board meeting. Board members should have been ready to demonstrate that they had read and understood it by asking intelligent questions at that meeting. Where is the Audit? It still, as of 8/31/2023, has not been published on the HOA's website. All the Annual Audits from 2001-2021 are on the website, where any Member can view them. What is "special" about the 2022 Annual Audit? I went to the office on August 9, 2023 to examine the 2022 Annual Audit, and I presented the legal authority for seeing it. On August 16, 2023 the HOA's attorney wrote to me and informed me I'd have to pay $265 to get a copy. I didn't ask for a copy at the office; I asked to examine it. Now I'll be quoting the By-Laws and State law to the office and the attorney, and the stalling period will ...

The following email has been sent to the members of the HOA's board of directors: Good afternoon, members of the Board, I am writing to recommend that the HOA establish its own email server and email management system. This would give the HOA control over the emails and establish a permanent record. I believe there is already a summithomeowners.com domain. This record shows the ownership:  https://www.whois.com/whois/summithomeowners.com   Who on the board or in the office is the contact with that domain owner and has the record of ownership and passwords? (I don't need the answer, but you should know it.) It would be neither difficult nor expensive to set up email boxes for Officers, Directors, and Committees, and office personnel. I'm surprised that CAMS hasn't recommended this. Or has it? If the officers, directors, and the office used this domain (ex., President@summithomeowners.com), then the HOA's record of communications would be on-going. Polic...

The Barony Place Neighborhood will hold its August neighborhood (Barony Place I and Barony Place II) luncheon today (Wednesday, August 30) at 11:30AM at Applebee's on Killian. Join your neighbors. Have a great visit. Have a great meal. You might even get a chance to find out what's going on in your neighborhood and with the HOA. It will depend whether Applebee's has a meeting room where a general discussion can be held. If all gather in the open dining area, it will be harder to talk about neighborhood business and the HOA. Gotta be careful not to disturb other diners. The biggest issues facing the Barony Place Neighborhood right now are: - the lack of a legitimate Voting Member. Barony Place will not be represented at the November election of four Directors. - the threat from the Board to shut homeowners out of the monthly Board meetings; - the Board's failure to release the 2022 Annual Audit and post it to the HOA's website; - landscaping. Barony Place needs to ha...

On the NextDoor app there are often remarks about loose dogs and unavailability of dogcatchers on week-ends.  Check out Leroy Cain's video from Richland County (SC) Animal Care. And don't miss the dog's reaction to the fine for an unlicensed pet at 0:30. Thanks for making me smile today, Leroy. Animal Control estimates that less than 50% of the dogs in Richland County are unlicensed. I'll bet it's a LOT less. Does Animal Care respond on week-ends? If you call RCSD, you'll be told "No." However, this is what Animal Care has to say about week-ends: " Animal Care does have an on-call officer for after-hours, weekends, and holidays. This officer responds to emergency complaints only. " Check out Animal Care's website at www.richlandcountysc.gov/Government/Departments/Animal-Care    Watch for the website's update soon.

The following has been send to the Richland County Council, with a copy to Sheriff Lott. Members of the County Council, Sheriff Lott has announced that he will no longer work with the Special Duty Agreement with Sandhills Shopping Center. Pulling paid, off-duty deputies from Sandhills endangers the public. Please review immediately this decision by Sheriff Lott. The RCSD PR person spoke on video about the importance of parental control of their children. When parents fail to control their children and the children then participate in criminal acts in public, it is a law-enforcement matter.  Apparently, there were only two arrests Sunday night. What in the world is the policy at RCSD? Just dispatch the kids to a different location?  We don't want L.A.-type disorder here in Columbia. RCSD can and should stop it. Please direct the Sheriff to re-engage with Sandhills Shopping Center management and to authorize the maximum arrests to send a message to law breakers that they WILL be...

The Minutes of the August 8, 2023 board meeting omit two very important issues that were raised during the Public Comment period. What is this important? Because those points were not included in the Minutes, it's like they never happened! The Minutes can be read on the HOA's website at www.summithomeowners.com  Click on RESIDENTS, then on DOCUMENTS, then on Board of Director's Minutes. The first thing you'll notice in the Minutes is the error in the date, which is formatted incorrectly. It has been incorrect in every month of 2023. Does any Director read the Minutes? Are they all unconscious about detail? What do you notice about " August 8th ,2023 "? It is total carelessness, inattention, or ignorance. Or all three. The error first appears in the February 2023 Minutes and repeats every month. The two important issues that were raised on August 8th were: 1. A resident of Barony Place II complained that a board member had emailed her housemate and referred to ...

Members of the Board, Are you aware that your HOA (The Summit Community Association, Inc. (SCA)) does not  have a legitimate board of directors? Does this concern you? If you are usurping the office of  Director, have you exposed yourself to personal liability that is not covered by Directors and Officers Liability Insurance? In order to protect yourself, should you demand a written, legal opinion? Better, should you consult with your own personal attorney? Why do I believe there is no legitimate board? 1. There are no legitimate Voting Members. Without them, there was no one to elect you. 2. When a Voting Members' Annual Meeting has been held in past Novembers, there were no legitimate Voting Members to attend. But did the Nominating Committee Chair certify presence of a quorum of Voting Members? 3. This is because none of the 28 Neighborhoods in the SCA is holding an Annual Neighborhood Meeting, as required in the By-Laws. (Art. V, §3) 4. At each Annual Neighborhood Meeting...

Here is another reason for the RCSD Crime Reports to be published on the HOA's website: This afternoon (8/27/23) an Autumn Glen resident reported on NextDoor that gunshots were heard in Autumn Glen last night, and one man was arrested. It must have been just another, routine, man-with-a-gun call that was handled by RCSD, because WIS, WLTX, and WACH haven't mentioned it yet. But it will make the Crime Report. But HOA homeowners and residents will never see the Crime Report, because the HOA won't publish it.

One more example of failure of the HOA's board of directors has occurred. The board of directors has failed to distribute the annual report (audit) to all the Members (homeowners) of the HOA. Does the board know this? Did it know this and fail to follow the By-Laws? Ignorance is one matter. Intentional disregard is another. Which is it? By-Laws. Art. III, C,  Section 19. Accounts and Reports. The following management standards of performance will be followed unless the Board by resolution specifically determines otherwise:   (g) an annual report consisting of at least the following shall be distributed to all Members within one hundred twenty (120) days after the close of the fiscal year : (1) a balance sheet; (2) an operating (income) statement; and (3) a statement of changes in financial position for the fiscal year. The annual report referred to above shall be prepared on an audited or reviewed basis , as determined by the Board, by an independent public accountant; p...

Many homeowners and residents are interested in whether crimes are occurring in The Summit. (They are, including Murder.)  Some show up at monthly board meetings to hear what RCSD deputies have to say. In the past the HOA published a monthly Crime Report from RCSD on its website. When Deputy Travis Roberts moved from the CAT officer position to a different assignment at RCSD, the reports stopped. In spite of efforts by the late Paul Hill and me, they have not been re-started. I have written on several occasions to the HOA's Safety Committee about this. My emails of July 2nd and August 14th went unacknowledged and not replied to. In my last email I requested the Committee to consider the issue at its August 17th monthly meeting. Did it? Why would the HOA not want to re-start publication of the Crime Reports from RCSD? Would you like to see the Crime Reports published on the HOA's website? Email Board Member and Safety Committee Chair Dennis Rybicki (dennis.rybickisr@yahoo.com) a...

When a board of directors makes a decision that the people don't like, the board can be changed. Take the Bud Light fiasco. That was a case of an employee, high-ranking no doubt, who made a serious mistake. If the board had been considered at fault, no doubt the shareholders would have dumped one or more directors. They still might. How might it work at a local level; say, with the board of directors of a HOA? This HOA? In the case of the Summit's HOA, the board is not elected by the homeowners. There is a middleman, called the Voting Member. There are supposed to be 28 of them. The Voting Member, also called a Neighborhood Representative, is supposed to represent the homeowners. The Voting Members could call a special meeting and not wait for their Annual Meeting in November. A quorum of the 28 Voting Members is 15. A majority of the quorum is 8. Eight voting members could dump one or more directors and replace them. There are five Directors who ought to get a close look from ...

This morning I went to the office of the HOA's lawyer, McCabe, Trotter, and Beverly, P.C., at 4500 Fort Jackson Blvd., to pay for the 2022 Annual Audit. The HOA wanted to charge me $265 to produce a copy of the Audit, even though on August 9th I only requested to examine it. This morning I attempted to pay the fair share of the homeowner. The fair share is $0.11 ($265.00 divided by 2480 homeowners). The receptionist was polite and professional, as she refused to accept payment in cash. I shall add that she did not even look carefully at the 11 pennies to see whether they were genuine or counterfeit. I'm pretty sure that U.S. coins are legal tender, but I did not wish to make a Federal case out of it. She just works there. There is no valid reason for the HOA to charge the full cost, even it is correctly calculated, to the first homeowner to request it. Or even to the first two homeowners, since a second homeowner also requested the Audit. Two copies would be $530. South Carolin...

Justin Martin, self-proclaimed President of the Summit's HOA, published this on NextDoor tonight. "Really neat how the instigator of both the price tag of the release of the full audit and the reason the board had no choice but to close the Board of Directors meeting to voting members\ neighborhood reps or committee chairs (as it says in the CC&Rs) can come on a social media page open to all and try to get everyone against the duly elected Board for an association that are not even a member of. "The reason why the Board chose to close the BOD meeting was you.. that’s right. You and your outbursts and disruptions in our meeting. A meeting that you had no rights to be in in the first place. I can’t tell you how many meeting attendees contacted me afterwards and were disgusted with your antics. So, good job in making us close the meeting so we can actually get the business of Board completed. "You love to misrepresent the facts. There was ALWAYS a price tag to rele...

Would you like to email the directors of The Summit Community Association, Inc. about their decision to lock homeowners out of future board meetings? President Justin Martin, jdmartinscx@gmail.com Vice President Mary Ann Game, mgame@icloud.com Secretary Greg Thomas, gregory.thomas13@gmail.com Treasurer Vernell Butler, vernellbutler88@yahoo.com Director Brenda Bryant, bbryant_sc@yahoo.com Director Tanisha Holmes, tanisha.holmes@yahoo.com Director Dennis Rybicki, dennis.rybickisr@yahoo.com Director - vacancy (Paul Hill's seat, vacated by resignation of Dennis Rybicki) Yes, eight directors. There are only supposed to be seven. Copy-and-paste this string into your To: field in your email, to make it easier:  jdmartinscx@gmail.com, mgame@icloud.com, gregory.thomas13@gmail.com, vernellbutler88@yahoo.com, bbryant_sc@yahoo.com, tanisha.holmes@yahoo.com, dennis.rybickisr@yahoo.com

An open message to board members of the Summit's HOA. Why would you decide to restrict monthly board meetings to Voting Members, Alternates, Committee Chairs, and yourselves? Why don't you want Members of the Association (homeowners) to attend? Who brought up that restriction? When did you decide that? Each board member (Director) has a fiduciary responsibility and obligation to the Members of the Association. Are you representing them fairly and honestly by locking the door and keeping them out? How long is the list of things that the HOA is doing wrong? Aren't you concerned about your personal liability, when you make a decision to lock out homeowners? What if your Directors and Officers Liability Insurance does not cover you for your decision? Were you pressured to go along?  You must make fair, independent decisions. Do not be led by the nose into problems. I urge you to rescind immediately the Resolution referred to in today's email (8/24/2023) from the office. Do ...

If the Board of Directors attempts to enforce its new restriction on attendance at monthly board meetings, the meetings will be very, very quiet. As described in the August 24, 2023 email from the office, only Directors, Voting Members, Alternates, and Committee Chairs will be permitted to attend. Why will meetings be so quiet? There are no legitimate Directors. There are few (or no) legitimate Voting Members or Alternates. There are no legitimate Officers. Committee Chairs are appointed by the Assn. President. Without a legitimate Officer (President) to appoint them, there can be no legitimate Committee Chairs. Prove me wrong.

... and they will hang themselves." You've heard that; right? And you know what it means. The Summit's HOA Board apparently thinks it can prevent homeowners and/or their legal representatives from attending monthly board meetings. The Board must be over at Home Depot buying more rope. If they cared about the homeowners, they would welcome them, not shut them out! When did they make that dumb decision? I'm emailing the HOA office tonight to ask for details. I was at the last regular board meeting on August 8th and don't remember any discussion or vote on that topic. - What "recent events" could inspire the Board to make that decision? - Maybe it was the angry comments at the August 8th board meeting about Vernell Butler's referring to one resident as a "squatter". - Maybe it was the challenge to the board for not publishing the 2022 Annual Audit on the website, where the previous Annual Audits from 2001-2021 are published. - Maybe it was the ...

On August 24, 2023 at 1:20PM, the HOA office sent out this email: Dear Summit Homeowners,   I trust this communication finds you in good health. We would like to take a moment to provide you with important information regarding the Monthly Open Board Meetings as outlined in the Summit governing documents.     Historically, the Monthly Open Board Meetings were accessible to all homeowners who expressed interest in attending. However, recent events have prompted the Board of Directors to conduct a comprehensive review of our operational processes. In alignment with our commitment to adhering to the governing documents, we have resolved to restrict participation in the Monthly Open Board Meetings exclusively to Voting Members, Alternates, and Committee Chairs as outlined in the governing documents.   We acknowledge that you may have questions or concerns regarding matters within the Summit. We encourage you to reach out if you have inquiries related to any facet of the ...

The Summit's HOA may have been making unlawful distributions since February 2023. Treasurer Vernell Butler signed a contract with RCSD for extra police enforcement here. Unfortunately, the contract carried the name of "Summit HOA", which is not The Summit Community Association, Inc. The HOA has been paying invoices from RCSD. Those would be considered "unlawful distributions." No amount ($0) could be paid by the SCA to RCSD lawfully. Thanks, Vernell. Have you straightened out the mess yet? Why did you sign the contract, instead of Justin (President) and Greg (Secretary)? Have you reimbursed the HOA? Get a little help from your friends (on the board), Vernell. I'm sure they will be delighted to kick in. $6,216 has been paid to RCSD through 6/30/2023. (Nothing paid in May or June.) SECTION 33-31-833.  Liability for unlawful distributions. (a) Unless a director complies with the applicable standards for conduct described in Section 33-31-830, a director who vo...

If you, a homeowner in The Summit, want to see the 2022 Annual Audit, it's going to cost you $265.00 . At least two homeowners have been quoted that fee. In spite of the fact that all the Annual Audits from 2001 to 2021 are on the HOA's website for your free inspection, this one (2022) is going to cost you. Why is that? Because Gus Philpott, a resident, wants to see it. He isn't just any resident. He has been reading the By-Laws and financial statements ever since he moved into The Summit in early 2018. He has found a lot wrong, and he has said so. And he holds a legal Power-of-Attorney to see the Audit.  So the HOA "will be happy to make the 2022 audit available", according to the HOA's attorney - at a price tag of $265.00. The charge is for them to go through the audit and redact sensitive and personal information about some homeowners. (Those must be the ones who owe $432,483.29 to the HOA, as of 6/30/2023). Of course, the HOA will be happy at $265.00 each....

The 2022 Annual Audit for the HOA was delivered publicly to the Board of Directors on June 6, 2023. The Audit should have been promptly published on the HOA's website, as have the 2001-2021 Annual Audits. However, the 2022 Audit has not been published.  There is now a statement on the HOA's website, under Neighborhood News, that the Audit is available in the office. What is not disclosed on the website is the fee to see the Audit. The HOA's attorney has informed me of a cost of $265.00. That is the cost of redacting "sensitive and personal information about other community members", including $15.00/document for copies. Reviewing the 2021 Annual Audit, conducted by the same Auditor, there is no "sensitive and personal information". It's all boiler-plate and numbers. What will be different in the 2022 Audit? I am interested in the Auditor's Opinion in the 2022 Audit. Will it be the same as in the 2021 Audit?  Will it be different? In the 2021 Audi...

Check out this new information on the HOA's website. From the homepage, scroll down to Neighborhood News. Then scroll down to this message: Making Exterior Home Improvements? Remember to submit Form No. 201: Existing Residence Improvements Form 201 is available from this Website, see Documents>Online Forms, or pick one up at the office. Then read the Section in the Online Guide for the Modifications Committee. You'll find it on the HOA's website at RESIDENTS > DOCUMENTS > Online Guides > Summit Modifications Committee Guidelines.  Read closely ART. I, Section 1.2 Modification [ sic ] Committee Mission Statement This Section reads, in part: "The committee conditionally approves or rejects all requests prior to work beginning a nd gives final approval when notified of completion ." [ Emphasis added ] These are the steps for the Committee to follow: 1. Conditionally approve (or reject) all requests (Form 201); 2. Inspect the project after being notified t...

Is this what you would call "quality landscaping? This  island is  in Barony Place II, on Barony Place Circle. Except for a tree that was taken down last week, this is how it has looked since the ice storm more than two years ago. Apparently, there is (or was) a long-unresolved sprinkler system problem. Claim was, without water there, why fix the grass? With $2,000,000 in the bank and a yearly income to the HOA from the 46 homes here of $25,300, you'd think that the HOA could give a little more attention to this, to two other islands in Barony Place II, and to the entrance where a large mature tree was removed. Barony Place II contains homes with a total value of well over $10,000,000. The owners deserve better. One thing might help. A legitimate Voting Member. No one seems to know when the last Annual Neighborhood Meeting was held. Certainly more than five years ago. Maybe more than 10-15 years ago. A Voting Member is to be selected every year. It's not a lifetime job. It...

How much would you, a homeowner in The Summit, pay to read the 2022 Annual Audit of the HOA? The Annual Audit is a report compiled by an independent CPA auditor of the previous year's financial reporting. The Annual Audits for 2001-2021 can be viewed on the HOA's website. Of course, you have to be registered to log in. But the 2022 Annual Audit? Without board action to suppress it, somebody decided that the 2022 Annual Audit would not be put on the website but would, instead, be available only at the office. And it's not free. The cost is $265 , because the HOA, through its attorney, says that sensitive and personal information must first be redacted.  What is different between the 2001-2021 Annual Audits and the 2022 Annual Audit? A glance at th3 2021 Audit will reveal that it does not contain any sensitive or personal information about homeowners. Is the HOA going to charge every homeowner $265? 2,480 X $265= $657,200!!! Is it just that Justin and Vernell don't want m...

Did you read my blogpost on August 5, 2023, titled Homeowners vs. "Residents" ? It's here . In that post I tracked the HOA's efforts to exclude, first, residents from board of directors' meetings to, secondly, trying to exclude Homeowners from board meetings. Whose Association is it, anyway? It's yours ! Now the attorney for the HOA has written to me (August 16, 2023) that only Directors and Voting Members can attend monthly board meetings and that a homeowner (named) is excluded from attending. The fact is that the attorney is wrong. In support of her position, she quoted Article III, A, Section 15 of the By-Laws, which begins with "Section 15. Open Meetings . Subject to the provisions of Section 16 of this Article, all meetings of the Board shall be Voting Members, ..." The rest of the Section addresses whether Voting Members can speak at board meetings. Now, read that again. Slowly. Perhaps out loud.  It doesn't make sense, doesn't it? Wor...

Should the meetings of the HOA's Finance Committee be secret? Every month the Finance Committee meets. The most recent meeting was scheduled for last night, August 15. According to names on the HOA's website, there are nine homeowners on the Committee. A few questions for the Committee: Are meetings open to homeowners? Do you operate with an Agenda? Do you write and keep Minutes of meetings? Are decisions made by the Treasurer or by the Committee (by vote)? If the majority at a meeting disagrees with the Treasurer, who prevails? Have you discussed the problems, errors, inconsistencies, etc, in the monthly Financial Statements? Why haven't ALL the details regarding the many savings instruments been completed by CAMS on the Financial Statements; ex., the rate of interest being earned on EACH account; the maturity date of EACH CD.  Why does the Committee (and the Board) tolerate ongoing errors? Ex., Reporting Current, 30-days late, 60-days late on dues, when the fact is that b...

Four trees have been removed from three islands in Barony Place II. They were cut down and all debris was removed. Nice job. Now ... will the stumps be ground? Will new trees be planted? When? And what about some real landscaping? The Project List of the HOA is a disaster. Apparently, "they" have no concept of how to create a true Project Management List. Want to see it? Go to the HOA's website. On the homepage, click on Neighborhood News. Scroll down and click on "Current Outstanding Landscaping Projects". Try this link, which may or may not work:    https://www.summithomeowners.com/editor_upload/File/Current%20Landscape%20Projects%203-23.pdf Notice: No current timetables or deadlines. Mostly non-specific. Undated. No priorities. No cost estimates. See out-dated information. "5. Amaryllis & Hunters Pond – This [ sic ] will be repaired by Spring 2023" This is August, which is well past "Spring 2023". What else is out-of-date? No accountab...

Consider just two areas of the June 30, 2023 Financial Statement of the Summit's HOA that was distributed at the August 8th board meeting. If you were the owner of the HOA, just based on these two areas, would you fire your accounting people and treasurer? FIRST AREA The June 30th financial statement lists "Members Receivables". This would be the unpaid dues or, as the old-timers around here call them, "regime fees". Invoices go out in late November or December, and the dues/fees are due January 1st, late after January 31. $  18,738.50 Current $  10,642.25 Over 30 days $  13,425.00 Over 60 days $389,632.54 Over 90 days $432,483.29 Total Member Receivables Unpaid dues were late after January 31. So, as of June 30, how could any amounts be Current, Over 30 days, or Over 60 days. ALL unpaid dues are "Over 90 days". Right? SECOND AREA On the June 30, 2023 Balance Sheet the Accounts Receivable are listed as $432,483.29 Accounts Receivable (Line 1200) $   ...

Our local Food Lion is having a problem with shoplifting. The problem is mainly after school - after Ridge View High School (right across the street) releases students at the end of the day. I, for one, am unwilling to see any of our stores turned into a "San Francisco experience" or a "L.A. experience".  Employees are not loss-prevention officers or law-enforcement officers. They should not be expected to interfere with some crackpot who is stealing merchandise.  The only reason for a student to be in Food Lion after school (or at any time) is to make a purchase. If you see gangs of kids loitering, call RCSD to clear them out. If you see anything suspicious going on, get out your phone and start recording. Be sure to get good face pictures and distinctive clothng or bookbags. Video is always good, if you have a steady arm. Get pictures of vehicles and license plates, too. I have emailed Principal Brenda Mack, the new superintendent, the school board chairman, the l...

In the February 2023 Minutes of the HOA is this statement of the Neighborhood Committee (of the Board). "The committee is working on making sure each neighborhood has an alternate and voting member in place." Jesse McClinton was appointed by the HOA's President, Justin Martin, in October 2021 as the Chairman of the board's Neighborhood Committee. (This is not the same as the Neighborhood Committee that each of the 28 Neighborhoods in The Summit is supposed to have.) The Minutes of the October 2021 board meeting read, in part: "Jesse will be sending an email to the neighborhood representatives. Coming up with an alternate way to obtain signatures for neighborhood representatives was discussed." As of today (8/12/2023) there appear to be 23 Voting Members (VM) listed on the HOA's website. For some neighborhoods, it's not clear if the named person is a VM or Alternate; ex., for Glen Meadow there are two names listed, but it's not possible to tell wh...