Barony Place I/Barony Place II

One week to go, until the secret of the year is revealed. Election Day is November 7. Who are the nominees for director selected by the Nominating Committee? Not only are the names a big secret, so is the process. How can a homeowner encourage his Voting Member to vote for a certain candidate, if the membership isn't told who the candidates are? You'd think the process would be described in an easy-to-find spot on the HOA's website or in a special edition of The Summit Scoop . Not so! Are the four incumbents running for re-election? Have any Members of the Summit been successful in breaking into the inner group?  What are the requirements? Here is the guideline for the Nominating Committee. Do you think they are measuring candidates, including incumbents, against this standard?  "Candidates will be of the highest caliber, selected for interpersonal skills, dedication to the betterment of our Association and community, and free of any personal agenda"   Source: Nom

The Minutes of the October 3, 2023 Board of Directors (BOD) meeting have not yet been published. Normally, Minutes are published a few days after the meeting, so that Homeowners know what happened at the meeting. Several homeowners have complained that they did not receive an email from the CAMS-managed office with the link to the October Zoom meeting.  Perhaps the officers of the HOA are embarrassed about the original Minutes of the September meeting. When I read them, I thought, "Has e e cummings been resurrected?" They were quickly taken down and re-written. ALL meetings of the BOD are supposed to have Minutes. Do they? Where are the Minutes of - the August 22, 2023 special meeting to ban homeowners from monthly board meetings? - the October 3rd, 8:00PM special meeting to discuss the 2024 management contract, which was omitted from the regular board meeting? - other October 2023 meetings of the BOD (in-person? telephonic? Zoom?) to discuss further the management bids and

On November 7, 2023 twenty-eight Voting Members of the HOA are supposed to meet prior to the 6:30PM Board of Directors meeting. Their primary purpose is to elect four directors for 2023-2025. Why is the work of the Nominating Committee a big secret? Vernell Butler, treasurer of the HOA, is acting chair of the Nominating Committee, since Mary Ann Game is a candidate for re-election. Other members of the Nominating Committee are Mike Bryant*, Auby Dellinger, James Glenn, Jeff Lummel, and Kristie O'Brian. The closing date for applications was October 6. The office was to confirm that applicants are homeowners and not in debt to the HOA. Then the Committee applies its Mission to the applications. "Mission: Provides quality candidates to hold office on the Board. Candidates will be of the highest caliber, selected for interpersonal skills, dedication to the betterment of our Association and community, and free of any personal agenda" Based on those requirements, the Nominating

An email was sent out to some Barony Place II homeowners this morning that reads, "The shrubs the [ sic ] surrounding the pillars at the entrance to the Circle are being removed for safety and esthetic reasons. " By the time that email was sent out, the shrubs HAD BEEN removed. So, a few questions. Who determined that the shrubs were a "safety and esthetic" condition? Was that decision made by the HOA? By a committee of the HOA? By one person? Where was the Barony Place Voting Member? Why wasn't she keeping an eye on the beauty of her Neighborhood? Was she informed in advance of the removal? Why weren't the homeowners in Barony Place II consulted? Why weren't they given an opportunity to comment, before the shrubs were removed?  Exactly what "safety" issue was there? The shrubs did encroach slightly on the street by the Stop sign, but it was not a big deal. There was plenty of room for a car to stop at the Stop sign and be nowhere near the midd

If you have attended monthly HOA board meetings in the Summit, you know that speeding on Summit Parkway comes up every month. And you know that there is nothing that the HOA can do about it. But now YOU can do something about it. Become a founding member of the "35 Club". Just display this nifty, 2"x2" sticker on your back window. Two club members, driving side-by-side at the posted 35MPH speed limit from Hard Scrabble Road to Clemson (or from Clemson Road to Hard Scrabble Road), can restore safe and sane 35MPH speeds on the Parkway. Earn different membership levels, according to the names you are called by other drivers, unique hand gestures displayed toward you, and the different scrapes and bumps endured by your car or truck.  At the same time, you may want to increase your insurance limits, brush up on self-defense moves, and be sure all the door locks on your vehicles are in good working order. Dashcams recommended. Review one-handed recording of videos with yo

Back in February 2023 the Summit HOA's board of directors approved a $42,373 contract with Johnson Controls for a fob entry systems for both pools.  The system was never installed, and the board has never explained why not.  Today I came across a mention in the CAMS Management Notes attached to the April 2023 Minutes that "Angela notified Johnson Controls that the board wants to hold on the install [sic] of the fob system."  Did you ever hear that discussed in a monthly, open board meeting? Why would the board approve a $42,373 and then decide (did they vote?) in private to delay it? How did the contract read? Did any money change hands? Did the HOA make any payment to Johnson Control? Who signed the contract? The signers for the HOA for contracts ought to be the President and the Secretary. There should have been a Resolution approved by the board that authorized the President to enter into a contract with Johnson Controls. But there does not seem to be any Resolution at

CAMS must very thankful about the renewal of the Summit's HOA contract. They quickly announced the holiday hours for the Thanksgiving week-end. On October 23 the office sent out this message: " The Association office will close at 3:00pm on Wednesday, November 22 nd  and will be closed on Thursday, November 23 rd  and Friday, November 24 th  in observance of the holiday. " Are they so "P.C." now they cannot even mention Thanksgiving? Will somebody object to the mention of "Thanksgiving"? You know, the Pilgrims and the Indians and all those dead turkeys. While CAMS might want to give its own employees the Friday off after a holiday, why should the HOA agree and then do without coverage in the office? And why close at 3:00PM on Wednesday? The HOA office is already closed on Saturdays until summer 2024 so this means, if you have business with the HOA, you'd better get it done by early on Wednesday, November 22, or you'll wait until the following M

In a contest for most-interesting HOA website in South Carolina, where would the website for the Summit's HOA rank? Probably dead last. Check out these fascinating spots on www.summithomeowners.com Homepage Same banner photo for about four years! "Our community website was developed to serve as an informative and interactive resource for both our neighborhoods and our local community." Informative? Interactive? Seriously? "If you live in The Summit, be sure to  Register  to have full access to the 'Neighbor's Only' sections." FALSE. I live in The Summit, and I registered. Then my registration was canceled, effectively blocking me from much information on the website. The BOD doesn't like people who ask too many questions about non-compliance with the By-Laws and errors in the financials.   "Lets [ sic ] enjoy and have fun with this website." Your HOA Board of Directors This information is not listed on the website. The names, photos, bi

Why won't the HOA publish monthly Crime Reports from the Richland County Sheriff's Department? For years the RCSD monthly Crime Report for the Summit was published on the website of the HOA. On the homepage, look under Public Service Announcements. That ended when the Community Assistance Team (CAT) deputy was re-assigned. Later one copy was emailed or faxed to the office, after my perseverance with RCSD, and published. That Report was for the three-month period of 3/14/2022 - 5/27/2022.  That report is incomplete. See the footer on the first page, which reads "Page 2 of 9". The office had not noticed that five pages were missing. It's a nine-page report, but only the even-numbered pages were published. I told the office about that error and obtained the full nine-page report for them, but the office didn't replace the incorrect version. The office also went through the report and deleted addresses listed in the Crime Report. Somebody among the directors made

Listed on the HOA's website is this important committee - the Summit Assets Committee . What is it? Summit Assets Mission: This Sub-committee, is responsible for establishing a balanced annual budget, and presenting it to The Summit Community Association, Inc. Board of Directors for approval. The budgeting process considers input from all levels and includes members from the general community. OPEN, Chair This committee is important enough to be listed on the website, but it is not important enough to have a chairman or any members. NOTE the final line in the description of its work: The budgeting process considers input from all levels and includes members from the general community . [ emphasis added ] Did you ever hear any mention at a board meeting about a call for participation by Members (homeowners), other than those privileged to be appointment by the HOA president? Ever see any mention in The Summit Scoop? Ever receive an email from the Association, inviting you to partici

Will the person who posted these signs end up with five fines from Richland County for posting her lost-cat signs on five Stop signs? Sure, I'm sorry her cat took off. But plastering her signs on Stop signs is not okay. Aside from being illegal under a County ordinance or statute, it very likely will create an expense for the County, when the paper signs are removed. They are taped to the signs, and removing the tape will probably result in damage to the signs. Let's say it costs the County $200 to replace each sign. Who should pay that $1,000? Where are the five signs? 1. N/B Barony Place Circle at Barony Place Drive 2. S/B Timber Crest Dr. at Summit Parkway 3. N/B Timber Crest Dr. at Barony Place Drive 4. S/B Indigo Springs Dr. at Barony Place Drive 5. E/B Autumn Run Way at Barony Place Drive

Why has the Summit's HOA Board of Directors left a board seat vacant for a year? Was it to cover up a mistake they made in the November 2021 election? When you go to a board meeting, you'll see seven directors sitting there. Martin, President; Game, VP; Thomas, Secretary; Butler, Treasurer; and three directors, Bryant, Holmes, and Rybicki. What you should see are those seven PLUS an empty chair for the seat originally filled by Paul Hill (until his death in April 2022) and then by Dennis Rybicki, who succeeded Paul in May 2022. How did this happen? Three directors were elected in November 2020. George Reynolds died in April 2021. His seat was never declared vacant or filled (for 18 months). To make it appear that the board had seven living directors, the board allowed an improper election of five (5) directors (Martin, Game, Thomas, Hill, and Bryant) in November 2021.  One of the five (but which one?) was not a legitimate director! No one else seemed concerned about non-complia

Open Letter to the Board of Directors of the Summit's HOA and the CAMS Property Manager. I am writing to suggest that the damaged pergola should be removed immediately by the HOA maintenance guy or by hired help. Take photos and measurements. Give the driver's insurance company two days to inspect it. Haul it away.  By now the Assn. should have a plan developed for dealing with mishaps of this type. The office (CAMS) should take care of the whole problem; after all, they are the "professional HOA management company" hired by the SCA to run things. Right? There is no need for the Board or any board member to be involved, unless it comes to suing the driver to collect. And then it's a two-minute decision.  There is no need to waste time waiting for the driver's insurance company to accept fault or deliver payment.  How long did the last repair take? Three months? Trash haulers are one phone call away. Haul all the debris over the the lot on Misty Morning Drive a

  On November 7 the Voting Members are supposed to meet and elect four directors.\ On that date will there be a fair election? Or will it be fraudulent? At the present time (October 21), there is zero chance that the election will be fair. "Fair" means that there will be eligible, qualified voters. There is no hope of having a quorum of 15 eligible Voting Members.  Do you know of any of the 28 neighborhoods that has a legitimate Voting Member; i.e., one who is in place because there was an Annual Neighborhood Meeting in 2023 or 2022? Does the Association have written documentation of Annual Neighborhood Meetings, election of a Neighborhood Committee, and selection of a Voting Member by at least 15 Neighborhoods? I tried to raise the interest level in Barony Place and identified only one other man (out of 78 homes) who was interested. Barony Place did not have a Neighborhood Meeting in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 or 2018. And maybe not for many years before that. The Board ha

Will homeowners (Members of the Assn.) get a chance to see the proposed 2024 Budget before it is sent to the Board of Directors for approval? What do you, a homeowner, think? It's your money the Board is going to spend. Should you be able to examine the budget and comment on it? One problem is that the Board doesn't have to listen to Members of the Assn. It only has to listen to the Voting Members and then only if the group of VMs speak, and they never say anything that the Board might listen to, either. That's because they meet only once a year to vote for directors. The Voting Members ought to gather 3-4 times/year to examine exactly what the Board is doing. For example, who on the Board approved giving the landscaping contract to Bright View? That turned out to be a disaster, and the Association terminated the contract before the end of the contract period. Did the Board conduct due diligence on Bright View? Who was in change of that? Why did it turn out to be a disaster

Should the pergola at Summit Parkway and Summit Ridge Drive be permanently removed? How many Summit homeowners and residents don't pay any attention to it, as they drive by? Or do notice it and think to themselves, "What the heck is that?" Certainly, no one sits under it and enjoys the traffic speeding by. There is no parking nearby. With the frequency of crashes, you'd take your life in your hands to stand or sit under the roof. Should it be resto red to its "former glory", as described in Friday's email from the HOA? Was its  destruction "truly unimaginable"? Is it a " community landmark"? Do you feel a "sense of pride" about it? (All that literary garbage came from the HOA's message on Friday.) If you think it should be sent to the junkyard, contact the HOA office immediately and ask that they inform the board of your opinion. And attend the November 7th board meeting and make your comment there.

After I posted the photo of the damaged pergola, I emailed the office at 1:09pm and suggested an announcement be sent out about the damage. At 2:14PM the HOA distributed an email to homeowners. The highlights are mine. "Last night, an unfortunate incident occurred at Summit Ridge and the Summit Parkway, resulting in significant damage to the Summit Ridge Pergola and Brick wall. The extent of the destruction is truly unimaginable . We want to reassure you that we are fully aware of the situation and are committed to resolving it as swiftly as possible. "Some of you may recall a little while ago when the pergola was previously damaged, and it took considerable time to effect repairs due to the challenges associated with vendors and parts availability. Given the magnitude of the current damage, it is inevitable that this restoration process will also require some time. "We kindly request your patience as we diligently work to repair and restore the Pergola and Brick

  What is it about the pergola? Or the sign? Or the corner of Summit Parkway and Summit Ridge Drive? Should the pergola just be removed and sent to the dump? What really happened here? Wouldn't it be nice if the board of directors actually made the HOA's website useful by publishing current and complete news, at least every once in a while? What ought to happen now? The HOA should contact its recognized contractor and tell him to estimate the cost and begin repairs without delay. The bid doesn't really matter, because the at-fault driver is going to pay for it. Send the bill to the driver with a demand for payment. What will happen? The office will put out a Request for Bids in a few weeks. Then it will wait for bids. Then the BOD will have to make a decision. Then the work order will be issued. Then the contractor will order materials. Then the contractor will begin work. And then, about April 1, the work will be completed. The BOD never need be involved. The management co

On Monday, October 16, I was finally able to inspect the 2022 Annual Audit. The Audit was presented publicly to the Board at its June 6, 2023 board meeting, more than four months ago. The Board might have received it before the end of April, with the Management Report (dated in April) that was mentioned by the Auditor on June 6th. Comments: The Auditor's name (Becca  Brendle, CPA) is not shown in the 2022 Annual Audit. The Auditor's firm (Camp, Moring & Brendle, LLC) is not shown in the Audit. The date of the Audit is not shown, only that it is for the year that ended 12/31/2022. An important two-page letter from the auditing firm is included in the 2021 Annual Audit. This important letter, bearing the name of the auditing firm and the auditor, is missing from the copy of the 2022 Annual Report given to me for inspection. The letter is shown in the Table of Contents as Page 1. But it's not there! While that letter is mostly boiler-plate, it is important. It contains th

Did you see the email from the Board about Founder's Lake? Did the Board hire a P.R. agency to write its news releases? All that baloney could have been covered in one paragraph. "Repairs are being made to Founder's Lake. You may see changes in water levels. Please excuse any temporary inconvenience caused by work vehicles in the area."

On Tuesday, October 18, I emailed HOA President Justin Martin the following message. As of 10:50AM today (Thursday), he has not replied. There is no question that Justin doesn't like me. But should he stiff 2,470 homeowners of information about the expenditure of over $400,000 of HOA money on the 2024 management contract? Here's my email: Good morning, Justin, May I please get a statement from you for my  blog , which is read by Barony Place homeowners, other homeowners in The Summit, and others outside The Summit? I have been writing this blog for 3½ years, because the "recognized" Voting Member for Barony Place does not provide any information to homeowners. Has the Board of Directors made a decision on the 2024 management contract? Will you please include - the date of the BOD meeting at which the decision was made? - the name of the professional HOA management firm selected? - the total amount of the bid for 2024 management services? Thanks in advance for an early

Which bid for 2024 management services did the Board of Directors choose? When was the closing date on bids?  The board should have decided in September.  When it didn't, it should have decided at the October 3 regular board meeting. When it didn't, should it have decided by October 15? Are Board actions state secrets? OK, so not "state" secrets. But why are they treated as such? The seven people on the Board, referred to as Directors, are elected to represent 2,480 homeowners. Each should make an independent decision and not be unduly influenced or controlled by any other director. So why do they all clam up and refuse to answer questions about business done in closed-door, secret, private, off-the-calendar meetings? If they are being told not to speak to me or to anyone about board business, is that a legitimate direction? The Board is accountable to the Voting Members (VM). Or, at least, it is supposed to be. But that group of 28 may itself not even be legitimate.

Did the HOA conduct an improper election of directors on 12/1/2020? Three directors were elected: Butler, Dellinger, and Reynolds. The election was held under "emergency voting procedures (COVID-related)". Did the procedures meet the requirements in the By-Laws? When the Voting Members attend their Annual Meeting in November 2023, there must be a quorum present in-person. If there are 28 Neighborhoods, then there must be 15 Voting Members present.  The December 2020 election of Directors was handled by emergency voting procedures during COVID. This following list was taken from the Minutes of the 12/1/2020 Board of Director's (BOD) meeting, but it's not possible to determine how many actually voted for directors. There should be Minutes of the 2020 Annual Meeting of Voting Members that reflect how voting was conducted and how many Voting Members participated. Are there Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Voting Members? Where are those Minutes? Those who voted in the

Does it really matter whether Voting Members of the Summit's HOA are legitimate? They don't really matter, do they? You be the judge. Every November either three or four directors are to be elected. Homeowners (you) don't elect them. There are 28 Neighborhoods in the Summit. Each Neighborhood should have a Voting Member. I is the Voting Members who elect the directors. If your Voting Member isn't legitimate, then your neighborhood is not represented when it's time to vote. The problem is that most neighborhoods do not have legitimate Voting Members. If a quorum (15) of legitimate Voting Members isn't present at the November Annual Meeting of Voting Members, then they cannot have a meeting, and there won't be any election of directors. Worse is the case when directors are elected by people who are not legitimate Voting Members. Is this classic voter fraud? If your neighborhood did not have an Annual Neighborhood Meeting in 2023 or 2022, then you don't hav

As the November 7th Annual Meeting of Voting Members nears, it is imperative the the HOA office determine whether a Neighborhood has a legitimate Voting Member. Why? Only a legitimate Voting Member should be allowed to vote for directors during the Annual Meeting. Are there 15 legitimate Voting Members? I. Don't. Think. So. Otherwise, voter fraud exists. There is one way, and one way only, of choosing a Voting Member. And it's not by "getting signatures". It's by complying with the By-Laws. Each Neighborhood holds its Annual Neighborhood Meeting. Homeowners (a quorum is 1/3 of the homes' represented) elect a three-member Neighborhood Committee. That Committee meets and chooses one of the three to be the Voting Member; the other two are Alternates. They serve for one year. It's not a life sentence. It's not perpetual. It's not permanent. They serve for one year, until the next Annual Neighborhood Election. They can't hang onto their titles by fa

After two months I was finally able to examine the 2022 Annual Audit * - without paying for it. I had made my original request on August 9, 2022, and that resulted in the HOA's demand for up to $265.00 (up to two hours at $125.00/hour plus $15.00 to print it) to see the Audit and a long string of email correspondence with the HOA's attorney. Even though I had asked only to examine it, the attorney and the HOA's Property Manager continued to tell me I had to pay for them to find it, redact personal and sensitive and personal information , and print it. The most recent demand from the office was $15.00 to print it and $125.00/hour babysitting fee to watch me read it. I refused to pay. This morning I sat in the conference room at the office and read it. Without payment. I also learned that it is to be posted (finally) to the HOA's website. And where was the redacted personal and sensitive personal information? Nowhere! I knew there was none, and there is none! Just checked

Question: Who is responsible for compliance with the By-Laws? A. President of the HOA B. Secretary of the HOA C. All the Directors on the Board D. The HOA's Management Company E. All of the above Answer: E Q. To whom are the Directors accountable? A. The Voting Members Q. To whom is a Voting Member accountable? A. The owners of property in the Neighborhood from which the Voting Member was elected.

On November 7 the Voting Members of the Association are scheduled to meet and elect four directors for the 2023-2025 term-of-office. But will a legal election be possible? Wouldn't it be nice if there were one easy place to find the details of the election process? A good place for that would be the HOA's website, but it is primarily a repository of stale information. It is not a source of current information, in spite of homepage tabs for Neighborhood News, Upcoming Events and Recent News. Think of the Summit as a small town. Wouldn't a small town of 2,480 homes have a publication of useful information? Closing date for Nominations for the Board of Directors was Friday, October 6.  How many homeowners expressed interest in running for the Board? Quite likely, four incumbents (Brenda Bryant, Mary Ann Game, Justin Martin, Gregory Thomas) will run again. What's next? The office confirms that each is actually a homeowner, not a resident (only). Does dues status matter? Cou

A Meeting of the Barony Place Neighborhood (Barony Place I and Barony Place II) is being planned, to be held before the November 7th Annual Meeting of Voting Members. This Meeting is needed, so that Barony Place will have a legitimate Voting Member who can attend the Annual Meeting of VMs and who can vote for four HOA directors. If Barony Place does not have a legitimate VM, it has no representation before the Board of Directors and cannot vote for directors at the Annual Meeting of VMs. Watch for following announcements as to date, time and place of the Barony Place Neighborhood Meeting. Notices will be distributed by email and to your newspaper box. There are 78 homes in Barony Place. For the Neighborhood Meeting, a quorum of one-third must represented. Your home can be represented in-person or by proxy. If you have any questions in the meantime, please call Gus Philpott, 847-971-7083, or email me at gusphilpott@gmail.com  I am helping to organize this Meeting. Only homeowners will v

How much did you pay for your water bill in August? The 2023 water budget for the HOA is $6,000.00. That's an average monthly water bill of $500.00. In some months it will be higher; in some, lower. How much did the HOA pay in August? $(5881.17), according to the 8/31/2023 Financial Statement. It looks to me like the HOA did not pay for water in August; it got a huge refund. How did that happen? Looking at water bill payments from January, this is what the HOA has paid: $    85.00 Jan. $3757.05 Feb. $1902.26 Mar. $  149.16 Apr. $  227.47 May $  994.85 June $1181.50 July $ 8297.29   7-month Total    $(5881.17) Aug. $ 2416.12   8-month Total Was there an error in the February and March bills? When was the error identified? Did the HOA find the error or did City of Columbia find the error? The invoices every month are examined by Justin and Vernell. Didn't they question the huge increases in the water bills at the time? Why aren't there some Finance Committee members or othe