Barony Place I/Barony Place II

Some of you already lived in The Summit on 9/11/2001. What were you doing that morning? That was one of the days etched in our memories forever. Me? I remember exactly where I was. I was flying from Austin, Texas to Chicago O'Hare. My flight was close enough to ORD that it was not diverted. As we landed, the woman sitting next to me (a work colleague at Sears, Roebuck and Co.) turned on her cell phone before the nosewheel ever touched down. I heard the tones on her phone and was just about to tell her to turn it off when she said loudly, "WHAT? New York? How many planes?"  Her boyfriend had called her to tell her what was happening in New York. Other passengers heard her and turned on their phones, placing calls. The plane was directed to a holding area and, after about 20 minutes, the pilot announced that, since many passengers already knew what was happening, he would tell us what he knew. Eventually, the plane continued to a gate. By that time, the terminal was empty! ...

Does the Board President have an obligation to get a Board Member under control? When a board member reacts in an over-the-top manner to harmless events, the question naturally arises whether that person really belongs on the board of the HOA. I was reminded of a night (January 25, 2002 ) at a Richland 2 school board meeting. Before the meeting started, I stepped forward to introduce myself to a woman who had taken a seat in front of me. I didn't know who she was, and I had never seen her before. Unknowingly, I used words that must have struck fear into her heart.  What did I say? In a calm, friendly, polite manner, all I said was, "Hello, I'm Gus Philpott."  What did she say? "I KNOW WHO YOU ARE! DON'T TALK TO ME! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Talk about being blind-sided... I asked the two men and the student with whom I had been speaking if they knew who she was. They didn't know, either. She turned out to be Supt. Baron Davis' wife, and she was a teache...

In just over two weeks the management of your HOA will change. CAMS will depart. The new HOA management company, Town & Country, will begin services. Managing a HOA of 2,480 properties and a large number of amenities and amount of Common Property is a daunting task for any property management firm. Who knows where all the keys are? Who knows where shut-offs are? Who knows the actual status of all projects that are in process? Who will know exactly how many homes there are in each neighborhood? (The list from the office in June 2024 showed 2,595 homes, when there were actually 2,480!) Did the Board have the foresight to require CAMS employees to create procedures manuals for each position in the office (property manager, assistant property manager, maintenance technician)? I recommended those several years ago to a past Board. The Board has been recent changes in numerous roles involving Board leadership and committee assignments. There are three unannounced vacancies on the Board,...

On December 28, 2024 a judicial proceeding against Gus Philpott (me) was started in the name of The Summit Community, Inc. This is your HOA. That legal action was specifically prohibited in the CC&Rs (Art. XIII, §10 Litigation ), because the Board had never sought or obtained the approval of 75% of the Voting Members. Further, the Board never voted to approve it. And the Board never authorized the Board President, Danny Trapp, to have it filed by the HOA's attorney at Turner Padget. There is no record in the Minutes of Board Meetings of any approval by the Board. The full board has been aware of the case for some time, and it has never discussed the existence of the case during a monthly Board meeting or voted to stop it. Because the Board has failed to stop an unauthorized, prohibited legal action, could the HOA and the Board members be liable for their failure? The law firm of Turner Padget was retained on May 7, 2024 as the attorney for the Association ; its legal fees are ...

Vernell Butler showed up at a meeting of the Voting Members this week. He claimed he is a Voting Member. Is he? Vernell was on the HOA's Board of Directors until shortly after November 7, 2023. He had been elected to the Board on December 1, 2020 and was re-elected to the Board in November 2022 for a two-year term (2022-2024). But, when he was not re-elected as Treasurer at the board-officer election in 2023, he quit abruptly - both as Treasurer and as a Board Member. He must have heard about the Voting Member meeting this week and showed up, uninvited. He claimed to be a Voting Member. But is he? On what date was the Neighborhood Meeting in the neighborhood of his property? Was a quorum of homeowners present, in-person or by proxy? Who was elected to the (local) Neighborhood Committee? Who was elected as chairman of that Neighborhood Committee? That person becomes the Voting Member. When was documentation filed at the office? Vernell is the guy who tried to block me from entering ...

The next election of directors will be Tuesday, November 4, 2025. Four directors are to be elected. Applications close on Friday, October 3rd. The seats of Danny Trapp, Brenda Bryant, Linda Potter, and Patricia Pollin will be open. Why is this election so important? The chaos of the past two years must be stopped. Poor decision-making, pettiness, divisiveness, and arguments must cease.  The Board of Directors should work together for the betterment of the Association and the community. Personal agendas should be left at home. Unilateral decisions must stop. Danny Trapp was elected to the Board in November 2023, and then the Board elected him as President.  He declared himself as the sole contact with the new lawyer. The Board never voted on that and should not have allowed it. Having one person on the Board who is sole contact with the lawyer is not necessarily a bad idea, but that one person must keep the full board involved on all legal matters. That has not happened. Trapp ...

When you look at the Committee listings on the HOA's website today, you will see some changes that have not been announced. The most-important committee of the HOA, the Neighborhood Committee (of the HOA), no longer has a chairman. Reginald Mack's name has been removed from the list on the website. Did he quit or was he removed? This committee should have had 5-6 members, but none has ever been identified. Is that committee dead in the water now? The Neighborhood Committee is responsible for  assisting the 28 Neighborhoods to hold Neighborhood Meetings, elect Neighborhood Committees, and elect the Voting Member. That Committee has never operated in a manner to accomplish its Mission. Another change is that Mike Bryant's name no longer appears as a member of the Finance Committee, the Nominating Committee, or the Covenants Committee. Mike is a long-time homeowner in The Summit, having purchased his home in about 1992.  You'll see Mike's name on these committees in th...

Every day that the lawsuit against Gus Philpott (me) continues, it costs the HOA and the Members more money. Shouldn't the Voting Members and the Covenants Committee contact the law firm of Turner Padget directly and address the major issues with them? Turner Padget was retained on May 7, 2024 to represent The Summit Community Association, Inc. The law firm does not represent Board President Danny Trapp or the Board of Directors. The HOA is paying the bills for the lawsuit. There is very likely an Engagement Letter between the law firm and the HOA. The lawsuit against me is prohibited by the CC&Rs (Art. XIII, §10  Litigation ). The Board of Directors never approved the lawsuit by vote in an open Board Meeting. The Board of Directors never authorized Danny, by vote or Resolution, to file the lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed by the attorneys  in the name of the HOA  without the approval of the Board of Directors. The Voting Members represent the homeowners in their neighb...

An emailed announcement from the HOA's office today informed Members that a new management company will assume its management role on September 30, 2025. Contact information for the new company (but not its name) was given as " Julie Brickley, 803-205-0705, email: jbrickley@tcgrd.com " The name of the HOA's new management company may be Town & Country Property Management, Inc., located at  132 West Cambridge Ave.,   Greenwood, SC 29646. Its website is https://www.tcpropertysc.com I write "may be" because this is the business name associated with the domain name in Julie's email address. Its homepage describes it, generally, as specializing " in rental property management, community association management, and property maintenance services." The transition from CAMS is set to happen in 25 days, even though the CAMS contract runs until December 31, 2025. There will likely be an cost for the HOA to exit the CAMS contract early. Was that disclo...

One day a homeowner was chatting with a HOA board member. They were talking about chaotic board meetings, failure to comply with Covenants & By-Laws, lack of transparency, and other topics. They were having a hard time agreeing on anything. The homeowner kept quoting the CC&Rs, and the HOA board member kept "interpreting" them. Finally, the homeowner asked the board member if he knew the difference between ignorance and apathy. The board member said, "I don't know and I don't care!"

You'll want to read the first paragraph of the President's Report in the September 2025 Summit Scoop. Just in case you don't read the Scoop, here is what Board President Danny Trapp wrote. "A point of information to homeowners:  Our covenants governing parking on the streets in our community are valid, legal, and enforceable. Please don't allow someone to convince you differently. When the streets were deeded over to Richland County, our standing covenants were also inclusive and enforceable." The first thing I noticed is that Danny Trapp failed to state which section of the "covenants" addresses parking on the streets. Ask him. Specifically. What Article? What Section?  The last sentence? It doesn't make any sense. There is no connection between transfer to the County and the covenants being "inclusive and enforceable."  The "someone" in Danny's message may be Gus Philpott (me), although I am not the only person who belie...

Could Receivership be ahead for The Summit's HOA? What is it?  "A receivership is a legal process where a neutral third party, called a receiver, is appointed by a court to manage a financially distressed company, property, or assets . This appointment is an equitable remedy, designed to preserve the value of the assets for the benefit of creditors, shareholders, or other stakeholders." (Source: Google AI) Why might it happen? The Board has a long history of failing to comply with the By-Laws. The result is that the HOA has no legitimate directors and no legitimate officers. There are people "acting as if" they are directors and officers, but they didn't get into those position by compliance with the By-Laws. What the Board could (should!) do now . Admit that it has been doing things incorrectly and that it will correct its course; Affirm to the Members and Voting Members that it will immediately improve compliance with the CC&Rs, By-Laws, and published...

Do you have integrity? Are you honest? Will you comply with the CC&Rs, By-Laws, and published Guides of the HOA? Will you speak out when you see other board members violating the CC&Rs and By-Laws? October 3rd is the deadline to submit your application at the office. The application is Exhibit A on Page 33 of the PRM. Click here .   The Nominating Committee is supposed to look for quality applicants (presumably high quality), who will be of the highest caliber, have good interpersonal skills, dedicated to the betterment of the Association and community, and free of any personal agenda. (See the PRM, Art. II, §B, ¶2) Four seats will be open this year (Trapp, Pollin*, Bryant, Potter) If you want to know the process that the Nominating Committee is supposed to follow, go the PRM, Art. III, §H (Page 22). * Patricia Pollin shouldn't even be on the Board. She was not eligible to be appointed in November 2023. She has remained on the Board, because no board member has made a ...

Check out this article about an Atlanta-area HOA that is attempting to foreclose on a home owned for more than 20 years. The story is in this article  on AtlantaNewsFirst.com about George Watson, age 77. How can actions like this get stopped? How can it be prevented, if something like this started in The Summit's HOA. How many times has foreclosure been stopped in The Summit's HOA by a negotiated settlement of past-due Assessments or fines? Who decides on the amount of settlement? The Board? (Ever hear of a board action in the past 6-7 years?) While a property owner's name might not be revealed, the decision and amount certainly should be voted on! If problems with dues or rules violations arise, why wouldn't the office of the HOA's property manager make a direct contact with the property owner? Instead, they just put the computer to work and grind out notices. Do they ever stop to wonder whether their notices are being delivered or read? The 2025 Budget for The Sum...

At last night's Board of Directors meeting, were any of these items discussed? Was there any discussion by the Board about removing Danny Trapp as Board President? Update on lawsuit against Gus Philpott and (failed) Motion for Contempt that had been filed on May 28, heard on July 24, and decided against the HOA on August 29? How did that Motion even get filed in May without the approval of the Board? Report on the total costs on the lawsuit already paid by the HOA and the pending bills for legal work already performed? Discussion about how the lawsuit against resident (not homeowner) Gus Philpott even got started, since it is prohibited by the CC&Rs and was never approved by the Voting Members or  by the Board of Directors? Who is responsible for that? Who, if anyone, authorized Board President Danny Trapp to direct that the lawsuit be filed in December by the HOA's then-new law firm in the name of the HOA? Delivery of the 2024 Annual Audit? Did the auditor, Becca Brendle,...

Today I picked up the decision by the judge in the case of The Summit's HOA against me. The judge ruled in my favor and AGAINST the Summit's HOA. On May 28th, as part of the lawsuit by the HOA against me, the lawyers for the HOA filed a Motion for Contempt against me. They, along with a sworn Affidavit from Board President Danny Trapp, alleged that I had violated a Temporary Restraining Order issued on March 11, 2025. On July 24th Judge Kimpson heard arguments. Two lawyers were there on behalf of the HOA. I was there pro se ; I'm representing myself for financial reasons. A lawyer had quoted me $30,-$50,000 to represent me all the way through. On August 29th Judge Kimpson released his decision. He found "that Mr. Philpott's actions do not violate said Order. Therefore, the Motion for Contempt is DENIED." [ emphasis in the original ] This was especially sweet for me, because the HOA's Motion had included a request that the Court make me pay the costs and l...

How many times in a month is The Summit's HOA Board of Directors meeting? What are they doing in all those meetings? Are there Minutes for each and every meeting? Is every vote being recorded? (Why are they voting in meetings others than the Regular Board Meeting? If the Board does vote at a meeting other than the open, public, Regular Monthly Board Meeting, how will Members know on what they voted? ) How much trouble will a Member encounter, if he wants to inspect the Minutes of those meetings? The By-Laws give a Member the right to inspect Minutes of meetings. See Art. VI, §4(a) "Section 4. Books and Records . (a) Inspection by Members and Mortgagees . The Declaration, By-Laws and Articles of Incorporation, any amendments to the foregoing, the rules and regulations of the Association, the membership register, books of account, and the minutes of meetings of the Members, the Board, and committees shall be made available for inspection and copying by any holder, insurer or g...

 ... and the HOA was engaged in a lawsuit that was prohibited by the CC&Rs and was paying out money almost every month for legal fees for a lawsuit that was never approved by the Board, there are several actions I would take - at every Board meeting I would make a statement that the Board was engaged in a prohibited lawsuit and that it needed to get out of it; I would request that my statement be included in the Minutes of the Board Meeting; I would make a statement that the Board of Directors is bound to comply with the CC&Rs and the By-Laws; I would object to the payment of any HOA funds to lawyers who were doing any legal work in connection with the prohibited lawsuit; I would make a Motion at every board meeting for the board to dismiss the lawsuit; I would request a recorded vote by-name on my Motion to dismiss that lawsuit, so that it would be crystal-clear who voted to stop the lawsuit and who did not vote to stop the lawsuit. Is there anything else you would want me...

It was just 12 months ago that the HOA's new lawyer sent me a Cease and Desist Letter. In that letter the HOA accused me of "false accusations and continual harassment." The letter threatened me with legal action. I quickly contacted the HOA's lawyer at Turner Padget and asked for an explanation. How did the lawyer respond? He informed me that he wasn't going to communicate with me, because I'm not a Member of the Association. Twice he told me that. In writing. Since I knew I had made no false accusations and had not harassed anyone, I did not know what not to do. So I changed nothing. I continued to write and speak the truth about the operations of the HOA and its board of directors. Everything that I have written and said is the truth. It's not "my" truth. It is the Truth. My writings have been based on the CC&Rs, the By-Laws, and the published Guides of the HOA, including the PRM. Former board president Justin Martin used to accuse me of ...

Question for Danny Trapp: Q. When did Danny Trapp first become aware that Patricia Pollin was not eligible to be on the Board of Directors of The Summit's HOA? At the November 7, 2023 Board Meeting it was announced that Trapp had been elected to the Board. After that meeting, and before the next Board Meeting on December 5, 2023, two directors quit. Greg Thomas had just been re-elected (2023-2025), and he quit. No reason was ever given. When the board-officer election meeting was held on about November 10th, out of the public's view, Vernell Butler was not re-elected by the Board as Treasurer, and he abruptly quit the Board, leaving his 2022-2024 term-of-office and the Treasurer's position vacant. The Board failed to announce the two vacancies and quietly filled them.  Patricia Pollin was nominated to succeed one of those who resigned. She should have been vetted by the Property Manager. What was the result of that vetting process? To be considered as a candidate for appoin...

I am often asked why I keep harping away that The Summit's HOA has NO legitimate directors. Here is the current line-up of homeowners who are pretending to be directors and their terms-of-office: Danny Trapp (2023-2025) Tanisha Holmes, VP (2024-2026) Noel Weatherbee, Secretary (2024-2026) William Hill, Treasurer (2024-2026) Patricia Pollin (2023-2025) Brenda Bryant (2023-2025) Linda Potter (2023-2025) To be legitimate, they must be duly-elected  or duly-appointed  in compliance with the By-Laws. Trapp, Bryant, and Potter were "elected" by the Voting Members in November 2023. However, 2023 Annual Meeting of Voting Members was not properly convened, because there was not a quorum of legitimate, duly-elected Voting Members present.  Trapp, Bryant, and Potter were "elected" by homeowners who were not eligible to vote for directors. I have referred to that as "voter fraud". Danny Trapp was one of the "Voting Members" who attended the 2023 An...

The next Board of Directors Meeting will be this Tuesday, September 2, 2025, at 6:30PM, at the Brookland Baptist Church Northeast, 1203 Summit Parkway. Will Board President Danny Trapp finally answer to the full Board and to the assembled Voting Members and Members of the HOA about the lawsuit* that the HOA filed on December 30, 2024 against resident Gus Philpott (me)? 1. Why was a lawsuit filed that is prohibited by the CC&Rs (Art. XIII, §10)? 2. Why weren't the Voting Members consulted? 3. Why weren't the Voting Members asked to approve the lawsuit before it was filed? 4. How much will this lawsuit cost the HOA? 5. How much has it cost already, including services performed by the lawyers but not yet billed? 6. What specific requests were made in the Motion for a TRO against Philpott that were not granted on March 11, 2025? 7. When did the lawyers first learn that the lawsuit is prohibited by the CC&Rs? 8. Did the lawyers recommend that the lawsuit be dismissed, when t...

Why hasn't the 2024 Annual Audit been delivered to the Board yet and released to the Members? According to Art. III, §C, ¶2 of the PRM, the audit is to be completed by August 31st. However , according to the By-Laws (Art. III, Section 19 Accounts and Reports  (g)), the audit should have been sent to Members by May 1s t . "(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 ; ..." [ emphasis added ]" The fiscal year of the HOA closes on December 31st. Which has higher authority - the By-Laws or the PRM? Answer: the By-Laws ! The Board should know this! Why haven't the 202...

Which officers and directors, if any, of The Summit's HOA study HOA improvement? Does The Summit's HOA belong to any professional organizations that offer knowledge bases or expert panels for questions the Board might (should!) have? Which officer is responsible for setting the example of good leadership, team-building, assignment of tasks, and over-seeing proper performance of committees? (Guess!) How many years has it been since the community viewed the Board as a high-functioning Team of directors who are committed to the betterment of the association and the community? How committed to the CC&Rs, By-Laws, and published Guides is the current Board of Directors? How many Board members own a copy of Robert's Rules of Order ? More importantly, how many have studied it? How many even know what it is? How often has the Board asked the HOA's attorney for business-operations advice? "How are we doing?" and "What should we be doing differently?" ...

These are the characteristics that a Board Member ought to have: Be of the highest caliber; Have good interpersonal skills; Be dedicated to the betterment of our Association and community; and Be free of any personal agenda. As you look at the board members on September 2nd, ask yourself "How do they stack up?" As HOA Election Day on November 4, 2025 draws nearer, I'll offer some thoughts and comments on the likely candidates. This HOA must do better in the future! Here is your current Board: Danny Trapp, Pres. (2023-2025) * Tanisha Holmes, VP (2024-2026) * Noel Weatherbee, Secretary   (2024-2026) ** William Hill, Treasurer   (2024-2026) ** Patricia Pollin, Director   (2023-2025) ** Brenda Bryant, Director   (2023-2025) * Linda Potter, Director   (2023-2025) * * Not duly-elected ** Not duly-appointed If you have questions about * and **, please contact me or watch for a following article.

1. Should the Board President be able to start a lawsuit that is prohibited by the CC&Rs and was not approved by the Board of Directors? NO YES 2. Should the HOA pay legal bills associated with a lawsuit that the Board of Directors did not approve? NO YES Enter your answers in the Comment box below or send them by private message. If you use the Contact Form at the upper-left, your name and email address will NOT be published.

If a Special Meeting of the Voting Members (VM)  of The Summit's HOA is called, every VM should do his best to show up.  If they repeatedly do not show up (for example, if they suspect the topic of the meeting and disagree with it), then they should be replaced. That AWOL VM is failing to properly represent his neighborhood. That AWOL VM is interfering with the business of the HOA by preventing attendance by a quorum of VMs. The VM speaks for his neighborhood. The VM is the legal representative of the homeowners in his neighborhood.  The HOA's Neighborhood Committee should contact the residents in that VM's neighborhood to 1) inform them that their VM is missing important meetings; 2) ask them if they are aware that their VM is missing important meetings; 3) ask those homeowners if they would like to elect a responsible VM who will represent them. The VM needs to show up at Special Meetings and listen to what is being discussed. If he agrees, he can vote for the Motion. ...

Today is the last business day in August. Why is the September HOA online Calendar completely blank? Monday is Labor Day. Tuesday is the Board of Director's Meeting at 6:30PM. Why isn't that on the Calendar? What about the Committee meetings for September? Why aren't they on the Calendar?  Is it because the Calendar's manager doesn't know how to create recurring meetings? Is it because the office has been short-staffed since May? Why hasn't CAMS replaced Jenn Woodley? Is there some other reason?

It's obvious how the Board of Directors of The Summit's HOA is now stacked. All you have to do now is attend a board meeting, sit in the audience, and look at the front tables. It's 5-2.  Danny Trapp has five votes locked up. Of course, that's counting three people who are not legitimate, duly-appointed directors (Pollin, Hill, Weatherbee). So, maybe, instead of 5-2, it's really 2-2. But not the way Danny and the other four count. What should happen at the next BOD meeting on September 2, 2025? One of the directors (any one of them would be okay, but five of them won't) should make a Motion that the HOA dismiss the lawsuit against Gus Philpott (me). Why? Because the lawsuit was, and is, prohibited by the CC&Rs, Art. XIII, §10. The Voting Members never approved it. The  Board never approved it. The Board never authorized Danny Trapp to tell the lawyer to file it.  Every time the HOA issues a payment to the law firm for its legal work on the lawsuit, it is a...

Gus Philpott appeared before Judge Coble, Richland County Court of Common Pleas, on Wednesday, August 20th. The purpose of the appearance was to schedule a trial date for the week of September 2-5. The court date, referred to as a Roster Meeting, was called by the HOA and its attorneys. Two attorneys from Turner Padget were present, too. The hearing was virtual on WebEx, meaning we attended from the comfort of home and office, respectively. No travel time that day. (No travel time billed to the HOA.) I informed Judge Coble that I was ready for trial. One of the HOA's attorneys asked Judge Coble for a continuance. The reason? They needed more time for preparation; for example, depositions. The judge gave them up to 60 days before I could get words out of my mouth to say they'd had eight months to get ready, and they were the ones who asked, on July 29th, for the Roster Meeting. Why did they ask for it, if they weren't ready? The Judge said he "noted" my objection. ...

Are there Voting Members who are siding with Danny Trapp over the lawsuit that the HOA filed against Gus Philpott (me)? How many of those Voting Members have read Art. XIII, §10  Litigation in the CC&Rs? After reading it, do they still side with Danny? What if they refuse to read it? Would that be immediate grounds for their neighbors to remove them as Voting Members and elect a replacement who will follow the CC&Rs and the By-Laws and who will not tolerate violations of the CC&Rs and the By-Laws? Voting Members are the legal representatives of the homeowners in their neighborhoods. They must uphold the CC&Rs and the By-Laws. They really don't have a choice. If they won't uphold the CC&Rs and the By-Laws (and the PRM), they should resign. If they don't resign, the homeowners should replace them. Some neighborhoods list only a "Voting Member" and no Alternates; ex., Hunters Pond - Danny's neighborhood. Where is its three-member Neighborhood...

The law firm of Turner Padget is supposed to be representing The Summit Community Association, Inc. Not Danny Trapp. Not the Board of Directors. The law firm was engaged to represent  The Association  and its 2,480 Members! Is there any reason that the Voting Members cannot get legal advice from Turner Padget? To keep costs low, one VM should be the spokesman for the VMs, ask the questions, and share the lawyers' answers with all the VMs. They might decide whether (or not) they want to get advice from the attorneys at Turner Padget who are handling the lawsuit against Gus Philpott (me).  Were those attorneys ignorant of Art. XIII, §10  Litigation  in the CC&Rs, or did they choose to disregard that Section of the CC&Rs? I can imagine the first but not the second. They know about that Section now. Are they continuing to ignore or disregard it? Why don't they tell Danny that the HOA cannot continue the lawsuit and  must  dismiss it? The HOA needs ...