Barony Place I/Barony Place II

The February 3, 2026 Minutes have finally been published online. A serious error exists in those Minutes. The Minutes include the following "report": Neighborhood Committee Report  The Neighborhood Committee met in January but did not have a quorum and therefore could not vote on a new chair. It was noted that the Neighborhood Committee consists of all voting members and serves as a forum for residents to raise concerns and discuss community matters.  The Board apparently does not understand how the Neighborhood Committee is to function. On the HOA's website the following Mission of the Neighborhood Committee has been published for years: Mission: Responsible for helping each community in the Summit to locate and elect a local neighborhood committee that will represent their community at SCA board meetings and thereby allow their Voting member to vote on vital issues that affect the Summit and their local neighborhood. The Neighborhood Committee will assist and advise loc...

This should worry you. The HOA, through its Neighborhood Committee (of the HOA), should be assisting Neighborhoods to hold Neighborhood Meetings and to elect Neighborhood Committees, which then elect a chairman who is the Voting Member. The Neighborhood is in charge, not the HOA! That isn't what the lengthy email from the Board of Directors said (5/18/26 4:44PM). If you didn't get that email, contact me and I'll forward a copy. There are errors in the email. The biggest one is that no one signed it. It is from "The Summit Board of Directors." Did they meet and did the majority approve that email? Or did one (or more) Director(s) write it and send it out? A Neighborhood Committee isn't "up to three" members. The Neighborhood Committee, elected at an official, bonafide Neighborhood Meetings, is three members. To my knowledge, the HOA had no legitimate Voting Members before May 2024. After the Barony Place Neighborhood Meeting in May 2024, the HOA had ...

When you read the following in the May 2026 Summit Scoop, please recognize that it is wrong. Did you know?  "Please remember that recreational vehicles, trailers, and boats should not be stored in driveways or on the street unless otherwise permitted by the Association guidelines. Proper parking and storage help maintain the appearance of our neighborhood and keep roadways clear." Why? The CC&Rs state that you cannot park RVs, trailers, or boats in your driveways. There are no "guidelines" for such parking. The Board has no authority to permit a violation of the CC&Rs. On the street? The Board has no authority over parking of any vehicle or trailer or boat on the County-owned streets.  The Board cannot grant you permission to park RVs, boats or trailers on the streets. County ordinances and State laws apply. The CC&Rs and the By-Laws do not. One of these days the Board is finally going to wake up and admit it has no authority over parking on the County-o...

In the May 2026 Summit Scoop, as part of the President's Report, is a statement that "the upcoming referendum will include additional items that many homeowners have expressed interest in, including a proposed increase to the maximum allowable shed size..." Sheds trash up neighborhoods. Larger sheds will trash them up even more. A better idea is to tell homeowners to clean out their garages and get rid of all that junk they've been hanging onto. In most neighborhoods two cars are supposed to fit in the garage. The failure of the CAMS Property Manager to file the last Referendum on time was inexcusable. What was the reason? The necessary Amendments to the CC&Rs and the By-Laws cannot be addressed by the HOA at this time, because there are far too few legitimate, duly-elected Voting Members to approve them. The HOA should stop wasting its money until the (HOA's) Neighborhood Committee gets to work and assists neighborhoods to elect legitimate Voting Members!

... the remnants of "Team Danny" wrest control of the Board from those who were elected in November 2025? They have already been successful in removing Jeff Lummel from his position as Board Vice President. Jeff continues to be a Board Member. Jeff's voice and experience were an important part of the "leadership team" of the HOA. That "team" is the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Jeff's voice was a quiet voice of solid experience. Jeff is a long-time resident and very active volunteer. Jeff contributed major amounts of time over past years - time that the HOA should have paid hired workers to perform. The Board has never explained why or how his removal occurred. Why was responsible for that? A Special Board Meeting was held on April 6. The Board has never published the Minutes of that Special Meeting. The Minutes of the March 3, 2026 board meeting also have never been published on the HOA's website. Why haven't the Vot...

The Richland County Sheriff's Department Community Action Team (CAT) Officer is Master Deputy Tyonna Gillespie. Her contact information should be removed from The Summit Scoop. Deputy Gillespie is not the personal law-enforcement officer for The Summit (HOA). She is assigned to a large territory of Richland County. She does not work 24/7. And she doesn't get cats out of trees. If you call her directly, you interrupt her work. If she is not on duty, she will not respond to your message or return your call until she returns to duty, and then only if time permits. You might think help is on the way; it is not. If you need a deputy, call 9-1-1 (emergencies) or the non-emergency number published in The Summit Scoop. Incidentally, her last name is not spelled "Gillepsie", as shown in The Scoop. I notified the office back in January of the spelling error. But you know how busy they are in the office. They'll get around to it one of these days... Maybe.

In 2024 the HOA took money ($126,351.61) from a Reserve Account CD and purchased an Annuity. The Board has never disclosed this to Members and discussed it at a Regular Board Meeting. Who is the Annuitant? The name of this person (believed to be a current board member) has never been disclosed. Many annuities have purchase charges (commissions) and surrender charges. The value of the annuity is reported in the Financial Operating Results at its original purchase price. That is not the actual net cash value of the annuity. When the 2024 Annual Audit was finally released, the Auditor reported the value of the annuity on December 31, 2024 as $121, 440 (a loss of $4,912). The PRM (Art. III, §C, ¶9) reads, Investment and CD Procedures: The initiation of securing CDs must follow the procedure outlines below. a. The signature cards should contain 2 names from the Property Management firm (South Community Services) and 2 names from the Summit Community Association,  the President and the ...

At the May 5, 2026 the Board President, Brenda Bryant, announced a new Collection Policy of the HOA. WHAT IS IT? No details were given. WHEN WAS IT ADOPTED? No details were given.  The last Regular Board Meeting was March 3, 2026, so it was sometime between March 3 and May 5. This means it was done in a private, closed, secret, off-schedule board meeting (or board action, if the vote was by email). No Minutes were published! Is this how Members want important business of the HOA conducted? Why would the Board adopt a new Collection Policy? There are 564,833 reasons. The Balance Sheet of the March 31, 2026 Financial Operating Results was distributed at the May 5th Board Meeting. Accounts Receivable (Line 1205) reveals that $564,833.57 is owed to the Association.  My guess is that the bulk of that is unpaid dues. For years the monthly Financial Operating Results carried this message, " Collection activity is being conducted in accordance with Association policy. " For years I s...

Was it a shock to anyone else at the May 5, 2026 Board Meeting that the HOA has never conducted a formal Reserve Study? Do you know what a Reserve Study is? A formal Reserve Study analyzes the adequacy of Reserves. In other words, does the HOA have sufficient money set aside to meet future needs? In 2020 the Approved Budget included $163,965 for Reserves. Did that money actually make it into the Reserve Accounts? In the following years, the Budgets included smaller contributions to Reserves. 2021, $146,155 2022, $91,610 2023, $39,677 2024, $0 2025, $3,000 2026, $91,081* Did your dues go down? They certainly did not. The HOA collected your money and spent it on Operations. That was a bright-red flag that no Board President or Board Treasurer (or any Board member or your Property Management Company) told you about! Reserve Account balances have dropped. The Board should be worried about the cost of repairs to the Indigo dam. And other major repairs. What is likely to happen? Will there ...

In view of the Board's announcement on March 3, 2026 that it would meet bi-monthly and in view of decisions announced that were made between March 3 and May 5, should there be more transparency with the Members? The Board has obviously held meetings and made decisions in person or by email during the past two months.  No Board meetings (Regular or Special) were announced. No workshops were announced. No meetings with committees (ex. ad hoc Committee on Governing Documents (April 22)) were announced. The meeting with Voting Members on April 23 was not announced. When too much business is done behind closed doors, that does not bode well for the Members. The May 2026 online Calendar is still blank. Not even the May 5th Board Meeting is on it. Where and when are the Committee meetings? Homeowners, your voice has been silenced by the absence of legitimate, duly-elected Voting Members. Hold your Neighborhood Meeting. Elect your Neighborhood Committee. Elect your Voting Member. This is ...

During the Property Manager's Report at the May 5, 2026 Board Meeting, Julie mentioned "parking on the streets" at least three times. It was when she was talking about violation notices.  For five-six years I have claimed that the HOA has no authority whatsoever over parking in the streets. The streets are owned by Richland County. The CC&Rs apply to Common Property of the HOA. The publicly-owned streets are not part of the Common Property. When I asked Justin Martin, then-Board President, what section of the Governing Documents applied to street parking, he told me that he didn't have to prove anything to me. That response was one of the issues that resulted in this blog. In November 2024 William Hill, then-chairman of the HOA's Safety Committee, emailed me, "We are not allowed to park in the streets." I emailed him twice, asking what section of the Governing Documents prohibited parking on the streets. I know Hill has been busy, but he hasn't r...

During Tuesday night's Board Meeting (5/5/2026) a statement was made about an upcoming Referendum.  This Referendum will include the issues addressed in a Referendum that the previous Property Management company (CAMS) failed to record with Richland County, thus invalidating that Referendum and wasting the HOA's money and time. The new issues are not yet determined.  Who was the Board Secretary at that time? Wasn't it his responsibility to see that the Referendum was filed? The Board President, Brenda Bryant, stated that 75% of the homeowners must approve a Referendum. Did she mean that a Referendum effects a change in the CC&Rs? A ccording to the CC&Rs, Amendments to the Governing Documents must be approved by Voting Members representing 75% of the property owners. There are 2,480 property owners. See the CC&Rs, Art. XIII. §2, ¶2, which reads in part,  "Thereafter and otherwise, this Declaration may be amended only by the affirmative vote or written con...

Last night's BOD meeting was better, but any gain faded toward the end of the meeting. Rules for the meeting were announced. Then they weren't followed.  Follow Robert's Rules of Order When the Minutes were to be approved, it appeared that Director Tanisha Holmes had a question or objection. The Board President said her issue was tabled. Then the Board voted to approve the Minutes. What was her issue? The Board President never returned to Holmes' issue. The vote to approve the Minutes should have been delayed, pending resolution of Holmes' issue. Yet no one called a Point-of-Order. (So much for Robert's Rules of Order .) Mention that the audience will not ask questions during the committee reports. Questions can be asked during public participation. New Collection Policy A new Collection Policy was announced. It's about time. Accounts Receivable, as of 3/31/2026, are $564,833.57! What is the "new" policy and where can it be read? Nominating Committ...

Why is the HOA's online Calendar for May completely blank? The monthly Board Meeting now happens every other month. Not even tomorrow night's Board Meeting is on the calendar, and no email has been distributed about the meeting.  There is a pre-board meeting one week before the Regular Board Meeting. There are many Special Board Meetings that should be on the Calendar. Many committees meet monthly (Activities, Finance, Landscape, Modifications, Contracts (well, maybe not every month). Their meetings should be on the Calendar. The Nominating Committee should be meeting (except the Board has not yet appointed a chairperson or approved any members on that committee). The (HOA's) Neighborhood Committee should be meeting every month and helping 27 neighborhoods to comply with the By-Laws in their election of a legitimate, duly-elected Voting Member. There is no chairman and there are no members! It would be such a simple thing to appoint a computer-savvy Member or Resident to ma...

Be sure to read (and save) today's email from the office about Voting Members. It appears over the name of the Board President. You should have it in your inbox. On the one hand, it appears that the Board is finally waking up the the fact that there aren't any legitimate Voting Members (except the one from Barony Place). However, it is NOT the Board's role to drum up Voting Members. The second sentence in the email reads, " The Summit Community Association is looking for volunteers to serve as Neighborhood Voting Members.   " This is wrong! For too long the Board has solicited interest in becoming a Voting Member and has directed those to contact the office. What were they told when they did? Were they told to "get signatures" to become a Voting Members? Many did. The problem is they did not become legitimate, duly-elected Voting Members, in compliance with the By-Laws. Yet the Boards "recognized" them as Voting Members. Past Boards and this B...

According to the Public Index of court cases, the separate cases of Vernell Butler and Michele Rattray against four individuals, who also happen to be  directors of the HOA, have been re-scheduled. The cases were to be heard tomorrow, May 5th, at 9:00AM in the Blythewood Magistrate Court. That's off. Now they will be heard on May 28th at 9:00AM. The Public Index does not provide a reason for the change. It should be a fun day in court, if that day ever arrives. The four defendants have a skilled, high-powered attorney. The plaintiffs (Butler and Rattray) are going into court pro se . Each case was filed against individuals, not against officers or directors of the HOA. The HOA is not a defendant. Yet the case is about a HOA matter. I wonder if the Magistrate will be scratching her head, trying to figure out exactly what is going on.

The Board of Directors of The Summit's HOA is supposed to be acting in the best interests of the Association; i.e., 2, 480 Members of the Association. Town & Country, the Property Management Company, works for the Association , not for the Board of Directors or for any of the directors. Is it telling the Board about the Association's problems and what they need to do to correct the problems? The directors are supposed to set aside personal agendas and petty differences. Instead, they are acting like Members of Congress - taking stands that are not supported by the CC&Rs, the By-Laws, and the published Guides of the Association. What does this cost the HOA? They aren't taking care of business. Example: $445,336 "vanished" between 1/31/25 and 1/13/26. To verify this, compare the Cash & Cash Equivalents on those two dates. What happened to almost half-a-million Dollars??? The HOA does not have a legitimate, duly-elected Board of Directors or any legitima...

The Board of Directors is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, May 5th, at 6:30PM at the North Springs Park Community Center. You wouldn't know it, though, as the HOA's May 2026 online Calendar is entirely blank, there has been no emailed announcement of the meeting, the Board went to bi-monthly meetings effective March 3rd, and the only mention of May 5th meeting is in the March and April Summit Scoops. (Who reads those?) At the May 5th Board Meeting will the Board explain how it was in the best interests of the Association to remove Jeff Lummel as Vice-President and replace him with Noel Weatherbee? whether there is a plot to remove Brenda Bryant as President and Linda Potter as Treasurer? what the status is of the court litigation against four directors that was started in the separate cases filed by Vernell Butler and Michele Rattray? what the Board is doing to reduce or eliminate the friction between Board members that is disrupting the business affairs of the Association? why th...

For the third straight year Barony Place held a legitimate Neighborhood Meeting. There are 78 homes, meaning that a quorum is 26. Thirty-three (33) homes were represented in-person or by proxy. The homeowners elected a three-person Neighborhood Committee: Tracy Manderino, George Ellis, and Della Glynn. Then the Neighborhood Committee elected Tracy as the chairperson and Voting Member. Barony Place continues to be the only neighborhood out of 28 that has a legitimate, duly-elected Voting Member. Tracy, George, and Della will serve for 12 months as your neighborhood representatives.

When the Board of Directors of The Summit's HOA meets, there should be no secrets. The Board should be transparent with the Members about what it's cooking up. It should work within the CC&Rs and the By-Laws. The Board was involved in two off-schedule last week - April 22, 2026 and April 23, 2026. What was discussed? Minutes should be written for ALL Board meetings (pre-board, Special-Called, and Regular Meetings). They should be published within one week of the meeting on the HOA's website. The Board has yet to publish the Minutes of the March 3, 2026 Regular Board Meeting. That's the one where the Board President announced that Board Meetings would thereafter be bi-monthly. When did they decide that? Was there a vote? Why didn't they think to ask the Members (homeowners) what they thought? The HOA has held monthly board meetings for many years. Why change that? Minutes should also be written and promptly published for ALL Committee meetings. Since they aren...

Why would a board member wait nearly 12 months to challenge the legitimacy of the Barony Place Voting Member? If you have been reading this blog, you know that I have written that Barony Place has the ONLY legitimate, duly-elected Voting Member - elected in compliance with the By-Laws of the HOA. Why would a board member claim that some (all?) of the proxies at the 2025 Barony Place Neighborhood Meeting were fraudulent? In 2024 I solicited enough proxies that a quorum of homeowners was present at the Barony Place Neighborhood Meeting. In 2025 others and I solicited enough proxies for a quorum. I was not the named Proxy on many of them; some homeowners named a neighbor who attended the Meeting.  The proxies naming me as Proxy were used only to satisfy the requirement of enough homeowners  present to conduct the Meeting. I did not vote them during the election of the Neighborhood Committee. I believed that those present in person should select the three homeowners they wanted t...

Just how bad could the financial condition of the HOA be? The Board of Directors has failed to publish the monthly Financial Operating Results on the HOA's website since August 2025. The Results have not been posted for September 2025, October 2025, November 2025, December 2025, January 2026, and February 2026.  The March 2026 Results should be available at the May 5, 2026 Board Meeting. You can get a copy there, if you arrive early enough. They should have been posted by then on the website, so you would have time to study them and ask questions. Is the Board hiding adverse financial information by not posting them on the HOA's website in a timely manner? If the Board offers an explanation for its failure to post Results, I shall be happy to publish it here.

Your Board of Directors held two meetings last week, and you should inspect (read) the Minutes of both meetings.  The By-Laws give you the right to inspect and copy those Minutes. (Art. VI, §4(a)) On Wednesday, April 22, 2026, the Board met with the ad hoc committee on Governing Documents. On Thursday, April 23, 2026, the Board met with some of the Voting Members. There should be Minutes of both Meetings. The By-Laws (Art. VI, §4(a)) give you (a homeowner/Member of the Association) the right to inspect Minutes of all meetings of the Board and of committees. Why should you do this? A director on the Board is challenging the legitimacy of the 2025 Barony Place Neighborhood Meeting. Barony Place has the only legitimate, duly-elected Voting Member , because our neighborhood complied with the By-Laws. None of the other 27 neighborhoods in the HOA has a legitimate, duly-elected Voting Member. Why is the Board meeting in private with that committee ( which may not even be a legitimate co...

What is your Board of Directors up to? On Wednesday night. April 22, 2026, the Board met with ad hoc committee that is reviewing the Governing Documents.  First of all, there isn't even a legitimate, duly-appointed " ad hoc committee". It's my recollection that Danny Trapp formed it. It was never voted on or approved by the Board of Directors. I believe there is nothing in the Minutes of any Regular Board Meeting about it. No members or chairman were ever mentioned. Therefore, it is not a legitimate committee. My recollection is that the Covenants Committees spent years reviewing the Governing Documents. They were presented twice to the Board. In November 2023 the new board, in response to a question, said that the previous board had not turned over the recommendations for amendments to the new Board. No one asked why not or apparently made any effort to obtain them! My recollection is that Danny Trapp created the ad hoc Committee and said that, after the Board re...

Did you like the "Everybody Be Nice" message from the Board of Directors on April 22? Why didn't somebody from the "Board of Directors" sign her name to it? The email from the office led off with, " After several incidents that have recently occurred,  ..." No examples of "several incidents" were given. That would have been informative. What were they? Who participated? Where did they happen? When did they happen? Did they happen? How many of them involved board members?  Is there a grievance system when the problem is caused by a member of the Board? How do you get a hearing with the Board? The last board meeting was mostly calm and polite. So what did the Board do? It announced that meetings would be bi-monthly. What does a homeowner or resident do, when the office does not response to emails? Emails are great for a paper-trail. My experience is that the trail leads into the office and never comes back out. Did you notice that "Residen...

Who can contact the HOA's lawyer, ask questions, complain, get answers - at HOA expense? Only one board member should be permitted to contact the HOA's lawyer at HOA expense , and that person is the Board President! If anyone else contacts the HOA's lawyer, it should be at that person's personal expense. For example, if the Board Vice-President, Secretary, or Treasurer, or any of the other three directors, contacts the lawyer, they pay for it. They should not run up the HOA's legal bill with their questions. What they should do is ask the Board President to get a legal opinion on a specified topic. Then the President might either do that or ask the full Board if they want her to get a legal opinion - at the HOA's expense. An organization, any organization, cannot afford to have all its directors calling the organization's lawyer and asking questions. A small town in Illinois ran up a huge legal bill with the contracted Town Attorney, after many members of ...

How many of this month's 36 articles (so far) have you read? To find past articles, there are two ways: 1. Click on MORE POSTS at the bottom center of each page of article summaries; or 2. Click on Archive in the left side-bar below my profile. Happy reading. Please forward articles to neighbors, friends, and other Summit residents by clicking on the SHARE icon at the top right and lower-left of each post.

The HOA's April 2026 online Calendar is still completely blank . If there are no meetings of the Board or of any committees, is the HOA out-of-business? Is the Board holding any meetings? Workshops? Special-Called Meetings? Pre-board meeting (April 28)? Did the Activities Committee meet? The Finance Committee? The Modifications Committee? The Covenants Committee? Will the Safety Committee meet? Is a Board Member or Town & Country responsible for maintaining the online Calendar?

Who is liable for the failure of the HOA to post the Minutes of the March 3, 2026 Regular Board of Directors Meeting? post the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Board of Directors on April 6, 2026? post the Financial Operating Results for  September 2025? October 2025? November 2025? December 2025?  January 2026? February 2026? post the 2026 Approved Budget? post the Minutes of the Annual Meeting of Voting Members on November 18, 2025, at which four directors were "elected"? Is the Board President liable? The Board Vice-President? The Board Secretary? The Board Treasurer? Town & Country Management Company? Who can hold the responsible persons/officers liable? The Voting Members!  This is why it is so important to have 28 legitimate, duly-elected Voting Members, not just one .

What's cooking with the cases filed by Vernell Butler and Michele Rattray against four residents of The Summit's HOA, who also happen to be the board members elected on November 18, 2025. Rattray's case (2026CV4010900304) is virtually identical to Butler's case (2025CV4010405381).  The four residents are Brenda Bryant, Thomas (Jeff) Lummel, Linda Potter, and Angelo Turley-Moore. Butler and Rattray filed their cases pro se . This means they did not have their own lawyers file the cases. The four residents, who are listed in the litigations as individuals, are represented by an attorney for the insurance company of the HOA. They have a first-class attorney who will give them a strong and proper defense. The Defendants' attorney filed a motion to move Rattray's case from the Pontiac Magistrate Court to the Blythewood Magistrate Court. The cases will now both be heard in the Blythewood Magistrate Court on May 5, 2026 at 9:00AM. Butler and Rattray, in their separate ...

I am on the e-mail list of the HOAleaders.com organization and regularly receive information that the Board members of The Summit's HOA should be reading. An upcoming webinar on May 14th is titled: " HOA Board Members and Fiduciary Duties: What You Must Know to Fulfill Your Duty to Your Association and Protect Yourself from Personal Liability" I have written numerous posts about fiduciary responsibility and the potential of exposing themselves to personal liability because of how boards of this HOA operate. The May 14th webinar will cover: The legal definition of a fiduciary—and the real-life risks you face if you're found to have breached your fiduciary duties The specific responsibilities you carry because of your fiduciary duties, including: What it means to act in a "representative capacity" Understanding the "business judgment rule" How to meet confidentiality requirements Tips to help you understand potential conflicts of interest and how th...

How can The Summit's HOA and the Board of Directors avoid being sued? It's really simple. Comply with the CC&Rs, By-Laws, and the published Guides, such as the PRM. Act like you really are one of the homeowners. Be friendly and courteous. Be transparent. Stop doing business in secret. Publish reports (Minutes, financial statements, etc.) on time. Stop recognizing "Voting Members" who were not duly-elected by their neighborhoods. Set up a section on the website for Q&A. When a Member or a resident submits a question, post it and answer it. Many others probably have the same questions. Set up a maintenance and/or project log on the website.  How long are those street lights on the Parkway going to be out? How many more weeks will pass before that light pole (by the hole and the traffic cone) on the Parkway between Timber Crest Drive and Autumn Glen Road is finally re-installed? Running a HOA is not rocket-science. But it's not an after-school club, either. ...

Should Members (homeowners) sue the HOA and the Board of Directors? Why would they do that? The current Board and past Boards have allowed homeowners to be recognized as "Voting Members" who have not been duly-elected by their neighborhoods. If a neighborhood doesn't have a duly-elected Voting Member, that neighborhood is not represented in the HOA. More than ninety-six percent (96.9%) of homeowners (Members) are NOT represented by duly-elected Voting Members. Four neighborhoods (20.9% (518/2480) of the HOA) have no Voting Member at all, legitimate or "recognized". The current Board has never staffed the (HOA's) Neighborhood Committee, the Mission of which is to assist neighborhoods in holding Neighborhood Meeting and elected Neighborhood Committees, which then elect their Voting Member. HOA committees have spent months (over the past four years) talking about amending the CC&Rs and the By-Laws. Without duly-elected Voting Members, neither can be amen...