Barony Place I/Barony Place II

The Board should explain why the Amendments failed by answering these questions. What was the procedure for approving Amendments, according to the CC&Rs ant the By/Laws? Why wasn’t that process followed? Who drew up the Proposed Amendments? Who were the Directors who voted to present them? Which directors voted against presenting them? Were those votes taken at Regular or Special Board Meetings? Or at private, closed. “secret”, non-reported board meetings such as workshops or pre-board meetings? Why didn’t the Board explain clearly how many of the Voting Members were needed to approve? Why did the Board mislead the Members when it asked them to approve the Amendments? (Members don’t approve Amendments; Voting Members do.) Why did the Board proceed, when there were never enough legitimate Voting Members to approve the Amendments? Did the Boatd spend any money on legal fees pertaining to those Amendments? How much?

The Board of Directors has announced that ALL the proposed Amendments failed. As they should have. This failure should be considered a Vote of No Confidence in the four who are controlling the Board. Those four are Holmes, Hill, Weatherbee, and Turley/Moore.

There should be an election of three directors in November 2026. The terms of Tanisha Holmes, William Hill, and Noel Weatherbee expire.  There may not even be a legitimate election, unless additional Voting Members are quickly elected by their neighborhoods. The Board has never put the (HOA's) Neighborhood Committee to work to assist neighborhoods in holding Annual Neighborhood Meetings. Why is the Board interfering with the election? How is the Board interfering? The Board did not appoint a Chairman of the Nominating Committee when officers were elected following the 2025 election. Only recently was Board Secretary Angelo Turley-Moore placed as Chairman. Was he nominated by then Board President Brenda Bryant and approved by the Board? Was that recorded in published Board Minutes? No members of the Nominating Committee have ever been named or approved. See the September 2026 Summit Scoop. It is the Nominating Committee that is supposed to find good candidates for election, which in...

Yesterday I received this comment through the Message function on my blog: " I see you don't mind posting misinformation. I wonder where you get your facts from."  An email address was shown, but no Sender's name was included. Today I sent this reply: " Thank you for your message about a post on my blog, baronyplace.blogspot.com "I appreciate your writing. Will you please let me know what you consider "misinformation"? Upon information and belief, everything I post is true. Are you addressing any particular post? If so, which one? "Please let me know what needs correction and what the correct information is, along with your source. I will be happy to re-check my post. If it was in error, I shall correct it.  "It will also be helpful to me if you will identify yourself. I do not post information on my blog from anonymous sources, nor do I reveal sources of information without their permission. "Thanks again for your comment." By...

I've been told that a RCSD deputy attended the September Board of Directors meeting. Normally, at least one is there to give a report to the Board and answer questions from the audience. Then that deputy (the CAT office) leaves.  It's my understanding that a deputy was hired, perhaps at $65/hour, to attend the meeting. Why? Did Noel Weatherbee, the new "president of the board" (who may have usurped the office through an improper procedure that is not allowed in the Governing Documents) might have ordered the service from RCSD. To my knowledge, the Board never entered into a new Special-Duty Agreement with RCSD. That would have required a contract and Board approval. None has been reported in published Minutes of any recent Board Meeting. Why would she do that? It is common knowledge that she doesn't like Mike Bryant. Is she "afraid" of Mike? Why? Because he doesn't agree with her? Has he ever threatened her? I suspect not. Popular language of the Far...

The Board just removed a long-time HOA resident and Member from all committees of the HOA. An email from the Board Secretary, Angelo Turley-Moore informed the Member that he has been removed from all committees. No reason was given. Recently the Board majority (Tanisha Holmes, William Hill, Noel Weatherbee, and Angelo Turley-Moore (all black)) reportedly voted to remove Brenda Bryant (white) as Board President. Weatherbee succeeded Brenda as Board President. It also removed Linda Potter (white) as Board Treasurer and replaced her with Tanisha Holmes. Earlier in the year the Board majority removed Jeff Lummel (white) as Board Vice-President and replaced him with Weatherbee. On Thursday the letter from the Board Secretary informed the Member, Mike Bryant (white), that the Board had removed him from all committees.  Why would the black majority on the Board be making these changes? How are those changes in the best interests of the Association? Boards have the authority to make such c...

The HOA will try to hold an election of three directions in less that 60 days. Why is there no Nominating Committee? One director, Angelo Turley-Moore, is apparently the chairman of the Nominating Committee? There are no members of this Committee. Was he even properly appointed? Did the Board vote to approve him as Chairman? Angelo seems to have aligned himself with William Hill, Tanisha Holmes, and Noel Weatherbee. These four are responsible for removing Jeff Lummel as Vice-President of the Board and for removing Brenda Bryant as Board President. And they did so at a "secret" workshop/pre-board meeting, not at a Regular or Special Board Meeting open to Members.  Hill, Holmes, and Weatherbee should not be elected by Voting Members in November. The Nominating Committee, chaired by Tanisha Holmes for the 2025 election, did a lousy job. They put forward several nominees who were soundly rejected by the Voting Members. They failed to nominate three solid homeowners, whom the Voti...

Homeowners, do you know who represents you in the HOA? It is not the Board of Directors. The Voting Member of your neighborhood is your legal representative, according to the Governing Documents of the HOA. For Barony Place (I and II), this is Tracy Manderino. Too many of the 28 neighborhoods are not represented, at all. The September 2026 Summit Scoop names the Voting Members of only ten (10) neighborhoods. This means that 18 neighborhoods have no representation. This is an injustice that has existed for many years. It was not until earlier this year that the current board began an effort to increase the number of legitimate Voting Member above one (Barony Place), about which I have been complaining for 4-5 years. If you live in one of the 10 neighborhoods with a Voting Member, urge your representative to correct this situation. The Board wants to take power away from the Voting Members. Do not allow this. The Board wants to change the Governing Documents. Do not allow this. The Votin...

Who ran last night's Board Meeting? Brenda Bryant, the legitimate Board President? Or Noel Weatherbee, the wannabe Board President? Did the Board explain what happened at last week's pre-board meeting ("workshop")? Did the Board explain that it is not supposed to take any actions (votes) at pre-board meetings?  Did the Board announce which four directors voted to oust Brenda? See Page 1 in the September 2026 Summit Scoop. Did the Board announce the name of the CPA who was retained to conduct the 2025 Annual Audit (which was due on 8/31/26)? Has one been retained? Why hasn't the Board ever commented on the cause of the $445,000 drop in Cash & Cash Equivalents in 2025, when Danny Trapp was Board President and William Hill was Treasurer? Why isn't anyone demanding an answer? Why hasn't the Board ever announced the total cost of suing Gus Philpott (me) in Circuit Court? The lawsuit was prohibited by the CC&Rs, because the Voting Members never approved ...

You are seeing Flock cameras all over Richland County, including in The Summit. Read this about use of Flock cameras in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. This was posted on Facebook. Authenticity has not been verified. If this story is true, someone should call Sheriff Lott and ask him the same question about a heat map. "A police chief in Oshkosh, Wisconsin caught Flock lying to his city council, and killed the $8 billion surveillance company's contract less than a day after the council had approved it. Here's how it happened. The night before, Oshkosh's council was set to renew its deal with Flock Safety, the license plate camera company backed by a16z and Tiger Global. One council member asked the Flock rep a plain yes-or-no question. Does this system build a heat map of everywhere a specific car travels over time? Flock's rep said no. The council believed him and voted 5 to 2 to renew. By the next morning, Chief Dean Smith's own officers had told him that answer was fals...

The HOA will be unable to hold an election of three directors in November, if there aren't enough Voting Members to make a quorum. Since the Board has failed in its responsibility to populate a Neighborhood Committee (of the HOA) and charge them with carrying out its Mission to assist every neighborhood to elect a local Neighborhood Committee, including a Voting Member, the legitimate Voting Members should get busy right now and work with the neighborhoods that do not have a Voting Member and two Alternates. The Governing Documents require an election.  Past Boards have done an abysmal job of running the Association in compliance with the By-Laws and the CC&Rs. The financial condition of the HOA is prime proof. A professional Management Company is supposed to guide the Board.  Time is running out.

According to sources, Brenda Bryant was removed as President of the HOA last week. The Board made a decision at its pre-board meeting (workshop) to replace her with Noel Weatherbee. The Board is not supposed to make decisions at workshops. Decisions should be made only at Regular Board Meetings or Special Board Meetings. Earlier this year the same group of what I will refer to as "dissident" Directors removed Jeff Lummel as Vice President and replaced him with Noel. Apparently, she thinks she is now the President. Who is Noel Weatherbee? I sent an email to all Board Members on February, 26, 2026. Less than an hour later, I received the following response from Noel.  " I did not give permission for you to have my email address. You are hereby put on notice with this email that you are not welcome to have any further contact with me. This includes personal contact, telephone contact, mail contact, electronic contact (including but not limited to email, text messages, or so...

The next scheduled Board Meeting will be Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Every Member (homeowner) should print the attachment from last Monday's email blast from the office. Take it to the Board Meeting and demand answers. Is the HOA solvent? Has the 2025 Annual Audit been ordered? (It was due 8/31/2026.) Who is the CPA selected to conduct that Audit? When will it be delivered? Has a Reserve Study been started? What happened to $445,000 (unexplained drop in Cash & Cash Equivalents) in 2025? How many legitimate Voting Members are there? Will there be enough legitimate Voting Members to convene the Annual Meeting of Voting Members and elect three directors to replace those whose terms expire in November?w Who is on the Nominating Committee? Is the Board planning a substantial increase in Annual Assessment or a Special Assessment? (There aren't enough legitimate Voting Members to approve either.) Please forward this post to everyone you know in The Summit. Use the SHARE button a...

For years the Boards of The Summit's HOA blew smoke at the Members (homeowners) and failed to inform them of the worsening financial condition of the HOA. Too many Treasurers just said, "Everything is in good shape."  The Day of Reckoning is rapidly approaching. How can a 2027 Proposed Budget be properly prepared without the 2025 Annual Audit? Has it even been ordered yet? This Audit is due August 31, 2026 (Monday).  The Budget Sub-Committee and the Finance Committee need the 2025 Annual Audit in order to properly construct a proposed budget for 2027. The Board has never reported that it selected an Auditor. WHY NOT? One-third of the homeowners are delinquent on their dues. This means that two-thirds of the Members are carrying the deadbeats. For years I had written that there must be something wrong with the HOA's Collection Policy and its implementation. Never (until 8/24/26) has any Board told Members (homeowners) just how bad the financial situation is. And even t...

Did you go to the Town Hall Meeting in Birch Park last Saturday? Did you read carefully the summary emailed out from Board? Did you understand it? Did you feel the wool being pulled down over your eyes? For the first time (ever?) the Board is disclosing how badly the Association has been managed (by the Boards and the management companies) over many years. The billed Assessments in 2026 totaled $1,388,800 (2480 x $560). The Board estimates only $1,100,381 will be collected! That's 79.2%. Income minus Expenses equals -$47,819 . Except the real shortage is much greater. The Association was paying CAMS close to $500,000 to manage the HOA. How can management expenses be only $150,000? How much will go into Reserves? Anything? The Contribution to Reserves is REQUIRED! Outstanding Delinquent Accounts total $633,658.85. The Boards have been absolutely irresponsible toward Members in letting them reach that level. 843 homes currently have delinquent accounts! That's 34%. It is way past...

Be sure to read the article on the lower portion of Page 4 of the August 2026 Summit Scoop. This is exactly what I've been complaining about for three-four years (maybe longer)! Why is the Board only announcing this now? They may have waited too long this year to have 15 legitimate, bonafide, duly-elected Voting Members in place by November. There could be as few as six legitimate Voting Members now, because only six neighborhoods list three names (a Voting Member and two Alternates) in the listing on the same Page 4.

In just over two months the HOA must elect three directors. Usually, the following Board Meeting dates are announced in the Summit Scoop. However, the August Scoop announces only the September 1st Board Meeting.  The terms of Directors Tanisha Holmes, William Hill and Noel Weatherbee expire in November 2026. The Voting Members, if there are enough of them in November to meet the quorum requirement (15), should look closely at all three to determine whether they merit consideration for re-election.  As of the August Scoop, there does not appear to be a Nominating Committee. Angelo Turley-Moore is listed as the Chair of the Nominating Committee, but no members are named.  The Board is negligent in its duty to populate the Nominating Committee, which is to invite and choose candidates for the three open positions. The Board is also negligent in populating the (HOA's) Neighborhood Committee which, according to its website, is responsible for assisting all the neighborhoods to...

Has the Board ordered the 2025 Annual Audit yet? It is due August 31, 2026 and usually takes 2-3 months to produce. It is needed for the proper preparation of the 2027 Budget, which the Finance Committee and the Budget Sub-Committee should already be working on. If not, why not? On what date was it ordered? Why isn't the selection of the Auditor and the estimated cost reported in Board Minutes? ALL members of the Board are responsible for seeing that this extremely important document is ordered and delivered on time. Last year, the 2024 Annual Audit wasn't even ordered until October 2025. It should have been delivered to the HOA by August 31, 2025. It was delivered to the Association in February 2026 . Why didn't Danny Trapp, then-Board President, see that it was ordered and delivered on time? Who is responsible this year for the failure to order it on time? Linda Potter, Treasurer? Noel Weatherbee, Vice President? Brenda Bryant, President? ALL seven directors, collectively...

The August 2026 Summit Scoop has the name of the new RCSD CAT (Community Action Team) deputy. If you need service from RCSD, you should call the general information number or the dispatcher or 911.  I recommend NOT calling the CAT deputy. He is not the HOA's exclusive law-enforcement officer. If you call the CAT deputy and he is off-duty or not available, any service to you will be delayed. I have urged the HOA not to publish the phone number for the CAT deputy. Only one or two HOA-authorized persons should be contacting the CAT deputy.

The 2025 Annual Audit should be delivered to the Board of Directors by August 31, 2026 (only 22 days from now). It should be discussed at the September 1, 2026 public Board Meeting and posted on the website on September 2. The Audit is needed by the Budget sub-committee and the Finance Committee to prepare the Proposed 2027 Annual Budget correctly. Has an Auditor even been identified yet and contracted to conduct it? The Auditor needs information about the illegal disbursement of Association funds throughout 2025 for payment of legal fees and costs associated with the HOA's litigation against me.  The Auditor should also report on the $445,000 drop in Cash and Cash Equivalents and why the Board of Directors (under then-Board President Danny Trapp) never disclosed expenditures or voted on spending that money.

First, let me say that I like Brenda Bryant, current President of the Board of Directors. She is a nice person. Her job as President has been made very difficult by a certain element on the Board. Secondly, the President's Report in the August 2026 Summit Scoop was a waste of what could be valuable communication space in the community. I dispute that there is growing crime and violence in The Summit. The HOA discontinued publishing the monthly RCSD Crime Report several years ago. (Vernell Butler can probably be thanked for that. He  argued that publishing addresses of crime incidents constituted an invasion of privacy. It does not).  Any problem can be reduced by rigid enforcement of laws and cracking down on parents of minor children who commit criminal acts. More cameras will not solve the problem! Brenda is totally wrong about the "active framework" of Neighborhood Representatives. For many years there were no legitimate Neighborhood Representatives (including Voting M...

I've thought more about the response by the HOA to the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) in regard to my complaint to the DCA. My complaint was about the HOA's failure to provide me with its authority (specific section(s), if any, in the CC&Rs and/or By-Laws) to enforce no parking on the public streets in The Summit. The response was signed by Julie Brickley, property manager for Town & Country until September 30, 2026. However, the Board must have approved it before it was sent to the DCA and probably got a legal opinion for the wording to do the tango around my complaint and avoid a truthful answer. Even though I no longer live in The Summit and have moved out-of-state,  the Board of Directors owes me an apology and an honest answer. I don't expect to get either.  The Board of Directors never apologized for the unlawful lawsuit filed against me, either. Not only was it prohibited by the CC&Rs, it was filed illegally in the name of the Associa...

On June 12th I filed a Complaint with the S.C. Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) about street-parking enforcement by the HOA. The HOA missed the 20-day deadline to respond but, on July 27, Julie Brinkley, property manager for Town & Country, responded. In my complaint I asked the DCA to find out what Section of the Governing Documents allows the HOA to enforce parking on the publicly-owned streets in The Summit, which are not part of the Common Property. The HOA responded, over Julie's signature, as follows: "The Association is governed by the recorded Declaration and any duly adopted rules and regulations regarding parking. The Board administers and enforces the governing documents in good faith and in accordance with its authority." While what Julie wrote is true, it does not address the enforcement of so-called parking "violations" on the streets in The Summit. She answered a question that was not asked. She failed to answer the question that was asked...

Last week the office sent out this email on behalf of the Board of Directors. THE SUMMIT COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC. NOTICE OF EXTENSION OF VOTING DEADLINES FOR PROPOSED AMENDMENTS July 30, 2026 Dear Owners and Voting Members, The Board of Directors of The Summit Community Association has approved an extension of the deadlines related to the proposed amendments distributed on June 19, 2026. This extension has been granted to allow additional participation from homeowners and Voting Members. Please note that the proposed amendments, ballot questions, voting standards, and approval requirements have not changed. Only the deadlines for submitting ballots have been extended. The revised deadlines are as follows: Owner Direction Referendum due: August 31, 2026 Voting Member ballots and certifications due: September 14, 2026 No new ballot is required. Please use the ballot included in the original mailing. If you have already submitted your ballot, no further action is required. If you have ...

Why hasn't the Board of Directors published Minutes of all their Meetings since February 2026? The Board holds several different types of meetings: Regular (bi-monthly) Board Meetings, Special Meetings, workshops. They may be making decisions during telephone calls and by using email. Every one of those decisions should be reported to Members promptly and accurately. For example, they made a decision to replace Town & Country Property Management with RealManage on October 1, 2026. All the Boar, did at the board meeting on July 7 was announce the change; they did not publicly discuss the proposal from RealManage, explain the reasons for the change, or vote of the change.  It is the Association (you 2,480 Members) for which the property manager works. You deserve Information! Why doesn't the Board report its actions? Why isn't anyone asking? The won't be another public Regular Board Meeting until September, and the meeting in November is when three directors are to b...

  On July 13 I drove away from The Summit and Columbia and South Carolina and headed 2400 miles northwest to western Idaho. I had a terrific four-day drive with my dog, Callie Mae, as my co-pilot. Support any good people who run for the Board in November and get rid of the others. The HOA faces some hard financial decisions, because past Boards did not act responsibly. Vote down all those stupid proposed Amendments to the CC&Rs and By-Laws. You need much more information than you were given. Demand a return to monthly meetings. You must know what is going on. The Board is not giving you enough critical information. Hiding half the monthly board meetings and not reporting them in Minutes is totally unfair to you, the Members. I'll probably have a hard time separating from The Summit, after six years of reading the Governing Documents, Minutes, and Financials. Good luck to all.

The final Proposed Amendment being sought by the Board is Amendment 11.  First of all, aren't ALL 28 neighborhoods in the Association unincorporated? Approval of that proposed Amendment would result in an enormous increase in power and authority in the hands of the seven-member Board of Directors or, really, in the hands for four of them (the majority). Every one of the 28 Neighborhoods is supposed to have a legitimate, duly-elected Voting Member. Over the past ten-plus years Boards have ignored that requirement. They ignored the CC&Rs and the By-Laws and allowed homeowners to "get signatures" to be called a Voting Member. Boards should have appointed competent chairpersons to the (HOA) Neighborhood Committee and told them to carry out the Mission of that Committee, which is stated on the HOA's website. And Board Presidents should have monitored whether those chairmen were carrying out that order. (They weren't.) The two most-recent chairmen did absolutely no...

It's a good thing that The Summit's HOA Board Meetings are not live-streamed for the whole community to watch. Last night's meeting was a train wreck.  During the first 30 minutes there was a noisy child who interfered with the meeting. It's nice that the parent wanted to attend the meeting. The Board President should have addressed the parent at the child's first whimper.  Law Enforcement's dog-and-pony show was far too long; it was entertaining at times, but too long. Limited them to five minutes, including audience questions. Previously, the Board announced that questions from the audience would be taken during the public comment section. Then why do they allow questions during Committee reports?  A woman seated in the first row asked many questions and made many comments. The Board President should have shut her down until the public comment portion. Then during the public comment period a woman seated behind me raised questions about the annuity purchased b...

Does anyone know which Neighborhoods now have legitimate Voting Members? 1. Barony Place, May 2, 2026 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Why do you suppose they weren't identified in the July Summit Scoop? Has the listing of Voting Members been corrected on the website?  The answer to that question is No, because 24 Voting Members are named on the website's list. Four neighborhoods don't have any representation at all, legitimate or not. Only eight (8) Voting Members are legitimate, and not necessarily any or all of those named (except for Tracy Manderino of Barony Place). The Board has finally acknowledged that its scheme of allowing a homeowner to "get signatures" or just remain in office because they think they "own" it, is not valid. In the July 2026 Scoop (Page 3) some unnamed person wrote, "To date, eight neighborhoods have successfully completed the election process by forming a Neighborhood Committee and electing their Voting Member and Alternate."* ...

There is an active discussion about Amendment 10 starting on NextDoor. Be sure to weigh in. First of all, the HOA should be telling the truth to Members (homeowners). Members do not vote on the proposed Amendments. It's the Voting Members who vote on them. According to the HOA, there are now eight bonafied Voting Members. There should be 28. For years, there was none. Then there was one. Now seven more in the past month (if those Neighborhood Meetings were legitimate). On NextDoor, Renee B. re-stated Proposed Amendment 10. She didn't "explain" it. What she did do was copy and paste it into NextDoor. It is a terrible Amendment. Why should Buyers be penalized for failures of past Boards of Directors? No Buyer is going to pay that. A savvy Buyer will demand that the Seller take the hit on the $1,000. Plus that proposed amendment opens the door for increases voted by the Board! Do you want only four people (a majority on the Board) to make a decision for 2,480 Members? ...

I (Gus Philpott) am sometimes asked why I keep pounding away on the Board of Directors. The answer is simple. When that illegal lawsuit against me was dropped in January (2026), I offered to be fair with the HOA if they were fair with me. I had rejected conditions offered by the HOA. They caved, and they dismissed the lawsuit with no agreements between us. In fact, they dismissed it with prejudice, meaning they couldn't re-file it. I asked for a meeting with the Board of Directors. The Board President told me they were not going to offer a settlement. Had I asked for a settlement? No, I asked for a "meeting". Were they fair with me? No.  I happen to enjoy writing the posts on this blog. I've been studying the CC&Rs and By-Laws for more than six years. If the Boards had conducted the business of the HOA in compliance with the CC&Rs and By-Laws, they would have heard little from me and there would have been a different tone to my writings. They have earned every...

The July 2026 Summit Scoop was distributed today, July 2nd, by email from the office at 5:58PM. What's missing? The Voting Members' list. Why would that list be left out? Could it be because an accurate list would include the names of only eight (8) legitimate Voting Members? There are 28 neighborhoods,  and each should have a genuine Voting Member. Proposed Amendment 1 is designed to do away with the Voting Members. Read it carefully. Vote NO on Amendment 1. In this same July Scoop (Page 3) in place of a list of Voting Members, it states, in part, "To date, eight neighborhoods have successfully completed the election process by forming a Neighborhood Committee and electing their Voting Member and Alternate ( should read Alternates ). An additional five neighborhoods have scheduled their annual meetings to conduct elections." Unfortunately, those who publish The Summit Scoop failed to identify the seven new neighborhoods that have come into compliance (finally) with t...

On January 1, 2026 the Annual Assessment of the Association increased $50 to $560.00, payable in two installments of $280.00. Two thousand four hundred eighty (2,480) property owners were billed for a total of $694,400.  How many of them have paid? How many have NOT paid? What portion of the $694,400 has not been received by the Association? Amounts unpaid on February 1st were past-due and began incurring penalties and interest. Does the Board even know? Will the Treasurer report on July 7? How is the new Collection Policy of the Association working out? In fact, WHAT is the new Collection Policy (announced 5/5/2026)? Members deserve to be informed. It's not a secret. Assessments are a financial obligation of homeowners (Members). Assessments should be paid on-time and in full. The July 1st Assessment (second half) has been billed. What amount does the Association reasonably expect to collect? It appears that the Board never approved the 2026 Proposed Budget, which is posted on the...