Barony Place I/Barony Place II

In the May 27, 2026 office email to the HOA community, the first error occurred in the second paragraph, where it read, " The Neighborhood Representative will be following the attached annual meeting instructions. If you are interested in serving as a volunteer, please contact management or submit your name directly to your Neighborhood Representative." A "Neighborhood Representative" is a person who was elected by his/her neighborhood. At this time there is only one legitimate, duly-elected Voting Member (or Neighborhood Representative), and that's in Barony Place. Other Neighborhoods are starting to organize Neighborhood Meetings, but there have been no reports so far of Meetings or neighborhood elections. The other "Voting Members" listed by the HOA are "recognized" by the Board, but they are not legitimate Voting Members or Neighborhood Representatives. It is the Neighborhood that will be following the suggested instructions from the Bo...

When Summit HOA resident Michele Rattray filed her legal action in Pontiac Court against Brenda Bryant, Jeff Lummel, Linda Potter, and Angelo Turley-Moore (which mirrored Vernell Butler's legal action against the same four), why didn't she file against the people who actually set up and ran the 2025 election of directors of the HOA? Those people were Danny Trapp and the Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee was composed of then-Board Vice-President Tanisha Holmes (Rattray's neighbor in Whitney Falls), Carmen Cloud (Danny Trapp's neighbor), Maribeth Edwards, and Stan Haines). The Nominating Committee had shortly before the November 2025 election been purged of long-time members (Michael Bryant, Jeff Lummel, James Glenn, and Kristie O'Brian). I don't recall that the formation of the new Nominating Committee was voted on at a public Board Meeting, but it might have been. When the Nominating Committee reviewed applications for Board positions, it did not ap...

The litigation filed by Vernell Butler and Michele Rattray (separate actions) did have some merit. Had it been properly filed, it might have been successful, rather than being dismissed this morning in the Blythewood Magistrate Court. What was wrong with it? The Plaintiffs tried to save money by filing  pro se ; i.e., on their own without an attorney. Their claims were vague and insufficient. They filed in the wrong courts (Dentsville, Blythewood, and Pontiac Magistrate Courts), and the consolidated case was in the wrong Court. A Magistrate does not resolve the claims that were made. The case probably should have been in Richland County Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Common Pleas. When the HOA sued me, I continually brought up at hearings that there were no legitimate, duly-elected Voting Members (except Barony Place); no legitimate Board of Directors; no legitimate officers. Two Circuit Court judges tolerated my  comments, which an attorney probably would never have gotten ...

Did you read the May 27, 2026 email from the office about Neighborhood Meetings? Did you open all three attachments? They are worth printing and reading carefully. Unfortunately, parts of that communication are wrong, starting with the first sentence in the email. " Your Neighborhood Representative will be holding an annual meeting to conduct an election for the Neighborhood Representative and Alternate. " Why is this wrong? Because 27 Neighborhoods (out of 28) do not have legitimate, duly-elected  Neighborhood Representatives! There is no one to hold that meeting! It's the Neighborhood that holds the annual (neighborhood) meeting, not the Neighborhood Representative.  And the election is not for the "Neighborhood Representative and Alternate." The election is of the (local) Neighborhood Committee, which consists of three homeowners from that neighborhood. One neighborhood has already held its Annual Neighborhood Meeting. Barony Place held its Meeting on May 2,...

In separate hearings this morning in the Blythewood Magistrate  Court, Vernell Butler and Michele Rattray lost their legal actions against four residents in The Summit - residents who happen to be Directors of The Summit's HOA. Butler and Rattray were both pro se and filed against the four residents as individuals, not as Board Members or officers. The sentence, " a man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client" i s often, and possibly mistakenly,  attributed to A braham Lincoln. Butler lives in a Summit Hills neighborhood (the online map doesn't clearly indicate which one), and Rattray lives in Whitney Falls.  Several times I had to look closely at Butler to see if he ever took a breath between long, convoluted sentences connected with "so".  Butler complained about "rules" not being followed. Why didn't he raise his issues when he was a Board member for three years (Dec. 2020 - Nov. 2023). Rattray went on and on about there being no neig...

The monthly Financial Operating Results of the HOA have not been published on the HOA's website since August 2025.  Why not? The Financial Operating Results have not been published on the website for September 2025 October 2025 November 2025 December 2025 January 2026 February 2026 March 2026 The Results for April 2026 should be posted on the website early in June 2026 but won't be. There is no Board Meeting on June 2 (thanks to a bad decision by the Board to go into hiding every other month). If you have gone to monthly Board Meetings (at least, when they were monthly), you may have obtained a copy there - if you got there early enough, before they ran out. Why hasn't the Board Treasurer ever explained why they are not being published on the website? The August 2025 Results were published when CAMS was still the Property Manager. Doesn't Town & Country have personnel who know how to publish them on the HOA's website? Who is the roadblock on publication? The Pro...

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.