President's Report - August 2026 Summit Scoop

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 Members), because the Boards of Directors disregarded the CC&Rs and the By-Laws and allowed unelected persons to "serve". Most of them did nothing for their neighborhoods.

The HOA's lawsuit against me and my statements in court probably had something to do with "this Board" deciding to pay attention to the By-Laws and to begin acting to create legitimate Voting Members.

On paper, the Neighborhood Representatives have an important role. In reality, almost all of them are only figureheads. 

Brenda wrote that "fewer than half or the 28 Neighborhoods" have a (legitimate) Neighborhood Rep (Voting Member). At last published account, I believe nine (9) neighborhoods had elected a legitimate Voting Member, and they were never identified.

This means that more than half do not. At least 15 neighborhoods do not. 

Is that because the Board is trying to manage the process for the neighborhoods, rather than populating the (HOA's) Neighborhood Committee and directing them to carry out the Mission stated on the website?

What neighborhoods have legitimate Neighborhood Committees (three homeowners), including a Voting Member?

What neighborhoods, including Autumn Hill, Glen Meadow, Laurel Springs, Maywood, Oleander Mills, Pineclave, Summit Hills IV, and Whitney Falls, do NOT have legitimate Neighborhood Committee and have no representation in the Association?

Be sure to examine carefully the updated list of Neighborhoods on Page 4 of the August 2026 Summit Scoop. 

Notice that Hunters Pond, where former Board President Danny Trapp lives, does not have a Neighborhood Committee or Voting Member,  because it has not held the required Annual Meeting to elect its representatives. 

On Page 4, 17 neighborhoods do not have a Voting Member.

Should all past elections of directors, including in November 2025, be invalidated because there were no legitimate Voting Members (except one (Barony Place)) who could vote for directors. If there are no legitimate directors, then there are no legitimate officers. South Carolina requires a board of directors and officers of a HOA.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sept. 2nd Board Meeting - Any of This?

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,...
Read more

What Letter to Danny?

The Minutes of the September 2, 2025 Board Meeting include a report by the then-chairperson of the HOA's Neighborhood Committee that "The committee met on August 16th on the litigation matter and voted to send a letter to Danny." First of all, I don't think it was the Neighborhood Committee that met on August 16th; I think it was a meeting of the Voting Members. The Neighborhood Committee would have nothing to do with the "litigation matter"; meaning the HOA's lawsuit against Gus Philpott (me). What did that letter say? Was it a friendly "You're doing a great job, Danny" letter or was it a letter critical of the litigation that had been filed by Danny in the name of the HOA?  Did the letter make some demands on Danny Trapp? If that letter really was sent by the Neighborhood Committee, then a copy of it should be included in the Minutes of the Committee's meeting. And those Minutes can be inspected by any Member of the HOA by going to th...
Read more

Study Your Board Candidates - Linda Potter

Contact your "recognized Voting Member" and ask him/her to elect only directors who are  of the highest caliber,   selected for interpersonal skills, dedicat(ed) to the betterment of our Association and community, and  free of any personal agenda. (Source: HOA Mission Statement, Nominating Committee) OK, let's look at the eight candidates, one by one. Eighth, Linda Potter Linda is a homeowner in the Founders Ridge neighborhood. She was elected to the Board on November 7, 2023. Linda served as Board Treasurer from November 2023 to November 2024.  For the most part, Linda's participation in Board meetings was to present motions for items for which the Board had to authorize spending. As I recall, she played an important role in moving HOA funds from low-interest accounts (0.05% and 0.75%) to market-rate interest, substantially increasing the interest earnings on that money. There were few reports, if any, about the status of the finances of the Association. Linda ...
Read more