Barony Place I/Barony Place II

The next Board of Directors meeting will be Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 6:30PM at Brookland Baptist Church Northeast , 1203 Summit Parkway. (The reason that Northeast is underlined is that every month The Summit Scoop announces the meeting as being at Brookland Baptist Church. It's not. That Church is at 1066 Sunset Blvd. in West Columbia. More than a year ago I suggested correcting the church name in The Scoop.) What changes can be expected (suspected?)? In the March 2025 Summit Scoop, in the President's Message, Danny Trapp wrote, "As a reminder, Homeowners' concerns should be sent to the office to my attention for a response. I am hoping this will help minimize meeting times." By that statement, some suspect that Danny intends to eliminate public comment from board meetings. His message was not a "reminder"; it was a new deal. Has anyone tried that? Did you get a personal response or a canned reply? What that will also do is eliminate complaints from home...

Where is D.O.G.E. when you need it? How could D.O.G.E. help The Summit's HOA? Let me count the ways. Cut the waste and expense of repeated repairs to the waterfalls at the Clemson Road entrance? Examine in detail the actual expenses in Line Item 2330 SCS Administrative Costs of $20,-25,000 monthly. Move recurring monthly expenses (Line Item 2330) off the Balance Sheet and onto the Income/Expenses Report. Confine Committee work to the Mission stated on the HOA website. Eliminate "creep" in the scope of work of a committee. Assign two-three Members to review invoices before payment. Require Board approval for any fund transfers in or out of CDs. Create escrows in Reserves for future major expenses. Add Percent-of-Change columns to financial statements to get early warning of variances. Demand explanations of Variances on the monthly Financial Statements and require Board inspection and approval of Variances (over-spending).. Increase Board accountability by requiring all de...

My day is enriched when I find a typo, especially in a prominent place. Today it involved the HOA's law firm, Turner Padget. They occupy prime space in downtown Columbia on the top floors at 1901 Main Street. I was there again today to deliver a legal filing in my court case, and I signed in on the electronic visitor log. For some reason, I paid closer attention to the spelling of the firm than I have in the past. "Turner Padgent" I should have immortalized it with a photo, but I didn't. Of course, the partners, the associate attorneys, and the other employees don't use the electronic visitor pad. But all their clients and vendors do. I thought about being a nice guy and letting them know. If they hadn't referred to me as a "mere resident" in their last legal filing, perhaps I would have let them know.

This story was posted on NextDoor. " Black Woman Loses $850K Home Over a $400 HOA Bill" I didn't bother to watch the video from The Young Turks channel or read the kazillion comments. My immediate thought it did not have anything to do with her being black. But it points out how you, the homeowner, must be alert. You know when your assessments are due (Jan. 1 and July 1). You know how much they are ($255). You should either pay it in person and get a receipt, or you should watch your checking account for your check to clear your bank. Here is what any HOA should do, when a homeowner has unpaid dues. Somebody in the office should call the homeowner. Did they get the notice? Do they intend to pay? Do they understand what happens if they don't pay? In 2024 the financial statements of The Summit's HOA show that $76,642.98 was collected in Late Fee Income (Line 4250). That is a huge amount. If I were President of the HOA, I'd form an ad hoc Committee to work with...

How much has it cost The Summit's HOA, so far, for its legal case against me (Gus Philpott)? The case started in August. The lawyer prepared and sent me a Cease and Desist Letter on August 28, 2024. Preparatory work before December 30th. Filing the lawsuit on December 30, 2024. Filing the Motion for a TRO on December 30, 2024. Preparing for the February 11, 2025 TRO Hearing. Attending the February 11th TRO Hearing (two lawyers). Drafting the Order (prevailing attorney drafts it; HOA pays). Preparing for March 20, 2025 Hearing (Gus' three Motions). Attending the March 20th Hearing. Ordering a transcript of the March 20th Hearing. Cost of the transcript. Time to read and analyze the transcript. What future costs will there be? The 2025 Budget was already so tight that it didn't squeak. Only $3,000 was set aside for Reserves (compared to $163,965 in 2020 and $0.00 in 2024). Apparently, the Board itself did not decide on this lawsuit. There is nothing in any Minutes about it. T...

For $60.00 I could run for the Board of Directors of the HOA.  How could that be? I am not a Member of the Association. I am not a homeowner. One way would be to buy an undivided interest in a home in The Summit. Say, 0.01% of a $270,000 home for $27.00 and then re-register the Deed with my name added. This could be a legal nightmare for the Owner, unless we had an ironclad legal agreement that the Owner could buy me out at any time for a pre-determined price; say, $26.00 plus the cost of re-filing the Deed. Is that a "put" option? But another way is Marriage. For a $60.00 marriage license fee (cash only in Richland County), I could become spouse of an Owner. Then, according to the By-Laws, I could be elected as a Director of the HOA.  Art. III, A, Section 1 of the By-Laws reads, in part,   "... the directors shall be Members  or spouses  of such Members ". What would I do, if I were on the Board? Insist that the HOA comply with its own Governing Documents (CC...

A page on the HOA's website that lists board members and their terms-of-office (and contact information) would be nice, wouldn't it? One of the reasons there isn't one may be because I have suggested it (several times). Who are the board members, and when do their terms expire? Directors serve two-year terms. They are? Danny Trapp, Pres. (2023-2025) Tanisha Holmes, VP (2024-2026) Ciara Bates, Secretary (2024-2026) LaToya Adams, Treas. (2024-2026) Brenda Bryant (2023-2025) Linda Potter (2023-2025) Patricia Pollin (2023-2025) This means that the seats of Directors Trapp, Bryant, Potter, and Pollin will be open, when the Voting Members' Annual Meeting is held on November 4, 2025. If you would like to be elected to the Board in November, I can help you with strategy and tactics. Contact me. I'll help you with the "Rules of the Road" and how to get enough Voting Members to vote for you. Of course, this assumes that this year there will be enough legitimate Vot...