Barony Place I/Barony Place II

  Today I was remembering a day in court in 2010. I was living in northern Illinois and had been blogging about the sheriff's department and several local police departments. Sometimes people thought I didn't like cops. I do like cops. Honest ones. Cops who think they should be the first to obey the laws; not the last. I didn't like the county sheriff, and he didn't like me. I was running against him in 2010. (I didn't have a chance, but I definitely had fun!) A deputy had been fired and was suing the sheriff in a wrongful-termination action. The sheriff sucked me into the lawsuit with a subpoena for 27 months' worth of my blog records. He wanted all communications from any current or past employee of the sheriff department. Several deputies were feeding me the dirt from the sheriff's department, and the sheriff didn't like seeing it in print. He was trying to find the leaks.  I immediately knew I was not going to provide that information, even at the r...

This message was emailed from the HOA's office at 8:09AM. " Dear Summit Homeowners,   "The Summit office will be closed today, August 25th and will reopen on Tuesday, August 26th.    " W e apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding." Why is such discourtesy shown to HOA Members and residents? Am I the only resident who thinks that the reason for closing the office on short notice should be included? The HOA is paying for the office to be open from 9:00AM-5:30PM. Is today's closure a staffing problem? Did CAMS ever provide a replacement for Jenn Woodley? She left in mid-May (three months ago). Jenn seemed to be a top-notch, customer service-oriented employee.  I met her once in January. It was obvious she had already been told about the "evil Gus Philpott", but she was professional in her responses to me. I was sorry to hear of her departure.  The 2025 Budget for Administrative Expenses/On-Site Staff (Line 6005)...

 Is this what is happening with the HOA's lawsuit against Gus Philpott (me)? The longer that the HOA persists with its prohibited case against me, the more it costs. When will the Board of Directors realize it is completely wrong? The CC&Rs (Art. XIII, §10 Litigation ) prohibited the case. The Board never approved it. The Board never authorized Board President Danny Trapp to file it. Every payment for legal services relative to this case is an illegal disbursement of funds of this S.C. non-profit corporation. Each payment is a separate crime. Any Board member who supports the case is failing in his/her fiduciary duty to the Members of the Association. Anyone who reads the CC&Rs (Art. XIII, §10) will instantly realize that the HOA had no authority to sue Gus Philpott, because the Board never asked for or obtained the approval of 75% of the Voting Members. It's simple. So, why did the lawyers even file it? Didn't they read Art. XIII, §10?

The Board of Directors of The Summit's HOA is supposed to have seven (7) directors. How many does it have? Four.   Brenda Bryant (2023-2025) Tanisha Holmes (2024-2026) Linda Potter (2023-2025), and  Danny Trapp (2023-2025).  (And this is only if you disregard the election irregularities at the 2023 and 2024 Annual Meetings of Voting Members.) What about the other three who sit up front at the Board table? None is a legitimate , duly-appointed director! Patricia Pollin . She was appointed by the Board in November 2023, after Greg Thomas quit right after being re-elected to the board. She was not eligible to be appointed, because she was not a Member of the Association (not a homeowner-of-record) or the spouse of a Member.  An investigation should be made as to why her ineligibility was withheld from several board members before they voted. William Hill . The Board conducted a faulty "executive session" on July 1, 2025. Hill was appointed as a director ...

Is The Summit's HOA committing a financial crime every time it issues a check to Turner Padget for legal work done on the case filed by that law firm in the name of the HOA? And could the law firm be committing a financial crime every time it receives an illegal disbursement from the HOA? What is the crime? Every dollar spent by the HOA must be for a valid, proper, business purpose. That's common sense; right? There is also a legal reason for paying out HOA money only for legitimate expenses. A year ago, in August 2024, when Danny Trapp consulted the law firm about Gus Philpott (me), he directed them to send me a Cease and Desist Letter. He consulted them on behalf of the HOA and at HOA expense. It accused me of "false accusations and continual harassment". That letter was dated August 28, 2024. When that Letter, which threatened legal action, was sent to me, did a judicial proceeding  commence ? The first sentence in Art. XIII, §10 Litigation in the CC&Rs reads, ...

Have you ever received a copy of the Proposed Budget for the following year? The Finance Committee must already be working on the 2026 Budget. Should the Board and the Members get a preview at the October 7th, 2025 Regular Board Meeting? Will it be discussed in public and voted on at the November 4th open, public, Regular Board Meeting? That should have happened in November 2024, but it didn't. Will any new Directors elected to the Board be expected to vote on the proposed 2026 Budget at their very first meeting, before they even get a look at the Budget? That's what happened last year. The Board has spent a lot of money this year out of Reserves. A LOT! The Board even said that the 2025 Budget was based on Operations. I didn't hear anyone ask how Projects would get paid for. Funds in Reserves aren't for new projects; they are a sinking fund for Replacement and Major Repairs. The balance of funds in Reserves as of December 31, 2024 was $843,349.18. At July 31, 2025 the ...

  On July 29 the HOA's lawyer sent me two documents: Plaintiff's First Interrogatories to Defendant; and Plaintiff's First Request for Production to Defendant. The demand is for a written answer within 30 days.  Now I understand why a preliminary quote of legal fees for a complete defense was $30,-$50,000.  Most of the questions are a trap. If I'm asked to list every person, and then inadvertently omit one, I'm cooked. There was a Hearing on July 24th for the HOA's allegation against me of Contempt. The HOA alleged that I violated Judge Coble's March 11th Order. Judge Kimpson asked me, specifically and directly, if I had violated the Order. I answered that I had not. The HOA's lawyers recited their filing ad nauseum . Danny Trapp was not there to give any evidence or proof. NO ONE was there to give any evidence or proof against me. As of August 22, Judge Kimpson has not ruled.  How high will the HOA's bill be for the July 24th Hearing and for the law...