Colleton Skeptic

I've received a few questions from Owners about the putative seawall settlement that was the subject of an email by the Board President on December 20: What contribution is being made by the insurer under the Club's Directors and Officers Policy? I have no idea. Perhaps that will be addressed in the information sessions. Don't the Owners have to approve the settlement? That depends. First, the governing documents clearly give the Board the right to settle litigation (Section 2.2 of the Declaration). However, that right isn't absolute. To the extent that the settlement requires an assessment or payments of over $385,000 (an amount that increases by at least 7.5% per year) out of the Capital Fund, the better argument is that the Owners must approve the deal.   Second, no Owner approval is required to spend money out of the Replacement Reserve Fund. So the Board can spend the money out of the Replacement Reserve Fund and when that fund is exhausted, ask for Owner approval ...

On Monday evening, Tim Bakels announced that the Club would outsource waste and recycling services to Pro Disposal/American Pride Waste Solutions, effective January 2, 2023. The announcement stated that the price of the service would remain unchanged, but trash collection would occur once per week rather than twice, as is now the case. Not to go all economist on you, but paying the same and receiving less is equivalent to paying more and getting the same. The outsourced deal would be a worse value for the Owners than they currently receive. Of course, the current service may be underpriced and outsourcing the service simply revealed that the Club had been subsidizing trash collection (a similar event may be occurring as some Owners who had previously used the Club for landscaping services discover that their costs may be increasing). In my view, subsidies are bad and revealing subsidies is one of the benefits of outsourcing.  Just as a reminder, the cost of the trash service is cur...

Yesterday evening, an email informed the Owners that the Club and the J-Lot owners were near a settlement on the seawall. But there are quite a few unanswered questions: 1.     What will be the cost of the settlement to the Club? The J-Lot owners? 2.     Will the Club's  obligations under the settlement agreement be specific or indefinite? 3.     Will the settlement resolve issues with just the 12 J-Lot owners who have sued the Club or the M-Lot owners and Phase II owners, as well? Alternatively, have settlement agreements already been negotiated with the M-Lot and Phase II owners? 4.     How will the Club's obligations under the settlement agreement be funded? The email said that no assessment is "expected." But every dollar spent on the settlement is a dollar that would otherwise be available for other Club purposes (including lower annual assessments). 5.     Will the Club's Owners have the opportunity to vote on the se...

 The results of the Board election were published and I wasn't elected. Here are some relevant facts: -     393 Owners voted (and had 3 votes each) -     I received 170 votes (about 42% of the Owners who voted cast a ballot for me). While I wasn't elected, the election results indicate that a significant number of Owners are dissatisfied with the governance of the Club. I note that in 2021, Marcie Flynn also received about 42% of the vote. The number of owners who are troubled by the governance of the Club isn't limited to a "small disgruntled minority"--it's a substantial portion of the Owners. In any event, thank you to the Owners who voted for me. Our election process continues to be a joke. In a well governed club, the order of events would be: -     The Board makes key announcements for the following year (e.g., the proposed annual assessment) -     The nominating committee announces its candidates and petition candidates emerge - ...

I don't like the direction the comments have taken, so I've adopted the Blogger comment moderation option. If you sign the comment, I'll probably publish it. But I've had enough of cowards hiding behind anonymity. I know this will cramp the style of the self-styled "Friends of Colleton," but they can always use their email chains or start their own blog if they prefer to hide their identities. Please note that I view a "comment" as a short statement expressing an opinion or pointing out a factual error--if you want to write a long essay, publish it somewhere else.

When I arrived at the United States Naval Academy on June 30, 1969, I was told that you can make it through life with five "basic responses": (1) yes, sir; (2) no, sir; (3) aye aye, sir; (4) I'll find out, sir; and (5) no excuse, sir. Fifty three years later I need to revert to my basic responses. On Saturday night, I published a post stating that the Board's statement at the annual meeting that the Third Quarter Financial Results had been published was a "lie." In fact, the Third Quarter Financial Results had been published, but were mis-labeled. In any event, an administrative error is not a "lie." I was wrong to refer to the administrative error in posting the Third Quarter Financials as a "lie" and wrong to use a sarcastic post to do so, and I have no excuse for making that post. I unreservedly apologize for the post. It was premature and unfair and I very much regret publishing it. I have deleted the post, but this post will remain o...