A Halloween Witch Hunt in Celebration
On Thursday, October 5 at 1:49pm, Charles Richards called for a Special Meeting along with Cindy Swisher. The board was not provided an agenda, and when it was requested, we were told it will not be provided until later. At 4:07pm I stated that I am not available until October 16th, and could meet any day or any time that week. Quorum was established for Monday, October 9 at 6pm. It was at this time that Executive Director Lauren Gunnyon changed the meeting from a Special Meeting to an Emergency Meeting, because less than 48 hours notice was being provided to homeowners. (For background, any two members may call a special meeting, in this case Mr. Richards and Ms. Swisher; however the President may call an Emergency Meeting at any time.)
It is my belief that no other board members were aware of the meeting topic or its developments other than Charles Richards and Cindy Swisher.
The rest of the board received the agenda after it was posted to the community. That’s also when I found out that I was the sole topic of the meeting. It has since come to my attention that Charles Richards and Cindy Swisher met with Grand Manors executive management as well as Tom Slaten, CROA attorney, to develop language to censure me, remove me from all of my liaison positions, and significantly reduce my access to ANY information with regard to CROA (with minor exceptions, such as the Board Packet).
It was insinuated that I did something that “put the association at risk or broke laws.” (as Mr. Richards stated in a Saturday evening Facebook post.) Mr. Richards also states clearly that I “went against legal advice.” This is not accurate, and is wholly defamatory in nature. I continue to stand by my actions, and will absolutely clarify in the near future the acts in question and how they relate to Florida state law and CROA governing documents.
This is absolutely about transparency. Emergency Meetings aren’t “negotiated” to be canceled. They can simply be canceled, with or without cause. But to attempt to negotiate as such, especially on social media, is not the level of professionalism and accountability I wish to participate in. To put this another way, I have no say in whether the meeting is canceled or not, and “offering” a “negotiation” in such a way reads to me as a direct intimidation and threat of “if you agree to these things, we won’t do this to you.”
Additionally, in my continued effort of transparency, the Board (specifically Charles Richards and Cindy Swisher) should share the language of the resolution they demanded be written, so residents can have visibility to the document intended for discussion on Monday night. It has been available since Friday evening, yet intentionally not shared with the public. And while subject to modification (as all resolutions are), I don’t believe the Board should debate topics concerning CROA that residents do not have visibility to. [And also, that’s the law in Florida…] This document is very telling, and it is very concerning that it has been intentionally withheld from residents. Mr. Richards stated he doesn’t believe “we are at a point where any nuclear option needs to be taken”; however this document is, by its very existence, the nuclear option. If you have even a tiny bit of concern about this being an attempt to prevent transparency, you may demand that the CROA Board of Directors share this resolution publicly, as they are fully prepared to put it to a vote on Monday night, without prior public review. It is not a protected document in any way whatsoever, and is even discoverable currently via a simple records request from any homeowner.
Finally, it is my opinion that calling me to action on social media to attempt to stop a meeting that Mr. Richards himself requested, to enact a document he was involved in developing, and worked on without majority board knowledge, is embarrassing for the community overall. Don’t get me wrong... I don’t want this meeting to happen either! It has potential to be catastrophic for transparency, accountability, and overall trust in our town of Celebration. But I am simply not in a position to cancel this meeting. That authority only lies with those who called it, per our own CROA bylaws. It was called as a Special Meeting by Mr. Richards and Ms. Swisher. It was switched to an Emergency Meeting because it was advertised to homeowners with less than 48 hours notice, and only the President can call an Emergency Meeting.
TO RECAP:
Mr. Richards and Ms. Swisher jointly called for this meeting. I gave feedback that I was willing to attend, even without an agenda.
I requested this meeting be held when I could be available, prior to even knowing I was the sole subject of the meeting. I was denied this request explicitly by Ms. Swisher.
There are no actions I can take to cancel this meeting.