July Update
Following is a recap of my experiences through the month of July with CROA. Please note the positive actions on items 3 and 4.
On July 8th, Mr. Hays and Mr. Wise (myself) went to soccer fields complex to review the grass / flooding situation first-hand. We Marco Meccia (soccer program director) and Greg Filak (chair of CCDD) to discuss their opinions on the state of the fields.
At the July Workshop, Mr. Wise (myself) asked to add Committee Member Appointments to the agenda, as this was agreed by the board at the June Board Meeting for this to be on the agenda for this workshop. Ms. Swisher did not want to discuss this topic, and therefore put it to a vote. Mr. Wise made a motion for this, which was favored by Mr. Richards, Mr. Hays, and Mr. Wise and was voted down by Ms. Swisher, Ms. McFadden, and Mr. Grindl. Because there was no majority, it did not pass.
At the July Workshop, it was extensively discussed how to handle the mid-contract review of Grand Manors. An effective plan was developed by Gary Hudspeth and Mr. Richards for board feedback, to be administered by Gary Hudspeth. The board is to complete their evaluations for submission to Mr. Hudspeth at the July 26th board meeting.
The July Workshop also had good discussion regarding the Master Plan Advisory Group moving ahead, with Mr. Richards to write the scope of work for the group and Mr. Wise (myself) to write the profiles of the type of candidates the Boad is looking to recruit.
There was a Finance Committee Budget Workshop on July 25th. Great strides were made by this committee to tighten the budget and have clear development of reasons for why recommendations were made.
At the July Board Meeting [58:00:00], Mr. Wise (myself) noted that there were three committees in the month of July (ARC, Dog Park, and Parks & Rec.) that could not hold meetings due to not having quorum, stating that this shows a clear and immediate need to add more members to our committees. Mr. Wise nominated two individuals for the Covenants Committee. Ms. Swisher, Ms. McFadden, Mr. Grindl, and Dr. Anderson voted to not add these members to the Covenants Committee. When questioned as to why, no reason was given from any of the nay votes. Ms. McFadden proposed one of the names Mr. Wise recommended and another name for the Covenants Committee. Mr. Wise, Mr. Richards, Mr. Hays, and Mr. Grindl voted no, With Mr. Wise clarifying that his vote was based on the bias against the previously nominated candidates. Mr. Wise then nominated two members for the Dog Park Committee, Ms. Swisher, Ms. McFadden, Mr. Grindl, and Dr. Anderson voted against adding these two members to the Dog Park Committee, with Ms. McFadden stating it was specifically about the two individuals nominated.
At the July Board Meeting, Dr. Anderson stated he does not support a Master Plan Advisory Group [1:35:00] and that we should but not to defer and aggregate our responsibility to a Master Plan Advisory Group. He also said that he does not see that we should connect the 851 Building and a Master Plan discussion.
It was previously instructed by the board that Grand Manors would appoint a project manager not associated with a project-related contractor to oversee the completion of the playground scope. At the July Board Meeting, regarding the ongoing playground issue [1:49:00], Lauren Gunnyon and Roger Edwards (Grand Manors staff) stated that Grand Manors would cover the cost of a project manager, and that JamNPlay will provide a bid to replace the playground. Roger Edwards (Grand Manors staff) stated that the person hired to act as project manager works for the installing contractor [1:49:30], prompting Mr. Wise (myself) to argue that we cannot have the project manager being an employee of the installing contractor, as that was what got us where we are now. Mr. Hays and Mr. Richards said we need a project manager advocating for CROA. After much continued discussion, Roger Edwards changed his answer completely [1:53:30], stating that the project manager they brought in will not be an employee of the installing contractor, but will be hiring the vendors needed to complete the project.
On July 28th, Mr. Wise (myself) sent an e-mail to the board recommending receiving daily updates from the Grand Manors appointed project manager. Ms. Swisher, Ms. McFadden, Mr. Grindl, Dr. Anderson, and Mr. Richards all opposed receiving daily updates. Ms. Swisher actively blocked my request. This communication can be found here.
I discovered that the legal copy I requested in March, 2023 has not been occurring. I requested this continue immediately. It is important to state publicly that I, as a board member, have been excluded from legal communication from April 2023 through July 2023, even though I specifically requested this from Slaten & Associates, and they confirmed they understood my request and would provide copy on all legal communications from the Board.