Referendum May

May was a busy month, including one of the best-attended resident-only events as well as the first-ever Referendum called upon the Board of Directors. To say there is tension throughout the community would be an understatement.

To continue my effort of continuity and transparency, here are some highlights of my time in May 2023 on the board of directors for CROA:

• On May 1, 2023 Ms. Swisher acted alone in sending an email to the community using official channels of communication. This is a direct violation of rules agreed upon by all seven board members (a copy of which can be found here. My dispute of the alleged ‘facts’ in her e-mail can be found here.

• There has been push-back from Grand Manors to not allow CROA to use a bank the committee and board have unanimously agreed to. Both the Finance Committee and Board of Directors have asked to keep CROA accounts and funds with Truist bank. This is also the bank that will manage and hold CROA investments, so it made sense to keep all accounts with the same institution. This is a clause in the Grand Manors contract that requires CROA to use a “partner bank.” Grand Manors has stated it is a lengthy process to make a bank a partner bank (at least six months), and it was unclear at the May Finance Committee meeting whether they were not interested, not willing, or not able to make this change on behalf of CROA.

  At the May Finance committee meeting, there was quick action to call for a bank switch to a Grand Manors partner bank, which the board adopted at the May board meeting. Mr. Benenati, chair of the finance committee has asked to keep the Truist-as-a-partner-bank conversation going, and has it as a standing agenda item for the Finance Committee.

• On Wednesday, May 10, I sent the following e-mail to the board, calling for a Board Alignment Workshop:

  All,

  Tensions are seemingly high amongst the seven of us. There are a lot of external and internal factors contributing to this. I would like to recommend a roundtable forum type of meeting for us to discuss how to communicate better and possibly clear out some open issues. I believe we all have a lot to say and share, and it would be productive to discuss in person. Even if there isn’t resolution on everything, at least we would all know where we stand and what could be improved upon.

  So here is my motion for an in-person workshop within the next two weeks to discuss board general issues.

  This motion was seconded by Mr. Hays, and thus, by charter/bylaws, was turned into an official meeting.

  Ms. Swisher quickly stated she was going to make the meeting an executive session, which would make it private and confidential. She also attempted to turn over the agenda and facilitating to Grand Manors. I immediately objected to both of these conditions, stating that I will set the agenda, as I called the meeting. I also said the meeting would be public, as the boards issues are well-known, and the public expects and deserves transparency.

  The meeting was scheduled for 5/25. Responses were as follows:

  On 5/18, Mr. Grindl said he was available Thursday, May 25. Then, on 5/22, said he would “not be attending.”

  Ms. McFadden responded on 5/20, stating: “I will not be attending! I’ve already had 2 3-hour sessions with GM on Best Practices of a board member.  I paid attention so no need for anymore time from me.”

  Mr. Anderson responded on 5/22, stating: “I will not be in attendance at this proposed workshop. First, I have a pre-existing schedule conflict. Second, the proposed agenda appears to cover just what we spent our Organizational Meeting and then follow-up Board Operations Workshop (led by GrandManors) covering.”

  A detailed agenda was sent to all on 5/22, and the public agenda and meeting was noticed on 5/23.

• Mr. Wise (myself) attended the Dog Park Committee meeting, the Finance Committee meeting, and the Special Events Committee meeting, as well as the May Community Connections meeting on 5/12. If you haven’t attended one, they are a great way to connect with some of the multiple entities that make Celebration work.

• The May Luau was an exceptional hit, with more than 1,400 residents attending! Many town hall staff and 2023 committee members worked hard to host this event, but I especially want to give credit to the 2022 Lifestyle & Special Events Committee volunteers who worked to make this event so special and well-themed:

  Debi Jackson, chair

  Edward Dacquel

  Debbie DeLosa

  Jamie Fridman

  Dori Moyer

  Melodee Nemeth

  Mary Vamvoukakis

• The 851 Project (restoration of Town Hall) has moved along to the point of preliminary numbers provided to the board on 5/23. Preliminary costs for restoration only are as follows:

  $1,854,066 – base value to repair only

  $2,597,420 – base value plus additional enhancement adders

  NOTE:   A 15%-18% project contingency would be added on top of these figures, for cost overruns, inflation, and standard construction unknowns.

  NOTE:   These figures are preliminary only, and do not reflect purchase or actual competitive bid costs.

• May envoked the first ever referendum in the history of Celebration, with residents exercising their right to overturn a board decision by community vote. Language as provided by Town Hall staff on the subject is as follows:

  Verification of signatures and ownership was completed by Town Hall and CROA legal counsel. After review, there were a sufficient number of valid signatures to meet the 8% threshold and trigger a referendum. A referendum is a direct vote of the Owners. Pursuant to section 4.3(c) of the Celebration Residential Owners Association Charter, ballots must be sent out 30 days after receipt of a petition with the requisite number of signatures. This community vote will be held in a similar manner to CROA Board elections. However, there are some slight differences. The referendum requires two things to be successful:

  1.       At least 10% (453) must vote in favor of the referendum. Anything less than 453 votes in favor of the referendum means it fails.

  2.       A majority of all votes cast must vote in favor of the referendum. If 1,000 members vote, then at least 501 must vote in favor of the referendum.

  For the purposes of this vote, residents will be voting yes or no to the referendum. The referendum is specifically addressing originally numbered Action Item B-16 from the CROA Board April 27, 2023, Board Meeting. The motion that was approved by a 4 to 3 vote at the meeting was a modification of the above and was as follows:

  Motion to approve Poli Reduced Scope Option 1 Bid to address water management and necessary fill on the whole lot, build 8 pickleball courts with lighting but no furnishings, make the west end of the lot pad ready with sod to accommodate overflow parking and/or open field play, and move the entrance gate to accommodate keycard entry in the amount of $1,606,840.00 – CROA Capital Improvement Fund.

  A YES vote for the referendum means you wish to overturn the April 27, 2023, CROA Board vote to fund the Lot D project from the CROA Capital Improvement Fund. This would end the Lot D project as it is currently proposed and would prevent any substantially similar projects from moving forward for a 1-year period.

  A NO vote for the referendum means you wish to uphold the April 27, 2023, CROA Board vote to fund the Lot D project from the CROA Capital Improvement Fund. The Board will sign a contract with Poli to complete this project. Calic would remain as the Owner’s representative to ensure the project is completed appropriately, timely, and on budget. Poli would set up construction fencing around Lot D and commence work.

• On May 23, Ms. Swisher sent an email to the board asking for feedback on a second community-wide e-mail. There was an attachment to the e-mail with her letter. The subject of the attachment was “VOTE NO,” so it was clearly written as a position statement and distributed to the community as such. This e-mail was objected by 3 board members, and subsequently sent out to the community using official channels of communication.

  My dispute of the alleged ‘facts’ in her e-mail can be found here.

• At the May Board Meeting, I asked all board members who are liaisons for committees to provide brief recaps of their committees meeting. After all, the entire point of liaisons is to report back a summary to the board. No other board member has updated other board members on their committee happenings since I have been on the board, with the exception of weekly Management Reports from Ms. Swisher for the month of March and April (she has since discontinued these meeting altogether.) I have done this consistently since the start of my term for both of the committees I am liaison for, and so I let the other board members know I do expect this report from them starting in June, as I have no other way to be informed on what is happening at these meetings.

• I attempted to attend the Covenants Committee meeting as a homeowner, as I had questions regarding a notice letter I received (yes, even us board members get them!). I was not permitted to attend the Covenants Committee meeting due to my presence being considered a quorum of board members.

• At the May Board Meeting, Mr. Grindl aggressively taunted a resident speaking during Owner Comments, stating “If you’ve got something to say about me, now is the time. Don’t put shit about me on the back porch. Or my wife.” Ms. Swisher had lost complete control of this meeting at this point, and other board members had to shout for her to regain control of the situation. It is worth noting that while other residents spoke against other board members, no other board members reacted to the comments.

• At the May Board Meeting, Mr. Wise (myself) made the following statement, calling for Mr. Grindl to be removed from his officer position as Treasurer:

  At the April Board Meeting, Mr. Grindl stated confidently in official proceedings that he “can’t say I would never take a bribe.” This is unequivocally an unethical statement, and not the representation that I believe residents want serving as Treasurer for both CROA and the Celebration Community Services board. While the comment may have been made in jest, unfortunately all of our actions have consequences. And the consequence for making a comment about bribes while in a treasury role should always be removal.

  With that said, I would request for Mr. Grindl to be removed of his officer role as treasurer based on his statement made at the April meeting.

  Let me be very clear in what I am saying. Those who elect to have Mr. Grindl retain his officer position are openly saying they find it acceptable that our treasurer would consider taking a bribe. There is no room for lack of clarity here. You either support our treasurer who stated he would accept a bribe or you do not.

  No other board member spoke after this. Eventually Mr. Hays asked Mr. Grindl for an apology, which he provided.

• The Board Alignment Workshop occurred on 5/25. Ms. Swisher, Ms. McFadden, Mr. Grindl, and Mr. Anderson did not attend. Mr. Richards, Mr. Hays, and Mr. Wise (myself) moved past the board alignment portion of the agenda, and went to the Strategic Planning portion, gathering good feedback from the community. (If you did not see this meeting, please watch the video for more information.)

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I was harshly criticized on 5/20 by Ms. Swisher about the information I post here (while also admitting she has never actually seen it). And to this, I only have the response that everything here is public information. Everything here has been shared in public, documented meetings. I do not have any confidential details or private information in any of my blog posts. Transparency is my goal, and informing residents of the facts is my focus. So those who feel this information does not reflect well on them need only look within.

I continue to say that I hope for a month where I have nothing but positive details and facts to report. I remain hopeful for June. I think we all agree that with the Referendum behind us at that point, we can get focus set to our Strategic Master Plan, and deciding as a community where our money is best spent.

Thanks to those who continue to follow along here. As always, I welcome your feedback and invitations to chat on the phone, over e-mail, or in person around town.