Post by Donna Lash-Andersen on Aug 15, 2020 12:53:04 GMT -7
Summary of August 10, 2020 GLA Board Meeting
Glastonbury Landowner Association (GLA) President Newman Brozovsky convened the August board meeting about 10 minutes late, after waiting for board member Ed Dobrowski to arrive. That did not happen. Instead, at some point Dobrowski phoned into the meeting and then hung up before the meeting ended. However, ten other board members were present. Board member Andrea Sedlak attended by phone from out of state. Sedlak has yet to attend a Board meeting in person this year. New South Glastonbury SG) board member Erica Stone was introduced, as this was her first person-to-person meeting. Board members Gerald Dubiel and Jean Carp left the meeting early as they often do. Six landowners attended by phone.
Meeting Highlights
- President Newman Brozovsky refused to name or identify a recent lawsuit against GLA which was settled out of court. He also refused to say how much landowner money was spent to settle the suit. However, Secretary Charlotte Mizzi said it was the Mark Seaver lawsuit.
- South Glastonbury (SG) director John McAlister is the new Vice-President and Treasurer for GLA.
- The board did not act on a request to give assessment relief to military veterans who are members of GLA. Per the Governing Documents, the relief funding, would have to come from other than GLA Assessment money.
- The confidential list of member email addresses has used openly at least four times for GLA mailings in recent months.
- The board voted unanimously to seek a renewal of the court-ordered Restraining Order against the O’Connells. It expired last November. If renewed, the O’Connells would continue to be banned from attending GLA meetings and communicating with board members.
- All ballots from the first round of voting on proposed Bylaw changes were shredded without a board vote.
- The annual election meeting in November will be modified due to concerns about the Covid 19 virus.
Set Agenda
A request from board member Tim Brockett to have the board’s July’s censure process against him placed on next month’s agenda was handled when President Brozovsky said, “We will consider it.” At issue, said Brockett, is how the lack of due process, lack of evidence, and lack of a written opinion from the GLA attorney on the censure, unduly influenced the board action to censure Brockett.
Visiting Landowner Input
A landowner question from Debbie Newby about the news in the President’s column of the last GLA newsletter that the board had settled a recent lawsuit out of court did not lead to any answers. Though Newby insisted that the board should at least tell the members who filed the lawsuit and how much it cost the association, President Brozovsky claimed attorney-client privilege throughout the questioning. In time, Secretary Charlotte Mizzi identified the lawsuit as Mark Seaver’s, the former GLA Treasurer.
And “Why is this a secret?” continued Newby. She noted that there was no record in any GLA meeting minutes, from at least the last five months, that this lawsuit even existed or how it had been handled. President Brozovsky ended the discussion by saying he would talk with the GLA attorney.
North Glastonbury Landowner Chad Stone asked the board for an update on his three-month old request to be permanently exempt from having to pay GLA assessments, based on his claim that he is a 100% disabled military veteran. An emotional discussion followed without board action. Directors Gerald Dubiel, Carp and Erica Stone each said they were willing to consider assessment relief for veterans. Chad Stone said that he would appear at every future board meeting until he gets an answer and then left the meeting. Following animated discussion among the directors, Dirkers’ suggestion that this request be referred to the Legal committee, was accepted by consensus.
President’s Report
1. The nomination and appointment of a new GLA Treasurer ended with applause when John McAlister accepted the position after a unanimous vote. McAlister said he was willing to help GLA, even though he came here to retire and not work long hours. McAlister also said, that based on his years of financial experience, though in different settings, that he believes there are ways for the GLA books to be more open and more efficient.
2. The nomination and appointment of a new GLA Vice-President developed into a stalemate which took over an hour to resolve. The stalemate developed when it was clear after three rounds of paper ballot voting, that no candidate could command the seven-vote majority needed to become the new VP.
Candidate Jean Carp was nominated to be the vice-president with a motion by Mizzi and seconded by Dubiel. Claudette Dirkers was nominated to be the vice-president with a motion by McAlister and seconded by Brockett.
Before the voting stalemate, Carp said that her strongest qualification for the role of vice-president was in public relations. Carp spoke of herself as a heart-to-heart person who has been a counselor for 40 years, and that she believes in respect for others and working in harmony with others. Note: most local people know Carp as an astrologer. When asked what she knew of legal matters and how, for example, would she represent GLA in court, Carp said she had not thought about that much and that she has learned a lot from her six months on the board.
Note: Though not a landowner, Carp qualified to be appointed to fill an open board position because she serves as a legal representative for a NG parcel owned by Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT). Carp had recently resigned from her treasure’s position. She is also known for leaving board meetings early.
Dirkers said her strongest qualifications for the role of vice-president is her experience and knowledge of board business that has come from consistently participating GLA affairs for the last six years, and at one time, serving on five GLA committees simultaneously. She also noted that she was the lead person in ensuring the GLA voting process was finally confidential for the first time in 18 years, that she initiated the cleaning of road culverts and the opening of roadside ditches, and that she played a pivotal role in rewriting the election materials. Dirkers concluded her remarks by stressing that she is deeply and passionately committed to upholding GLA’s Governing Documents.
The first voting round produced six votes for Carp, four for Dirkers and two ‘no’ votes for both candidates. Mizzi tried to convince the board that because Carp had six votes, Carp should be the new vice-president. “This is only fair,” stated Mizzi. “Whoever gets the most votes wins”.
Other directors reminded Mizzi that the Bylaws require the board to fill board officer positions with no undue delay and a majority vote, which in this situation, is seven votes. Sedlak explained that a plurality of six votes is not a majority vote needed to be elected to a board office. The second round of voting produced 13 ballots from the 12 directors and was declared invalid. A third round of voting did not create a majority for either candidate, because there were write-in votes and again, two ‘no’ votes for Carp and Dirkers.
The stalemate broke when Brockett motioned, seconded by Dirkers, to elect South Glastonbury board member John McAlister as Vice-President.
Note: The Bylaw allow one person to hold two officer positions with the exception of the President.
Again, Mizzi argued emphatically for Carp stating it would be unfair not to include Jean Carp in the new motion. Dirkers then spoke up saying that it was unfair of Mizzi to just arbitrarily eliminate her from the running as a viable GLA VP candidate. Brockett’s motion to nominate only McAlister carried however without an amendment. The final vote tally showed a majority of seven votes for McAlister to be the vice-president.
Before the voting stalemate, Carp said that her strongest qualification for the role of vice-president was in public relations. Carp spoke of herself as a heart-to-heart person who has been a counselor for 40 years, and that she believes in respect for others and working in harmony with others. Note: most local people know Carp as an astrologer. When asked what she knew of legal matters and how, for example, would she represent GLA in court, Carp said she had not thought about that much and that she has learned a lot from her six months on the board.
Note: Though not a landowner, Carp qualified to be appointed to fill an open board position because she serves as a legal representative for a NG parcel owned by Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT). Carp had recently resigned from her treasure’s position. She is also known for leaving board meetings early.
Dirkers said her strongest qualifications for the role of vice-president is her experience and knowledge of board business that has come from consistently participating GLA affairs for the last six years, and at one time, serving on five GLA committees simultaneously. She also noted that she was the lead person in ensuring the GLA voting process was finally confidential for the first time in 18 years, that she initiated the cleaning of road culverts and the opening of roadside ditches, and that she played a pivotal role in rewriting the election materials. Dirkers concluded her remarks by stressing that she is deeply and passionately committed to upholding GLA’s Governing Documents.
The first voting round produced six votes for Carp, four for Dirkers and two ‘no’ votes for both candidates. Mizzi tried to convince the board that because Carp had six votes, Carp should be the new vice-president. “This is only fair,” stated Mizzi. “Whoever gets the most votes wins”.
Other directors reminded Mizzi that the Bylaws require the board to fill board officer positions with no undue delay and a majority vote, which in this situation, is seven votes. Sedlak explained that a plurality of six votes is not a majority vote needed to be elected to a board office. The second round of voting produced 13 ballots from the 12 directors and was declared invalid. A third round of voting did not create a majority for either candidate, because there were write-in votes and again, two ‘no’ votes for Carp and Dirkers.
The stalemate broke when Brockett motioned, seconded by Dirkers, to elect South Glastonbury board member John McAlister as Vice-President.
Note: The Bylaw allow one person to hold two officer positions with the exception of the President.
Again, Mizzi argued emphatically for Carp stating it would be unfair not to include Jean Carp in the new motion. Dirkers then spoke up saying that it was unfair of Mizzi to just arbitrarily eliminate her from the running as a viable GLA VP candidate. Brockett’s motion to nominate only McAlister carried however without an amendment. The final vote tally showed a majority of seven votes for McAlister to be the vice-president.
Project Review Committee Report.
The board accepted the committee’s recommendation to approve three recent project applications; one for an addition at NG 62, one for a well at SG 22-D, and one for a residence and garage at SG 48, with little discussion.
Committee Chair Dubiel also reported that attorneys are still working to find resolution for a large two-year old non-conforming and non-approved building project at NG 64. Dubiel, with uncharacteristic emotion, assured the board that his negligence at the beginning of this project would not happen again. He apologized and acknowledged that he had not listened to the landowner who had told him early on that what was being built on NG 64, differed from what the board had approved.
Committee Chair Dubiel also reported that attorneys are still working to find resolution for a large two-year old non-conforming and non-approved building project at NG 64. Dubiel, with uncharacteristic emotion, assured the board that his negligence at the beginning of this project would not happen again. He apologized and acknowledged that he had not listened to the landowner who had told him early on that what was being built on NG 64, differed from what the board had approved.
Secretary’s Report.
Mizzi reported a landowner had used the board’s confidential email list to “send “malicious” email to both the board and landowners on the list. While Mizzi did not reveal the contents of the email, she said the board has evidence that the email came from the O’Connells.
Note: the email states that the GLA’s actual legal costs are much higher than officially reported and that GLA has been sued every year since 2011.
Mizzi then urged the board to take action to renew a court-ordered Restraining Order against the O’Connells that expired last November. Brockett’s motion, seconded by McAlister, to renew the order and follow the advice of the GLA attorney, carried unanimously.
Brockett asked Mizzi if the GLA landowner email addresses were considered confidential information. Mizzi replied “yes”. Brockett then followed up with a question about who was authorized to send official GLA Board emails to landowners. Mizzi replied that as secretary it was solely her responsibility. No one else is authorized to send official emails for the GLA Board, she said.
Note: Director Sedlak, Chair of the Governing Documents Committee used the confidential email list twice in the last 45 days. Both times were without a GLA Board vote of approval.
Mizzi then urged the board to take action to renew a court-ordered Restraining Order against the O’Connells that expired last November. Brockett’s motion, seconded by McAlister, to renew the order and follow the advice of the GLA attorney, carried unanimously.
Brockett asked Mizzi if the GLA landowner email addresses were considered confidential information. Mizzi replied “yes”. Brockett then followed up with a question about who was authorized to send official GLA Board emails to landowners. Mizzi replied that as secretary it was solely her responsibility. No one else is authorized to send official emails for the GLA Board, she said.
Note: Director Sedlak, Chair of the Governing Documents Committee used the confidential email list twice in the last 45 days. Both times were without a GLA Board vote of approval.
Treasurer’s Report.
There was no report due to the absence of an official treasurer, and the fact that both the GLA Administrator Karleen McSherry and the GLA accountant are on vacation. Brozovsky, Mizzi and Dirkers have each been helping to keep the basic financial processes functioning.
To answer Dirkers question about the current status of Collections, discussion led largely by Newman and Mizzi showed that not much is happening on the collection of the larger delinquent accounts.
Note: Reports on the collection work progress basically stopped when Mark Seaver was Treasurer. Since Seaver resigned as Treasurer last November, President Neuman said he is working on collections.
To answer Dirkers question about the current status of Collections, discussion led largely by Newman and Mizzi showed that not much is happening on the collection of the larger delinquent accounts.
Note: Reports on the collection work progress basically stopped when Mark Seaver was Treasurer. Since Seaver resigned as Treasurer last November, President Neuman said he is working on collections.
Road Committee Report.
NG Co-chair John Carp gave the report on both North and South road maintenance matters due to the absence of SG Co-chair, Ed Dobrowski. Carp described NG roads as being in good shape overall and said work to create work orders for fall maintenance in NG is underway. He also announced, per the rotation schedule, that the SG fall road work will begin first in September. Carp said he had no communication or any report from Dobrowski regarding the preparation of the SG fall road work orders.
Carp reported that Brockett, per board request, is in contact with the GLA road contractor about fall roadwork in High South, an area that covers 10.5 miles of gravel roads. There was no spring road work in Highest South, past SpecTec, this year because Dobrowski unilaterally spent most of the SG road money on just a few roads. 67% of South Glastonbury roads have not received any maintenance this year.
Note: The board is working with Brockett to fill the void left by Dobrowski.
The board approved additional funds for more NG road easement mowing and surrounding areas with little discussion. The mowing of two soccer fields was approved at the July Board meeting for $400. Cost is anticipated to be $700.00 for both projects.
Note: The lack of discussion is noteworthy, given that the board has often struggled about who is responsible for the soccer field mowing. GLA holds a reversionary recreational use agreement from CUT for the 20-acre soccer field parcel, and because the area is no longer used for soccer games, the question is who, if anyone, is responsible for the mowing?
Based on the Road Committee’s recommendation, the board approved $1600 for road easement mowing of all 10.5 miles of platted roads in South Glastonbury. The contract work will be done by SG landowner, Contractor Byron Kassing.
Work on a loan application for $110,000 to do chip sealing on the paved roads in NG is still in the preliminary stage according to Carp. If financing is approved, NG landowners will have the final say about whether they want to have a special road assessment of approximately $750.00 per parcel for the chip sealing added to their annual GLA assessment fees and with some sort of payment schedule.
Carp ended his report by recommending asphalt maintenance work on Sirius Drive in NG. Carp said he has talked with CUT officials about the question of whether the upper flat stretch of Sirius is a platted road and learned that when CUT, the developer of Glastonbury, conveyed its road system to GLA, all of Sirius was included and that there are records in the court house to confirm this.
Note: Research, done by former board member Leo Keeler, does not support Carp’s claim. Per the Governing Documents, GLA road funds can only be spent on platted roads.
Note: John Carp is not a landowner, is not a Director and is a full-time employee of CUT. He was appointed by the Board to Co-chair the Road Committee.
Carp reported that Brockett, per board request, is in contact with the GLA road contractor about fall roadwork in High South, an area that covers 10.5 miles of gravel roads. There was no spring road work in Highest South, past SpecTec, this year because Dobrowski unilaterally spent most of the SG road money on just a few roads. 67% of South Glastonbury roads have not received any maintenance this year.
Note: The board is working with Brockett to fill the void left by Dobrowski.
The board approved additional funds for more NG road easement mowing and surrounding areas with little discussion. The mowing of two soccer fields was approved at the July Board meeting for $400. Cost is anticipated to be $700.00 for both projects.
Note: The lack of discussion is noteworthy, given that the board has often struggled about who is responsible for the soccer field mowing. GLA holds a reversionary recreational use agreement from CUT for the 20-acre soccer field parcel, and because the area is no longer used for soccer games, the question is who, if anyone, is responsible for the mowing?
Based on the Road Committee’s recommendation, the board approved $1600 for road easement mowing of all 10.5 miles of platted roads in South Glastonbury. The contract work will be done by SG landowner, Contractor Byron Kassing.
Work on a loan application for $110,000 to do chip sealing on the paved roads in NG is still in the preliminary stage according to Carp. If financing is approved, NG landowners will have the final say about whether they want to have a special road assessment of approximately $750.00 per parcel for the chip sealing added to their annual GLA assessment fees and with some sort of payment schedule.
Carp ended his report by recommending asphalt maintenance work on Sirius Drive in NG. Carp said he has talked with CUT officials about the question of whether the upper flat stretch of Sirius is a platted road and learned that when CUT, the developer of Glastonbury, conveyed its road system to GLA, all of Sirius was included and that there are records in the court house to confirm this.
Note: Research, done by former board member Leo Keeler, does not support Carp’s claim. Per the Governing Documents, GLA road funds can only be spent on platted roads.
Note: John Carp is not a landowner, is not a Director and is a full-time employee of CUT. He was appointed by the Board to Co-chair the Road Committee.
Complaint Committee.
Co-chairs Aija-Mara Accatino and Jerry Ladewig reported they are working on two complaints. One involves the removal of trash and vehicles, the other involves a lot line adjustment and garage placement. Efforts by neighbors to resolve the latter are ongoing.
Governing Documents Committee.
Chairman Andrea Sedlak reported that the USPS mail delivery delays for the ballots being used for the second round of voting on proposed Bylaw changes, appear random and are not a significant impact on the August 20, 2020 deadline for voting, at this time. 69 ballots were received by August 10.
Note: As of August 14, 2020, some landowners have still not received their ballot for the current Proposed Bylaw Changes Election.
Sedlak moved, seconded by Ladewig to use the July 31, 2020 date as the deadline to establish which voters are current on their GLA assessments, and thus, in good standing to vote. Dirkers pointed out that the July 31 assessment payment schedule is already established by the Covenants, and consequently, there was no need for the board to approve such a deadline. She called the motion a useless and unnecessary.
Two letters, which were sent to all landowners by the Governing Documents Committee regarding the first and second rounds of voting on Proposed Bylaw Changes Elections, stated the incorrect date of June 30 as the last day landowners could pay their assessment(s) and still be in “good standing”. Per the GLA Covenant 11.03, assessment installments are due January 31, April 30, July 31, and October 31.
Sedlak, when asked to withdraw her motion, said she would not given that the Governing Document Committee had recommended the motion. The motion to use July 31, 2020 as the good standing deadline for the second round of voting passed with five yes votes and three abstentions from McAllister, Brockett and Dirkers. The yes votes were from Newman, Mizzi, Accatino, Sedlak, and Ladewig.
Note: At the time of the above vote, Carp. Dubiel and Stone had left the meeting and Dobrowski, who had been attending by phone had already hung up.
Dirkers also clarified once landowners become delinquent in their assessment payments, there is no grace period that keeps a member in good standing. There is however, a 30-day grace period before interest and penalties fees are added to delinquent assessment accounts.
Note: As of August 14, 2020, some landowners have still not received their ballot for the current Proposed Bylaw Changes Election.
Sedlak moved, seconded by Ladewig to use the July 31, 2020 date as the deadline to establish which voters are current on their GLA assessments, and thus, in good standing to vote. Dirkers pointed out that the July 31 assessment payment schedule is already established by the Covenants, and consequently, there was no need for the board to approve such a deadline. She called the motion a useless and unnecessary.
Two letters, which were sent to all landowners by the Governing Documents Committee regarding the first and second rounds of voting on Proposed Bylaw Changes Elections, stated the incorrect date of June 30 as the last day landowners could pay their assessment(s) and still be in “good standing”. Per the GLA Covenant 11.03, assessment installments are due January 31, April 30, July 31, and October 31.
Sedlak, when asked to withdraw her motion, said she would not given that the Governing Document Committee had recommended the motion. The motion to use July 31, 2020 as the good standing deadline for the second round of voting passed with five yes votes and three abstentions from McAllister, Brockett and Dirkers. The yes votes were from Newman, Mizzi, Accatino, Sedlak, and Ladewig.
Note: At the time of the above vote, Carp. Dubiel and Stone had left the meeting and Dobrowski, who had been attending by phone had already hung up.
Dirkers also clarified once landowners become delinquent in their assessment payments, there is no grace period that keeps a member in good standing. There is however, a 30-day grace period before interest and penalties fees are added to delinquent assessment accounts.
Election Committee.
Chairman Jerry Ladewig announced, per a recent survey of landowners, the majority prefer to hold a modified annual election meeting due to Covid-19 concerns. It is anticipated, said Ladewig, that members would come to the annual meeting site to vote and then leave. There would be no food. Handouts would be available at the time of voting to update members on GLA business and give them a copy of the draft budget for 2021.
Director Brockett queried Ladewig as to how she received the blue annual election questionnaires. Ladewig replied that President Newman gave her the box of ballots and that some of the bigger envelopes were already opened. Ladewig, in her home, then opened the rest of the mailing envelopes, collected the blue election questionnaires, she opened the confidential ballot envelopes and shredded every ballot. Brockett asked if she tallied the vote totals first. Ladewig said “no”.
Note: There was no Board vote to destroy the landowner ballots. The GLA has a four-year retention policy for Election related documents.
Director Brockett queried Ladewig as to how she received the blue annual election questionnaires. Ladewig replied that President Newman gave her the box of ballots and that some of the bigger envelopes were already opened. Ladewig, in her home, then opened the rest of the mailing envelopes, collected the blue election questionnaires, she opened the confidential ballot envelopes and shredded every ballot. Brockett asked if she tallied the vote totals first. Ladewig said “no”.
Note: There was no Board vote to destroy the landowner ballots. The GLA has a four-year retention policy for Election related documents.
Approve minutes.
The board approved the July 13, 2020 minutes, subject to one amendment presented by Dirkers.
Visiting Landowner Input Period
One landowner asked to have the problem of ‘dead-beat directors’ mentioned in the August minutes and placed on the agenda for next month. It was noted that when certain directors routinely leave the meeting early or do not participate in board meetings, they are absent for important information about board business, and thus, do not vote on impactful issues. The landowner firmly stated that these behaviors place an unfair work burden on the remaining directors, and that this needs to stop.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned about 11:30 pm
Meeting Documents
Download the meeting agenda and record of email motions and votes here.
Financial Reports were not available for this meeting.
Financial Reports were not available for this meeting.
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