Post by Uncle Ray on Oct 6, 2020 10:45:28 GMT -7
Special GLA Board meeting on Thursday, October 1st
Field of 13 GLA board candidates shrinks to eight
Field of 13 GLA board candidates shrinks to eight
At the beginning of the Special GLA Board meeting on Thursday, October 1, 2020, the board did not accept an addition to the agenda that would have allowed them to review President Brozovsky’s defense after being censured at the September 14, 2020 GLA Board meeting. Brozovsky is charged with repeatedly seeking legal counsel without informing the board. Specifically Brozovsky is charged with seeking an opinion from the GLA attorney that would have delayed the implementation of term limits for four years. It is expected that Brozovsky’s defense will be heard at the October 12, 2020 meeting.
Note: The recently approved Bylaw on term limits prevents Brozovsky from seeking another term in 2020.
Note: The recently approved Bylaw on term limits prevents Brozovsky from seeking another term in 2020.
The board also heard a request from McSherry for bereavement pay following the passing of her mother. The motion by Mizzi, seconded by Aija-Mara Acatinno, to grant the bereavement pay failed 5-6. The opposing votes were from Jerry Ladewig, Andrea Sedlak, Claudette Dirkers, John McAllister, Tim Brockett, and Erica Stone. Stone said, that as a business owner, her employees typically take vacation time when they need time to deal with a personal loss.
Before voting “no” to the bereavement request, Tim Brockett said his vote reflects the problem of time accountability, given that Mizzi (McSherry’s only supervisor) does not allow board members to see McSherry’s time cards.
Note: As a part-time employee, McSherry is paid $18/hour, has a week of paid vacation, receives mileage reimbursements and was recently given a 12% raise. In 2020 she was absent from Glastonbury for two and ½ months.
Note: On Friday October 2nd McSherry submitted her resignation to the GLA. She explained that she previously agreed to assist her parents in Arizona and would soon be moving there.
Note: As a part-time employee, McSherry is paid $18/hour, has a week of paid vacation, receives mileage reimbursements and was recently given a 12% raise. In 2020 she was absent from Glastonbury for two and ½ months.
Note: On Friday October 2nd McSherry submitted her resignation to the GLA. She explained that she previously agreed to assist her parents in Arizona and would soon be moving there.
The board dismissed Mizzi’s claim that four sitting board members, who are seeking to retain their seats at the 2020 election, have a conflict of interest and could not vote on the validity of nomination forms. If Mizzi’s claim had been accepted by the board, John McAllister, Erica Stone, Claudette Dirkers and Andrea Sedlak would not have been able to vote on the question whether Nomination Forms must be filled out in accordance with GLA Bylaws and established Election Procedures.
Four potential candidates running for the 2021 Glastonbury Landowner Association (GLA) board lost their bid to be on the ballot. They are North Glastonbury (NG) candidates John Carp, Michael Villeneuve, and Jordan Schreiber, and South Glastonbury (SG) candidate, Marshall Haley.
The instructions state that the Nomination Form must be received by the board no later than 5 pm on September 25, 2020 in one of three ways: by email to info@glamontana.org, by FAX, or by postal mail.
The problem for the three of the four disqualified candidates is that they submitted their forms to individuals, not the board as a whole. Those individuals, President Newman Brozovsky, Secretary Charlotte Mizzi, and Administrator Karlene McSherry held the forms without the knowledge of all board members until the day after the deadline.
A fourth candidate, John Carp, was disqualified for several reasons, including the fact that the parcel he was to represent is not in good standing. A Legal Representative form could not be located for that parcel either.
The GLA board voted 6-5 to invalidate the forms which were not submitted per the Bylaws and Election Procedures. SG Candidate Cynthia Blocker, present in the audience, withdrew her nomination form, when she realized she had not followed the rules.
Before and after the vote, Mizzi maintained that it has always been okay to give your nomination forms to an individual director rather than the whole board. Mizzi argued that past boards overlooked missing information and other problems out of compassion and mercy. She continued that it was unfair to change the process from the way it has always been done.
McSherry insisted that no one told her the process was changed and that that was why she held the forms until the next day. McSherry said it was her job to arrange the forms before sending them to the board. McSherry was a 2019 Election Official and was paid to attend every 2019 Election Committee meeting since then.
“Then why have instructions”? countered Director John McAllister. He continued “one of the problems when nomination forms are submitted to individuals, rather than the board, is that there is no way to time-date when the forms are received”.
Eight Nomination Forms, were submitted to the entire GLA Board by the September 25th, 2020 5 PM deadline. Those candidates will be on the ballot.
Another problem for three of the candidates who lost their bid to be on the ballot, is that they did not have Legal Representative forms, as required by the Bylaws, on file with the GLA before they submitted their Nomination Forms. They are Villeneuve, Haley and Blocker.
A total of six non-landowners submitted Nomination Forms for the 2020 board election. Just one will be on the official ballot; Tim Sweeney in SG.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:50 PM.
