Post by Poor Richard on Nov 9, 2021 15:06:48 GMT -7
Summary and Timeline of the Effort to Dissolve the GLA in 2021
A Crib Sheet With Reference Links
A Crib Sheet With Reference Links
Below is a timeline of the effort to dissolve the GLA in 2021. The highlighted references will take you to detailed Forum articles or allow you to download primary documents.
On June 23, 2021, a lawsuit was filed against the Glastonbury Landowner's Association (GLA) in the 6th District Court. This lawsuit was brought by three current South Glastonbury GLA Directors; Andrea Sedlak, Jerry Ladewig, and John McAlister. Their spouses and a former GLA president, Dennis Riley and his wife, are also named as litigants. The Dissolution lawsuit seeks to destroy the current GLA by dissolving it completely or splitting it into two organizations; a GLA-North and a GLA-South.
You may download the Dissolution lawsuit here. The signed petitions and addendums are included.
You may download the Dissolution lawsuit here. The signed petitions and addendums are included.
At the July 31st GLA Board meeting attorney Ryan Jackson was hired to defend the GLA against the Dissolution lawsuit. The 6th District court in Park County was notified. The Dissolution lawsuit took another step forward.
On September 13th the court ordered that Mediation be attempted by both parties before the court agreed to schedule a hearing. Both parties agreed to a Mediation Settlement Meeting for October 4th, 2021. If mediation was NOT successful then the court would schedule a hearing and a trial. That could take a year to complete and cost the litigants upwards of $50,000.00 over what they already spent.
On September 13th the court ordered that Mediation be attempted by both parties before the court agreed to schedule a hearing. Both parties agreed to a Mediation Settlement Meeting for October 4th, 2021. If mediation was NOT successful then the court would schedule a hearing and a trial. That could take a year to complete and cost the litigants upwards of $50,000.00 over what they already spent.
On August 23rd the GLA Board held a meeting where a critical event took place. The GLA board voted to remove Secretary Mizzi as an officer and replace her with Claudette Dirkers. The Board also voted to remove Newman Brozovsky as President and replace him with Andrea Sedlak. Brozovsky unsuccessfully tried to shut the meeting down when the motion to remove Mizzi as Secretary was made. The next day Mizzi bitterly opposed her removal. To this day she still claims to be the official GLA Board Secretary. The August 23rd Minutes detail how the motions were made and voted upon.
Phone records provided by Attorney Jackson show that on August 25th Directors Mizzi and Brozovsky spoke with him for almost an hour regarding Mediation. On August 30th Attorney Jackson spoke with the Dissolution lawsuit attorney regarding "Mediation and Board Issues".
On October 4th a Mediation Meeting was held in Bozeman at Attorney Ryan Jackson's office. Both attorneys previously discussed the Mediation Settlement and drew a map to achieve their client's goals. After 7+ hours, a written settlement was agreed upon. Labeled a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), it was quickly agreed to by the Dissolution lawsuit group. Surprisingly, Directors Mizzi, Brozovsky, and Dubiel signed the agreement. The MOU agreed to dissolve the current GLA organization and replace it with two new organizations; GLA-South and GLA-North. The MOU also contained legal language that allowed Mizzi to remain as Secretary. Additionally, the current GLA Board was prohibited from all activities except; paying bills, maintaining roads, and continuing with litigation. Minutes could not be approved, vacancies could not be filled and most importantly an Annual Election could not be held. The MOU needed to be included in a Resolution that must be approved by the GLA Board before it could be passed on to the 6th District Court.
On October 6th the GLA held a board meeting. The previously agreed-upon MOU was woven into an official Resolution by the attorneys. Directors Sedlak, Ladewig, and McAlister, all litigants in the Dissolution lawsuit, quickly voted YES. They were joined by Directors Mizzi, Accatino, and Dubiel who all voted YES. Directors Brockett and Dirkers voted NO. Newman Brozovsky did not attend the October 6th meeting and thus did not vote. Brockett wanted the question of dissolving the GLA to be decided by a landowner vote, not by a judge.
If Directors Brozovsky, Mizzi, and Dubiel followed Director Dirkers and REFUSED to sign the MOU, then Mediation would have failed. Likewise, if Directors Mizzi, Accatino and Dubiel voted NO for the Resolution at the October 6th GLA Board meeting, Mediation would have failed. The litigants would have been left with spending tens of thousands of dollars more to pursue their lawsuit in court over the next year or so. Landowners could have used that time to organize and fight the lawsuit. Because they voted YES to both the MOU and the Resolution, the matter is now in the hands of the court. Any reasonable judge could easily decide that since the GLA Board and the litigants are in complete agreement, the current GLA should be dissolved and replaced with a GLA-North and GLA-South. A court decision is expected early next year.
On October 28, 2021 members of the Glastonbury Landowner's Association (GLA) started to receive a mailing from a group called "Concerned Glastonbury Landowners" (CGL). The mailing list was from the GLA and some labels contained parcel numbers. The CGL letter asks readers to sign a petition to prevent the dissolution or splitting of the GLA into two separate organizations.
On November 1 landowners started to receive phone calls asking them to sign a CGL petition to keep Glastonbury intact. According to several landowners, Director Mizzi asked "volunteers" to call a list of landowners and promote the goals of the CGL letter. When queried, one volunteer reluctantly answered that "Mizzi asked me to call you". Another landowner stated that Mizzi personally called him and demanded that he sign the petition to keep the GLA intact.
On November 8th South Glastonbury landowner and former GLA Director, Clare Parker, emailed a letter and a different petition to many landowners. Parker is also asking that the GLA remain intact and is urging landowners to sign both petitions.
On November 1 landowners started to receive phone calls asking them to sign a CGL petition to keep Glastonbury intact. According to several landowners, Director Mizzi asked "volunteers" to call a list of landowners and promote the goals of the CGL letter. When queried, one volunteer reluctantly answered that "Mizzi asked me to call you". Another landowner stated that Mizzi personally called him and demanded that he sign the petition to keep the GLA intact.
On November 8th South Glastonbury landowner and former GLA Director, Clare Parker, emailed a letter and a different petition to many landowners. Parker is also asking that the GLA remain intact and is urging landowners to sign both petitions.
Also on November 8th the Dissolution Lawsuit litigants mailed a letter to landowners. The letter was a response to the October 28th Concerned Glastonbury Landowner's letter. It also provided new information and answered several questions.
It is not clear why Directors Brozovsky, Mizzi, Accatino and Dubiel voted YES. It would be helpful for all landowners if their side of the story could be heard. Brozovsky has privately expressed regret but the others have remained silent.
As more events occur we will add them to the above timeline. Please share this article with others so all landowners may understand the Dissolution movement and efforts to stop it.