Editor’s note: Previously, under the realm of LN, the Corporate Secretary and Treasurer positions were filled by staff. The ex-CEO served as Corporate Secretary and the ex-CFO filled the Corporate Treasurer slot. In a move for oversight and transparency, the 2020 board made the decision to appoint property owners to these positions instead of staff. In a complete flip-flop, in September, the HSVPOA Board decided to revert the positions back to staff. Below is a statement from former Treasurer Wayne Foltz.
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First, it was an honor to serve as HSVPOA Treasurer.
I am disappointed with the Board’s decision to appease the new GM, terminate me, and agree to fill the Corporate Treasurer and Secretary position with POA staff. I am also disappointed by how this transpired.
On September 16th, the board meeting was adjourned and Board Member Dick Garrison dismissed me. I gathered my things and left the meeting. Later that evening, I checked my email and noticed an email from GM King addressed to the Voting Board members and myself but excluding Secretary Mermel. It stated that he had spoken to Ella Scotty and Coreena Fetterhoff, and both had agreed to assume the responsibilities and duties of Board Secretary and Corporate Treasurer.
The following morning, Board Chair Sherman emailed me that the Board had voted to fill the Treasurer and Secretary positions with POA staff and he requested I immediately return any POA electronics, property, and documents in my possession.
The press release stated that the use of a non-staff Treasurer was intended to be short term. I disagree with this statement. My term was to be for 1 year, expiring April 2021. I can only speculate on the reason for the secrecy, speed, and lack of transparency of their actions.
According to the F&P Charter, the Corporate Treasurer was required to serve as chairperson of the committee. When the Board voted to terminate me as Treasurer, they also terminated me as the Chair of the F&P committee. At that point, I no longer had a seat on the committee, and Coreena was Chair. I vacated my original seat when I was elected Treasurer by the POA Board. On September 16, the Board appointed Gary Belair to fill the remainder of the 3-year term I vacated.
Attempting to remedy this mess, the Board then had to amend both the F&P Charter and the POA Bylaws quickly. This is another indication that using a non-staff person as Treasurer was never intended to be short-term.
This is a return to the old LN administrative model. I am genuinely concerned that our POA lost transparency and oversight so rapidly and without open Board discussion and deliberation. Our Village fought long and hard to elect a board that pledged to regain transparency and oversight, and in a few short months, all our progress has been undone.
Now, the spending limits are being reverted to the same limits we had with LN. This will revert the Board to a “Rubber Stamp” body, and they are ready and willing to oblige. I fully expect that the next move by this Board will be to negotiate a lucrative long-term employment contract for Mr. King.
I gladly volunteered my time for the POA’s benefit and felt that my contribution was of value to both the Board and Homeowners. I had no personal agenda or aspirations but felt that my skill set was conducive to providing the desperately needed internal oversight. The Board’s actions have made my efforts a complete waste of my time.
By Former HSVPOA Board Treasurer, Wayne Foltz, October 15, 2020
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Monica Impellizzeri
10/15/2020 — 3:50 pm
Thank you Wayne! I agree totally with everything in your letter. I’m so disappointed in what has transpired since we elected the new board. I feel betrayed after working along with so many others to try and implement changes to our village and having the current board and GM revert back to the old ways of the previous administration! I hope the new GM can make the necessary changes needed for the financial stability of our village.
But I’m not holding my breath!
Disappointed and done!!!!
Joseph Vlasek
10/15/2020 — 4:05 pm
Well a big thanks goes out to our new $200,000+ a year G.M for another Nally Like Move.
Donna
10/15/2020 — 4:08 pm
Disappointing and very unneighborly. Why the power grab by the Board and GM? Have they forgotten common decency and how to respect loyalty and volunteerism? I would say this is shocking but sadly, the Board’s reactions have remained consistent. 🤦♀️
Henry (Butch) Ewersmann
10/15/2020 — 4:53 pm
I totally agree with you. Thanks.
Raymond Lehman
10/17/2020 — 9:05 am
Donna In my humble opinion it isn’t a power grab by the Board. It appears the Board is awarding the GM the same powers that LN had…..it is very troubling.
K Parks
10/15/2020 — 5:12 pm
POA members deserve further explanation for the Board’s bizarre actions.
Dan Hitch
10/15/2020 — 5:41 pm
What goes around, comes around
Chipmunk
10/15/2020 — 6:50 pm
Kool Ade still in their water bottles?
Diana Podawiltz
10/15/2020 — 8:45 pm
I have great appreciation for the work of Wayne Foltz , Jama Lopez and Dan Aylward. Wayne was on the ground floor with helping me try to draft a Finance & Planning Ctte charter which was rejected by the 2019 board. However, he still served on the Ad-hoc budget committee and was very instrumental in the changes put in place by the 2020 board. He was part of the first Finance & Planning Cttee which began meeting in January. He served on the new committee under the leadership of Dan Alyward and stepped up when Dan resigned. His work product was very valuable to the board. It’s so unfortunate that he was voted out of his position while performing exemplary work and providing a much needed and valuable UNPAID service to the corporation.
Jama, a very talented retired CPA stepped up to come to work for the POA for minimum wage on the day Liz resigned to take a position with the city of Maumelle with a phone call from me asking for help. She mentored Coreena and as Coreena developed, Jama was able to reduce her working hours to part time. Her skills would’ve been very valuable in the preparation of the 2021 budget and the implementation of a new audit contract. However, given the events that occurred with Wayne and myself she felt it was best that she resigned.
Sadly, Lloyd now finds himself fighting some of the same battles we had already won. Dick Garrison campaigned, repeatedly making the statement that job 1 was to change the bylaws to give more control to the Board. Under my leadership, plans and direction we had the control. Most of that is now gone. The financial checks and balances are gone. The wonderful reports provided by the Board appointed treasurers, Dan Aylward and Wayne Foltz will be missed.
I’m sorry that I could not continue when I was removed as chair. I was ill with Covid and the handwriting was on the wall. I wanted to be part of a working board that would put it’s fiduciary responsibilities front and center. That was not to be and for my own mental and physical health, I chose to leave the political world. I have great respect for Coreena but felt there were not enough hours in the day for her to accomplish her workload with the help of Jama, let alone take on the responsibilities of treasurer which in my humble opinion should be separate from the POA controller. Of course, when asked by her new boss if she could handle the duties of the treasurer, she said yes. Was she also offered more money for the additional responsibilities, I have no idea.
What is our compensation expense for salaried employees now as compared to April, 2020? For the sake of our Village, I pray that the 4 board seats to be voted on this year will be filled by strong business minds like Lloyd Sherman that will uphold their fiduciary duties. There will be 2 3 year terms and 2 1 year terms.
Tom Blakeman
10/16/2020 — 8:49 am
OK Diana, you are restating what we all know has happened. What you are not stating is: WHY? WHO is at fault here? WHAT is the real story?
Joseph Vlasek
10/16/2020 — 10:08 am
It would appear that the B O D is responsible! They hired Charles King the new $200,000 GM. The Fault Lies Here!
Diana Podawiktz
10/16/2020 — 6:45 pm
Perhaps the executive session voting will be appropriately revealed at Wednesday’s board meeting. Did they reveal the vote when I was removed as Chair? If not, I will as it was a roll call vote.
Ray Lehman
10/17/2020 — 9:10 am
Diana, Mirroring your comments I resigned as Chair of the Marketing Committee for mental and physical reasons. There are many examples of the Board giving the GM too much power given he has almost no track record at HSV. They have also reduced the power of the various Committees that are made up of Property Owners. It seems the GM is highly qualified but….should we not have him prove himself?
Judy Weatherly
10/16/2020 — 9:26 am
Wayne…your letter was eye opening and I am glad you published your thoughts.
I AM SO DISSAPOINTED!!
Like others I worked hard getting the winning candidates elected and feel very betrayed.
Have you forgotten this:
THE GM IS YOUR EMPLOYEE!!
If he did anything you question then discuss with him like bosses will do.
This is confusing..disppointing to all who will read this. We voted you all in..why the backslide.
Villagers need to understand what is going on with the board we voted in.
Time to be open..transparent. Let us know the real story!
Gene Garner
10/16/2020 — 12:31 pm
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana.
How many times do we have to go through this same sad story– promises broken, a power grab by the CEO/GM, obfuscation and we property owners ignored and caught in the middle?
I’ll say it again– I don’t believe there are seven property owners with the training, experience or knowledge to effectively govern HSV w/o experienced assistance and it’s time to look for alternative solutions.
There are a number of “gated Communities” that use professional property management agencies to take care of their day-to-day operations. They employ professional engineers, financial advisers, human resource specialist, legal counsel etc. to advise, recommend and support the BOD. This approach has a number of advantages including their need to help us prosper and then renewing their contract next year. They have the skills and experience– they know what works and what doesn’t. And if things don’t work out we look for a different organization– without paying them $200,000+.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” Maybe that is an overused cliche but it has a ring of truth, perhaps it’s time to try something different.–Gene
Karen Roberts
10/17/2020 — 12:20 am
Property Management agency is definitely is a viable option worthy of further consideration!
Keith
10/17/2020 — 3:38 am
Gene hit the nail on the head. Actually, whether the Treasurer and Secretary are filled with board or staff is irrelevant. It was done one way since about 72 with only a handful of deviations including this most recent flip flop. Regardless, the seven elected board members are fully responsible, including being responsible for the hundreds of other positions within the POA not held by an elected board member. For instance, how much authority comes with the newly created director position held by SH or is that still a secret too?
The board is apparently not capable of establishing policies and metrics to direct our staff (have we seen goals for the new GM yet?) or adhering to checks and balances, such as transparency, for themselves. Unfortunately, 50 years has shown us that there simply are not 7 rotating people capable of all that is required. That’s not to say there haven’t been some smart people give it a try but one or two people a year can only do so much when so many others are focused on political gain and personal agendas.
We don’t need a management company though. Gene, we don’t exactly agree here but we are pretty close in our thinking. We will pay more for that than we are paying for the current GM model and have even less control. Think of the Troon contract from 2014, what it cost, its secrecy and what it covered. Instead, we need an alternative form of governance. What we have is not working.
Morris Polston
10/17/2020 — 11:04 am
First, I am a friend of Wayne and it sickens me the way his termination was handled . Wayne has an exception financial mind and due diligence to analysis.
However, if I were the new GM I would eliminate the financial committee and the marketing . It’s more of a barrier to the GM than a benefit.. it’s unfair to compare the new GM to the previous CEO failures. New GM has the right to fail or succeed without the handicap of committees or barriers .. Give him enough rope to hang himself but don’t strangle with with committees.
I would suggest to new GM form a special advisory board to provide consult on issues that have no previous precedence or where no single elegant solution exist.. however , the GM would select the issues that required analysis and the first person I would reach out for consul for financial matters would be Wayne.
Hsv needs to get on board with new GM . A house divided can’t stand. He needs the opportunity to succeed without the handicap of committees robing his staff time, he can’t report to three masters board, committees, hsv members.. GIVE him a chance . Terminate the finance committee and the marketing committee . Appoint you an advisory staff of volunteers to analyze decisions requiring specific expertise and Wayne would be my first contact.
This is just my POV point of view
Karen Roberts
10/17/2020 — 3:24 pm
I also agree committees that directly relate to business operations….like Finance and Marketing should be handled by POA staff to streamline the process of getting programs and initiatives implemented faster and metrics continually monitored by the GM.
Personally instead of committees, I would like to encourage the GM to conduct resident FOCUS GROUPS to gain insight/ideas in business areas of Marketing, Finance, etc. so community voices are heard and considered when our GM makes decisions.
I do think committees are useful for resident “recreational” type activities where resident feedback is crucial in satisfying the social needs of our community.
It is my hope a competent GM and staff who does solicit and consider Resident feedback in the decision making process should be able to achieve success in meeting the goals of our community.
Elmo Wiggins
10/25/2020 — 8:50 am
It sounds like Wayne was treated unfairly. So was Dan Aylward and Chuck Alvord. A consistent and recurring problem in HSV is electing board members with the wrong kind of experience. Also, there seems to be some kind of ego transition that occurs when they pin on that board member badge for the first time. They become smarter than all other Villagers, they relish and bask in the power of the position and they begin making poor business decisions … mostly in the face of others’ recommendations to do otherwise!
Kirk Denger
12/18/2020 — 9:53 pm
Wayne, if you check the executive meeting minutes roll call vote which I asked to be stated aloud at the next October 21st regular meeting, you will find I was the only vote against removing your duty of the Treasurer’s office. You tube 12 minutes in from beginning, October 21/20.