El siguiente correo electrónico está publicado en nuestro sitio web en español, mysticpointe500owners.org en la página de Documentos.
Dear Neighbors,
On October 18, we wrote to you about several unresolved questions concerning our November 17 election, the transition to GetQuorum, and the conflicting notices for the October 14 committee meeting. We asked that these matters be addressed at the October 20 Board meeting.
What happened at the meeting makes a follow-up necessary.
1. THE GETQUORUM EMAIL: TWO CONFLICTING EXPLANATIONS
Many owners received a GetQuorum reminder on October 9 stating that the deadline for submitting Board applications had been October 8.
When I questioned this delay, management explained that the email had actually been sent on October 6 but had been delayed by the volume of communications being processed.
That explanation did not satisfy me. So, on the morning of October 20, I called GetQuorum’s Miami office to find out what had happened.
After speaking with its representatives, a woman named Lola acknowledged that the reminder had been sent on October 9, at least a day late.
I brought this discrepancy to the Board meeting, expecting that it would be clarified. Instead, management maintained the explanation previously given. When I pointed out that either management’s account or GetQuorum’s account was incorrect, the matter was dismissed on the grounds that it was only a reminder.
But that misses the point.
The issue is not whether the email was a reminder. The issue is whether the explanation the owners received was accurate.
If GetQuorum sent the message late, owners deserve to know that. If the message was sent on October 6 and delayed in the system, the transmission records should establish that. These conflicting explanations should be reconciled with evidence, not brushed aside.
This incident also raises a broader question: What verification has been performed to establish that GetQuorum is ready to handle our November 17 election reliably?
2. THE OCTOBER 20 MEETING: QUESTIONS DISMISSED, AND AN INCIDENT LEFT UNADDRESSED
The meeting began with serious Zoom problems, and rescheduling was discussed. When Zoom finally began working, the meeting resumed.
Much of the subsequent discussion emphasized management’s accomplishments, reduced fees, the Board’s plans, and the positive working relationship among Board members. The President’s Report was lengthy and covered numerous subjects, including matters ordinarily associated with the Manager’s Report.
When the Manager invited questions, I went to the microphone. I began by commenting on how much good news we had heard. The Board President interrupted me, stating that such comments belonged under “Good and Welfare.” As soon as I arrived at the microphone, an owner sitting just a few feet away from the microphone began heckling me with remarks that I do not recall and do not consider worth repeating.
The heckling occurred in the presence of the four Board members who were there. None intervened or said anything. The heckling was not picked up by Zoom, so those watching remotely would not have heard it or necessarily understood what was happening in the room.
I then turned to the substantive issue that had brought me to the microphone: the contradiction between what GetQuorum’s representatives had told me that morning and management’s explanation for the delayed email.
Rather than reconcile the two accounts, the discussion was dismissed on the grounds that the message was only a reminder.
But the question was never whether the email was a reminder. The question was whether management’s explanation was accurate and whether the new election provider could be relied upon to deliver critical communications on time.
After that exchange, I concluded that pursuing the remaining questions at the meeting would be unproductive. I remained until adjournment, but the other issues raised in our October 18 email were left without the answers we had requested.
I am not suggesting that the Board members orchestrated the heckling. I cannot establish that. But their failure to intervene when a candidate was being heckled a few feet from the microphone is disappointing and deserves to be acknowledged.
That does not mean the questions we raised have disappeared, or that the concerns behind them have been resolved.
3. THE REMAINING QUESTIONS STILL MATTER
Our October 18 email also asked:
- Why did the October 14 flyer identify a “Grievance Meeting” while the agenda identified a Finance Committee workshop?
- What documentation establishes that a Finance Committee exists, identifies its members, and establishes its authority?
- What safeguards will ensure that all eligible owners can participate in the November 17 election?
- What records and procedures demonstrate that the transition to GetQuorum has been properly tested?
We are not alleging that the election will fail. We are asking for evidence that the process is reliable and that the explanations owners receive are accurate.
These are reasonable questions about the administration of our community. They deserve direct answers.
4. WHAT WE ARE ASKING FOR
We request that the Board and Castle Management:
- Reconcile the conflicting explanations concerning the October 9 GetQuorum email and provide the supporting transmission records.
- Explain what testing and safeguards are in place for the November 17 election.
- Answer the outstanding questions concerning the October 14 meeting and the Finance Committee.
- Make the responses available to all owners before the election.
We recognize that the October 20 agenda was extensive and that the technical problems at the beginning of the meeting were unfortunate. Nevertheless, owners should not have to accept conflicting explanations or indefinitely unanswered questions about matters affecting their rights.
The Board election is approaching. Owners deserve the opportunity to evaluate not only management’s reported accomplishments but also how the Board and management respond to legitimate questions and requests for accountability.
Good news is welcome. But transparency requires that difficult questions receive answers, too.
Best regards,
Matthew Roth (Unit 2105)
with Ariel Messina (Unit 1911) Martin Soll (Unit 401)
P.S. Our October 18 email as well as this one is available in English and Spanish on mysticpointe500owners.org, under Documents.