Edinburgh Square 2025 HOA Meeting
Know Before You Vote
I am Richard Crowe, one of four members of the 2024 Edinburgh Square Homeowners Association Board of Directors. I have created this site in an unofficial capacity to bring awareness to some of the unethical practices of the board and management company.
No Agenda
Has anyone seen an agenda for the 2024 Annual meeting to be held on January 23, 2025? I have not and I am on the HOA Board (at least until the annual meeting). You will be handed an agenda at the door and expected to vote on community issues on the spot. Some changes like a combined board, you will not even have an opportunity to vote on. The board plans to mandate this.
No Notice of HOA Board Meeting Time Change
November HOA Board Meeting
Residents were notified by the Main Street Management Group that the November HOA Board meeting would be held at 5 pm EST on November 21, 2024. The meeting was actually called to order at 4 pm by Raymond Fulton (otherwise known as the dictator of the board), in my opinion to quiet those, specifically me, with conflicting opinions to his own.
Main Street Management Group Cancellation
Annual Meeting Rescheduled
Anyone wonder why the Annual meeting scheduled in October was cancelled? In short because Kelly Hawkins, owner of Main Street Management Group, gave both the COA and HOA 30 days termination notice.
Termination Notice
This came as a surprise to the three members of the HOA Board that are not also on the COA Board. Turns out the COA Board was questioning Kelly's accounting practices, some comments were made back and forth ending with the President of the COA, Raymond, making the comment that he would "Walk it Back" with Kelly, who was on the cc list. Raymond claims he did not realize this. Evidently Kelly took offense to his comment and gave both Boards 30 days' notice (see email archive).
Management Company Search
Having been provided notice, both Boards immediately started the search for a new company. Things got ugly with Raymond trying to force his opinion on everyone to go with the company he had chosen. He even went as far as texting and calling me to swing my vote his way. This was the first and only time I saw other members of either board confront him.
Mary to the Rescue
Mary Labonte had a conversation with Kelly and was able to salvage the relationship.
Board Consolidation
One Board
The notion of holding joint HOA / COA meetings has always been part of Raymonds agenda since the first meeting of 2024. He first convinced the HOA board that we did not need to hold elections or appoint positions on the board. Why, so he could be dictator of the board(s). Next he made sure both boards meet at the same time, two agendas but same time. The final blow was when he and Kelly mandated that he be the only one to communicate with Main Street Management.
Main Street Management Ethics
A management company has many responsibilities. I do not believe one of them is conspiring with a dictator to misinform residents. When Kelly originally suggested forming one board to govern both the HOA and COA it was suggested that the board could consist of any number of condo and townhome owners. Then after reviewing the covenants this changed, tuns out that the COA requires at least 3 Condo owners to be on any board and they are the only ones with a vote. Kelly also said at the time that both the HOA and COA covenants would require changes in order to form one board. Now, well now Kelly and Raymond think they can just dictate that this is what is going to happen.
Conflict of Interest
It is clear to me that having one Board of Directors that governs both the HOA and COA is a Conflict of Interests. Case in point, the Landscaping. It has been an agreement between the HOA and COA for many years that the HOA will manage the landscaping contract to include property owned by the COA as long as the COA pays a monthly fee. Kelly reviewing both sets of financials determines this is not fair. So, she consults with Raymond, and they decide that the COA no longer needs to pay. This decision made with no consultation or notification to the rest of the HOA board. Conflict of Interest? Ethical behavior of Kelly and Raymond? I'll let you decide.
Final Word
I do not believe the original intent of the HOA was to limit the community's ability to have a diverse board. Currently the HOA Board is 5 members with no stipulations on condo or townhome owner. So, the Board could be all townhome owners, all condo owners or any mix of 5 condo and townhome owners. Under the Mandate, not up for a vote, the HOA Board will consist of 3 condo owners and 2 townhome owners. They will govern both the COA and HOA but the townhome owners will have NO vote on COA matters. Sound Fair?
Email Archive
See For Yourself
I am not asking anyone to take my word for anything. I will be uploading all email chains I have from HOA correspondence. Some may believe these to be confidential, but this is not the case.