A message to our readers

The Blog would like to inform its readers that our posts will resume tomorrow, Saturday March 17, 2012 and assure all of our neighbors in the Glen Iris Lofts community that our mission to effect greater transparency and more ethical conduct on the part of our Association's Board of Directors is alive and well.  A more detailed update on the status of this effort will be posted in the coming days.

Thank you for your loyal readership and the care and concern you have for our shared community.

The Blog

Board stalls homeowner group's request for information

This post is an update to our original post titled Homeowners hire attorney to obtain information from GIL Board, posted February 29, 2012.

The Blog has just received information from a homeowner, who did not wish to be identified by name, that the GIL Board has communicated to the homeowner group's attorney, Mr. Randall M. Lipshutz, that it needs more time to prepare for the document review requested by the homeowners.  The reason behind the Board's delay is unclear.  The Blog did attempt to find out more information by contacting Christopher Gorton (Ph. II, Unit 611) - the only homeowner mentioned by name in the group's original request - via e-mail, however Mr. Gorton declined to comment on the matter, stating only that the Board had, in fact, responded to the homeowner group's request via the Association's counsel, Mindy Waitsman.

If any of our readers have any more detailed information regarding this developing story that they would like to share with their fellow homeowners, we invite you to contact the Blog anonymously at gil@go.to.

Homeowners hire attorney to obtain information from GIL Board

Although winter is not yet over and the drop in evening temperatures can still fall below freezing, things sure seem to be heating up here at Glen Iris Lofts.

The Blog has recently learned that a group of Glen Iris Lofts homeowners have hired Atlanta law firm Lipshutz Greenblatt, LLC in an effort to enforce compliance on the part of the GIL Board to provide access to information the homeowners claim they have a legal right to review, following the Board's latest denial of their request for information. 

According to a letter sent to the Association this week by the group's attorney, Mr. Randall M. Lipshutz, Esq., (a copy of the letter obtained by the Blog has been included with this post, below) the homeowners have requested; to review all ballots, proxies and other material related to the most recent election of Board members in December; to view the emails that evidence proper Board approval of the 2012 budget, given that the budget was not approved at a Board meeting where minutes were taken; all maintenance contracts maintained by the Association in excess of $25,000; all documents related to the Board's decision to seek a loan to pay for exterior stucco work and window repairs (the so-called 'mega-loan').

This is not the first time Mr. Lipshutz has been involved in the legal affairs of Glen Iris Lofts.  Most notably, he was the attorney that drafted the Association's By-Laws, Articles of Incorporation and filed the initial Declaration of Condominium.  In their selection of legal counsel, the homeowner group could probably not have found someone with greater knowledge and familiarity with the governing documents of our Association.

The Blog sent an e-mail to the GIL Board seeking comment on the homeowner group's action, but did not receive a reply.

The Blog will keep our readers abreast of any new developments that pertain to this story as details emerge...stay tuned!


Copy of letter sent to the GIL Board from Randall M. Lipshutz, Esq., the homeowner group's attorney, can be viewed, below.  Note that if you are unable to view the letter in-line on this Web page, simply click the link below to open the letter in a new browser window.

Document Inspection Letter

Board ignores homeowners' demand for loan approval

In an unfortunate but predictable development, the GIL Board has ignored repeated homeowner demands that they seek homeowner approval before borrowing nearly a half a million dollars.  Further, the Board has has refused to allow any homeowner involvement in the process whatsoever.

If anything, the growing demand for answers seems only to have resulted in an effort on the part of the GIL Board to move faster to secure a loan that has grown in size from an initial projected request of about $300,000 to nearly a half a million dollars, at last mention.  When added to the budget that was pushed through at the most recent Annual Meeting, the present Board will have a total haul of homeowner cash for 2012 of almost a million dollars.  And, so far, they have done all of this behind closed doors, without any homeowner input or involvement.

Their position is as clear as it is untenable - they want our money, but they don't want to have to answer to anyone about what they choose to do with it.

Your help is urgently needed to put an end to what has become a very costly imperial system of Association governance, whereby those who have controlled the GIL Board for nearly a decade are so entrenched and removed from the rest of us, that they no longer even bother to stand for election or see any need to consult homeowners before borrowing hundreds of thousands of dollars in our name.

Join your neighbors in putting an end to this madness and restoring transparency and accountability to our Board of Directors by sending an e-mail with the simple subject line 'Count me in".  There isn't any time to delay - join the effort to save Glen Iris Lofts today.

Board's mega-loan poll results: 54 to 1

The Blog recently conducted an online poll that many of you participated in. We asked if you thought the Glen Iris Lofts Board should be required to get homeowner approval before proceeding with their plan to borrow more than $400,000. The results were an overwhelming fifty-four affirmative votes and only one ‘no’ vote. While not a formal poll, readers were only able to vote once and, given that fact, it’s a pretty clear message to the Board of Directors that homeowner sentiment is clearly and heavily weighted toward their inclusion and consultation before proceeding with obtaining a loan of this size – especially when doing so comes with so many ramifications for the members of this Association.

Surely, the GIL Board will respect the wishes of such an overwhelming number of homeowners and schedule a time and place where those that have questions can ask them and the Board can provide more specific information than it has to-date on the subject.

If not, then everyone would at least have to acknowledge that Glen Iris Board, indeed, serves only a community of two.

the Blog

 

Sutherland support dwindles as homeowners shut out of loan process

KNOW WHEN TO SAY WHEN  Being in the driver's seat of our association has its perks - just ask Kit and Stuart Sutherland; they've had their derrieres planted firmly there for the past eight years.  Not only do you get to bend and stretch every detail of the home lives of over one hundred of your neighbors until it can be shoe-horned into something more to your liking, you always have a steady supply of sycophant vendors and homeowners lined up to stroke your ego and whisper sweet yeses into your ear.  And best of all, the job comes with your very own girl Friday, who's commanded by your every wish.

Hijacked

Outwardly, they have been the poster children for the archetypal community volunteer and concerned neighbor. But underneath their meticulously crafted public image, tireless self-promotion and thin veneer of volunteerism and community service, has been a nine year calculated endeavor to subvert the democratic will of GIL homeowners by engineering at least one election outright, contorting election procedures in every election, keeping a sharp eye out for new homeowners that can be easily manipulated and by making Board service so untenable for the ones that can’t be that they either resign or decide not to seek re-election.

New GIL Mega-Loan has CMA sharpening the shears

Editor’s note: Michele Richards from Community Management Associates was twice invited to comment on the subject of this post and have her perspective of events included. The Blog did not receive a reply to either invitation.

The Glen Iris Board is in a big hurry to borrow big – and guess who is celebrating? CMA. And guess who will be picking up the hefty party tab for years to come? You guessed it, GIL homeowners.  Most of whom would be surprised to learn how much they paid in fees and commissions the last time we got the CMA ‘hook up'.

The Blog’s review of accounting records for the $200,000 loan that was arranged by CMA in 2004 revealed not only hefty fees, but some rather amateurish attempts on the part of CMA to conceal the true nature of the costs as well.

The courage deficit

For those of you that couldn’t make the Glen Iris Board meeting Monday evening, you missed a good show. The usual cast of characters was there, and in a sign that the Blog is causing real and growing concern about their ability to remain so, they had their attack dogs in tow and their guile polished to a blinding gleam. 

It quickly became apparent that the Board had met in secret at some point before the meeting as the minutes from last month’s meeting had already been approved - proving that their pledge not to have secret meetings to do so this year lasted all of a few weeks. No surprise there. But things got more interesting when Stuart delivered his remarks about the authorship of the Blog. Acting as if he alone was this century’s only university graduate that learned more than they ever cared to know about the National Socialist German Workers’ Party – a/k/a the ‘Nazi Party’ - and their bottomless hat of slick rhetorical devices, subterfuge and demagoguery, he implored all in attendance to ‘come forward’ with the name of the Blog’s author if they ‘had any courage’.

AJC article may hold clue to Sutherlands’ developer ties

Both the Dun and Bradstreet Credit Report and the Hoover’s Company Report that claim an ownership interest by Mary “Kit” Sutherland in Miller-Gallman Developers – the developer of Glen Iris Lofts – noted that her involvement began in 2005. And, given that the Glen Iris Lofts development was completed in 2002, an involvement by Mrs. Sutherland starting in 2005 has been a bit of a sticking point.

But a recently discovered article written by David Pendered of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, dated May 23, 2005 (included below) may hold new clues to help explain the timing of the information reported by Dun and Bradstreet and Hoover’s. In Pendered’s 2005 interview of Jerrold Miller and W. Bruce Gallman, they shared an interesting detail about important changes being made to Miller-Gallman Developers at the time:

“Miller-Gallman Developers is poised to add a consulting arm. The aim is to advise other residential developers about the potential for adapting and reusing the innumerable old buildings that flank the Beltline and dot the inner city”

-Atlanta Journal Constitution, May 23, 2005

This raises an interesting question.  Who better to provide that additional talent than

Call the APD: Sutherlands steal funds from police, fire and schools?

[POST UPDATE: The amount of tax evaded by Stuart Sutherland's fraudulent filing to receive a homestead exemption on more than one property for each of the years between 2005 and 2011 totals $1,614.55.  Per Georgia Code, the Sutherlands currently owe $3,229.10 (twice the amount of the tax evaded) to the Fulton County Tax Commissioner]

Fulton County and City of Atlanta property taxes are a vital source of funding for a multitude of services provided by local government. They fund the police and fire departments, local schools, parks and recreation, county and city government administration, courts, and the list goes on. And despite the fact that many Atlanta taxpayers feel that property taxes are excessive, everyone understands the important role they play in keeping our community safe, healthy and vibrant.

Of course, most taxpayers can get a small break (about 9.5%) on their property tax bill if they qualify for the homestead exemption. Basically, If you own your own home, it’s your primary residence, your drivers’ license was issued in Fulton County and if your vehicle tag was likewise obtained in Fulton County, you qualify.

Like all tax deductions, the homestead exemption does come with a few rules – one of which is that you can only claim a homestead exemption on one property. (Continued...)

There’s a thief in our midst

All of the brouhaha that has followed 'Cart-Gate' has certainly brought one question in particular more sharply into focus for everyone living here at Glen Iris Lofts.

AND THAT QUESTION IS by what authority is Kit Sutherland running about investigating key finders on carts, authoring ‘community announcements’ in the name of the Glen Iris Lofts Board of Directors (in that headmaster tone like only Kit can do) summoning the Atlanta Police Department to ‘investigate’ delusions of ‘compromised security’ on GIL property, authorizing billable time by Association attorneys and, unbelievably, having the audacity to confiscate utility carts when they are in short supply and desperately needed, when she hasn’t even been elected to serve on our Board for more than three years now? (Continued...)

Election fraud bombshell: 2003 rental cap amendment FAILED

For anyone that still harbors the quaint illusion that GIL elections are fair, honest and accurate, prepare yourself.  The Blog recently obtained a folder that contained the ballots from the February 13, 2003 Annual Homeowners’ Meeting, at which homeowners voted on whether or not to amend the By-Laws to include, among other things, a 25% rental cap.

But an audit of the vote count reveals a startling discovery - the amendment actually failed.  (Continued...)

High cost of free counsel: Stuart Sutherland's cost us $200K

The following is an intriguing timeline of events that surround Kit and Stuart Sutherland’s acquisition of the unit adjacent to their own that curiously unfolded at precisely the same time GIL homeowners found themselves the only ones left at the dinner table when the nearly $200,000 tab was delivered for a construction defect that no one – not even the developer – argued they should have to pay for.  No one, except Stuart Sutherland, that is.

HOW IT CAME TO BE

02/19/01

Kit and Stuart Sutherland purchase 660 Glen Iris Dr, NE, Unit 409 (their primary unit) for $342,000, of which $273,600 was financed via a conventional mortgage obtained from First Union Mortgage Corp.²⁹

05/30/02

While the Glen Iris Board was still under developer control, Jerrold Miller, of Miller-Gallman Developers – the developer of Glen Iris Lofts – appoints Kit Sutherland to the GIL Board of Directors publicly at a Glen Iris Lofts homeowners meeting.  The Board then consisted solely of Jerrold Miller, W. Bruce Gallman and Kit Sutherland. 

“Kit Sutherland of Phase I was appointed to the current Board of Directors by Jerry Miller and Bruce Gallman”¹

At the same homeowners’ meeting that Miller announced Kit’s appointment to the first homeowner Board, Miller acknowledges responsibility of the slope stabilization project when he responds to a homeowner question on the subject.

“Homeowner question for Jerry Miller:

3. What are we doing about the landscape at the rear of the building that washes away when it rains?

The landscape architects have been assigned to examine the erosion and give a plan of correction to us.”¹

10/02/02

In a meeting with the GIL Board of Directors, developer Jerry Miller again openly acknowledges responsibility for correcting the slope stabilization problem behind the Phase II building.²¹

02/11/03

At the Annual Meeting, held at 7:00 PM, Stuart Sutherland voted by proxy for Ellen Hines - the owner of the unit adjacent to their own that they would buy the following year.

06/04/03

Sandy Jones, the first President of the homeowner-controlled GIL Board, sends an e-mail requesting Gary Caruso, an engineer with Criterium-Caruso Engineers, to perform a forensic study of the failed retaining wall to determine if the developer should have taken steps to shore up rear retaining wall.²

06/12/03

In a noteworthy halt to the momentum to build the case that the Miller-Gallman should be held accountable for correcting the failed retaining wall, the GIL Board minutes note that it has decided to take the Erosion Engineering Control Study off the table for the time being.

“Bid for Erosion Control and Next Steps (Kit and Sandy) Kit will you please bring the letter from Craig Howell?

Erosion Engineering Control study is taken off the table”³

GIL Board votes to approve a special assessment to fund the slope stabilization project, although the amount of the assessment will later prove to be only about one-tenth the amount eventually required to remedy the problem.³ (Continued...)

Why all the secrecy? The Blog investigates this central question

It is a widely known fact that our Board, under Sutherland control, has gone through extraordinary lengths to deny homeowners access to Association records. The rights of inspection spelled out in our By-Laws have been largely ignored - even flouted - for years, as repeated attempts by a parade of former and current homeowners seeking to exercise their rights of inspection were - almost without exception - summarily stonewalled. 

There is a relatively straight forward way around that brick wall – although it is costly. Given the clear rights of inspection that are due members of the Association, not only as guaranteed by our By-Laws, but by the Georgia Non-Profit Corporation Code (O.P.G.A. 14-3-101) – state law by which our Association is governed – an aggrieved homeowner can obtain judicial enforcement of their rights without having to leap any extraordinary legal hurdles. But the mere fact that our Board forces the issue itself creates an extraordinary hurdle – because the only way to bring the power of judicial enforcement to bear is for the homeowner to sue their own Association. And, given that the costs of bringing such legal action must, almost invariably, be underwritten by a single member, that cost is usually sufficient to discourage any casual interest that homeowner may have in reviewing Association records.

Of course, there is one homeowner among us who has been pulling the levers of power on the Glen Iris Lofts Board of Directors since its inception, and who knows better than anyone - by virtue of being an attorney - that the cost of suing one's own Association will nearly always trump that member's interest in reviewing records, and that person is Stuart Sutherland.  This, despite the fact that professional codes of conduct and the ethical requirements of his profession would appear to demand that he demonstrate a greater respect for the law. But, for some reason, he doesn't.  And this apparent willingness to simply disregard what the law would require - knowing that the eventual cost for doing so could be professional censorship or even possible disbarment from practicing law in the State of Georgia – raises a number of interesting questions. (Continued...)

Our broken election process: Ripe for proxy abuse

GIL ELECTION PROXY FORMS ARE NOT CERTIFIED   Given that substantially greater than half of all votes cast in elections since the inception of our Association have been by proxy, the fact that proxies are not certified as the valid instrument of those that purportedly signed them represents a serious challenge to the legitimacy of election results.

Without a process of certification, there is very little way to know if a proxy is legitimate or fraudulent. It wouldn’t take much for someone with an interest in a certain outcome to identify those who perennially fail to vote and whose non-attendance at the annual meeting is all but certain and to use that information to fraudulently vote on behalf of those members.  And if any ballots so produced were cast by mail and sent to CMA, the chances of getting caught doing it are nil. (Continued...)

Dun & Bradstreet Credit Reporting also notes a Sutherland/Miller-Gallman affiliation

Last Monday, the Blog posted a copy of the Hoover's Business Report that noted the alleged affiliation between Kit Sutherland and Miller-Gallman Developers.  We have since been able to obtain a copy of the Dun & Bradstreet Comprehensive Credit Report for "Miller Gallman Developers", that, like the Hoover's report, supports an apparent affiliation between Kit and Miller-Gallman Developers.  Note: The Dun & Bradstreet report is included at the end of this post.

As with the Hoover's report, we wondered why no other executives (namely Jerrold Miller) were listed as having an affiliation with the company.  Upon further investigation, (Continued...)

Sutherlands bounce check to Association

No one is particularly thrilled about the prospect of having their lesser moments made public, and that's even truer when those that would make them public would do so with the apparent objective merely to embarrass or discredit. Worse still are the occasions when lesser moments are fabricated out of whole cloth for the same purpose. One wouldn't have to walk too far down either direction of any hallway here at GIL to find a homeowner that will claim to be a victim of this sort of demagoguery at the hands of the Sutherlands. And I personally have witnessed people that have found themselves caught up in a Sutherland gossip and discredit campaign that was either a dramatic embellishment of facts or that had absolutely no basis in fact at all.

This 'sort of behavior' - to borrow a phrase from Kit Sutherland - is dangerous politics, because with each successive engagement, the retail price of hypocrisy is ratcheted upward, should one ever find one's self at the cash register paying retail for their own lesser moment. But knowing this doesn't require any special insight; admonishment that reportedly came from Jesus' own mouth more than two millennia ago has served to better advise those that would 'cast the first stone'.

That's why I think it would be surprising for many to learn that Kit and Stuart have bounced a check to our Association at least once. It's true (documentation included and follows post conclusion).  Of course, (Continued...)

Next time around, election ballots will list all the names of those wishing to serve

GIL BALLOTS DO NOT LIST THE NAMES OF ALL CANDIDATES  The fact that the those currently on the Board would not add Scott Reno’s name to the ballot in the most recent election – and, in fact, have never placed anyone on the ballot other than those recommended by an incumbent Board, represents an egregious assault on the democratic process and the rights of GIL homeowners.

When buying their home, every member of our Association agrees to bind themselves to the decisions and actions of the GIL Board, and in exchange, homeowners are supposed to have the right to fully and genuinely participate in the governance and affairs of their Association. At GIL, homeowners only get half of that bargain. They become bound by the actions and decisions of the Board but, ultimately, their rights of full and genuine participation in those actions and decisions are not forthcoming.

In future elections, the Board can keep their 'ballot' and save us the $.20 a page CMA copy fee.

WE WILL BRING OUR OWN BALLOTS - ONES THAT FAIRLY LIST ALL THE NAMES OF THOSE WISHING TO SERVE.

Remember: Rules best serve those who make them

OUR BALLOTS ARE NOT SECRET  When the ballot on which you are asked to cast your vote requires your name, unit and building number and contains a written admonishment that ballots that lack such information are ‘invalid’ and will be ‘discarded’, that’s generally a sign that your vote is not secret.

Worse, your secret-to-everyone-but-the-Sutherlands ballot then serves as an excellent tool to accurately determine whom among us is a ‘good resident’ and who needs ‘re-education’ - lest they become an object of scorn, gossip and retribution.

Our By-Laws mandate ‘secret ballots’.  AND SECRET BALLOTS ARE WHAT WE WILL HAVE.