Board President Mr. Goldman Misrepresents the Facts--Again

At the April Council Meeting 2014, ECA Board President Mr. Goldman stated that “comparisons of condominium and association fees in the area show Eastman in a very positive light.” One example he used was:

Hilltop in New London which has a monthly assessment fee of between $650 and $800, depending on the size of the unit.

Unfortunately, the Board President is in the habit of comparing totally dissimilar things and using summary financial costs out of context as is the case here.

Specifically, if you look at what the monthly payments provide to Hilltop Condominium owners (it is a Condominium Association whereas Eastman is not) you will find the following are included in their $650-800 monthly fee:

Did the ECA Board’s Resolution Pre-empt Rights of Sewer Users?

On April 5, 2013 the Eastman Board of Directors unanimously passed a "Resolution on Transfer of Assets of the Eastman Sewer Company”. This was done after a nearly 18-month campaign by the ECA Board, the ESC Board and officers to convince the VDE and the community to have the VDE take over the Sewer Company. The ECA Board was determined to undermine a group of Sewer users who wanted to form a separate municipal sewer district. Why did it make sense to form a separate Sewer District? Because otherwise the SEWER USERS ARE A VOTING MINORITY in the Water District (VDE) with only 1/3 of the membership and no control over their costs.

Stated explicitly within that Resolution in the section entitled: NOW THEREFORE are the following two statements:

1.    “BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors has determined that the creation of a separate Village District is not in the best interest of the Association.”

We are unaware of any formal documentation that the Eastman Board of Directors has presented to the members of the Eastman Community Association to substantiate this Resolution Statement. We are unaware of any ECA study having been performed with any criteria being established, whereby such a determination could be made by the members of the Eastman Board of Directors. We do not believe that there is any authorization in the community Declaration of Covenants documents providing the Board of Directors with the authority it gave itself in making this statement. We believe that the Board's judgment was seriously flawed, unsubstantiated and discriminatory toward some members of this community. We therefore view the submission of this Resolution to the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Grantham as un-authorized and an inappropriate act against Eastman community members’ best interest.

An even more serious offense is the perception of “Conflict of Interest” regarding the Board's activities preceding this resolution. Maynard Goldman, ECA Board President and ESC Board member, participated in the Non-Public (illegal) VDE February 7, 2012 session held by VDE officials in violation of the New Hampshire Right to Know law.

Eastman G&A Costs Increase by 55% in FY 2014!

On Page 51-52 of The ECA FY 2015 Budget, the ECA General & Administrative Expenses for FY2014 are projected to be $1,194,263 – a phenomenal 55% cost increase (+$430,988) over the previous Fiscal Year (FY2013) of $763,275.

WHY?

The major categories of cost increases occurred in the following Line Items:

1.    Insurance—355% Increase

2.    Professional Fees—92% Increase

3.    Wages and Benefits—35% Increase

4.    Taxes—86% Increase

•       Where is the explanation to the Member/Owners to educate us why our Insurance bill went up 355%?

•       Where is the explanation why our Professional Fees almost doubled to 92%

•       Why did Wages and Benefits increase 35%?

•       Why did the taxes climb 86%? Normally there is a correlation between tax cost increases in this cost center and wages and benefits. However taxes increased 50% more than the 35% wage and benefit increase.

Unintended Consequences

In 1963, the German political theorist Hannah Arendt made a convincing case that the principal cause of the Holocaust lay not in the inherent evil of Nazi leaders like Hitler and Eichmann but rather in the tendency of ordinary people to conform to "mass opinion”, without fully reflecting upon the results of their action or inaction. Does a similar "mass opinion mentality" dominate the ordinary people of Eastman?

Mr. Goldman's hero, Winston Churchill said "Criticism may not be agreeable but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body, it calls attention to the development of an unhealthy state of things. If it is healed in time, danger may be averted; if it is suppressed a fatal distemper may develop." Could the suppression of governance criticism at Eastman lead to a “fatal distemper”?

ECA Board President Powers

 There are a set of ECA Board Powers granted to the Board by the Board itself. They are called ECA Board By-Laws. That is correct--no one in the community has any say over the Powers that the Board grants itself or the Powers that the Board grants the Board President. These Bylaws have been significantly expanded and revised beginning in 2002.

Here are two powers (from the ECA Board Bylaws) that the Board Members have granted the Board President: Article III—Officers of the Association--The President:

Article III—Officers of the Association--The President:

(g) The President shall from time to time inform the Board of the establishment of any Standing, Ad Hoc or Advisory Committee that the President deems necessary and shall advise the Board as to the membership of said committees and their powers and duties. Except as specified in the Declaration of Covenants & Restrictions, the President shall determine on the basis of the following functional criteria that all such committees are appropriately affiliated with the Board: Board committees primarily carry out financial, personnel, strategic planning, health and safety, and marketing functions whereas Council committees assume functions related to governance, facilities, amenities/recreation, life-style, and natural resources….

A second power enumerated in the Bylaws is:

(f) The President shall provide overall leadership for the Eastman Community

Association, the Board and ECA Management;…. Additionally, the President shall be the official spokesperson for the Board,….

What this means is that what Maynard Goldman says represents what the Board thinks. His actions and his words represent each and every member of the Board. Therefore:

•       If Mr. Goldman discredits or disparages (as he has done) any member of this community, so too does the Board.

•       If Mr. Goldman presents erroneous facts or statements, so too does the Board.

•       If Mr. Goldman collaborates with the VDE Commissioners so that they break the Right to Know Laws of the State of New Hampshire, so too does every Board Member collaborate.

Board Denies ECA Members’ Right to Meet to Discuss Direct Vote

Board President Maynard Goldman stated (on 5/14/13) in his response to my (2^nd) request that my Board request (of 4/4/13) was not “approved”. My request was as follows:

“We understand that going door-to-door with community information is legal, but not always welcome, so we'd like you to define the TIME, PLACE, and MANNER, for us to share our viewpoints on community topics. We would like the ECA to announce a meeting of community interest for the discussion of Direct Vote/Petition interest that we will host. 

What communication channels are you willing to make available for opposing viewpoints so we don't bother owners at home?”

Respectfully,

Geraldine Logan

As stated in my Board request, I asked the Board to “define the TIME, PLACE, and MANNER,” for community members to share their viewpoints on community topics.

“A meeting of community interest for the discussion of Direct vote/petition interest that we will host.”

The Board minutes of 4/15/13, state: Mrs. Shulman said Mrs. Logan’s letter specifically addresses a desire to have a group to discuss direct voting, which should go through the Council.

My request above makes no mention of any group. The Board’s refusal was a denial of my Member rights. The Board’s posted Minutes document misrepresents my request. The requested meeting was OPEN to all Eastman members (simply hosted by me).

The purpose of your Eastman Community Association is stated on the first page of the Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions. 

EASTMAN DIRECT VOTE: A Golf Member Right

All golf members directly vote (DIRECT VOTE) for the members of the Golf Committee (regardless of whether or Not they live at Eastman) which has  reduced the cost of golf membership by 25% since 2011, shifting that cost burden to Eastman Non-Golfers! 

•       Why are Eastman non-golfers denied by the ECA Board the right to assemble to even talk about DIRECT VOTE?

•       Why do Eastman Golf members have the privilege to vote for representation to reduce their Golf Membership Fee and how Eastman’s Capital Funds are spent on their Country Club/Golf Course?

•       Why do non-golfing ECA members have NO VOTE on how their assessment money is spent when Golf Members do just that?

•       Is Eastman a Two-Class community? Golf Members = ECA Elite members, All other ECA members = ECA members

Did the VDE Commissioners and DM deliberately conceal their plans with the ECA President?

This is a question that the public and members of the Village District are entitled to have answered. The source for answers is contained in the VDE Public Meeting documents as well as the Non-Public or private meeting VDE documents.

In reviewing the VDE Public Meeting minutes from January 2012 to April 2012, one finds that the first publicly documented mention of any possible acquisition of ESC is contained in the minutes for the April 18, 2012 Public VDE Meeting. On page 3 of that meeting the last topic is “New Business”-- It is in that section that we find the statement "Commissioner Fairweather said that he had spoken to Maynard Goldman, President of the ECA Board, and discussed concerns regarding the possible political issues with a potential merger of the Eastman Sewer company (ESC) into the VDE…"

However if one reviews the January 19, 2012 Non-Public Meeting minutes (held in violation of the NH Right to Know law) the second topic is “Eastman Sewer Company” and it is here stated that the "Eastman Sewer Company has asked the VDE to consider taking over the operation of the Sewer Company......."

On February 7, 2012 at a Non-Public Village District of Eastman Commissioners Meeting, held in violation of the NH Right to Know Law (VDE Non-Public Minutes 2-7-12), numerous ECA and ESC officials led by Board President Maynard Goldman began to develop a takeover plan that would ultimately give power and control of the Sewer Company to the Village District of Eastman. Contained in the last paragraph of page 3 of that Meeting’s minutes is the following statement: