Kettering residents battle with association

Final ballots for election must be in by Nov. 16

Most recently, many association members are upset that the parking lot gate for the Kettering Community Center was locked Monday night when a forum for candidates in the upcoming election had been scheduled.

More than 100 Kettering residents were seen approaching the locked gate but were forced to turn away. The forum was planned in support of Melissa Claude, Linda Crudup, Esther Hankerson and James Schneider, four of the eight candidates running for four openings on the nine-member board.

‘‘The board has locked us out of our own community center,” said Casey Lewis, an association member who was considering a run at a seat on the board but recently removed her name from the ballot. ‘‘This is, I guess, their way of being petty. That gate has never been locked in the 29 years I’ve lived here. This is unprecedented.”

Clinton Lee, a member of the board who is not up for re-election, said he, Madagu and Park Manager Ralph Ashton each have keys to the parking lot gate. He said the gate is closed every night for security reasons.

‘‘We cancelled our [board] meeting that night because the notice had not gotten out in time,” Lee said. ‘‘It’s standard policy for the gate to be closed at dusk for security reasons and since we weren’t having our meeting, it was closed.”

Within the past month, three complaints have been lodged with the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Maryland Attorney General regarding the board’s conduct.

Attorney General spokeswoman Raquel Guillory said the three complaints are in the process of being mediated.

‘‘The way we do things here is we get a complaint and then we give the opposing side an opportunity to respond and then we do a mediation, which could take anywhere from two weeks to six months,” Guillory said. ‘‘We just don’t know how long it will take.”

In one of the complaints lodged with the state Attorney General’s office, Spencer, Linda Crudup and Byrd allege that the board was participating in closed ‘‘executive board meetings” that not all homeowners knew about in addition to the regular board meeting the second Monday of every month.

According to Article 11B-111(1) of Maryland’s Real Property Article, the Maryland Homeowners Association Act states that except in certain circumstances, all meetings ‘‘shall be open to all members of the homeowners association or their agents.”

Lynch said the board does indeed hold meetings the first Monday of every month, but said these meetings are planning sessions that members know about and have accepted in the past.

‘‘I’m not aware of what meetings are closed,” Lynch said. ‘‘I am aware that long before my tenure, the board of directors has had a planning meeting where they go over the agenda the first Monday of the month. Any decisions made there are always ratified at the open meeting the next Monday. It’s just a planning meeting for the business meeting the following Monday.”

Lynch said the board has been transparent about all its activities during her tenure.

‘‘I can’t think of anything this organization has made a secret,” Lynch said. ‘‘Our records are made available and our minutes are made available.”

In another complaint filed with the state attorney general’s office, the same complainants alleged that homeowners were not aware of how the upcoming election was to proceed. They alleged it was unclear if Maredith, the management company, which oversaw the election in prior years, was overseeing the election this year. The complainants requested that they be provided with details on how certain aspects of the election would be handled.

Lynch said Maredith was managing the election this year and said she did not know why anyone would think differently.

Lynch was asked to respond to the complaints in writing by Nov 2. Guillory said the state Attorney General’s office is currently in discussions with Lynch and her attorneys.

Included in the eight running for the open seats are Lynch and Madagu, the current president and vice president.

Incumbents Gigi Lewis and Brenda Caesar are not seeking reelection.

The other six on the ballot are Claude, Linda Crudup, Hankerson, Schneider, Carlton Preston and Kapin Ferguson.

Ballots must be returned no later than Nov. 16. Winners will be announced Nov. 26.

The president, vice president, secretary and treasurer will be voted on by the newly elected board.

There are more than 1,700 homes represented by the Kettering Community Association, and members of the association pay $150 in dues annually.

E-mail Jonathan Stein at jstein@gazette.net.