(Note: this is a late post. I didn’t write about it at the time. It’s now needed to support this post.)
I received the following email from Coventry Group Community Management representative Mark Schloemer. (Full email will be provided upon request)
Where’s The Beef?
The management company asserted that this blog was “already starting to create confusion” among Winchester Landing members. It did not identify any allegedly confusing post, specify the nature of the supposed confusion, identify any member who had raised a concern, or provide examples of inaccurate information. Without that information, the assertion is too vague to evaluate or verify.
Disclaimer Request
I was asked to move my disclaimer stating that this website is not affiliated with Winchester Landing HOA from my About page to the home page. It further asserted that certain materials should be available only to Association members through a password-protected portal, rather than published on a publicly accessible website.
My Response
I declined the disclaimer request. Instead, I added the statement, “Competent Governance Welcomes Scrutiny,” to the home page. I also made no commitment not to post HOA records that I lawfully obtain.
Efficient Use of HOA Resources?
The management company’s email states that the HOA attorney was involved in this matter. That raises a straightforward stewardship question: How much Association money was spent on legal advice intended to influence an independent homeowner blog, and what specific legal problem did that expenditure address? Given the absence of any identified inaccurate post or explained instance of member confusion, homeowners deserve a clear accounting of the expense and the basis for incurring it.
What Have We Learned
The disclaimer request appear to have been an effort to limit the blog’s public presentation and discourage scrutiny of the Association.