Community Association Manager (aka Property Manager) Melanie Lashlee of HOAMCO didn't like the results of an Election which resulted in an HOA Board of four Directors, so she waited until after the Annual Meeting was adjourned to declare that she wanted to add a fifth Director. This eventually led to a lawyer's opinion that we were allowed only three Directors; an amendment to the Bylaws so that "The Board may decide by majority vote to increase the size of the Board of Directors from three (3) to five (5) or seven (7)"; and the appointment of that fifth Director whom Melanie Lashlee wanted added to the Board .
Not long after that, in clear violation of Arizona Revised Statute 33-1813, the Members of the HOA were sent a ballot asking them to vote for my removal from the Board; the motion to send that ballot was made by that fifth Director. That ballot was accompanied by a letter that trashed my reputation so thoroughly that seventy of my neighbors voted to remove me from the Board.
To clear my name, I filed a petition with the Department of Fire, Building and Life Safety that resulted in a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.
The Petition claimed:
1. The amendment to the Bylaws was done in an improper and deceitful manner.
2. The special election to remove me from the Board was done in an improper and deceitful manner.
3. The misuse of that special election to harass and libel me.
In his Decision, the Judge allowed the amendment to stand, and yet he ordered that I be deemed the prevailing party, that the HOA pay half the $2,000 filing fee, and that the HOA pay a $200 civil penalty.
At my blog, www.greenlawtownhouses.blogspot.com, I have posted the Judge's decision, along with other related documents and information. Also, to give you a good idea of how Melanie Lashlee has managed, or mismanaged our HOA, I strongly recommend that you look at the 2014 Journal posted there.
Obviously, I don't want to get sued for libel, so I have done my best to make certain that everything I have posted at my blog is true and accurate, and I have the recordings of meetings, the Minutes of meetings, and the emails exchanged between meetings to prove it. Also I have made a sincere effort to make certain that Justin Scott, the CEO of HOAMCO, is aware of everything I have written at my blog and that he is aware of the conduct and methods of his employee Melanie Lashlee. Mr. Scott has given no indication that he has any objections to anything I have posted, or that he has any objections to anything Melanie Lashlee has done. I keep hoping that Mr. Scott will be just as appalled as I am by the conduct of his employee Melanie Lashlee, and will put a stop to it, but so far my hopes have been in vain. read more