At the City Council meeting on March 21, 2015, the City Council discussed the transfer of assets of the Waterwood Park Property Owner’s Association to the City of Sandy Oaks. Jim Clement, who claims to be the president of the WPPOA, was giving over land, assets, and anything that belonged to the WPPOA.
To discuss the matter, the City Council went into executive session, forcing out everyone in the audience. Jim Clement, as Mayor, recused himself from the session and said that members of the community had brought up that it was a conflict of interest for him to be both WPPOA president and the Mayor.
The Council also recused the City Clerk Charlot Rabe, because she claimed to be the WPPOA vice president.
People from the audience went out onto the porch of the WPPOA clubhouse to wait for the closed session to end.
With Rabe on the porch was Pedro Orduno, who also claims to be a WPPOA board member. The two were asked what in the WPPOA bylaws exactly gives Jim Clement, as Property Owner’s Association president, the permission to transfer property over to the city. Orduno replied
What gives him permission? Oh, I don’t know about the bylaws.
Orduno proceeded to explain what happened after the WPPOA meeting on January 15, 2015. He said
The meeting on the 15th when everything went to shit, BJ and I were sitting on this porch right here and were trying to come up with a group of people to kind of discuss having a meeting again…I was ready to do that. The next day, James, the next morning Mr Charles Krause, to make a long story short, he signed it over to the WPPOA. The deed, the contract, everything.
Orduno was again asked what gave him, Rabe, and Clement the permission to give away land that belongs to the WPPOA without a vote from the property owners. Orduno’s answer was that they gained permission from Charles Krause, the part owner of Waterwood Development Corporation, who had signed over deeds and assets to the WPPOA on January 16, 2015.
A property owner responded to Orduno, saying “Wait, Mr. Krause doesn’t have anything to do with this. He gave the property to the WPPOA. Now the WPPOA wants to give it to the city without ever once asking any one of us. Ever.”
Orduno said that giving over the land and assets to the city was all part of a plan.
Orduno: It was the Board’s, the Board decided.
Sandy Oaks News: When did the Board Decide this?
Orduno: We had a, [Clement] called us on that day.
SON: Did you decide it at a meeting?
Orduno: [Clement] called us on the phone. He called all of us. He even called the attorney.
SON: Jim called you and then you together made a decision about the property?
Orduno: [Clement] called all the board members, he called the attorney, he called all sorts of people. …I don’t think we had a meeting, he called me to inform me.
SON: Did the board members get to decide about whether or not to transfer the property to the city?
Orduno: Um, I’m trying to think.
After much discussion about different topics, Orduno and Rabe were again asked if the WPPOA board members were the ones who decided to transfer the WPPOA assets to the city. Orduno refused to answer, saying
I already said enough, I already explained to you what happened. I’m not going to get into details with you.
Charlotte Rabe did answer a few questions, and said she didn’t know if the decision had been made at a meeting. Rabe said
I don’t know if it was decided at an official meeting, I really don’t know. I’d have to go back and check…We had a couple of meetings in the last couple years, but nothing really – just the board members.
Two different property owners in the community have sent requests to Orduno, Rabe, and Clement requesting to see WPPOA documents and records. Included with the requests is the right to see who voted for the 3 board members and when the vote was held. Orduno, Rabe, and Clement have yet to answer the requests.
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