OVA Conflicts of Interest
Editor:
One of the responsibilities of a General Manager is to remind Board Members of their duty of due diligence. It is also the Board President’s responsibility to advise a Board Director when said Board Member is in danger of breaching Director’s ethics. At the July 17, 2018, Board Meeting Director Mederios both spoke on and voted on AGENDA ITEM #X E. As Mr. Mederios admitted publicly he was a donor to the $16,131 raised by the Pickle Ball Club Members to ensure the Pickle Ball Courts would be built. By voting to deny the calling in of this money resulting in the money being returned to the donors, of which he was one, his actions not only financially benefit Mr. Mederios directly at the OVA expense, but also violated California Government Code 87100, which states:
“No public official at any level of state or local government shall make, participate in making or in any way attempt to use his official position to influence a governmental decision in which he knows or has reason to know he has a financial interest.”
Based on this violation, among others, I am calling for the Board President to demand Mr. Medeiros resignation from the OVA Board of Directors for self dealing and violation of Director Ethics.
I would like to express grave concern over the appointment of Mr. Noel Lyons to the OVA Board. While this Board continues to stress putting the “Pickle Ball Debacle” behind us, they then appointed the former co-chair of the Pickle Ball Committee, who was directly involved in creating and perpetuating dissention throughout our community for over three years. It would appear that certain members of this Board say one thing publically, but act in direct conflict to their public stance. Can the community believe that these Board Members are acting in the best interest of the entire community or only themselves and their own cohorts?
I also wish to point out the fact that our By-Laws required the Board to make a resolution for the Nominating Committee on or before Dec.1 and they failed to do so. [see Section 5.4]
Kerry Oswald
Sorry Kerry but you are howling in the wind and now, no one cares – especially, ‘these Board Members.’ Ugh. Based on Lyons’ absurd claim that, ‘we can’t know what it will cost until we get a permit,” OVA wasted $100k to develop pickleball courts that wer never built. But Spanier nominates him to the board – brilliant.
And what about the board’s 6 to 1 vote to approve putting a fence around the lawn in front of the CAC for a temporary (for a trial period) Dog Park? Oh, gee, Spanier changes his mind, so forget that – the board vote is ignored and never rescinded.
Obviously, Spanier’s board is ignoring bylaws and making things up as they go along.
Kerry, I share your outrage at this blatant lack of ethics and outright conflict of interest. As long as Oakmont keeps wasting money and sweeping grievances or dissent under the carpet, we can expect similar behavior. The Bylaws Review Committee and Oakmont Forum are looking at changing the election cycle and improving the structure of governance here. In the meantime, resident voters need to keep the past 5-8 years of BOD campaigns and the behaviors of current BOD members during the pickleball chaos (which they created), as well as during the terms of the Leznik/Heyman leadership, in mind as they consider who to vote for in the spring election. Some of the perpetrators now sit on the board and some of their allies most likely will run, again. It will behoove everyone to go back and look at the videos of the Board meetings during those years. Tigers have a hard, if not impossible, time, changing their stripes.