Dear Neighbors,
 
 
I hope this letter finds you enjoying the fall season and getting ready for the upcoming holidays! My name is Wesley Dowdy and I own several units in Watercrest. 
           
In July of 2016, while living in metropolitan Atlanta, I had the great fortune of finding the mountains and Lake Chatuge in Young Harris/Hiawassee, GA. I fell in love with the area. This community reminded me of home. Growing up in the foothills I know the joys of small-town living, the peace and serenity that comes with the mountains, and the simple and wonderful life one can enjoy separated from the hustle and bustle of a major metropolis. With each passing season starting in December of 2016, I have made our community more and more home. In September of 2018, along with Kristin and our children, I made living at Watercrest my full-time residence. It made perfect since for us to live in Watercrest due to its proximity to The Ridges Resort.
 
No matter where I have lived, I have always strived to give back. My Pawpaw and Mawmaw always taught me the importance of giving back, of being honest, and protecting your character. These values have been instilled in me since childhood, and I believe it is incumbent upon each member of society to give back. The way I do this is by giving my time, volunteering, providing financial support, and advocacy for the community in which we live. In addition, I have been blessed to provide jobs and livelihoods to the people in this community.
 
Once I became a full-time resident of Watercrest, I began doing what I do best, getting involved. I had several conversations with the former President of Watercrest, Ken Pollard. Like me, Ken lives full-time in Watercrest and we share a passion for seeing this quaint community be the best it can be. Soon after meeting Ken, I expressed an interest to him in getting involved on the Watercrest board to help advance all of our mutual interests. Unfortunately, I was not successful. Although I was disappointed, I knew this didn’t limit me in still operating in the best interest of myself and all of you, my neighbors. Not long after the annual meeting, I heard that Ken had stepped down as President. Having gotten to know Ken, I was surprised. He was just in his first year as President and I knew his passion and concern for our community. I immediately reached out to Sentry and asked how I could step-up and support our community by sitting on the board. I quickly learned the vacancy had already been filled. I was surprised. This led me to studying closely the bylaws of Watercrest. In doing so, I realized there are a lot of things that are required. Desiring a closer look at how things have transpired since Ken stepped down, and what is required by the bylaws I asked Sentry Management (our outsourced Community Management Company) via email on September 19, 2019 for the following information:
 

1. Can you please tell me the dates, times, and locations of the Board of Directors meetings for the association? 
2. Please list by each of the titles below the names, email addresses, and phone numbers of the persons holding these positions:
   oPresident: 
   oVice President: 
   oTreasurer: 
   oSecretary: 
3. Please provide me a list of all members of the Board of Directors. Please include their name, email address, and phone number.
4. Please provide me copies of all the signed meeting minutes for the last two years.
5.  Please provide me a list of the members of each of the following committees; in a parenthetical please note which member is the Chairman of said committee: 
   oExecutive Committee
   oRules and Procedures Committee
   oProgram Committee
   oSafety, Environmental and Regulation Committee
6.  Please provide me the date the current President of the association was appointed, and by what method he was appointed.
7. At the last annual meeting, can you please tell me how many directors positions were filled and by whom each position was filled?
8.  Lastly, please provide me with a copy of the Sentry Management agreement which enumerates the responsibilities of Sentry Management to WFCA. 

All of these requests came directly from the requirements of the Watercrest bylaws excluding number eight. I am curious of what the obligations of Sentry are to Watercrest and what we all get for the money we pay them. I think it is reasonable to have access to their agreement for this purpose. Shortly after sending the email, Ms. Purdy (our third property manager this year) replied that she would be out and would respond the following week. To date, I have received none of the requested information. On October 9, 2019 I followed up with Ms. Purdy and received the following response, “I have forwarded the email to the attorney who will be responding.” I was shocked and dismayed at this response from Sentry Management. I immediately called Ms. Purdy to inquire as to why and she refused to give me any information. I am still waiting for the associations attorney to respond.

            I am sure you will agree, we as unit holders are entitled to receive information regarding the association we all fund. If you attended the annual meeting you will recall we were told to direct our requests and concerns to Sentry, based on Jan’s responses to me it seems they have no interest in providing information to home owners. In addition, I am sure you will agree it makes absolutely no sense for the association to pay for an attorney to respond to a request from a homeowner for basic association information, and to do so is wasteful. I am not sure if you are like me or not, but a 15% increase in association dues is steep.

            Collectively, our combined property is worth almost $12 million dollars. For some of our neighbors these properties are second homes, where they come to create memories with friends and family, to relax by getting away, and/or enjoy mountain/lake life. For others, these are vacation rental properties used to create and build long-term wealth, and for some of us, these are our homes. I don’t know about you, neighbors, but being blind to the business of the association is not something I am willing to accept. Not being able to know who serve in positions of leadership in the organization or having transparency around how they arrived at the leadership position isn’t something we should accept. Just being led like sheep, uninformed, kept out of the loop, not knowing how and why something is happening, isn’t right. The annual dues of $2,760 may not be a lot to you – but to me and my family they are. We want to make sure they are spent wisely, carefully, and in a fiduciary capacity. We must make sure that the board members are honoring the bylaws of our organization. Since its our collective dollars at work that allow this association to operate, we deserve to know.
 
            In closing, thank you for taking the time to read this letter and to consider what I have had to say. A situation like this is likely low on everyone’s radar, but neighbors, we must protect our substantial investments. In order to do so, there must be transparency. I will lead the cause and I will champion this cause because it is imperative to me and my family. I hope it is to yours. In order to get this transparency, I would like to call a meeting through a written request of at least 15% of the unit owners (that’s 9 unit owners). The purpose of this meeting is to be able to ask questions to the directors of organization and to review documents from the association. Although the bylaws state a meeting can only be called by 50% of the active members, O.C.G.A. § 44-3-102 (2018) states that the bylaws “shall also provide for the calling of a meeting upon the written request of at least 15 percent of the unit owners”.