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Anthem Today will be resuming our election news and commentary as soon as filings for candidates to the Board of Directors have been completed.
As a 17 year resident, and former board member of SCA, the comments/opinions will be mine, however I encourage any of you to post responses if you wish to do so.
Candidates who have filed as of 1/24/2022
Forrest Fetherolf (known to many as Mr. Fix-it)
Steven Anderson (incumbent)
David Meredith
Gregory Swenson
Wendy Linow (incumbent)
Nona Tobin Update 2/14/22 (Was deemed not eligible to run by Attorney Adam Clarkson once again)
UP-DATE 2/8/22 RICHARD POPE HAS WITHDRAWN HIS NAME FROM THE BALLOT
Thank you for your question Tien, the following are my thoughts as of today on the candidates running for our board of directors and my reasons for my recommendations.
Forrest Fetherolf: recommend a YES vote
I don’t believe anyone can deny that Forrest is one of the most helpful residents in Anthem, I have never heard of anyone who has asked him for assistance that he said no to. Forrest has a large vested interest in our community since he has quite a few properties here, therefor, as a board member, he will be very cost conscious of items presented to the board. In addition, as a contractor he will have knowledge most of us do not have when bids for many types of work are submitted.
I have known Forrest for many years and believe he would make a superb director..
Steve Anderson: recommend a YES vote
As our current president of the board I have written quite a few times asking Steve questions as I did over the years with many of our other board members. Steve is the only one so far that took the time to reply to me within one or two days with a fully detailed response.
I’m not saying that I agree with all the decisions that the board has made, however in my opinion communication between the board, especially the president and residents is essential. I suggested reinstating the Town Hall meetings and do appreciate the fact that they did. Several board members initially agreed with my thoughts (just before I resigned from the board) on why the current attorney needed to be replaced, although they asked for submissions from HOA attorneys, in the end they stayed with Adam Clarkson… I was not pleased with that.
David G. Meredith: A YES vote
I had the opportunity to sit down with David Meredith and was very impressed with his background and his involvement within SCA in the 19 years he has lived here, currently he is vice-chair of the Community Lifestyles Committee.
David is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University in the field of Mechanical Engineering, and also has an MBA from Colorado State. He is an army veteran, and an active member of several clubs including hiking, silver foxes, rock and roll dance, pickle-ball and the singles club.
David also has some interesting ideas for the coming restaurant, be sure to ask him about that at the “meet and greets” during the election campaign.
Gregory E. Swenson:
I don’t know Gregory and will have to wait for the bios and the information the candidates give us to give my thoughts on him.
Wendy Linow:
Although Wendy has had the professional background that would assist anyone in becoming a great director, I found her to be anything but a “team player” while I was on the board. It might have been because she had worked in a management capacity in her prior HOA life, but I found that she seemed to believe she didn’t have to follow the rules in several instances and one in particular, (which I really don’t want to rehash now), led to a long drawn-out mess concerning accusations of racism etc. aimed at me from the president of one of SCA’s clubs. Wendy has been rude to residents, and seems to feel she is an expert on everything HOA. I will not be voting for this incumbent under any circumstances.
I would definitely support Mr. Forrest Fetherolf for election to the BOD. My wife and I moved to SCA one week before the pandemic, we arrived to our new home on Valentine’s Day 2020. Mr. Fetherolf was one of the first persons we met as everyone else was in isolation mode. We had some new homeowner things pop up in our new home and he was recommended to us. He ended up replacing a finicky shower valve and my wife and I immediately liked him.
Ended up he and I had similar backgrounds, were both California ex-pats, etc. but we liked his straightforward, no B.S. demeanor and his honesty. Over the following two years I’ve gotten to know both the quirks in my home and Mr. Fetherolf better. My home is now squared away and I’ve gotten to know Mr. Fetherolf as an honest, sincere, decent guy who would represent the homeowners of SCA in an open, impartial way. I don’t think he would be beholden to anyone but us, the residents of SCA … he’s a good guy.
Thank you Gary for your post about Forrest, I agree he is good guy and won’t buckle under to anyone.
Rana
RESPONSE TO ANTHEM OPINIONS ENDORSEMENT TO REELECT RICHARD POPE
On January 19, Anthem Opinions published an article endorsing Richard Pope to be reelected in our upcoming elections. I have a different opinion, and this article articulates my experiences with Mr. Pope, and outlines the facts that support my position. The January 19 article opens with a severe criticism of a SCA blogger.
For the past 10 or 12 years, I have only agreed with the referenced blogger (everyone knows it is David Berman) five or six times. I have now added one item to that list. Under no circumstances would I ever vote for Richard Pope. To all of your readers, please take the time to read my rationale, and if any of you disagree with any of my points, would like additional information, or simply ask me a question, please contact me, and I will do my best to expand on my rationale.
When Mr. Pope ran for election two years ago, I had numerous conversations with him, and at that time sincerely believed he would he would make an excellent board member. During those conversations, I expressed serious concerns about the oversight and accountability of the Anthem Community Council (ACC).
Shortly after he was elected, I received a call from Mr. Pope. His goal was to try and convince me that ACC was a legitimate organization, and tried to convince me that I should reconsider my position. That conversation did not go well for Mr. Pope.
I quickly learned that he could not accept facts. He continually referenced the ACC CC&Rs which are posted on the ACC website. But if you open those CC&Rs, you will discover that the title of that document is “Declaration of Covenants and Easements for the Anthem Community”.
That document was written by a Georgia law firm in 1998, specifically for the use by Del Webb. How do I know that? Because that information is listed in the upper left hand corner of the first page. After reading that document, which I have done at least 15 times, anyone will understand that it was intended strictly for the use by Del Webb, and in no way applies to SCA or any other HOA in Anthem.
ACC was founded in 1998, and was ruled by Del Webb until January of 2010, at which time it transitioned from developer control to the HOAs in Anthem. There are several important facts you all should be aware of. There are eight HOAs in Anthem, but during that transition Del Webb only included six.
The new HOA board tried to convince the other two HOAs to pay their fair share, but they declined. So, for the past 11 years those six HOAs have paid the price for eight. Second, there was no audit done on the Del Webb books at the time of transition, even though Del Webb had collected assessments for 12 years on every house sold in Anthem.
How much money was kept by Dell Webb, and owed to the new organization is something we will never know. Third, the Del Webb person in charge of ACC for 12 years was Randy Watkins, a SCA resident.
At the first meeting of the new HOA board in January of 2010, Randy Watkins was appointed and elected as the first Community Manager. At that meeting in January of 2010, I knew that SCA had dug themselves a hole, and to this day, that hole has only gotten deeper.
For 11 years I have tried to convince SCA boards to provide oversight over the funds we provide to ACC, insist that ACC be held accountable on how and what they spend the money they receive. I have been totally unsuccessful in that effort. As an aside, SCA provides 52% of ACC funding. During the past 10 years, SCA has provided over $6M to ACC. The SCA commitment to ACC in 2020 was over $633,000. That same figure applies to 2021.
Now to today’s situation. Last year ACC requested that the HOAs commit $15 to $20M over a 10 year period of time for additional maintenance and landscaping. Let me repeat that number – $15 to $20M.
Mr. Pope and the other members of the board agreed to fund that project. They also committed to pay $500,000 for their legal fees because of a legal incident that occurred here in Anthem. If you ever wondered why your quarterly dues increased for this year, now you know why.
I had always thought that ACC had some legitimate role in the Anthem Community due to the fact that ACC was mentioned in the City of Henderson’s (COH) Master Plan. But in one of my frequent meetings with the staff of the COH, I discovered in March of 2020 that the Master Plan had deleted the ACC from the Master Plan, and as a result was now not officially recognized by the COH.
This fact completely changed my mind set. I now believe that SCA and the other five HOAs should place the intended ACC funding for 2022 into escrow, meet with the president’s of the other five HOAs, agree to delete all ties with ACC, and split up any landscaping/maintenance responsibilities.
If the other HOAs resist, then have SCA go alone. My case is strong that ACC is the most corrupt external organization that SCA deals with. We can only fix this problem by ensuring that Richard Pope, and the other incumbents running for reelection, be defeated.
One final point. How many of you read the monthly Audit Committee report in the Spirit? How many of you have ever tried to attend an Audit Committee meeting? None of you have, including me. To the best of my knowledge, the Audit Committee is the only group not represented in the Spirit.
They are a complete and total secret organization that sets their own rules, when and where the meetings are held, what is discussed in these meetings, and the direction given to, in the committee’s words, an independent auditor. In my opinion, our auditor is not independent. We pay the same auditor every year.
That makes our auditor’s allegiance to the SCA Audit Committee, not the homeowners. The COH hires a different auditor each year, and places a new, independent CPA each year on their review board. That is what I consider independent. Our process is the same every year, every homeowner not knowing what is being said and directed in those meetings. And guess who is one of the members of the Audit Committee – Richard Pope. In my opinion, the Audit Committee is our most corrupt internal organization.
So why does Mr. Pope want to be reelected? What is his agenda? I have no idea. But what I do know is that his agenda is not in the best interests of the homeowners of SCA.
Rana,I am in agreement with you with the exception of Richard Pope.
No one is perfect, and people make mistakes, but over the last year I have watched Mr. Pope put in 60-80 hours a week as a dedicated Board member in a way that the good of the community was always first, at the expense of sacrificing so much of his personal retirement years.He is an experienced and successful business individual whose expertise is needed in our community, and his “youth” is something that SCA needs to guide it in the future.
This should not be a popularity contest; this should be one where competence must prevail.
Many of us have to realize that the aging process has positives and negatives. It values the past, but is limited in its ability to control the future.
Richard Pope and those like him are the future of Sun City Anthem. His kind must be maintained, and if we cling to the past, as time makes all of us less effective in our decision making ability, more then ever, we will need successors with common sense and experience.
It is for that reason, the future and the ability to adapt to it, that makes Richard Pope’s continuing to be a part of the Sun City Anthem Board of Directors, a must in my estimation.
Add Forrest Fetherolf’s community spirit and his daily helping so many residents in his “Mr. Fix-It” role, to his immense knowledge of the construction industry, combined with the compassion and understanding Steve Anderson demonstrates with his sense of community, I believe that with this trio, we would have a well run and happy community that would thrive in the years to come.
Nelson: As a dues paying homeowner at SCA for the past 11 years, I too like to know more about ACC. I believe that most homeowner like to know how the funds collected by ACC is spent.
Please put your name into the candidates list.
Tien
Anthem Community Council
I want to encourage readers to attend the next quarterly meeting of the Anthem Community Council that is now scheduled for February 17 at 3 pm at the Anthem Center. I will be there to voice some of my concerns regarding the need for better updated information on their website. In particular they need to have more timely postings of their financial statements. I am also concerned about the bare medians on Anthem Parkway that are now growing weeds. These are just some of my concerns. Please come and make your feelings known during the public comment period.
Audit Committee
What follows is the revision of the Audit Committee’s mission and composition that was passed at the January meeting of the Board. Please note that all board members may attend and that any resident can make a request to attend an Audit Committee meeting. The Treasurer of the Board is the Chair of the Audit Committee who is a board member and their contact information is in the Spirit.
7.7 Audit Committee
7.7.1 The Purpose of an Audit
Each fiscal year, Nevada HOA law requires SCA to have their financial statements audited by an independent Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Management, not the auditor, is responsible for preparing SCA’s financial statements and supporting documents in compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
An audit’s purpose is for an independent CPA to examine management’s financial statements and to determine whether or not the financial statements are fairly presented according to GAAP. This means that management consistently uses commonly followed accounting rules to prepare SCA’s financial statements. Consequently, the audited financial statements can be reasonably relied upon.
A positive opinion that the financial statements are properly prepared, from an independent and professional source, significantly enhances the credibility of the financial statements with homeowners, potential home buyers, and other users of SCA’s financial statements. However, an audit is neither an affirmation that a company is either well managed nor free from fraud.
7.7.2 Mission of SCA’s Audit Committee
The Audit Committee’s purpose is to oversee SCA’s financial reporting, the external audit process, the tax return, SCA’s internal controls, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and any related risks.
The Audit Committee can expect to review significant accounting and reporting issues and recent professional and regulatory pronouncements to understand the potential impact on SCA’s financial statements. In addition, an understanding of how management develops interim financial information is necessary to assess whether reports are complete and accurate.
The Audit Committee reviews the results of an audit with management and external auditors, including matters required to be communicated to the committee under Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS). Also, controls over financial reporting, information technology security, and operational matters fall under the committee’s purview.
To protect the auditor’s independence (i.e., the auditors are not under the influence or control of management whose work is being examined), the Audit Committee is responsible for the appointment, compensation, and oversight of the auditor’s work product. Therefore, the auditor’s report directly to the Audit Committee, not to management.
Page 212The Audit Committee can meet separately with external auditors to discuss matters that the committee or auditors believe should be discussed privately. The committee also reviews proposed audit approaches and audit coordination with SCA’s accounting
staff. Regarding SCA’s audit functions, the committee will review and approve the audit plan, review staffing and organization of the process, and periodically meet with management to discuss matters of concern.The Audit Committee can authorize additional expenditures to support the audit process.
7.7.3 Composition of the Audit Committee
SCA’s Audit Committee is composed of the Board Treasurer, who serves as committee chair, one other Director appointed by the Board, the chair of the Finance Committee, and two members-at-large recruited by SCA’s Volunteer Coordinator and approved by the Board.
Each Audit Committee Member will serve a 12-month term beginning on September 1. Audit Committee Member’s service is for the full 12-month term, even if a Member no longer is a Director or a member of the Finance Committee, but all Members must be current Members in good standing of Sun City Anthem. If the Board Treasurer’s or Finance Committee Chair’s term expire within the 12-month term they become additional members-at-large for the remainder of their Audit Committee term.
7.7.4 Independence and Confidentiality of the Audit Committee
Audit topics may directly, or indirectly, discuss staff or management performance. Consequently, the Audit Committee operates confidentially and independently. As an appendage of the Board, SCA Directors can attend Audit Committee meetings as an observer. Otherwise, only members of the Audit Committee and individuals invited by a majority vote of the Audit Committee can attend committee meetings.
During the prime audit season from approximately December to May, the Chairman of the Audit Committee will prepare monthly Audit Committee updates to be published in SCA’s monthly Board Book.
Thank you Steve for this report, something no SCA board member has ever done before. I have long advocated that boards use the community blogs to get news out to the many residents that don’t normally participate at meetings and eblasts.
I personally will try to move a couple of appointments I have on February 17 to attend the Anthem Council meeting.
Adding to Rana’s comments, I too wish to add my congratulations and appreciation to Steve. I met with Steve back in September, and voiced my concerns about both Anthem Council and the Audit Committee. Since that meeting, we have been in communication, and both of us have expressed our viewpoints. I was somewhat surprised, but absolutely delighted, with Steve’s comments. I am certain he knows my support for the necessary changes to both AC and the Audit Committee, and, like Rana, will do my best to attend the next AC meeting.
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