NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION OF UNIT OWNERS
To: All members of the Brookside Park Condominium Association of Unit Owners
Meeting Date & Time: April 23, 2023, at 5:00 PM
Meeting Location: Henson Valley Christian Church 1900 Tucker Rd. Fort Washington, MD 20744
Pursuant to the Brookside Park Condominium by-laws and the Maryland Condominium Act, notice is hereby given that a Special Meeting of the Association of Unit Owners will be held at 5:00 PM on Sunday April 23, 2023, at the Henson Valley Christian Church 1900 Tucker Rd. Fort Washington, MD 20744. The purpose of the Special Meeting is as follows:
1) To Ratify the removal of the entire Board of Directors pursuant to the submission of 197 petitions for removal presented to the Board of Directors and to George Perry, Esq., Resident Agent of the Association, on October 13, 2022, requesting a Special Meeting. The same petitions were re-presented to the Board on February 27, 2023, by the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Maryland requesting an answer as to why such Special Meeting had, to date, not been convened pursuant to Article IV, Section 3 of the by-laws.
2) To elect a new Board of Directors of the Brookside Park Condominium Association of Unit Owners pursuant to Article V, Section 6 of the by-laws.
All Unit Owners are invited to join the meeting in person and cast their vote from the floor. Proxy ballots were issued by the outgoing Board with a filing deadline of October 27, 2022. If you have previously filed a proxy for the election that was scheduled for October 30, 2022, make sure your representative will be in attendance at the Special Meeting to ensure your proxy is counted.
Invited Guests:
· Karen Straughn, Office of the Attorney General, State of Maryland;
· Edward Burroughs, County Council Member, District 8, Prince George’s County;
· George Perry, Esq. Resident Agent, Brookside Park Condominium Association of Unit Owners;
· Corinne Rosen, Esq., The Law Offices of Corinne G. Rosen, Counsel for Brookside Park Condominium;
· Charles Walton, Esq., The Walton Group, Fort Washington, MD;
· Blanche Thompson, Managing Agent, MEINC HOAM.
Why are we calling for a Special Meeting?
April 2023 marks the 4th consecutive year with no Notice of Annual Meeting, and no Board Election scheduled. Once again, no valid explanation is given as to why Brookside Park Condominiums is not having an Annual Meeting.
Indeed, while the term of this purported Board lapsed long ago, we do not even know who serves on the “Board” at present. Two members, Ms. Baruch and Ms. Salchow resigned last year. Two others, Ms. Polite and Ms. Gee, were supposedly appointed at some point last year and have since resigned, before being even introduced to the unit owners as Board appointees. Rumors abound that yet another Board member resigned recently, with only two members remaining. Where is the “Board”? Who is the “Board”?
There have been no formal, open Board meetings in years. There was no approved Annual Budget for 2022 and there is no approved Annual Budget or for 2023. There has been no financial report of any kind shared with the Unit Owners in more than 2 years. The Association has been threatened with shut-off notices from utilities. There is no accountability of any kind by this purported “Board” towards the Unit Owners it ostensibly represents.
The Association benefited from a payment of close to $3.5M from the State Highway Condemnation Fund. To date, there has been no accounting or discussion regarding the disposition of these Association funds.
Article V; Section 6: Removal of Directors:
“The entire Board of Directors shall resign within 30 days upon receipt of petitions representing 35% of the total vote eligible to be cast of the total membership, eligible to cast votes, requesting this action and a Special Meeting will be duly called coinciding with the resignations to elect a new Board.”
The 197 Petitions for Removal submitted to the Board on October 13, 2022 represent over 35% of the Unit Owners. This action required that the President call a Special Meeting. To date, he has failed to do so. This Board has been removed by collective action of over 35% of Unit Owners. This leaves no alternative but that the Unit Owners of Brookside Park Condominium come together and call a Special Meeting to elect a new Board.