Statement to Oakmont Members on December 9, 2021
By Secretary of the Oakmont Board of Directors, Junior Crafton
On the afternoon of November 17, 2021, during a routine monthly check of property recordings at the Taney County Recorder’s Office, Karen Badley discovered 2 quit claim deeds filed reference property owned by Board members Jodie King and Chad Littler. The recorded deeds showed Jodi King and Chad Littler were no longer property owners in the Oakmont Subdivision as of October 4, 2021. According to the bylaws of the Oakmont Community Improvement Association, they were ineligible to serve on the Oakmont Board of Directors.
Karen made contact with Director Gary Haupt to inform him of what she had discovered. Gary in turn contacted Board Secretary Junior Crafton. On the morning of November 18th, Directors Haupt and Crafton met with Karen to review the documents. After reviewing the documents, President Jeff Wilhoit was contacted and advised the three remaining board members needed to have an emergency executive session to review the documents as a board. That meeting was held at the Oakmont Community Center at 12:15 p.m. on November 18th. The minutes from that meeting will be read later in this regular board meeting. Executive session minutes are not usually read aloud in a public forum, but the board feels it is imperative the members be aware what is going on.
The board determined that Jodie King and Chad Littler were no longer members of the Oakmont Community as of October 4, 2021. When their membership terminated, they no longer met the requirements to hold a seat on the Oakmont Board of Directors. Their seats on the board were declared vacated. It was determined the two ineligible board members had participated in two regular monthly meetings and one executive session. Actions will be taken by the board tonight to ratify any actions taken at those meetings.
At the conclusion of the meeting, it was agreed that the Board President, Jeff Wilhoit, would make contact with Jodie King and Chad Littler immediately and advised them they were no longer eligible to hold a seat on the Oakmont Board of Directors. Candidates for board replacements would be discussed at a later date.
On the afternoon of Friday, November 19th, Junior Crafton sent an instant message to President Wilhoit and asked if he made contact with the two ineligible board members. He advised that he wanted to contact the Oakmont Attorney, David Smith first and make sure the board was doing everything legal. President Wilhoit further advised that David Smith was out of the office until Monday.
Early Monday afternoon, November 22nd, David Smith responded to President Wilhoit by email. To summarize the content, David Smith’s legal opinion was that Chad Littler and Jodie King’s membership in Oakmont was terminated on October 4, 2021. With their membership terminated, they were no longer eligible to serve on the Oakmont Board of Directors. He recommended the Board immediately fill the vacancies. He further recommended the Board pass a resolution to ratify board actions taken with two ineligible members seated on the board. The current board plans to ratify that at tonight’s meeting.
After receiving the email, President Wilhoit did not make contact with Jodie King or Chad Littler and did not advise Board Directors Crafton or Haupt of the status.
On November 29th, after not hearing from the President on the status, Director Gary Haupt contacted Oakmont Attorney, David Smith by telephone to find out if a determination had been made on the Board members. David Smith advised he had responded to President Wilhoit with his legal opinion within a few hours of their initial conversation. David Smith supplied Director Haupt with a copy of that email. A copy of that email will be attached to the November 30 Board minutes for review.
On the afternoon of November 29th, President Wilhoit sent an instant message to Director Haupt and Crafton requesting a Special Board Meeting be held as soon as possible. It was agreed a meeting would be held at 4:00 p.m. on November 30th. During this conversation, Director Crafton asked President Wilhoit if Chad Littler or Jodie King had been advised of their status. He advised he planned to let them know the next morning.
Secretary of the Board Junior Crafton sent an email on the morning of November 30, 2021 to Jodie King and Chad Littler advising them of their status on the board. A copy of this email will be attached to the Board minutes for November 30 for review.
A Special Board meeting was convened on November 30, 2021 to fill vacancies on the board. It was determined the board could not wait until the regular December meeting due to the recommendation of our attorney and the fact that President Wilhoit would be unable to attend the December meeting. With President Wilhoit absent, the remaining two Directors would not constitute a quorum. At this meeting, three candidates were discussed. At the conclusion of the meeting, Megan McGuire and Jeff Farquhar were selected to fill the two vacancies on the board. Minutes of that meeting will be reviewed tonight.
During this meeting, President Wilhoit advised he had advised the management of Big Cedar of the status of Jodie King and Chad Littler. He also spoke to Chad and Jodie by telephone earlier in the day. President Wilhoit advised that the Big Cedar management and their corporate attorneys did not agree that Jodie and Chad were ineligible to serve on the board and felt they should be allowed to fulfill their terms. President Wilhoit further advised that even though Big Cedar management did not agree, they would not contest the board decision and would be paying their 2022 assessments. Secretary Crafton advised if Big Cedar management would like to have a legal opinion by the Missouri Attorney General, he would be more than happy to submit it for a legal opinion. President Wilhoit advised he did not believe that would be necessary because Big Cedar management did not wish to contest the situation.
This brings us to the current board meeting. Because ineligible board members were seated on 2 regular monthly meetings and an executive session, the current board will have to take action to ratify board decisions made during those meetings.
In closing, I would like to make it clear; the vacating of Jodie King and Chad Littler from the board was not due to ANY actions taken by the Board of Directors or an individual Board member. It is very clear in the bylaws, to be a Director on the Board; you MUST be a member of the Oakmont Community. When they terminated their ownership, they were no longer members, therefore not eligible to serve on the Board of Directors.
This statement is to be attached to the minutes of this meeting (December 2021).
Respectfully submitted,
H. E. Crafton, Jr.
Secretary, Oakmont Community Improvement Association Board of Directors