Lacey residents ask city for help with HOA board, accusing it of being ‘out of control’

Update: This story has been updated with comments from the Aldea Glen HOA board president and treasurer and a new time for an upcoming meeting.

Four residents came before Lacey City Council on Thursday, urging the city to help them with a homeowners’ association board that they accused of being “out of control,” “rogue,” and “twisting and violating HOA rules to fit their agenda.”

The HOA in question represents the Aldea Glen neighborhood, which is north of Lake Lois and east of Carpenter Road.

The four residents spoke during public comment at Thursday’s Lacey City Council meeting. Board President Bridget Gilleese and Treasurer Robin Wilson contacted The Olympian on Sunday and disputed nearly every statement made by the residents at the council meeting.

Resident Shane Hunter told the council that an HOA special meeting can be called by the board president, a majority of board members, or by owners having 10 percent of the vote in the HOA.

They have done so with more than half of the HOA, he said. They voted to replace the board, but control of the board did not change, Hunter said.

Treasurer Wilson said that the vote took place at an illegal meeting, which requires that a petition be submitted to the board for review to check that those who have signed it are actual homeowners in the association. There are many out-of-area owners who rent their properties, she said.

Hunter also said the board added an additional voting member that was not in accordance with HOA rules. Hunter accused that person of then accosting elderly homeowners and bullying neighbors.

“I do not have time to speak on all of the grievances we have with this rogue board,” he said.

He asked the city for help.

“I implore our city council to help out our community with this matter,” he said. “If this person continues to accost neighbors, I’m afraid that physical violence will occur.”

President Gilleese said she can appoint someone to the board to fill a vacancy until the next general meeting in May. She conceded that the board has not had a May meeting since the pandemic because they were not aware that they could hold the meetings online, citing a Gov. Jay Inslee proclamation that they didn’t fully understand. She contends that no one has been accosted or bullied.

Tim Smith characterized the HOA board as lacking in communication, transparency, honesty and good judgment.

Brandon Gardner told the council he serves on the HOA board as the member at large and his wife is the secretary. He agreed that the board has not been transparent and also accused board members of having secret meetings and voting and approving budgets without input.

Gilleese said Gardner and his wife were on the board, but not now. However, she acknowledged that Gardner’s wife shouldn’t have been on the board because she is not identified as homeowner in the association; however, she was appointed because they were “desperate” to fill a position on the board, she said.

Joshua King, who said he co-owns a home in Aldea Glen, asked the city to come up with a solution for HOA disputes outside of having to file a lawsuit in Thurston County Superior Court, a process that can be expensive and time-consuming for residents.

He encouraged the city to increase the number of people at the city who work with HOAs. They could then engage in hearings at the HOA level, the city level and have an administrative law judge rule in HOA matters, he said.

King said he and some members of the HOA tried to alert others about an upcoming election and were confronted by a board member that devolved into a “screaming and shouting match in the street.”

“It’s gotten to a level that I think is not ‘adult’ anymore,” he said.

Before the public comment period came to an end, resident Hunter invited council members, the city manager and city attorney to come to their next election, set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Lacey Community Center, 6729 Pacific Ave SE.

Gilleese and Wilson dispute that King is a homeowner in the association. They also said Tuesday’s meeting is illegal because they did not follow the aforementioned process.

“Anything that transpires isn’t legal,” Wilson said.