GEORGETOWN, S.C. —  More than 150 concerned citizens from Wedgefield Plantation gathered Sunday afternoon to begin a fresh push to remove the president and vice president from the board that governs their community.

The residents have been at odds with the Wedgefield Property Owners Association board of directors — especially President Karl Gettmann and Vice President Jude Davis — for more than a year since talk began about canal dredging within the community and how the $1.1 million project would be funded.

A petition drive was launched during Sunday’s meeting to try to have Gettmann and Davis recalled.

After the meeting, the Georgetown Times attempted to speak with Gettmann but he said he had no comment. Davis has an unlisted telephone number.

At Sunday’s meeting — held in the Georgetown High School Auditorium and chaired by Wedgefield resident Bob Garrison — several accusations were levied against the POA board.

One was that that an $800,000 loan was recently secured with First Federal to pay for the dredging. Currently, there are 577 members of the Wedgefield Plantation Association. Only 81 are canal-adjacent property owners.

At a community meeting in August, the POA voted 5-4 to move forward with the dredging plans by increasing the yearly fees for residents by $175 for five years.

The canal-front property owners would be charged an additional $5,000 one-time fee.

Garrison alleges the bank loan was authorized without the approval of the full POA board. He said there was no mention of the loan when the POA met in October nor was it talked about at the organization’s annual meeting in November.

He also said the only way the Concerned Citizens group — and even some POA board members — were able to see the loan documents was through a court subpoena.

The POA office was one of the things offered as collateral to secure the loan.

“You went from having an office building that was paid for to one that is not,” Garrison told the residents.

The bank also now has a lean on “on any and all assessments in the present or in the future,” Garrison said.

“This loan is going to cost us about $190,000 per year.

Even though the canal owners are having to pay a $5,000 one-time fee that other property owners are not paying, Garrison said the residents with the water front property are still getting the better end of the deal.

According to documents, the canal-front owners will pay a total of $510,570 while non canal-front owners will pay $647,280.

“What happens if some of the canal (front) owners cannot pay the $5,000?” Garrison asked as he produced a document which states the POA has promised to cover any shortfalls.

“This is your money they are promising,” he told the residents.

POA board member speaks

Roger Armistead is the only member of the POA board who spoke Sunday.

He said he is frustrated because anytime he asks to talk about certain issued during the POA board meetings, he is denied by Gettmann.

“We cannot really discuss business at board meetings. We are not allowed to bring up new business or express our opinions,” Armistead said.

He then reminded the residents that they have received a opinion stating they are not legally obligated to help with the drainage costs since the state has not relinquished ownership of those waterways to Wedgefield. But, that opinion was from an attorney.

“If we can get Karl and Jude off the board, we will need some sort of jury ruling to say we are not legally obligated,” he said. “Then maybe we can get our money back in the treasury.”

There is currently a pending lawsuit — filed last year by residents Carol Zieske, Fred Thomas and George Wilson against the state and the POA board — to get the question answered once and for all.

The dredging is already about 60-percent complete and should be complete in May, Armistead said.

To pay or not?

The residents were asked to sign a petition if they agree Gettmann and Davis should be recalled.

However, only the signatures of residents in good standing will be recognized when they are counted.

The problem is, some residents say they do not want to pay the dredging fee because they feel they are not obligated.

Garrison said any resident who does not pay by this Thursday will not be in good standing. Not only will their petition signature not count, they could possibly be barred from attending POA meetings.

“You will have to choose whether to pay or not,” Garrison said.

Gettmann’s letter

Although Gettmann would not comment Sunday, he does have some comments on the POA website about the controversy

“The turmoil over the canals has been a great distraction and has sent a very negative image of Wedgefield to the general public. The people, who seem to believe that we as a plantation have no liability for the canals, have only succeeded in creating an atmosphere of distrust and disharmony here at Wedgefield,” he wrote. “It has been said repeatedly, that the canals are and have been a part of this community since the beginning. We cannot fill them with dirt, nor should we let them continue to be unsightly lanes of pluff mud. The cost to the non-canal owners is a very small and fair amount.”

In a POA newsletter in 2009, former POA board secretary Madeline Claveloux said there have been threats made because of the controversy.

She said the POA board received an unmarked, unsigned white envelope in its drop box.

“It was sinister and threatening to myself, Karl Gettmann, and Jude and Mike Davis. This is the level that some of our residents have stooped to. Nothing else needs to be said,” Claveloux said.

By Scott Harper

sharper@gtowntimes.com