Rogue . . .

For the first time in POA history, no quorum was reached in the 2025 election to replace two outgoing directors (POA President and POA Secretary). Some were quick to jump in and blame the anomaly on the slow mail system and/or voter apathy while failing to acknowledge that the quorum was easily surpassed only months before in the primary election.

Thus one might reasonably question if the failure to reach a quorum could have possibly been attributed to property owner frustration over the inefficient and inequitable handling of the entire election process?

Alas, one will probably never know.

Doing the same thing over and expecting a different result . . .

Relying on Georgia Code Section 14-3-805 (d) (1) both the POA President and POA Secretary will remain on the board until the completion of a valid election. Thus the number of directors on the current board remains at seven.

Presumably with the assistance of legal counsel, the current board has determined that the same four candidates that ran in the first general election will remain on the second ballot. Previously eliminated candidates from the primary election will not be allowed to run nor will any new candidates be introduced such as was allowed in the 2020 revote that was required due to a candidate’s disqualification. (2) https://smokesignalsnews.com/archive/results-of-new-poa-directors-election-temporarily-on-hold/article_edeb74e0-2bd6-5a40-9960-4a2489e736ca.html

Note: In fact a new candidate was introduced on the second ballot who was not only subsequently elected but also appointed POA President for the year 2020.

It is unknown how leadership and legal counsel has rationalized this inconsistency in the treatment of the second election. It is also noteworthy to mention that the election committee who is charged with conducting the elections in accordance with the Association bylaws has been largely silent in this latest scenario.

Regardless, ballots for a second general election will begin arriving in the mail in a matter of days.

The sounds of silence . . .

Meanwhile, one previously eliminated candidate has not only retreated from the political arena but, effective December 20^th, has also paused (shut down) an active and vocal social media group with over 1,200 property owners listed as members.

A simple yes or no would suffice . . .

As a matter of curiosity, this writer submitted an AskThePOA Ticket#19508  (3) asking:

“Please confirm if any proceeds have been paid by the Association in 2025 to any property owner, employee or other individual as part of a settlement negotiation or to preclude the filing of any legal action?”

Keep in mind any details regarding negotiations such as these are generally deemed privileged and confidential thus no identities, amounts or other details were requested.

Rather than provide a yes or no answer, the question was met with the General Manager’s lengthy refusal citing attorney client privilege, confidentiality and citations to Georgia code irrelevant to the question asked.

Surely management would have jumped at the opportunity to respond “No” if that was indeed the case.

Enough said.

Escalating legal fees . . .

However, in this same response, it was learned that the Association has incurred an astounding $349k in legal fees just through November 2025. Of that total, $177k is attributed to the trademark purchase negotiations. The complete breakdown of those fees can also be found in the AskThePOA Response#19508 . (4)

Management has evaded any response regarding legal expenses incurred for the month of December until their issuance of the year end financials.

Note: If history repeats itself, year end financials will quite unacceptably not be posted until mid to late March. (5)

A bit of an overreach . . .

As evidenced by correspondence recently forwarded to this writer, it has been learned that management has now reached outside the gates of Big Canoe and it’s jurisdiction by directly contacting businesses and vendors currently patronized by property owners.

In a December 15^th letter , the Director of Public Safety sought assistance from “known” pest control vendors in enforcing a recent change to the Big Canoe rules and regulations prohibiting the use of outdoor rodent bait stations. Click here for a copy of the December 15th letter .  (6) It was further noted in the letter that “fines start at $500.00 per occurrence” effective January 1^st, 2026.

Although the change was approved by the Board at the November open meeting after three readings, the public facing POA website continues to display the outdated (May 2023) rules and regulations with many property owners still unaware of the change.

Note: Throughout the three month board approval process, there was no mention of any previous poisonings or reference to a POA DNR biologist as stated in the December 15^th letter.

Given the onslaught of AECD letters to property owners as well as the ongoing  enforcement regarding the Big Canoe trademark usage, (7) letters such as these may not be the best look for this community.

That said, perhaps it would have been more appropriate for this correspondence to have been directed to the members of the community with the ultimate responsibility for compliance and payment of any fines rather than the actual business or vendor.

As for other news . . .

Again, according to recently posted finance committee minutes, the Director of Finance is negotiating the renewal of a $3 million line of credit with Wells Fargo Bank. It is unknown exactly what renewal is currently being negotiated as the 2024 financial statement audited by Mauldin & Jenkins omits any reference to a $3 million line with Wells Fargo. (8)

Note: This should not be confused with the $15 million term loan with Wells Fargo.

And finally, despite optimal property owner turnout, the food and beverage function at the $8 million renovated clubhouse is now back in the red posting a November 2025 loss of $10k. (9)

Truly. Some things never change.

. . . . .

Should you believe the information found in these posts is important, please continue to share with your friends and neighbors wherever possible. As for those who wish to see additional articles posted in the future, please subscribe for an email notification or check back frequently. And as always, feel free to contact me directly at thepcrosses@gmail.com for questions or further discussion. Meanwhile, take care, stay warm and thank you for your readership.

Patricia Cross

10438 Big Canoe

References:

(1)   AskThePOA Response#19345

(2)    https://smokesignalsnews.com/archive/results-of-new-poa-directors-election-temporarily-on-hold/article_edeb74e0-2bd6-5a40-9960-4a2489e736ca.html

(3)    AskThePOA Ticket#19508

(4)    AskThePOA Response#19508

(5)    “Walking it back”, April 7^th, 2025, bcmatters.org, https://bcmatters.org/walking-it-back/

(6)     Click here for a copy of the December 15th letter  

(7)    December 5^th, 2025 Annual Meeting, Video at 13:15 (POAwebsite>login>POA>meetings>videos>2024>annual meeting)

(8)    Finance Committee Meeting Minutes, November 18^th, 025 (POAwebsite>login>POA>Committees>Finance>Minutes>2025>November)

(9)    November 2025 Financial Package, Income from Operations, Pg. 5; Financial Summary of Income from Operations, Pg. 9. (POAwebsite>login>POA>financials>2025>November)