New Petition for GGM Resident Members

We started to collect signatures on the petition we intend to submit to HUD. Here is the text of the petition:

We the undersigned Garden Grove Manor, Inc. resident members respectfully request that you at HUD, who approved the Board of Directors as the managing agent for GGM and as the only agency overseeing their actions, hold them accountable for their violations of our GGM by-laws, which are part of the GGM regulatory agreement with HUD, and for our other concerns listed below, and we request that you compel them to fulfill their fiduciary duties immediately as follows:

* The Board has not held an annual election meeting since April 2007, which was actually the October 2006 delayed annual meeting. Annual meetings are required by the by-laws and California law.

* The 3-year Board terms of Ann Marie McCartan and Margie Alexander expired in 2008 or earlier and they should not continue to act as directors or as managing agents or enjoy any benefits of directors paid for by members, including Directors & Officers insurance, managing agent insurance or legal advice. The Board did not hold the October 2007, October 2008 or October 2009 annual election meetings as required by the by-laws and California law.

* The Board did not hold at least 4 open meetings with members in 2009 as required by the by-laws.

* The Board holds executive sessions to review GGM business that should be reviewed in open meetings with members per the by-laws and California law. The Board does not disclose actions taken in executive session in the open meeting minutes as required by California law.

* The Board held meetings with members in December 2009 and February 2010 that met all the criteria of open meetings, but the Board claimed they were not “real meetings” and they have not provided members with minutes of these meetings within 30 days as required by California law.

* The Board did not hold open meetings with members to review and approve the annual pro forma budget that must be made available to members no later than 30 days before the start of the new fiscal year on December 1st. As of March 2010, the annual budget for 2009-2010 is more than 120 days delinquent per the by-laws and California law.

* The Board did not provide all directors with the same meeting notification or access to meetings as required by the by-laws and California law.

* The Board denies members access to minutes, member lists, financial records and other corporate documents that members are allowed to see as required by the by-laws and California law.

* The Board did not give members a 60 day notice of the recent increase in carrying charges under HUD regulations and California law.

* The Board and its employees used threatening tactics and materials purchased with membership funds to intimidate members during and after signatures were collected on the recall petition in violation of California law.

* The Board failed to respond to the recall petition, schedule the recall meeting and send the meeting notice to members within 20 days as required by California law. Members were forced to schedule the meeting themselves for March 4.

* The Board failed to mail the recall ballots to members 30 days before the March 4, 2010 recall meeting as mandated by California law. The Board delivered illegal recall ballots to selected members’ units less than 24 hours before the meeting in violation of California law. The ballots and envelopes were not in the format required by California law and the Board excluded 33 members. As of March 2010, a new recall meeting has not been scheduled.

* The Board delivered illegal nomination forms with the illegal ballots in violation of California law. When the Board delivered the illegal ballots and nomination forms, they used the time to persuade members to vote against the recall in a political violation of California law. As of March 2010, members still have not received legal ballots.

* The Board allowed the On-Site Manager to send letters to 33 members notifying them that they are not allowed to vote in the recall election as copies of the stock certificates for these members are not in the GGM residential files, which members do not access. Only past and current managers are responsible for these files. This is false information as nothing in the GGM by-laws or California law requires stock certificates to be in the files before members can vote. This appears to be a civil rights violation known as vote suppression and may be punishable as a crime.

* The Board is discussing taking out a new loan without getting the prior approval of members, as required by the GGM by-laws and California law.

* The Board gave On-Site Manager Dyan Gibbs an unprecedented payment in the amount of $4,400 for auto damages sustained on GGM property, which was a violation of GGM policy.

* When several residents reported flooding in their units, Dyan Gibbs told them to have their husbands fix the flooding and damages in violation of the GGM by-laws and California law.

* A majority of residents attended a meeting with the Board on December 10, 2009 to demand that the Board fire Dyan Gibbs immediately.

Rally at GGM: Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 7:00pm

We are holding a rally on Thursday, March 18, 2010, at 7:00pm by the Laundry Room to share information regarding the Board of Directors, HUD and the recall process. We will also have a new HUD petition to sign to stop the Board from taking out any new loans without the approval of shareholders. Be sure to visit our new website for regular updates and information.

As shareholders know, the March 4, 2010 recall meeting was canceled by the attorney for Garden Grove Manor because the Board of Directors failed to fulfill their duties and tried to hold a recall election in violation of the GGM by-laws and California law. The Board delivered ballots the night before the meeting to selected shareholders only and tried to prevent 33 of 76 shareholders from voting in the recall election under false pretenses. On-Site Manager Dyan Gibbs sent those 33 shareholders a misleading letter claiming that they could not vote in the recall election because copies of their stock certificates were missing from the office files. There is absolutely nothing in the GGM by-laws that prevents shareholders from voting in any GGM election due to missing copies of their stock certificates. All shareholders in good standing are allowed to vote and “good standing” has always been defined as shareholders who are current in their carrying charges.

Shareholders have their own attorney and he is helping those who signed the petition to recall the Board and who received the misleading letter from Dyan. Our attorney shared information about what the Board has been doing with the GGM attorney, which stopped the Board from holding the phony recall meeting. Our attorney continues to work for us to protect the rights of GGM members and preserve the integrity of the recall election process, as well as to hold the Board of Directors accountable to shareholders for their improper actions or lack of appropriate action. He is also communicating the concerns of shareholders directly to the GGM attorney.

At this time we are compiling a list of all shareholders who received the letter from Dyan Gibbs. The list will be shared with the GGM attorney. If you received the letter about missing stock certificates, please sign the list at the March 18th rally and keep your letter in a safe place for future reference. We look forward to seeing you at the rally! If you can’t make it to the rally, see Darlene about the stock certificate letter and petition (10692 #7).

Welcome to the Garden Grove Manor Watchdog!

Have you ever wondered who you would be if you had different parents? No matter how frustrating they may be, you wouldn’t exist without either one of them. In a way, Garden Grove Manor was “born” with two bossy, controlling “parents” and owes its existence to both of them. One “parent” is HUD, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the other “parent” is the State of California.

In 1971, Garden Grove Manor (or GGM, as we like to call it) began the process to become a non-profit stock share cooperative under the HUD Section 236 Program and a corporation under the State of California. The building of GGM was completed with a subsidized loan from the federal government. In return GGM agreed to offer affordable housing to applicants who qualify under HUD’s income guidelines. In 1994, GGM signed a contract with HUD to offer Section 8 housing assistance payments to shareholders who qualify. HUD rules govern our waiting lists, income certifications, financial statements, and carrying charges (i.e., the monthly assessment shareholders pay for their housing unit plus their portion of the corporation's expenses). Shareholders purchase a stock share in the corporation that earns limited equity, which accrues monthly.

Garden Grove Manor is also a common interest development subject to civil and corporation codes including the Davis-Stirling Act. Each year the State of California passes laws that affect Garden Grove Manor. These laws govern the rights of GGM shareholders and the responsibilities of the Board of Directors. The Board has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of the GGM shareholders in accordance with the governing documents of Garden Grove Manor and the laws of California.