Investigative Journalism and Learning Hub - Waratah Strata Management Ignored Request to Convene SP52948 Convene Extraordinary General Meeting in July 2017

From:	SP52948 owner
To:	Robert Crosbie Waratah Strata Management, SP52948 Committee Secretary
Subject:	OFFICIAL REQUEST: SP52948 Convene Extraordinary General Meeting in July 2017
Date:	25/6/17, 1:19 pm

Hi,

In accordance with SSMA 2015, and based on evidence that no owner in the complex (including EC members) expressed any objection to my proposals in last two weeks, it is requested that Secretary of the EC, or whole EC, arrange for an extraordinary general meeting during July 2017.

There are special matters that cannot wait until the next AGM that need to be considered.

The four EC members alone (Lot 3, Lot 62, Lot 147, and Lot 181) owe to owners corporation around $10,000.00 (plus 10% interest applied in each year) in UNPAID GAS LEVIES for the period of at least 15 years. It also means they were UNFINANCIAL and could not make any decisions at general meetings.

I also enclose updated By-Laws and Motions, in case the Solicitor tries to by-pass them. I also now have evidence that the Solicitor was engaged without proper process until I raised a flag about it.

One of the new Motions for Special By-Laws is an update for Lot 3 to have public risk insurance in amount of at least $15,000,000.00 ($5,000,000.00 was back in 2003 and is not applicable any longer).

There is also a Motion to enforce compliance for Lot 3.

Special By-Law 4, giving exclusive rights to common property to EC Secretary, is still not published and is effectively hidden from all owners and investors for 14 years! In addition, CHU Insurance forced owners corporation to repay $8,800.00 for invalid claim made for alleged "CTTT defence of Lot 3" in 2012/2013. Owners corporation reimbursed CHU Insurance in April 2017.

There are six main issues with unpaid levies for second gas connections:

a) Such owners and EC members caused losses in common funds,

b) Such owners and EC members illegally voted and represented owners corporation,

c) Such owners and EC members provided false statements to CTTT and tampered with Tribunal’s investigations abut mismanagement of the complex,

d) Such owners and EC members caused high legal costs, without approval by owners corporation,

e) Such owners and EC members forced owners corporation in April 2017 to repay $8,800.00 to CHU Insurance for illegal insurance claim for “CTTT Defence of Lot 3” that did not exist in court,

f) Such owners and EC members prevented owners corporation from having proper database of items that are NOT COMMON PROPERTY and must be maintained by individual owners.

My priority is to prevent further loss from common funds, and enforce reimbursements from all parties that own money to us with standard 10% interest. The reason why these (and many other losses) happened are simple: lack of transparency, lack of duty of care, and lack of access to all strata files for owners.

BCS Strata Management and EC members failed to provide evidence of compliance with Special By-Law 12 “Control of common gas supply” in regards to properly applied retrospective charges to building owners who failed to declare second gas supply connections,

In period from 21 July 1999 (EC meeting) till 28 August 2013 after the Special By-Law 12 was registered, the levies were struck at $200.00 per year (plus GST introduced in year 2000). In period since 28 August 2013, the applicable gas levies were $55.00 per year (GST inclusive),

In period since 14 April 2014, the applicable gas levies were $220,00 (GST inclusive),

At EC meeting held on 16 March 2017, the gas levies were increased to $220.00 per year.

EC members with second gas connection but failed to disclose for how many years, if they were in use, or did not pay the correct levies:

Lot 3

Lot 62 (ex-EC member)

Lot 144

Lot 163 (deceased)

Lot 147

Lot 181

Lot 88

I trust we will have good co-operation on these matters.

Regards,

Extract of email sent to owners and EC members on 19 June 2017 and EC members on 13 June 2017:

QUOTE

If you wish not to be notified of the current state of the affairs in the complex, please let me know. I tried to reason with the EC members and two strata agencies (BCS Strata Management and Waratah Strata Management) very hard, to no avail. Since they refuse to share evidence with you, for purely personal benefits, I am forced to do it myself.

Owners are not told that most of actions to improve the complex in accordance with the laws are forced by me.

Based on hard evidence that I obtained on 13 June 2017, I can announce herewith that our strata plan SP52948 has not had legally valid full-membership Executive Committee for at least 17 years! It is due to fact that many of them did not pay, to this day, proper levies for second gas connection.

It took me six years to prove it.

Special By-Law 4, giving exclusive rights to common property to EC Secretary, is still not published and is effectively hidden from all owners and investors for 14 years!

I ask you, honourable owners with same vested interests to protect your investment and hard-earned money, to support me in effort to replace current executive committee and form a new one immediately. Everybody with wish to avoid special levies, and ensure proper management of the complex, is welcome.

If you do not object, I intend to call Extraordinary General Meeting immediately. The affairs and conduct of the last general meeting give strong reasons for it. There is an effort from Secretary of the EC (Lot 3) to change sliding door direction (that is common property) and requires decision at general meeting.

We also should vote for new elevator contract and not allow disasters with contracts like in the past.

In period from 21 July 1999 (EC meeting) till 6 May 2013 when the Special By-Law 12 was registered, the levies were struck at $200.00 per year, without owners corporation approval or ratification at any general meeting.

In period since 6 May 2013, when the Special By-Law was registered through false statements to owners corporation, the applicable gas levies were $50.00 per year, without owners corporation approval or ratification at any general meeting.

At EC meeting held on 16 March 2017, the gas levies were increased to $220.00 per year. Current EC members Lot 3 (Secretary of the EC), Lt 147, Lot 88 , and Lot 181 (Chairperson of the EC) failed to declare the special interest in changing the levies for the second gas connection:

A member of the strata committee must disclose any direct or indirect financial interest the member has in a matter to be considered by the strata committee where that interest appears to raise a conflict with the member’s duties (SSMA 2015 Clause 18(1) of Schedule 2). The member must not be present during the deliberation of the matter or take part in a decision, unless the strata committee otherwise determines (SSMA 2015 Clause 18(4) of Schedule 2),

Latest photos of the gardens and buildings.

They "nicely" complement the ones several months old.

On 13 June 2017, after six years of various attempts, I finally obtained access to more than 11,500 strata files for our complex at Waratah Strata Management. Number of strata files are destroyed or hidden from owners corporation and that is something I will work on together with some agencies.

Nevertheless, there is so much shocking evidence that incriminates EC members (including those who left complex in previous years).

a) Four current EC members are not financial and have failed to disclose personal benefits by not paying fair share for second gas connection for many years.

Also, Lot 88 is a new EC member and Building Manager failed to report their gas connection so it is unknown if it is just enabled but not actively used.

b) BCS Strata Management and EC members failed to conduct proper ballot at AGM on 19 October 2016. There were 12 candidates and they were not recorded in the minutes of the meeting. Evidence is in my ownership that Mr. Stan Pogorelsky approved the minutes.

As per Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2010, Section 18:

(1) If a ballot for membership of the executive committee of an owners corporation is required, the chairperson must:

(a) announce to the meeting the name of each candidate and the nominator of the candidate, and

(b) provide each person present and entitled to vote at the meeting with a blank ballot-paper for each vote the person is entitled to cast.

(2) For a vote to be valid, a ballot-paper must be signed by the voter and completed by the voter’s writing on it:

(a) the names of the candidates (without repeating a name) for whom the voter desires to vote, the number of names written being no more than the number determined by the owners corporation as the number of members of the executive committee, and

(b) the capacity in which the voter is exercising a right to vote, whether:

(i) as owner, first mortgagee or covenant chargee of a lot (identifying the lot), or

(ii) as a company nominee, or

(iii) by proxy, and

c) 34 of my Motions for AGM 2016 were silently declined and removed from the agenda.

Seven other Motions were modified in such a way to exclude any Explanatory Notes and prevent owners from having full information before voting.

d) To protect their own interests, EC members collectively failed to respond to my questions (see below).

At present, here are some of current EC members who have not paid proper levies for their second gas connection levies or many, and some for all years, since 1999.

Lot 3, ex-Chairperson of the EC, long-serving EC member, and current Secretary of the EC. BCS secretly back-charged her for 15-year period from 1 September 2000 to 31 October 2015. The amount was incorrect and strata funds were depleted due to private benefits. Invoice dated 17 July 2015.

Lot 181, long-serving EC member and current Chairperson. BCS secretly back-charged him for undisclosed period. The amount was incorrect and strata funds were depleted due to private benefits. Invoice dated 17 July 2015.

Lot 147, long-service EC member. BCS secretly back-charged him for undisclosed period. The amount was incorrect and strata funds were depleted due to private benefits. Invoice dated 15 July 2016.

In fact, there are six current and previous EC members who have second gas connection:

Evidence of repayments for additional gas connections for previous years from all owners in buildings and townhouses for whom this applies. Of special interest are current and previous EC members:

Lot 3 (since the purchase of the lot, undisclosed date)

Lot 62 (ex-EC member, undisclosed date, there is evidence of his payments from 2002/2003))

Lot 144 (undisclosed date)

Lot 147 (since May 2001)

Lot 181 (since 1999)

Lot 88

The current alleged listing of second gas connections is still incomplete. Lot 192 is one of them.

e) BCS Strata Management even tried to charge wrong owners for unpaid gas levies. An example is Lot 163. Previous owners sold in early 2014 but the invoice sent to new owners is invalid and irrelevant. It all comes now as loss to our common funds.

There is much more evidence in my possession.

END QUOTE

Sent to committee members members on Tue, 13 Jun 2017 22:25:04 +1000:

QUOTE

Earlier today I obtained access to over 11,500 strata files. Waratah Strata Management was very helpful, as they should be.

There are some horrific examples of abuse of trust (not to mention BCS' actions and the actions of various building managers and staff), and waste of money from common funds.

Let's start with the first issue. I will give you till Friday morning to advise me of your response. I think it is better for you to talk to me and resolve issues in a sensible manner.

Your lack of payments affected common funds over many years and there is no doubt that you did it deliberately. You knew what you were doing.

The problem is also that you provided statements to CTTT and Department of Fair Trading claiming no wrongdoings. I was bullied, ignored, ridiculed, threatened - only because I uncovered massive co-ordination of bad activities in the complex.

In BCS report dated 13 May 2014, ONLY three owners allegedly had second gas connection, which is an absolute nonsense and misleadning/miscontrued statementreport.

An example for Lot 3 (current Secretary of the EC) shows that they did not pay full gas levies for 15 years, until BCS sent an invoice in panic on 17 July 2015. Also, there is no evidence that such owners paid 10% interest for overdue second gas connection levies for all years.

In period from 21 July 1999 (EC meeting) till 6 May 2013 when the Special By-Law 12 was registered, the levies were struck at $200.00 per year, without owners corporation approval or ratification at any general meeting.

In period since 6 May 2013, when the Special By-Law was registered through false statements to owners corporation, the applicable gas levies were $50.00 per year, without owners corporation approval or ratification at any general meeting.

At EC meeting held on 16 March 2017, the gas levies were increased to $220.00 per year. Current EC members Mrs. Lorna Zelenzuk (Secretary of the EC), Mr. Moses Levitt, Mrs. Marian Paltikian, and Mr. Stan Pogorelsky (Chairperson of the EC) failed to declare the special interest in changing the levies for the second gas connection:

A member of the strata committee must disclose any direct or indirect financial interest the member has in a matter to be considered by the strata committee where that interest appears to raise a conflict with the member’s duties (SSMA 2015 Clause 18(1) of Schedule 2). The member must not be present during the deliberation of the matter or take part in a decision, unless the strata committee otherwise determines (SSMA 2015 Clause 18(4) of Schedule 2),

Some of the document are enclosed herewith. Much more is in my ownership.

The accounting data that are in my hands clearly show that you failed to pay for second gas connections in MANY years and even made belated payments several years after their due date, hence making some of owners UNFINANCIAL to vote and be a reputable member of the EC.

Lot 192 and their second gas connection for years...

Evidence of townhouses that have second gas connections but were receiving reimbursements for private gas usage for many years (double dipping):

Lots 194, 199, 206, and 209

Regards,

END QUOTE