The Annual Election for Directors of your company is upon us.
YOU HAVE A CHOICE . . .
YOU HAVE A CHOICE . . .
PERHAPS you’ve been corralled in your driveway, or at one of your first community meetings, you are welcomed & the beauty of Windermere Oaks is enthusiastically proclaimed. Eventually claims of corruption and conspiracy become the topic. ARE YOU AWARE OF THE FACTS? Does gossip draw you in -or- does common sense prevail?
FACTS
FACT #1: You currently pay $65.73 per month to defend the litigation efforts against your member-owned water company: Windermere Oaks Water Supply Corp. (WOWSC). Individuals who have cost you with litigation, protests, and excessive Public Inquiries:, Rene Ffrench, Bruce Sorgen, Dick Dial, Danny Flunker, Patti Flunker, Josie Fuller, Mark McDonald, & Jeff Walker.
FACT #2: Litigants' (see: #1) claims of corruption including: election fraud, collusion, improper rate increase and more conspiracy theorist claims, have NOT been proven in Court. 5 years of Court rulings have deemed otherwise, time and again, yet litigants have re-packaged their allegations and continued their legal attacks. Some individuals in the community have supported the unfounded accusations via more litigation, petitions, Public Information Requests.
Fact #3: Litigants & supporters issued a letter to the Burnet County Sheriff & DA to investigate 8 individual Volunteer Directors on accusations of "organized criminal activity" (including fraud, theft, electioneering, lengthy conspiracy,). Not a single shred of evidence uncovered in their concurrent lawsuit (Cause #48292) proved this fantasy narrative. The goal to "criminalize" volunteer activity was not accomplished.
FACT #4: Walker states; 'You elect me, I will NOT sell the WOWSC. I will not bankrupt it. We have many very smart members, who can help me/us get out of this mess." Q: What will Walker do that current Directors have not already done via the New Gen report, their establishment of a financial policy for future board's administration and their early completion of their 2019-2024 5-yr plan?
FACT #5: You can’t have rates go down when there are bills to pay! Bills must be paid through revenue received.
FACT #6: If you’ve paid water bills since the increase (March 2020) you have paid over $2,400 out-of-YOUR-pocket to defend the litigious efforts and slanderous actions of the above-mentioned individuals. Math = $65.73 x # months you've paid a water bill since 3/2020.
FACT #7: Litigation efforts against your member-owned water company, purportedly lodged on your behalf appear self-serving. Litigants: Ffrench, Sorgen, and Dial, asked for “Relief” of a MILLION Dollars (See lawsuits: Cause #48292) on top of request for attorney fees. This “relief” was not earmarked to reimburse ratepayers. Litigants asked the Court to reverse the land sale. Two of the litigants are developers! This would make the property available for them to develop.
FACT #8: The litigation leading to the defense fees accrued by the WOWSC, and subsequent to that, the PUC rate protest, began over of a land sale. The sale was to benefit the move & upgrade of the water company (WOWSC) facilities. In 2014, the WOWSC Directors shared (at the Pavilion) a very comprehensive plan with water company members. They introduced the plan to Airport members at their annual meeting. The plan to sell the land was widely dispersed and the community as a whole knew about the sale long before it happened.
FACT #9: In September of 2014, the Property Owners Association (WOPOA) Directors Danny Flunker and Bruce Sorgen (future litigants claiming the sale was a "concealed transaction") discussed for months the sale of this very land as it was part of the acreage rented by the POA as an amenity for boat & trailer storage.
FACT #10: In 2014-15, Danny Flunker, as POA President, negotiated to bid on this land in effort to maintain the POA's storage lot amenity. In December 2015 the sale was transacted by the WOWSC to his (then) friend, Dana Martin.
FACT #11: In 2016 as President of the WOPOA, Mr. Flunker spent WOPOA funds consulting with the WOPOA attorney about the marinas that are neighboring properties in the cove. Other than the marinas' own requirements that slip owners be Windermere property owners, the marinas are not governed by the WOPOA in any way. The marinas are private property.
FACT #12: In 2016, the WOPOA, under Mr. Flunker's direction, made inappropriate demands of the marinas to comply with WOPOA ACC Restrictions and to pay the WOPOA for marina's land & utility access. The Windermere Marina, refused Flunker's unlawful demands. The Sunset View Marina owners voted to refuse the WOPOA's demands as well. President of Sunset Marina at that time, Dana Flunker, delivered the news to (then) friend, Danny Flunker.
FACT #13: Mr. Flunker subsequently acted outside his WOPOA Director capacity, without WOPOA Board sanction/vote, in rogue action to have the Marina power source physically dismantled. This action left slip owners without usage of their property and it caused danger to lake users. See "Windermere-marina.com "Lawsuit" link for details. The marinas were forced to engage in a lawsuit to defend against Mr. Flunker's illegal actions & prove the easement rights they'd had since the 70's.
FACT #14: The marina lawsuit ultimately cost approximately $285,000. Costs were borne by dozens of individual owners who paid ~$4,000 each. The POA's insurer paid $140,000 ($80,000 for WOPOA's attorney fees and $60,000 to the marinas). Mr. Flunker, resigned prior to being required to "sign off" with the insurance company on these charges.
FACT #14: Soon after Ms. Martin refused her friend, Mr. Flunker, TOMA (Danny. Flunker, Rene Ffrench, B.ruce Sorgen, Dick Dial) was formed and TOMA lodged a lawsuit against the WOWSC citing an "agenda error" the WOWSC made on the land sale to Mr. Flunker's former friend, Ms. Martin. The "TOMA" lawsuit was filed more than 3 years after the land sale was made public and soon after Martin delivered the news that the small marina would not appease Mr. Flunker's ridiculous demands..
FACT #15: In the TOMA lawsuit the Court confirmed the agenda error but did not grant "relief" to Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs had asked for the land sale to be reversed and for their costs. Litigants, Ffrench, Sorgen, & Dial had this case heard, reheard and appealed six (6) times with the same result. The Supreme Court of Texas refused to hear the case.
FACT #16: Rene Ffrench, Patty Flunker, and Mark McDonald filed Case #48292 against the WOWSC., claiming widespread corruption & collusion amongst WOWSC Directors. After 5 years of litigation, hundreds of thousands of document production required, Windermere Oaks neighborhood divided, the Court ruled in Case #48292 (5/3/2021) WOWSC Directors were released = NOT in collusion.
FACT #17: On 11/18/22 a jury ruled in Case #48292 that actions taken by the land purchaser, Mr. Martin, were without malice. When asked Q6: Do you find clear and convincing evidence that the harm to WOWSC resulted from malice, fraud, or gross negligence?" The answer was NO. See the Jury Verdict in Case #48292 (p.10).
FACT #18: The Jury verdict in Case #48292 (pg.9) deemed (that the land that sold to Martin for $204,000 was sold under value only $70,000. The the litigants claimed it was undervalued $500,000 to over 1 Million. Litigants purported to fight on ratepayers behalf for over 5 years — costing ratepayers hundreds of thousands in defense debt. Ratepayers lawsuit reclaimed $70,000, of which only $35,000 will go to the WOWSC.
FACT #19: Litigants claim they spent over $428,000 on their own (undocumented) attorney fees. They cost WOWSC over $1,000,000 to gain a $70,000 award. $35,000 of this award goes to WOWSC and $35,000 to Plaintiffs.
FACT #20: The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) “Ratepayer Protest,” lodged in 2020 by reps: Josie Fuller & Patti Flunker protests the very rates the protesters themselves (including Patti & Danny Flunker) caused to increase with their litigation actions.
FACT #21: Currently rates are high due to the PUC “Ratepayer Protest.” Reps: Patti Flunker & Josie Fuller have walked out of mediation, refused to settle, and continue (3 years) to argue about irrelevant additional issues. They can stop costing you ("stop the bleed" as they say) any time.
FACT #22: Jeff Walker lodged his own PUC protest #53796 against the Water Company, claiming election irregularities. The PUC Ordered: "Mr. Walker's initial July 1, 2022 filing has been mischaracterized as a formal complaint" and closed out the case. The WOWSC, however, had already been forced by the PUC to respond to all the claims which cost you another $25,000.
FACT 23: Walker now says he's not asking for Receivership yet in the Prayer of his PUC complaint #53796 he requested the PUC "act expeditiously to this request for an investigation and possibly appoint a receiver to oversee the affairs of the utility." (see Prayer. pg16)
FACT #24: At the 2022 WOWSC Annual Meeting Walker was the man who abruptly interrupted the President’s Report in the middle of the meeting, demanding answers. A voting “LAW” was being explained to which he screamed out: “I don’t care about the law!”
FACT #25: Jeff Walker purchased his Airport property 3/31/21. As of 3/31/23, Burnet County CAD records reflected $7,246.55 of unpaid Burnet County property taxes. Walker wants to manage your company but apparently cannot manage his own finances.
FACT #26: Rene Ffrench lost the 2021 property owners (WOPOA) election and lost in the 2019 Water Company (WOWSC) Annual Election. He has accused the WOWSC and Directors falsely and contributed to causing over a million dollars of defense debt for your company. He too wants to manage your company.
FACT #27: Litigants (see: Fact 1) have numerous times challenged WOWSC elections. There have been no valid findings of wrongdoing except for the fraudulent voting attempts by litigant Sorgen who, not a Water Company member, has numerous times since 2017 attempted to vote in Water Company elections.
Fact #28: Mike Nelson & Joe Gimenez — In spite of 5 years of legal distractions, accusations and interference of litigants, these Directors have continued to work diligently on your behalf to manage & make improvements to your water company. The TCEQ has rate WOWSC water as excellent. These individuals are highly skilled in their fields, hard-working, non-confrontation, and not flashy about accomplishments. See Accomplishments.
FACT #29: Common sense = vote for NELSON & GIMENEZ.
FACT #30: A stamp is necessary on your ballot's return envelope.
FACT #2: Litigants' (see: #1) claims of corruption including: election fraud, collusion, improper rate increase and more conspiracy theorist claims, have NOT been proven in Court. 5 years of Court rulings have deemed otherwise, time and again, yet litigants have re-packaged their allegations and continued their legal attacks. Some individuals in the community have supported the unfounded accusations via more litigation, petitions, Public Information Requests.
Fact #3: Litigants & supporters issued a letter to the Burnet County Sheriff & DA to investigate 8 individual Volunteer Directors on accusations of "organized criminal activity" (including fraud, theft, electioneering, lengthy conspiracy,). Not a single shred of evidence uncovered in their concurrent lawsuit (Cause #48292) proved this fantasy narrative. The goal to "criminalize" volunteer activity was not accomplished.
FACT #4: Walker states; 'You elect me, I will NOT sell the WOWSC. I will not bankrupt it. We have many very smart members, who can help me/us get out of this mess." Q: What will Walker do that current Directors have not already done via the New Gen report, their establishment of a financial policy for future board's administration and their early completion of their 2019-2024 5-yr plan?
FACT #5: You can’t have rates go down when there are bills to pay! Bills must be paid through revenue received.
FACT #6: If you’ve paid water bills since the increase (March 2020) you have paid over $2,400 out-of-YOUR-pocket to defend the litigious efforts and slanderous actions of the above-mentioned individuals. Math = $65.73 x # months you've paid a water bill since 3/2020.
FACT #7: Litigation efforts against your member-owned water company, purportedly lodged on your behalf appear self-serving. Litigants: Ffrench, Sorgen, and Dial, asked for “Relief” of a MILLION Dollars (See lawsuits: Cause #48292) on top of request for attorney fees. This “relief” was not earmarked to reimburse ratepayers. Litigants asked the Court to reverse the land sale. Two of the litigants are developers! This would make the property available for them to develop.
FACT #8: The litigation leading to the defense fees accrued by the WOWSC, and subsequent to that, the PUC rate protest, began over of a land sale. The sale was to benefit the move & upgrade of the water company (WOWSC) facilities. In 2014, the WOWSC Directors shared (at the Pavilion) a very comprehensive plan with water company members. They introduced the plan to Airport members at their annual meeting. The plan to sell the land was widely dispersed and the community as a whole knew about the sale long before it happened.
FACT #9: In September of 2014, the Property Owners Association (WOPOA) Directors Danny Flunker and Bruce Sorgen (future litigants claiming the sale was a "concealed transaction") discussed for months the sale of this very land as it was part of the acreage rented by the POA as an amenity for boat & trailer storage.
FACT #10: In 2014-15, Danny Flunker, as POA President, negotiated to bid on this land in effort to maintain the POA's storage lot amenity. In December 2015 the sale was transacted by the WOWSC to his (then) friend, Dana Martin.
FACT #11: In 2016 as President of the WOPOA, Mr. Flunker spent WOPOA funds consulting with the WOPOA attorney about the marinas that are neighboring properties in the cove. Other than the marinas' own requirements that slip owners be Windermere property owners, the marinas are not governed by the WOPOA in any way. The marinas are private property.
FACT #12: In 2016, the WOPOA, under Mr. Flunker's direction, made inappropriate demands of the marinas to comply with WOPOA ACC Restrictions and to pay the WOPOA for marina's land & utility access. The Windermere Marina, refused Flunker's unlawful demands. The Sunset View Marina owners voted to refuse the WOPOA's demands as well. President of Sunset Marina at that time, Dana Flunker, delivered the news to (then) friend, Danny Flunker.
FACT #13: Mr. Flunker subsequently acted outside his WOPOA Director capacity, without WOPOA Board sanction/vote, in rogue action to have the Marina power source physically dismantled. This action left slip owners without usage of their property and it caused danger to lake users. See "Windermere-marina.com "Lawsuit" link for details. The marinas were forced to engage in a lawsuit to defend against Mr. Flunker's illegal actions & prove the easement rights they'd had since the 70's.
FACT #14: The marina lawsuit ultimately cost approximately $285,000. Costs were borne by dozens of individual owners who paid ~$4,000 each. The POA's insurer paid $140,000 ($80,000 for WOPOA's attorney fees and $60,000 to the marinas). Mr. Flunker, resigned prior to being required to "sign off" with the insurance company on these charges.
FACT #14: Soon after Ms. Martin refused her friend, Mr. Flunker, TOMA (Danny. Flunker, Rene Ffrench, B.ruce Sorgen, Dick Dial) was formed and TOMA lodged a lawsuit against the WOWSC citing an "agenda error" the WOWSC made on the land sale to Mr. Flunker's former friend, Ms. Martin. The "TOMA" lawsuit was filed more than 3 years after the land sale was made public and soon after Martin delivered the news that the small marina would not appease Mr. Flunker's ridiculous demands..
FACT #15: In the TOMA lawsuit the Court confirmed the agenda error but did not grant "relief" to Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs had asked for the land sale to be reversed and for their costs. Litigants, Ffrench, Sorgen, & Dial had this case heard, reheard and appealed six (6) times with the same result. The Supreme Court of Texas refused to hear the case.
FACT #16: Rene Ffrench, Patty Flunker, and Mark McDonald filed Case #48292 against the WOWSC., claiming widespread corruption & collusion amongst WOWSC Directors. After 5 years of litigation, hundreds of thousands of document production required, Windermere Oaks neighborhood divided, the Court ruled in Case #48292 (5/3/2021) WOWSC Directors were released = NOT in collusion.
FACT #17: On 11/18/22 a jury ruled in Case #48292 that actions taken by the land purchaser, Mr. Martin, were without malice. When asked Q6: Do you find clear and convincing evidence that the harm to WOWSC resulted from malice, fraud, or gross negligence?" The answer was NO. See the Jury Verdict in Case #48292 (p.10).
FACT #18: The Jury verdict in Case #48292 (pg.9) deemed (that the land that sold to Martin for $204,000 was sold under value only $70,000. The the litigants claimed it was undervalued $500,000 to over 1 Million. Litigants purported to fight on ratepayers behalf for over 5 years — costing ratepayers hundreds of thousands in defense debt. Ratepayers lawsuit reclaimed $70,000, of which only $35,000 will go to the WOWSC.
FACT #19: Litigants claim they spent over $428,000 on their own (undocumented) attorney fees. They cost WOWSC over $1,000,000 to gain a $70,000 award. $35,000 of this award goes to WOWSC and $35,000 to Plaintiffs.
FACT #20: The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) “Ratepayer Protest,” lodged in 2020 by reps: Josie Fuller & Patti Flunker protests the very rates the protesters themselves (including Patti & Danny Flunker) caused to increase with their litigation actions.
FACT #21: Currently rates are high due to the PUC “Ratepayer Protest.” Reps: Patti Flunker & Josie Fuller have walked out of mediation, refused to settle, and continue (3 years) to argue about irrelevant additional issues. They can stop costing you ("stop the bleed" as they say) any time.
FACT #22: Jeff Walker lodged his own PUC protest #53796 against the Water Company, claiming election irregularities. The PUC Ordered: "Mr. Walker's initial July 1, 2022 filing has been mischaracterized as a formal complaint" and closed out the case. The WOWSC, however, had already been forced by the PUC to respond to all the claims which cost you another $25,000.
FACT 23: Walker now says he's not asking for Receivership yet in the Prayer of his PUC complaint #53796 he requested the PUC "act expeditiously to this request for an investigation and possibly appoint a receiver to oversee the affairs of the utility." (see Prayer. pg16)
FACT #24: At the 2022 WOWSC Annual Meeting Walker was the man who abruptly interrupted the President’s Report in the middle of the meeting, demanding answers. A voting “LAW” was being explained to which he screamed out: “I don’t care about the law!”
FACT #25: Jeff Walker purchased his Airport property 3/31/21. As of 3/31/23, Burnet County CAD records reflected $7,246.55 of unpaid Burnet County property taxes. Walker wants to manage your company but apparently cannot manage his own finances.
FACT #26: Rene Ffrench lost the 2021 property owners (WOPOA) election and lost in the 2019 Water Company (WOWSC) Annual Election. He has accused the WOWSC and Directors falsely and contributed to causing over a million dollars of defense debt for your company. He too wants to manage your company.
FACT #27: Litigants (see: Fact 1) have numerous times challenged WOWSC elections. There have been no valid findings of wrongdoing except for the fraudulent voting attempts by litigant Sorgen who, not a Water Company member, has numerous times since 2017 attempted to vote in Water Company elections.
Fact #28: Mike Nelson & Joe Gimenez — In spite of 5 years of legal distractions, accusations and interference of litigants, these Directors have continued to work diligently on your behalf to manage & make improvements to your water company. The TCEQ has rate WOWSC water as excellent. These individuals are highly skilled in their fields, hard-working, non-confrontation, and not flashy about accomplishments. See Accomplishments.
FACT #29: Common sense = vote for NELSON & GIMENEZ.
FACT #30: A stamp is necessary on your ballot's return envelope.
COMMON SENSE: "the natural ability to make good judgments and to behave in a practical and sensible way."