To my Curtis Pond Neighbors: After much thought and deliberation I have submitted my resignation from the Curtis Pond HOA Board of Directors to the board, legal counsel and the management company, effective immediately. To fill in some of the newer residents of the community, I ran for a seat on the board in the 2006 election. The 2006 election was the one in which a resident used over 500 developer proxies to determine the outcome of the election. In March of 2007 when the legal firm hired by the HOA board determined the results of that election to be invalid, because of the annexation issues and the invalidity of the developer votes used, I was one of two people placed on the "interim board" as a result of the attorney's reconstruction of the 2006 vote, using valid votes. I had determined not to seek election to the board because I did not feel that I had the time nor the energy to serve the community effectively. Then in March of 2007, prior to the meetings that were held in March, myself as well as four other members of this neighborhood received what amounted to black mail letters, threatening to reveal every "secret" from our past, criminal records, financial and credit reports, employment history, etc. unless we immediately stopped asking questions of the current board and removed ourselves from seeking election to the board. This threat enticed me to allow my name to be placed in nomination. (I also looked forward to the release of my "secret" history (which never happened) – which consists of a speeding ticket about ten years ago and a few late payments in my credit history, unless of course there was something that I did not know about.) Maybe this was not the best motivation for seeking election to the board, but when a few are willing to stoop to such low life levels to intimidate and threaten others, someone has to make a stand and I decided that I would. Here we are today, a divided community. When I stood and shared why I wanted to serve Curtis Pond on the board of directors, my goal and vision was for a re-united, healed and restored Curtis Pond, the vision we all bought into when we purchased our homes in phase 1,2,3 or 4. I have served these months with that vision and goal in mind. After the events of this weekend, I seriously question the likelihood of that vision ever coming to pass. If it has any chance of happening it is going to be a long hard struggle and I find myself lacking the time, energy or passion to fight that struggle. For me, my relationships and reputation are the two most important things in my life. When my family feels threatened because I serve on the board and when my neighbors worry they may be the victim of vandalism because they live near the HOA president, or when my friends spend their time defending me and my reputation it is time for me to make a change. For some this has become personal, I accepted the responsibility and have tried to be an influence for what I thought was right, but when my family, friends and neighbors are drawn into it, it is time to draw a line in the sand. As others have said, I too am embarrassed to live in this community today. When the police department tells you that there is no other community that has to hire police officers to stand guard at their meetings and that no other community has the issues that we have, and when you here of our reputation in the larger Mooresville community, it is very disturbing. In my unofficial and definitely un-scientific analysis of our community – I see that about 1/3 of phase 1 does not want the other phases using the amenities of phase 1, about 1/3 wants the community re-united and about 1/3 could care less. I see about 1/3 of phases 234, very upset and willing to fight for what they believe to be their rights, about 1/3 have no clue as to what is going on and why and about 1/3 are only interested in getting their refunds and moving on. The very essence of community is the word unity and it has been and will continue to be lacking in our neighborhood, regardless of how many associations are formed, until everyone is willing to compromise. The very nature of a compromise is that all parties give something. To the residents of phase 1, we feel that we have already given more than we should have ever had to, but if our community is going to have a chance to be re-united we are going to have to be willing to give more. Phases 234, you feel like you have given your money and that should be enough. If you really want to be a part of Curtis Pond it is going to coast you more than your money, you are going to have to be willing to compromise as well as come together to fight the people who are truly to blame for this situation. I know everyone claims it was a big mistake, a clerical error. When people make mistakes the best thing to do is stand up and say, "Hey we blew it!" We are sorry let's do what is necessary to fix it. That is not what has happened in Curtis Pond and now we are all paying more than we should have to. There are those who will see my resignation as a victory. There will be those who will think that I stirred up a mess and then walked away. There are still others who will see my resigning as weakness and that I am giving up and quitting. We are each entitled to our own opinion. To my neighbors in phase 1, thank you for the confidence that you placed in me to serve on your board of directors. To my neighbors in phases 234, I hope you get all that you were promised and in a timely manner, but please don?t believe everything you are told and be careful where you place your trust, because you do not want to find yourself where phase 1 is now, two or three years down the road when someone comes to you and tells you that your association is growing and there is nothing you can do to prevent it. Sincerely, Bob Bankhead