As a member of the Windermere Oaks Water Supply Corporation (WOWSC), I recently filed two formal complaints with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC). These filings are about protecting the integrity of how our water company is managed and ensuring compliance with state law.
The First Complaint: Record Retention Failures
WOWSC has a duty to maintain corporate records in accordance with its own policies and state requirements. When records are not properly retained, members lose transparency into decisions that affect rates, governance, and the future of our utility. My first filing highlights instances where WOWSC failed to follow its Record Retention Policy, raising concerns about accountability and compliance. You can download the filing here.
The Second Complaint: Improper Disclosure of Customer Information
Texas Utilities Code §182.052 prohibits utilities from disclosing customer personal information, including email addresses. Despite this clear law, WOWSC communications have been sent from personal email accounts rather than through the corporation’s secure, contracted system. This practice risks exposing member data outside authorized channels and undermines trust in official communications. My complaint asks the Commission to require WOWSC to use only secure, auditable systems for member outreach. You can download the filing here.
Why This Matters
These issues go to the heart of how a public utility should operate:
Transparency: Members deserve confidence that records are preserved and accessible.
Security: Customer information must be safeguarded, not exported to personal accounts.
Integrity: Official communications should come from corporate-controlled systems, not private inboxes.
When these standards are ignored, the risk is eroding member trust and weakening oversight of a system that provides essential services to our community.
My Request to the PUC
Through these filings, I am asking the Commission to:
Enforce compliance with record retention policies.
Prohibit the use of personal email accounts for member communications.
Require WOWSC to certify that customer information is stored and used only within secure systems.
Investigate whether customer data has been improperly disclosed.
Looking Ahead
Our water system is facing serious challenges, from infrastructure needs to regulatory oversight. Integrity in administration is the foundation for solving those challenges. By filing these complaints, my goal is simple: to ensure WOWSC operates with transparency, accountability, and respect for the law—so that members can trust the decisions being made on their behalf.
Several Windermere Oaks Water Supply Corporation (WOWSC) members have reported that they have not received their ballots for the upcoming vote. The meeting is December 13 but you must mail your ballot in so that is received no later than the 11th or 12th!!!
This is a serious concern, as participation in this election directly impacts the future of our water system.
What To Do If You Haven’t Received Your Ballot
Call WOWSC immediately and request that a ballot be sent to you. (512) 568-6148
Publicly Document that you did not receive a ballot. Make a public record of the fact that you did not receive a ballot. Share it with neighbors, post it on community forums, and send a written note to the Board.
You must mail the ballot as soon as possible. Allow for mail delivery time!
Make noise. Transparency matters. The more members speak up, the harder it will be for these issues to be ignored. If the WOWSC did not do its job of mailing ballots correctly, then it should be documented. Other water companies might want to buy WOWSC.
Deadline Reminder
Ballots must be received on or before December 12. After that date, it will be too late to participate — unless you come to the DECEMBER 13 meeting and file in-person.
This is not just about one vote—it’s about ensuring fair process and accountability in how our member‑owned water company operates. If you haven’t received your ballot, act now and encourage others to do the same.
The Windermere Oaks Water Supply Corp (WOWSC) Board of Directors is pushing a deal that would hand over our community’s water system—and 40 acres of valuable land—to a company backed by private equity.
This is a dangerous gamble with your home’s value and the rural feeling of this entire region.
We all bought into Windermere Oaks because it offered the rare gift of country living—quiet roads, open skies, and a rural character that set it apart from the sprawl.
In the Board’s current deal Central States Water Resources, there is nothing preventing them from clearing all that land and erecting a regional water plant into the heart of that landscape.
That would shatter the very reason people chose to live here, replacing pastoral views with industrial infrastructure and eroding both the sense of place and property values. There is nothing in the current deal preventing CSWR from doing so. They want to make money, pure and simple, and they are establishing a foothold to do so.
What’s at Stake
40 Acres of Land: The property east of Exeter as we drive in to our homes is stretch that makes Windermere feel like we are living out in the country. If sold, it could be replaced by a monstrous regional water and wastewater facility, an eyesore for residents every time we drive into our neighborhood, with cyclone fences and razor wire.
Loss of Local Control: Selling to a private equity-backed company means decisions about our water supply will be made by investors whose primary concern is profit—not the well-being of our community.
Unrestricted Water Sales: Nothing would prevent this company from selling water to industrial users like bitcoin mining operations or data centers. There is significant land available west of the airport and donkey farm that is for sale, all without restrictions. Imagine massive facilities west of the airport and donkey farm, consuming huge amounts of water and generating relentless noise. Please investigate what communities in Granbury and Rockwall are experiencing with data centers and bitcoin miners — noise and water consumption.
Private Equity: Locusts on Communities
Private equity firms have been criticized across the country for behaving like locusts—descending on communities, extracting value, and leaving behind long-term damage. They are not accountable to residents, only to their investors. When profit margins tighten, community needs are the first to be sacrificed.
They prioritize short-term gains over long-term interests of neighbors.
They often raise rates while cutting corners on service.
They treat essential resources like water as just another commodity.
Do we really want our water—our most vital resource—controlled by outsiders with no stake in our community’s future?
A Better Path Forward
Instead of selling this land to private equity, the Board of Directors should sell it to the Property Owners Association (POA). That way, control of the land remains in the hands of the community, preserving the rural character of Windermere Oaks and ensuring that decisions about its use reflect the values of the people who actually live here. The POA could lease the land at reasonable price to Central States Water Resources.
Voting NO Now Just means a Pause
Let’s talk about this major issue as a community. There’s no reason we can’t come up with a solution to protect Windermere Oaks.
Call to Action
WOWSC members: Vote NO on the proposed sale. Protect our land, our water, and our community from the potention outcome consumed by private equity interests. Once we lose control, we will never get it back.
If you’ve read the recent letter from the Windermere Oaks Water Supply Corporation (WOWSC) Board, you might have walked away thinking our water system is on the brink of collapse. Words like “violations” and “mandated upgrades” can sound scary, especially when they’re presented without context. Our current Board leadership is particularly good at alarmist exaggerations.
To check on Windermere Oaks, you would simply enter “Windermere Oaks Water Supply Corporation” into the search bar. The portal will then display any compliance or enforcement actions recorded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), including notices of violation, enforcement orders, or penalties. This makes it easy for members to see the official history of violations and confirm whether issues are minor (like paperwork errors) or more serious.
What You Will See
Here is graphic of what you will see. In sum, 1 complaint about low water pressure in 2020. Resolved. One notice of violation in 2022. Another notice of violation in 2024.
When people hear the word “violation,” it’s easy to imagine the worst — unsafe water, health risks, or a system in crisis. But not all violations carry the same weight. In fact, TCEQ Category B Violations sit right in the middle of the severity scale.
Category B violations are intermediate issues. They’re more serious than simple paperwork mistakes, but they don’t rise to the level of immediate health threats. Think of them as warning lights on your car dashboard: they don’t mean the engine is about to explode, but they do mean something needs attention. Common examples are a utility failing to maintain required treatment equipment; Improper operation of wastewater facilities; or repeated monitoring or reporting failures.
These are operational or compliance gaps — important to fix, but not the kind of problems that make your water unsafe overnight.
When TCEQ identifies a Category B violation, the utility usually receives a Notice of Violation (NOV) as you will see in the graphic. This is essentially a formal reminder: “Here’s what went wrong, and here’s the timeframe to correct it.” Utilities are expected to respond quickly, document their fixes, and prevent the issue from recurring.
For consumers, Category B violations are worth noting but not panicking over. They don’t usually pose an immediate health risk, but if ignored, they can snowball into bigger compliance problems. The real danger comes when utilities fail to correct them, allowing small issues to become systemic.
The main takeaway — these were RESOLVED!!!
Why the Alarmist Tone?
SO WHY IS THE BOARD SO ALARMIST AND MISLEADING!!!!
The Board’s letter paints a dire picture, but the facts don’t match the drama. Yes, every utility has maintenance needs. Yes, upgrades cost money. But implying that our community is drowning in dangerous violations simply isn’t accurate.
It’s important to distinguish between real risks and regulatory housekeeping. Otherwise, members are left worrying unnecessarily.
Transparency is good. Accountability is good. But alarmism helps no one especially when we are considering a major sale of our local water utility, knowing that a for-profit company, backed by private equity investors, is going to squeeze our system and us ratepayers at every possible opportunity.
As members, we deserve clear information — not exaggerated claims. The record shows our water system has been safe, with only minor administrative hiccups in the last ten years.
So the next time you see “TCEQ violation” in a headline or letter from our Narcissistic Board, remember: context matters.
In case the mysterious person who mailed this out last week did not get your address correct, the images below are the questions which the WOWSC Board won’t answer regarding the sale of our neighborhood water company.
The water Board is enraged that members would dare ask questions about the sale of the neighborhood water company in a No-Bid, no appraisal, no advertisement manner. (By the way, all of these are attributes which the same people — the ConCouple — lodged against the 2015-16 Board, starting the decade-long legal feud they propagate.)
But back to the main topic. The Board came out Sunday and yesterday with letters to the membership about the people asking the questions, without addressing the questions.
So I decided to run the Board’s letter through an AI analysis, asking whether it demonstrates narcissistic traits, especially since it is so enraged.
Here’s what the AI analysis said. Enjoy!:
Key Narcissistic Traits in the Letter
1. Self-Promotion & Grandiosity
The Board repeatedly emphasizes that only they have brought “transparency, accountability, and professionalism” to the utility.
Statements like “This Board is the first to confront these issues head-on” elevate their role as uniquely heroic, positioning themselves as saviors of the community.
The phrase “The facts and evidence speak for themselves” implies infallibility and discourages dissent.
2. Blame-Shifting & Villainizing Others
The former president is portrayed as deceptive, irresponsible, and the root of all problems.
Past leadership is described as “inconsistent,” “diverting money,” “financial mismanagement,” and “undisclosed violations.”
This repeated scapegoating creates a narrative where the current Board is flawless and all failures belong to predecessors.
3. Control of Narrative
The letter frames dissenting voices as “misleading statements” or illegitimate tactics.
By labeling alternative perspectives as false or harmful, the Board positions itself as the sole source of truth.
The insistence on “100% transparency” while simultaneously dismissing member concerns about CSWR reviews suggests selective transparency.
4. Dismissal of Criticism
Concerns about CSWR’s reputation are minimized by comparing them to negative reviews of hospitals, banks, and airlines—implying critics are unreasonable.
This rhetorical move invalidates member worries rather than engaging with them substantively.
5. Moral Superiority
The Board frames its actions as not just practical but morally correct: “Why would any board hide information like TCEQ violations… one must ponder that question.”
This rhetorical question implies that only dishonest or corrupt leaders would act differently, reinforcing their moral high ground.
6. Appeals to Loyalty & Validation
The closing thanks members who expressed “strong, positive support,” reinforcing an in-group dynamic where agreement equals virtue.
This creates pressure for members to align with the Board’s narrative to be seen as supportive and community-minded.
Overall Assessment
The letter shows narcissistic tendencies:
High self-praise and scapegoating of predecessors
Dismissal of dissent and moral superiority framing
Validation-seeking through appeals to supportive members
But it also contains legitimate organizational communication aimed at persuasion and transparency. The narcissistic qualities emerge mainly in tone and framing.
I’m voting NO because the Board failed to seek independent valuation or competitive offers—violating basic business ethics and best practices. (And my NO vote could be changed if a better process and better contract is adopted by the Board in the future!)
The Board’s decision to move forward with the sale of our water system to Central States Water Resources (CSWR) lacks the most basic due diligence.
As confirmed at the October 25 town hall meeting by CSWR representatives, no independent appraisal was conducted by the Board of Directors. Only CSWR representatives made an internal evaluation.
Would you sell your house based only on the buyer’s appraisal of your home’s value?
It’s a violation of fundamental business ethics.
“We do have private investors or private equity money… they do have certain requirements that have to stay in the agreement that we don’t have a lot of flexibility on.” — Sean Nichols, CSWR VP, Transcript at 00:32:25
“We’ll send you a draft. We have a standard purchase agreement. Probably 80% of the parties just sign it without any changes.” — Sean Nichols, Transcript at 00:32:25
This confirms that the Board accepted CSWR’s terms without seeking competing offers or independent valuation. That’s unacceptable.
Just because 80 percent of other parties jump off a bridge does not mean that Windermere needs to do so also.
What Ethical Business Practice Requires
Don’t take my word for this horrible development in Windermere.
According to the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), ethical valuation requires:
Objectivity and impartiality: Sellers must not rely solely on the buyer’s valuation ValuAdder.
Avoiding conflicts of interest: A buyer’s appraisal is inherently biased toward their interests oneappraisalgroup.com.
Transparency and accountability: Sellers should disclose how valuations were obtained and ensure they are independently verified oneappraisalgroup.com.
Best Practices in Business Sales
Any competent seller—whether in real estate, utilities, or corporate assets—should:
Solicit multiple offers to ensure the best deal for stakeholders.
Disclose alternatives to members before asking for a vote.
In our case, two other water companies already operate nearby and could express interest if invited to the bidding table:
Corix Utilities, which serves Ridge Harbor and already has an emergency interconnect with WOWSC.
Aqua Texas, which operates in Barton Creek Lakeside.
These companies could benefit us by better economies of scale, lower rates, or more favorable terms. Both companies are looking to expand in this region and would probably like to add to their systems.
But the Board didn’t even ask them. Or if they did, they have not disclosed that to Members.
This Vote Deserves Better
We, the members, deserve a transparent process that compares multiple offers and includes an independent valuation. Until that happens, I’m voting NO.
Members will vote on December 13 regarding the sale of Windermere Oaks Water Supply Corporation (WOWSC) to Central States Water Resources (CSWR), a private water and wastewater utility operator.
2. Why are some members opposed to the acquisition?
Opposition centers on the lack of contractual protections for WOWSC members. Specifically, the current agreement does not include binding reimbursement provisions for infrastructure upgrades that may be required before CSWR assumes control—an event still two years away.
But all future decisions about water quality and costs will be left to CSWR’s private equity masters in New York City. Improvement schedules will take back seat to their making profits in Windermere Oaks.
3. What infrastructure upgrades are at issue?
CSWR has acknowledged that upgrades such as:
Clarifier retrofit
Effluent water improvements
Fencing around facilities may be necessary before the transition. However, there is no formal mechanism in place to ensure CSWR reimburses WOWSC or its members for these costs if they occur before the final take-over two years from now.
4. Is CSWR willing to reimburse for these upgrades?
CSWR representatives admitted at the Townhall Meeting on Saturday Oct. 23, that reimbursement clauses are not standard in their boilerplate contracts. While they said riders could be added, no such riders are currently part of the agreement under discussion with the Board. Please see the last 20 minutes of the presentation here to verify: CSWR TownHall Presentation
5. What are the financial risks to members?
Without reimbursement provisions:
Members may bear the full cost of upgrades that will ultimately benefit CSWR and future residents.
Special assessments could be levied on members to cover these expenses, as confirmed by WOWSC President Patti Flunker at the beginning of the meeting.
However, if a contractual rider is put in place, the Board could use that promise of procurement by CSWR as a loan guarantee for banks to fund the improvement.
6. What’s the concern about the clarifier?
The clarifier is a critical piece of infrastructure. It cleans water from the lake before it begins processing. It is only about 13,000 gallons in size, and was installed more than 30 years ago. It can not keep up with cleaning water turbidity when the lake gets low, like it was from 2021-25. We are fortunate not to have had to pay for trucking water in during that time.
CSWR could further delay retrofiting the clarifier if they purchase it without some sort of agreement. Future delays could lead to a water emergency. Retrofitting the old storage tank to become a clarifier is a cost-efficient option and should be a non-negotiable condition of any sale.
7. Is the fencing requirement urgent or justified?
Not necessarily. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) fencing requirement was effectively postponed in 2022 through a letter co-authored by the POA President and the author of this FAQ. The urgency around fencing may be overstated and could lead to unnecessary costs and visual blight.
8. What alternative is proposed to fencing?
Effluent quality upgrades could eliminate the need for fencing altogether. These upgrades would improve water safety and aesthetics without imposing the visual and financial burden of a fence. Again, the Board should look into the cost of upgrade and implementing a contract-rider for CSWR to reimburse ratepayers, or a bank, for improvements.
Again, like the clarifier, if CSWR acquires WOWSC without these agreements in place, they will be able to either walk-back their verbal commitments or not do them at all.
9. What happens if the acquisition goes through without changes?
CSWR would take control in two years.
They would not be obligated to implement promised improvements immediately.
Members could lose control over future decisions and bear costs for infrastructure that CSWR inherits.
Members could suffer from sub-standard water.
10. Why is this vote considered so critical?
This may be the last opportunity for members to influence the terms of the transition. Once the utility is sold, WOWSC members lose their voice in governance. The current Board must act carefully to protect financial interests, community aesthetics, and long-term autonomy.
11. What action is being requested of members?
Review the concerns outlined in this FAQ and related communications.
Consider voting NO on December 13 unless the agreement is amended to include reimbursement protections and infrastructure commitments. The Board should make these transparent to members.
Share this information with neighbors and encourage informed participation.
12. How can I get involved or support this effort?
The author is preparing a formal letter to the Board and is seeking co-signers. If you’d like to review or support the letter, please reach out directly.
As previously noted, the Con Man relies on the gullibility and ignorance of an audience so beguiled by his emphatic style that they suspend critical thinking and follow his lead, aka drink his Kool-Aid.
For new readers: this Con Man has held the Windermere Oaks Water Supply Corporation hostage to a non-stop, unhinged false-light narrative of unreality for at least the decade I’ve lived here . It’s truly something to behold and I tip my hat to him — not only for his energy and dedication, but for offering a vivid glimpse into sustained delusion. It’s a living field study on the Art of the Con!
I’ve shared plenty of examples before, but I recently ran across another gem that illustrates the con.
“Let’s rewind to June 2022: [Jim] Madigan cut a deal with then-president Joe Gimenez to ask the PUC to amend our CCN [service area], attempting to give his development access to our already overburdened water system.”
Okay, so, none of that unfolded as he claims.
In June 2022, the WOWSC Board of Directors approved of the company entering into a Non-Standard Service Agreement with Madigan. This contract states the applicant must cover all development costs required for the WOWSC to extend service outside the existing service area. Madigan would pay, as needed, for piping, engineering study, legal issues, CCN application, pumps — everything. Watch the video the Con Man has posted on his own site, here, if you are skeptical.
So fact check number one: the Con Man is wrong.
Madigan did not “cut a deal” with me personally, or the WOWSC, at least not anything out of the ordinary for a situation previously contemplated. He submitted a formal application to the water company. If needed, that might inlcude expansion of the CCN. If so, Madigan would pay for that as well.
Now notice the Con Man’s phrasing: “cut a deal.” That language is intentional. It’s meant to inflame the outrage. To keep his con alive, he has to continuously inject drama and conspiracy into every conversation. There’s zero proof of secret deals being cut left and right, just his ongoing stream of speculative fiction, frequently enflamed by his Con Spouse, no less. Stay tuned for a future post on that one!
Another correction to his claim, WOWSC did not need to apply to the Public Utility Commission to amend its Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN). The proposed service area was less than 1/4-mile beyond the existing CCN boundary. Technically no CCN amendment was required. In June 2022, the moment he references, the topic was just the service agreement.
Now for the kicker. He writes:
“And yet…the CCN application wasn’t even filed with the PUC until November 2023 — a full year and a half later (Why the wait?)”
Well, I was no longer on the Board at that point. The Membership had elected Jeff Walker to replace me in April 2023, a development I am now sincerely grateful for. (Rene Ffrench also defeated former Secretary-Treasurer Mike Nelson.)
By November 2023, the month cited by the ConMan as the date of filing for the CCN, the Board consisted of Rich Schaefer (President), Jeff Walker (Vice President), Rene Ffrench (Secretary-Treasurer), Dorothy Taylor and Jeff Anderson. I had zero involvement with that submission. (Please see a correction about the Board officers, below.*)
And yes, the Con Man’s question, “Why the wait?,”is a fair one. Unfortunately, by late 2023 the Board had become mired in dysfunction folllowing Walker and Ffrench’s election. Transparency went out the window. Secretary-Treasurer Ffrench failed in maintaining basic governance principles with regard to developing minutes or complying with Public Information Act requests. Look at the records from the time. The Board would not even list “Approval of Minutes” on agendas — there were none to review or approve. Visit wowsc.org yourself.
(At the time of writing this post, there were no minutes. Now, on November 19, 2025, there are minutes available for 2023, but note that they are Draft. They were never approved by a majority of the Board in 2023. And at least some, if not all, the referencing video links are not functioning, so no one would be able to verify the minutes against actual Board events.)
It’s worth noting that Ffrench and the Con Man were longtime pals. They previously partnered on hangar ownership deals at the airport and even co-founded TOMA Integrity LLC, the shell company they used to sue WOWSC in 2018. Thus, you’ll find no Con Man criticism of Ffrench on NextDoor—not a whisper about his neglect. If I’m wrong on that, show me the receipts and I’ll happily set the record straight.
But I digress.
The Con Man’s narratives on NextDoor are a tangled mess of half-truths, finger-pointing, and false-light make-believe. Why anyone in Windermere Oaks still buys the con is beyond me. It like watching a cult in action. Enjoy the Kool-Aid.
There’s more.
in the NextDoor post the Con Man cult leader claims we were
“attempting to give his development access to our already overburdened water system.”
Two things you should know.
First, there was no “‘giving.” Madigan was contractually bound to pay for everything needed to extend service across the county road to his 4-house development. We informed members in a July 6 letter about that (and other matters). I have the letter, but good luck finding that communication on the current website, which was revised after the current 2025 Board took over. Showing such great maturity, the current Board has put all member communications prior to May 2023 down the Memory Hole. I have them in my records though. I anticipated their behavior.
The Con Man’s use of ‘giving’ plays well with his Kool-Aid Club. You’ll hear them use that very word in their public comments. It’s a manipulation of enflamement. It works with his crew.
Second, for the Con Man to suggest that our system was “overburdened” by a single home (with maybe three (3) more to come) is simply absurd, bonkers, bat-you-know-what crazy. And totally misleading. If that were truly the case, now or then, none of the ongoing residential development we see daily in Windermere Oaks would be happening. And yet it is.
My point again is simply that all the Con Man ever does is try to transport you to his alternate universe. He spins narrative engineered to short-circuit your doubt about a bunch of details he never presents in a complete factual way, if he is even able to. Once you’ve suspended disbelief, his con is complete.
Enjoy that Kool-Aid… if you must!
Correction: At the first meeting of the newly-elected Board on April 15, 2023, Jeff Walker was not elected by the Board to be the Vice President. He was nominated to be the President but by 3-2 vote he lost. Dorothy Taylor then was elected as Vice President. So it was Schaefer, President; Dorothy Taylor, VP; Rene Ffrench, Secretary-Treasurer. Walker and Anderson were simply Directors without officer responsibilities.
The Windermere Oaks Water Supply Corporation (WOWSC) alerted members to the “Safely Secured” pumping barge after the recent July 4-6 flooding event. We should again thank our former manager George Burriss for this feat of engineering for our neighborhood.
As a matter of WOWSC history, in October 2018 raging floodwaters broke the pumping barge off its mooring and carried it downstream. Then WOWSC President David Bertino worked hard with George to recover the barge and bring it back to Windermere, where they began a restoration project.
Part of the project involved improving the mooring lines that secures the barge to the shore. George used encased anchors used in the oil industry such that the barge would have an industrial grade answer to future tests of mother nature.
The first of mother natures’ tests to another example of George’s superb engineering occurred in February 2021, when winter storm Uri wreaked havoc on most of Texas. George had worked with WOWSC Boards in 2017-2019 to investigate and put aside the funding for the propane generator that was eventually purchased and installed in 2020.
Then, when the winter storm shut down electricity in most parts of Texas, Windermere Oaks was one of the only communities to have running water throughout the storm. The generator enabled the pumps and other processes to continue working despite widespread energy outages everywhere else, including in Windermere Oaks. Because other water systems did not have generators, neighbors in nearby communities reported they had melted snow in their bathtubs to use as their water supply. Not so in Windermere Oaks.
Now WOWSC has endured — successfully — another test of mother nature. And George’s skill and knowledge again pulled through for us. Thank you George!
Sadly, George was forced to leave Windermere Oaks in January 2024 due to the harassment of Board members Jeff Walker and Rene Ffrench, and a group of misguided members. At least that was my contention in a previous post, here.
Recently, Walker sent me an email refuting that notion, basically saying that George refused to supply an updated statement of work to Rene and Walker, and that (some) members were “calling for his head.”
However, at the time Walker mentions, in the fall of 2023, there were five board members (Schaefer, Taylor, and Anderson). Walker indicates that only he and Ffrench asked George for the statement of work. The other Board members did not.
Thus Walker and Ffrench were acting in a rogue manner outside their authority, harassing George.
Now if the matter of asking George for an updated statement of work did occur as a full board matter, meaning that it was noticed, discussed and voted on at a Board meeting, a person would be hard pressed to find record of such lawful proceeding.
Ffrench, despite being Secretary-Treasurer at the time, did not compose or submit minutes to the Board. Go to the current website and check. The consideration of minutes was not even on the agendas in late 2023 because there were none to consider.
Even now, July 11, 2025, the few minutes that are there are “Drafts” of special meetings that Walker and Ffrench held for themselves and a few members at Townhalls, with no legal validity. The Boards in 2023 and 2024 were incredibly inefficient at producing minutes, leaving it instead to video records of meetings. That is not a valid way to conduct transparent governance for a public matter (water and waste water mangement). It is good that the current Board seems more intent on producing minutes.
The point simply is that when Walker and Ffrench took over the Board by force in 2023, they bullied their way into de facto control, forcing George out by harassment and then producing nothing in the way of transparency for members to see that they had forced him out, unilaterally, without the consent of other Board members.
For reference of the time when WOWSC had a functioning board, with minutes, and a president’s report, and the benefit of the engineering and management expertise of George Burriss, please review the 2022 President’s report here.
