Thursday, September 04, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Sex, crime and Metamucil

Got issues with your homeowners association? Just be glad you don't live in wild, wild Sun City Summerlin

By Larry Wills

Things are pretty tense in the offices of the Sun City Summerlin homeowners association these days. Four employees who have charged two members of the governing board with sexual harassment and intimidation found themselves working with one of the accused Friday. That created a near-revolt among the workers, who reportedly were given a chance to go home early if they didn't like it.

It was just another bad moment amid the escalating tensions that have cost the association's executive director his job and brought threats and possible vandalism to this retirement community of supposed repose.

And nearly everyone has hired an attorney. "This place is totally out of whack," says Bob Passmonick, a former member of the board. "The trouble is almost criminal."

The heat was raised last week when board member Sheldon Factor, one of the accused, reportedly entered the office with board president Glenn Hayward. That upset employees, who demanded the board member not be permitted in the back office alone. According to one source, the workers then demanded a meeting with Factor, who refused since he had hired an attorney in the case.

On Monday of last week, one of the employees discovered a screw had been driven into her car tire outside her office. Whether that incident was intimidation or an accident depends on who you talk to. "That incident was an absolutely horrendous disgrace," former executive director Don Barsky says.

But Hayward believes the screw was picked up off the street when the woman drove to work. "We have maintenance trucks come in here all the time," he says. "Someone probably dropped a box of screws." Other screws were found on the ground nearby.

Rainey Day, executive secretary for the association and one of the complainants in the harassment case, says conditions at work deteriorated after the complaints were filed. Asked if she had been threatened, she uttered "yes," but would not elaborate.

Factor called the charges "trumped up," and insists they came after a long dispute over association finances.

Don Gelbman, attorney for board member John Friar, who is also named in the complaint, says he's not seen the charges against his client but that any allegations of harassment are "absolutely false."

The uproar started in mid-August, when the board of directors, after being told that two of its members were accused of harassing four employees, fired Barsky. The former director says it was his duty to inform the board of the employees' complaints and he lost his job because of it. Now he's headed to court. "I felt I had to represent my employees," he says. "Now I am bringing action against the association for firing me after I was accused of causing the sexual harassment suit. It was strangely coincidental that I was discharged at the same meeting that the sex harassment incidents were to be discussed."

Those complaints will be heard in a special board meeting. In the meantime, some board members are demanding that Factor and Friar step aside until the case is resolved.

Al Sachs, attorney for the complainants, was out of town and not available for comment.

Just what is happening is blurred by an ongoing political fight among board members over finances. Friar and Factor had been consistent critics of Barsky's fiscal policies and the division became deeply personal. At a June meeting, Factor and Barsky wouldn't speak to each other.

The association was $835,000 in the red last year, and this year it had to raise its annual membership fees from $680 to $815. An additional assessment to shore up the $6.18 million budget ran into strong opposition. Another hotly contested proposal would charge residents for using member facilities, such as the fitness and tennis centers.

Still another sore point are the costs associated with the community's three golf courses and whether general fund money should underwrite their operation. Less than 15 percent of Sun City Summerlin's 14,000 residents use the courses. The finances are so dire that some board members worry whether the association can meet its payroll in the future.

During the August meeting, Factor and Friar reportedly offered to resign if Barsky would also step down. Then the board dismissed the three from the meeting and voted to cashier the executive director.

Barsky insists he was fired over the employee complaints and says that until his last day, he received good rankings from the board, and one substantial raise. "There's nothing in my personnel file that indicates I did anything wrong," he says. "I have 18 pages of signed documentation relating to harassment and other acts."

The other allegations include Factor illegally obtaining 2-for-1 coupons for meals at the Summit Restaurant in Sun City, and forcing employees to keep the restaurant open later at night than scheduled.

Factor denies all the charges and says he's being targeted because of his conservative fiscal policies. "People have their own agenda," he says. He accuses Barsky of hiking employee salaries by $1 million to bring pay up to market levels. Some volunteers were hired part-time, Factor says, which irritated other residents who worked for free. "He put some on the payroll. Others said, `Why are they on the payroll and not me?' He doesn't understand how you run a company."

Barsky counters that the board members are amateurish. "The problem is they don't want to be active the amount of time required to serve on the board. They don't have the experience. They conflict with managers and micromanage."

The former director says he asked the board to undergo training from Community Association Institute representatives, but "they didn't want to spent the money or the time."

Ironically, Factor was one of Barsky's biggest supporters last year when he replaced Harvey Hoffman as executive director. But this year, the friendship faded amid disputes over financial policies.

The odds of the complainants getting a fair hearing aren't good since the board has a poor record on investigations. Previous hearings were mired in partisanship and charges were often brought by board members to punish their enemies. Ethics complaints included a board member entering a private meeting without permission and a candidate distorting others' views on political issues.

Three years ago, the board sank to a new low when it investigated an incident where a resident "flicked" a piece of paper at a board member. That hearing was filled with acrimonious testimony from witnesses and an attorney. Two board members who witnessed the incident refused to excuse themselves from the hearing while a third, the alleged victim in the case, tried to remain on the board, but was ordered to step aside.

The damaged tire also recalls vandalism committed to a former board member's house in December before the last board election. Metro Police Sgt. John Farrell says officers investigated the incident at the home of Passmonick where an oily sludge was dumped on his driveway and other parts of his property. "Obviously, no one was able to identify anyone doing the damage," Farrell says.

But Farrell says one officer talked to residents in the community about keeping a lid on the volatile situation. "We knew there were problems back when they were doing their elections. The officer went in plainclothes. People didn't want a black and white parked in front of their homes."

Farrell recalls some residents were warned that such mischievous activities were criminal. Residents were told "these accusations were going around. Some people were upset that we would take everyone to jail."

And not unlike a Third World country, Metro monitored Sun City's election process this year to ensure it remained peaceful.

Farrell says incidents such as the one at Passmonick's home raises the level of fear. In fact, one resident has reportedly talked about carrying a gun.

Passmonick says the fallout from Barsky's firing is hitting other employees. "They are looking for jobs. They realize their security is down the drain."