A public service announcement for Lake Mohawk members

To the Editor:

I read the Sparta Independent’s letters to the editor issue Feb. 10-16, and I couldn’t help but noticing Rocco Montesano’s letter titled “The Sparta council must stop with its covert agenda.” Less than a mile down the road, at Lake Mohawk Country Club, we have of board of trustees president Stu Conklin and audit subcommittee chair Greg Yuskaitis, along with their attorney, Kevin Kelly of Kelly & Ward, who have a total disregard for the IRS and New Jersey’s common interest communities laws. The Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act (N.J.S.A.45:22A-46a.) governs open meeting requirements. The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs has promulgated regulations to assist in the implementation of these statutory requirements in Chapter 20 of Title 5 of the NJ Administrative Code (N.J.A.C. 5:20-1.1 et seq.).

(N.J.S.A. 46:8B-14(g) provides that association board of trustees shall be responsible for “the maintenance of accounting records in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles open to inspection by home/unit owners at reasonable times.” This is a statuary right and owners need not provide justification for requesting access. For the same reason, there is no need for any board of trustees vote regarding the granting of access. For at least the past five years no member, including myself, has been able to get access to certain financial records, mainly because it didn’t exist or is incorrect. Regardless, the financial records were not available when requested.

This legal and financial quagmire has already cost dues paying club members about $400,000, including $82,000 in legal fees to Kelly for a whitewash and cover-up for the board of trustees’s transgressions and gross mismanagement of the club. A few accountants that were at this week’s Special Audit Subcommittee Meeting agreed that this could cost members at least another $300,000 to clean up this mess. The board of trustees never should have retained an attorney, especially this guy, in the first place. This matter should have been turned over to an outside accounting firm for a forensic audit. If any fraud or criminal conduct was found, then and outside attorney (not Kelly, or Ward for that matter) would perform a legal review and advise members what steps to take, criminal and/or civil.

In closing, this Report of Investigation to LMCC Membership prepared for the Audit Subcommittee by Kevin D. Kelly, Esq., dated Oct. 25, 2021 but not posted deep, deep within the LMCC website (another violation of New Jersey State law) until Dec. 21, 2021. I suspect this had to do with having the report out after the board of trustees’ election. In any event, this report should never have been performed as cover-up for the board. The outside audit was the route for the board of trustees to take. Since the board and Kelly did so, the state recommends that a document such as this should have been sent in the U.S. mail to each and every of the 2,730 members, whether or not the member is late with dues, has liens, or is in arrears.

At last count, only 250 members of the 2,730 households were able to retrieve and download this 37-page report from the website. If you have had a problem getting this report, or were not aware of its existence, call or stop by the LMCC office and demand a copy before the next board of trustees Meeting.

Tom Mulligan

Lake Mohawk Country Club Member #1566

Sparta