Save Sandy Creek Airpark

Welcome to the Save Sandy Creek Airpark website. This website is provided by Robert Henry, homeowner and prior board member, along other property owners who provide their concerns and ideas. This website is for all Sandy Creek Airpark owners, and it presents information you may not otherwise have or have access to read. It seems many owners have questions and do not know where to find needed information. This website will continue to add more information as it becomes known as much of what the board of directors does is done in secret.

When are your Annual Assessment Due?

According to section 8.1 of the covenants, Annual Assessments are due on January 1st. However, that is if the board does its job first, and the board did not. According to section 8.2 of the covenants, the board must send by 2 December the budget and the annual assessment amount due. They did not.

The board never sent a notice. Connie Coy did. In cooperation with Burg, she sent a letter in the Annual Meeting notice package which stated a proposed budget, but the board did not approve the budget nor the "maintenance fee" amount as stated in that package. Further, the letter stipulated the following, "The annual maintenance fees are projected to increase to $1,378.00." The letter went on to state, "The board will take all input/comments into consideration before making a final decision on the 2026 budget."

So, according to her letter, the budget was not final and the "maintenance fees" were not $1,378; they were only "projected" to be that amount.

First, there is no such thing as an "annual maintenance fee".

Second, "projected" is a forecast and not a statement of an amount due.

Third, the board either approves a budget by 2 December or the amount is to be the amount from the previous year, which was $750. See section 8 of the covenants.

The Due Date

The bumbling clowns on the board had Burg send a bill on January 5th stating the board approved the budget on January 3rd. Therefore, at the earliest, Annual Assessments are due on 3 February 2026.

Note: Many people are complaining they never received such a bill.

Section 8.8 of the covenants states, "Collection of Assessments. The Board shall fix the amount of the Annual Assessment against each Property at least thirty (30) days in advance of the due date thereof, and shall fix the dates such amounts become due."

This means at a minimum, the due date is 3 February 2026, and assessments are not late until 3 March 2026, according to section 8.13, which states Annual Assessments are not late until 30 days after the fixed due date.

So, relax, take your time. They're not due at the end of January.

A Mean and Angry Board

Something else to note, when I was on the previous board I noted that the board had the right to use payment plans. The previous board even voted for a Community Notice about Property Protections stating this fact.

Section 8.1 states, "If the Board so elects, Assessments may be paid in two or more installments, with or without interest thereon."

Ryan Vandeusen, Norman Summers, Jim Stippich, Jim Pannell, and Connie Coy argued that the board had no authority to do that. They tried to argue section 8.13 requires Annual Assessments to be paid in 30 days or the board can foreclose on the property. They stupidly refused to understand that it is not true if the board provided a payment plan. They argued that anyone not paying an Annual Assessment in 30 days must be foreclosed on and their home taken from them. It is only true if they missed a payment according to the payment plan.

Talk about mean-spirited and cruel. Hell, Ryan was even pounding the table!

You Pay, They Play!

The Sandy Creek Airpark has a new board of directors, but they are not representing the airpark. They are representing their personal interests, especially with the local EAA chapter located on the airfield.

It seems they asked for everyone's proxy votes for the annual owner's meeting in December to elect themselves, but they no doubt lied to people to get their proxy votes.

The new board claimed the old board was wasting money on frivolous lawsuits and that this year's annual assessment would be very high if the lawsuits were not brought under control. They claimed that a vote for them would bring financial accountability and better management of your money.

However, the old board held annual assessments to $750, but the new board immediately nearly doubled that to $1,378, of which less than $300 per property would be for legal expenses, if that much. They have also claimed they will raise assessments even further in a few weeks, not that such a decision is legal.

Budget was NOT Approved by the Board

The old board never approved the budget or the $1,378 assessment sent to property owners for the 2025 annual meeting held in December. Connie Coy and Amanda, of Burg property management, sent that budget and assessment without any board approval or notification. The old board never even saw that budget before they, too, received it in the mail.

Board demands for even more money!

The current board wants even more money through Special Assessments. The letter Connie Coy put into the annual meeting package (again, without board approval) stated she wants more money to be voted on in January to immediately raise the assessments and has since stated the board will work towards one or more Special Assessments to raise even more money. To pass the Special Assessment, they need your proxy votes and will ask for them, if they haven't already. They need 51% of property owners to pass a Special Assessment and they want your proxy votes to do it.

In the 2025 budget analysis, it was being questioned why the HOA was spending so around $20,000 a year on Burg management for a mere 20 homes. It does not take $1,000 per property to run this place. Linda Carpenter was doing it by herself before Burg was hired in late 2021 and she never effectively charged the HOA $1,000 a property. Think about it, we are 80 empty lots and 20 homes, but we are paying Burg over $20,000 this year. The previous board was looking at cutting that cost down to perhaps $3,000 a year, maybe a little more, for a bookkeeper, but the current board was insistent that Burg be retained. We cannot afford Burg, yet the current board claims they are sensitive to your finances while also doubling your annual assessment to pay for Burg.

Speaking of the 2026 budget, there have been a few lies told about it such as there never was a budget produced by the old board nor was there a reserve budget produced, but there was. Rob Henry, as Treasurer and Secretary, produced a reserve budget spreadsheet. It was given to Connie Coy and Brian McKinney of the current board and the previous board members too, but Connie refused to hold a meeting on it. That reserve budget has not been used by the current board, but it was created for 2026. It included every sign, post, culvert, lamp post, windsock, anything at all that could be identified as HOA property. It needed discussed, but that discussion was never held due to what seems to be a mistaken belief by Connie Coy and Brian McKinney that the old board did not matter because a new board was about to be voted in.

Also, Rob Henry produced a budget analysis spreadsheet to discuss with the board where the money was being spent. On a $72,000 income from assessments, it seemed excessive that $18,000 was being spent on Burg and over $30,000 was being spent cutting grass including areas not owned by the HOA. The entire front gate area is owned by the D'Isernia family, not the HOA, but the HOA is mowing those acres at our expense. It seemed reasonable to reduce those expenses to live within our means. However, the new board has decided to increase those costs while doubling your annual assessments with promises of even more money to be taken from you this year.

The board is on a spending spree without any accountability while lying to you about their plans and lying about past boards.

EAA local chapter 202 Lawsuit Against the HOA

In November of 2024 the EAA decided supposedly by unanimous vote of the members, which includes HOA members, to sue to the HOA to get out of their deed that said the HOA gifted the EAA their property so if the EAA wants to leave it they must give it back to the HOA and take a nice $6,000 parting gift. However, the EAA thinks the property is worth much more and wants to sell it and take the money. So, they sued the HOA. They used an attorney who did the work for free (pro bono). The HOA had to use an attorney to the cost of about $40,000. The EAA also sued to get the HOA to pay for a culvert on their property, probably over $15,000, and they want to have every member they get to use the runway without any cost.

That's their two lawsuits: Get out of their deed and make the HOA pay for their culvert plus no more fees.

The EAA board members have not answered why they wanted to sell the EAA property. Where were they moving to? What was to be done with the money? Since they seem now to be fighting to stay, what was that move all about? Why did they file an expensive lawsuit? Why won't they pay for the lawsuit expenses they caused? Why is the current board so hell bent on making the HOA pay instead? Why is it so important for the EAA to operate as an FBO? They can still do everything their charter says they can do, so why the lawsuit?

You current board of EAA members and beneficiaries has decided to get them all of that.

Read the agreement for yourself here.

In effect, you pay $1,400 and more per year in assessments and the EAA members pay nothing. The EAA opens your runway up to the public for a $50 contribution to the EAA and you, the HOA, get $0. You also paid for your property, which inludes a $13,500 previous Apecial Assessment that paved the runway. That doesn't sound equitable to me: The public pays the HOA nothing to use the runway.

Congratulations, Sandy Creek Airpark! You are now a commerical public use runway with control of the runway governed by the EAA.

That's right. The EAA decides who from the public uses the runway. The rights of the board to control runway use has been given to the EAA, and that has been agreed to in a court settlement that is noncontestable forever.

Congratulations, again, Sandy Creek Airpark! You just lost all governance of your runway!

Also, in the agreement, the EAA promises to pay $30,000 to the HOA if they ever sell. However, the EAA sued the HOA and got the current board stacked with EAA members to let them out of their previous agreement, so it can be expected that the HOA will never see any of that money from the abusive lawsuit the EAA filed against the HOA.

All members of the current board are either paid members, recently paid members, or active participants and beneficiaries in the local EAA chapter 202 activities. This makes their voting in the EAA lawsuit a conflict of interest. It also seems like embezzlement, and a minimum of a kickback, taking our HOA money to pay for EAA property repairs. Some board members claim they dropped their local chapter membership, but they still participate with the local chapter, go to the breakfasts, etc. Nothing has changed.

When Ryan, president of the local EAA chapter who brought the lawsuit against the HOA, proclaim he solved the lawsuit, and the current board proclaim they created a settlement, no, they didn't. It was a gutless act to simply cave and give the EAA all they wanted at the expense of the future of the HOA and a high cost to the owners. There was nothing intelligent or brave about a 100% sellout of the people of Sandy Creek Airpark.

You Pay, They Play.

This also means their EAA chapter is now commercially operating as an FBO and provides the public access to the runway. That was never the intention nor language of the EAA deed. There is already one person who flies from the EAA hangar and is not operating within the Use Restrictions of the EAA.

EAA Sued the HOA, but the Board wants you to Pay for it!

The EAA sued the HOA to get out of that deed, and our legal fees have amounted to around $40,000. The previous board had a legal strategy to make the EAA pay the legal bills, but the current board just decided we property owners should pay the legal bills and the new board will allow the EAA out of that deed.

Board decides to pay property repairs for EAA too!!!

On top of all that, the new board decided we will pay for culvert repairs on the EAA property. Our covenants say the HOA pays for commons areas only, but the board members, who are also EAA affiliated, want to spend your money on the EAA. The EAA, that's Ryan Vandeusen, Norman Summers, and Myron Oakley as EAA board members, sued the HOA to fix their private property culvert. They claim the covenants say the HOA fixes all culverts while ignoring the direct statement in the covenants that states the HOA shall be responsible only for drainage in the commons areas only.

The part of the covenants the corrupt board ignores in trying to give their EAA this culvert repair at your expense is the following:

Section 11.3: "The Association shall be responsible for the maintenance and repair of all stormwater facilities and drainage elements located within the Common Areas."

Sounds illegal? It probably is. The board, as EAA beneficiaries, cannot take our money to benefit themselves like this.

EAA Use Restrictions

The EAA’s deed requires they stick to one of the following five Use Restrictions. None of their allowed activities includes being an FBO providing public access to the runway for $50.

1. To encourage and foster the continuation of design and development of amateur-built aircraft.

2. To provide information, knowledge, and assistance to the amateur builders of aircraft, restorers of vintage or historical aircraft, and sport aviation enthusiasts.

3. To foster and promote aviation safety in the realm of general and sport aviation.

4. To encourage, aid, and engage in scientific research for the improvement and better understanding of aviation and the science of aeronautics.

5. To provide a source of information and education relative aviation and related activities.

Legal Free For All

What we also learned is that the current HOA board is scared of completing a lawsuit. This EAA suit was an easy one. The corrupt clowns on the current board were both scared to finish it and they obviously wanted their EAA to benefit. So, if you want something, sue the board. They won't know how to win it and will give you what you want, all in the name of "avoiding more legal fees". Just sue them. You'll win.

Current Board Members

The current board members and contact information are the following. Contact them and let them know your position on them selling you out for their personal gain.

It is not a privacy violation for this information to be provided as they use these emails and phone numbers for official board business.

Connie Coy, ccoy41@gmail.com, cell: 912-650-9041
Brian McKinney, bmckinney10@gmail.com, cell: 952-292-2250
Jim Stippich, jandbstip@yahoo.com, 239-394-7213
Jim Pannell, jrpflyer@gmail.com

We want to hear from you!

If you have concerns or questions that you want addressed, or if you have comments or questions about how this information may affect you, please send your feedback via email at feedback@savesandycreek.com! Your email goes directly to Robert Henry.

Relevant questions and their answers will be posted on this website.

You may also remain anonymous. Your name will not be used if you ask for it not to be used.