Board of Directors

CALL TO ORDER

Board Members Present: Alan Dinkelacker, Jim Cates, Jay Decker, Jim DiMeglio. Grant Sheehan.

Board Members Absent: Lisa Rogers, Brandon Frazier.

Staff Present: GM Edwards, AGM Seligson, CRM Gurley.

AGENDA— SECURITY PROGRAM

GM Edwards introduced Doug Beaver, mid-Atlantic regional director of Security Services of America (SSA). Mr. Beaver introduced Louis Reed and Larry Herald, two employees of his company.

Mr. Beaver said that he had once been a Montgomery County police officer. In 1985 he started AmGuard Security Service, which grew to employ 300 officers. His company recently merged with SSA. The company is licensed in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Virginia. He said that SSA works for many homeowner associations (HOAs) in the area, that it is very familiar with the specific problems faced by HOAs, and can provide solutions for the community. Mr. Beaver said that residents who had a concern that going to a private security company was a step back would find that the community would not lose a beat. He said that SSA had reporting capabilities, such as its incident report management service, that would help identify trends and improve management of the community’s security program. GM Edwards had noted that the sheriff’s office no longer offered this service, which was another reason that he began thinking about developing a different security program for the community.

SSA uses vehicles that are marked similar to how police cars are marked, which helps to create a presence in the community and provides the same kind of deterrence. He said that SSA was in a better position to enforce LLA policies, such as those related to trespassing. Mr. Beaver said that SSA had options that could be valuable to the community, such as using bike patrols in the community (his company is a member of the International Mountain Bike Association) or golf carts.

GM Edwards said that the original idea was to mix the services of the deputy program and those of a private security company but that after reviewing costs noted that the community could hire the security company to address the rule and regs matters and still use the sheriff’s office through extra duty patrols for speed control and other purposes. He noted that using the extra duty patrols allows LLA management to set the schedule as to when deputies would be most beneficial to the community. The GM said that the sheriff’s contract was for 2500 hours of coverage annually and that the security company option would allow 3700 hours coverage annually. Ultimately the security service company option would save the association approximately $19,000. He said changing to a private security company and using the sheriff’s department in a limited capacity was a change for the good.

Director Decker asked Mr. Beaver about SSA requirements for officers and details about daily operations. Mr. Beaver said that his company maintains a working relationship with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, which could facilitate getting officers for the LLA extra duty patrols. He said that all SSA officers undergo a rigorous background investigation (state and federal) in addition to his company’s own in-house background investigation resources. All officers undergo drug testing, prior to hiring and randomly throughout employment with the company. Mr. Beaver said that SSA officers must go through a comprehensive training program on procedure and policies, in addition to training done at each client site. He said the company’s proprietary program allows SSA to select good candidates to hire. Also noted was a SSA online application that he said examines values of the individual, which helps the company weed out those who would ultimately not be suitable for the job. He said that SSA manages to retain its employees longer than most competitors. He said company turnover rate is 30 percent. He noted that the average length of employment with his company is one and a half years to two years. The average age of SSA officers is 29 years; the majority are full-time employees and are also trained in CPR and first aid.

Asked whether his officers have arrest powers, Mr. Beaver said that all citizens have arrest powers and his officers can use those powers but that the company general reserves that action, that it is not something SSA officers typically do because of liability exposure to their clients. Mr. Beaver said that in incidents where arrests may be called for SSA officers would contact the sheriff’s office and document all information for further action.

Resident Diane Shuey said that the LLA needed to educate residents as to whom to call for what reason and kind of incidents.

Resident Jean Frank asked if the deputy contract was still in effect. GM Edwards said the contract had expired but that a deputy would still respond any time they are called. Residents expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the matter was not brought before the community for discussion before the contract had expired.

Resident Jim Reed said that the deputy training prepared the officers very well for dealing with young people in the community. Mr. Reed said that in the past when the LLA used security companies that those officers did not work well with the young people in the community. Mr. Beaver said that SSA works hard to ensure its officers are professional and tactful with everyone. Mr. Reed asked whether SSA officers would have weapons. Mr. Beaver said no.

Resident Larry Dusold said that he understood the budget concerns but felt that the LLA staff could do it’s own analysis reports based on information from the sheriff’s office. He said he was concerned because at the last board meeting his understanding was that the discussion on a new security program was to continue and that the deputy’s service would continue uninterrupted. He said he had originally been skeptical of the deputy program when the association first signed on to it but had since gained confidence in it. He also said that while educating the residents about the program is a good idea, distributing something to residents that had the correct phone number to call would be important.

GM Edwards said that until most recently he received positive feedback from the sheriff’s office that the LLA would be able to extend the contract for three months or possibly resign a one-year contract with a 45-day suspension of service clause but that the sheriff decided shortly before the expiration date not to offer either option.

Resident Stephen Hembree said that the LLA gained a stronger image when it hired the deputy program to be a part of the association services. While some of the staff concerns were related to the number of hours that the deputy had to be away from the community, Mr. Hembree said that someone was always assigned to cover the community and that the assigned deputy was always able to track down the troublemakers and perpetrators and had a good record of achieving this goal. He said he liked the idea of blending the deputy program with security officers. Mr. Hembree told the board that having extra duty patrols was not the same as having a full-time “resident agent” of the sheriff’s office in the community. He said that security officers can’t track down troublemakers and perpetrators. He believed that changing the security system is what was generating the anxiety expressed by residents but he believed it to be a serious mistake in not having a resident agent within the PUD.

Mr. Beaver said that his officers could investigate matters and turn information over to the sheriff’s office. He said that his company could issue “barring notices” that are logged into a system and can be tracked by LLA staff.

Some residents commented that a one-size fits all solution was not a likely possibility and they said they believed the GM’s approach to be reasonable and hoped that it would work out with community input.

Some residents expressed concern about whether the private security officers would be able to build a rapport with resident. Mr. Beaver said that his company would do whatever the community wanted.

The GM was asked as to how many other security companies they had interviewed or researched. GM Edwards said that SSA was the only company of this size. Some residents expressed a concern about the fact that other companies had not been considered. Some suggested that the board have a meeting with residents to begin discussions about raising dues enough to hire two deputies for the community.

Director Dinkelacker asked the board if it wanted to take any actions or make any motions at that time on the issue. Director Decker said that he wanted to see the contract that SSA uses before making any decisions. Director Sheehan asked whether the LLA could re-sign with the sheriff’s office for another deputy, to which GM Edwards said the LLA could re-sign a contract the next day if it so chooses. Director DiMeglio said that he wanted to see references for the SSA. Director Sheehan started to make a motion but withdrew it noting that before the board could take any action on the matter related to SSA that it had to see the contract. The board asked that the matter be put on the agenda for the July 18 meeting.

ADJOURNMENT

Director Cates made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Director DiMeglio seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.