Chevron Renaissance body corp vote to oust chairman and secretary called "invalid"
Chevron Renaissance unit owners voted to eject the chairman and secretary at a meeting on Friday following a bitter body corporate dispute — but it comes with a twist.
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CHEVRON Renaissance unit owners voted to eject the chairman and secretary at a meeting on Friday following a bitter body corporate dispute — but it comes with a twist.
The owners voted in favour of motions to remove chairman Karen Blackhurst and secretary Rob Casbolt as well as another motion to sign a one-year contract with COH Security for $831,000.
However, Mr Casbolt said the vote was invalid and neither he nor Ms Blackhurst would be stepping down.
He said the body corporate’s lawyers — OMB Solicitors — had advised them that the vote was invalid and had been called contrary to the relevant legislation.
“They never had 25 per cent of the owners supporting the EGM being held,” he said.
Treasurer Deborah Trussell, who led the campaign to remove the secretary and chairman, claimed “it was a landslide” decision.
Ms Blackhurst and Mr Casbolt were strong critics of COH, with the former accusing the company at a recent body corporate meeting of interfering in the running of the complex and campaigning to remove the pair from the committee. They wanted COH to be dumped and replaced.
D-DAY SET FOR CHEVRON RENAISSANCE TOWERS BODY CORP VOTE
May 15, 2021
UNHAPPY Chevron Renaissance unit owners will finally get the chance to vote on removing the chairman and secretary following a long-running and bitter body corporate dispute.
The date for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) at the 713-unit Surfers Paradise complex has been set for May 21. Key motions include the removal of chairman Karen Blackhurst, secretary Rob Casbolt and the signing of a new one-year contract with COH (Code of Honor) Security worth $831,000.
Mr Casbolt and Ms Blackhurst are strong critics of COH, with the former accusing the company at a recent body corporate meeting of interfering in the running of the complex and campaigning to remove the pair from the committee. They want COH to be dumped and replaced by a new provider.
The notice of the meeting distributed to owners by treasurer Deborah Trussell says the EGM has been organised to deal with “very critical and important areas that needed to be addressed”. They included:
● To stop the termination of COH, our security company of 17 years without justification or reason given by four (4) committee members;
● To investigate the lift tendering procedure with only one company out of four wanting to quote work at Chevron.
Neither Mr Casbolt nor Ms Blackhurst returned phone calls yesterday.
Last month, the feud boiled over when police were called by the building manager who asked for COH Security guards to be removed from the building. Police took no action.
Ms Trussell, who has led the campaign to remove Ms Blackhurst and Mr Casbolt with the support of dumped security guard Michael Marcanelli, said she was confident owners would support the motions for a new chairman and secretary.
Mr Marcanelli was removed as a security guard in March after the body corporate committee sent out a list of approved subcontractors which omitted Mr Marcanelli.
Mr Marcanelli claimed he was axed after he raised concerns about lift maintenance and replacement contracts signed off by the committee.
POLICE CALLED IN CHEVRON BODY CORPORATE STOUSH
April 30, 2021
ONE of the city’s largest body corporate committees has taken the extraordinary step of calling police to remove a security company accused of lobbying for the chairman and secretary to be removed from the committee.
The bitter stoush got messy after a former, long-serving security guard was accused of selling car parks for a “box of doughnuts” — a claim denied by Michael Marcanelli.
COH Security, headed up by Pablo Codina, is in a dispute with the committee at the Chevron Renaissance, led by chairman Karen Blackhurst and secretary Rob Casbolt.
Ms Blackhurst and Mr Casbolt, with the support of three other committee members, accuse COH of “actively campaigning against the current committee” by sending messages to owners asking them to vote against the committee at a planned EGM.
It is alleged COH is doing so to protect its contract at the three-tower complex, which expires on July 31 and is worth $639,700.
The disagreement boiled over on Tuesday this week.
A Queensland Police Service spokeswoman said officers were called to a residence on Ferny Ave, Surfers Paradise at 9.41am Tuesday to keep peace between the committee and security company.
She said police had been requested to remove the security guards from the building. However, no action was taken.
Mr Codina declined to comment when contacted by the Bulletin while Mr Casbolt and Ms Blackhurst failed to return phone calls.
There are 713 apartments in total at Chevron Renaissance.
Mr Casbolt read out a 17-page statement at a recent body corporate meeting. It included allegations levelled against COH and Mr Marcanelli.
“Every committee that has fractured has been the result of COH Security interfering,” Mr Casbolt told the committee.
He said false claims had been made about the committee.
FULL DIGITAL ACCESS: $1 A WEEK FOR THE FIRST 12 WEEKS
“Every year around this time the chairperson and members of the team are always deemed corrupt, underhanded and bullies, that is, if they are not being obedient to COH Security … We believe it is time for a new security company.”
The police call-out follows the controversial dumping of Mr Marcanelli from his role as security manager of 13 years.
Mr Marcanelli claimed he was axed after he raised concerns about lift maintenance and replacement contracts signed off by the committee.
That was denied by Mr Casbolt in his lengthy statement, in which he accused Mr Marcanelli of selling car parks for a “box of doughnuts”.
Mr Casbolt also claimed Mr Marcanelli was sacked by contractor COH Security, not the body corporate and that he ignored owners if they complained about security and was frequently aggressive and argumentative with committee members if questioned.
Mr Marcanelli strongly denies all allegations.
A group of unhappy residents is pushing to hold an EGM so they can remove Mr Casbolt and Ms Blackhurst from the committee.
Treasurer Deborah Trussell said the police being called to Chevron was “embarrassing”.
“They (the police) said it was a complete waste of their time. They are supposed to catch criminals, not resolve body corporate disputes.
“After 17 years of services the way COH has been treated is disgraceful.”
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