Woodhill Place owners OK $800,000 loan

Tom Cunningham said he thinks Woodhill Place condominiums will get an $800,000 loan, even though the vote to borrow the money fell shy of the two-thirds majority of unit owners needed to secure money to fix up the weathered complex.

Condo owners at the 117-unit complex off Hawthorne Drive in North Charleston voted 74-17 over the weekend to borrow money to repair rotting boards, paint and fix roofs that haven't been repaired since after Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

They needed 79 votes among all of the owners to reach a true two-thirds majority, but Cunningham said he thinks the bylaws will allow those who did not vote to be counted with the majority. If the nonvoters can't be counted with the majority, NCB bank in Washington, D.C., will look at the total number of votes cast in favor of the loan and see that it is a "solid majority," he said.

"I'm very pleased with the vote. We got very close to what we needed," said Cunningham, the condo association president. "I remain hopeful the bank will see that we have enough interest to get the loan."

If the bank does not agree to the loan, "We are back at square one," Cunningham said. "We would try to find another bank."

The issue became public after Dot Scott, president of the Charleston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and owner of two units in the complex that she rents out, came out against the loan.

Scott said she thinks it is too much money to borrow at one time and the debt could saddle unit owners with increased monthly regime fees that could force out low-income owners or renters, especially minorities.

Scott did not vote on the loan.

"I'm not going to legitimize this thing by voting on it," she said.

Scott said the ballot included not only the loan question but also the condo association's annual budget, an election to fill a board vacancy and a special assessment. "I got tired of arguing with them, and I will fight them in court," she said.

Scott sued the complex's board of directors and its management company, Odessa Companies of Mount Pleasant, on Jan. 31 and asked for an injunction to stop the loan after a similar vote earlier this year.

A judge denied it, so Scott filed an amended complaint. The case is pending.