5 leave in Sun City board shake-up

Five people who support incorporating Sun City Hilton Head resigned or were removed from their leadership positions within the community association Thursday during a heated meeting.

Wes Grady, one of three resident members on the seven-member association board, quit after a motion was made that the chairmen of two of the association's committees be removed from their positions.

The motion came with allegations that the committee members, who are appointed by the association's board, have a "conflict of interest" because they are involved in efforts to incorporate Sun City as a town.

After Grady submitted his resignation, the board voted 6-0 to remove residents Chuck Lynch and Ira Kirschner from the Finance Advisory Committee.

"Anyone who disagrees with the developer-run board gets fired," Grady said before storming out of the meeting.

Two other resident leaders who also are involved in the incorporation effort -- Carl Lehmann, former chairman of the Government and Business Affairs Committee, and Bert Walker, former chairman of the Technology Advisory Committee -- resigned before resident board member Clifford Hudsick made the motion.

Thursday's raucous meeting, where the audience alternated between jeers and applause, follows a series of actions this year by the community's developer, Pulte Homes, to take control of the association's board until the community is completely developed and its homes sold. Pulte wants to make sure its investment is protected, while opponents say the residents should be allowed to run the community in which they live.

In the past month, several residents have formed a committee interested in incorporating Sun City and surrounding areas as a town.

Board members, including Pulte Homes general manager Jon Cherry, said the men who resigned or were removed should not have formed a separate group to explore the possibility of incorporating Sun City. The discussion should have stayed within the confines of existing Sun City committees, they said.

Resident board member Barbara Lenta said the board expects loyalty from appointed committee members.

The 150 or so residents in the audience were divided on the issues of incorporation and the removal of committee members.

Before the board voted on removing the leaders, one resident from the audience yelled, "This isn't a board meeting -- it's a fiefdom!"

Others applauded to show their opposition for incorporating the gated community.

Cherry and other board members expressed concern that the incorporation committee didn't explore other governing options beyond forming a town.

"It's a group on its own trying to lead 11,000 people down a dark alley ... with no due diligence," Cherry said.