Last summer, the King’s Deer Homeowners Association tried to increase dues and change the covenants — rules the homeowners live under.

When homeowners asked questions, some reported getting verbal smackdowns from then-HOA board president Dan Potter, who developed the upscale King’s Deer Classic and Highlands subdivisions.

Soon, Potter came under harsh attack — even a criminal accusation that was quickly dismissed — and now is planning to move. He said he’s being driven out by his nextdoor neighbor, Carol Hattrup, who helped lead an HOA revolt.

“The bottom line is nothing was done wrong,” Potter said. “They accused me and 30 or 40 other people of being derelict in their duties as board members. It was not true. This has ruined my life at King’s Deer.”

It’s a lesson for the 150 or so area HOAs about the dangers of casually doing business and not being open to questions and complaints from residents.

Allen Alchian, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and mechanical engineer, was on the board as it melted down.

“We just had one issue after another,” Alchian said. “Members started getting hot and bothered. Finally, things just blew up.”

Alchian was among the mass resignations in March that left Potter alone on the seven-member board. Alchian was the only one to return, serving as president, trying to guide the HOA’s recovery.

Alchian blames a combination of factors: The board was too casual; precise minutes were not posted; financial dealings were not well-documented; and the HOA was too cozy with Potter’s company — taking free legal advice from a corporate attorney and piggybacking on landscaping and maintenance work.

Perhaps worst of all, members were not exactly welcomed to question board actions at meetings.

“The dissidents had valid reasons to be dissident,” Alchian said. “There are things I wouldn’t do again. We are working to fix those problems.”

Critics say Potter exerted a paternal dominance over the subdivisions that led people to distrust him and the board. The distrust prevented people from recognizing all the good he has done for King’s Deer, Alchian said.

“He can be pretty direct and blunt and that can rub people the wrong way,” Alchian said. “He should hire a public affairs person . . . and just stay in the background.”

Distrust led Hattrup and neighbor Corinne Solano, among others, to circulate a petition to overturn the new covenants.

Hattrup, a retired Air Force colonel and attorney, also aggressively recruited reporters to investigate a 2003 merger of the two subdivisions’ boards, the covenant rewrite, the “comingling of HOA funds” with Potter’s business, “totally illegal” votes, conflicts of interest involving HOA legal advice and Potter’s decision to allow “tract home” builders into King’s Deer, which was billed as exclusively custom homes.

“This is not personal,” Hattrup said. “It’s purely about the board.”

Solano said she wanted the board to be accountable for its actions, such as a 2005 decision to spend $65,000 on new neighborhood entrances.

Three months after the board’s demise, things are getting better, and Alchian and Solano are part of the reason. Potter recruited them and others to take over. Then he stepped aside.

Today, a neighborhood Web site posts meeting minutes and newsletters and board contact information.

Solano is treasurer and is busy fixing problems caused by “bizarre business practices, really bad bookkeeping.” The new board is auditing the books and has found no proof of theft, as some charged.

Still, there’s a new problem to fix. Alchian discovered that King’s Deer lacks some water permits needed to allow all 531 lots in the subdivisions to be developed and wells to be drilled.

Potter has initiated legal work to get permits, and Alchian promises the board will keep the neighborhood posted on his progress.

“Without the HOA, this problem wouldn’t have been discovered,” Alchian said. “And I applaud Dan for recognizing the problem and taking the initiative to resolve it without prodding from the HOA.

“Hopefully, this might help re-establish confidence in the HOA among the membership.”

Tell me about your neighborhood: 636-0193 or bvogrin@gazette.com