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Grandin Court Neighborhood Association leaders ousted

ROANOKE, Va. – Residents in one Roanoke neighborhood want a change in leadership.

Residents recently voted to remove the resident and secretary from the Grandin Court Neighborhood Association, claiming leaders did not properly express their views on what they would like to see happen in the area.

“It’s disappointing,” Freeda Cathcart, secretary for the Grandin Court Neighborhood Association said.

Sparks flew during a meeting last week where the president of the Grandin Court Neighborhood Association, and its secretary, Freeda Cathcart, were voted out, 63-25.

“When you’re dealing with an independent civic organization and you’re coming to oust your leadership and you haven’t been involved, it does give you pause,” Cathcart said.

Cathcart claims the vote to oust her and the president was “unlawful” and they are still the rightful leaders of the association. Cathcart sent an email to Roanoke City Council explaining why and she says certain bylaws were not followed.

Cathcart says she conducted due diligence when it came to what to do with the Fishburn Park Cottage.

One idea thrown out was upgrading it to a coffee shop.

“Neither the president nor I were opposed personally to the coffee shop, it doesn’t matter what you personally feel when you’re an officer,” Cathcart said.

Kenny Marn is the interim President of the Grandin Court Neighborhood Association.

“Several of the neighbors I know in the neighborhood feel like they are not representing the neighborhood when they speak for the neighborhood association,” Marn said.

Marn says the issue is larger than the coffee shop.

“There’s like a diverse group of opinions, and we feel they don’t respect that, it’s about the fact, in our opinion they’re mixing personal preferences with their role in the neighborhood association,” Marn said.