CARY - Two Lochmere residents are questioning the validity of a neighborhood vote to buy private swim and tennis club facilities - a purchase that would cost each resident $260 more in annual homeowner association dues.

They allege that the Lochmere homeowners' association didn't abide by its rules when it tabulated the results of a summer referendum to buy the Lochmere Swim and Tennis Club.

"They definitely are violating the covenants," said Sharon Bramble, a Lochmere resident who filed suit in Wake County last month, asking a judge to halt the purchase until the vote could be verified. "If they don't follow the rules, why should I pay my dues?"

The Lochmere homeowners' association had 1,937 members who were eligible to vote, court documents show.

Of that total, 1,606 - 82 percent of the members - participated in the July 20 vote, according to the association.

More than 72 percent of the ballots were in favor of annexing the financially troubled facilities, which include three pools, 10 tennis courts and two volleyball courts.

The association's board thinks it has enough votes to do the deal.

They say they needed approval from more than two-thirds of the voters to move forward.

"That level of turnout and plurality would be considered a landside in any other vote," said Jim Davis, an association board member.

But Bramble and another plaintiff, Barbara Trapnell, say it wasn't enough.

They say that more than two-thirds of all members - whether they voted or not - need to approve the measure.

They point to language in the association's bylaws: "Two-thirds of each class of all the votes entitled to be cast, in the aggregate, by members are cast in favor of annexation."

By their math, only 60 percent of the association's members voted to buy the facilities.

That would leave the association about 122 votes short of approval.

Other language in the bylaws doesn't make the distinction as clear when it comes to dues increases.

A judge is expected to rule on the validity of the vote next month.

Regardless of the decision, the sale could still go through. A provision in the covenants allows the association to extend the voting period.

The swim and tennis facilities are run by the privately-owned Lochmere Swim and Tennis Club, a group that has sought financial assistance from the association on and off for the past decade.

Residents who want to use the facilities have had to pay an extra fee - sometimes up to $1,000 for a first-year membership.

The expense was too steep for many families, who instead became members of nearby fitness clubs.

As membership declined, the group closed the pool in the Lochmere Highlands subdivision last year.

The pools and courts now have about 400 members.

In recent months, the club went into default, leaving Wachovia Bank in charge.

Through a special agreement with the bank, the facilities will remain open through the end of the summer.

If the annexation goes through, there would be no additional membership fee to use the amenities.

Awaiting a verdict

Although more than half of its residents voted to buy the facilities, Bramble and Trapnell say many Lochmere residents opposed the acquisition because they don't use the pool or can't afford the dues increase.

"It's not going to do anything for our property values over here," Bramble said.

But she also said she just wants the association to follow the rules.

"If they have a majority of people wanting to do that and they do it by the covenants, then that's fine," Bramble said.

Bramble said she looked forward to hearing a superior court judge's interpretation of the covenants.

"We're more concerned about the process than the actual acquisition," said Graham Shirley, a lawyer representing the two women.

Hope Carmichael, a Raleigh lawyer representing the Lochmere association, did not return messages seeking comment.

Davis said the association's lawyers went through case law and made sure the vote's proceedings abided by the covenants.

"We're confident that we ran the vote according to our attorney's best interpretation of the covenants," Davis said. "... If we don't consummate the deal, people will experience a drop in [property] values and quality of life."