Accompanied by accusations of unjust secrecy and conflicts of interest, a group of past presidents and members of the La Jolla Woman’s Club is calling for open meetings and a thorough audit of the nonprofit organization, which is funded in large part by rental fees and serves as an exclusive social space for weddings and other gatherings. Calling themselves the Committee to Preserve the Legacy of Ellen Browning Scripps, the former Woman’s Club presidents have no intention of filing suit as of yet, but with the help of attorney Steven Haskins, called a press conference on Sept. 17 to “put pressure on the board.” The Woman’s Club Executive Board of Directors holds closed meetings and its former treasurer, Jesika Leskewski-Grove, is also the executive director of Abbey Catering and Design, which is by contract “the sole preferred vendor” for all events at the club, Haskins said. Leskewski-Grove stepped down from her position as treasurer Sept. 13. Hilda Berg, a former president and spearhead of the committee, called it an “economic crime to do business from a charitable institution.” The committee also alleges that the Woman’s Club has lost more than half of its liquid assets and is in “dire financial straights.” However, board Vice President Margo Ehman-Singleton, who came out of the clubhouse to respond to the press conference, said a recent internal audit didn’t turn up any discrepancies. In addition to the committee’s allegations and resignation of Leskewski-Grove, Ehman-Singleton is filling in as both treasurer of the board and house manager of the board since Zy Dewey was expelled from her post as president during a private meeting Sept. 13. On that same day, a heated 40-member meeting regarding the organization’s operations and leadership took place in response to a letter sent by Dewey to the entire membership, Ehman-Singleton said. In addition, Haskins said he hand delivered a letter alleging “improper activities” and “general lack of transparency” to board members during that private meeting, but was asked to leave. Only days before, Ehman-Singleton said, Dewey was caught recording a closed meeting. The Woman’s Club doesn’t receive public funds, but gets tax breaks for its nonprofit status. Ehman-Singleton said the board is acting within the law by having closed meetings and “there is a reason for that,” she said — to hide what she described as “inappropriate” bickering. “Once you’ve got people banging down the door yelling things, that’s when you go behind closed doors,” Ehman-Singleton said. But, Haskins said, “even if they could meet secretly, they shouldn’t.” On Oct. 4, the board will hold a meeting to discuss how to move forward amid all the disarray, Ehman-Singleton said. “By next meeting we will hopefully get some guidelines in place and, as soon as these things are resolved, get a new president in place,” she said. Ehman-Singleton said the club holds yoga classes on Wednesdays and bridge on Thursdays, and she hopes to start a reading and literature club there, as the Woman’s Club began in 1896 as the “La Jolla Current Events and Reading Club.” Designated in 1973 by the city of San Diego as Historical Site No. 79 — the first historical site in La Jolla — the clubhouse was a gift given by Ellen Browning Scripps in 1913. The 1914 Articles of Incorporation state that “the specific activity in which the corporation has been and will continue to engage is primarily to work in all ways and at all times for the welfare of the world at large and the community of La Jolla.”