The president and chief executive officer of Vancouver-based Parkit Enterprises has been expelled from the company’s board of directors for challenging its membership and structure. The majority of the current six-member board has authorized Richard Baxter’s removal and is urging shareholders not to sign over solicited proxy votes to a Parkit c-suite offence that also includes the company’s chief investment officer, Patrick Bonney, and chief financial officer, Simon Buckett.

“The board is disappointed by the dissidents’ action to take control of Parkit,” a May 19 release states.

This follows a May 18 declaration from Baxter, Bonney and Buckett — who collectively hold about 9.5 per cent of the company’s outstanding common shares — seeking proxies to elect a reconstituted four-member board at Parkit’s upcoming shareholder meeting. Arguing that the company is “poised for rapid growth”, they named a suggested new slate of directors, including Baxter, to push forward with acquisitions of income-producing parking facilities.

“The concerned stakeholders also believe that decreasing the number of directors from six to four will permit more efficient decision making, will reduce costs and will enhance the company’s ability to pursue its acquisition and growth strategies in a timely manner,” they assert.

Parkit holds a 22 per cent interest in OP Holdings JV LLC and is responsible for asset management of income-producing parking facilities serving a number of U.S. airports. Most recently, in the fall of 2015, it acquired a 1,140-stall, 8.5-acre facility providing parking for the Nashville International Airport.

“2015 was a transformative year for Parkit,” Baxter said when the year-end results were released in March 2016. “Our pipeline is healthy and our team is focused on acquiring, optimizing and aggregating parking facilities across North America.”

The Parkit shareholder meeting is set for June 21.