Open Letter to HOA Board Members after 12/7/2021 meeting

The following email was sent to all board members after the December 7, 2021 board meeting:


If board meetings are to continue on Zoom, will you please provide headsets for each board member and committee chairman? Tonight it was very difficult to understand Auby, Paul, and Jeff.

The management company (CAMS) should be providing professional advice to you on conducting board meetings.

Board members should have been elected tonight, rather than at the recent workshop. Workshops (pre-board meetings) are not Regular Meetings. The By-Laws provide guidance on election of officers.

Art. IV, Section 2. Election. Term of Office, and Vacancies. The officers of the Association shall be elected annually by the Board of Directors at the first meeting of the Board of Directors following each annual meeting of the Voting Members, as herein set forth in Article III. ...

The workshops (pre-board meetings) should not be used for decision-making. Reviewing bids and making decisions in the "secret" workshops is not good-faith governance.

The By-Laws do not provide for "co-officers". Your statements at tonight's board meeting were incorrect. Art. IV, Section 2 of the By-Laws is brief and clear. 

Art. IV, Section 1. Officers. The officers of the Association shall be a President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, to be elected from among the members of the Board. The Board of Directors may appoint such other officers, including one or more Assistant Secretaries and one or more Assistant Treasurers, as it shall deem desirable, such officers to have the authority and perform the duties prescribed from time to time by the Board of Directors. Any two (2) or more offices may be held by the same person, except the offices of President and Secretary."

One person is to be the officer, not two people sharing the office. Paul Hill cannot be co-Treasurer. 

Perhaps you were thinking of co-chairmen of committees. Vernell and Paul could be co-chairmen of the Finance Committee, if that is the will of the board, and if the board so appoints them. 

The Board should analyze the financial liability associated with making AEDs available at the pools. If untrained, uncertified people try to operate them, the HOA will likely be exposed to massive liability. If an unskilled person attempts to use an AED to save a life and fails, you can count on a huge lawsuit against the HOA. Clear guidelines should be established as to exactly who is authorized to use them. No estimate of cost of Two AEDs was provided at tonight's board meeting. Mary Ann's committee should make a recommendation to the board for action, and then the board should discuss and vote on that recommendation.

Jesse mentioned the need for VMs and Alternates in certain neighborhoods. There is only one way to get them - a Neighborhood Meeting and an election of a Neighborhood Committee. The By-Laws are clear about that. "Getting signatures" is not an approved method. 

No cost was mentioned tonight for the renewal of Green Earth's contract. What's the secret? That is a major contract. A board member should have made a motion to approve the Green Earth bid for 2022 at a cost of $______ for the year. And then there should have been a vote.

It is appalling that the budget has not yet been finalized. There is no excuse for a lack of report from the Treasurer. Today is December 7.

I suggest you direct Vernell to turn on his video. Every Director should be visible to the other directors and the audience.

Sincerely,

Gus Philpott
Resident, Barony Place II

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