Want to Be on the Board of Directors?

There are two vacancies on the Board of Directors of The Summit's HOA. The unfulfilled two-year terms expire in November 2026. Use the application found on Page 33 in the Procedures Reference Manual. Or get it at the office. Ignore the grammatical error ("Five words that best describes you:") 

What are the qualifications?

You must be a Member of the HOA (defined as name appearing on the Deed to your property) or married to a Member. This means homeowners, but not lessees or renters, can be directors.

You should be a "quality candidate" (whatever that means. I'll say this means, be honest and have integrity).

You should have strong inter-personal skills.

You should be dedicated to the betterment of the Association and community.

You should be free of any personal agenda.

Those qualifications are found in the By-Laws (Art. II, §B, ¶2). The first is found in the CC&Rs.

(There are people on the board right now who do not have some of these qualifications.)

I'll suggest these, in addition to the above:

Be a leader, not a follower;

Have a strong-enough backbone not to wilt when put down by another board member;

Be an independent thinker and willing to question what you are being told;

Realize that, as a director, you are a full, one-seventh, equal member of the board. The HOA President is not "the boss";

Refuse to vote as you are told to;

Insist that the Board comply with the CC&Rs, By-Laws, and Guidelines;

Support transparency of operations and administration of the HOA;

Represent the 2,480 Members of the HOA;

Insist on following parliamentary procedures, as defined in the Governing Documents and in Robert's Rules of Order. When the Board is not following them, speak up.

When the Board is making mistakes, speak up and re-direct the Board to the right path.

Engage the audience at board meetings. Listen to complaints. Accept feedback. Remember, it is their HOA, not yours.

With the right people on the Board, board membership can be rewarding and even fun. Leave each Board meeting energized, not exhausted.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

June 3rd BOD Meeting now Closed to Members

The HOA office sent out an email at 3:29PM that read, in part, Due to Brookland Baptist Church being unavailable to accommodate the scheduled Board of Directors meeting on June 3rd, the meeting will now be held at the Summit Association office. Please note that space is limited at this location; therefore, only Voting Members and Committee Chairs will be invited to attend in person. One would think they would splash a message on the homepage of the HOA's website and change the location in the Calendar on the website; but No to both.  This last-minute change is highly adverse to the interests of the Members of the Association. The HOA must have some deal with Brookland Baptist Church Northeast for the rental of the meeting room. The dates must be arranged for the year. The HOA makes a "donation" to the Church for the use of the room. It's actually not a "donation", because the HOA receives something of value in exchange; i.e., the use of the meeting room.  Wh...
Read more

What? No trampolines?

OK, you trampoline fans. Are your rights and privileges being tramped on by your Board of Directors? The office sent out an email just before 2:00PM threatening you with a dreaded violation notice and the possibility of fines, if you dare to put a trampoline in your yard.  This is what the email from the office said,  " Please be advised that, pursuant to Section 13, Page 22, Article XII of the covenants, no structure of a temporary nature shall be placed upon any unit or any part of the properties. This includes, but is not limited to, tents, temporary gazebos, shacks, trailers, and any other structure of a temporary nature.  "Kindly note that trampolines are classified as temporary play equipment and, as such, are not permitted within the community. We ask that you ensure there is no trampoline present on your property to avoid receiving a violation notice and subsequent fines." What do the Covenants say? "Section 13. Tents. Trailers and Temporary Structures. Exce...
Read more

What Story Do the Financials Tell?

At the May 6, 2025 Board of Directors meeting, the March Financial Operating Results were available. Did you pick up a copy? Was there any discussion of them? Usually there is not. Do board members examine them before the meeting? Does anyone on the Board really understand them?  Look at the page for the Operating Expenses - Variances. Twelve Line Items are shown. No totals are shown. Big mistake. But are the totals intentionally omitted? For these 12 Items the total of "YTD Variances" is $61,784.93. As of the end of March, the HOA has over-spent the 2025 Budget by $61,784.93. Look at the reason given for the over-spending in Line Item GL-5111 Irrigation Contract. "This is over budget and will remain over budget due to the 2025 budget is $75,000 and the monthly contracted cost is $10,140." Is this worded to intentionally confuse any reader by stating the annual amount in the budget, but the monthly amount for the contracted cost? If the yearly contract for Irrigat...
Read more