How to Conduct Quiet, Peaceful HOA Board Meetings

Apparently, the January 6th Board of Directors meeting was a little "uncivil". I wasn't there, because the HOA's lawsuit against me hadn't yet been dismissed. It was dismissed on January 13.

The last meeting I attended was on February 4, 2025 at the Church. I'll be at the February 3rd meeting at the North Springs Park Community Center. I hope you will be there, too.

There is a new Board majority. They are good people who care about the HOA. They are the best majority in the eight years I've lived in The Summit. The Voting Members did a good job in November of electing four good people and not electing several others.

I've been hearing that the other three directors on the Board aren't very happy. The truth is that they are now the minority of the seven-member Board. It could be that many votes by the Board will be 4-3. It shouldn't be split that way, because ALL Board Members should be working for the betterment of the HOA.

Two of the three in the minority group aren't even legitimate board members. They ought to step down. If they don't, the Board should remove them (or legitimize them). If the Board doesn't, the Voting Members should remove them. In the meantime, they should conduct themselves in the best interests of the 2,480 Members of the HOA and put their personal feelings aside.

Now, about Quiet, Peaceful, Civil Board Meetings.

  1. The Board President of the HOA is in charge of meetings. Association meeting rules and Robert's Rules of Order should be followed. 
  2. The Board President calls the meeting to order. She controls the order of business. She calls for the meeting to be adjourned (by vote).
  3. Robert's Rules of Order provides that one person speaks at a time. 
  4. Anyone (Board member, Committee chair, member of the audience) wishing to speak needs the permission of the President to do so. That's how she maintains order.
  5. The President should control (stop) side-conversations between Board members or between members of the audience. That can be done easily by just stopping business. (Those talking will eventually wonder why everyone is staring at them.) One rap of the gavel may be needed.
  6. "Point-of-Order" are the three most-powerful words in a meeting.
  7. Anyone disrupting the meeting should get one (and only one) warning. No second warnings. No arguments.
  8. When a member of the audience voices a complaint or issue, Board members should not speak up to answer, unless asked to do so by the Board President.

Richland 2 School Board had a good practice for handling audience comments or questions. (At least it would have been good, if it had been followed.) At the beginning of the public comment period, the audience was told that board members would not respond that night. Instead, someone on staff would follow up to answer the question or explore the issue. (That didn't always happen (personal experience))

Members (homeowners) should seek to resolve issues or questions with the office or a committee before bringing an issue to the Board. If the issue pertains to the CC&Rs, the PRM advises the homeowner to contact his Voting Member. When they do bring it to the Board first, they should be directed to the office or to a committee. Only if they aren't satisfied, should they then bring it to the Board.

When a member of the audience raises a question, s/he should do so clearly and succinctly within a specified time restraint (two minutes? three minutes?). They should not be allowed to drone on and on for ten minutes. The Board President should appoint a time-keeper (cell phones have stopwatches).

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