This is a copy of the agenda used for the annual meeting. You will have to double click on the image to read it.
The room arrangement was something I had asked for last year. The chairs were in a semicircle so everyone could see each other with the board in the middle. The room was very crowded when the large gathering that I expected arrived. More chairs had to be brought in. More copies of handouts had to be printed. I'll try not to go into great detail with my observations of the meeting because it lasted four hours and much dialogue took place.
The board had met for a great while at Richy's house on Saturday to prepare for the meeting. There was again no notice of the meeting. They had reviewed the questions
that I had posted on Monday and prepared some responses.
The first item on the agenda was not done. No quorum was established nor total votes reported. The best that I could find out was I held six proxies, Scott three, Randy one, Rob one and Betty one. One owner asked for a roll call of units to determine who was present and what proxies were held. That didn't get very far. No introductions of the owners or even the new owners was done. Richy spoke a few minutes and then Karra chaired the meeting. The largest ever crowd made it difficult to conduct business and there were many digressions an interjections.
Justin gave a property manager report, but the topic of Budget vs. Actual cost, as on the agenda, was not reported. The only conclusion was that we were over budget and the tennis court fence will not be done this year.
The outside GFI plugs will be replaced, a gasoline powered cart will be purchased, breakwater repairs will be done to restore it to original condition, and the finger piers will have improved tieups. This will be paid with a one time $160 assessment. The previous payment to Kinsel and Company to repair the breakwater will just be a loss. Scott and Rob will serve on a committee to seek a solution to the problems of channel maintenance.
The adopted budget will require $270 monthly dues. I noted some problems on the reimbursement in the present budget, but Karra said that the information supplied at the meeting was not up to date and a payment had been made from Phase II to Phase I. Alan(108) and I were appointed to serve on a finance review committee to review and monitor the association financial expenditures and records and report any problems we find. This was in lieu of the expense of a financial audit that was rejected by a vote of the council.
It was decided that we may be under insured for the present conditions of the condos. The board will begin work to amend the by-laws to allow for insurance to restore units to present condition rather than to original condition.
Scott(504) and Rob Mabe were elected by acclimation to serve on the board. Rob had sold his unit 407 some time ago, but in was announced that he was the new owner of 303.
Next year's meeting will be held on the second Saturday in November.
Now for the sidebars. It appears as if about 60 people logged on to this blog yesterday. That is a record number for one day. I can only guess they were looking for meeting notes, so here they are. Some owners felt not enough action items were voted on, but the mere presence of such a large crowd put the board in new territory. I thought the board was in a capitulation and damage control mode. There was a deluge of questions about communications, transparency, and accountability. The board agreed to provide minutes of this meeting within 30 days, allow owners to attend board meetings, and in general be more accessible and improve communications. It had been years since I had seen such a conciliatory attitude.
Karra said all the loans would be paid out in five years. As I recall the loans approved by the council were to have four year terms.
The question of what happened to the $25,000 assessment for building the 'L' to prevent shoaling in the channel was asked. The answer was that it was absorbed in ancillary costs. No details were provided. Phase II will meet next Sunday and perhaps they will be provided the details of where their part of the money went.
Karra commented that this blog has been a source of incorrect information. I should hope not. I told Justin long ago that if he saw anything that he deemed incorrect in this blog, that I would publish his response in its entirety verbatim. I will extend that offer to any board member too. Just send me an email and I will post it.
One new owner had driven in Sunday morning to find that he could not vote because he was one month behind on his dues. He said he offered to pay the board a whole year's worth of dues in check or cash to clear his account, but was told that the board does not accept money and he could not vote. I would think that if money were offered, the board would accept it.
The low light of the meeting, for me, came when the election of board members came up. We had been voting all day without question of who could vote. Suddenly Karra holds up a sheet of names of owners who had not yet paid Commercial Insurance Solutions for their insurance. She said only 47 owners could vote. Some members stated they had not received a bill. That may or may not be, but I had been to Johnson and Cate on Thursday and obtained a copy of delinquent dues and showed it to Karra. There was no mention of insurance delinquencies on it. She said the list was updated on Friday. The outstanding dues had been turned over to the HOA for collection. There were eight owners on the list who were to be denied a vote. As if rehearsed, one owner shouted,"I paid mine. They should pay theirs". That is not the point. Our declaration says the monies owed to the HOA have to be delinquent to deny a vote. The HOA had not paid the insurance company. They were not out the money. The owners had not been billed by the HOA. The declaration says owners are not delinquent until 10 days over due with payment to the HOA. The board meeting was on Saturday and the list of delinquencies was updated on Friday. So this means an individual told Johnson and Cate to update before the meeting in a blatant attempt to deny owners their vote.
I had anticipated such a move and read the pertinent clause from the declaration to the board, but it fell on deaf ears. Perhaps there was no other candidate for the board because those who could not vote would have to have been identified. This type of subterfuge has to stop. For the first time in years, the board did not have the prevailing votes at the meeting and this was an attempt to maintain what control they could.
Overall, I feel progress was made. I'm seeing good things I have not seen in years, perhaps this bus has turned the corner and we are off in new direction. Most owners just want to enjoy this place and not have to worry about what is happening that might impact them. When information is hard to come by, suspicions arise. I think a new openness will serve us all well.
I thought some newer owners distinguished themselves with pertinent comments and demonstrated leadership. Dustin Martinez(605) contributed some good ideas. Angela Koemel(108) interjected some cogent remarks and suggestions.