Sunland Division 17 Homeowners Association
Board of Directors Organizational Meeting Aug 7, 2013
Location: Small Meeting Room above Sunland’s “The Gathering Place”
(Approved September 3, 2013)
Call to Order.
Per the Sunland Division 17 bylaws, and as announced at the division’s annual meeting the previous day, outgoing President Jim Karr called to order the required organizational meeting of the newly elected 2013-2014 board members, at 9:00 AM.
Roll Call and Quorum.
In attendance were, in alphabetical order, Judy Field, Susan Hamman, Jim Karr, and Cindy Rhodes, all newly elected directors for the 2013-2014 term. The chair confirmed a quorum, with no members absent.
Purpose.
The chair stated the purpose of the meeting was to determine which board members will fill each of the four board offices (President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary); to apportion the anticipated board duties logically and equitably among the board members; and to familiarize the new board members with the full range of board activity to be dealt with this year.
Officers:
Following meeting discussion, and by consensus, the board agreed that officers for the 2013-2014 year would be:
President: Jim Karr
Vice-president: Susan Hamman
Treasurer: Cindy Rhodes
Secretary: Judy Field
Duties:
The chair distributed a two-page handout listing a range of board duties, organized by broad category. Following discussion, the group agreed to an initial allocation of duties by those same categories, with several exceptions incorporated below:
President (Jim Karr): Chair board meetings; plan and prepare board and annual meeting agendas and procedures; prepare and distribute board meeting packets; serve as primary point of contact with association committee chairs, including landscape, open space, repairs & maintenance, exterior change, governing documents, and grievance committees ; and serve as point of contact for escrow, mortgage, and associated matters that cannot be handled by accountant; signature authority for checks, bank accounts, CAU insurance policy, and so on.
Vice President (Susan Hamman): Fill the duties of the president in his absence, including the chairing of board meetings; work with the president in resolving individual homeowner issues, complaints or questions; coordinate preparation and distribution of the association’s quarterly newsletter; and oversee the association’s Web site, including working with the association’s contracted web service (Sue Forde) to make revisions and improvements as necessary and provide new and revised material. Susan also agreed to serve as archivist/records manager to help organize, maintain and provide required owner access to the association’s official records such as meeting minutes, correspondence, and other documents and records. [Note: Much of this is accomplished through regular website postings and updates.]
Treasurer (Cindy Rhodes): Lead responsibility for the association’s financial matters including budget planning, reserve study, signing checks, preparing financial updates for board meetings, monitoring bank accounts, implementing investment decisions made by the board, and working with the association’s contracted accountant (Robin Reese) to complete tax filing and obtain permits and licenses; prepare an annual financial statement at the end of each calendar year. In addition, the Treasurer will oversee in December the preparation and mailing by the division’s contracted accounting service (Robin Reese) the annual assessment invoices and associated material.
Secretary (Judy Field): Maintain current roster of homeowner names, addresses, email addresses and related records, including a record of rental units and their tenants, updating monthly and coordinating these records with SLOA and the association’s contracted accountant (Robin Reese); take board meeting minutes, or arrange for a volunteer recorder to take minutes, working with that person to ensure accuracy of the draft minutes for distribution to board members for review and eventual adoption; handle logistics for board meetings, including the association’s annual meeting, reserving rooms, coordinating setup; preparing annual meeting and election packets for distribution to all members, and developing and monitoring election process, timeline and procedures. [NOTE: The office of secretary is often also charged with maintaining and providing access by homeowner members to the association’s formal records; however, in the case of Division 17, most of this is done through information posted on the association’s website, or will be handled in 2013-14 by the Vice President; see above.].
Unassigned duties: New water setter lead? In their review of duties, the board discussed the potential of establishing a new position to serve as liaison with the Sunland Water District on water setters and water meters, the installation of which is expected to extend into 2016 or 2017; no decision was made. [NOTE: Since the meeting, Lee Cox volunteered to continue to serve Division 17 as lead on the required installation of water setters, in collaboration with Sunland Water District.
Other Orientation
- Request for transition assistance. The chair agreed to contact retiring board members to solicit their assistance in helping the new board members assume their duties, and to request any other input and recommendations that would be helpful during the transition.
- Coordination of board contacts. The chair requested, when contacted individually on issues that could have wider significance, that board members also coordinate with him so that he is not blind-sided; and for help in determining the appropriateness of some requests, such as association distribution of a message or announcement community-wide.
- Operating Principles. The chair distributed draft operating principles, dated 7 August 2013, for consideration by the new board. Discussion followed, but no action was taken. The document will be summarized at the next board meeting to ensure that owners understand some of the operating frameworks in which the board operates.
- “Ten Things Every HOA Board Should Know.” Cindy Rhodes distributed a onepage handout from HOA-USA that provided pointers for new homeowner association board members.
- “Ten Things Every HOA Resident Should Know.” Cindy Rhodes distributed a second one-page handout providing pointers for HOA residents
- Insights From Robert’s Rules of Order, Inc. Meeting Minutes: Non-board member Barbara Brooner, “retiring” as volunteer recorder, distributed a two-page handout based on Robert’s Rules of Order. It summarized the defining characteristics of a deliberative body, the minimum requirements for meeting minutes, and some exceptions to normal meeting procedure that are acceptable for small boards.
Meeting Schedule.
By consensus, the board agreed to continue the established schedule of meeting the first Tuesday of every month, 9:00 – 11:30 AM, at Sunland’s “The Meeting Place.” Thus, the next meeting will be Tuesday, September 3. Cindy Rhodes reported that the meeting room has been reserved per that schedule for the balance of the year (2013), as a “Standing Reservation,” which can be renewed in December for the entire upcoming (2014) year.
Meeting Frequency.
At some later point in the year, if a meeting does not seem justified, notice will be placed on the Division 17 Web site. Such a decision will be made and announced at the close of each meeting that is held.
Board member expenditures.
The chair informed new board members that they are authorized to make board-related expenditures, and expenditures related to the committees that they chair, which will be reimbursed through the association’s contracted accountant (Robin Reese). Cindy Rhodes indicated that she developed a useful form for this purpose, which she will revise to include budget codes, so that expenditures can be better tracked for future planning purposes. Receipts should be attached to this form and sent to Robin Reese. Following practices accepted last year by the Board, modest expenditures can be made in the fulfillment of their official duties without specific board approval. Modest expenditure will be defined more precisely at the next board meeting.
Adjourned at 11:20 AM.
There being no objections, the meeting adjourned at 11:20 AM.
Minutes compiled by: Barbara Brooner, Volunteer Recorder