Board Meeting on Wednesday, 8/1

The regular monthly Board meeting for July that was canceled at the last minute due to a lack of quorum will now be held this Wednesday (8/1) instead. The meeting will be from 6pm to 8pm and will take place in the Doyle Recreation Center. Likely agenda items still include the selection of a new management company, as well as the recall election. Any owners that are planning to attend the Board meeting may want to take a look first at the Board’s recent description of the rules of conduct for homeowner input.

In other news, the paving job should be entering its final stage with the last work to be performed starting tomorrow (7/31) and ending next week Wedneday (8/8). The parking spaces will have to be empty, so take a look at the work schedule posted in the carports to make sure you empty your spaces on the correct days.

July Board Meeting Postponed

The regular monthly Board meeting that was scheduled for this Wednesday, July 18, has been postponed till a later date.

On the Money Matters page, we have added the annual State of the HOA notice that was sent to the owners last April. It contains the following information (quoted from the cover letter):

• A detailed budget for the Playmor Terrace Condominium Association for fiscal year 2007-08, which was approved by the Board of Directors.
• A copy of the Association’s Collection Policy.
• A summary of the latest Reserve Study. A copy of the complete study is available by contacting
  A. McKibbin & Co. at 858.55I.1885.
• The insurance Declarations Statement.
• A summary of the Internal and Alternative Dispute Resolution.

Special Board Meeting Report

The only public agenda item at Wednesday’s Board meeting was the status of the West Pool. The pool maintenance company has informed the HOA that one of its two pumps (needed to filter the water) has failed and needs to be replaced. They actually recommended to replace both pumps at once with more efficient models (1hp vs the current 2hp ones). The cost for this work will be a bit less than $1,600.

At the meeting, director Marius Ardeleanu pointed out that another pool maintenance company had sent him a somewhat lower bid for the same work, so it would make sense to shop around. However, the discussion was cut short by director Sam Goldberg, who motioned to approve the bid from the current pool maintenance company. President Marilyn Dupree and director Cathy McVey supported his motion. The Board then went into executive session to discuss the issues involving potential lawsuits.

Given the Association’s current financial problems, one wonders why the majority of the Board is not interested in saving money.

! AMcKibbin&Co Resigning & Board Recall Initiative !

There have been two major developments in the last few days:

1. Our management company, AMcKibbin & Co, has announced through its property manager Sean DeFreitas that it is resigning: “Management will continue to operate under its contract until our last day of employment, which will be Friday, August 31, 2007 per our resignation letter.” There appears to be a connection to a request for more documentation of the HOA’s transactions by new board member Marius Ardeleanu. The Board is presumably investigating other management companies right now. Presumably this issue will come up for discussion at the regular monthly Board meeting that will be held on Wednesday July 18.
2. A group of fifteen concerned Playmor Terrace homeowners is calling for a recall of the entire Board. In a letter mailed to the association’s members (full letter here), they express great concern over the status of the reserves — the assets total less than $175,000 — and the fact that the results of the recent elections were skewed due to a number of voided proxies. Finally, they also propose that the Bylaws be changed to impose term limits on Board directors.

We promise to keep you posted as we find out more about these two developments. Meanwhile, you can post comments for this post or on the Buzz page.

Special Board Meeting Wednesday July 11

There is going to be a special Board meeting next Wednesday (July 11) at 5:30pm at the East Pool. There are only two agenda items:

• Apparently urgent (and presumably costly) repairs that are needed for the West Pool.
• In executive session: two issues that involve (potential) litigation.

Due to the nature of special meetings, only items that are on the agenda can be discussed. Any other issues will have to wait for the regular Board meeting of July 18.

Insider’s View on Board Meetings

Marius Ardeleanu posted an interesting message on the Buzz page a few days ago with the first report of his experiences as a new Board member. It is obvious that there are major differences in opinion between Marius and the other directors as to how issues should be discussed. Here is an excerpt:

During the executive session, as a dissident board member, I do not get much time. When I try to make the case for a reasonable solution or argue against one that’s visibly undue or predetermined, someone will make a motion to end the debate and force a vote on the issue, then the rest of the board will vote “aye” in block, and that’s the end of it. It’s really the dictatorship of the majority from what I can tell.

Board business is done with an eye on the clock. When time is up, tough luck, the board has to go home no matter how many issues may remain unresolved, half-baked, or impulsively decided.

The full post is recommended reading if you are interested in how the Board does business. Marius also mentions that he has requested more documentation from the management company about all expenditures.

The next Board meeting, on July 18 at 6pm, may become quite interesting.