We are a not for profit California Corporation—recently had a general membership meeting with approximately 200 members attending and proxies, giving us a quorum. On the agenda, two capital improvement projects with members voting as a straw poll to indicate what direction the Club should pursue- The members present were told this was nothing but a “straw poll” in order for the Board to determine the feasibility of the project. After the vote (with approximately 20 votes separating the two issues) , the member proposing the project then stated she wanted to amend the motion and have the members vote for the actual money- this member stated that any member can bring a motion to the floor for voting and since the item had been on the agenda, that it was perfectly within Roberts Rules to move forward and ask for the funds. This produced considerable debate among the members whether this was legal or not under Roberts Rules and after some debate, was approved by a thin margin (10 votes separated the yeas and nays) even though many members had left after the straw vote. Can a member bring an item to the floor under the guise that the proposal is on the agenda even though it was supposed to be a "straw poll" It seems like a bait and switch tactic.
Is this legal under Roberts Rules?