Agenda Items for Annual HOA meeting

[Guest Frustrated Prez]

If a topic IS NOT on the published Agenda for an Annual HOA meeting, can a digressed topic be considered with an understanding by the HOA members as to a verbal agreement?

Here’s the item:  Special assessment for exterior repair of units.  Tabled until next meeting.  Digression topic:  we should all repair our own townhouses and not expect everyone to pay for a few unit repairs.  See Article —— in CC&Rs.  One owner says:  I’ll take care of mine.  Another says, I will too.  The language in CC&Rs is not clear.  Now one of the owners wants it stated in the minutes that it was agreed that owners would take care of their own repairs.

Frustrated Prez says only the item on the agenda can be discussed and agreed upon, not side discussions.

help please.

[Josh Martin]

10 minutes ago, Guest Frustrated Prez said:

If a topic IS NOT on the published Agenda for an Annual HOA meeting, can a digressed topic be considered with an understanding by the HOA members as to a verbal agreement?

Here’s the item:  Special assessment for exterior repair of units.  Tabled until next meeting.  Digression topic:  we should all repair our own townhouses and not expect everyone to pay for a few unit repairs.  See Article —— in CC&Rs.  One owner says:  I’ll take care of mine.  Another says, I will too.  The language in CC&Rs is not clear.  Now one of the owners wants it stated in the minutes that it was agreed that owners would take care of their own repairs.

Frustrated Prez says only the item on the agenda can be discussed and agreed upon, not side discussions.

I do not think that the "digression topic" of "we should all repair our own townhouses and not expect everyone to pay for a few unit repairs" was in order, but this has nothing to do with the agenda. So far as RONR is concerned, discussion should not be permitted without a motion pending. Motions which are not on the published agenda, however, are in order under New Business after all items listed on the agenda are completed.

If the organization has its own rules which limit consideration to topics on the agenda, the organization will need to interpret its own rules in this regard.

Edited April 8, 2021 at 06:40 PM by Josh Martin

[Guest Puzzling]

2 hours ago, Guest Frustrated Prez said:

If a topic IS NOT on the published Agenda for an Annual HOA meeting, can a digressed topic be considered with an understanding by the HOA members as to a verbal agreement?

Here’s the item:  Special assessment for exterior repair of units.  Tabled until next meeting.  Digression topic:  we should all repair our own townhouses and not expect everyone to pay for a few unit repairs.  See Article —— in CC&Rs.  One owner says:  I’ll take care of mine.  Another says, I will too.  The language in CC&Rs is not clear.  Now one of the owners wants it stated in the minutes that it was agreed that owners would take care of their own repairs.

Frustrated Prez says only the item on the agenda can be discussed and agreed upon, not side discussions.

help please.

Not sure what happened at your meeting.

Was there a main motion "to have a special Special assessment for exterior repair of units" and that was " Tabled until next meeting. "  in RONR terms "a secondary motion to postpone the main motion till the next meeting was adopted" 

And some members wanted let the assembly to know they were against the main motion? 

If this is what happened these members were to late, the motion was already postponed so the next agenda point / main motion is in order. These members should (and can) give their opinion the meeting.

 

[Josh Martin]

3 minutes ago, Guest Puzzling said:

Not sure what happened at your meeting.

Was there a main motion "to have a special Special assessment for exterior repair of units" and that was " Tabled until next meeting. "  in RONR terms "a secondary motion to postpone the main motion till the next meeting was adopted" 

And some members wanted let the assembly to know they were against the main motion? 

If this is what happened these members were to late, the motion was already postponed so the next agenda point / main motion is in order. These members should (and can) give their opinion the meeting.

I certainly agree that, to the extent that members were attempting to speak in debate on a motion which was no longer pending, this was not in order.

2 hours ago, Guest Frustrated Prez said:

Here’s the item:  Special assessment for exterior repair of units.  Tabled until next meeting.  Digression topic:  we should all repair our own townhouses and not expect everyone to pay for a few unit repairs.  See Article —— in CC&Rs.  One owner says:  I’ll take care of mine.  Another says, I will too.  The language in CC&Rs is not clear.  Now one of the owners wants it stated in the minutes that it was agreed that owners would take care of their own repairs.

I will add that I think the minutes should not say "that it was agreed that owners would take care of their own repairs." As I understand the facts, two owners said that they would pay for their own repairs, however, it does not appear that any motion was made and no vote was taken. So it does not seem to me that the assembly has agree to anything in this matter.

[Guest Puzzling]

51 minutes ago, Josh Martin said:

I will add that I think the minutes should not say "that it was agreed that owners would take care of their own repairs." As I understand the facts, two owners said that they would pay for their own repairs, however, it does not appear that any motion was made and no vote was taken. So it does not seem to me that the assembly has agree to anything in this matter

I agree as well.

If these members wanted have this I think the right procedure would be

- first a motion to reconsider the secondary motion to postpone the main motion "to have a special Special assessment"

- if this motion gets a majority for adoption

- then an amendment to replace the motion with "members should all repair their own townhouses and not expect everyone to pay for a few unit repairs"

And if this amendment gets adopted and then the amended main motion then it can be added to the minutes.

(I don't think the motion can be just stated as a new main motion while the old motion is still postponed because it goes directly against the postponed motion. But I need to check that) 

[Josh Martin]

1 hour ago, Guest Puzzling said:

I agree as well.

If these members wanted have this I think the right procedure would be

- first a motion to reconsider the secondary motion to postpone the main motion "to have a special Special assessment"

- if this motion gets a majority for adoption

- then an amendment to replace the motion with "members should all repair their own townhouses and not expect everyone to pay for a few unit repairs"

And if this amendment gets adopted and then the amended main motion then it can be added to the minutes.

(I don't think the motion can be just stated as a new main motion while the old motion is still postponed because it goes directly against the postponed motion. But I need to check that) 

Alternately, it would seem the motion to postpone the main motion to have a special assessment could simply be defeated, since it's not clear to me the "amendment" accomplishes anything other than to reject the main motion.

[Guest Puzzling]

11 hours ago, Josh Martin said:

Alternately, it would seem the motion to postpone the main motion to have a special assessment could simply be defeated, since it's not clear to me the "amendment" accomplishes anything other than to reject the main motion

No this would not get the motion "members should all repair their own townhouses and not expect everyone to pay for a few unit repairs" (a kind of policy statement in the minutes.(and that was for some members the goal)

While I do think it is a bad idea to have a policy that "members should all repair their own townhouses and not expect everyone to pay for a few unit repairs" and can lead to all kinds of trouble (including financial , construction and legal trouble,)  I just wanted to explain the right procedure to get it into the minutes.

I noticed that I haven't refer the original poster to the Homeowners protection bureau yet, have a look at the website of the homeowners protection bureau  www.hopb.co  for a look at the legal sides of the problem, and I guess even getting a legal advice is needed, especially if it also regulates structural regulates repairs on multi occupation houses. (What happens if the owner can or will not pay for the repair, do you really want the house to collapse? 

 

 

[RSW]

On 4/8/2021 at 3:52 PM, Josh Martin said:

I will add that I think the minutes should not say "that it was agreed that owners would take care of their own repairs." As I understand the facts, two owners said that they would pay for their own repairs, however, it does not appear that any motion was made and no vote was taken. So it does not seem to me that the assembly has agree to anything in this matter.

This is exactly what I was thinking, however if it keeps the peace in the assembly the chair could always decide to request unanimous consent to include in the minutes that Mr. X and Ms. Y believe they should pay for *their* own repairs, and/or to put that item on the agenda for the next meeting.

As I'm looking at this, I see two things:

• A proposed motion to take a special assessment for some repairs
• What *appears* to be a blanket objection that this should *never be done*

When the first item is taken up at the next meeting, the members in question should be allowed to speak as to why they feel the special assessment is a horrible idea. And *regardless of whether it passes or not*, the second item can be moved, seconded, and passed or failed in the way that it applies to all future motions of that nature. It would probably make the most sense for the second item to be in the form of something like an amendment to the bylaws if such a sweeping change is, in fact, the desired goal.

And honestly, I could see somebody voting in the affirmative on both motions. "Given the current expressed rules of our HOA, the special assessment makes sense. But I think that setting the expectation of the HOA not doing this anymore is the best way forward."

On 4/9/2021 at 6:44 AM, Guest Puzzling said:

I noticed that I haven't refer the original poster to the Homeowners protection bureau yet, have a look at the website of the homeowners protection bureau  www.hopb.co  for a look at the legal sides of the problem, and I guess even getting a legal advice is needed, especially if it also regulates structural regulates repairs on multi occupation houses. (What happens if the owner can or will not pay for the repair, do you really want the house to collapse? 

While being of the *procedural* opinion above, I also absolutely agree with this. It would be good to have a legal opinion on this situation before voting through a change that might potentially put the organization in opposition to the legal realities.

Edited April 10, 2021 at 02:28 PM by RSW