How is your meeting agenda set?

I have been communicating via e-mail issues and concerns that I believe should be on the agenda for our next Board meeting. I communicate this only to the other Board members. Since KS law requires our business be conducted in open meetings, I was not surprised that I received no responses from the other Board members. I did not ask questions, only made statements.

Our next meeting is this coming Monday. I sent a request to our Board president if she wanted our items for the agenda. She replied that the agenda was already set and put on the web site. There are no new items on the agenda, only a review of the previous meeting's minutes and as required a vote on our 4 standing committees.

I questioned this and her response is that any new items can be brought up at the meeting. But, we already had one issue, the mowing of the lot I mentioned earlier. This is not even on the agenda though we received feedback about it at the Annual Meeting in November.

Yes, our documents state to follow RR. But, my belief is that professional courtesy as well as the Board fulfilling our responsibilities to the membership would require the president to ask in advance what items should be on the agenda. My reasoning for this is that when people see issues that will be discussed it would encourage them to attend and offer feedback to the Board. Input is important IMO. And I think this is within RR. It just seems to be common sense to me especially if we are trying to be transparent.

Can you give me feedback on how your Boards establish an agenda, i.e. who gives input etc.

Thanks.

Frank

Typically, it's the responsibility of the President to set the agenda for any meeting. I would send out an agenda with my items and ask the Board to make suggestions for additional items. Once done, it would be sent to the management company for the Board packet, I would post to the website and email blast to the owners whose email we had and the permission to send these notices.

In California, for items to be discussed and action taken, it must be on the agenda, otherwise, nothing can be done. This goes for old business as well as new business, unless an emergency can be justified. Doesn't mean that a homeowner couldn't bring up the topic and then the Board could discuss, but was still unable to take action.

The reason for only allowing items stated on the agenda to be heard is so that the owners have an opportunity to hear and possibly discuss something they know beforehand is being discussed. Nothing of interest, continue watching the football game.

Melissa,

I am a Board member trying to help the process, not hinder it. I welcome e-mails that help me in my role. Or other forms of communication as well. When I grow tired of it, I will not be on the Board. If as a co-Board member of yours you treated me as what you wrote, well we would have some friction for sure

I thought this is a site where Community Leaders help other Community Leaders????????

I agree. This is how it should be done.

In our association desired agenda items for the following week's board meeting are required to be submitted by board members to the general manager's executive assistant by the prior Thursday. The board packet, containing the agenda and all documents and materials for the agenda items is distributed to the board members on Friday for the meeting to take place on the following Wednesday. A copy of the board packet is made available to all association members at the clubhouse front desk at the same time.

I am not aware of any case where an agenda item desired by any board member was not included on the agenda. In addition, at the end of the meeting the President calls on each board member to offer a report. Any topic not on the agenda can be brought up at that time although no vote or action on it can take place then.

Hate the no edit.

If you followed other linked videos, one showed people shouting/talking over each other. Right or wrong, this does not get things done. Procedures and order get things done.

I am one of the first to agree many BOD's use R&R's wrong and in many cases, illegally.

Won't go into a recent change, but for years we used the approach that Richard discusses. IMO, it's the best approach. Open meeting agenda items also must be posted (in our mailrooms in our case) 4 days in advance of the meeting, which gives h'owners ample time to see if they'd like to attend.

We've been using the same agenda since before I moved to the community, so I don't know its history. Generally if someone wants to bring something up, we address it after reviewing the management report. If the item's already part of the management report, additional information can be presented at that time. Our presidents did set the agenda in the past, but the current one seems content to follow the current format.

At one time, we would print copies of the agenda so those attending the meeting could see it, but people rarely show up and leave after the resident's forum, so we stopped. We don't have a website so we can't post the agenda in advance.

You make a great point about increasing attendance if people knew in advance what would be discussed - I'll bring that to our own meeting next week (another reason we really should consider establishing a website!) Even if people don't show up, we could always ask people to send written comments and questions on the subject so those could be addressed as well.

Frank,

Since there is no requirement for us that the agenda be posted to the members prior to the meeting this does give us some latitude. Our process is:

1) President sends draft agenda a few days prior to the meeting to all Board members.
2) Board members respond with anything that needs to be added (new business) or was forgotten (old business)
3) President sends final agenda the evening prior to the meeting

All Board members and any members attending the meeting may bring up additional issues that were not on the agenda at the meeting during the open forum.

Just like Congress, they do not represent the people who elected them!

You get an AMEN from me.

Remember, baby steps. Change is not easy, but the next time it becomes easier, and the time afterwards easier. Having the support of owners...PRICELESS

Should say "Issues ought to be discussed."

Frank

First let me say "you're welcome".

I am not a parliamentarian. I conduct meetings pretty much on what I have been taught and also what I believe common sense. I have been President of my HOA, but have also sat on a Government Neighborhood Council, which the rules are much closer to how Congress would operate.

In California, before a item can be discussed in open session it has to be on the agenda, either as old business or new business. If not, one way to discuss is if it's an emergency, or if immediate action is needed and 2/3 of the "members present" not board members, and it was determined that it came up after the agenda was properly noticed and posted. Another way is to have the homeowner bring the topic up in open session during their "open forum" segment.

All of our agendas and ones that I prepare show an action line below the topic, for instance, Gate Operation Repair Contract, a motion, a second and a vote are needed to approve a new gate vendor.

For the neighborhood council, we would make a motion and a second and the action required to discuss a topic that was already on the agenda. We are not allowed by law to discuss anything on our own unless it was already on the agenda. We have a stakeholder session and the residents in the community can bring up any topic they want and at that time, the council can discuss, but take no action, other than to make a motion to aggrandized to a future meeting.

Setting an agenda, in the name of professionalism and transparency, should crafted, with a agenda items solicited a few days in advance. Creating a business agenda on-the-fly discourages attendance at public meetings because the agenda looks blank upon a resident preview of pending business.

Frank, as a board director, is presenting business to the sitting president - the agenda's author or facilitator - prior to the printing deadline, it appears. Therefore, he should receive the privilege of having the item on the business meeting agenda so he - Frank - can discuss. There's no guarantee his board colleagues will do anything more than listen quietly.

Frank's board and president are intellectually ripping off residents by presenting blank agendas for meetings that will guided, blatantly, by a mental or verbal agenda. For my vantage point, Frank's board must be terribly inefficient or awfully knee-jerk in how it handles its business given there is no agenda authorship or pre-planning for the conducting of HOA business (which differs from "conducting business" outside the HOA meeting).

Kelly,

Great information, thank you!

All of the following is my opinion....

We have an official HOA; however, because of Class B voting privileges the developers can still retain control. IMO, and most others in the community, the agendas are just symptomatic of how the developers tried to retain control to their advantage by not being very transparent. They do not want participation, it has not worked to their advantage to have participation.

The Board is using the requirement of a second motion just to be able to limit discussion. My belief is that if reviewed this would look like a failure of the Board to fulfill our responsibilities to the community. Issues need to be discussed just to see if a motion ought to be made to set a course of action. As stated below I will circumvent this by bringing up the issues in the Members Comment section and let the membership know why I am bringing up issues then. I have informed the Board of this and hopefully they will see the reasonableness of adjusting course.

A small group of us has made a huge difference. The developers sent 3 families a legal letter back in 2011 threatening to sue us. We ignored it and were advised it was an attempt to legally scare us.

Then the county sheriff was invited to sit on our Board and showed up in full dress uniform on the first night. I waited until he did not attend the next 3 meetings and contacted him to inform him of his required responsibilities and asked that he meet with a group of us. He promptly resigned and the County Attorney was advised in writing that some of us saw this as nothing but an attempt to intimidate us.

Then most recently after our DRC (controlled by the developer and friends) approved a fence variance in a questionable manner (has caused the DRC to be required by the new Board to write clear policies and procedures, and you guessed who brought this motion forward this past Monday and they were all wise enough, or at least legally advised, to pass it.) for a neighbor that caused Law enforcement to have to be called out and ending up in a small claims dispute that was dismissed have all caused some legitimate concern about remaining lots not selling and decreased property values.

At Monday's meeting one of the developers, who sits on the Board, actually stated that it may be arrogant but he does not think their Horse Arena connected to our development (but excluded from the CCRs) should be required to pay anything for access to the Common Areas, which include 5 miles of horse riding trails. The CCRs grant them access like all other properties, but not for free. The CCRs expressly authorize user fees for access to the Common Areas. I believe we are required to follow the CCRs whether or not the developers' opinion is that since they developed the property they should not have to pay. They should have made sure the CCRs stated that then.

It has been a tough course and we have had great legal advice which continues today. I hope to be able to protect our property without having to resort to legal action, but that is looking less likely. We will continue to nudge the Board to do what our CCRs require, and to do it in a fair and consistent manner.

Thanks again Kelly!

Frank,

Isn't it a great feeling when you realize that you're not in the fight alone.

Frank,
As an HOA board member myself, it is very easy to only hear and or think of who is against us or might be. After all, this forum is plenty proof of just how BOD's are thought of. As this one member showed you, and I have found as well, that as you stay on course, and your convictions, ideas and suggestions are well thought out, and come from honesty, you will gain the respect and trust from more of your members.

My sister suggested that to me a few months ago when I was pulling my hair out over a few important issues. I had asked her what could be done so the members would know that I am just as concerned about the whole of the HOA as they are, and she said it will happen naturally and organically as long as we stay on course etc.

We just had another special meeting concerning those issues and it went very well, oh sure we had the obligatory nay sayer, but more importantly, I didn't feel any fingers being pointed at us on the board like we have in the past. So as questions rose, there were members answering the question right along with us. It was very positive.

So keep at it and as Tim said, we are not alone, and with stronger communication, and respect for every homeowner regardless of their accusatory tones and comments or even late payments for dues, they will eventually rise along with us.