Swim Team More Important Than Residents

Randall - we've had previous discussions about swim clubs closing and using HOA pools. Do a search for "swim club".
How was this 50% dues increase effected? Your documents probably does not allow that much of an increase without a special vote from the members. Sounds like the new dues makes membership for the pool and tennis courts mandatory. Again, how could they do this without a vote? What per cent of your owners belonged to and paid into this pool/tennis club? Does this swim club pay anything toward chemicals or maintenance? Do they provide their own insurance and hold your HOA harmless? I would be screaming loudly - especially now if I am forced to pay for the pool and be told I can't use it at certain times. You need to start canvassing the owners and get that 75% for a new election. Harold

Hi Randal:

I don't think that screaming will do the trick...but a petition from members, requesting that these hours be "open swimming hours" would be in order, as well as the investigation into the Swim Club's payment of costs, insurance, etc. It would make sense, if the swim club is using the pool, that they not only pay for the cost of the chemicals but a proportionate amount of the "wear & tear" on the equipment.

While it's understandable that the swim club might use the pool if they are paying a reasonable amount of rent and paying their own insurance, I'm not sure that the 5-7 PM hours aren't an optimal time for moms & dads to send kids to the pool, as well as for adults coming home from work to want to swim (cool off &/or excercise) before dinner.

A written petition, signed by members who would want to use the pool during those hours, and who would want to make sure that the swim club paid a fair share and their own insurance, would go a long ways toward helping the board to understand the problem. If they chose to ignore the petition, then there would be a core of people with the energy to pursue the 75% petition to remove board members... The best solution would be to get people to be as reasonable as possible in this situation.

JPM

Everyone seems to agree the swim club should pay it's way for use of HOA property. And doing their practice when the pool is not open (and has never been open those hours - not the manufactured closing hours Randal's HOA made.)
But I'm surprised no one is concerned about the arbitrary making the pool/tennis membership mandatory and/or the doubling of dues. Unless done and approved properly, this is not allowed in any CC&Rs I've seen. Harold

Our HOA has always been voluntary (dumb idea 20 years later). When I moved here in 2001 dues were $60/yr, last year they were up to $130/yr. If you wanted to use the pool/tennis then you had to come up with an additional $300/yr. Even when voluntary only ~220 out of 263 ever paid their dues. Last years Board attempted to revise the covenants to make dues mandatory. Over a year later they're still trying to get the 132 signatures necessary. Threat of legal action by some residents caused them to write in a clause exempting current residents from having to pay mandatory dues if it did pass. So mandatory dues (if it does ever pass) will only impact future residents. Our covenants and bylaws are so generic that they're essentially worthless, and the Board doesn't want them changed.

The 2007 dues of $215 were approved by a simple majority at the annual meeting in January. There were only about 40 households present and about 60 proxies in play. (That's a big turnout for our HOA) The Board presented the $215 as being a "balanced budget" and any attempt to discuss the fuzzy math was quickly squelched.
Their balanced budget assumed that we'd somehow magically jump to having 250 household start paying their dues since it now included the pool/tennis! There's already talk of how they're planning on raising the dues next year.

Pool has always been a point of contention in the neighborhood. When everyone had kids it was a great thing. Now that most of the kids have gone off to college, many of those same parents no longer want their money going to fund it. For many it's "out of sight, out of mind" which is why it's hard to mount a challenge to whatever goes on down there. In any given year only about 70 households have ever joined the pool. Less than 40 of the 125 swimmers are even from our neighborhood! Last year there was not a single resident on the swim teams governing committee! (This year they're going to put the wife of one of the Board members on it.)

We used to collect $65 from each swimmer whose family was not a member of the HOA or had not purchased an out of neighborhood associate membership ($300). If you did purchase an associate membership then the $65 was applied towards the $300 fee. Any attempt to raise the "contribution" has always been shot down by the Board members that keep the swim team afloat.

The swim team has busted the sewer pump controller twice (~$1000 repair each time) and each time the Board has opted to cover the repair costs for them. We purchased 4 new sets of pool furniture last year for about $5K and the furniture already looks 5 years old. The furniture gets dragged across the concrete 4x per day, the umbrellas get thrown up against the fence and snag on the barbed wire outriggers, etc., etc., etc. We updated our electrical panel to try and provide more electricity for the swim meets but we still have to rent light generators because our electrical system still can't handle the load. Who ends up paying for it? The Association! The swim team certainly can't be held accountable for any damage or expenses, after all they're just children! The Association even gives them seed money each year to cover start up expenses until they can collect all their fees. They are supposed to reimburse us but last year fell short by $600. That amount was still due as of January but my bet is that it will be "forgiven" or buried in the books.

As for insurance, the swim team only pays for "special event" insurance when they hold their 2-3 swim meets each year and that only started last year. We found out from our insurance carrier last year that if there had ever been any accidents at the special events then we would have been liable. I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that the Board didn't feel we should pay for that too. I think this year the Board is also going to start picking up the tab for the 2-3 porta-potties that they're having to bring in for the swim meets. The swim team has a real sweet deal going for them as long as they continue to control the Board. If they can't pay their own way and operate like all the other teams in the area and practice in the mornings, then it's time to resort to some more drastic means to put an end to this insanity once and for all. Our only source of income to offset the deficit we're facing is to sell more Associate memberships and closing our pool during the evenings certainly is not a selling point, especially with two other local neighborhoods also selling associate memberships for the same price.

More suggestions and options please!!!! Apologize for the lengthy dissertation but those of us that want our pool back are at wits end!

Randal said "So mandatory dues (if it does ever pass) will only impact future residents." Changing from a voluntary association to a mandatory association requires 100% approval of all owners. Trying this "grandfathering" bit won't work. They simply cannot place such a deed restriction on your property without your consent.

The other thing I found interesting about the majority requirement for passing the revised covenants is that it only requires a 50.1% majority. For the homeowners to call a special meeting (such as to recall the Board), it takes a 75% majority of the homeowners just to get such a meeting called!

Roger - here is a direct quote from a post by you on 3/19 on another thread:
"A competent HOA attorney will be used to provide an answer that key question. As stated in my first post "I believe it may take ALL owners signing a document, and possibly having their signature notorized." However, every owner did agree to abide with the Covenants and amendments to them when they purchased their property, so it may only require amending the Covenants. And amending the Covenants does not take approval of every owner (some takes a few as a simple majority of all owners)."
You first confirm my statement that YOU indeed believe it will take all owners to sign a document (to convert from voluntary to mandatory)- not only signed but notarized. Then you state the voluntary HOA can change the covenants because every owner did agree to abide .... when they purchased their home. HUH? What kind of agreement would I have signed when buying into an area with a voluntary HOA that would make me subject to the whims of 50.1% of my neighbors which would allow them to file deed restrictions on my property? You also frequently assert that a voluntary association is nothing more than a social club. If you truly believe a simple majority in a voluntary HOA has the power to subject every member to mandatory membership, why is there such a brouhaha and the need for "A competent HOA attorney?" Just do it. I don't think you can without 100% approval of all owners. Harold