Neighborhood Event liability

We have a Board that is trying to push all fiscal responsibility for neighborhood events on to one or two volunteers. We are an HOA of almost 600 homes. We have had three kinds of events over the years. Private parties that use the Clubhouse for a rental fee - user signs off for personal responsibility for damages and cleaning if they leave a mess. Casual gatherings with a few attendees if no one is using the Clubhouse - no rental agreement necessary. Neighborhood events HOA sanctioned and run by many resident volunteers. Now the current Board is not actually sanctioning ANY neighborhood events but if residents want to have a BBQ or other event as in the past, the Board asks the main volunteer in charge to sign off on the rental agreement. Then the Board promotes it. There is an Events committee which is HOA Board affiliated. They have even asked the chair of the Events Committee and the Board liaison for Events to sign off on an outdoor event! There has never been a problem with cleaning up. One resident wanted to have a neighborhood wide cooking event that has been in the past just as a summer BBQ. They gave her the rental agreement and said she had to sign it or no event. She showed it to a group of attorneys who advised, "Do not sign this as your HOA dues contribute to their insurance." We fee it is ridiculous to put fiscal responsibility on one or two residents when that resident(s) doesn't even know everyone and can't control everyone every minute. But we have never had a situation with damages or messes in the over ten years the HOA has existed. The BBQ is outside so the Clubhouse would be restricted to just using the fridge and residents using restroom so that is overzealous concern. Meanwhile, this Board made two very bad recent decisions that could harm residents' health. One is being fixed (they used non potable canal water to top off swimming pools) and the second issue they haven't even communicated to residents. The second issue is an electrical code violation throughout the neighborhood that could shock residents if outlets are used in wet conditions. We have alerted the Board on this issue and they have pushed it off to June. It's been a week and they have not communicated the danger to the residents. They are putting our HOA at severe liability while pushing full financial liability on to volunteer residents for public events.

I know you're upset, but you really need to write in smaller paragraphs - this was hard to read.

It's true the association's master insurance should cover damage to the common areas, and you can incorporate the cost into a rental fee for a private event being held at the clubhouse. Community-wide events sponsored by the association are another matter, so my first question is have you looked at the insurance policy? If not, get a copy.

It may be the current policy doesn't cover such events or coverage would require a rider to the policy and the cost of that is too expensive. Did the board discuss this with the Events Committee? Perhaps a formal policy concerning community-wide events has to be established to make the insurance company happy - did anyone talk to the insurance company and/or association attorney?

It's also possible the board doesn't want to bother with any community-wide events for another reason. Has there been problems in getting people to organize and coordinate community events - depending on what you're doing, they may not be as simple as you think. You may have to limit the type of events you can hold - for example, a community yard sale might be ok because people can walk around the neighborhood and go to the homes of people who are participating. Something like a movie night may be a little trickier (paying the studio a royalty for the movie, getting security to prevent outsiders from crashing the thing, etc).

You and your neighbors need to continue pressuring the board for answers and if they seem to be doing other things that aren't beneficial to the community, it may be time to consider a special meeting to sack this board via a recall or vote them out in the next election. You will of course, need people who are willing to step up and take over (and you may need to be one of them).

Our last board used to use the excuse of liability to deny all kinds of neighborhood events. They didn't want to have any "outsiders" in the clubhouse because they said the insurance wouldn't cover them for an accident. They didn't want to have a community event by the pool because people might bring their own alcohol. It went on and on. When I got on the board I spoke with our insurance agent about all of this. He said basically it was nonsense. Doesn't matter if it's a resident or an outsider, if there's an accident we have coverage. In reality, the last board simply didn't want events. They didn't like anyone using the clubhouse because they were concerned with wear and tear. It was just ridiculous.

Can you ask to have your insurance agency come to a board meeting so you can ask questions? Or submit written questions to have the insurance agent answer?

Either the board is doing this out of ignorance, or because the insurance coverage isn't right, or for another reason they haven't articulated.

Insurance policies for CICs do not generally cover "events." They may provide $5,000 of non-fault liability coverage for slips and falls that can help cover medical costs, but that's usually it. The rest of the coverage comes from an insurance carrier defending a lawsuit and potentially paying a settlement or jury award. Event insurance exists for a reason.

Regards,
Steve

Sorry I tend to be wordy as I find that sometimes when I post here, there are questions or responses that show that the person commenting did not read my post thoroughly.

I have asked to see the insurance policy. So far no one has provided me with a copy. This is not a surprise as communication is not this current board’s strong suit. (Complaining about any prior board’s communication has however been their strong suit. You get the picture.). I also had asked for a recording of April’s board meeting and have never received. The property manager told me he would put in the request but that it may be saved briefly and then deleted by the board. Minutes do not always accurately account for board meetings. I’ve seen discrepancies such as dues went up, several residents spoke against the increase and one resident spoke positively. Only the latter positive comment appeared in the Minutes. (Some of the board members complained about accountability of past boards. The minutes are also posted two months out now. I’ve taken minutes a few times last year and we posted within days or at the most two weeks.)

Our dues went up by 20 percent this year. It was necessary. But the “cost saving” measures of outlet covers and using canal water to top off swimming pools are going to cost the HOA thousands to rectify.

I’ve been on a past board and we put on a bbq last year. This was for residents and their guests. So I know first hand the work that goes into a neighborhood event. It wasn’t that hard. Our residents really came together. The current board doesn’t think it is their “job to entertain” as one member said. Either they are concerned about liability or they just don’t want to do the work. May be a combo of both. It’s a shame.

I’m surprised no one has commented on the canal water or non code electrical outlet covers which endanger residents. Talk about liability! Is there someone to report such negligence? It’s been over a month and no change to the covers. My understanding is board members are protected even for bad decisions. But if they have been alerted of a serious situation and fail to correct in a reasonable amount of time, can they be held legally accountable? The pools were drained and refilled with potable water. But I am starting to think they are hoping ppl forget about the covers. Holiday lights will be plugged in cone November and we are in a state with a wet Winter.