What if there is no enough room capacity for an annual meeting

POA 56 lots. The last few annual meeting have had 60+ attendances. In case one is wondering why more attendance than lots: About half the lots are represented in-person and of the lots represented in-person, most to all have couples/spouse and some children.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, the first scheduled 2023 annual meeting was canceled an hour before it was to start. For reference: https://www.hoatalk.com/Forum/tabid/55/forumid/1/postid/345712/view/topic/Default.aspx

The first re-do attempt is scheduled for March 21. The venue is a library meeting room that has a maximum capacity of 40 people, and per the library's policy, they strictly enforce that limit.

It is anyone's guess if more or less will attend than normal. So, I think it is unwise to book a room that's maximum capacity is 67% of what the last few meeting have drawn.

If more than 40 show-up, someone will have to be denied entry. I would think denying members the ability to vote and participate would carry a lot of weight if anyone brought suit over the meeting.

What would be the recourse if more than 40 people show-up and therefore some members are denied entry?

Oh, come on- surely you know the answer to this. If more than 40 show up, and you know tbe room limit is enforced, some people won't be able to attend in person. That's why the board should make provisions for virtual attendance and tell people space is limited. Of course tge real question is whether this makes a quorum according to your documents. If so, at least part of what you've talked about in previous conversations will be addressed.

Have you asked if virtual attendance will be an option? If not, why not - unless you're just complaining again with no intention of doing anything. By the way,, you do know larger rooms may already be booked or are too expensive, don't you? Have you suggested other places that have enough parking? If not, why not?

It's true this board may not be interested in anyone showing up so they can pack the room with their supporters and get reelected, so if you want to change things (or your relative or whoever you know lives in this neighborhood), you need to make it as difficult as possible for them to do an end run around everyone else. So use your noggin for a change- what do YOU think the recourse should be and what are you willing to do to make it so

Hi. That's great to hear that so many people want to attend the meetings.

It's not fair to be turning people away - so consider these 2 options.

1) Host hybrid meetings. Members can still vote and ask questions using a virtual meeting platform like Condo Control https://www.condocontrol.com/feature/virtual-meeting-agm/.

2) Secure a larger venue. While you can't know for sure how many people will attend, plan for more than less. If the room is only 70% capacity, so be it. You may ask members if they plan to attend in person (and bring spouses/children) ahead of the meeting so you have a better idea about attendance numbers.

Our clubhouse only held 40 people but we knew based on the past that there would be approximately 60 people attending. We set up a large tent with chairs and speakers on the outside of the building so that they could hear everything being discussed in the meeting. Nobody ever complained. We also had a volunteer out in the tent collecting questions to bring us during the question and answer period at the end.

This is good advice. Thank you.

Thanks for the advise. I am not sure what will happen. A not on the Board's attitude: I pointed out the new meeting notice has no agenda/meeting purpose listed and that a agenda/meeting purpose needs to be part of the notice per law. The response was a refusal stating that the agenda for the original meeting was already sent before the canceled meeting. There is no burden to copy it to the new meeting notice and I would think most legal bodies would conclude that the original agenda, which stated a different time and a different place and was for a meeting that was canceled is not proper notice for the new meeting.

As a manager, I would file this nonsense in the round file under my desk.

I think everything just ended. In a subdivision wide email, the Godwin's Law was just invoked.

If memory serves, Godwin's Law means the longer an online conversation goes, the more likely someone will say something about Hitler and/or the Nazis, so I don't know what you meant in your last post regarding the community-wide email. Why so cryptic?

Now regarding this annual meeting, there are a few gaps. Why would there be a vote on the management company during the annual meeting - aren't annuals usually reserved for recapping the last year, announcing plans for this year, a resident forum, and board elections (such as they are in your community - excuse me, your relative's community)? What prompted all the screaming and shouting that caused the cops to show up? What does the ex-basketball player's status have to do with him yelling at anyone - did they throw hands too?

It does look like this community may have to find another place to meet thanks to all this confusion - if you know of a place, now's the time to speak up. But first, everyone needs to calm down, take a few deep breaths and consider what did happen at the meeting. Personally, I'd let the votes taken prior to the cops breaking up the meeting stand, but the board is probably saying it doesn't because the meeting wasn't adjourned properly.

So what happens now? Well, you may need yet another meeting and maybe this time the association attorney needs to run it because clearly, your board is incapable of doing so. Yes, someone can sue and it'll probably come to that, but who will that be? So far, all you've done is complain - I haven't seen where you tried writing some of the letters ElleN has suggested or anything else others have suggested (I don't care if you don't take any of mine because I don't live in your community), so we don't know if something's worked or not.

In a time limited meeting of 1 hour and 20 minutes, running short on time at ~15 more minutes to go, one of the board members, who was appointed after losing 3 elections last year - so not elected, requested something immaterial be added to last years annual meeting minutes. The current board was going on and on about it - they were clearly wasting time as they had been over trivial matters most of the meeting to that point. Then, last year's President, from the floor, made comments about the comment to be added to the minutes. She did so in a factual and peaceful manner. The spouse of the appointed board member asking for the comment to be added, the basketball player - my point on that was the size difference between him and the lady, starting yelling at previous board president, which quickly followed by him stating something along the lines, "I am going to knock your block off" at which point the past board president's husband came to her rescue shouting for the threatening person to sit down. The meeting chair then gaveled to state "this meeting is adjourned" which per Robert's Rules, which our association is to follow per its by-laws, states that adjournment is a privileged motion that a chair can do and which does not need to be seconded, nor voted, in cases of emergency, which I assume a room clearing, followed by constables investigating, would be.

"Approval to hire a management company" in a yes/no vote.

No, the by-laws are silent to that exact authority but an early draft of the current by-laws stated the board could hire one at its decision, but that clause was removed or the by-laws would not win approval.

The by-laws do limit the board to $5,000 in expenditures without association vote approval hence why the vote was requested just as it was last year when it was approved to hire a specific company at a specific price. That company was run off twice in its full management contract and recently, for third time, in an accounting only contract.

Someone at the 'run-off' management company must be pretty desperate if they are in contention for a contract with your association after having been fired three times.

That company was mistreated by the board - as I understand it, a board member even sent a home-made cease and desist letter to the management company after the management company gave the reason it left to the whole board. That company likely wishes it never heard of our association - to return is something it would not consider.