Annual meeting at a restaurant. Pros and Cons

Sounds like your new board simply wants a free meal.

If your budget is set properly and your reserves are fully funded, sure - go ahead and have a party. Skip the meeting part.
However, if your reserves are not fully funded and there aren't funds slotted for parties in your budget I think it would be unwise to use the funds for a party.

My current association would hold a lunchen with our meetings. Did so for the past 20+ years.
Thinking that this was a lot of work and money and we couldn't reach our quorum, we did a survey of the membership.

Survey, with a 39.7 % participation, showed that food made no difference in attendance numbers.
In fact, there were a few comments that it was preferred to separate meetings and social functions.

Do you have a clubhouse? If so, why not hold the meeting there and perhaps consider if you could also have remote access for people who can't attend in person.

We tried serving pizza one year and that didn't do anything to increase attendance. Annual meetings usually don't that long anyway, other than holding board elections, reviewing the past year, providing an annual report on the finances, and having an owner's forum. If you want to feed people, stick with coffee and cookies - when that runs out, the gluttons will leave anyway. You could also consider having a drawing for a gift card (winners must be present). Two or three $50 or $100 gift cards, plus coffee and cookies would be a lot less than $1000

The crazies may show up regardless of where the meeting's held, and if there's food, you might not want them to have something they can hurl if they get really ticked off. The key is for the president to preside and let everyone know up front that certain behavior won't be tolerated (cursing, slurs of any type, physical or verbal threats, firearms {another conversation in itself}), etc. A code of conduct should be part of every meeting, annual, regular board meeting, etc.

The owner's forum should have a time limit to ensure everyone has a chance, perhaps 2 minutes each. After you speak your piece, sit down and be quiet so everyone else has a chance before you speak again - and raise your hand before butting in. It's best to limit the forum to 15 minutes or so because this is supposed to be a business meeting and no one has the time or patience for a bitching session.

The board doesn't even have to decide on the spot about whatever people come up with - if something requires research, say so, and follow up as soon as you can (definitely by the next meeting, whenever possible). If they want X to be done, this is a good opportunity to ask THEM if they could volunteer to do some research on the subject for the board's consideration. You'd be surprised how fast the prospect of doing actual work as opposed to just running one's mouth results in silence!

I understand the bad blood that's come up between you and the new board members, but this is where you'll need to stay focused on the tasks at hand and ignore the personalities. Some newbies show out or try to because they're eager to make an impact (because they promised to do so when they ran for the spot). Or they're unable or unwilling to take the time to learn the details and nuances of overseeing the issues of your community - it's more interesting to walk around crowing "I'm a member of the XYZ board!" Sooner or later they will calm down or get bored and leave because things don't happen as fast as they want. If their behavior begins to get in the way of the board getting its work done because they'd rather harass you, ask for an executive session to clear the air and educate everyone on expectations for board member behavior (you are community leaders and should set an example).

They can't even grasp the Tax implications of breaking IRS rules and spending more than 10% of funding on non core services. Secretary said, so what just file a different tax form, never acknoledging the increased taxees and accountant fees will likely exceed $1000

Side note:

Most restaurants serve alcohol. Even if the Association isn't providing it, a patron of the restaurant could easily buy their own.

Alcohol at a meeting opens up a whole can of worms.

see:

Don't Brew Up Trouble at Your HOA Board Meetings from HOA Leader

From AI summary:

Reasons why restaurants might not be ideal:

Distractions:
Restaurants can be noisy and busy, making it hard for members to focus on important discussions.

Limited Space and Privacy:
Restaurants may not have enough space for all members to gather comfortably, and they lack the privacy needed for sensitive discussions.

Challenges with Documentation:
Recording minutes and managing attendance can be difficult in a restaurant setting.

Perception of Frivolity:
Holding meetings at restaurants could be seen as unprofessional and not taking the HOA's business seriously.

When a restaurant might be okay:>/b>

Annual Meetings on a Budget:
When financial constraints prevent renting a dedicated venue, a restaurant meal can be a more affordable option for an annual meeting.

Informal Gatherings:
For social events or informal gatherings related to the HOA, a restaurant might be appropriate.