Sauna in Clubhouse

We are a community of 47 homes, in Arizona. We used to have a $10,000 sauna in our Clubhouse. A previous Board voted to dismantle it, without consulting any of the members. A few months later, a member of the Board removed the sauna equipment from the Clubhouse and donated it to his favorite charity. A number of us want to get the sauna back, but we don't know how to go about it. Any suggestions?

Why was the sauna dismantled? Old? liability concerns? Maintenance issues? Any decision should be in the old minutes.

If you have a group that wants a sauna, get construction bids, maintenace and liability coverage bids and approach the Board with your proposal.

Thanks for that.
According to Arizona law concerning HOAs, condominium owners have a vested interest in all common amenities, but members of a planned community do not. In the latter case, ownership of all common areas and amenities is vested in the Board.
So the Board had the right to dismantle it. If that's all that had happened, we could have had it re-installed. The problem is -- as you so point out -- that it is gone.
My feeling is that the individual who took the sauna equipment ought to either return it, or make financial restitution to the current Board.I'd be interested to know what other people think.

Apparently not. There is no record whatsoever of this in the Minutes.

Paul, you've gone right to the crux of the problem.
The sauna was here from the beginning -- one of the amenities of the community that the developer offered was a clubhouse complete with sauna, hot tub, kitchen, showers and pool. That's what I bought, three years ago.
If the Board owned the sauna, the Board had the right to dismantle it. But did the Board have the right to dispose of it? If so, the Board has the right -- without consultation with the members -- to fill in the swimming pool and turn it into a putting green. Or to tear down the Clubhouse and build a tennis court. That doesn't really make much sense, does it?

PaulM: Common area amenities aren't listed by name, but referred to overall as Common Areas. The docs state that "Ownership of the Common Areas is vested in the Association" which is charged with managing the "clubhouse, pool, spa and sauna" -- so I suppose this means that, in the guise of "managing" the sauna, the Board had the right to dismantle it. But but does "managing" an asset include also include the right to dispose of that asset?
Yes, everything is funded through dues and assessments.
In the section of the docs dealing with assessments, it says "If any common expense is caussed by the misconduct of any Owner, the Association may assess that expense exclusively against such Oswner's unit" -- does that mean the current Board could simply levy an assessment against the person who took the sauna?

Paul M: An examination of the Minutes reveals only that a decision was made to remove the sauna equipment and use the space as a closet. The equipment was functioning (I'd used the sauna three days before this decision was made) and the upkeep of the sauna was not a financial issue. It used electricity, but not much, and only when it was actually in use.
As to the "why" -- that is a fairly complicated issue. A couple of years ago (largely due to members' apathy) our Board was "taken over" by a person who was not actually on the board, but who (with the help of a friend who was on the board and has since moved away) took over so many jobs that the others on the board more or less did as they were told because this person had a temper and life was easier that way. Things deteriorated, a lot of money disappeared, people finally began to wake up and smell the coffee and last November, a new Board was elected. The person who had "taken over" the Board actively disliked a couple of the people who particularly enjoyed the sauna. So maybe that's why it was removed, to spite them. As for the person who actually took possession of the equipment after it had been removed, and subsequently donated it to charity, the motivation may have simply been a tax write-off. But it wasn't a question of funding. Or if it was, this does not appear in the Minutes. We do have a Capital Reserve Fund and although this year we are operating at a slight deficit (largely because of actions taken by previous boards) our dues have in past years provided enough money to cover our operating expenses, which include the maintenance of the clubhouse and its amenities. Whew!

Gail,

First of all, the fact that it was not in the minutes does not mean the board did not authorize this person to take the sauna and dispose of it as he wished. Not all secretaries take minutes efficiently!

Secondly, I would advise you to thoroughly research your gov. docs. to make certain whether or not the board has the authority to get rid of an amenity, such as the sauna. Also, can this be done without a vote of the members?

If the docs are silent on this, then I would suggest contacting an attorney if you feel it is worth the expense. How many members are upset about this? If it's only you, then, IMO, it's not worth the effort because the expense will fall solely on your shoulders. This is not a case for the OAH unless you find they did this in violation of the gov. docs.

Mary