New president cancelled meeting

Or elections were held last month and new officers selected. At the meeting, the board voted to hold a special meeting to address two major $ issues- lake and landscaping. The date & time of the meeting were set and the president was to secure the location and notify us. She had the signs that would be put out in advance of the meeting, as required.

Instead, because she didn't want to have the meeting, she waited until a week before the scheduled meeting and sent an e-mail to the board saying that she thought we could cover the items in our regular board meeting. Another board member agreed, two others felt that there wouldn't be enough time, as we meet in a public building and have limited time. We would be hearing from the companies making their lake proposals and discussing the landscape contract and all of the problems we are having with the current vendor(over 1/2 of our total budget).

So the president just did what she wanted even though the board voted to hold the special meeting on a date certain, the info was posted on the website, with location TBA. Several residents called the day of the meeting to find out where it would be, but it never happened.

How would you address this? How can any one person on the board single handedly blow off a decision of the board? We would not have had a quorum if we had gone ahead and held the meeting.

There's that "M" word again - Meeting.

Was this a special BOARD meeting or HOMEOWNERS (MEMBERS) meeting?

Or was it a HEARING or Workshop?

Was there a motion and a vote to establish this meeting? Or was it a consensus to have a special meeting? (I find it unusual that a vote was taken to establish a meeting)

In any case, the Board can set its own SUPPLEMENTAL workshop meetings for any time, and with all members agreeing, change it at will. This meeting IS NOT the same as a regularly scheduled Board meeting. More like a committee meeting.

KarenS---If you've duly posted a meeting notice and the MAJORITY of your board has agreed to hold the meeting then ONE board member cannot cancel it. Don't ever allow this to happen again. If the majority of board members agrees to a date to hold ANY meeting then it takes a majority of board members to cancel it.

We've had this problem happen before. ONE board member (previously) agreed to a meeting date; the meeting date, time, and location were duly posted; then the prez said she couldn't be there. Well guess what? The majority of the Board showed up to hold the meeting----and guess what? She did too!

If the majority of the Board feels there is a need for a meeting you can do it without her. As long is there is a quarum of board members. Don't let her bully you. She can either join in or....quit? Maybe

Karen,
No person alone has a choice on whether or not to post or call or notify for a Board meeting. The Statutes dictate how much notice, quorums and agends all have laws to follow. In case your Board or for sure, your President has forgotten, I have pasted it below. PRIVATE MEETINGS ARE ILLEGAL!!!!

2) BOARD MEETINGS.--

(a) A meeting of the board of directors of an association occurs whenever a quorum of the board gathers to conduct association business. All meetings of the board must be open to all members except for meetings between the board and its attorney with respect to proposed or pending litigation where the contents of the discussion would otherwise be governed by the attorney-client privilege. The provisions of this subsection shall also apply to the meetings of any committee or other similar body when a final decision will be made regarding the expenditure of association funds and to meetings of any body vested with the power to approve or disapprove architectural decisions with respect to a specific parcel of residential property owned by a member of the community.

(b) Members have the right to attend all meetings of the board and to speak on any matter placed on the agenda by petition of the voting interests for at least 3 minutes. The association may adopt written reasonable rules expanding the right of members to speak and governing the frequency, duration, and other manner of member statements, which rules must be consistent with this paragraph and may include a sign-up sheet for members wishing to speak. Notwithstanding any other law, the requirement that board meetings and committee meetings be open to the members is inapplicable to meetings between the board or a committee and the association's attorney, with respect to meetings of the board held for the purpose of discussing personnel matters.

(c) The bylaws shall provide for giving notice to parcel owners and members of all board meetings and, if they do not do so, shall be deemed to provide the following:

1. Notices of all board meetings must be posted in a conspicuous place in the community at least 48 hours in advance of a meeting, except in an emergency. In the alternative, if notice is not posted in a conspicuous place in the community, notice of each board meeting must be mailed or delivered to each member at least 7 days before the meeting, except in an emergency. Notwithstanding this general notice requirement, for communities with more than 100 members, the bylaws may provide for a reasonable alternative to posting or mailing of notice for each board meeting, including publication of notice, provision of a schedule of board meetings, or the conspicuous posting and repeated broadcasting of the notice on a closed-circuit cable television system serving the homeowners' association.

Susan-

This was a Special Meeting, per our docs. We were to review and vote on a contract for lake maintenance and vote on whether to continue with our current lawn service or put the work out for bid.

In Florida, such a meeting requires 48 hours notice to all property owners. We have two entrances, so accomodate this law by posting signs at either entrance.

In Florida, even a workshop must be noticed if a quorum of the board will be discussing association business, even if not votes will be taken. I guess, technically, that means if three of the five of us are walking our dogs and begin talking about association business, this could be considered a violation of the Florida statutes.