Board Meetings Progress
In a very subtle but obvious way, and contrary to the Annual Meeting having been characterized as a “none meeting,” something dramatically different happened at the February 17 Board meeting. For those residents with an interest and curiosity about community governance and management, the meeting consisted of down to earth, easy to understand, and meaningful discussions about community related issues. And…each Board member participated in the deliberations by asking questions and seeking information upon which the Board would make a decision.
What a concept. Open, intelligent discussion among elected officials and the Executive Director. While the meetings are Board meetings and not resident meetings, all meetings, in one way or another, are about the residents.
As a 16-year observer of and commentator about Board meetings, the meeting was a first time ever. A recollection of how meetings were conducted since they began provides some explanation as to how matters progressed.
— The CCRs require no more than one annual meeting.
— At some point, monthly meetings were added. Historically, Board members rarely made a contribution. Vocal participation was limited, not by policy, but rather by habit.
— As time went on, the Board also began conducting monthly COTW Meetings (Committee of the Whole Meeting). Residents could not attend the closed meetings. The meetings, also titled Work Sessions, were intended to provide a special time to discuss issues. The agendas and minutes were not posted for resident review.
— Hoping to reverse the prohibitions of attendance, openness and transparency, some residents continued to prod the Board for change.
— The Board, following an unwritten policy that since the COTW sessions were purely Work Sessions and since residents were not in attendance, the Board could not vote on issues. Newly appointed legal counsel corrected that practice, advising the Board that if residents are permitted, it becomes a general meeting at which time voting on issues is permissible.
— About one year ago, the Board began publishing the COTW agendas and also permitted residents to attend its meetings.
— A major difference between the Board Meeting procedure and the revised COTW procedure is that the Board can now vote on an issue at either meeting.
Additionally, the general Meeting is televised live and rebroadcast for future viewing and the COTW meeting is not televised. That may reduce the number of residents with viewing access to decision making processes and compounding that limitation by residents with access to Comcast, the community’s exclusive public programming provider.
— In effect the Board will conduct two major monthly meetings: one televised and rebroadcast and the other not televised, each meeting having its own agenda, including discussions and possible votes, leaving the COTW meeting procedures limited to the residents choosing to attend or waiting to read the approved minutes after the next monthly meeting.
With change comes challenge. That’s one more agenda item for one of the two monthly future Board meetings. One situation changed, a new one to consider.
If anyone asks the question, yes, I do have any idea to level the playing field of information.
Jim Darow
Neighborhood 5
