HSVPOA BOD Meeting 7-17-19

POA Board of Directors July 17, 2019 Meeting

By Lloyd Sherman 7/18/2019

My hopes before attending the monthly board meeting yesterday were high with expectation that a sense of reason and common sense would prevail but following the meeting, I once again find myself in a position where I need to communicate my concerns.

I am not going into all the areas of concern I have but rather focus on those that were most important to me.

Changes to Documents

Changes to Documents – I am not going to discuss the changes made to the Bylaws other than to say what has been done can be undone.  However, during the board discussion of the Bylaw change and prompted by a requested amendment by Director Podawiltz, Director Medica indicated that in essence there is information property owners shouldn’t have access to, with the indication is that they either don’t deserve it, or can’t be trusted with and thus we don’t need a ruling that indicates at least one property owner should be on every committee. Although the insinuation is bad enough, somewhere along the line somebody decided that they would decide what information property owners can and will have access to.  I will remind you that a ruling just came down RULING that the property owners can have access to the information about THEIR POA. The elected officials of the POA do not get to, either individually or as a group, decide what information about our POA we can have access to. And that goes double for the person WE hire and pay to run the Village.

Access to Information

Access to Information – I don’t know exactly when or how the Board and the Administration decided we should operate more like a business corporate entity with customers and less like a mutual benefit non-profit organization. However, I would like to remind the Board that each and every property owner is the reason the POA exists. We are also then subject to the actions made by those elected officials and the staff chosen to conduct our daily affairs. Mutual benefit means just that and our investment here is subject to both the good and bad decision-making process. As a property owner, we are entitled to every piece of information that has to do with the operation of our investment.  Not the Board, nor the Administration, get to decide what information we need. I believe you would find that if there was reasonable (from the property owners’ perspective) access to the information, you would most likely not see much activity. It is the appearance and steps to keep the information hidden (secret) from the very people who comprise the POA that creates the environment you now find yourselves in. Judge Herzfeld couldn’t have been clearer in his ruling and you don’t need any further time to set up new record access policies or procedures. You also don’t get to determine whether our request for the information is justified. Simply wanting access to information that we pay for is reason enough. Failure to fully comply with the Judge’s ruling can only result in further legal intervention.

Property Owner Q & A

Property Owner Q & A – As I was unable to attend the meeting in June, I was totally taken by surprise at the end of the meeting designed for property owner comment to find out people now needed to sign up to have an opportunity to speak. More rules! Really? Chair Erickson said at the beginning of this section of the meeting that 30 minutes would be allotted. Four people were apparently aware they needed to sign up to speak. Due to activities of the meeting I wanted an opportunity to ask a question and that right was taken away from me. Nothing was said in the announcement of the meeting that provided this information to property owners. These rules and processes being put in place to stifle property owner participation are not acceptable and I am asking you to revisit your stance. 

How Can the CMP be Considered a Governing Document?

Now for the question, I didn’t get to ask: Please explain how you can consider the CMP a governing document. Discussion – The CMP is part of a strategic planning process and not a document that contains rules, policies or directives. By the CEO’s own words, it is a living, breathing document and is not set in stone. By moving into the category of being a governing document, you are indicating it is set in stone and the law of the land.  It is also the subject matter of an active working committee determining which parts apply and which don’t. That doesn’t sound like a governing document to me. You are respectfully requested to revisit this item and remove it from the governing documents section.

Stop Ruling by Fiat

The last comment I will make on this writing is that there appears to be a lack of awareness that a majority of the residents are retired and probably spent most of their lives taking orders from someone else. It doesn’t sit well with this group to be told to shut up and sit down. Did you forget what the Baby Boomers represented when they were young? Please stop ruling by fiat and begin administering through participation.

by Lloyd Sherman, July 18, 2019

Edited and formatted by Cheryl Dowden

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