Open Meeting Policy
The Open Meeting Policy motion was inadvertently published with the Board Packet this month.
The correct information is as follows: There is a motion in the March Board Packet which shows an Open Meeting Policy change that would restrict video recording or taping of Committee Meetings. That was posted in error. The only change being made to the Open Meeting Policy is that official recordings would be done by POA hired employees or staff.
All other people are not restricted from recording or videoing meetings.
I hope this clears things up.
Vote Count on March 24, 2020
There is no intention to cancel the vote count. The counting location has been changed to the Coronado Community Center Auditorium to allow for more space between tables. Masks, gloves, and sanitizer will be provided. The start time remains the same. 8:00 a.m.
George
03/17/2020 — 4:08 pm
Who posted the thing? Who made the error? How do we know it was an error? These people are so inept and incompetent that they can’t even post things correctly?
And you know they want to curtail recordings and videos…so it seems like it might not have been a mistake at all…
Fools.
HSVP C
03/17/2020 — 4:10 pm
Who posted what thing? I do not know who made the error. The bottom line is they are not shutting off the recording and videoing by Property Owners. Thank you.
George
03/18/2020 — 5:23 am
The notice of it in the agenda. You don’t publish something like that without meaning for it to be there.
These people did not make any “mistake”. They got caught. Then they lied.
Simple as that.
Lloyd Sherman
03/17/2020 — 4:17 pm
It appears the suggested change that was listed in this month’s agenda was the one proposed to be submitted for consideration in November. It well could have been a mistake given everything that is going on. We will know by the end of the meeting tomorrow what is being taken up. Keep in mind new business is proposed one month to allow for comment and then brought before the board for a vote the next, so the item wouldn’t be voted on until the April meeting.
Tom Blakeman
03/17/2020 — 4:22 pm
???? This needs more clarification. I did not view the board packet yet but I did get an email from Frank L. It included one of their memos putting forth the ban on all meeting taping dated for tomorrow.
Seems to me that if they wrote the memo it wasn’t any mistake. Somebody or somebodies were planning to do this. Now they are not? Doesn’t add up..
George
03/17/2020 — 4:44 pm
exactly my point…these people are insane and I would not put it past them to have had this actually on the agenda and then lie about it and say it was a mistake.
There is simply no way to trust them at all. They are either dishonest or incompetent….there can be no other explanation….
None.
How can they not know who made the error??? How stupid do they think we are??? does anyone actually believe they don’t know who made the “error”.
They will stop at nothing to hide their crazy new urban agenda, which is an outright failure.
Nothing do you hear me?????????????
These people are riding dirty….and they don’t like being caught…..
Robert Busse
03/17/2020 — 4:41 pm
I guess the”official” recording, either sanctioned or done by staff, would be different from what a property owner gets if doing it independently. I am sure the viewing angle will be somewhat different and the audio and visual quality of the recording may differ, better or worse, but what is actually said or done will make no difference.
This will just allow the Leadership to more closely monitor and control the actual recordings and claim an independent recording may not be factual because it is not POA “official” work. Of course it will also allow things to be tampered with or altered, unknown to the public, and still maintain the official seal. This is just more rights/freedom being taken from the members and put strictly in the controlling hands of our proven UN-trustworthy and not completely honest leadership. It will also be just one more thing for a new BOD majority to have to waste time on correcting to get things back to what is right and lawful!
Tom Blakeman
03/17/2020 — 5:20 pm
They want to document that there is only one “official” record or recording because they are laying the groundwork for the next lawsuit.
POA Lawyer: “Objection your honor. The video presented by the plaintiff is not the “official record” or the corporation and therefore is not admissible.
Judge: Objection sustained. The plaintiff’s video is not allowed. References to same will be struck from the record of these proceedings. The jury will ignore all references to plaintiff’s video.
HSVP C
03/17/2020 — 5:33 pm
Tom, does this mean they can edit the videos and they are still the “official” video and if we have an unedited video (which our videos are) our video will not be considered to be accurate in a court of law? In other words, they could do anything they want to the video with a skilled video editor? Is this legal?
Tom Blakeman
03/17/2020 — 5:58 pm
Is it legal for them to ignore the judge’s ruling in the CCI vs POA lawsuit? No, but that’s what’s happening.
Russell P.
03/17/2020 — 4:54 pm
So this information published by Frank L. is false????
POA wants to shut off your cameras and tape recorders, plus how much did we really pay the lawyers last year?
Just when you think the pettiness and penchant for power will go away, our POA leadership shows it is back at it again. This time it is to clamp down on access to meetings in our Village.
On the agenda for tomorrow’s POA board meeting (which ironically is closed to the public because of the virus scare) are proposed revisions to open-meeting rules covering board and committee gatherings.
The big change would ban anyone except a POA employee from using a video camera or tape recorder at a meeting.
This is a measure aimed directly at Cheryl and Joe Dowden and their excellent HotSpringsVillagePeople.com website. It could also be used to stifle reporting tools used by Village Voice or KVRE reporters covering POA board or committee meetings.
The Dowdens have filmed and transcribed many board and committee meetings and posted the videos and transcripts on their website. The details have not always been flattering to the POA leadership.
That’s not the Dowdens’ fault. They’re just reporting what happened.
If board members, POA executives or committee members take action on something property owners want or go off the rails on something else, we’re entitled to see and hear about both. Since very few of us attend these meetings, electronic devices are useful in letting us know what’s going on. That’s what we do in a free society. It’s what makes government work.
In an era when most folks walk around with a phone that takes good video and makes excellent audio recordings, it is bizarre to tell Villagers to keep their devices in their pockets. If you want to see what’s going on, you’ll have to rely on Big Brother for the details.
The Dowdens’ website is successful because Villagers want to know what’s going on. Along with Nextdoor, Facebook and other platforms, Villagers are looking wherever they can to find out what’s going on in the Village.
The POA board should reject out of hand this latest effort to control how property owners get their information. To see a copy of the proposed changes in the Open-Meeting rules, click here.
* * *
HSVP J
03/17/2020 — 5:18 pm
Frank’s post was based on the Board meeting agenda. I read the agenda and it banned property owners from recording meetings. This was part of the proposed change:
Section 3(b)1. Section F. Video recording and/or voice recording of all Committee and Sub-Committee meetings will not be permitted except by individuals employed by the POA or hired and/or contracted by the POA for such purpose. At the start of each meeting the Committee Chair shall announce this policy to all attendees of the meeting Chapter 8, Article 3, Hot Springs Village POA Board of Directors Open Meeting Policy Adds: C.
The following statement will be read by the attending Board member or other designated individual prior to the beginning of all official HSV board and committee meetings. Official recordings, videos or transcriptions of HSV Property Owners Association Committee meetings and/or Board meetings will be done by authorized personnel only and can be viewed on the HSV Property Owners Association YouTube channel and explorethevillage.com. Any other recording, video or transcription of HSV Property Owners Association Committee meetings and/or Board meetings is not considered the Official record of the HSV Property Owners.
Apparently, the board changed their minds.
Minn Daly
03/17/2020 — 5:08 pm
I am amazed that this was put out by a BOD/CEO who has spent lots of POA Money on attorneys & NO one within that circle informed them that there are LEGAL rights that are held by membership. Just amazed! Minn Daly
Tom Blakeman
03/17/2020 — 5:23 pm
The best legal advice OUR money can buy to give THEM what they want.
Hazel
03/17/2020 — 7:16 pm
Did our esteemed CEO & her party return from their Italian cruise unscathed from the Coronavirus????
Julie
03/17/2020 — 5:39 pm
What have I been saying all along….totally incompetence or nefarious malfeasance. What other choices are there?
How could anyone be more incompetent or more nefarious?
Maybe it is a combination of both.
What does it mean to say “the board changed its mind”/ They proposed this and put it in there….so they are not to be off the hook for supposedly “changing their minds”.
Why anyone would trust these people is beyond me and this once again proves that they are the most seriously inept bunch since time immemorial.
They are riding dirty, as others have pointed out.
Minn Daly
03/17/2020 — 6:45 pm
Tom, thank you, & yes they have spent a lot of our money on attorneys fees, not certain they always received the best advice when never challenged by owner members. There are federal laws that apply to a population of citizens that are over 65 when it comes to phones, recording equipment etc. & the safety of the area they are in. Also laws for those under thAt age that go under citizens rivghts, attending association membersmeetings where they required phones or recorders who are owners within that association. They the BOD/CEO. put the article out now they must defend why they did do so! Minn Daly
Moe
03/17/2020 — 7:39 pm
They can’t defend it….it is insane.
They are out of their minds.
Trust me on this.
Wes
03/17/2020 — 7:25 pm
Seems this management team (used loosely) make lots of “mistakes”.
Carole
03/18/2020 — 6:19 am
They make “mistakes” so often that if any of them were working in the private sector they would be out of work in a flash!!!!
Frank Leeming
03/17/2020 — 8:55 pm
My blog about revisions to the POA’s open-meeting rules went out at 1:21 p.m. today. At 1:42, Director Nancy Luehring sent me this email:
Frank,
Thank you for brining this to our attention. We cannot and do not intend to stop any one from recording, videoing or transcribing any meeting. It was an oversight that that remained in the policy.
I would expect that a rebuttal of your headline would be in order. This will not be voted on tomorrow and will be edited.
Thank you,
Nancy
Let’s agree someone made a mistake and posted a misguided agenda item in the board packet. Let’s also note that pages describing the camera ban are dated March 18, the day of the board meeting. If you’re curious, click on the link in the blog and you can read exactly what we’re talking about.
The good news is the idea of banning private video and audio recording devices from POA board and committee meetings is now on the trash heap, where it belongs.
HSVP C
03/17/2020 — 8:57 pm
Frank, it is only because you exposed this that it is in the trash heap. Thank you for all you do. – Cheryl Dowden
HSVP J
03/17/2020 — 9:55 pm
Thank you, Frank!
Sue Sutley
03/17/2020 — 11:14 pm
I agree! The only reason the plan was scrapped is because the cat was let out of the bag too early. Good going Mr. Leeming! Thanks for holding their feet to the fire once AGAIN!
Craig
03/18/2020 — 5:19 am
Exactly. They were going to implement this policy for certain. Anyone who believes it was there because of a “mistake” should invest in tulip futures.
Riding dirty as some have pointed out.
No mistake was made. None.
kilroy
03/18/2020 — 6:44 am
And on and on and on it goes. And they wonder why we can’t be civil at these meetings. Is it any wonder?? It’s the adversarial position they put us in. We have to fight just to hear what is happening with our money. Wrong wrong wrong. When they “jack around” with my money, hiring lawyers at the drop of a hat, hiring more top level personnel, outside consultants and the like, that pisses me off. But playing hide and seek pisses me off even more.
Hey Leuhring! Strike “transparency” from your vocabulary this instant. You ain’t got a clue. Being civil to you is impossible.
Vikki
03/18/2020 — 7:23 am
Thank you Frank for exposing the “mistake” and exposing it for all to know. I am continuously amazed at how many times the CEO/POA Board try to be underhanded. Is it any wonder there is so little confidence in them? LTD is our hope for the future.
Moe
03/18/2020 — 9:34 am
And we must hope that nothing is done to change the results of the election.
This whole fiasco shows us that nothing is beyond these people and their clinging to power. Nothing.
Every ballot must count…people must be there to see them all being counted…we need to see all the returned ballots from deliverable addresses. If they can’t show us those returned mailings then we know for a fact they were opened and certainly could have been marked and thrown in the pile.
Can anyone explain this to me? How did we get in such bad shape regarding the POA mis-management and the boards dishonesty and ineptitude??
I truly feel like I have awakened in Animal Farm or 1984 or simply Cuba.
Nothing these people say can ever be trusted. Ever. Wake up people – they ahve taken over and they are bad. Very bad.
Riding dirty.
Spellcheck
03/19/2020 — 6:22 am
Moe, your post has a typo, “ahve”. That is called a mistake or error.
Open meetings are the LAW!
03/19/2020 — 9:07 am
This week the nation again marks Sunshine Week, an annual celebration of the freedom of information, highlighting the importance of open-records and OPEN-MEETINGS LAWS and of public access to government decision-making that IMPACTS US all.” – Hot Springs Sentinel Record
Cheryl Dowden has demonstrated repeatedly that she, if she so chooses, should be the first one to be offered to get paid by our POA to transcribe meetings!
PS – “Spellcheck”, typos are trivial, like yourself.
HSVP C
03/19/2020 — 5:30 pm
Thanks! My work is a work of love and I do not want to be paid. I only want things to get better. This is why I support LTD and Diana Podawiltz.
HSVP C
03/19/2020 — 5:29 pm
Really? – Cheryl
Carl
03/18/2020 — 11:10 am
I think Moe is right – something is going on around here…and what it is ain’t exactly clear…..if you know what I am sayin’