River Oaks Property Owners Association Annual Meeting Minutes, 23 November 2020

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Attendees:  Board Members:  Finley; Officers:  Fowler, House, Underwood, McMullen; Others:  approximately five others were in-person attendees; 245 proxy votes served to confirm the quorum needed for the meeting.

Business:  Fowler called the meeting to order at 7:00pm at the Carmichael Community Center.

Approval of Minutes:  The minutes of the previous meeting of the POA board (11 June 2019) were approved (moved by House, seconded by Finley).

Reports: 

Underwood reported on the finances of the POA and invited attendees to refer to the information found on the Facebook page and the blog for further data.   He noted that as of the end of October there was a $820 budget deficit, but a $1369 balance.  He noted that donations totaling $5376 (received in 123 separate donations) and loans totaling $2300 had helped meet our budget.  Underwood detailed that in 2019 77% of the lots had paid their assessments while in 2020 about 1/3 had paid to date.  He concluded that the Board needed to send a formal statement regarding the now approved assessment.  Underwood pointed out that 73% of the 2020 payees had done so at the requested $48 level and commended those members.    Some discussion followed regarding the benefits accrued to the residents who were paying the assessment and some other matters, most of which have been already dealt with on the Facebook and blog pages.   

McMullen reported regarding the architectural standards committee, which deals with questions about property improvements and shares guidelines to help property owners understand and comply.  McMullen explained the process of making a request and added that all the interactions had been very positive.  Finley affirmed that statement from the Board’s perspective. 

Amendments:  Fowler then turned to the business of the annual meeting, the votes on the three Board-proposed amendments to the by-laws.

In regard to the first proposed change that addressed the annual meeting date, the property owners approved the proposal to allow the Board to set the specific date for the Annual Meeting by a vote of 237 in favor and 8 opposed (96.73% in favor).  The specific wording approved is as follows: “The annual meeting may be held on any date during the first three months of the calendar year, but must be held prior to April 1 of each year.  The Board shall determine the specific date of the annual meeting, taking into consideration the likelihood of member attendance and the readiness of records and reports necessary for the annual meeting.  Each member shall be provided with proper notice of the annual meeting as set forth in Section 4.5 of the By-Laws.”

In regard to the second proposed change that addressed the assessment, the property owners approved the proposal to adjust the budget from $12.00 per year to $48 per year by a vote of 180 in favor and 61 opposed (74.69% in favor). 

In regard to the third proposed change that addressed changing the official method of communicating with the property owners from postal mail to email, the property owners approved the proposal by a vote of 230 in favor and 13 opposed (94.65% in favor).  The specific wording approved is as follows: “The Secretary shall mail notice of annual and special meetings to each member via the most current email address on the records of the Association.  Each member is required to submit his email address to the Association in order to expedite communication.  The member may request postal mail be used, provided there is no email address available, and the member supplies a current postal address.” 

Election of New Board Member:  Fowler announced the Board’s decision regarding the election of a new Board member, as follows:  The Board is suspending the election of a new Board member to replace Long, who is serving a one-year term, until the Annual Meeting of 2021 since Long has only served a portion of a year in the office.  The new Board member would be elected for a three-year term, as per the By-Laws, as will all subsequent Board members.

Next Meeting:  No date for a future meeting was set. 

Adjournment:  The meeting adjourned at 7:35PM (moved by Fowler and seconded by Finley).

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