PART TWO
An HOA is meant to be a democracy, a Board of Directors (BOD), a voluntary position, are voted in by the Residents of a community to oversee, in a fiduciary manner by state statute, the finances and maintenance of the community. In addition, the BOD is also responsible to enforce the BY-LAWS and add further Amendments as may be needed. However, any changes to the current HOA Documents, e.g. BY-LAWS, are voted upon by the Residents. It all seems rather simple in format.
Unfortunately, politics, rather than ethical and fiduciary responsibility, can, if unchecked, infest the BOD and change a democracy to an oligarchy. It appears that an oligarchy, i.e. a cabal, apparently has infested itself into our Aquarina Community. It could be said that our documents have been interpreted and twisted to serve this oligarchy, and not the Community they were meant to protect and serve. This Blog, through the past years, has disclosed the self-serving action that our recent past BOD has thrust upon us, and it apparently is continuing with the current BOD.
Word on the most recent BOD Meeting this past week was that call-ins came into the meeting from folks who were not pleased with The Brassie’s food. Ironically the BOD discussed a $600,000 renovation of The Brassie. What! On a somewhat positive turn, the BOD also discussed a repair of the horrendous roadway at our Community entrance. Bids for the repair were mentioned. This Blog, for years, has red flagged the entrance. The Blog suggested more asphalt and less pavers as an approach to the fix. This approach was considered by the BOD. Wow! We’ll see. However, a $600,000 capital improvement would certainly be a Resident vote. Can that be expected from past BOD behavior? Remember what drives The Brassie is golf members and other golfers. How does the number of these participants compare to the numbers of the whole Community or even Beach Club participants? Hmm.
The bottom-line appears to be that no change will come to the current situation of how our Community’s funds are spent and how the Community’s infrastructure will be maintained, unless a new set of Board Members are elected who see that the whole Community should be served, and not just a small group that has political control. BTW – two recent past Board Members now sit at the current BOD table and participate, AND appear to vote on matters. What! The cabal has stacked the BOD with now two additional “De Facto” BOD. The BY-LAWS state seven voted in Directors should make up the BOD, not nine of which the added two were not even voted in.
Board elections will be coming up in the next month. The process is in place within our BY-LAWS, where the Residents can make a change. Those that agree with any of the issues that this Blog has discussed, should communicate among themselves as a fellowship to form a group that sees a different direction for the Aquarina Community to follow. For example,
- Subsidizing the AGI through Resident fees to support the golf cabal is self-serving and can easily lead to collusion and incompetent control, especially with the current non-transparency of AGI detailed financials.
- There needs to be an arms-length relationship between the BOD and The Brassie and Golf. The best way is to hire, through a selective process, a professional management group to run the Golf Course, and a restaurateur to run The Brassie.
- With an arms-length relationship, a management group would provide a monetary return to Aquarina, and a restaurateur would lease The Brassie building, and provide lease payments to Aquarina. By having this approach, our financial risk is diminished and any culpability by a self-serving BOD is reduced or eliminated.
- The BOD’s time and efforts could then be more directed to the whole Community.
However, we have a democracy, and the Residents have a choice to act for a change or do nothing. Doing nothing to change the current course is acceptance or apathy, though is not apathy acceptance?
BTW – It is totally understood that the Golf Course is a Community asset that requires maintenance and overseeing, especially so, since there is a significant loan that has ongoing payments, though it has been heard that this loan has dropped the course as collateral since Aquarina, as an HOA, has a large enough Residential base with required fees to cover the loan. Now the golfers can play on a loan free course. However, as a business model, the fees to play the course and be a member should absolutely reflect in its fees a contribution to the outstanding loan that the course created. Do we know that occurs? We don’t because the itemized financial details of AGI are illegally non-transparent to the Residents. Bottom-line, the golfers enjoy paying less expenses for their enjoyment than actually exist, riding on the financial backs of all the Residents, since the Residents subsidize AGI.