Question: Many of our members spend the winter months in Florida or Arizona. Since board meetings take place during their absence, it limits their ability to serve on the board. We are thinking about having understudies who could stand in for directors who are out of town. What do you think of this plan?

Answer: Directors need to regularly attend meetings to stay informed of the issues. An understudy would need to attend all the same meetings to be adequately informed to cover for an absent director. In most HOAs, it's difficult enough to get the elected directors to attend. It would make more sense to amend the bylaws to allow board meeting teleconferences. It's fairly common in HOAs which are second homes to many members.

Question: How can we shut down or discontinue amenities that few members use like hot tubs and tennis courts?

Answer: You need to read your governing documents and state HOA statutes for provisions relating to discontinuing amenities. If there is nothing prohibiting it, an appropriate vote of the members (whatever the governing documents indicate) is enough to get this done. The board may have the authority to do this, but it is always recommended that such action be put before the members.

Question: We recently had an incident where a member's dog bit another resident. There was a discussion at the next Board meeting about whether the HOA's pet rules needed to be amended. A committee was appointed to research and make recommendations.

Following the discussion, one of the board members made a comment that if any dog threatened him, he would kill it. Should this comment be recorded in the minutes?

Answer: The comment was clearly inappropriate, especially for a board member. And, no, it has no place in the minutes since the minutes are a record of board business, not discussions or comments. Since this comment has nothing to do with board business or HOA policy it would only confuse those reading the minutes and likely outrage dog owner members. Nothing good would come of it.

The outspoken director should be strongly advised to keep such comments private and out of the board meeting. The directors are elected to handle HOA business in a reasonable way. If this director is prone to such behavior, it will not serve the HOA or board well.

For more Ask the HOA Expert, see Regenesis.net.

Published: May 30, 2007

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Richard Thompson owns Regenesis, a management consulting company that specializes in condominium and homeowner associations. He is a nationally recognized expert on HOA management issues. Regenesis publishes The Regenesis Report, a monthly newsletter for HOA boards, developers and managers. To subscribe, go to Regenesis.net. He can be contacted by email at .