Task Agenda for a Board Member

It's been a very busy four weeks. In addition to my duties here at BLMH, and the financial background work for the association. I've been able to squeeze in a couple of business trips, over and above the normal 9-5 office work.

So, what have I been doing for our association, you might ask?

Well, there has been the need to get up to speed on financial and logistical matters. I also went through the board packet and made a list of work orders with comments for the board; went through the list of payments and receipts and found a $1,500 overpayment; found issues with the proposal(s) for the repair at 1731, which resulted in a significant re-work of one of the bids, which the board has now approved; got involved in some of the loose ends for the roofing project and discussed same with the Landscaping Director and the contractor who is to do the work; reviewed several contracts with the A&M Director who was my predecessor; prepared additional charts and graphs for the Association meeting of November 11, etc.

However, the main event has been completion of my first pass at my task agenda.

Here are the major categories. This will be a “work in progress” and will be revised and expanded on an ongoing and continuous basis.

As part of my collaborative efforts with the entire board, I emailed a similar list of major categories. As V.P. and A&M Director, some of the specific areas I am responsible for will require coordination. So there is overlap of responsibilities and in this list you will see areas of other board member responsibility. If I see something that may affect their area, it's my duty to advise them, and they should also advise me. So I asked each board member, and our manager at FUPM "If you see an area in which we can work together, let me know. If you see something that is missing, let me know".

I will be sending requests to the other board members via email, and I expect to receive some. In fact, I already have.


Task Agenda Categories:

1. Safety, Well-Being and Owner Satisfaction.
2. General Items including “What’s missing”.
3. “Beyond the Nine Dots” Solutions.
4. Financial Planning.
5. Architecture and Maintenance.
6. Landscaping and Trees.
7. Reserve Study and 5, 10 and 20 year plans.
8. Rules, Violations and Possible Rule Changes.
9. Articles for Newsletter.
10. Communications and Owner Awareness.
11. Promoting "community" and "life affirming" behaviors.
12. Meeting Notes and Resulting Agenda Items, by date.

• November 11, 2010 Association Meeting.

Well, gotta go to work!

Comments, Corrections, Omissions, References
Note 1. It's somewhat unclear how this will be received by the board. We're all "nice and cordial." Will my efforts be construed as "stepping out of bounds" or interfering with someone's area, or, heavens, as "too much change?" or "too radical?" It will take time to see exactly where we are headed. We currently have a declared vacancy on the board. Our A&M Director resigned and another director did not attend the most recent Association Meeting. At that meeting, a former, very experienced  board member offered their services to the board. They were rejected last year. Will they be again? We need people with financial, bona fide "get your hands dirty and do the work" management skills, planning and logistics, and serious architectural or engineering skills. Who will the board select to fill these vacancies?  That will tell me a lot about where we are really going, and if it is possible to achieve the goals we are setting for ourselves. It will also tell you. 


Note 2. Of course, you might be inclined to say the my call for "experience" on this board, is a personal perspective. I'm assembling a list of some serious problems and near misses for the board. These occurred in the last 12 months. They will substantiate my position. 


Note 3. It's very easy for slips to occur in payments and billing. This business spends a $million each year on literally thousands of work orders, subcontract items, etc. It's important for the board to thoroughly peruse the list of payments, etc. to catch mis-coding errors, etc. That's all it takes; one small accounting error and someone can be overpaid or underpaid. Or a work order that should be paid by an owner, is paid by the association. I discussed this with our FUPM manager and he encourages board members to do this. In a partnership and collaboration, we each support one another in these tasks.

I intend to do so. Our president has been tracking expenses for the entire year, so as not to exceed the budget. If we overspend on Operations and Maintenance, we have no where to draw from for making up that difference, but to stop maintenance in one area to cover the overage, or charge a special assessment, or get "creative" in our accounting. I am absolutely opposed to special assessments, and I won't support questionable practices.

With a very, very tight O&M budget for 2011, it will require even more vigilance and forward planning. But that's why we signed on to be board members, and that's why we are here, isn't it?

Note 4. I'm preparing several expanded and revised charts, for inclusion in newsletter. It can be time consuming, but I've been preparing such documents about BLMH since 2001, and on a regular basis, since 2004.  In the past, some of this information was posted here, or provided to others at BLMH. This information was the basis of my statements made during the association meeting "Owner Forum" for the past few years. Now it will be possibly made available to the larger group here at BLMH.