Planning for 2017, one of "the good new days"

We are beginning the planning for 2017, and more details about this later in this post. The next association meeting will the budget meeting. The board will determine the annual budget and then the fees to meet the budget. Last year it took two months to hammer the budget out. It nearly required three. It shouldn't be this difficult, but there are two opposing positions about how to run this HOA. One is based upon "the good old days" which really weren't all that good. Then we have the "good new days" which is my position. This post looks at some of the planning details.

In the current election we achieved a quorum. But the majority of owners didn't attend the annual meeting. For them the annual election came and went. The four members who were on the board and were running again were elected. No one volunteered or stood up to take on the 7th position. However, we do have two owners who expressed their willingness to be committee members.

The October meeting will include the annual positioning of board members to fill the available slots. With a board comprised of six, the position of president has importance beyond the implied leadership or possible cache of that position.

I view the role of president as significant, but there are limits when we are a volunteer board. However, there is one overlooked responsibility for the president. With a board of six, there will be times when tie votes are cast with three "ayes" and three "nays." In such circumstances, the president casts a second ballot, which is the tiebreaker. So the president's vote carries unusual weight and this might not be a good thing. For example, if the board was deadlocked about budgeting with three favoring a lower fee increase and the other three favoring a higher fee increase. This did recently occur and at the time the president (me) did cast the tie breaking vote, so the lower fee increase was passed. I'd prefer we have seven board members, but the owners have again decided otherwise.

What will happen during the October budget meeting? Who knows? But we again have an even numbered board. This isn't the best way to run a homeowner's association. It leads to strife and more backdoor machinations by the politicians among us. However, I will try again. But I may not be able to do much beyond making recommendations and it remains to be seen who the president for 2017 will be.

Whatever happens, here will be my planning priorities for 2017. However, what happens will be determined by the other five board members. All it takes is one to stonewall a project, or push a personal agenda. For example, it didn't take much to champion and spend about $15,000 on lock boxes on the property. It didn't take much to stonewall the common area patio behind Thames:

1. Continue the expanded, topical newsletter.
2. Continue to reach out to owners to engage them in the business of this HOA. An entirely different board than the one we currently have will be completing the current 10 year plan. Who will this be and how will they be prepared? 
3. Continue street repairs in the cul-de-sacs.
4. Complete the rainwater handling (drainage) improvements required by the new roofs. 
5. Continue dealing with the numerous scars of recent landscaping problems and the death of about 100 trees. 
6. Continue site condition surveys. In 2017 it is time to look again at garage floors. 
7. Continue work on the streams. We have two which are degrading. 
8. Make a decision to repair or replace the gazebo.
9. Make a decision of when to move forward with the replacement deck behind Thames and deal with the drowning duckling issue. 
10. Continue operating in accordance with 10-, 20- and 30- year plans.
11. Update the reserve study and the 30 year plan. 
12. Move forward with the replacement of brick sills on the property. 
13. Engage the board and owners in a responsible 40 year plan for our water mains. An engineering study is required. 
14. Expand my liaison efforts with our city. Our association comprises about 1.25% of the city population, and yet we represent far lower costs to the city than does the average homeowner because we are a PUD.
15. Attend "coffee with the council" and monthly city planning and council meetings. 
16. Continue efforts to influence the management of the city stormwater system which comprises lakes A, 1, 2, 3 and 4 and reduce the impact of serious storms on our association and the neighbors downstream. 
17. Continue to put pressure on Glen Ellyn and the College of DuPage to take responsibility for the consequences of paving over a substantial part of the watershed and piping the rainwater into Wheaton.  One-third of the watershed feeding Lakes 4 is in Glen Ellyn.
18. Continue maintenance efforts to avoid a backlog and to keep efforts current. 
19. Begin a study to determine best way to maintain the masonry on our buildings. This is a very, very long term project; longer in duration than our water mains. 
20. Continue work to maintain the water mains and continue discussions with the city to take responsibility.
21. Continue to push back against owners or board members who run their personal agenda to the detriment of the association and other owners. 
22. Make efforts to convince all residents to use those expensive lock boxes. 

Of course, there are different priorities to the above. Some things on the list will not happen. However, it is a certainty I will not be on the board in a few years. It is a certainty none of the other board members will, either.