"We will no longer film the meetings"

Screen Shot - My Board video Nov 9, 2017
 That's my PC - I was adjusting the camera.

I received the January 2019 newsletter. This is the first issued by the association since the one published for August-September 2018, when I was on the board.

The President's Message in the newsletter included this statement:

                               "We will no longer film the meetings."

The Illinois condominium property act allows such recording as follows:

 (765 ILCS 605/18) (from Ch. 30, par. 318) 

(C) that any unit owner may record the proceedings at

meetings of the board of managers or portions thereof required to be open by this Act by tape, film or other means, and that the board may prescribe reasonable rules and regulations to govern the right to make such recordings;

In fact, one or more owners were doing the recording. The newsletter implies that this was a board function. It never was. I and any other owners who filmed the meetings did so using our personal technology.  There has never been a board "approval" of such recording, nor is it necessary.  It is no secret that some board members disliked the recording of the meetings.  

I began recording the meetings in 2007 or 2008 and I recorded most meetings that I attended from then until the annual meeting of September 2018. I began recording as an owner and I continued as an owner function, even after I became a board member. There were objections by owners and by various board members throughout that period.

I had two interests. One was to tone down the rancor in the meetings. The other was to hold the boards accountable.

I began recording when the meetings were quite contentious and at times uncivil. It is amazing how people will modify their behavior when they know their every word will be a part of a recording. I took steps to minimize those captured within the field of the video, focusing on the board.

Recording brought objections from several board members. Some boards don't want to be held accountable. I am convinced that some of our boards ducked by discussing issues in closed (executive) session instead of open session with owners present.

As a board member I continued to video the meetings. I consider these videos to be my personal property. I provided the technology and the digital storage. It was my initiative and I asked for no permission. When boards attempted to prevent me I quoted the Illinois condominium act.

I'm not surprised the current board president made the statement that meetings will no longer be recorded. She disliked my recording of the meeting and said so. Some interesting things occurred and were captured.  I think I've got a recording of her giving me a verbal "F@ck You" when I was president and she was rules director.   

I suspect that's why one of the first actions of the new board was to attempt to gag me and prevent distribution of the videos.

(c) 2019 N. Retzke