WCA Board Member Terry Boyd called the August Voting Members’ meeting to order in President Shawn Yesner’s absence, then moved on to new business.
West Park Village Single Family Homes VM Mary Griffin took the floor to ask her fellow VMs to reconsider videorecording their monthly meetings. She acknowledged that Kathleen Reres from Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP, the WCA’s legal counsel, had cautioned the VMs about recording meetings when she joined them in March to conduct their annual training. Despite Reres’ warning, however, Griffin recalled that the attorney stated that many associations do regularly record their meetings without negative consequences.
Griffin said she was unable to attend a recent WCA Board meeting, and was grateful that Radcliffe VM Eric Holt had recorded it so that she could see exactly what she missed. She noted that meeting minutes only touch on official business, and the World of Westchase magazine is limited in what information it can share. Recording would allow viewers to watch meetings in their entirety and at their own convenience, Griffin added.
“If we did this and advertised that we were doing it, we would get more residents interested in what’s going on,” she said. “I’m convinced we would get more interest from younger residents who are used to doing everything digitally.”
Holt has researched what equipment would be necessary to record and electronically store the meeting content, and the cost would be no more than a few thousand dollars, continued Griffin. Even if it cost $3,000, that’s approximately $1 per resident, which is a small expense to provide access to all homeowners, she concluded.
Christine Hennes, the VM for the Enclave, said she remembered Reres’ input differently than Griffin did.
“My recollection is that the lawyer said not to do it,” stated Hennes.
Hennes shared that she is also a lawyer, and expressed concern with the “parameters, procedures, and protocols” surrounding the potential recording process. The VMs would have to determine who would record the meetings, what would be done with the recordings, and the rules surrounding the entire process before they started, she added.
Abbottsford VM Chris Jones asked whether any rules or policies currently preclude recording the meetings, and Holt said no. Glencliff VM Shirley Boyd said she also recalled Reres explicitly advising against recording meetings, and that she feared doing so would set the VMs up for potential liability.
“People could take sound bites for devious purposes,” warned Kingsford VM Forrest Baumhover. “I would hate for a moment of passion to be taken out of context and used against any of us.”
The prevalence of artificial intelligence makes that a possibility even without recordings, countered Jones. Gossip happens when there’s no objective record of a meeting, added Griffin. She also said that she would like to reach out to Reres for clarification.
“I’m supportive of it. I’ve thought about a lot of this,” Holt commented. “My opinion is that we shouldn’t let the tail wag the dog. That’s no reason to not make (recordings) available. We have a code of conduct. If I start screaming and yelling, I’m going to lose my job as a VM. The bigger challenge is whether we can get more people engaged.”
Holt said that recording would be simple and likely wouldn’t cost more than a few hundred dollars.
“We had an attorney who said not to do it. There’s risk involved,” interjected Barry Anderson, VM for the Shires. “There’s got to be a profound reward, and I don’t see it.”
Board Member Jack Maurer said he felt that video recordings would serve as a deterrent to those who might try to take sound bites out of context. He said he finds them to be a useful tool and reviews them periodically to confirm that his understanding of various issues is correct. He hasn’t yet seen a downside to the recording process in the time that the board meetings have been recorded, he added.
“As a lawyer, I tend to take the advice of an attorney when they give it to me. That’s why we have them, why we pay them,” argued Hennes. “For what it’s worth, why ask an attorney if we’re not going to follow her advice?”
An attorney’s responsibility is to remove as much risk as possible from her clients, Holt responded. Reres’ objections to recording the meetings were intended to protect the VMs, but not necessarily the homeowners at large, he continued.
“I remember (Reres) very concretely saying that she does not recommend it,” stated Woodbridge VM Rick Goldstein. “I trust her judgment. I don’t think that we, as an association, should be in the habit of ignoring our attorney’s advice.”
Griffin said she was willing to speak with Reres to obtain further clarification. Jason Jozefiak, VM for Keswick Forest, joked that if they had recorded the meeting that the attorney had attended, they could go back and watch it to put an end to all the speculation.
Dawn Gingrich, VM for the Bridges, said that she works out of state at times and would love it if the meetings were livestreamed. She noted that some of the VM meetings are currently held via Zoom and asked whether those were recorded. Community Manager Debbie Sainz said they were, but that those recordings are deleted.
Chelmsford VM Joanne Maurer suggested recording the meetings for a trial period before making a final decision.
“A big part of what we do is to inform people,” she shared. “What an easy and great way to inform people!”
Griffin made a motion to begin recording the VMs’ meetings by the end of the year at a cost not to exceed $2,000 for equipment and storage. The motion passed, 18 – 8.
The next item of new business was the scheduling of VMs meetings and the process of adding items to the board agendas. Holt, who was responsible for having the measure added to the agenda, said he proposed tabling the matter until October when the new board members would be in place.
It’s not always clear whether meetings are held every month and VMs should know exactly how to add items to the agenda, Holt added. Nancy Sells, who was in the audience, told the VMs that all of that information is in the community’s bylaws. Terry Boyd clarified that Yesner said he has never turned down anyone who has asked to add something to a WCA Board agenda. The VMs agreed to revisit the issue at the October meeting.
Terry Boyd then provided an update of the RFP process, sharing that the board had selected two candidates for interviews. The first interview was held the previous day, and the second was scheduled for that coming Friday, he added. Questions for the candidates would come only from the board, said Boyd.
Board Member Michiel Oostenbrink encouraged the VMs to reach out to board members with any questions that they thought should be asked. Board Member Jim Brinker asked whether there was a date by which the board had to select a management company, and Sainz said the board had not yet chosen a date.
Griffin said she wanted to know whether the VMs were permitted to attend the board’s budget workshop. Terry Boyd and Goldstein responded that because there would be a quorum of board members present, the meeting would be open to the public. It will be held at 6 pm on August 26, commented Sainz.
Goldstein said that, as chair of the Government Affairs Committee, he had received a lot of questions and comments about the community’s reclaimed water leaving residue on cars. He said that if any residents had complaints about it, they should contact him. Goldstein also mentioned that he planned to meet with the fire marshal the following day to discuss the recently installed signage and newly painted curbs in West Park Village.
