Has this happened amongst your board before?

Started by IreneC • 3 replies • 1133 views

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IreneC (North Carolina)
Posts: 111

Posted:

New fiscal year, new board, some old returning board members. We are a mismash of peeps that is for sure. One of our first items we are doing is enforcing basic rules that have been over looked in a few common areas, balconies, improper storage ect.

Our board on a whole wish to enforce rules as is with the correction letter and so on. One member is asking that we do quarterly walks vs. monthly, over looking infractions that are not seen from the front of the building but only enforcing the front of our building.. ( nonsense ) This lovely man keeps bring up my cart in the garage..

We as a majority is against this guys opinion.. but this just seems sooo odd.l

JoyH (North Carolina)
Posts: 14

Posted:

When enforcing the rules it has to be the same for everyone and has to be done according the the documents set forth for the association. If carts in a garage are not in the rules then he needs to drop it. But if other people have the a cart in the garage and it's against the rules - then you have to site everyone. What is his beef with the cart?

SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202

Posted:

Irene - I'd like to suggest that a Committee be formed to evaluate your "rules" and CCR's to see if they are current and even relevant. This should be done every 3 - 5 years, anyway, along with the bylaws.

When is the last time that anyone looked at them to check even for common sense?

Volunteer to be on this committee. It's a good time to re-evaluate the Strategic Plan for the HOA. (What has been successful in the past? What do we look like today? What do we want to be in 5, 10 years? How do we get there?)

In the meantime, YOU MUST be in compliance with the current rules. So be the bigger person and get the cart out of the way. Then no one can come back and say that you weren't following the "rules" - as foolish and as outdated as they now seem.

MicheleD (Kentucky)
Posts: 4,491

Posted:

First, Irene, yes, it's very common on boards for one or two people to disagree with others.

Second, please don't take this the wrong way, but after reading several of your posts I feel I need to make a gentle recommendation: you must find a way to take yourself (the "personal you") out of the equation when evaluating or analyzing situations, comments, etc.

In other words, I get a strong sense that you take a great deal of what others say or do personally and it's very possible a lot of it is not intended personally. Don't get me wrong, sometimes it is. But being a board member, and performing your duties, should not be a "personal" endeavor.

There will (almost) always be disagreements and differing perspectives. Because people pursue and press forward with those differing perspectives does not necessarily mean they are dissing you personally. They just feel differently about a situation or position than you do.

Sometimes they might be (dissing you personally), but if you approach each circumstance as though it were "simply business," then it makes it easier to see others' points-of-view and easier to keep from reducing an argument or disagreement to a personality conflict.

We need thick skins as board members, but we have to be very careful we don't develop thick skulls in the process!

Third, the other thread still contained some very good advice. I especially liked the one where you put in writing the request for your disabled husband to put his cart in your space and be sure to use the words REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION.

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