Aaron's Minimalist Philosophy of HOA Management
An HOA is a microcosmic representative government. A corrupt, power-tripping Board has a remarkable amount of power and can do immense damage to a community, which is why we have to be vigilant about who gets on the Board. Ideally, you want people on the Board who do not really want to be on the Board and are there only to keep the crazies from getting power over the neighborhood. Personally, I feel that all Board members need to remain humble and consider themselves to be simply owners like everyone else, no more special than any other owner. By maintaining 100% transparency and open channels for feedback, it is as if the entire neighborhood is the Board. Directors are the voice for owners who are not on the Board. All of us serve to protect the community by preventing anyone with a personal agenda from getting into power. Officer positions are just labels; however, the outer world does not see it that way. The former President could not have detrimentally intervened with the Lot 45 property manager (Buz) if she did not have the credibility given her by the title of President. The Secretary's signature is also very important, so these two offices have to be carefully assigned to trustworthy people. Of course all Directors are very special and rare in their magnanimity to take on the role of guardian of the community and their willingness to do so should be greatly appreciated by everyone. I can't do anything without the support of the other Directors and the membership. I am listing my goals below to see if they properly reflect what the majority of owners wants... please offer your goals too as I may have left some things out...
Goals
- Keep peace in the neighborhood by preventing malcontents from causing trouble.
- Keep everyone happy as much as possible by addressing grievances quickly.
- Keep everyone as safe as possible by keeping residents aware of any crime in KB.
- Keep the environs safe by repairing/removing any safety issues that may crop up (fallen branches, obstructed sidewalks, tripping hazards, etc)
- Constantly improve the aesthetics of the front entrance and the streets to keep property values up while surrounding owners with beauty.
- Keep the fees as low as possible by avoiding unnecessary expenditures and doing the work ourselves.
- Give money back to the owners by reducing fees whenever possible so as not to accumulate too much in the bank accounts (it attracts the attention of the wrong kind of people).
- Operate to the letter of the law so that no lawsuit can ever pose a threat. [ and we did until the three Board members who were forced to resign in Sept 2020 started breaking laws right and left ]
- Constantly improve the efficiency of the system to minimize the time it takes to run the HOA.
- Keep full-membership emails to a minimum so as to intrude into owners' lives as little as possible while still maintaining transparency and keeping owners informed.
- Burden the Board members as little as possible with HOA admin matters while still keeping them informed and welcoming their input.
- Be impeccable in treating everyone equally so that there is no chance that anyone can feel that anything is unfair or that they are being discriminated against. Rules have to apply to everyone consistently and enforcement must be the same for everyone, including Board members.
- With 100% transparency and providing an easy way for owners to voice their opinions and concerns, it is a true representative government whereby the majority of owners get to decide how their community is managed.
The truth is we all live in paradise. The atmosphere in our home neighborhood affects our peace of mind and the quality of life for all of us. We have a job right now to restore peace to Kuau Bayview after the biggest disruption to the Board since 2012. This is the first time we have ever had a tenant attack the Board members, especially using high-priced lawyers with the aid of former (ejected) Board members. We cannot let bullies use lies to get their way. We must stand up for the truth. In many HOAs, a small group of bullies gets control of the Board and they impose their agenda on everyone else and it is very difficult to unseat them. We have experienced that in the past and must fight to ensure it does not happen again.
