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General Membership Meeting tomorrow, 21 June 2015 @ 3 PM.
Last board mtg the Pres stated the post office will be installing new cluster boxes in HPP on Kaloli and Makuu.
Councilman Greggor Ilagan is working w/the county to get a park in HPP Kaloli side. There's a larger population off this road.
Out of the 1,200 ballots the Nominating Committee mailed, only 150 came back.
The GM reported that spraying along the roadside will begin in July.
A member questioned the board about our website design costs. He asked which board member is going to dig approx $6,000+ out of their own pocket. There was no board vote to hire a board member's relative.
The board Pres again told a member they couldn't speak during owner input bc they were in arrears. She evidently doesn't know our bylaws.
The Fugitive Dust Committee is disbanded as they've completed their task researching chip seal.
Pursuing chip seal in HPP should be a membership decision by vote, not by board vote. It involves lots of our money and we should decide if we want to commit to a 5-10 yr plan chip sealing our roads. Some don't believe enough research has been done and that the costs are more than the committee had stated. Another member is concerned about the company the FDC was focusing on.
Edited to correct # of ballots orig posted.
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At the Gen'l Membership mtg a member discussed the cost discrepancies for chip seal that were quoted by the Fugitive Dust Committee. The costs far exceed what was originally reported.
Another member made a motion and another member 2nded that the board provide more information; costs, pros and cons in a presentation at the next membership mtg allowing members to take a vote, before moving forward w/the chip seal project that will cost the membership thousands and thousands of our dollars.
The Pres stated this wasn't an item that should be a membership decision. The Pres kept rephrasing the motion w/a slant yet ranting that the process was taking too long saying she wanted to end the meeting soon. Round and round we went. Before a final vote could be taken, a fugitive dust committee member and her supporters left the meeting which killed the quorum for a vote. Intentional? I hope not. The vote was leaning opposite of what they wanted...
If they truly wanted what was in HPP's best interest, these people including the board, would've gone along w/providing the membership more information before spending thousands and thousands of our dollars for who knows how many years. A simple request you'd think. Their behavior speaks volumes and it appears they lack confidence that the membership would vote for it. Maybe the product's not that good after all????
The VP, a member of the Fugitive Dust Committee responded that the committee had already made their presentation. But the information provided was very limited, and presented at a couple of board mtgs w/less than 15 members present. I was there and got the one handout and still don't know much about the product.
The Pres said they would start from the top and work their way down chip sealing our dirt roads. There has been no board vote yet at a board mtg but some have their minds made up and appears they don't want any interference from the membership by what occurred today. I think they forgot whom they work for.
What condition will these roads be in after a D9 grubs lots? We don't have much information and apparently the topic of cost per mile is being avoided. No discussion on doing a test run on a road first either....
A member brought up the website design again stating that he has found no minutes where the board took a vote to go ahead w/a website design, that it was a cookie cutter template that was simply cut and pasted, no other vendors' bids sought and no board vote to hire a board member's niece at the cost of $6000+ of members' money. That's 24 yrs of one member's road fee costs @ $250/yr or 24 members road fees for one year for a website that's caused us problems. There wasn't any problems w/our previous website.
Another member brought up that the board tabled the vote to purchase a refrigerator for the hui's kitchen a few board meetings ago, and before a discussion and vote could be made at a following board meeting, a refrigerator was purchased. The ofc girl used her Sears credit card (and I assume reimbursed) per the Truth handout the VP gave at a previous board mtg. The receipt copy the VP provided in that hand out shows a conflict of interest occurred.
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Was anything said about the board members who have missed several recent meetings? Are they still on the board or have they resigned?
I'm working off island right now and couldn't attend the meeting but it concerns me that board members would keep a seat, but not actually participate, unless they have good reasons to be absent that are shared with the board in advance. Looking at the few minutes that are available for the last year, it seems like the same people miss meetings again and again.
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If I was supposed to get a ballot for something, I never got one.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
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The ballots were only for those districts that needed to fill their board seats this year. There were 2 current board members who had filled board vacancies in November and ran unopposed for their own districts in this race. Dist 6 had 2 names on the ballot but one had pulled out. The chair of the nominating committee had already sent the ballots for print w/out board approval and was unable to remove the other name on the ballot bc it was all sealed up already. Again, no board approval or oversight of the ballots before mailing.
The board members who ran and are still on the board are Dist 2 Ruth Mizuba and Dist 6 is Craig Crelly. The 2 vacancies still haven't been filled and we've approached the 60 days I believe in which those seats should've been filled per our bylaws. The board has stated they want to vet the applicants first (behind closed doors) as they did back in November 2014 to fill the 4 vacancies. No matter that they only had 4 applicants for the 4 vacancies..they still wanted to "vet" them. This isn't my word but one of the board member's.
This has never been done before behind closed doors. Since when does a board "vet" potential board members for vacant seats? Past practice is after reviewing their qualifications of good standing, the applicants would come to a board mtg, stand up and say their spiel of why they wish to be on the board, then the board would vote by secret ballot. If only 1 applicant, a formal board vote would still occur and by majority vote that person would get the board seat and sit at the board table that very night. It was transparent and out in the open. Now it's a behind closed doors process that precedes the board mtg event.
The 2 board members who've missed 2 board meetings in a row was discussed at the Gen'l Membership mtg. The fact that they missed 2 board mtgs in a row wasn't an issue as much as they hadn't informed anyone that they wouldn't be attending. The VP missed 2 mtgs in a row but was excused. She had also missed the Sep 7th mtg excused. The Pres before she was an ofcr and another member walked out in the middle of a mtg bc they were mad. One flipped off the then Pres as she walked out. They both didn't show up at the following board mtg. One of them has left numerous meetings early. So it's sort of hypocritical for them to point fingers.
2 members who filled out board seat applications back in March may be considered as applicants for the 2 vacancies. Their districts weren't up for election. These 2 still need to be "vetted" first. There's time for others to apply for those 2 seats.
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quote:
Originally posted by oink
If I was supposed to get a ballot for something, I never got one.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
Not supposed to - yer one of them 'off island' types. ;-(
No vote no grumble!
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I am off island and could not attend the meeting(which I did not want to miss) It sounds as if this board truly thinks they know what is best for ALL of us and from what I heard via the grape vine they have already made up their minds. This reckless financial mind set is frightening. Where are the bids and proposals? How long is the bid price good for? What does it all entail? This is information we all need. I guess they want to dive in this project and then figure everything out later. Sounds like dues increases to me and no guarantees. I did hear that a particular board member has placed all the dissension and problems on members and not themselves and their lack of following or even knowing the by-laws. We have a long, dangerously expensive road ahead of us until they leave and that is if they ever do leave. No sane person will ever run for a board position knowing who and what they are. Impossible to work with and ignorant of the by-laws. I'd be pulling my hair out after 1 meeting which I am sure is why so many have resigned
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1 more thing. Could some one clarify Ilagan's park proposal? I heard he pretty much begged us to just give 20 acres away for a park. He didn't know the answers to any questions but just wants us to trust him. What if he isn't reelected and the next person has no interest in following through. Once something is given we would lose all say about it. I know he is young and inexperienced but ....please.. he can't be that ignorant. If we can't trust our own board do represent us why would we just give away 20 acres and wait 25 years to maybe get a park. Also, a library proposal from Joy and more land for us to give without any concrete facts or promises? Do any of us really want all of Puna on our roads to get to a library? Thanks
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Mermaid53: "The 2 board members who've missed 2 board meetings in a row was discussed at the Gen'l Membership mtg. The fact that they missed 2 board mtgs in a row wasn't an issue as much as they hadn't informed anyone that they wouldn't be attending. The VP missed 2 mtgs in a row but was excused. She had also missed the Sep 7th mtg excused. The Pres before she was an ofcr and another member walked out in the middle of a mtg bc they were mad. One flipped off the then Pres as she walked out. They both didn't show up at the following board mtg. One of them has left numerous meetings early. So it's sort of hypocritical for them to point fingers. "
Every board I ever served on had policies and procedures about missing board meetings. Usually the protocol is to inform the board chair or president, so they can be sure of having a quorum. Leaving early was allowed, but only with prior notice, unless it was an emergency. Being able to maintain a quorum throughout a meeting is important, otherwise no decisions or votes can be made, in some states you can't even have discussion unless you have a full quorum without being in violation of sunshine laws. Attendance is important, especially on a board that has unfilled seats, board members should either show up for meetings, notify the right people if they cannot attend, or resign their seat and let someone else step up, although Katerina's point about who would be willing to serve on this board is valid.
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Disclaimer: I don't live or own in HPP, nor do I trust the statements of any politician.
he pretty much begged us to just give 20 acres away for a park
Note that the proposed effort is only the park itself; HPP landowners would still be liable for the use of their "privately owned" roads to reach that park. (For sake of discussion, we'll just assume that County would magically solve the zoning/use issues.)
For a preview, just look back to what happened when County opened Railroad Ave and funneled the traffic through HPP. Good times.
a library proposal from Joy and more land for us to give without any concrete facts or promises
Correct, with the extra added bonus that none of the 20-acre reserve parcels may be used for this purpose (per earlier discussion: land is bound by covenant and zoning).
