HPP Board 2014

[janet]

“HPP can't realistically be managed by volunteers when it has grown this big. There is too much to get done for volunteers.”

I think this could be an excellent idea, but there is need for some clarification.

First, on the use of the word, “manage”. The Board doesn’t “manage” the Association. It sets policy and the management actions are carried out by the professional staff, under the Board’s oversight. Is this a reference to the fact that the Board fired the General Manager, the Road Supervisor and the Bookkeeper and those posts are being filled by volunteers?

Or is the reference to the members of the Board, as volunteers, being unable to do the necessary information gathering – including, but not limited to, contacts/meetings with constituents, County and State officials, the Association attorney and accountant, vendors, and on and on – so that they would be in a position to make informed decisions? And to meet with that great number of interlocutors to represent the Associations interests?

If the latter is the case, is it proposed that the Association should hire full-time, paid professional Board members? For all nine positions or only some of them? If only part of the Board is filled by professionals, what weight should be given to their votes as opposed to those of the volunteers?

There is no deterrent to this last proposal under the law (Hawaii Revised Statutes, 414D-132 states “A director need not be a resident of this State or a member of the corporation unless required by the articles of incorporation or the bylaws.”

This is where the complications arise. Article VIII, Section 1 of the Bylaws states that “The affairs of the Association shall be governed by a board composed of nine persons, who must be members in good standing.” What chance is there to find any number of professionals to sit on the Board among the Association membership? The same Section also states "They shall serve without compensation or reimbursement of cost as a result of attendance at meetings." If this proposal were to be followed, the Bylaws would have to be changed. This is not impossible, but is a daunting task.

And what would be the qualifications for a professional Board member?

[reni]

Janet?????
First NHB and now Janet. What is it about this thread that appears to give people duel personalities?

[Laughing_girl]

I personally know Janet and it is not NHB. For the record, Janet is her real name.

Janet also does her homework. Everything she posts is based on the facts of the by-laws or state law, not on hearsay or rumor. Look it up. That is how she is, she speaks only after doing her homework.

Think what you will about her posts but understand that her forte is research and facts based on research. Notice that almost all her posts have references to a bylaw or a state statute which she notes.

[mearth11]

"Duel personalities?" -- OMG. That's rich. (I hope I don't have to explain that I THINK you meant 'dual,' but duels seem to be what is actually occurring.)

[Frank]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Laughing_girl

I personally know Janet and it is not NHB. For the record, Janet is her real name.

Janet also does her homework. Everything she posts is based on the facts of the by-laws or state law, not on hearsay or rumor. Look it up. That is how she is, she speaks only after doing her homework.

Think what you will about her posts but understand that her forte is research and facts based on research. Notice that almost all her posts have references to a bylaw or a state statute which she notes.

---

bold by frank

This is exactly what this discussion needs. Will be very interesting when this BoDs got a handle, per our by-laws, on this management situation and have time to consider how to handle the past boards disregard for those same by-laws...I ask everyone to contemplate the ramification of the following examples noted by other posters in this thread...

@ reni quote...I've been concerned with this one before. It's happened before....one example, check the minutes for November 17, 2010, X b) Unfinished Business. "Selection of Truck Hauling Service Bids Opened on October 15, 2010." "It was decided this issue would be considered in Executive Session".

@hawaiideborah quote...As recently as February19, 2014 the Approved Minutes of HPPOA Board of Directors Meeting details a discussion about proceeding with the meeting without a recording secretary.

check the minutes on hppoa website folks...if this new board of directors manage as per our published bylaws, the previou BODs is in for a bunch of i

[reni]

Duel personalities, yep! Freudian slip

" an example of one of "Janet's" past post

Until this meeting, contracts were dealt with in open sessions.

Not too highly researched, as you suggest, Laughing girl

Actually, I prefer the "New " Janet!

[Kenney]

Not that it hasn't been fun (not) to dual/duel all this out, but I was wondering if anybody would be interested in discussing what HPPOA COULD be doing if we weren't busy being sued, threatened with fines, pointing fingers, and trying to get this BOD (and the last) to familiarize themselves and comply with our BiLaws and other laws that govern HPP. Sometimes it seems that we residents have spent more time studying them than any BOD has.

The cost of some improvements would be nothing if we volunteered to help, especially compared with what we're spending on legal fees, clean up of past Management mistakes, hiring police to keep order in meetings etc.

I have a few ideas, and no doubt that everybody here does too. I'd love to hear them.

Example: We've had $ set aside for playground equipment for a long time. Wouldn't it be nice if we used it and set up a place where HPP's 4000 kids could gather and play close to home and parents could gather and visit in a safe environment designed for their children?

I went up to Ainaloa a couple of weeks ago to look at the plume and ash there, and saw an ACTIVE community center, with people going in and out with their ice chests, empty water bottles, talking and exchanging information. There was fencing,playground equipment, covered picnic tables, and a place for the residents to gather and recreate. Needless to say, I was envious. One of our recently resigned Board Members had all the information and brochures on playground equipment ready to pass out at the meeting that got hijacked, so we never saw it, let alone discussed it. What a shame...

here's another example.
I have neighbors who are moving here in the spring, and they want to start a Diabetic Wound Care Clinic in HPP. They are an M.D. and R.N. who are taking on the expense of getting their licenses in Hawaii so they can practice here during their retirement and they want to HELP our community!

I'd love to do some cooking in the Hui kitchen, and maybe have monthly cooking classes so we could learn from our neighbors how to prepare their favorite,delicious ethnic dishes. If we timed the classes right, we could coincide with other volunteer activities and "feed the troops". (kind of like a barn raising) There would be no $ exchanged, so no issues with kitchen license.

How about a Tutu hour? We have lots of retirees and teachers here (with boundless experience, knowledge and Aloha) who would love to read to and mentor our children. Our children would greatly benefit from their time, and as a Grandparent, I know I'd benefit from the time spent with our keiki.

Our Special use permit allows for a Caretakers Residence on the Community Center property. Wouldn't it be great if we could find a good person to oversee the activities there? If we opened up the property for the use of residents, I'll bet people would volunteer materials and services to make good things happen here!

These are just a few ideas off the top of my head. Please share yours!

I've always had such high hopes for HPP, and have yet to see them fulfilled. We have so many resources, the land which was designated for the benefit of residents, and our residents themselves! Let's work together and make something happen that we can be proud of!

Does anybody else want to share their visions for HPP? I think it would be a nice change.

[mermaid53]

I'm having a problem thinking of the positive community changes we can make without fixing our problems first. Things are so scattered right now. Thank goodness the hurricane stayed out at sea and we don't have more fallen trees around HPP. We still have the lava issue with all it's uncertainty and how HPP's going to be impacted.

I'm hoping we will be able to have some say with the County on how it's all going to go down yet still assist those who need to access HPP for emergency purposes. We're talking approx 7,000 vehicles coming through. So far the county's stance hasn't shown much empathy for HPP.

I know the board has this on their plate right now and are working on it. It's a big task without deep pockets to try and ensure the safety of our residents, the maintenance of our roads and the potential liabilities with all the increased traffic. I empathize with those residents that will be most impacted on the dead ends of Makuu.

We all agree that our new board needs to follow our bylaws. I continue to hope that they'll get a handle on this. No action should be taken or even begun without decisions made and voted on during board meetings by the full board. NONE. That's called transparency. It seems like a simple rule. Tell us everything that's going on.

Next step, hire a GM. The GM can take on the task of hiring whatever employees are still needed and take care of HPP business. Then the board can focus on their own tasks. It's time.

The board still has a mess left behind by the previous management that needs to be dealt with.

All the disruptions and those that seek to challenge the board at meetings need to stop. If you have issues, handle it in a constructive way. A lot of us members are getting real tired of these people wasting our precious time and preventing us from getting the info we need at board and general meetings. As I said before, look to see who these people are as they are the same unruly group over and over.

The videoing issue could have been handled in a more constructive way. Do your research and see how you can proceed in a way that serves everyone in a positive way if it matters that much to you. Do we need a policy that states that all members, board and committee volunteers, need to agree to be videoed and recorded for public viewing in all mediums? Including members during owner input? Do we need a policy that states that all recordings won't be posted on the internet and just HPP's website? What do other members think? Work smart if you want to make a change.

[msky]

I created and maintained the website as a contractor totally separate from my office position from 2000 until the Board cancelled that contract this past October 1st. Per the maintenance contract agreed upon, and at an hourly rate, I was to upload the new monthly calendar and the minutes of the Board and General membership meetings once they were provided to me. Everything else created and maintained on the website I did voluntarily......no charge to the Association. I felt the Seniors should have their own section, there should be basic information such as FAQs, driving directions, history of the subdivision, etc that should be made available to the public as well as links from the calendar to some of the classes and events that are scheduled. And then over time I was instructed by the Board to upload other information such as the 2 Master Plans, Albizia info, post this up....take this down, etc which I did for a nominal charge and that was ok until it became a daily thing. Now that my contract has been cancelled (which was fine with me), I may be expected to do some webwork for free as part of my job description with no extra hourly compensation (not fine with me). It is my understanding, however, that someone has been hired to rework the site and maintain it. I really do wish them well as I don't feel I have the necessary skills to bring the website (now hppoa.NET) to the level necessary to provide all the information required by the membership and others. I'm sure it will be great. Doing the website used to be fun. I'm ok with letting it go. [8D]

And I'll find out which 501c HPPOA is and post it unless someone posts it first.

Morgan Sky

[Kenney]

Aloha Mermaid. Well said.
Ok. Back to reality.
I agree that a sturdy foundation is necessary before we can build anything, and our foundation as an Association is anything but sturdy.
One (unsettling) thing I've noticed at Board meetings is that more than one Board Member has said "I called" so and so and arranged for ------, and I always wonder if the issues "I" took care of have been initiated by a motion, discussion and vote of the BOD, or if they're just impetuous acts by individuals on the BOD. I fear the latter is the case.
The BOD is not one individual or another. It is a unit of (hopefully) 9 members. If "I" took any action, it should be because the BOD designated the person to act after due process, not just on the whim of an individual who has taken it upon themselves to act in the name of the BOD. (which has often been the case)
Unfortunately the history here is that the "majority" BOD runs the show, and dissenters (minority BOD) feel so helpless to effect change, and uncomfortable with what's going on, or afraid they're going to get sued, that they resign. This is true of this BOD and the last. These resignations leave the "majority" BOD free to "appoint" anybody they want, usually someone who agrees with their position and won't cause them any trouble. I hope this doesn't happen again with the 3 new appointees pending. I'd like to see some serious, multi viewed discussions going on before decisions are made that affect all land owners in HPP.
Those of us who have been involved in trying to set things straight here have grown weary of hearing ourselves say the same things over and over again, just to be ignored.
If the disrupters (of meetings) would just change their goal to doing right (for HPP owners) instead of always wanting to BE right, maybe we could make some progress. THAT, coupled with strict adherence of the BiLaws and laws by the BOD is absolutely necessary if we're to get anywhere near the place where my wish list can become a reality.
I'm sincerely considering moving to Montana and becoming a (quick freeze) popsicle. Enough already..