Although both questions failed at the recent assessment election, member Jim Parsons brought up another issue. He believes the board did not have the right to authorize electronic voting.
Last week Parsons told POA General Counsel Doug McCash that he would drop his election lawsuit because both assessment questions failed, making it a moot point. The lawsuit questioned the legality of dividing the assessment increases into two questions, giving members of each tier (approved lots and unapproved lots) the chance to vote on both assessments.
Parsons amended the suit so it included the POA's right to vote lots they own. Because the POA doesn't pay itself an assessment, it shouldn't vote the lots, he said. Only lots that are current in assessments are allowed to vote.
The new issue centers around the codes that the state puts in place for nonprofits. When the POA was formed in 1965, they operated under Arkansas Code Annotated 4-28-12. In 1993, Arkansas updated the nonprofit code, but allowed established nonprofits to continue to follow the older code.
If the POA did not update, they should be following the rules laid out in the earlier code, Parsons said. He pointed out a section in the older code that describes voting with no mention of electronic voting. When that law was written in the early 1960s, computers were not commonly used in the nonprofit world.
McCash knew that one of his predecessors had looked at the 1993 law, but had decided to continue under the older law. There are other differences in the two documents. McCash said after the meeting that he has not personally done the research to determine which code is better for the POA.
During the meeting, McCash used his smart phone to look more closely at the code. He told Parsons there is another section of the older code that gives organizations the right to follow election procedures outlined in their governing documents and bylaws. He doesn't believe there is an issue in using electron votes.
Parsons did not say if he will pursue the issue any further.
There was no discussion of another assessment election at the meeting.
The board discussed policies that have already passed first reading. All of them include small changes, mostly wording that will modernize the policies and make them more standardized. The second and final reading was approved.
The board approved an application for a beer and wine license for the tennis facility, after board members were assured that alcohol consumption would be limited to the tennis area and the POA has the right insurance. The POA has alcohol licenses at several other facilities.
Finally the board approved the waiver of the three bid process to buy propane. Only two propane companies, out of the four that were contacted, responded, General Manager Tom Judson explained. He plans to accept the lower of the two bids.
The board plans to hold their next work session when they discuss the 2017 budget at 6 p.m. Dec. 8 at Riordan Hall so more members can attend. Work sessions have traditionally been at 8 a.m.
General News on 11/23/2016