PBH HOA
Job Description – President
CALENDAR:
December of prior year-
Board Meeting
First Tuesday of month:
All outgoing and incoming Board members should be in attendance.
If
outgoing President:
§
Summarizes and winds up the year. Thanks the Board. Introduces
incoming President who takes over.
New or continuing President:
§
Takes over and welcomes new Board members, gives pep talk for
upcoming year and discusses agenda in preparation for the General Membership
meeting in January.
§
Arranges for anyone whose position expires at the end of the
year to meet with and orient their replacement prior to mid January.
§
Discusses
Programs for upcoming General Membership meetings, being sure to
coordinate these in a timely manner. Of note: July Program is often a
Colorado Music Festival concert following the General Membership meeting
held at the Chautauqua picnic shelter.
§
Confirms
that a Program for the January General Membership meeting has been planned.
§
Facilitates the presentation of next year’s budget by the continuing
Treasurer or by a collaboration of the new and the outgoing Treasures. Makes
sure that next year’s budget is ready to present at the General Membership
meeting in January.
§
Discusses
the strategy for next year’s HOA dues collection.
§
Discusses
filling any Committee Chair positions that are being vacated.
December 15 deadline:
President’s article for the Pine Brook Press
January-General
Membership Meeting/ Program-Last
Wednesday of month
§
Agenda
includes discussion of and acceptance of year’s budget (coordinated ahead
with Treasurer, based on December Board meeting).
March-Board Meeting-First
Tuesday of Month
March 15 deadline:
President’s article for the Pine Brook Press
April-General Membership
Meeting/Program-Last
Wednesday of month
June-Board Meeting-First
Tuesday of Month
§
Agenda
includes finding a Nominating Chair (hopefully someone who knows a lot of
people in the neighborhood). He/she will find and nominate good and willing
candidates for Board positions that will be vacated at the end of the year.
Nominations are to be presented at the July General Membership meeting.
§
Note that
term limits apply to Board members and that Board members’ terms do not all
turn over together.
June 15 deadline:
President’s article for the Pine Brook Press
Traditionally, in end
July there has been a social event usually coordinated by the Board.
For example, the
Colorado Music Festival concert Program (following the General Membership
meeting held in the Chautauqua picnic shelter) or a square dance.
§
Nominating
Chair presents the names of candidates for Board positions that will be
vacated at the end of the year.
§
Nominating
Chair asks for any other volunteers for the positions who would like to run.
September-Board Meeting-First
Tuesday of Month
September 15 deadline:
President’s article for the Pine Brook Press
October-General
Membership Meeting/Program
-Last Wednesday of month
§
Elections:
Nominating Chair again presents the names of candidates for Board positions
that will be vacated at the end of the year.
§
Nominating
Chair again asks for any other volunteers for the positions who would like
to run.
§
If none of the candidates are running opposed, a vote can be
taken accepting the entire slate as stated.
§
If there are two people running for the same position
(unusual), the membership must vote to determine the winner.
December-Board Meeting-First
Tuesday of Month
See “December of
prior year” at the beginning of this Calendar.
PRESIDENTIAL
RESPONSIBILITIES:
After being elected, but
before taking Office:
§
Review
with outgoing President, the “state of affairs” and issues at hand. (Also
see items on Calendar under “December of Prior Year”.) Coordinate Committee
Chairs for the upcoming year. (Ask if previous Chairs want to continue
before replacing them. If they have done a good job but want to do less, you
can suggest finding a co-chair for them.
§
Review the
basics of Robert’s Rules of Order, and the Bylaws.
§
Become
familiar with all the Board Member’s job descriptions.
§
Become
familiar with the Pine Brook Hills website (www.pinebrookhills.org)
and its contents including:
Covenants
Architectural Review
Committee
Bylaws
Board and HOA meeting
minutes (archives)
Pine Brook Press
(archives)
Water District
Fire district (BMFPD)
§
Familiarize yourself with all of the general information in the Pine Brook
Hills Directory, and review Pine Brook Hills files.
§
Connect
with, if you haven’t already: the Fire Chief, the Chair of the Fire Board,
the Chair of the Fire Auxiliary, and Bob de Haas of the Water District.
Learn about what these groups do and how the HOA can complement, and be
mutually supportive with each of these entities.
§
Obtain a
copy of the Meeting Room contract from the Outgoing President.
§
Obtain the
confidential General Membership e-mail list from the outgoing President.
Communications by e-Mail
to the General Membership:
§
Any and
all e-mails sent to the General Membership e-mail list must be sent as a
“Blind Copy”. This will ensure the confidentiality of e-mail addresses
that was promised to the members when they agreed to be included on the
list.
§
Only send
e-mails to the General Membership e-mail list for the following reason: (We
don’t want the HOA to be considered a source of Spam.)
§
Board
meeting and General Membership meeting agendas
§
Board
meeting and General Membership meeting minutes
§
Announcements for HOA sponsored special events
§
Emergency
community information (i.e. forwarding information on Pine Brook burglaries)
Prior to each Board
Meeting:
§
Prepare an initial agenda and e-mail it (approximately 10 days
prior to the meeting) to the Board, Committee Chairs, and General Membership
e-mail list, asking for any suggested additions and reminding them of the
date and time of the meeting. If a quorum cannot attend, or a person key to
the agenda cannot attend, coordinate an alternative time/date. (In
considering changes to the Board Meeting schedule, remember to coordinate
with Bob de Haas who keeps the “master calendar” Meeting Room schedule, and
be aware that Board meetings are scheduled so as to fall 1 to 2 weeks before
the Pine Brook Press deadline. This allows just enough time to communicate
(through the Press) information about the topics that will be
discussed/voted on at upcoming General Membership meeting.
§
If additions need to be made to the board meeting agenda,
e-mail the revised agenda prior to the meeting. Also prepare copies for the
Board members, as well as any Committee Chairs or guests that might be
expected at the meeting.
Board Meeting: Normally held on the first Tuesday of March, June,
September, and December.
§
Start with
any items presented by someone who might not be able to stay later.
§
Follow
with approval of previous meetings minutes, and then any committee reports.
§
Then Old
Business.
§
Then New
Business, followed by asking if anyone has any more to bring up.
.
Notes:
§
Be sure to
address and come up with recommendations on anything that is significant or
that the residents should vote on so that an announcement of the topics to
be addressed at the next General Membership meeting can be put into the
Press before the meeting. (As needed, of course, table anything needing
further research.)
§
On any
pressing issues, plan ahead and make every possible effort to come to the
Board meeting where everyone is prepared to make final recommendations for
following General Membership meeting.
§
Whenever
possible, give the membership the opportunity to make the decisions on all
but trivial issues, at the General Membership meetings.
Following each Board
Meeting:
§
Obtain a draft copy of the Board meeting minutes from the
Secretary within ten days of the meeting.
§
Review,
adding comments and suggestions, as appropriate. Then e-mail to the Board
for further comments.
§
Incorporate those comments within five days, e-mailing it to the Board,
Committee Chairs, General Membership, and Pine Brook Webmaster (Param Singh,
param645@yahoo.com), indicating
“tentatively approved”.
President’s article for
the Pine Brook Press:
Submit President’s write
up for Pine Brook Press on or before the 15th of the month of the
Board Meeting. Include information about the upcoming General Membership
meeting agenda and issues, as well as the Program. Try to have an
enthusiastic and team building approach, as part of the role of the HOA is
to encourage a spirit of community and cooperation within the neighborhood.
Prior to each General
Membership Meeting:
§
Prepare an
initial agenda and e-mail it (approximately 10 days prior to the meeting) to
the Board, Committee Chairs, and General Membership e-mail list, asking for
any suggested additions and reminding them of the date. While you may accept
recommendations for agenda items, any issues are supposed to be first added
to the Board agenda so that they can discuss it in advance. Use your
discretion.
§
Agenda
format should be as followings:
1.
Announcements of upcoming community events
2.
Reports from BMFPD, Water District, HOA Treasurer, Beetle Busters,
Pine Brook Press, Fire Mitigation and/or whatever is appropriate at the
time.
3.
Approval of minutes from the previous General Membership meeting
4.
Old business
5.
New business
6.
Program (following adjournment of the business portion of the
meeting)
§
If
additions need to be made to the meeting agenda, e-mail the revised agenda
prior to the meeting. Also prepare copies for the number of attendees that
might be expected at the meeting (within reason).
General Membership
Meeting/Program:
Normally held on the
last Wednesday of January, April, July and October. Typically there is a
potluck at 6:00, followed by the business meeting at 7:00, followed by the
Program.
§
Follow the
Agenda
§
In New
Business, if new items come from the membership, remember that items are
theoretically supposed to be first added to the Board agenda so that they
can discuss it in advance. Use your discretion, and be open to
non-controversial items.
§
Do your
best to keep discussions on track. The business part of the meeting should
be held to a maximum of one and a half hours, if at all possible.
Following each General
Membership Meeting:
§
Obtain a draft copy of the General Membership meeting minutes
from the Secretary within ten days of the meeting.
§
Review,
adding comments and suggestions, as appropriate. Then e-mail to the Board
for further comments.
§
Incorporate those comments within five days, e-mailing it to the Board,
Committee Chairs, General Membership, and Pine Brook Webmaster (Param Singh
param645@yahoo.com), indicating “tentatively approved”.
Realtor calls:
§
Realtors
often call the President to request letters confirming HOA financial
obligations that go with a house sale. They need to understand that we are
not in fact technically an HOA, but rather a neighborhood association, and
that there is no obligation because the dues are all voluntary. Rather than
sending a letter to that effect, tell them that they can download the
information at our website
www.pinebrookhills.org
.
§
Realtors
asking for budgets and financial records are to be informed that these items
are not public information.
§
Realtors
should be directed to the website for any and all of the community
information located there. (see a partial list of website items above in
the section called “After being elected”.)
Issues raised by
residents:
§
Upset
residents may call about any number of things, some may be in your
jurisdiction and some not. The most important thing, within bounds of
respect, is to allow them to vent their feelings and concerns and to really
feel listened to.
§
In
general, even if you end up saying “I respect what you are saying but I
really can’t agree with you”, people end up feeling OK if they just feel
respected, listened to, and understood.
§
As
applicable, reserve your opinions until you have all the facts and
perspectives. If some resource or another involved party needs to be
consulted, you should still sound respectful to the first party by NOT
saying directly that you question their accuracy. Just acknowledge the
concerns and suggest that you want to see what the other party has to say
and then will get back to them.
§
Look for
settlements and compromises, for ways of helping residents resolve their
problems. Avoid “taking sides” as much as possible.
New residents:
Take these calls and
either take some time to tell them of the many wonderful things about our
neighborhood, the opportunities for volunteerism, and the Newcomers
Committee, or refer these calls directly to the Newcomer Chair.
BMFPD and Water District
Relations:
Anything that is for the good of our Fire and Water departments is
generally for the good of the HOA. Strive to maintain excellent
relationships and try wherever possible to support the needs and desires of
these departments and their representatives. Also remember that fires in
Boulder Heights and Carriage Hills can become fires in Pine Brook, as well
as that the volunteers fighting our fires may be from Boulder Heights. One
of the best things we can do to support the efforts of the BMFPD, is to find
ways to build bridges between our three communities. The more we work as one
team, the more effective our Fire Department can be.
Rental of Meeting Room
§
Bob de
Haas keeps the “master calendar” for use of the Meeting Room. He can tell
you when it is available. He will also coordinate with a renter to give them
a temporary code for the door lock.
§
Someone,
whether President, Social Chair as listed in Bylaws, or another Board member
or Committee Chair should be designated to take requests, check for
availability, review and have signed the Meeting Room Contract. Rental fees
are to be collected and submitted to the Treasurer.
§
Current
policy: Only Pine Brook Residents technically may rent the Meeting Room. In
fact Pine Brook residents donated the funds to build the room, which is why
in spite of PBH and Boulder Heights combining in the BMFPD, the Meeting Room
only belongs to Pine Brook. (In the interest of better relations with
Boulder Heights, a change in this rule could always be brought to the
General Membership for a vote.) All renters should pay the same rate. The
Resident(s) renting the Meeting Room must be renting it for themselves, not
for a friend or son or daughter. The renters on the contract are therefore
expected to supervise every aspect of the room use; be it set up, clean up,
the last hour of a party etc.
Budget and Reserve Fund:
§
The
Reserve Fund is not designated specifically for anything. It should be used
only for an emergency, to get a head start on a project in advance of
receiving committed funds, or for some other very special reason.
§
Budgets
typically include, but are not limited to the following:
§
Fire
Mitigation Projects (see below)
§
Pine Brook
Press
§
Pine Brook
Hills Directory
§
Meeting
expenses
§
Postage
§
Beetle
Busters. As of 2006, some of our funds have been directed to this new HOA
program. The program affects both aesthetics and fire risk, by helping keep
Beetles and Mistletoe under control. Note that the BMFPD contributes
significantly to this program.
Fire Mitigation
Projects/Grants:
§
Historically the HOA has spent the bulk of its budget on helping the Pine
Brook community-at-large with fire mitigation. Currently it funds Community
Fuel Break projects. We apply for matching grants and then are able to use
those grants to leverage our funds. Our goal is to add to the protection of
Pine Brook while still benefiting from our fair share (about half) of the
BMFPD funded Fire Mitigation Projects. Remember that our property taxes
fund the BMFPD. We need to be sure that BMFPD doesn’t decide that because we
do so much work on our own, they will simply reroute our share of funds to
Boulder Heights who will “need it more”. This requires an ongoing
communication, and agreements with the BMFPD Chair/Board.
§
Project
priorities are based on the 2004 study that was done by Anchor Point, a
nationally respected fire risk assessment firm. Their study of the district
prioritizes projects that need to be addressed based on hazards to the
community. Note that “Defensible Space” mitigation of individual residences
is not subsidized by HOA funds.
§
Grants are
generally obtained through the Colorado State Forest Service. Two types of
grants, WUI and RFR, have been received in the past. Each type of grant has
its own specific timetable. Be sure to make yourself familiar with the
timetables so that deadlines for applications are not missed, and so that
follow-up issues are properly addressed. Grants can have either one or two
year time frames.
§
The
contact persons currently at the Colorado State Forest Service are Allen
Owen and Bob Bundy, both at 303-823-5774. They are both very familiar with
Pine Brook and look favorably on our projects.
§
Research
and formulate ideas for upcoming Fire Mitigation Grant opportunities.
§
Coordinate
with current and/or incoming Treasurer (and incoming President if
applicable) to prepare, next year’s budget in advance of the December Board
meeting.
§
Designate
a Project Manager for each mitigation project. Their responsibilities
include:
§
Writing
the grant (including tracking it through the approval process).
§
Identifying and tracking the affected property owners.
§
Obtaining
signed permissions from the property owners for both marking trees and
removal of trees.
§
Keeping
property owners informed as the project progresses.
§
Finding
the right contractor(s) to do the work, usually through a bidding process.
§
Monitoring
work progress, approving payment applications and forwarding them to the HOA
Treasurer for payment.
§
Following
up on the grant reimbursement funds that the State owes the HOA.
§
Writing
and submitting the final report to the State. |
