Removal of director defended
The Bella Vista POA board of directors met on Thursday, May 28, on an online meeting that was posted live on the internet. POA members could watch but could not interact.
One of the first agenda items was a report on an executive session that took place on May 14. Chairwoman Ruth Hatcher said that two accusations were brought against director Steve McKee. An unnamed property owner said that McKee violated policy 1.10 and 1.12.
Policy 1.10 is titled “Board of Directors Ethics.” The section cited by the property owner deals with the director’s role in relation to the association and to members. The first paragraph reads, “Directors serve in order to advance the best interests of the Association and all of its Members. This includes making decisions that protect and enhance the property values of the
Members and promote the general welfare of the Association. Directors must have an undivided allegiance to the mission of the Association.”
A different property owner, also unnamed, said McKee also violated policy 1.12.3 which reads, “Interfering directly in the management of the Association operation.” As well as policy 6.02, about the release of information.
The only other detail reported was the vote. After accepting both allegations, six board members voted to remove McKee. Two board members, Jerry Hover and Teah Bidwell dissented.
Since the news of the dismissal was made public by way of a Facebook post on May 15, at least 23 members had written to the board. Usually, time is set aside at each board meeting for an open forum when members can speak about the issues. Because the meetings have been online due to the covid-19 pandemic, members were given the option of writing their comments with the understanding that they would be read during the meeting. But on Thursday, the letters were not read. Instead,
Hatcher read a summary that she said covered all the points made by members.
First, she read from a letter from McKee which said, in part, the accusations were never proven. He also objected to the fact that one of the accusers was a board member and he was allowed to participate in the vote. He said the charges were unfounded and the hearing violated his due process rights.
“During my tenure,” he wrote, “I spoke strongly in favor of the members and made decisions that reflect the will of the membership whom I was sworn to serve. My director duty (is) to the members, not the other directors or employees.”
He asked the board for a new hearing after the new board members are seated.
Hatcher said the other 23 members were all in support of McKee and asked that he be reinstated. Several people wrote that McKee received more votes than any other board member. The letters are available on the POA website:
website: bellavistapoa. com/wp-content/ uploads/2020/06/0528 2020-Open-ForumLetters.pdf.
“I can assure you that the removal of Mr. McKee was not taken lightly by the board,” Hatcher said. The executive session, she said, was held according to POA
bylaws and most of the board agreed that policies were violated.
The annual election for board members was completed in May and three terms that began on June 1 were filled. Hatcher did not run for another term and neither did Director Jim Abrahamson. The two new board members are Jan Simms and Sandy Fosdick. David Brandenburg was elected to his second term.
The new board did meet to elect a new chairman
— Brandenburg — and vice-chairwoman Mary Sinkus. Committee assignments were also made.
During the financial report, General Manager Tom Judson said the covid-19 shutdown has impacted POA income, especially golf income. The staff made many cuts to compensate for the loss of income and to lessen the impact. Financial documents can be found at bellavistapoa. com/governance/financials.
Water usage is up, Judson said, that may also be due to the shutdown, but the water department also had some unexpected expenses.
Two projects are underway on the golf courses. An unsafe bridge is in the process of being removed on the Berksdale course and another project to repair the approaches to cart path bridges on Scotsdale has been delayed but should be complete in August.