POA election cycle underway through May 15

Each year, as the weather warms and Bella Vistans start thinking about amenities like the outdoor pools, the lakes and the golf courses, they are asked to make a decision. The election cycle for the Property Owners Association’s Board of Directors begins each January and ends with the general membership meeting in May.

The Board of Directors is made up of nine unpaid volunteers who are also members of the POA. Final decisions on everything from employee salaries to usage policies are made at monthly board meetings at the Bella Vista Country Club board room. Since the Bella Vista POA owns the water utility, that department is also ultimately controlled by the board.

The POA’s governing documents outline the functions of the board. Each of the nine members serves a three-year term and the terms are staggered so each year three seats are open. There is no term limit for board members, but they must be reelected to continue to serve. When a board seat becomes unexpectedly vacant, the board appoints a member to serve until the next election cycle. At that point a fourth seat will be listed on the ballot and the candidate with the fourth highest number of votes serves only until the original term associated with that seat is complete.

“The Board election process has proceeded very smoothly this year,” POA staff attorney Doug McCash said recently. “Around this time each year I am always encouraged by the generosity of our members who are so willing to give of their time by volunteering to serve on the Board of Directors.”

The seats that will be open in 2023 are now filled by David Brandenburg, who is currently serving as board chair, Sandy Fosdick and Jan Simms. If they chose to run as incumbents, they must fulfill the same requirements as all other candidates.

The first requirement is a petition signed by 50 members in good standing — members who are up to date on dues. Only one person per lot or home can sign. The corporate secretary has nomination packets for potential candidates that include the petition forms, paper copies of some pertinent polices including a statement explaining a director’s fiduciary duties, the date of election, and the date the completed petitions must be returned. This year petitions are due on Feb. 17 at 4 p.m.

The corporate secretary validates the signatures on each petition.

According to policy 1.06 candidates must sign a statement of compliance with Policy 1.10 and Policy 1.11 as well as a statement of understanding regarding director fiduciary duties and responsibilities to the organization.

Also, from policy 1.06, “Upon election to the Board, each elected Director shall sign the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement found in Policy 1.11.”

Corporate Secretary Jessica McCrary said last week that 22 members have picked up packets and a couple have been returned. Usually there are a few packets that never come back. A meeting of candidates is set up towards the end of the nomination period to ensure candidates know all the rules. Since the POA is a corporation, there are some state regulations that apply along with the POA’s own governing documents.

The names of qualified candidates are announced at a February meeting. Questions about eligibility are decided by the Election Committee.

In recent years, the votes have been counted by a third party organization in California, The Inspectors of Election and under the supervision of the Election Committee. Voting takes place either on line or via mail-in documents. The deadline is the day of the annual meeting which is the third Tuesday of the month of May — May 15 this year. Votes are accepted until a half hour before the meeting begins.

The new board members take their seats in time for the June meeting with officers of the board elected at a special meeting between the annual meeting and the June meeting.