The Pagosa Lakes Property Owners Association (PLPOA) Annual Meeting was scheduled to be held last Saturday morning, July 25, 2020.
Many — myself included — were shut out because of the need to adhere to the State Public Health Orders.
Okay so far, because the Board and administration had made an arrangement for participation via Zoom. Well, guess what? The Zoom connection failed… but the meeting proceeded anyway.
I and others attempted to stop the meeting, but the PLPOA attorney determined they had a quorum. Here’s a response from PLPOA’s General Manager Allen Roth, following the meeting:
The Bylaws clearly state the quorum and it was met with 25 owners in attendance at the clubhouse. PLPOA’s Attorney was in attendance and she verified the quorum. There is no need [for] further discussion.
Here’s the actual text of the PLPOA Bylaws regarding the Annual Meetings:
SECTION 4. Quorum – A quorum at a meeting of the Association shall be at least 100 voting members. A vote of a majority of the ballots entitled to be cast at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be necessary for the adoption of any matter voted upon, unless a greater proportion is required by law or by these Bylaws. In the event a quorum does not exist, the meeting may be adjourned for up to forty-eight (48) hours to obtain a quorum. Should a quorum then fail to be obtained, the meeting shall be rescheduled in accordance with Section 3 above. The ballots of Members who have voted absentee may be counted in arriving at the 100 voting Member quorum, provided no less than 25 Members are in actual attendance.
Regardless of the interpretation of the Bylaws, once the Board recognized that Zoom was not functioning properly, the meeting should have been stopped and the problem fixed. Instead, an advertised Public meeting quickly became a Private meeting, since those attempting to attend online could not participate.
One of the most basic tenets of Public Meetings is to ensure all interested parties have an equal opportunity for participation. I therefore submitted a formal objection to the manner in which the Annual Meeting was performed.
Understandably attendance at the meeting was limited because of current public health orders. To alleviate this situation, participation via Zoom had been offered, which would of been a satisfactory remedy. But when the Zoom option failed, the Board had a responsibility to suspend the meeting when the opportunity to participate was removed.
I wonder if the PLPOA membership will allow the Board to get away with this procedural error.
Tony Medrano
Pagosa Springs, CO
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