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CATS is pleased to send you our monthly newsletter
with real questions posed at our Bi-Annual Seminars. We hope that
you find this information useful and will share it with others.
If you have questions that you would like answered in this forum, please click here and fill out our quick
form.
This month's questions are answered by Bob Mac Donald of Gassen
Companies. Click here to learn more about Gassen Companies.
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SAVING EMAILS
Q:
Please discuss board emails. What needs to be saved? By Whom?
E-mails between Board Members and Management should be saved by
Management and the Board Secretary. These are a record of
what was discussed and what was actually said. When questions
arise, historical e-mails may be used to clarify matters. Having
said this, it may not be wise to save e-mails that are related to
legal matters. Like it or not, they create a trail of evidence that
may not bode well for any given board member, the Board as a whole,
or Management.
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GETTING TOGEHTER
Q:
Does the socialization (at a bar) by the management company
representative with some or all of the board members after open
board meetings or the annual meeting create appearance of
impropriety and/or violate the open meeting mandate?
 A: The simple
answer to this question is yes! Managers need to maintain a
professional demeanor at all times: before, during, and after
meetings. Any sense of impropriety will adversely affect the
long term relationship of trust that must be cultivated between a
Board and its manager.
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OPEN OR SHUT?
Q:
Can a board meeting be closed to discuss matters that would be
considered private under new privacy laws? Example: A health issue
of an owner that impacts the common areas.?
A: According to Minnesota Law, Board may close meetings when
"the privacy of a unit owner or occupant of a unit" might
be jeopardized. The illustration of a health related matter would
be a perfect example of this.
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SPECIAL QUESTION OF THE MONTH ANSWERED BY
DAVID MC GEE OF THOMSEN & NYBECK
Q: When you speak of requirements for quorums for annual
meetings... are you speaking just for those Associations subject to
MCIOA??
A: The answer would be ..... NO.
Corporations in general, whether for profit, of non-profit (almost
all homeowner associations are non-profit corporations) require
that there be a Quorum of members present at annual meetings and/or
special meetings in order to transact business. The Bylaws of
the Association normally will indicate what percentage of owners
present in person or by proxy is required to establish a Quorum.
If your Association is governed by MCIOA, and, the Bylaws do not
set forth the Quorum required for member meetings, Section
515B.3-109 indicates only 20% of members need be present in person
or by proxy to establish a Quorum for member meetings.
If your Association is not governed by MCIOA, and, the Bylaws do
not set forth the Quorum required for member meetings, Section
317A.451 of the Nonprofit Corporations Act requires only 10% of the
members need by present in person or by proxy to establish a Quorum
for member meetings.
Remember, without a Quorum, the members are not allowed to transact
any business.
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The comments and answers above are general in
nature. Specific interpretations should be confirmed with the
existing legal counsel.
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