Minutes recorded by Colin Cossitt-Glesner contemporaneously. typed up and emailed to the association email address on 6/6/24.
Minutes are organized in accordance with the association Order of Buisness (article IX section 1 of the association by-laws). Discussion relevant to that section of the agenda listed below each section, and in chronological order. Where relevant and recorded, the speaker is noted.
(a) Call to Order
- Meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m. by Alex Wolf, AHCA Co-chair.
(b) Attendance Roster
- Colin Cossitt-Glesner
- Erin Bieniek
- Tony Bieniek
- Joel Bennick
- Andrew Pankopp
- Sallie Bennick
- Bill Donovan
- Shelly Donovan
- John Wakefield
- Matthew Prochaska
- Andi Graves
- Andy Zuber
- Amanda Zuber
- Karena Ballas
- Alan Falick
- Scott Stone
- Daniel Bier
- Christy Jones
- Julie Connolly
- Chris Cottgias
- Mark Masters
- Jeremy Hull
- Shelley Zerr
- Lois Jacoby
- Sandy Mills
- John Mills
- Lila Greaves
- Diane Younglund
- Sandy Schell
- Howard Jeffries
- Judy Jeffries
- Alex Wolf
- Attendance was recorded on a sheet passed around the room. See above for attendance. Lila Greaves requested that quorum be established.
- A quorum of AHCA members was established by a show of hands to number at least eleven (Article XI, section 1). A quorum was established of the majority of the current directors, as five Directors were established to be present by show of hands.
(c) Reading of Minutes of the previous meeting
- Motion to waive reading of previous meeting minutes was made, seconded and approved by show of hands.
- (d) Reading of all correspondence and/or hearings
- Co-Chair Alex discussed in brief the board of directors motivation for wishing to introduce a code of conduct.
- General discussion from former and current board members regarding their concern about the recent high turnover for board positions.
- Board members stated that the intent of the proposed code of conduct was to establish more decorum and a healthier working environment.
- Particular emphasis was made by the board members that this was a discussion in regards to the by-laws of the AHCA only, and had no bearing on the Protective Covenants for Arapahoe Highlands.
- General discussion and debate from all present ensued. Some notable highlights recorded:
- Some members expressed concern over the wording of the code of conduct as proposed, in particular with regards to potential legal exposure.
- Kristie – Former Director, described how she experienced persistent harassment outside of board meetings by someone in the association, which directly led to her decision to resign.
- Sandy – Former Director, expressed frustration at accusations of misconduct that were made against her by someone in the association, and associated harassment outside of board meetings by same. She expressed uncertainty as to whether a code of conduct for all members is the right approach to address the unacceptable and hurtful behavior of a single individual. She instead wished to advocate for working to establish a process for dispute resolution between members. She also expressed that the board needs more help.
- Sherry D. – member, stated that she considered a code of conduct potentially appropriate for directors, but not for regular members.
- John – member, stated that he considers the main issue to be Neighborhood apathy towards the association (as requested John: “people don’t give a d.a.m.n.”). He argued that the Board of Directors can’t have meaningful authority to make decisions if members don’t attend meetings. In his opinion, establishing procedures, policies, codes of conduct won’t matter unless the involvement of the members is there.
- Voray – member, encouraged the association to focus on two things: first, improve the process for addressing disputes and second, for the old and young members of the association to re-dedicate themselves to the neighborhood.
- Lila – member, requested that Alex share how the proposed code of conduct was drafted, Alex stated that a group of four people reviewed and edited the proposal.
- A motion was made that the association not have a code of conduct. This motion was seconded and approved by a show of hands.
- Colin Cossitt-Glesner – Member, asked the attendees to affirm that regardless of the remedy decided upon by the group, that we could at least certainly agree that harassment of board members by anyone in the association was unacceptable. This was generally affirmed by all present, though no motion was put forward, nor vote or show of hands taken.
- One member expressed that she was interested in getting more involved in the neighborhood, as she expressed on her membership form (checking the boxes for interest), but has never been contacted. Danny noted that this was certainly a shortcoming, but that unfortunately the board has been stretched too thin to adequately review and reach out to members based on their expressed interest.
- Kristie – former Director, expressed that she felt deeply frustrated that for all the discussion and debate up to this point, no one was addressing the elephant in the room. It was made clear by context, though not stated directly until this point, that she meant that Lila, who was present at the meeting but had not responded to any of the comments regarding harassment, and had not been named up to that point, was the one responsible for the harassment that led directly to the Board of Directors proposing a code of conduct be introduced to the association.
- A member proposed that a committee be convened to develop recommendations for process and procedure improvements with respect to dispute resolution. No formal motion in regards to this was brought forward.
- This concluded the discussion, with no further motions made.
(e) Treasurer’s Report
- The association applied for 3 grants with the City of Centennial and was awarded 2, for $500 each, mostly toward funding the dumpster days event.
- Expenditures noted were the payment of the rental fee for the association P.O. Box.
- The balance of the AHCA bank account was reported as being $7,853.21.
- General discussion that there is a larger, $10,000 grant application available that could be used towards improving the neighborhood signage, also from the City of Centennial.
(f) Committee Reports
- Architectural Control Committee report
- One house in the neighborhood is doing roof work, and has been in contact with the committee. Renderings were passed around for those in attendance to see.
(g) Unfinished Business
- General discussion of unfinished business:
- Update given on Founder’s Day BBQ.
- Details shared and request for volunteers for dumpster days made.
- Receipt of grant checks was confirmed.
(h) New Business
- Proposed updates to the bylaws that were sent with the meeting notice were reviewed by Alex, with an explanation of the motivation. The following amendments to the by-laws were reviewed and approved.
Article IV Meetings, Section 4 - Current: The annual election meeting shall be the same as a general meeting except that one of the purposes of this meeting shall be for the election of a Board of Directors. The annual election meeting shall be held in January of each year (amended 6/17/14).
- Proposed Changes: The annual election meeting shall be the same as a general meeting except that one of the purposes of this meeting shall be for the election of a Board of Directors.
Article V Elections, Section 1
- Current: The January meeting each year shall be designated as the annual election meeting (amended 6/17/14).
- Proposed Changes: The November meeting each year shall be designated as the annual election meeting.
Article V Elections, Section 3 - Current: The names of those candidates who are nominated prior to the annual election meeting shall be submitted in writing to the chairperson of the association one week prior to the election.
- Proposed Changes: Remove this section as we do not actively submit candidates via writing.
Article V Elections, Section 5
- Current: The newly elected members of the Board of Directors shall take office immediately upon election in January. Only members present at the annual election meeting shall vote. There shall be no proxy voting (amended 6/17/14).
- Proposed Changes: The newly elected members of the Board of Directors shall take office when the new fiscal year begins following the November election meeting. Only members present at the annual election meeting shall vote. There shall be no proxy voting.
All four amendments to the by-laws were motioned, seconded, and approved by a show of hands. - 2024 directory updates require volunteers
- Colin Cossitt-Glesner volunteered to lead directory update efforts.
Adjournment
- Meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:30 p.m.
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