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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MARCH 2019 9 By Kris Corbett "To be a successful HOA, we need homeowners involved in all aspects of governing the community. Voting on association initiatives is one responsibility that ultimately affects each and every resident," said Eric Zarr, General Manager. This is an unabashedly open article on the importance of casting that ballot. Yes, I know there are so many different ones out there now, it can get confusing. I have seen so many reminders about the different voters' ballots and homeowner comment letters (which one may think are ballots but aren't), I began to question myself on whether I actually did return our ballots, opinions, comments, and age verification form — wait, that's for another time. Before you turn the page, before you decide you don't want to hear any more about voting and ballots, before you throw away the next opportunity to have a voice in how our community is run — especially with the build-out fast approaching — please read on. Take the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions or CC&R ballot which went out months ago. That ballot contained three changes recommended by our Rules & Regulations Committee and were Board endorsed. Item one — Cumulative Voting. Currently, the CC&Rs give households one vote per Board vacancy. If there are three vacancies, then one household could place all three of their votes for one candidate. This skews the election process. The CC&R change would still give households all their votes, however, it would limit households to one vote per candidate. Eliminating cumulative voting will help our community elect a well-rounded Board. Item two — District Delegates. Currently our CC&Rs require us to elect district delegates. In an election, IF the district doesn't get a 50 percent turnout of voters from their 100+ households, the delegate is given the authority to give all 100+ votes to a single candidate of THEIR choice, regardless of how their district residents voted. In other words, the voting folks just got their ballots, their choices, discarded. Not only is this undemocratic, it costs thousands of dollars to send out the ballots to elect the delegates. Item three — Long-term contracts. As they stand, the CC&Rs limit contracts for services and goods to one year. Contracts that are renewed annually prevent the Board from entering into long- term commitments that any solar contract would require. Energy savings is forward thinking (an important idea with the build-out approaching). An example of this is energy gathered by solar panels could be used to heat our outdoor pools year-round by reducing costs in the summer which would allow the HOA to heat the pools during winter. There has only been a 65-percent return on this CC&R ballot that contained these important issues. A 67-percent return of "yes" votes is needed to change the CC&Rs. "It's imperative that we receive at least 80 percent of the ballots in order for the community's voice to be heard," Mr. Zarr said. Whether or not you agree with the proposals on this ballot, it's important that you vote and return your ballot so that enough are received to finally count them. After all, if your Rules & Regulations Committee and Board didn't think the proposals important they would not have presented them to you for a vote. If nothing else, vote so that the money spent on getting these ballots out and returned is not wasted. What can you do if you misplaced or lost your ballot or can't remember if you sent it in? Call the front desk at (951) 769-6358 and ask. It's that simple. There was another voting opportunity last month. If you didn't see your favorite BOD candidate on that ballot it was because this most recent ballot was for district delegates. "What?" you say, "did we just spend money to do that?" Yes, the current district delegate election had to proceed because (remember) the CC&Rs require we have them. Now over, the ballots have been counted. Please check fourseasonsbeamont.org or the Daily Report for more information on the results. And, here's one more important plug for voter response. The election to select two Board of Directors is also occurring this month into April. The applications deadline for candidates is March 8. Ballots will be sent out beginning March 9. There will be a "meet the Board candidates" night at 6 pm in the Ballroom March 14. Ballots are to be returned (fingers crossed) by April 15. The next day on April 16, ballot count begins and continues to April 17 until the count is complete. The annual HOA meeting will be held April 18 to announce the elections results and board positions. If you are unable to attend the HOA meeting to hear the results, they will be published April 19 on the fourseasonsbeaumont.org website and in the Daily Report. Before you know it, the community transition will take place, the builder will be gone and we will be on our own. What better time than now to commit to keeping or improving our community as we want it. What better way than to stay involved and vote when the opportunity arises. *Note: Springdale owners have their own set of CCRs which require an additional vote on district delegates. MEET THE CANDIDATES… Your Vote Matters to the Future of Four Seasons Reminder: Take a moment when you receive your ballot to complete and return it ASAP!

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