Issue link: https://imageup.uberflip.com/i/752679
FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | DECEMBER 2016 7 Committee Term Limits Approved By Board By Leighton McLaughlin The HOA Board has voted to impose term limits on committee members. The limits will begin Jan.1, when all committee members with over four years of service will be removed. In the future, members will be limited to two terms of two years each. The Board can grant a single two-year extension "to retain committee knowledge and expertise." Residents may serve on only one committee at a time. Also, the Board will allow month-to-month extensions for any committee that cannot meet quorum without an extension, or make the Board liaison to the committee a voting member until quorum is met, up to a year at a time. The vote adopting the limits was 4 to1, with Board Secretary Fred Weck opposed. Many new vacancies will be created and the Board held a Committee Membership Drive on Nov. 3 to recruit new members (see story on page 15). The drive had a strong turnout. On Nov. 2 there was a Town Hall meeting to allow homeowners to comment on the limits proposal, which was mailed to them on Sept. 29. Those who responded by mail were in favor by a more than two- to-one margin. Those who spoke at the meeting were divided, with most of those opposed citing the speed of the move, the loss of special knowledge and experience, or the need for term limits at all. The original proposal was made by a group of residents who felt their ability to have a voice in governing the community was hindered because there were no vacancies on committees that had many long-serving members. A similar proposal was rejected some years back because committee chairs unanimously objected, saying it was difficult to find effective members and terming them out would damage the committees' ability to function. Since then Four Seasons has grown and the pool of prospective members is much larger. Weck, who voted against the measure, said he felt the limits should be imposed over a longer time, to allow a more orderly transition. He said, "The Board currently has the authority to remove a committee member for cause. But to endorse and promote a policy to callously remove hardworking committee members simply because they are guilty of too much tenure … is cold hearted and doesn't seem like good business practice." Term limits have been a goal of Board President Len Tavernetti, Vice President Jeanne Glanville, CFO Claudeen Diaz and Member Jerry Monahan. They feel the limits reflect the wishes of the community. Glanville said "Four of us campaigned on term limits and four of us got elected." In a related action the Board created an Editorial Board to produce the Breeze magazine. The Editorial Board will be overseen by the Communications Committee, but Editorial Board members will not be subject to term limits. Tavernetti said the Breeze is "unique" because it has a contractual agreement with its production company, Image Up Advertising, to provide the text, photos and editing to produce the magazine. That process should not be interrupted, he said. The Communications Committee will continue to operate the Four Seasons website and continue all its other duties except magazine production, which will be delegated to the Editorial Board.