HOA Board Members

The Parks At Durham Lakes subdivision is a covenant community that is self-managed and governed by its Homeowners Association, otherwise known as HOA. The purpose of The Parks At Durham Lake Homeowners Association is to preserve and enhance the character and quality of life envisioned in the original design for our community.

Before you purchase a home in this community, you should make it a point to carefully read the HOA covenants conditions and restrictions, often referred to as the CC&Rs to determine if this is the best type of living arrangement for you.  You also need to read the bylaws which will detail how the association will operate in the community. Our HOA is used as a means to enforce rules and restrictions regarding the community, the homes within the community and the members of the community and is also used to maintain, improve or repair common grounds and amenities throughout the community.

Once you make the decision and purchase a home in our community, you will automatically become a member of our HOA and will be required to pay HOA dues every year. These dues cover the cost of services and amenities covered under our HOA. These dues are annual and are currently in the amount of $500 and they are assessed to all homeowners at the beginning of the calendar year.

Although many view HOA's as being too restrictive, it is important to understand that the restrictions, rules and covenants are designed to maintain the home values in the neighborhood.  If you view our HOA as a protection of your investment, than you can soon understand why so many people choose to live in our community.

With such a large community, your ideas, input and other contributions are not only welcome, but are needed. All of our HOA meetings are open to the community and we strongly encourage homeowners to come.  If you would like to join one of the neighborhood committees, please contact the appropriate committee chair.

President:

The HOA president is elected by the membership to serve the community and elected by the board to lead the board through challenging situations and decisions. The president is also responsible for running the day-to-day operations of the association, and can make decisions based on the best interest of the community.

The president helps guide the board’s discussion process so that the board can make the difficult decisions. Parliamentary procedure, when followed, can aid the president in successfully presiding over a meeting where important matters are introduced, discussed and decided upon.

It is also the president’s role to propose the agenda for the board meeting.  He or she will do so based on unfinished business carried over from previous meetings and from new issues that have arisen since the last board meeting.  

Lastly, the president must also chair the annual meeting of the membership, ensuring that all community members have a chance to share their ideas and be heard.

Vice-President:

The vice-president takes over the responsibilities of the president in the situation that they are absent. The vice-president may also have various other tasks based upon the community and what the board decides. Oftentimes, the vice-president will chair a committee for the community. 

Treasurer:

The treasurer handles all of the financial aspect of the association including the community’s funds, securities, and financial records. This can be close to a full-time job because associations are nonprofit businesses. The treasurer handles the funds of the association on a daily basis and is responsible for annual budgets and financial reports that need to be up to state specifications.  

Secretary:

At a minimum, there are five key areas for which the secretary should be responsible.

Giving proper notice – the secretary is responsible for giving proper notice of the board meetings and the member meetings according with the requirements of the governing documents. This means giving the required minimum number of days notice and ensuring that the notice includes all the necessary information.  

Agenda development - the secretary coordinates with the association president to put together the meeting agenda’s content. The secretary should conference with the president prior to finalizing the agenda to identify the agenda items and the time needed for each item. Agendas should be distributed prior to the board meeting allowing the board members ample time to review and prepare for discussion. 

Meeting minutes – Minutes should capture who was at the meeting and the specific decisions that were made.  

Record keeping – the association’s records must be kept somewhere and they are stored under the supervision of the secretary. Association records must be made available for inspection by homeowners upon request. 

Community communication – the association should keep the community up to date on how assessments are being spent (improvements, repairs, etc.).

Board of Directors:

The Board of Directors sets the policies for carrying out the operations of the association – which operation must be consistent with the Declaration of Condominium or the HOA Declaration of Covenants. In community associations, the members are the equivalent of “shareholders.”  Ultimately, it is the members who decide how their association should be run.

To form an effective board, directors must have a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the association, its history and what is to be accomplished. Every homeowner association should have responsibility for its assets as well as its operation in accordance with standards established by state and federal law, local ordinances, and the governing documents upon which the entity itself was created. To the extent that the association has such authority and control, it is the board of directors that makes certain these responsibilities are fulfilled.

A number of fundamental principles govern board action:

• The board must act as a group at a board meeting, not as individuals.

• The board can delegate authority to act to others (such as the officers) but cannot delegate responsibility for actions taken (or not taken).

• The board has a fiduciary duty to the owners it represents to act in the owners best interests.

• Following the correct procedure may be more important for a board at times than making the right decision.

• Board inaction may create more liability than board action (i.e., doing nothing but talk about a problem may get the board into more trouble than doing something which turns out to be wrong).

• Board action which complies with the governing documents and the law will usually be upheld as long as the board acts reasonably and in good faith.

• The owners who elect the directors can also remove them.