Member Inquiry

A member recently asked the Board about the definition of Member in Good Standing. That inquiry and the Board’s response are posted below;

Question: The bylaws state that a member in good standing is one whose accounts are up-to-date.  The question that has never been clarified in writing to the community:  Does that include assessments, specifically the $1K pool assessment?  

Since the lawsuit is still in limbo and the Appellate Court's ruling is the last one to date, I do not see how legally you can enforce this collection and deny members the right to vote if all other account payments are current.  We are not an HOA -- am sure you're tired of hearing this -- so the board cannot mandate this assessment without a decision, in my humble opinion.

We are coming up to the general meeting, people need a statement regarding the pool assessment legality.

Response: As to your first point, we think that because the bylaws uses the plural “accounts”, it is clear that it refers to all accounts, whether dues or assessments. We believe that is the way it has always been interpreted by previous Boards.
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As to your second point, it’s not the Board itself that is “mandating” the current assessment. It was the vote of a majority of the members voting in the 2016 ballot, all done as per the bylaws. That ballot included a “no” option, contrary to the 2013 vote.  That is a legal and binding vote and must be honored. The focus of the Wilbur lawsuit was narrow, as is the Court of Appeal ruling, which simply affirmed that the Members have the right to vote to dispose of ACBC assets. The COA also noted that the Members have the right to  vote on special assessments “at any time”, which is precisely what was done in the 2016 vote. There is not now, nor has there ever been, any order by either the Island county Court or the Court of Appeal that the 2016 vote cannot be implemented. As you will recall, this Board posted notice of its intent to go forward with implementing the 2016 assessment.

This also means, as this Board has repeatedly indicated, that only members in good standing (current in the dues and assessment or on an approved payment plan for same) will receive the ballots that will soon be mailed for proposed Bylaws changes and election of new directors.