Condo Pariah Objects To Board Limits On Input From Owners Instituted By Hartford’s Woodland House
“What’s the best kind of meeting?” board members of the Woodland House Condominium Association have asked.
One where unit owners say little.
Doreen
What’s the best way to ensure this occurs?
Limit public comment.
On Tuesday, September 18th Woodland House board members voted to limit to 3 minutes the total time a unit owner is permitted to speak during any board meeting.
If a unit owner is speaking on a topic upon which someone else has already commented, he or she will be cut off.
If a person isn’t listed on the deed of the condominium in which they live, they may speak only at the pleasure of the Board. (Does that mean one has to be a board member’s friend to voice an opinion?)
If someone is renting a unit at the Woodland House, they won’t be permitted to speak at all.
If a unit owner have several points to make (say about the crumbling concrete in front of the building and cracked paint on their balcony), tough nuggies. The Board doesn’t want to hear about it. Even though there may be only one or two unit owners at each meeting.
No, board members have decided they have better things to do than listen to the perspectives of unit owners. No matter how strongly the Woodland House community feels about a certain issue, from now on the public comment portion at the beginning of the meeting is limited to 15 minutes.
This contradicts Connecticut’s condominium law, which guarantees that unit owners will have a reasonable opportunity to voice any concerns they have.
The action of the Woodland House’s Board is wrong. And mean-spirited.
A board should be reasonable. Sometime three minutes is not enough, but usually it is. Owners should also be free to provide written statements to the Board and other owners.
Three minutes is all citizens and those representing large groups of citizens get at many committees of the CT Legislature in a public hearing. How much time does your town allow individual citizens to speak at Council meetings? How much time do shareholders get at a stockholders meeting?
I am interested in what others would propose. Would you have 10min, 20min? Or unlimited comments? Even the U.S. Senate, which allows unlimited comments by Senators, does not allow citizens to speak at all, except in hearings, and then only by invitation – same with many state legislatures.
i totally agree with the 3 minute limit in speaking.
there are exceptions, but when the numerous complaints are every month, and usually by the same
person, there has to be some cut off point. complaints should be directed to management first.
i have lived in the woodland house for 27 years, it
is a great bulding, run by a very effective board.
in general, things do get done, and there usually done
correctly.
well done woodland house board.
At Springlake Village, you are told to “shut up & sit down”. Friends are appointed by the Condo board & no one ever gets to vote when a position is open. (Condo 6).There are so many negative rules that the boards will soon tell us when we can take a s—! Our board voted that they do not have to pay condo fees, but they are always raising ours. The $17,000 they don’t pay in fees would pay to sand the walkways which they say they can’t afford!
My condo board is unreasonable far too often, especially when it tells unit owners in meetings to “shut up”, threatens owners and restricts opposing viewpoints.
Not one of our nine board members in our small community of less than 85 units ever questions the board president when he puts down owners at meetings, in email or in our printed newsletter.
Board members treat different owners differently. Some board members believe they are above the rules they set, often without getting input from owners before they make decisions affecting all of owners.
Owners are stifled. Owners comments, even if presented in writing, are not published to the community at large.
Committees are not open to unit owners who would like to volunteer and participate. Our association’s committees consist solely of board members to the exclusion of others. There is little transparency or true democratic process.
We need enforcement of condo laws in Connecticut.
Many of us at our complex absolutely agree with CT Condo Ombudsman Supporter:
We had board member who threatened to take someone outside and settle something that the board member was guilty of and the unit owner had proof in writing. We have board members bully unit owners and another board member at every executive board meeting, we have had our President and husband demand special services from our contractor and she denies it after our Contractor told another board member and unit owners along with our contractors workers who admitted it. We have the proof and asked her to resign and she wont. Her friend said he did an investigation, which nothing was done, and said she did nothing.
This contractor said she was getting 45 to 1 hour of work in her yard each week and the landscaper did it because he feared for his contract. No one would help us here and all this still goes on. Two board members talk their way out of everything they do. We have taped meetings and the outbursts and discusting comments are from ONLY board members. We cant find anyone to get help and have this contractor come forward of the allegations he made to a board member and unit owners
None of us are complainers, we care about how they run this compkex, how they bully people and they refuse to give us exact amounts breakdown of all this misc. amounts on the budget.
We are discusted and paid $350,000 for our condo and have horrible dictators on this board who are self serving..
Your board sounds like SpringLake Village in Southington,CT. If your owners are in their 80’s now like ours, the board members are also in their 80’s & need to stepdown. They do not want anyone to challenge them,esp.women. There are those of us who do not bake cookies & will not take abuse fr. our spouses who are board members!
We have a property manager at Spring Lake Village whose friend would put cat food on an owner’s steps when they were at work. This was at another property she manages. The friend would photo the food & send it to the property mgr. who then fined the owner.It took a lawyer to stop this, but she only refunded one fine. Fortunately the friend died, so no more pictures!
Spend some money, get a lawyer & hire an independent accountant. This is the only way to get their attention & stop their behavior. You know someone is pocketing the money. When the board is doing the harassing , thay will not support you.