The HOA management company, Graham Management, recently confirmed that Julie Bennett is now a director on the HOA Board. Since there has been no election, one can only assume that the current Board has appointed her to that position.

If so, it begs the question why her appointment has not been announced to the membership. A thorough search of Brazoria county records gives no indication that a Julie Bennett owns property within the Pine Hollow HOA.

In light of these facts, it is even more curious that the Board in a recent email to the members mentions its intention to propose, and therefore likely to seek a vote on, a bylaw amendment at the the upcoming annual membership meeting. Graham Management has indicated that the bylaw amendment to be proposed involves the definition of who is eligible to be a director.

This whole sequence of events is concerning. Why has the Board not made the announcement that Julie Bennett was appointed as a director? Why does the official Pine Hollow website try to obscure the fact of her appointment by listing Brandon Shimek under two directors’ positions? And why now is the Board making a bylaw amendment that will modify the requirements to be a director of the association. Will the bylaw amendment seek to allow non-HOA members to serve in this capacity, and if so, is this in the best interests of the membership?

Before the vote is taken, the Membership deserves full disclosure of why the Board is proposing the new amendment to the Bylaws, a complete explanation of the pros and cons of the proposed change, and an assessment of who it effects and why it is being made.  Is it in the best interest of members to have a director on the Board who is not a member of and has no financial stake in the Association?

In light of these unanswered questions, HOA members may want to think twice before filling out the proxy and thereby giving a blank check to the existing Board to continue in its path of re-defining HOA governance without any checks and balances on their decisions. Furthermore, before any members cast a vote, pro or con, for the proposed bylaw amendment, we are owed complete disclosure as to why it is being proposed and what the ramifications will be.