Almost all Community Associations are required to hold annual or semi-annual meetings. Meetings are a great time to bring everyone in the association together and get on the same page about the community’s future. But just because you have a meeting doesn’t mean you’ll get people to attend or that it will be productive by default.
At ONR, we believe that when it’s easy for neighbors to come together, great things happen. That’s why we’ve put together a few tips to make sure your next HOA & Condo meeting is a success:
Send Meeting Materials and Give Notice Early
Any Community Association meeting requires that you send out notice of the meeting to all association members beforehand. Under Chapter 718 of the Florida Statutes, the Florida Condominium Act, adequate notice of all board meetings (which must include all agenda items) is required to be posted conspicuously on the condominium property at least forty-eight (48) continuous hours before the meeting, except in an emergency. How much in advance will depend on the specific rules of your association, but three weeks (21 days) is pretty typical.
It’s important to prepare your talking points well in advance of giving notice. The better prepared you are, the more productive the meeting will be. Online tools like ONR make sending notices and relevant documents easy. Handling these points online also means that if you need to update anything, you don’t have to send out individual emails or snail mail.
Keep Minutes (or record the meeting)
Keeping detailed minutes is important for all meetings and is required by most bylaws. According to Florida Statute 718.111, meeting minutes must be taken for each board meeting. The minutes simply record the actions taken at the subject meeting.
Assign someone to keep minutes and use online tools to make them available after the meeting. Keeping minutes is one easy way to increase Community Association transparency, especially for association members who couldn’t attend. If you are hosting a virtual meeting and the option is available, recording the meeting is another easy way to keep an accurate record of everything.
Make Attendance Easy by Offering Virtual Options
Even before the pandemic, trying to get everyone together in one room at once could be challenging. When attending HOA & Condo meetings is more complicated than it needs to be, it often leads to issues making quorum or to a loud minority making all the decisions for everyone – and trust us, that is never a good thing. The ability to meet online from anywhere makes participating in Community Associations meetings simpler than ever. In addition to being convenient, it also lets people attend who are out of town or can’t stay for the whole time. If you do opt to hold an in-person meeting, it’s still valuable to have a virtual option.
It goes without saying that the easier it is to participate, the more people will show up. Engaging more association members greatly ensures their voices feel heard and keeps your community happy.
Stay on Topic But Encourage Participation
You’ve spent a long time meticulously preparing an agenda in advance – so stick to it! Run through the agenda in order and try to keep sidebars to a minimum. That said, make sure to build in time to take questions from the rest of the community. These meetings are a rare chance to gather opinions and hear concerns, so make it clear that everyone’s voice must be heard. If a question session is going longer than expected, politely cut it off but offer other ways to continue the conversation. With ONR, association members can use the message boards to expand on any questions or concerns during the meeting.
Make the minutes available for public inspection
The Florida Homeowners’ Association Act and the Florida Condominium Act, designate that minutes can be subject to inspection and should be provided to homeowners within 30 days of the board meeting held. Further, minutes should be available to all members in a secure website or app, and must be retained for at least 7 years.
With ONR, associations will be able to distribute meeting minutes in a timely fashion, ensuring everyone that participated is aligned and in-the-know.
Simplify Preparation with ONR
Nowadays, there’s no reason why associations should still be planning and running meetings the old-fashioned way. ONR comes packed with features that allow boards to get more done by digitalizing processes, facilitating a better flow of communication with their communities, and providing a centralized place where all the documentation can be hosted and share with everyone in their association. To learn more about how ONR can boost community engagement at your next meeting, contact us today.