These thoughts were received from L.S. in response to recent postings from Ellie, Shawn, and the ACHOA President’s newsletter:
It has been interesting to follow the ongoing discussions. Reading the comments, Al Liebman’s president’s message, and thinking back to what transpired over the past 2 years, it seems that going forward one specific problem facing us is how to keep the interests of the HOA separate and distinct from the interests of the golf club/FOA LLC. At times the interests will be similar or even the same. Sometimes interests might be opposed. What this should mean in practice, is that all of our elected HOA board members and our volunteer committee members, whether they are regular, meaning unaffiliated residents, golf club members, or FOA investors, have the absolute fiduciary duty to solely represent the interests of the ArrowCreek community as a whole.
All residents or resident groups of ArrowCreek, whether they are golf club members or FOA investors or neither, have the opportunity to bring their interests, concerns, and ideas to the attention of the HOA board during the public comment periods of HOA meetings, by sending letters to the HOA board, and organizing meetings or presentations.
The interests of The Club at Arrowcreek, on the other side, are those of a private enterprise, and should only be brought to the community and the HOA board as a private initiative by the FOA LLC. For example, in case of a future business proposal by the FOA LLC to the HOA, the FOA alone should be responsible to prove its merits to the community. The manner in which The ArrowCreek Club Committee was allowed to autonomously function “behind the scenes” over the past two years, and be the voice for the board’s point of view, should have never been allowed, especially as a board sanctioned committee with HOA board members, golf club members, and in the beginning FOA members, as committee members. There should be no HOA board or committee involvement until a survey demonstrates general support for the FOA’s business proposal. Only then should the process of vetting information, obtaining independent expert opinions, and so forth be initiated. It appears that Alan Liebman acknowledged this very issue in his message from the president.
Regarding the current issue of determining the specifics of the collaboration between the HOA and the FOA LLC and related changes to our CCR’s, there must be no doubt that the HOA is represented by objective, unbiased board members, committee members, and HOA counsel. As the second party of this negotiation, the FOA should be responsible to select their own representatives and hire their own legal counsel. No overlap of the two negotiating teams should be tolerated. Currently, the Governing Documents Committee working on the review of our CCR’s and of the rights and responsibilities of the owner of the golf course has three golf club members, and one FOA member out of a total of six members.
There should be opportunity for community input and review as the collaboration discussions proceed. If that means that the process takes longer, so be it. Merely presenting a fait accompli as was repeatedly the case with the different versions of the golf club purchase clearly did not work and resulted in a great deal of wasted time and money.
These are some basic and common sense principles to be considered as we review our community documents to recognize the change of ownership of the golf club. A series of town hall meetings would provide opportunity for community input and, for the board, the opportunity to learn what residents are thinking and feeling regarding our HOA and about how to openly work together with The Club at Arrowcreek.
Just my (unsolicited) opinion.
L.S.
ArrowCreek Resident since 2006
ArrowCreek411 
LS,
Welcome to the conversation.
The characterization of the affiliations of the Governing Documents Committee, of which I am a member, are correct. However, I can absolutely assure you that some of the concerns expressed are just that, concerns. Every member of the Committee is acting as a resident owner, including Mr. Motherway, who represents the interests of the current owner of the Non-residential area and has the toughest responsibility on the committee, representing two interests.
The committees work effort is not hidden. In fact, the meetings are announced on the ACHOA website and every owner is more than welcome to participate in the ‘sausage making.’ It’s a difficult task, trying to delete the ‘Declarant (who no longer exists in any form)’ and reassign rights and responsibilities accordingly. So, come to a meeting and assist in developing the ‘new’ CC&Rs and By-laws. If you can’t make a meeting during the day, PLEASE provide your comments and insights to a committee member (Ms. Joyce Seelen (chair), Mr. Dave Steele, Mr. Paul Burkett, Mr. Tom Motherway, Ms. Robin Rakusin or myself, Ron Duncan (rwduncan@ieee.org) as absolutely every comment is taken seriously and acted upon.
I assure you this is not a closed effort and all of the committee members are acting responsibly.
With highest regard for your input,
Ron Duncan
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Received this morning from L. S.:
Thank you Mr. Duncan, your reassurance is much appreciated. I wish I could share your confidence that a clear line of demarcation between the interests of the HOA versus those of the golf club owners at the board and committee level, equitable balance of power, equitable or proportional representation do not need to be a concern. Other than changing a few figures on the HOA board and committees with the past election, the same system and procedural processes are in place that allowed personal convictions and connections, and private business/special interests to outweigh the majority and common interest for the two long years of the golf course debacle. How can we reasonably expect a different outcome?
The vote of one board or committee member can have a tremendous impact on what the community will have to live with. To my knowledge there is no log of voting records of board or committee members that residents could track. There are several committees with golf course members and FOA members serving our community at this time. Some of them may be able to cast votes not only twice, but multiple times: on the committee level, on the board, as residents, and with or on behalf of the FOA. I do not mean any disrespect to anyone, but how can one person be true to two interests? I believe changes need to be made above and beyond the election results, that acknowledge and reflect both the shared and also the sometimes opposed interests of the two independent organizations of the ACHOA and The Club at ArrowCreek. At this juncture, the tasks before the Governing Documents Committee are most critical. Many good suggestions have been made, not only on the AC411 website, but also at past HOA board meetings. In my opinion, we still have all the makings of a situation where history could repeat itself. In some ways it already has repeated itself if we think back to the ClubCorp dilemma. Nothing would please me more than to be proven wrong.
Best wishes to you, our board, and committee members.
Respectfully,
L.S.
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L.S.
In my experience optimism and hard work can not only counter a negative situation but completely reverse it.
CNA continues to be vigilant as new schemes are continually being put forward, and acted upon, by the profit making corporation. We continue to wish them well, however, since they are absolutely bound to the HOA as a portion of the ArrowCreek subdivision, their actions may have a negative impact on our community. ALL of us need to ensure that as the ‘declarant’ is removed from the Governing Documents that the subdivision continues to be safe and protected. With that as a goal, it’s very important that people of good will step forward and volunteer, or at the very least provide their input, for critical committees, like the Governing Documents Committee.
Ron Duncan
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