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Purchase IPADs for Board Members

P

phil1ben

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I am an owner at HGVC South Beach. I just read the May 11, 2011 Board Minutes and saw that the Board voted to buy each Board Member an IPAD so that meeting minutes can be delivered electronically. It was paid for as an Operating Expense and ; therefore, by each owner.

Are they kidding?

I suspect each Board Member has computer access. In the very unlikely event that they do not, then let them review the materials by hard copy. Or simply go to their public library. These Boards should simply be owners who VOLUNTEER to serve. They should not be paid with IPADS. The money should be used for "Operating Expenses" not Christmas gifts for Board Members.

Am I the only one troubled by this?

I intend to write a letter to the Board complaining about this action. If others agree, I hope they will join me.
 
My concern about this depends on whether the members get to keep the IPad or not. Is it truly a gift, and each new member of the board will get one further down the road, or will the departing board members turn them in for use by the next board member?
 
How many of those owners are Hilton plants? That would be my question. That's pretty sickening. Board members should never get gifts of more than a few bucks.
 
That is outrageous and, IMO, a gross deriliction of duty. They will surely use that Ipad more for everything else other than for matters related to the board. Moreover it is a waste of resources and clearly does not serve the owners' best interests. As previously mentioned by the OP, there are much cheaper alternatives that are just as efficient. Whether or not the Ipad is property of the board or the individual member is irrelevent.
 
Incredible and all too typical of a Developer controlled operation. Do they get company cars so they can drive to meetings? Or maybe a jet? It is completely unjustified and the owners should call them on it at the next meeting - and vote them out next election if that is the way they operate.

Not to say an Owner controlled board couldn't do the same but it is far less likely when they appreciate it is their as well as the thousands of other owners money they are wasting. And they face a real election for the post. Board members that don't have their own pcs/laptops/tablets to "read the electronic minutes"? BS!! Stop this abuse of power ASAP.
 
timeos2 said:
Stop this abuse of power ASAP.
Click to expand...

This is a theorectical question, I have nothing to do with this resort.

But if I ever found myself in a similar situation, what steps would I take to effectively stop an abuse by the board? What is the recourse other than trying to vote the bums out next year? I am asking a genuine question as to the steps involved, not offering a commentary on your suggestion.

H
 
heathpack said:
This is a theorectical question, I have nothing to do with this resort.

But if I ever found myself in a similar situation, what steps would I take to effectively stop an abuse by the board? What is the recourse other than trying to vote the bums out next year? I am asking a genuine question as to the steps involved, not offering a commentary on your suggestion.

H
Click to expand...

Simply attending the next Board meeting (hopefully with a group - the larger the better) to "call them on the carpet" would be a great place to start. Raising the question publicly helps but there needs to be follow up. Dislodging a Board or just a Board member can be tough but holding them accountable is relatively easy & must be done.
 
The real issue with fighting a current board and ousting them is apathy of owners. People simply do not care. Also, how do you get a list of owners and organize any kind of effort to vote against the board? Most resorts will not give a list of owners to anyone. There is a cost of mailing, too.

If you send in your proxies, you are giving the board your votes. If you don't send in your proxies, the board has even more power because they can still have your vote by default. That is my understanding of the board's power. They have it all, and you cannot vote them out without a very concerted effort. They cannot conduct business at a meeting without the proxies, so the board does make all decisions, no matter what.
 
I just called the Manager of South Beach who was very nice on the telephone and answered all my questions.

THIS IS AN HGVC POLICY THAT SHE SAID APPLIES TO ALL HGVC RESORTS -- NOT JUST SOUTH BEACH. IT IS A POLICY THAT HGVC RECOMMENDED ALL RESORTS TO ADOPT.

IT APPLIES TO ALL OF US IF YOUR BOARD VOTES TO BUY THE IPADS.

I was told South Beach had unanticipated revenue of about $11,000.00 from filming activity and they voted to use the money to buy IPADS. The money should have been used to paint, repair and refurbish. This decision would seem to reflect a determination by the Board that the Property is in near perfect condition.

Instead of posting here, we should all write letters. Check your meeting minutes to see if your Board bought themselves IPADS.
 
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Even IF the resort had absolutely no repairs or maintenance to be addressed then it should go to reserves.
 
Talent312 said:
I suggest that we write letters. :p

At least they're not buying themselves Jaguars.
Click to expand...

Not yet but once they "justify" one unreasonable move...

Watch your pocketbooks HGVC owners.
 
Unbelievable.

I do love my iPad, but for $499 each, you can mail a whole lot of paper.

Surely achieving the high score on Angry Birds isn't an association-related use of an iPad. Sounds ripe for abuse, and audit.
 
Now the board can run the Jaguar app on the iPad and all is good.

I've noted in the budget every year at SCI there's a line item for a car lease. I don't know if the manager gets a company car or if this is for the electric carts used on property, but it's always bugged me a bit.

I may just ask now and see.
 
rickandcindy23 said:
Also, how do you get a list of owners and organize any kind of effort to vote against the board? Most resorts will not give a list of owners to anyone.
Click to expand...

There are ways:

For Frenchman's Cove you can mine this database of Property Tax records to find all the owners:

http://public.usvi.cavucorp.com/

It takes time, but can be done. ...and, yes, there are costs.
 
How about a post of the board member's names for some public shaming?
 
The minutes may be distributed to every owner by email in PDF format. It would hardly cost a dime. The minutes could be reviewed on an IPAD, lap top, or desk top without difficulty. Most owners have access to such devices.
 
I know the op reported that the purpose was so minutes could be delivered by email...Im guessing they have a better reason than that. A better justification would be so the meetings could be held without the need for each board member to travel to the resort or some other central location....Seems like a small price to pay to save the board or the board members several plane tickets a year. I could get behind that.
 
Old fashioned phone conferences. That is how our board conducts it's meetings. Minutes and the Agenda are emailed, then each board member downloads and prints them at their own costs.
 
Someone posted a Note on Facebook that iPads were also purchased for Board Members at Seaworld based upon the May, 2011 Board Minutes. I don't mean to belabor this but it simply is wrong.
 
OVS II (Seaworld)
Board of Directors’ Meeting, May 5, 2011

The meeting was called to order at 9 a.m. at the Hilton Grand Vacations Company Millenia office Orlando conference room. Board members in attendance included Neil Goodhue, Preston Beck, Catherine McDonald, Kim Kreiger and Cindy Angelo. Attending from Hilton Grand Vacations Company were Peter Merrill, Mary Kish, Joe Velasco, Kenny Mayhew, Neil Hutchinson, Neil Peraza, Marc Neu, Victoria Perez and several members of the onsite staff.
....
Electronic Format for Meetings
Mr. Hutchinson discussed with the Board the idea of providing future Board meeting material and other correspondence in an electronic format. All future material would be sent to the Board members electronically by providing each Board member an iPad. After discussion, the Board agreed to have management move forward with implementing the electronic format including the purchase of the necessary equipment as an operating expense.
....
Kim Robert Kreiger, Secretary/Treasurer
 
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An e-mail which I expect will be quickly deleted:
To: input@hgvc.com

Are the iPads that HGVC bought for Association BOD’s the property of HGVC or the Associations?
Will Board members be allowed to retain the iPads after they leave the Board?
Was it decided that Association BOD’s could not receive meeting materials with their own devices?
Will Board members be expected to pay for personal use of their iPads?

Perhaps Mr. Kreiger would like to address this issue in the next issue of Grand Times.
Or perhaps I and my fellow owners should ask these questions at an “owners update"?”
 
That's how I can get voted as a Board member, report that I have my OWN iPad!
 
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