Overview of Asamblea
Greetings Neighbors! (A message from the Governance Circle)
We are so thankful to see our community coming into being with such thoughtfulness and energy. We are particularly thankful to NEI, our HOA Board, our DRC members, and to all the neighbors who are putting so much love into our on-going circles.
As you know we are in the process of getting ready for our second annual “Ordinary Condominium Owners’ Meeting” – which we will simply refer to as our Asamblea. This meeting is set to occur on February 25, 2023 from 10am-1pm CR Time, based on our community-wide poll results. Legally, as you know, we will be hosting 2 HOA meetings, as by Costa Rican law – due to the road that divides the “Northern” (Los Altos) lots from the rest of the “Southern” lots – we are considered 2 separate Condominiums. Although legally we are two, we aspire to function as one united community.
Like last year we are faced with the dilemma of ensuring that, while we must take two separate votes, we end up with a single united HOA Board, as we are one community. This last year we attempted to do this by having the board candidates self-select a slate. While we elected a wonderful Board last year, the process was felt by many of us to fall short of some of the democratic ideals that draw us to living together in community.
This year we are hoping you will join us in experimenting with a process that to us feels far more democratic and community led, and which we hope will again result in our 2 legal HOAs electing one united HOA Board.
The solution we humbly propose to you, our neighbors, is that we – all together – select a suggested “slate” by conducting an unofficial “poll” in the weeks prior to the official meeting. Through this poll we hope to collectively identify the candidates that our community would likely elect. You can see the process laid out with dates below.
In addition to electing a new board, the Asamblea is a place to make community wide proposals. While many day-to-day decisions around our community do not require HOA-wide decision making, some do. You as members have the legal right to bring proposals to our meeting. We know that this process can be both confusing and intimidating, so we as the Governance Circle are here to support individuals, groups or other circles looking to present a proposal at the Asamblea. The types of things that require HOA-wide approval are:
Major new common acquisitions or building projects in common areas that are not already in the proposed budget;
Major long term rental agreements affecting common areas (i.e. not weekly yoga classes…)
Other items that seem to warrant this level of community-wide consideration.
We are all in this together and greatly appreciate your feedback, thoughts, and questions. And we also invite you to join our weekly Governance Circle as we continue to prepare for this Asamblea.
Process and calendar:
On November 16th, 2022 at 11:30AM CR the Governance Circle will be hosting a meeting to explain the process we have devised for our preparations for our Asamblea …
December 2nd
Board Applications Due: 2022 all interested Board candidates must submit their nomination using this link: BOARD APPLICATION.
First Draft of Proposals Due if you would like Governance Circle Support, using this link: HOA PROPOSALS. (The final draft is not due until January 30th.)
By December 28th 2022 the profiles of all board applicants will be presented community-wide via email and posted on our website. (Sorry for the delay!)
On January 8th, 2023 at 12-1pm CR all applicants will be invited to present themselves to the community in an open zoom meeting. This meeting will be recorded.
By January 16th, 2023 all neighbors will be sent a non-legally binding electronic poll, with the profiles of the all board applicants and a recording of the January 8th Zoom Meeting. Neighbors will be invited to participate in the poll, with only one vote per lot.
On January 30th, 2023 the poll will be closed. This is also the last day to submit a finalized proposal to NEI for the Asamblea using this link HOA PROPOSALS.
On February 2nd, 2023 in the interest of ending up with one united Board of Directors for both HOAs, the 7 applicants that receive the greatest community-wide support through our poll, will be offered as a “suggested” slate for the official HOA elections.
On February 10th, 2023 the official “Asamblea Summons” will be sent to all HOA members by NEI, including all nominees, slated and otherwise, as well as all agenda items and proposals.
On February 25th, 2023 from 10am-1pm CR our Asamblea will commence. HOA members will have the opportunity to vote for any nominated applicant that they choose, slated or otherwise, at the Asamblea, in addition to any proposals. With fingers crossed, we will hope to elect the same Board across both HOAs.
We hope that this process will feel more participatory and open than what we came up with (through our best thinking at the time) for our last election cycle in January of 2022.
Got questions? Please join our Governance Circle call on November 16th for Q & A. You may also email us at: joan.mass@gmail.com.
Introduction to HOA Board
Alegría Village is governed by a Homeowners Association made up of all Alegría neighbors who elect a Board of Directors annually by a democratic vote. Members of the Alegría Village HOA Board represent our community to uphold our values and intentions, as well as our legal responsibilities as a condominium in Costa Rica.
About the Board
3 - 7 volunteer members, always odd in number (we are hoping for 7)
Elected (or re-elected) annually at the Asamblea.
Meets as needed. In the first year the board met quite regularly — once per week in evening hours, we expect this to be ongoing for now – roughly 10-20 hours a month.
Meetings may be held remotely.
Roles: President, Secretary, Treasurer and General Board Member
Candidates will be elected to the general Board, and specific roles will be assigned amongst the board members
Aspirational Mix of Qualities on an Ideal Board
Committed to being in service to the wellbeing of Alegría
Committed to our mission of regeneration within our bioregion and connection with our neighboring local communities
Deeply listening to the needs of the community and representing fellow neighbors with humility and respect
Diverse in age, background, gender, nationality, and language
A mix of Spanish and English speakers
Representation of Alegría parents
Majority of members will be physically living in Costa Rica and include Costa Rican nationals
Collaborative in nature, with open, honest and conscious communication
Emotionally present, empathetic, and receptive to all kinds of feedback and opinions
Ideally include members with specific backgrounds in finance, construction, legal, regeneration, project management, conflict resolution, condominium management/board membership
Board Responsibilities
Attend all Board meetings
Time commitment is approximately 10-12 hours per month, but it is very difficult to estimate during this start-up phase. May require more hours/work.
Stay informed of the legal and community needs and functions of Alegría Village as a Condominium in Costa Rica
Act as a liaison to neighbor-led circles as they form
Uphold the values and mission of Alegría Village
Discuss and vote on the following:
Supervising the Administrator;
Overseeing the Administrator’s management of the budget and reserve fund and establishing internal controls;
Creating and overseeing processes with the Administrator to effectively manage neighbor communication, feedback, requests, etc.;
Overseeing Common Area Rules: establishing regulations and standards relative to the use of the property and common areas and establishing sanctions for the breach of those rules;
Bringing suggestions around common areas to the HOAs;
Appointing members to HOA commissions as outlined in the bylaws Alegria by-Laws
Overseeing commission activities;
Any other issues submitted for consideration by the Board.
Overview of Board Activities 2022
The following are some of the major items that the board managed through weekly or bi-weekly meetings throughout the year.
Hired Alegria Administrator - NEI - and oversaw NEI’s activities on behalf of the HOA.
Over the course of most of the year, oversaw the delivery from the Alegria Founders to the Alegria HOA. This included extensive walk-throughs of the Alegria, helping NEI record and note questions and concerns about the official delivery of the property to the neighbors. Some major items of note include the safety of road paving, hive, shala, and the completion of the full roster of deliverables like play and sports areas.
Oversaw NEI’s administration of Alegria, assisting with many aspects including communications.
Managed potential conflicts of interest between Alegría and partner organizations (specifically those that are also neighbors).
Oversaw the budget, and ensured that workers are treated with the values at the core of Alegria, including advocating for improved work spaces (that include access to electricity and bathroom) and successfully advocating for raised wages when it became clear that workers contracted to the HOA were under-compensated.
Interviewed and appointed members of the Design Review Committee. Replaced a DRC member who left mid-year.
Oversaw NEI’s coordination of necessary services like insurance, security, maintenance.
Communicated with neighbors through several mediums, including Circles and WhatsApp threads.
Spent significant time on campus at Alegria, noting the impact of weather conditions and increasing construction activities on community assets.
Created a set of important considerations for full HOA to consider at the 2023 Asamblea.
2023 Board Applicants
English:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_gwIBKh8JQMxR8EROI-t4GA92HnjyjHRFUrucX16lQE/edit?usp=sharing
Spanish:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18izjntHLulQX2k9ZbT88qOYz--_z3OQwo9Z8DQgcdXc/edit?usp=sharing