Homeowners Association Dispute Review Board 12/04/2025

0:00All right. Good evening. Today, it's December 4th, 2025, and then meet in the Charles County on what's associated with the Spear Review Board will now come to order. We've established a quorum. Madam Clerk, would you please provide a roll? Sure. Um, let's see. Uh, where's my things? Amina? Um, here. Uh, Cheryl Walker. Here. Latanya Rogers. Here. Las Walkins. Is Las the telephone number? I'm pretty sure it is because she was in the waiting room before me. Right. Right. I saw her name pop up on the. Yes, she didn't email as well. Yeah.

1:06Maybe she can put in the chat if she's not able to speak. Okay. Normally, this is the time she's driving her from work. Okay. All right. Let me go to read it. Fawson. Here. Tara Dews. Here. Amy Coombs. Clerk of the board here. And I, I just clicked something over here and it says it's calling Las. Well, it's my first time calling in and I'm Wanda Morrison. Are you a member of the community observing? Yes. Okay. All right. Thank you. So, Madam Clerk, I thought we had four board members. We only have three.

2:07Well, Las is, Las was just here. We're here. Yeah. Something's going on with her. Do you want me to try giving her a call? Yeah. I'm trying to get Veronica too if she can add her. Okay. Ms. Morrison, welcome you to our meeting. And we're just trying to make sure we have a warm so that the board can conduct business. Appreciate your questions. Las, can you, Las, can you hear us?

3:13Yeah, I can hear you. Okay. Great. So we were doing the roll call. So Las Watkins. Yeah. I'll probably take them coming. I'm just getting on to work. So we have to understand. Okay. All right. So we're good, we're good to go. Thank you. All right. It's first order of business. Is there proving the agenda meeting from the August meeting? No changes were received or corrections. I'll entertain on motion that the minutes be approved. I make a motion that the minutes be approved. Mrs. Latina Rogers. Is there a second? I second. Is all in favor. Hi. Said everyone.

4:16They're both responds. Sorry. I only heard two voices. I said aye. This is Las Watkins. Well, time made of motion and last. Yeah. Seconded and we have everybody. Hi. Yeah. All right. Next, we will review going over proven the new application. Amy sent over the application. The new application forms to everyone. She won't get a transfer of you. Are there any comments on the application? I thought it was really good. Amy, I like the structure of it in the track. So like the words to attach everything. I thought it was great. Thank you. Well, that's good to share all and read. That's just a mop up. That's it's not a permanent application. Read and share. It's just a miss Walker was very nice to kind of give me some give me some give us a direction. And we actually were looking comparing it to an application we received a complaint that we

5:21were processing. And we compared it how we would approach it with the new application and it doesn't it didn't meet the requirements under the under chapter 247. So we're going to respond back to the applicant to they need to check a box. You know, they have to achieve one portion of the code before we could the board can start reviewing it. But it was very clear in the new application was he has to do so because that was a attorney dues is like do they have a thing? The section was did they have they exhausted their administrative processes? And if they don't have an administrative process, did they notify the board of directors? They get them noticed that hey, we have a problem. And I need help we need we need to address it. And the applicant did not do that. So we're going to

6:21respond to the applicant that they have to address that issue. On the board, our plan will be, excuse me. Did you guys fix the month's part where it said Mel and the check valid be made to Montgomery County? Did you change that to Charles County? Yeah. It's not word. It was just as an example, we're going to that we're going to convert it to a word document. And then one of the subordinates that finalizes it, the next meeting will have it come to APPS, a suitable PPS. So we added to the website. Okay. Thank you. Is it when you come spillable? Is there, we possibly have where they could just submit it that way as well? Excuse me. So I want to become spillable. Can we have it set up where they can also just submit it that way as well? Usually with global PDFs, you can usually set up an email where once you submitted

7:24it all goes to. Is that something that we could consider adding? I don't know if we could do that. We probably could do something like that. We have to talk to IT to mean like a like almost like a like a automatic web page where you complete the application, attach any batch events you have and then hit submit. Right? Something like that. Yeah. We would receive it automatically. Yeah. We could probably, I'm sure they could probably set something like that up. I can talk to IT. I can talk to Sarah. I can talk to Sarah. Yeah. And then payment we could, we could, um, um, electronic invoice them using our, um, or what is it? I don't know. I don't know the, I don't know the, I don't know the immune system. Yeah. It's, it's a little difficult to do it that way, but we can. Yeah. I think it'd be possible to make it more of a, uh, an online process.

8:24If we didn't any help with that, Amy, do let me know because I do know how to do that kind of stuff. So it's going to be the more seamless the process is, it's the more easy to put kind of do it in, especially being really want to like push something through. We will talk to our IT staff. We'll see if I can accept that up. All right. Next, and our agenda is reviewing the 2026 meeting dates and approving them. They're going to get the list of dates that Amy sent out. Did everybody get those? Hmm. I can, I can tell you the dates. There's only six of them. Hmm. That we have. But the next meeting, of course, will be February 5th, 2026. Um, April 9th, 2026. Now normally it would be April 2nd, would be the next meeting, but, uh, that's the day before good for me and I'm not going to be here.

9:28So I just changed to April 9th if everybody's okay with that date. And then June 4th, August 6th, October 1st and December 3rd. Okay. And if we don't need to, we don't need to do a motion for that. Just to everybody's approval. Okay. You say June 4th, August 6th and December 3rd. June 4th, August 6th, October 1st and December 3rd. No, October 1st. And December 3rd. Okay. So yes, that is correct. If we didn't have any meetings or anything to discuss at that time, do we still have the meeting? We've had somewhere we have not met. We didn't have anything on the agenda. Is there a requirement for the, the legislation for this, uh, group to hold a certain number of meetings a year? No, no, we've cancelled meetings in the past.

10:32Like, if there's nothing on the agenda, but we just have to do proper notification with our, on our website and through media to make sure that no one shows up. And I get the public shows up and the board's not having a meeting. And that correct attorney does. You're correct. We just need to provide ample notice to the public that the meeting's been cancelled. I'm good with the dates. I'm good. Okay, and then I will get them to, um, our media and people and they will put it on the calendar for next year for, uh, the Charles County website. I have a question, Amy, what happens if the new application goes out when it does? And then next, you know, we have a whole bunch of folks do we call meetings in between that?

11:34Or do we just stay with those dates? Well, we can, like, we can, we have that has happened where we, um, as needed on an as needed basis. So if we had to go home meeting, yes, we can set one up to see if everyone's available to meet. We did that last year, sure, and we were supposed to take a case, um, in person. So, right, no perfect. And these dates were Thursdays, right? Because Wednesdays, um, oh, yes, that's, yeah, that's correct. All right, thank you. All right, um, do you have any new business needs to be discussed, aside from that? Attorney, do you, is we ready to do anything for us? Well, we do see, uh, a new application that we're reviewing, um, aside from that,

12:37there's no other business that we need to address with this board at this time. Is that correct, Mr. Bossin? Yes. All right. I would just kind of motion to adjourn the meeting. May I ask a question first? Yes, ma'am. Welcome. Okay, this is my first time attending one of these meetings. But it's something that I'm definitely interested in. So how can I go up out getting more information? I mean, I've been out on the website, the, the Charles County website, and I read all this stuff out there. But is there anything else that I would need if I want to participate in, uh, working with the board? So I'm the website. So you've been on the board, the different commission board websites on there. There is a link for boards that have positions.

13:39We click on the link, it takes you to a form where you select which board you're interested in volunteering with. It asks you certain questions based on the board. Once you complete that, some of the form then goes on to the next process. That's all you have to do actually to start off. You said they asked questions about what now? So they'll ask questions generally about your experience working on boards. Are you on a board right now? Nothing very, nothing deeply like that. It's more coming to understanding of your experience at background, related to the nature of the board that you're on here in board. Okay. Oh, so there's several boards. Yes, I can put the link in the chat actually for you, but yes, there are several boards with the commissioners, at least I cannot put them in the chat for you. Oh, sorry, I can't see it. Sorry. But if you do kind of Google Charles County citizen boards, you'll see the entire list.

14:41Okay. Okay. Hi, everybody. This is Dean Zach. And I have a question. I could also follow on this when I was on Charles County, getting information about my Parkland area. Do you all, okay, so I saw in there on the application form that will, I guess we're paying you all to help us with our homeowner's association, is that what this board does? So what this board does is sort of kind of mediates certain disputes that occur between residents and their home association after they've exhausted their kind of their, the process within their covenants. Okay, do you help the association? Do you help the homeowners if the board has been over to the homeowners? So we've got a word talking about earlier, you were in the very beginning,

15:42but you're not transitioning from moving in, moving from the developers running the board to the homeowner's running the board. So I don't believe we get into developer disputes. Turned dues, you can answer that better. That's correct, pursuant to our governing statute, which is 247 of the Charles County code. This board handles disputes between property owners and their HOA. If there's something that you have a dispute with, the builder perhaps a mediation might be appropriate, but this board only handles disputes between the property owner and the the HOA. And a requirement is that if you bring the complaint to this board, then you have to have already attempted to resolve the dispute with the HOA.

16:49So if the HOA is still with the builder and the builder are the HOA, you still don't pursue that at all, correct? Not with the builder now. Attorney dues, where would they go in the county if they had a concern with the developer? Read, you might know, too, but where would they go? If they had a question, who would they contact? It all depends on what the question is. If it's like an infrastructure, construction question, the stormwater management, I guess they could walk through with the developer, that would be planning growth management. It's an infrastructure and then if it's like a problem with their individual homes, for structural issues or something like that, a permitting that would

17:52be planning growth management that would be co-affirmative. Before you start, let me just tell you, we are off of St. Charles Parkway and there's a lot of noise on St. Charles Parkway and it's affecting people, they can't sit on their porch because it's so loud going back and forth on that street. So, who do we call when it comes down to noise decibel with the street that is the St. Charles Parkway? Chip of the Noise is that's chapter 260 of the Charles County Code that's regulated by the Charles County Sheriff's Office after hours but that's or the Charles County Health Department. I do not believe they regulate road noise. This typically noise is they regulated from someone construction activities or someone having a party, concert, things like that. I mean, I guess

19:00and we, the County Roads do not have noise walls on them. We could have you talk to any may a double department of public works? No. I'm in the Roads division. I didn't know that that there was a division called Roads division. Yeah, I mean that that might be a good place to start see if there's any opportunity to related to. I don't know if they're going to put any noise barriers in on the County roadways. I've only seen them on state roadways and won't my experience. Okay. Okay. So, everybody that's on this board is part of a community that has H.O.A. Are they all, is that why you did it on this board? Is that the current? I mean, the orders that there's that they have a specific makeup that's under the Charles under our statute to under 247. We have a professional property manager's representations.

20:06We have people who are members of H.O.A. their individual homeowners associations as that large members. I can't remember the others that required attendees, but that they're either I think they're volunteering. Are you all volunteers? Yes. These are all volunteer members. They do not receive any professional stipend or anything like that. I myself, I'm my county staff person, the clerk and the attorney are also staff. Okay. All right. Well, thank you so very much. I appreciate this information. Do you guys work with the county commissioners? We're on the umbrella of the charge. The charge county commissioners. They're the legislative body or the county. We we and they we work under I guess the county administrator.

21:06So they they tell the county administrator what they want done in the county administrator administers their goals. Okay. Okay. So how long have you guys been they dispute review board? How long have you guys been in operation? Almost 20 years. Really? The legislation I think was adopted around 2006. Yeah. I'm going to take 2007. Sorry. You're kidding me. All those meetings I've gone to, I've never heard I've never heard you guys speak. So I'm just curious. Okay. All right. I see now. So then if you've been in operation for 20 years and you know that that the HLAs are controlled by a majority management company. We know who their name is, right?

22:10Well, the county does not have like a roster of who runs the different HLA boards. That's the middle post county. So right now, a lot is that's your question. I think that's your question. It say that again. I can hardly hear you. So I said, I believe your question is, do we know the who manages all the different HLAs in the county? So Charles County does not keep a record of who manages or who are the boards of the different HLAs in the county. I'm talking about the management companies that are supposed to be managed. I am a person that live in a subdivision where I pay HLA fees and there's a management company that's supposed to be regulating. What is their function? Because the package that I got 20 something years ago and I got here was already 10 almost 10 years old when I got here, but they still use those same regulations. Now I've been told that they still using those same regulations from 1999

23:16current day picking and choosing how they want to do things. So how do we, or how would I, as a homeowner who has a certain dispute, if that's what you want to call it, with the way things are going, based on my dispute, would determine which board I would have to deal with. Is that how it set up? If you're talking about your governing documents, that would be your declaration, your bylaws in which they are using to govern your community, that would not be a county matter. That would be a matter between yourself and your board. So let's say I wanted to get my governing documents changed. The bylaws would say that you could do that with a certain percentage. You could amend your documents, but that would be between you and your board of directors to determine if you're going to take that process, if you're going to amend what

24:20would that amendment look like? So I don't think that is a county matter at all. That is strictly right there at the non-stock corporation level. The whom what? The community level. It's right there at the community level. So between you and the board of directors and the community. So I would just go to make sure that you're at all of your HOA meetings, all of them, and hear out what is going on when they get to the open forum portion. Just state your concerns. Listen, these documents was drafted in 1999, and I think that we are far past that decades later. We need to really look at the documents and figure out what we need to do to amend for certain things, but that's what I would do. I would attend all my meetings, use the onus forum to state your suggestion for betterment of the community. I thank you for saying that, but I have been to all the meetings. They only have one meeting a year,

25:22and they refuse to have any other meetings, and the meeting time that they choose to meet is six o'clock. Most of my community are young families that work in DC for the federal government, and they don't get off to four thirty-five o'clock. So they don't, they can't get down here until seven, maybe seven thirty. With that being said, we've requested that we have the meetings at a later time, or maybe on a Saturday, and every since I've made that request, I get no response from anyone, about anything, about anything. I didn't say the community I'm in, but I don't mind saying I'm in work for the village. What's for village? Okay, I thought Parklands was the one. Okay. So the plan on adopting what you're disputed, is what you would do is, because you start with

26:23a management company, based on your covenants. Look, I hear what you all are saying. I've heard this all before. I've been to all the meetings, commissioners meeting, every meeting I could go to, and I cannot break through that wall with anyone. The management company that manages this property, supposedly, is Meredith. They've managed this property, and they won't talk to anybody, or what they won't talk to me. And any questions that anybody has other than to deny it out, they get no response. You only have one other resource. All HOAs, condominiums, the whole common ownership in the entire state of Maryland is governed by the Attorney General's Office. If you feel that

27:23you have to get certain information or get some guidance, you would go to the OAG division, I think it's consumer protection, and let them know that you need some advice, as to how to deal with your particular community. I believe we also have a attorney on staff there, where you can just talk to someone. They won't give you advice, but they will give you some direction where to go. But the Attorney General's Office is where you would be. Oh, okay, because I thought that was you guys, since you are a dispute-reviewed board. I thought I would start with you all first, because you seem to be the most active, you seem to be the most put together, and you seem to be the most informative from my point of view. So far. Ma'am, this board is for the purpose of resolving specific disputes. So if you have a specific

28:26complaint with your HOA, then this board would resolve that matter or attempt to, but just generally as board member Walker has indicated, you may do well by contacting the Attorney General's Office. Consumer protection division. Okay, I will try that. So the fact that we're dealing with outdated regulations that is not considered a dispute. This board is with specific disputes. So if that were your issue, you would file a complaint with this board. It'd be reviewed, and then who's on the other side would have an opportunity to respond. It's just like a court per se. You file a complaint, and then the other side has

29:30an opportunity to respond. Then you come in before the judge, which would be this board, and I present your evidence. Okay. Okay. All right, that sounds like a start. Okay. People on the board meetings keep showing up to your board meetings. Make a record that you show up. Yes, I will. All right. We only have one a year, but I'll make sure. Well, that's because they don't they don't want to they don't want to deal with the they don't want to deal with the community and the community does not show up for the meetings because they feel like they have just gotten they had just gotten just hearted. They don't they don't even have faith in any of it. And I would hate to see this community go down because I like where I live. I just don't like the way things are going at this point in time. And I'm trying to

30:35find some help to see if I could get somebody to get me started so that I can report back to them what my findings are and see if I can get more people out to participate because as it stands now everybody's gripping, but nobody wants to come out and participate in anything to get something done. Madam President, did you have any other issues you wanted to resolve? I think you got a motion on the floor, is that right? I don't think you don't have to make the motion. I requested it, but I think you don't actually make the motion. So is there a motion to adjourn the meeting? I'll make the motion to adjourn the meeting because they're talking to Rogers. That's a second. Hall in favor? Hi. Happy holidays everyone.