Article 4, Section 3 of the Association’s Bylaws reads,
Removals; Vacancies. Any director may be removed from the Board of Directors with or without cause, by a majority vote of the voters theretofore entitled to elect such director. In the event of death or resignation of a director, his successor shall be selected by the remaining members of the board. In the event of removal of a director, his successor shall be elected by the lot owners theretofore entitled to elect such director. (emphasis added)
As you can see in the above snippet, the Board has complete control over who they appoint to fill the remainder of the term that was vacated. The only times that new Board members can be elected are in the event of the removal of a Director or at the Annual Meeting. This is not unique to our Bylaws. Browse the Internet for other examples of HOA/POA bylaws, and you’ll see the same thing in every case. The Association’s lawyer also reviewed and approved of such wording as it is standard practice. Seeing as that he went to law school and works exclusively with Community Associations, the Board thought it best to follow the impartial legal advice that he was paid to provide.
While it would seem that leaving it up to all Members would be an excellent idea, it’s not done for a variety of reasons. One reason is that it's hard to get all Members to gather at a meeting that is not the Annual Meeting and it is much quicker to appoint someone who is interested in serving on the Board for the remainder of the term. In some cases, there may be a committee member or officer who has been serving on the periphery of the Board, and this is an excellent opportunity to increase their level of participation if it has been shown that they have something to offer, beyond just filling an open seat with a warm body.
There’s no way that each and every Member will be appeased in each situation, and this is an example of that. More often than not, the Board will have someone in mind to fill a space on the Board if one should become vacant for any reason during the term of service.
If you are interested in becoming a Board member, please email board@lakevistapoa.com.