Maple Grove: A Recall Petition, a Rumor, and Two Records Requests

Recall is a member action, not a board action, and the manager's value is procedural neutrality.

Step 1 - read the documents and the statute. Determine the petition threshold, who may call the meeting (board, president, or petitioners), the notice period, whether the vote must be by secret ballot, and whether the recalled director's seat is filled by appointment or election.

Step 2 - validate the petition. Check signatures against owner records, one per unit or lot, dated within any required window, with printed names and addresses. If it is short or defective, say so in writing with the specific defect and the cure available - do not simply refuse.

Step 3 - schedule or decline, but do it in writing. A validly called meeting cannot be ignored. The board may correct a defective petition, but obstruction converts a $2,400 contract dispute into a governance crisis.

Pitfalls: the two directors facing recall should not chair or preside over the meeting at which their recall is voted (recuse and let a disinterested officer preside); the association's communication channels must not be used to campaign; ballot counting should be by an independent inspector with a written tally. And regardless of the petition's outcome, the underlying no-bid award needs a substantive answer at the meeting - process complaints do not go away because a vote fails.

These are different questions and deserve different answers.

Owner email list. Many statutes permit members to inspect the membership list and addresses; others limit inspection to a stated association purpose. A board candidate seeking the list for campaigning is the classic judgment call. Options: produce it if the statute allows, subject to a written no-commercial-use restriction; or, where the statute contemplates association-facilitated candidate communication, offer to distribute the candidate's material at association expense and on equal terms to all candidates. The one thing to avoid is a discretionary refusal that looks like incumbent protection. Verify the statute's stated-purpose language before choosing.

Executive session minutes. Minutes of executive session are still minutes. They may be withheld while the matter is active - litigation, contract negotiation, or personnel action - but the record must be adequate: the general subject and any action taken belong in the minutes, with privileged detail in a confidential attachment. 'Legal matter discussed' is not minutes; it is the vacuum the $500,000 rumor grew in. Release a corrected summary of subject matter and action taken, and respond to the rumor publicly with the facts - the adopted budget, the reserve balance, the loan amount discussed and its status. Correcting misinformation works far better than arguing with the people spreading it.

Three weeks is enough time if the plan starts now and is measured.

Verify the rules first. How is quorum defined? Do proxies count, and are there limits on how many a single proxy holder may carry? Do the bylaws permit mail or electronic voting? Does adjournment to a later date lower the quorum requirement? Some statutes do exactly that, and the board may be working harder than necessary.

Build the package. Notice with the budget explainer, candidate bios, and a plain-language account of the recall and the reserve loan. Owners participate when they understand what is at stake, not when they receive a 40-page packet.

Chase quorum on a schedule: package at 21 days, reminder at 14, a second reminder at 7, personal calls from committee members at 2. Proxies must be signed, dated, and revocable, with no pre-filled votes where law prohibits them.

Diagnose last year's 19 percent. Was it disengagement, a confusing package, or an unpopular board? The remedy differs. And plan for failure: adjourn as the bylaws allow, re-notice, and if repeated failure triggers a reduced-quorum provision, use it - the association still needs a budget adopted on time.