Glenleigh Election Information

Charles A. and Michele A. Ralston
Mableton, Georgia 30126-1483

March 1, 1995

Glenleigh Homeowners Association's Elections

NEW! - "unofficial" copy of the By-Laws

You may, once upon a time, have asked yourself "why does Glenleigh have restricted covenants", or "what does its Board of Directors do anyway", or even "how can I serve on the Board?" The answers may be found in your copy of the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions For Glenleigh Homeowners Association, which document you received when you "closed" the purchase of your home. This is a legal document, filed and recorded with the Cobb Superior Court Clerk, August 16, 1985, in Book 3609, pages 70 through 120. Exhibit D of the Declaration is the By-Laws of Glenleigh Homeowners Association, Inc., beginning at page 107. The By-Laws describe Association meetings; Board of Directors makeup, powers and duties; Officers of the Association, Committees, and so forth.

The Declaration initially was made by John Wieland Homes, Inc., the Declarant, who, according to Article III, Part A, Sections 2 and 3 of the By-Laws, reserved the right to appoint all members to the Board, and had veto power over all Board actions. Once all of Glenleigh's lots were sold, Wieland passed power to an "owner-elected" Board of Directors (Art III, A, Sec 6).

At annual meetings, the Association (that's you) shall elect Directors, "provided, however, the initially elected Directors shall serve the remainder of their terms." We have three Directors. Terms of office were staggered in the beginning, with one member serving but one year, a second two years, the third three years. At the end of the initial term of office of each board member, a successor was elected to serve for a term of two years. Thus, membership was staggered to allow for "new blood" as it were.

The Association also has Officers according to Article IV: President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. "Any two or more offices may be held by the same Person, excepting the offices of President and Secretary [and, in addition] the President and Treasurer shall be elected from among the members of the Board of Directors." (Art IV, Sec 1) In addition, "officers of the Association shall be elected annually by the Board of Directors." (Art IV, Sec 2)

One way to understand this is to see the elected three board members as self-appointed officers of the Association, say President, Secretary, and Treasurer, with one of the latter two officers serving also in a dual-hatted role as Vice-President. One concern is that the Board's staggered membership requires all of you as Glenleigh homeowners to elect a new Board member each year to replace that member whose term of office has expired.

In theory all is well. In practice, only a few homeowners have demonstrated interest in serving as a member of the Board and ipso facto as an Officer of the Association. Each year, serving Board members ask for volunteers who are homeowners and who are willing to be nominated before a general meeting of the Association. This approach has served us well so far because some of you have volunteered your time and talents to making the Board work to maintain standards that make ours a fine community.

Committees work pretty well too. Usually the Board appoints a committee of one or two homeowners to cover important tasks such as swimming pool, tennis courts, the news letter, social events, security, and so on. Committee members meet with the Board quarterly and make significant contributions to our Association.

In sum, Glenleigh Homeowners Association (which is you) has a Board of Directors, Officers, and Committees that needs your interest and support. The documents mentioned above spell out the letter of the law, but its spirit comes from you. Take a few moments to reflect about how you might contribute to your Association, to enhancing your property's value, to making your neighborhood more pleasant, more beautiful, more harmonious. Help yourself by helping your Association.