Condo Association Management Blog

Not sure what "silent" means. Our Board doesn't discuss anything in front of anyone that comes. Nor do the minutes reflect very much.

Nornally a state's condominium act defines a board meeting as a deliberative association. In translation a board meeting is required to permit deliberations by the association and if action is required to allow a vote with the majority ruling the outcome. Using written docum,ent as a way to pose questions does not conform to the deliberative process since it does not foster deliberations and the offerer of the writen request would not be accessable for questions relating to her opinion. If you Board does not permit active and open deliberations check your bylaws and state condominium act for appropriate guidance

We always have the option for any owner to submit an issue for discussion at board meetings. These must be turned in before the meeting (usually 2 or three days) and are added to the agenda. If appropriate (as is usually so), the issue is discussed and homeowners are allowed to comment. If the person sending the issue to the board for inclusion at the meeting does not show up, we would hope they have someone there to speak on their behalf, otherwise, their input may not be considered.

Please note that I am talking about an annual meeting, not a board meeting. This board member feels that many people don;t like to speak in a public situation and that we should allow them to write their comments down and submit them...at the meeting, not submit them before hand so they become agenda items.

I would think people would soon run out of patience waiting for all that writing to be done and then have to invest more time in discussion on each of the notes. 
 
It would make a lot more sense, as you suggested, to have the comments submitted before the meeting to be discussed on the agenda.

I can understand some folks not wanting to be vocal for any number of valid reasons. Some folks are far better off not speaking their minds. Others are not able to filter thier thoughts and know they may misspeak or offend others. Others may just prefer raising their concerns in a somewhat anonymous fashion, while others may fear issues "attributed" to them are doomed politically within the complex...or that there might be backlash, repriasal, retaliation, humiliation, etc. I can even imagine concerns that their lack of public speaking skills will reflect poorly on themselves or invalidate their concerns.  
 
 
 
All the other comments / suggestions were good and valid and should be deployed within reason as appropriate. Waiting around at a meeting for ad lib comments is not a good use of board time. Find a compromise that allows people to express concerns in any collaborative & efficient manner that works... within reasonable guidelines. If it turns into an anonymous gripe session, well...welcome to condo life.