At the annual meeting of the property owners association of Pawleys Plantation last week, the biggest controversy was over whether to sign up for a three- or 10-year contract with the cable television company (the 10-year contract would have saved everyone about $4 per month). After about 15 minutes of discussion, it occurred to one of the members of the Pawleys Island, SC, community's board that one of the property owners, a cable TV executive from Canada, was sitting in the first row. They invited him to address the question.
“The technology is changing so fast,” he told the more than 200 property owners in attendance, “that it may not make sense to lock yourself into a long contract” to save a few dollars a year.
The spontaneous applause told the board all it needed. They will be signing the three-year contract.
The incident is a good reminder that much expertise is lying in the weeds in planned developments, and that boards would do well to tap the inventory of knowledge and experience of their own residents.
That not only makes good sense; it is also good governance.