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Several owners have donated money for legal help and we are very grateful to them.  It is crucial that we do things properly to ensure long term legal success in our mission.

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We have to fully comprehend the state laws and by laws, and the state office of condominium governance has been very helpful in this. They pointed out that there is a book the management companies and industry use called Roberts Rules of Order, it is a great parliamentary procedure resource.  We have several COLGW members who have been board members of our condominium board here or elsewhere, and their familiarity with this book has been important.  We have also looked at the state laws to understand the proper procedure for recalling the board of directors, as our first major project.  COLGW is a long term effort, we envision it as an owners' oversight tool for decades to come. Since a condominium is an auto-municipality and governed by regime - not democratic process - there are no checks and balances like we have in the US governmentThis regime form of governance makes it extremely difficult for owners to have a voice, except by voting for board members annually or recalling them through a petition and proxy process - which we are working with now. In our mission statement we value democracy and transparency, and united we have more power. 

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For relevant information from the State of Hawaii, copy and paste the address below into your browser. 

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http://files.hawaii.gov/dcca/reb/condo_ed/condo_gen/condo_bod/2009_CondoOwnersRandR.pdf

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State laws concerning a Board of Directors recall and other relevant laws and by laws:

514B -106 F

At any regular or special meeting of the association, any member of the board may be remove

d and successors shall be elected for the remainder of the term to fill the vacancies thus created. The removal and replacement shall be by a vote of a majority of the unit owners and, otherwise, in accordance with all applicable requirements and procedures in the bylaws for the removal and replacement of directors and, if removal and replacement is to occur at a special meeting, section 514B-121(b).

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514B-121

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B. GOVERNANCE – ELECTIONS AND MEETINGS [§514B-121] Association meetings. (a) A meeting of the association shall be held at least once each year. (b) Special meetings of the association may be called by the president, a majority of the board, or by a petition to the secretary or managing agent signed by not less than twenty-five per cent of the unit owners as shown in the association's record of ownership; provided that if the secretary or managing agent fails to send out the notices for the special meeting within fourteen days of receipt of the petition, the petitioners shall have the authority to set the time, date, and place for the special meeting and to send out the notices and proxies for the special meeting at the association's expense in accordance with the requirements of the bylaws and of this part; provided further that a special meeting based upon a petition to the secretary or managing agent shall be set no later than sixty days from receipt of the petition.

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(c) Not less than fourteen days in advance of any meeting, the secretary or other officer specified in the bylaws shall cause notice to be: (1) Hand-delivered; (2) Sent prepaid by United States mail to the mailing address of each unit or to any other mailing address designated in writing by the unit owner; or (3) At the option of the unit owner, expressed in writing, by electronic mail to the electronic mailing address designated in writing by the unit owner. The notice of any meeting must state the date, time, and place of the meeting and the items on the agenda, including the general nature and rationale of any proposed amendment to the declaration or bylaws, and any proposal to remove a member of the board; provided that this subsection shall not preclude any unit owner from proposing an amendment to the declaration or bylaws or to remove a member of the board at any annual association meeting. (d) All association meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised. If so provided in the declaration or bylaws, meetings may be conducted by any means that allow participation by all unit owners in any deliberation or discussion. (e) All association meetings shall be held at the address of the condominium or elsewhere within the State as determined by the board; provided that in the event of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, an association meeting may be held outside the State.

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Full PDF copy of our By Laws can be found Navigation Bar - Documents 

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[§514B-191]  Retaliation prohibited.  (a)  An association, board, managing agent, resident manager, unit owner, or any person acting on behalf of an association or a unit owner shall not retaliate against a unit owner, board member, managing agent, resident manager, or association employee who, through a lawful action done in an effort to address, prevent, or stop a violation of this chapter or governing documents of the association:

     (1)  Complains or otherwise reports an alleged violation;

     (2)  Causes a complaint or report of an alleged violation to be filed with the association, the commission, or other appropriate entity;

     (3)  Participates in or cooperates with an investigation of a complaint or report filed with the association, the commission, or other appropriate entity;

     (4)  Otherwise acts in furtherance of a complaint, report, or investigation concerning an alleged violation; or

     (5)  Exercises or attempts to exercise any right under this chapter or the governing documents of the association.

     (b)  A unit owner, board member, managing agent, resident manager, or association employee may bring a civil action in district court alleging a violation of this section.  The court may issue an injunction or award damages, court costs, attorneys' fees, or any other relief the court deems appropriate.

     (c)  As used in this section:

     "Governing documents" means an association's declaration, bylaws, or house rules; or any other document that sets forth the rights and responsibilities of the association, its board, its managing agent, or the unit owners.

     "Retaliate" means to take any action that is not made in good faith and is unsupported by the association's governing documents or applicable law and that is intended to, or has the effect of, being prejudicial in the exercise or enjoyment of any person's substantial rights under this chapter or the association's governing documents. [L 2017, c 190, §1]

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By Laws

Page 11 House Rules 

 

K. Solicitation: No door-to-door sales or solicitations of contributions for charitable, political, or other causes of any nature whatsoever shall be permitted on the premises. This rule shall not apply to the solicitation of proxies or distribution of materials relating to Association matters on the common elements by apartment owners; provided, however, that the Board may, from time to time, adopt reasonable rules regulating the solicitation of proxies and/or the distribution of Association materials.

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