What does the five member ACIA Board need to do differently than what has taken place in the past? Here would be a good start.1. No more 1 hour executive meetings. Meetings should start with all the membership in the room. The agenda should be followed, and if something came up of a personal and confidential nature, members would be asked to step out, so the board could handle the issue in executive session. When the executive session is concluded, the membership returns to the room the board tells them what was discussed and what action was taken but would not give any confidential information about the matter. (The key is what is considered "personal". The present board seems to think "everything" is personal which just isn't true.)This is what is required by The Texas Homeowners Protection Act.2. All ACC appeals should be held where the membership would be able to hear what the submission was for and why it was denied. The members should get to attend and listen to the homeowners point on why they should get the submission approved by the board. The ACC would give the deed restrictions that give the reason for the denial. Members should get to hear all of that discussion. The members would also then hear the discussion of the board and their reasoning to their decision. If the board overturns the ACC and agrees with the homeowner; then the board would be required to give the deed restriction that allows the submission. The board must submit for the association records a written document what they are allowing the homeowner to do being very specific in all aspects of the submission. This transparency protects the Association and the Board and assures that the restrictions will be fairly and equitably applied.3. Let the membership see the audit for 2012. If one bank truly won't sign off and give a letter then the board should tell the membership which bank and show the audit to the membership with that one thing missing. Have the audits completed within 9- 12 months of year end.4. All meetings would be open to the membership. No secret workshops; no email meetings and no phone meetings that are not discussed with the members at the next meeting, to include all authorized spending. This is required by The Texas Homeowners Protection Act.The Homeowners protection act does not allow for Workshops and these off the books meetings should not occur.5. Not sell the wetlands in Section 8 without members voting to do so.6. Not allow business signs on Pinehurst Trails.7. Use the powers the deed restrictions give the board to clean up such things as the "doggie" house that is talked about on another thread.8. Give complete spending detail every month to the membership. Check detail for all to see what our money is used for, accounting for each and every dollar. This practice is actually good for the board as it offers them protection from speculation.9. Come prepared to monthly meetings with answers to any question about the association so members would not have to send a certified letter to Sterling to get the answer. Do not refuse to answer association business questions. If the board does not have an answer make sure the member gets an answer within the week from either the board or management. Jot down the question so you don’t forget.10. Put all the ACIA minutes back on the web site. Make sure minutes accurately tell what took place in the meeting following along with the agenda. If the tape says it, then it better be in the minutes. Stop telling members they cannot tape the meeting. Stop telling members the meeting is for the board and not the members.11. Stop doing association business behind the backs of the members. If the board is thinking about doing something, it should be discussed in front of the members at the monthly meetings.12. Put out the actual agenda. Not a meeting notice that says "we are going to talk about some association stuff". Put out an agenda that would say something like this; Board to discuss selling wetlands in Section 8. -Board to discuss putting in a track.- Board to discuss buying $60,000 pool slide. Let people know what is going on and they might actually want to come to a meeting because they know what is going to be discussed and they may have or want input.13. The Board should assure that all ACC members read all the Association documents and read and understand the deed restrictions. If the Board handles ACC and decisions they should also have a complete understanding of our governing documents and ACC policies and guidelines. At appeals the board should have all documents relative to a submission and a copy of the deed restrictions for the relevant sec. For example Shores 1&2.14. Make sure our management company is performing their duty and inspecting our community regularly. If once a month is not getting the job done then the board needs to have management do inspection twice a month. Too many things are not being caught by management and it is the board’s duty to see this expensive contract is getting us what we pay for.15. Have board discussions in front of the membership so members can understand what each board members thoughts are. Right now, no one knows what any of the board thinks because we are not privy to hearing their discussions. This goes back to the thought that they have to be as one. Each voice of the board needs to be heard. We would like to know why they do what they do, and how each one thinks. This is how you know if you want to vote for them again. I know how some of this present board thinks but there are two that are extremely quite so I have no idea what they truly think about anything. I just know they all vote alike. In the back room did they differ in opinion and the members just didn't get to hear their argument? We never know. This practice stifles both transparency and accountability.16. Do not pay our lawyers to write up secret documents and then just slip them on the web site. Again, this is solved if the discussion on these matters is done at the meetings and not in the back room.17. The board should never tie our Association to the golf course in any way. I do not want my home tied to something that takes that kind of money to maintain and run. Take a look at Walden. They make people pay for a golf course that they have no say in. They don't have the amenities we have that must already be maintained (two pools, tennis courts huge landscaping, and parks) they just give to a golf course and the regulators of the golf course prioritize the money to what is spent in the other areas. Their only amenity is the pools and getting to step foot in the club and pay to eat. We would have to raise our fees not only to keep maintaining our current amenities but would have to increase fees to maintain and operate the fairways. Just the water and mowing would be enough to raise our fees substantially. I do not want a board to have the power to foreclose on my home because they have to keep raising the fees to pay for an arrangement that was not required when we purchased our homes.18. Since we are on that subject of the golf course let's have a board that does not use our web site, newsletter or medians to promote a private business. Let the private business (like all other private business) promote themselves. They can have a 4th of July celebration but let’s be able to tell the difference between what the ACIA is hosting and what the club is hosting. Let's promote our 4th event first, with fancy ads and color and artwork. The private business promotion far out shined our celebration promotional by far and it was on our web site as if it was that businesses web site. That is just not right. We hear more updates from the private business on our web site than from the board . If we cannot have all the minutes on our own web site it is time to purge private business promotions off our site.19. There are some who are pushing for the back of homes on the golf course to be inspected at a cost to the association. Please let us know if this is currently being done. If the owner of the course would like to inspect and turn the violations over to management that would be good for them because the owners of the course is the one who would benefit. However, if association funds are used to do this we must be fair and also have management drive the lake and canals and turn in violations. For too long owners that back to Harris County drainage easements have taken the land on as if it belongs to them. Perhaps it is time to not focus on the golf course and focus on this land and the amenity it would be for the members to actually get to enjoy the lake they live by.20. This one is for each of your to put in what you would like to see an open, trustworthy board implement to fix this community.