JUNE, 2022
www.diamondheadms.org
VOL. 39, NO. 6
From the desk of the President By Ernie Knocloch
I
ndividual ballots were mailed to the address that the POA has on file in midMay. If you have not received your ballot in the mail, contact the POA office as soon as you read this so that a ballot can be given to you. The easiest way to vote is to fill out your ballot, insert it in the selfad dressed envelope you re ceived and mail it to the auditing firm which actually handles the voting process. Since mailing time varies, I suggest that you mail your ballot as soon as you decide on whom to vote for. You can also bring your completed ballot to the POA office during regular business hours and insert it in a lockbox. Only the audi ting firm has a key to the lockbox. If you want to physically vote, you can show up at the Community Center between 9 – 1 pm on Sat urday, June 18 to cast your ballot. The Election Chair person, this year Mr. Dennis Tauzin, is responsible for overseeing the voting pro cess and enforcing all Guidelines and Procedures. The present Board will convene a meeting at 9 am
on June 18 and then recess the meeting to allow voting and tabulation of ballots. The polls will close at 1 pm. At 4 pm the POA Board will reconvene the meeting, present the Notice of this meeting and Proof of Due Publication or Mailing. The next step is to announce the results of the 2022 POA elections. Adjournment follows. In 2022, there are 30 + organizations that have golf tournaments scheduled in DH. Almost every event is a fundraising tournament for various charities, schools, scholarships, etc. These tournaments bring in a lot of outside players to DH and it’s estimated that over $150,000 was raised for charities in 2021. The following questions were asked to me in the last month.; no particular order. Q. You use the phrase “fiduciary responsibilities” often. In simple terms, what does that mean? A. All Board decisions must be made based upon what’s best for the POA. Q. What actually hap pened in 2010 and what were the results of that? A. Following the advice of the POA attorneys at that time, the Board held a vote OF THE MEMBERS, to determine whether or not
the members wanted to move the covenants without expiration dates into the bylaws. The MEMBERS, not the POA Board, approved the proposal. To pass, a vote of 50% plus 1 additional vote was required for that type of proposal. The results of this decision were then record ed in the Hancock County Chancery Clerk’s office and became a part of the By laws. Q. If amenities close, will property values de crease? A. The Hancock County Assessor has pubically said several times that is correct. He cannot predict how much of a decline would occur because that depends upon what would happen to the land. Research that I ‘ve done predicts a decrease in property values from 10% to 40%. Q. If property values decrease, what effect would that have on DH. A. Income for the city, the county and the Hancock County School System would decrease. Q. Is there a lawsuit in progress which will lead to a final, legal answer to the covenant question? A. That’s correct, but there’s more to the sit
uation. The side that loses in the lower court will prob ably appeal the decision to the MS. Supreme Court which will take additional time to get a final, legal decision. Q. Why should the cov enant situation go to the MS Supreme Court? A. Various other states have made decisions about how to deal with covenants ending on property in their state. MS has only a few laws that deal with HOA/POA’s and has not addressed this issue. Most POA’s in MS are relatively small and nothing like what we have here since our estimated value is $20+ million. Since the POA has the fiduciary responsibility to supervise and maintain the amenities, in my opinion, the POA will have to appeal any decision from a lowerlevel court and get a final answer from the MS Supreme Court, even if the POA wins at a lower court level. If the Board does not perform its fiduciary responsibility, every mem ber voting NOT to do that, opens him/herself up to a lawsuit for not following the bylaws. In addition, Board members voting against performing its fiduciary responsibility will lose Di
rectors and Officers insur ance and could be held individually liable for any damages. Q. Why hasn’t the POA provided a specific plan for what happens if the court rules against the POA in terms of the covenants? A. We do not know at this time what the final decision from the court will be. Since the POA has elec tions every two years, it’s
possible to have seven (7) new Board members every two years. Decisions made by one Board do not have to be followed/implemented by succeeding Boards.
The deadline to submit information for the July Diamondhead News is June 10th. TURN TO PRESIDENT pg. 4
POA Recreation Department
POOL PARTY JUNE 25TH 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
MAIN POOL GRILLED HOT DOGS & BURGERS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE WATER, SOFT DRINKS, BEER & WINE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE QUESTIONS? CALL 228-255-1900 EXT. 171