Dear Friends:

I am hoping for clarification on a few point in the latest Road Association Bill. Please let me know if you need details about anything below. 

Section 4, Voting. In our association, each distinct landowning household gets one vote, no matter how many parcels they own. This is how the association has been run for decades, at first informally, and then as codified in our (approved) bylaws two years ago. I assume that this is fine if approved by membership (as opposed to the “one parcel, one vote” formulation in this paragraph of the bill.) But I would like confirmation.

 Section 5. Commissioner or board…We previously voted on and approved insurance. I am curious why it was specifically added in here. Our allocation is based on the same one dues per household logic that underlies our “one household, one vote” formulation in Section 4, above. Again, I assume that that is within our rights but would like confirmation.

 Section 9. Insurance. Same question as Section 5. Why is insurance called out separately, and were we within our rights to purchase it previously as an approved expense?

 Section 10. Penalties and process. This is a mighty confusing paragraph. Is there no need for a small claims court or other court action before we “cause to be recorded in the county’s registry of deeds a notice of claim” or does the recording come after the court procedure? In which case, haven’t we always been able to enforce a lien? What a mess.

 Thanks very much for any assistance you might provide.

 Joel Bresler
Treasurer, Long Pond Drive Association
Denmark, ME