Page 5 - New England Condominium December 2020

NEWENGLANDCONDO.COM NEW ENGLAND CONDOMINIUM -DECEMBER 2020 5 Disclaimer: Th e answers provided in this Q&A column are of a general nature and cannot substitute for professional advice regarding your specifi c circumstances. Always seek the advice of competent legal counsel or other qualifi ed profes- sionals with any questions you may have regard- ing technical or legal issues. Legal Q A Are Recordings Offi cial Records? Q Is an association required to maintain a recording of a meet- ing as an offi cial record? — Confused Board Member A “One way in which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected associations is that in most cases it has made it impossible to hold in-person meetings, whether they be board meetings or unit owner meetings, which are usually required to be held at certain times according to the terms of the condominium governing documents,” says Pamela M. Jonah, Partner at Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks, PC in Braintree, Massachusetts. “Due to this, many boards have elected to hold the meetings virtually, oftentimes via Zoom. This raises the question, is an association required to maintain a re- cording of a meeting as an official record? “There is currently nothing in the Mas- sachusetts Condominium Statute, M.G.L. c. 183A or any other relevant law that re- quires an association’s board to maintain utes be taken, however to the extent they a recording of a meeting held virtually are maintained and an owner requests a as an official record. This is in large part copy of them, the board must ensure that due to the fact that virtual meetings are a copy is emailed to the owner. Note, not contemplated by the Statute. There- fore, unless the condominium governing governing documents require that meet- documents mandate that a recording of a ing minutes be taken. Of course, meeting virtual meeting be maintained as an as- sociation official record, then the answer different things.” is no. “In fact, unless recently drafted or re- cently amended, most association gov- erning documents will not have a provi- sion allowing for virtual meetings and therefore it is recommended that if a board wants to hold meetings virtually, they should contact the association’s at- torney to assist in amending the docu- ments. That is not to say that because the documents may provide for meetings to take place virtually that recordings will need to be maintained. As of now, that is entirely document specific. “Keep in mind that currently, M.G.L. c. 183A does not require that meeting min- the board should also check to see if the minutes and recordings are two entirely n & QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Do you have an issue with your board? Are you wondering how to solve a dispute with a neighbor? Can’t fi nd informa- tion you need about a building’s fi nances? Our attorney advisors have the answers to all of your legal questions. Write to New England Condominium and we’ll publish your question, along with a response from one of our attor- ney advisors. Questions may be edited for taste, length and clar- ity. Send your questions to: patgale@yrinc.com. Q&A