7-member Board of Directors though Assumed

7-member Board of Directors though Assumed

This is what Soho Central Condominium Corporation has as a Board given the Annual Meetings, one Special Meeting or lack thereof of any meeting.  The history of meetings and elections is a sad story at Soho Central with the planning and execution of the meetings to be at fault.

Many Unit Owners, members of the Soho Central Condominium Corporation, may still be confused or unaware of the Board's members and given the current issue of the Great Wall, I believe some explanation is needed.  Also, please read the Master Deed and By-Laws which are available at the right side of this blog page.

The Board has 7 members with three reserved for the residential areas, three reserved for the commercial areas and a seventh unreserved.  The residential and commercial also nominate for their reserved seats though the entire membership votes for all the candidates.  There is no requirement to vote YES or NO for any candidate(s).

The By-Laws have an illegal voting procedure of one vote per unit which is contrary to the Master Deed and the law since this is a mixed-use building.  There was no Annual Meeting in 2009 or 2010 as required in the By-Laws.  The first meeting was held in 2011 at which a quorum was declared.  But, an illegal voting procedure was used making the election invalid as well as those that were voted on seated illegally.  This meeting also had another serious problem of an acclamation.

The acclamation was announced by a member with words to the effect that the commercial areas owned by Greenfield get the seats anyway.  This statement was incorrect.  Those were the only seats with a vote though illegally done.  Those seats, as well as residential, are reserved and nominated by the respective areas but voting is by the membership as a whole.  The members may vote NO in the majority.  I would encourage all Unit Owners to carefully question and think about who they vote for and whether or not the individual will work for the best interests of the building and their investment and home.

While the commercial areas have three seats (42.85%), they only own three floors (13.95%) with one being partial.  Residential areas also have three seats (42.85%) with an area of 86.04% of the building.  Commercial areas pay dues of 26.5 pesos per square meter while residential areas pay 65 pesos per square meter.  It is true that the By-Laws and Master Deed set the representation and may be changed by amendment at some point perhaps, but the difference in dues would seem to be unfair as an immediate concern that may be remedied sooner.

The percentages above are based upon 5,698.79 sqm for commercial areas and 35,147.45 for residential areas with a total of 40,846.24 sqm.

Given the changes to the building and the disproportionate representation on the Board, I will encourage a vote of NO for any candidate that does not and has not shown in both words and action support for the residential areas and the building as a whole for proper maintenance and increased value.  Be careful to not be misinformed again.