The Idyllwild Water District meeting for Jan. 20 was canceled “due to lack of necessary quorum,” according to the Jan. 19 announcement memorandum from General Manager Tom Lynch.
Based on discussions with board members, four of the five directors were available for the meeting. Only Director Mike Frietas was going to be absent and he has missed some meetings in the past. Occasionally, he arranges to attend via teleconference.
Two action items were on the agenda. The remainder of the items were routine subjects, which are discussed at each meeting, such as the financial and the general manager’s operations reports.
The action items were the election of officers for 2016 and choosing an auditor for the next three years.
When Board President Jim Billman learned of Frietas’ intended absence, he told Lynch to cancel the meeting.
“Because Mike would not be present to vote [on the action items], we would need five people,” Billman said. “For election of officers and possible change in auditors,
we would not have an accurate vote; so it was easier to set aside until next month.”
He expected the votes on these items to be 2-2. While the items would not pass, they each could be on the February agenda. So Billman said, “I don’t anticipate, I calculate. Easier to defer to next meeting.”
Initially, Lynch said on the phone that the meeting was canceled because of an “inadequate quorum,” which he described as not all members being present. However, he confirmed that three members are sufficient for a quorum and to conduct business.
The importance of some issues, such as budget and officers, should be decided by the full membership, in his opinion.
Generally, most boards or commissions only need a majority of members to have a quorum sufficient to conduct business. But this is not necessarily the case, depending upon the organization’s bylaws.
Freitas was openly critical of one of the two newest directors, Steve Kunkle, during a contentious election last fall when two incumbents were unseated by Kunkle and June Rockwell.
