Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Meeting #1
Meeting #1
Call to order
Michael Lawson, Hayward City Attorney, called the meet and confer process to
order at 7:30 pm. The meeting was delayed by a half hour due to a
misunderstanding of the meeting location by the ownership team. This
proceeding has been scheduled in response to a requirement outlined in the
City’s Ordinance regarding rent disputes between Spanish Ranch I tenants and
the landowner, Rutherford Investments.
Mr. Hexter will serve as lead facilitator. Mr. Lawson will provide his legal
expertise and perspective to support the process, and Ms. Lewis will keep record
of key points of discussion and significant process outcomes.
Mr. Hexter reviewed the Meeting #1 agenda with the group and requested
approval of the agenda shown by a nod of heads. All participants approved.
• Ryan Franklin: Director of Operations for the Mobile Home Park Division.
Spanish Ranch I Meet and Confer Meeting #1 Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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• Don Urie: Senior Partner at R&D Management and works with the
company’s Mobile Home Park Division.
• Mary Dimsdale: Vice President of HOA and SRI resident since 1994.
• Jerry Abbott: Member of HOA Board of Directors since May 2008 and SRI
resident since 1999.
• Suzanne Hicks: Treasurer of HOA Board of Directors and SRI resident for
past 14 years.
This meet and confer process has been initiated following the proposal for a rent
increase for month-to-month residents at Spanish Ranch I Mobilehome Park. The
proposed rent increase, effective October 1, 2008, is related to re-assessment of
the property taxes triggered by purchase of the park in 2007.
The intent of the meet and confer process is to allow both parties the opportunity
to put aside their legal arguments and meet with the purpose of coming to
agreement on the issue. Both parties are expected to participate in good faith
and to put forth their best effort to reach a mutually agreed upon resolution.
This meet and confer is the best opportunity to talk through the issues to reach
some kind of resolution. Lawyers representing one side or another are
discouraged from attending. The goal of this process is to reach a resolution after
three or four meetings that is reduced to writing and which will then be presented
to park residents.
Spanish Ranch I Meet and Confer Meeting #1 Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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If parties do not reach a mutually agreed upon resolution, then there will be a
formal administrative hearing led by a hearing officer (a retired judge). At this
evidentiary hearing, the hearing officer will hear formal arguments and evidence
from both sides to compile an administrative record, which will inform the officer’s
written decision, which would become final unless appealed to Alameda County
Superior Court per Code of Civil Procedure Section 1094.5.
Don Urie asked, “How do we know once the agreement is in writing that the
residents will accept it?” Mr. Lawson responded by stating that the hope here is
that residents serving on the negotiating committee have the authority to come to
a conclusion and will take the agreement before affected residents for their
successful ratification.
Mr. Lawson concluded his overview by stating that parties to the meet and confer
processes that the City has facilitated in the past five to six years have all
reached agreement. He is hopeful and optimistic that the parties here today will
reach agreement that results in their mutual satisfaction.
Audio-Recording Sessions. The HOA requested that the Meet and Confer
sessions be either videotaped or audio taped to provide a literal record of the
meetings that would be available to interested, affected parties. Mr. Mockler
agreed to audio taping of the sessions provided that an objective, written
summary of each meeting would be available also. Ms. Hicks agreed to provide
an audio-recording device for making recordings for use by the HOA The
ownership group may decide to make recordings of the meetings for its own use.
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Mr. Lawson expressed concern with the idea of audio recording the sessions. He
argued that doing so could change the way people talk and express themselves,
and audio tapes may not fairly reflect the emotions driving negotiation.
In Mr. Lawson’s opinion, the facilitator’s report will probably provide the most
objective documentation of the sessions. He also warned that audio-taping
selected caucus sessions may make it look as if the group is manipulating the
record of discussion and decision-making among the group, which may in fact
work against achieving the transparency the group desires.
Mr. Mockler has assured this second group of residents that this is a transparent
process, and has asked them to give this process a chance and have faith in the
Board’s ability to come to a resolution that they would be amenable to.
Both the facilitation group and the ownership group expressed that the success
of this process relies on the fact that the HOA Board of Directors represents all
affected residents. Mr. Mockler assured the HOA Board that he does not plan to
engage this second group in communications related to the proposed rent
increase. At the same time, he cannot control who sends him email messages
related to the subject. Mr. Mockler has agreed to draft and send a standard
response to groups or individuals who continue to do so.
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Meeting #1 was intended to lay the groundwork for the process by agreeing to
the ground rules and operating procedures, and establishing a schedule for
subsequent meetings.
Meeting #2 will be dedicated to identifying and exploring the issues. To begin this
meeting, each group will have 5 minutes to give an opening statement to begin
identifying the issues requiring resolution. Following each statement the other
party will have the opportunity to ask questions and request clarification. During
this session, participants will also begin to explore options. This includes an
exploration of ideas, constraints and desires of both negotiating committees.
Representatives from the three groups have agreed to meet on the following
dates and times:
• Wednesday, October 29, 2008 from 7-9pm
• Wednesday, November 5, 2008 from 7-9pm
• Wednesday, November 12, 2008 from 7-9pm (if needed)
All subsequent sessions will be held at the City Attorney’s office located at:
Spanish Ranch I Meet and Confer Meeting #1 Tuesday, October 14, 2008
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