Dear Fellow Homeowners,
The McFarland Farms Property Owners Association (MFPOA) Board has become aware of misinformation circulating about our organization and its board members, spread through mirrored social media accounts and neighbor conversations. To address these inaccuracies and clarify the board’s role, please read following factual data:
Key Clarifications
Financial Transparency and Integrity:
- No board member profits from HOA funds.
- HOA funds are managed by MGroup, our professional management company. Board members do not have direct access to these funds but authorize payments to vendors for work performed in McFarland Farms through M Group.
- Three years of financial data, meeting minutes, the Reserve Study and other records and policies are available to homeowners at mcfarlandfarmspoa.com.
- Social media is not suitable for sharing financial information or airing grievances about neighbors, board members, or the management company. Since 2012, every MFPOA board has maintained a policy of not engaging in social media discussions with homeowners to ensure transparency, professionalism, and adherence to governing documents, directing all concerns to the management company.
Board of Directors:
- Board Responsibilities: The MFPOA Board is tasked with managing the neighborhood in accordance with its governing documents, maintaining landscape easements, keeping common areas and amenities in good condition, ensuring visual appeal, entering into contracts and agreements, creating rules and policies, assessing fees appropriately, and preserving a healthy reserve fund for future repairs to our 35+ year-old community. These efforts focus on enhancing property values and making McFarland Farms a beautiful, well-run community to call home.
- Board members are your neighbors volunteering their time and skills to enhance property values and foster a positive community environment.
Addressing Specific Misrepresentations:
- Mint Drive Closure: The closure of the Mint Drive entrance was not influenced by proximity to board members’ homes as portrayed on a social media post. Both entrances (Mint Drive and Saffron Drive) were considered for closure. However, due to a regulation requiring two exits for neighborhoods with more than 31 homes (stemming from the Richmond Hill explosion), only Mint Drive (serving 9 homes) could be closed, while Saffron Drive (serving 123 homes) could not be closed as any other exit point would interfere with the wetlands.
- Retaining Wall Repairs: The retaining wall on the McFarland Boulevard landscape easement was replaced due to rot and disrepair, not because of its proximity to a board member’s property.
- Davis Homes or Similar Agreements: No board member has benefited from any agreements with Davis Homes or similar entities.
Rezoning Efforts:
The MFPOA Board is not required to address rezoning cases but has done so in response to homeowner concerns. No meeting regarding the Davis rezoning achieved a quorum (43 lots), with a maximum of 25 attendees out of 422 homes, reflecting limited community engagement. Due to the significant time and resources required, the board cannot pursue rezoning issues with homeowner input without substantial homeowner participation (at least 25% of homeowners actively involved).
Board Member Conduct and Removal:
- The Board cannot remove another board member. The Board can remove officers.
- Board members may be removed without cause through a homeowner petition for a special meeting called for that purpose, provided a petition quorum (43 qualified lots) and meeting quorum (43 lots in person or by proxy) of members qualified to vote is achieved, as outlined in the governing documents. However, removal should not be driven by personality conflicts or personal agendas, which create drama that discourages homeowner participation, fosters division within the community, and undermines effective governance. This is particularly unwarranted when board members are diligently fulfilling their duties, as evidenced by the ongoing improvements to the property’s appearance and amenities.
Community Engagement:
- From 2021 to 2024, monthly board meetings have seen homeowner attendance averaging 2 to 7 homeowners out of 422 homes, reflecting low community involvement.
- Some homeowners, driven by frustration, attend only one or two meetings and believe they are qualified to manage the HOA, its funds, or the Board of Directors, often disrupting meetings or sending excessive requests that consume management and board time. However, only board members can oversee these functions. Effective board service requires a thorough understanding of the governing documents and a commitment to the community’s long-term interests. Limited, reactive participation can foster division, as it is challenging to impart the necessary knowledge for informed participation to those with minimal or emotionally driven engagement.
Addressing Recent Challenges
Since February, the MFPOA Board has faced unwarranted attacks, including hateful emails, threats, and excessive correspondence from a small group of homeowners whose frustration stems from misconceptions about how they think the HOA should operate, rather than how it must function under the governing documents and Indiana law. Their actions have monopolized board and MGroup management time, diverting resources from essential community business and have led to combative meetings that necessitated hiring security to ensure productive discussions. Board meetings are intended to conduct neighborhood business transparently, not to serve as platforms for interruptions, disrespectful behavior, or personal agendas. We encourage homeowners to seek accurate information through www.mcfarlandfarmspoa.com, contact MGroup, or attend meetings to understand the HOA’s operations and engage constructively, fostering a unified community.
A Call for Unity and Involvement
We urge homeowners to:
- Seek the facts: Visit https://www.mcfarlandfarmspoa.com for comprehensive FAQs and documents detailing how MFPOA operates, members’ rights and responsibilities, and the Board of Directors’ scope of authority. These resources, developed through extensive effort, provide clarity to foster informed engagement and help avoid the drama that discourages participation.
- Do not believe everything on social media: This is a breeding ground for trouble. One person gets upset and they try to rile an army behind them instead of coming to the source and getting their information. Do not air grievances on social media.
- Attend the Annual Meeting: Or give your voting proxy to someone who will be there, or the Secretary of the association.
- Run for the Board of Directors: Get involved and learn what it takes to run this neighborhood.
- Join a committee or come to the board with a new committee idea to lead.
- Speak directly with a board member to understand facts and decisions.
- Foster Positivity: Negative energy and misinformation divide the neighborhood. Let’s work together to enhance property values and maintain a welcoming community.
The board has extended invitations to run committees to those spreading misinformation to engage constructively, but these offers have been declined or no responses received.
We remain committed to transparency and collaboration, and we encourage all homeowners to get to know us as fellow neighbors who share the goal of a thriving, well maintained McFarland Farms.
Let’s unite to make our neighborhood a better place for all.
Sincerely,
The MFPOA Board