Raintree Plantation board approves three‑year CPM management contract after debate on review timing

The Raintree Plantation Property Owners Association board voted to sign a three‑year contract with CPM to provide professional management and consolidated financial services after extended discussion and public questions about timing and transparency.

Tilly Winchester, a board member who spoke during the open forum, urged the board to secure impartial, professional management. "We need professional help an impartial office who has the professional skills," Winchester said, arguing that outside management would provide continuity and reduce volunteer burden. Supporters told the board CPM will consolidate the association's disparate systems (City/Village, QuickBooks and other manual processes), offer a portal for owners, assist with collections and train incoming board members as part of the contract.

Opponents pressed for more time and questioned procedural steps taken before the vote. Resident Chris Waller and others raised concerns that the board held a closed session with CPM representatives earlier in the evening and that some members had only a short period—roughly a week—to review contract materials before the public vote. Board members said the closed meeting discussed contract details and that a formal vote in open session satisfied the legal requirement to take public action; the board also committed to post contract documents and any permissible closed‑session summaries on the POA website and to follow up with the association attorney about required disclosures.

Board discussion addressed contract terms including a three‑year initial term with renewal options, a nonperformance/cure process (30 days to remedy breaches), and a 60‑day review window tied to annual renewal decisions. CPM representatives said they would provide a shared community manager and an on‑site employee (approximately 35 hours per week in summer), a mass data import/export capability during transition, and tools intended to improve delinquency collections, including the option to report unpaid accounts to credit reporting services.

The board approved the contract in open session; the transcript does not contain a full roll‑call listing of each member's vote but records at least one dissent and one abstention during discussion. The board directed staff to post the fully executed contract on the association website once complete and to circulate clarifying Q&A for residents and candidates before the election.

Next steps: CPM transition planning and a migration period were discussed; the board also requested a public timeline for migration of owner accounts and agreed to provide a summary of which services CPM will assume and which will remain with contracted maintenance vendors.