Meeting Minutes 11/21/2013
Swona November 21, 2013 Meeting
Call to order at 7:00pm by Brad-President
Introductions
In attendance: Three officers and 10 members
Treasurer’s report: $781.08 in the bank account, reimbursement requests?
Jean would like $125 authorized for stamps, envelopes and labels, (in 2013 Jean spent $40 on envelopes and $60 on stamps) for reminders for annual dues for calendar year 2014.
Motion to accept Jean’s request, seconded and passed by members at meeting
Agenda Item: Bylaws: Discussion regarding changes to current bylaws
Comments: suggestion to remove item that limits our increase in dues to a three year term and amends to “dues shall be set at annual meeting”
Article III-Meetings and Communications: Signage to say (and/or)
Board would like approval of payments over $35-suggest change to request that anything over $35 be pre-approved by membership and then member would know their purchase would be covered
Discussion about the official name of SWONA-the city shows South Westside vs. the common nomenclature as Southwest Olympia, agreement to keep as is unless someone wants to contact the city to see how to change the name formerly with the city, most members in attendance agreed to keep things “as is”
Clarify page 3, line 3-add members voting “at a meeting”, no definition of quorum in our bylaws
Discussion:
There are bylaws about changing bylaws, concern that there is no quorum defined and we should require that there be a number so that a few folks cannot make changes over the majority of the other members if they aren’t at the meeting-feeling is that major policy should not be decided by a limited number of members simply because 5 people think a certain way on an issue
City wants the number of members of the association and voting members listed if there is a policy directed to the city
Various neighborhood associations have definition of quorum from # of members to % of members, suggest 10% as a workable number with given membership, however discussion that 10% is not a representative number and we should not be setting policy based on 10% of the membership, proxy voting is also at issue
Discussion about changing the bylaws at the annual meeting in March
Motion to define a quorum as 10% of the paid membership, moved by Dan Leahy and seconded by Barb Day
Motion passed
Discussion Article IV:
Board of directors; not defined clearly, who are the Board of Directors?
Officers shall include President, VP etc.
Discussion to add a member at large, agreed that we can include that person in the description
Article III Line 5, annual meeting to be defined as March of each year
Article V proposed language, line 3: what does review mean? Board is able to review the amendments before presented to board, grammar and syntax for example
Discussion about getting information about the meetings for neighbors not on the website. For example, cost for mailings can be as low as .16 per mailing as bulk rate-suggestion to continue to use neighbors to deliver directly to other neighbors, approximately 1,000 households in our neighborhood association, any fliers or handouts are not to be placed in a mailbox, this practice is not legal, use some other means of dropping off at the homes
New Topics:
Street Murals on 4th by Round-a-Bouts: Jocelyn from NWONA will spearhead the project but not maintenance; need to apply for neighborhood grant, probably due by March 2014; one member in attendance will work on the grant
Walking Park-4 spots, 9th and Decatur has been weeded and mulched; the poetry post is in shambles, Caton Way and Olympic Way
Is the new West Central Park a good idea? Most neighbors in attendance agreed it was a good idea; neighborhood businesses seem to be in favor of also. Funding and 501C3 status is being working on by their board, alley may be planted out, and residents on the alley may have more of an issue than neighbors farther out from the alley by the park that they will not have flow through access
Sidewalk crossings are coming on Harrison with lights; stripes have been painted by Koibito on Harrison already
Sidewalks on Fern Street-are they coming? Status? Sidewalk coordinator at city told member that there is a list that is “set in stone” and that section on Fern is down on the list, previous tenant on that street did an intense study and proved the sidewalk should be much higher on the list than City decided where it should be-two years later-nothing has been done, suggest speaking to City Council, many of the of the sidewalks are not accessible to walkers-suggest contacting ADA to push the city, City will not move on these issues without constant “harassment”, also suggest Cheryl Selby, new councilmember as contact
Meeting Adjourned 8:30pm
Next meeting March, 2014
Election of President and Treasurer
Minutes provided by Janis Rich, Secretary