Proposed Amendment to Membership By Laws

Hey everybody,

Here it is. IMPORTANT!!! Today is Monday May 30.  Article 8 requires BY Law amendments be declared/posted etc. at least one week prior to the member meeting. Therefore we can not present this proposal for consideration at the Thursday, June 2, 2022 monthly meeting.  We can present it for information only.

Consideration must be deferred to the July monthly meeting, or a later meeting if desired.

Article 8 of the By laws specifies how the By Laws shall be amended. It provides for initial proposal at one meeting, with discussion and amendment. At a subsequent meeting, usually the following, the proposal may be voted upon unless it has been amended in some fashion since initial presentation and review. 

– Jim Wold 

Proposed Amendment to Membership By Laws.

by Jim Wold, May 30, 2022

WHEREAS:   Article 5, Organization, sub section Elections, provides that officer elections occur in November and that only “members in good standing” may vote. Therefore it behooves EPNA to specify membership terms in regard to November.

WHEREAS: Memberships are paid throughout the year.  A surge of memberships occurs coincident with the Festival.  It would be rude to tell members, yes we’ll take your membership money in August but then end your membership 3 and 1/2 months later.  Therefore extend the membership term into the following calendar year.

WHEREAS: We have some amount of past practice wherein memberships paid in April or later extended into the following calendar year.  This may have “taught” some members to expect this practice. If we wish to change this practice it would help to have a “good reason” to do so.”

WHEREAS: In the Eken Park Neighborhood Association web site, under “Join” the following wording  is posted.   “This fee covers membership from November 1 to October 31. Members joining after April 15 have a membership running through October 31 of the following year.”  I have no knowledge of when, or how, this wording was created, established, or approved.

WHEREAS: Membership dues are not a significant source of revenue for EPNA, compared to other fund raising activities.  At last look we seemed to have some 42 memberships active as of April, 2022.

WHEREAS: Maintaining membership for multiple year terms is confusing. Reducing the term to a single 12 month period makes it easier to track membership, and to remind members to renew their memberships. It is also easier to explain to prospective members.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:  that the bylaws of the Eken Park Neighborhood Association relating to membership are amended as follows:  Current Article 4 is restated and divided into Article 4, Part A and Part B.  All proposed new wording is underlined.  

FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED:  The wording noted above appearing in the Eken Park Neighborhood Association web site is revoked.   “This fee covers membership from November 1 to October 31. Members joining after April 15 have a membership running through October 31 of the following year.”    The adjusted terms of membership within this Resolution, shall be placed In the Eken Park Neighborhood Association web site, under “Join”.

Article 4: Membership

Part A

All persons aged sixteen (16) and over, who reside in, own property in, or operate a business in the above area, are eligible for membership in the Eken Park Neighborhood Association. The EPNA shall afford equal membership opportunity to all persons who meet these eligibility qualifications, regardless of cultural heritage, citizenship, gender expression, sexual orientation, ability, age, income, or political affiliation. 

Part B

Any eligible person having paid the annual membership dues shall be considered a “member in good standing.” Dues shall be set by a majority vote at a general membership meeting. Provisions may be made for eligible residents, for whom the cost of dues would present an undue financial burden.

Term of annual membership shall be from September 1, of a given year, through August 31 of the following year.  This revision of the term of membership shall begin on September 1 of 2023.  All memberships in effect in any portion of 2022 shall be automatically extended until August 31 of 2023. 

AMENDMENT POLICY EXPLANATION

The underlined language above is the proposed amendment.  It specifies duration of a membership term loosely based upon the annual return to school and the cessation of summer vacations.

This changes the annual term of membership to a fixed period of time, September 1, through August 31 of the year following.  It ignores when memberships are paid.  It eases the burden of keeping track of when memberships expire.  It does impose a modest burden upon members who join, or renew in the summer or late spring.

It allows for an effort to promote renewed membership during the summer.  It sweeps up the flush of memberships generated by the Festival and gives those memberships a reasonable term of membership.  It accommodates current members by stretching their terms of membership until August 31, 2023.

It allows for the effort to promote membership renewal well in advance of annual office elections held in November of the year.  

Below is the current membership By Law language for EPNA

Article 4: Membership

All persons aged sixteen (16) and over, who reside in, own property in, or operate a business in the above area, are eligible for membership in the Eken Park Neighborhood Association. The EPNA shall afford equal membership opportunity to all persons who meet these eligibility qualifications, regardless of cultural heritage, citizenship, gender expression, sexual orientation, ability, age, income, or political affiliation. Any eligible person having paid the annual membership dues shall be considered a “member in  good standing.” Dues shall be set by a majority vote at a general membership meeting. Provisions may be made for eligible residents, for whom the cost of dues would present an undue financial burden.

Membership List

The Neighborhood Association shall maintain a list of members. The list will be made available to officers of the Association and may be made available to members upon request. The membership list and all personal information therein may be used only for purposes directly related to the Neighborhood Association. The list may not be shared, sold, loaned or otherwise provided to other organizations.

Revocation of Membership

A member who engages in disruptive, hostile, or otherwise unacceptable behavior at an Association meeting or event, and who had been reprimanded for this behavior on more than one occasion, may have their membership revoked by a Co-chair. Revocation of membership is permanent unless overturned by a majority vote of membership at any meeting in which a quorum is present. A former member, whose membership has been revoked, may appeal the decision once each calendar year by contacting an officer of the Association at least one week prior to a general membership meeting. The question of restoring membership shall then be placed on the agenda for the upcoming meeting and shall remain on the monthly agenda until a quorum vote has taken place.