GGNA Board Meeting Minutes
Dear GGNA Members and Interested Parties,
The following contains the minutes from the GGNA’s Board of Directors (“BOD”) Meeting which was held on Tuesday, December 11th at Goethe Elementary School. The meeting began shortly after 6:00 PM. In attendance were the following BOD Members: John Burns, Johnny Elias (Secretary and interim President), Bryan Hill (Treasurer), Sally Hamann, Ramon Tembledor, Doug vanderHoof, and Neil Trifunovski. These minutes are presented in an outline format similar to the agenda utilized at the meeting. The intent is to make these easy to follow without being too cumbersome as to discourage anyone from reading them. Your comments and suggestions are always welcome. Thank you!
1. Elect a Leader for Tonight’s Meeting - Johnny Elias (as Acting-President) was asked to lead the meeting until a President was elected.
2. Minutes from Last Meeting – John Burns read the minutes which were approved by the BOD.
3. Treasurer’s Report (Bryan Hill) – Bryan gave a brief statement about the GGNA’s finances. GGNA spent $115 on pies, etc. for the Humboldt Park Social Services Center (men’s Thanksgiving dinner); current balance in the GGNA account is approximately $2,900. Doug vanderHoof brought forth a motion to have a written Treasurer’s report presented at each BOD meeting. The motion was unanimously approved with the added stipulation the written report be e-mail to each BOD member.
4. Public Safety Committee (“PSC”) – Sally Hamann provided a brief update on the PSC. The Congress Theatre continues to be an issue; concerns about patron behavior both in and outside of the Theatre. Jim Rhodes is working with the theatre’s Manager to address these numerous issues. Sally will be posting the full PSC report.
5. Identifying Positions for Officers and Their Responsibilities
a. President –Johnny Elias was nominated and approved as the President of the GGNA the vote was 5 “for” and 2 “against.” Doug vanderoff asked to include into the record a letter he had drafted entitled “Board Malfeasance.” This was refused by the Secretary and President.
b. Vice-President – No nominations for the Vice President at this time.
c. Secretary – Johnny Elias resigned his position as Secretary. John Burns volunteered to run for the GGNA’s Secretary. No other BOD member volunteered. A vote was taken and John Burns was unanimously approved as the GGNA’s Secretary.
d. Treasurer – Bryan Hill was nominated and approved as the Treasurer of the GGNA. The vote was 5 “for” and 2 “against.” Doug vanderoff again asked to include into the record a letter he had drafted entitled “Board Malfeasance.” This was refused by the Secretary who referred to Doug’s letter and claims as “crap.”
e. Other Officer Positions – No other officer positions were voted on or approved.
6. Terms for BOD Members – The BOD discussed various ways to determine the term limits for the nine members as called for in the by-laws. Methodologies included volunteering for time limits, drawing straws and BOD Meeting attendance records. A motion was put forth to draw straws for length of terms. The motion was unanimously passed and it was decided the straws would be drawn at next month’s BOD meeting.
7. Formation of Committees/Committee Chairpersons – Members discussed the various committees and it was decided to table any selection of Committee Chairperson(s) until the January BOD meeting. However, the following committee chairmanships were discussed:
a. By-laws Committee – Doug vanderHoof volunteered to Chair a new by-laws committee. A vote was taken and Doug was not approved. The vote was 2 “for” and 5 “against.”
b. Healthcare Committee – Bryan Hill volunteered to chair a new Healthcare Committee. No other BOD member volunteered. No vote was taken.
c. Membership, Communication and Fund Raising Committee (“MCFRC”) – John Burns volunteered to Chair a new Membership, Communications and Fund Raising Committee. No other BOD member volunteered. No vote was taken.
d. Zoning and Planning Committee - The nomination and election of a chair for the ZAPC was tabled until the January meeting.
8. Discussion on Listserve Update
a. Updating the Leadership List – Sally Hamann agreed to update the leadership list.
b. Updating the ZAPC List – The ZAPC list will be updated after committee members have been approved.
c. Updating the Address and Phone Number for GGNA – The BOD agreed to change the address on the GGNA’s website to the P.O. Box. A decision on the GGNA’s “principal address” was tabled until the January meeting.
d. Communicating with the General Membership – The BOD had a discussion on how the BOD would communicate with the general membership. A motion was put forth stating all communication to the general membership should come from the Secretary of the GGNA. All correspondences should be distributed (via e-mail) to all BOD members who will have the opportunity to comment on the draft(s) of such correspondence prior to their distribution to the general membership. A simple vote would decide any contested issues. A vote was taken and the provision was unanimously approved. An additional stipulation would be that all BOD correspondences to the General Membership would be distributed via the listserve as well as e-mails to each GGNA member with an e-mail address.
e. Moderating the Listserve and Cutting- Off Harassing Participants – The BOD held a discussion regarding moderating the listserve. The BOD agreed to censor extensive profanity, gross racially-, ethnically-, racially-, or gender-based insults. Spam would also be blocked. Any topic related to the neighborhood and any opinion - no matter how distasteful, unpopular or heatedly discussed – would not be censored. Non-members may post to the list as well.
9. Future of GGNA Zoning and Planning Committee
a. Agenda for Monday’s Meeting – Sally to compile and distribute via e-mail.
b. Constructive Input for the Meeting – The BOD discussed the need for constructive and educated input during next week’s ZAPC meeting.
c. Items to be Distributed Prior to the Meeting – Sally to prepare memo with various web links and to distribute (via e-mail) to all participants.
d. Participants – The BOD would encourage all present and former ZAPC members to participate in the meeting on Monday, December 17th. A motion was presented and unanimously approved.
10. Campbell Terrace Computer Initiative – A motion was put forth to approve the GGNA’s funding of a computer, printer and ancillary supplies for Campbell Terrace Apartments. A vote was taken and the BOD approved an expenditure of $800.00 (capped) to purchase the equipment. The vote was 5 “for” and 2 “against” (pending further detailed information on the cost of the equipment). Furthermore it was proposed the printer be a laser printer versus inkjet because of cost and maintenance. BOD Meeting Schedule and Agenda – The Secretary will distribute a draft agenda for the meeting prior to that meeting. Comments and/or suggested revisions will be welcome.
11. Meeting Minutes Read and Approved – The Secretary did not have time to read the preliminary minutes for the December 11, 2007 BOD meeting due to a lack of available time for the room. The Secretary said he will distribute a draft of the minutes to all GGNA BOD members for their collective comments and/or suggestions. The minutes will then be approved and posted to the listserve.
12. Meeting Adjourned – The GGNA President adjourned the meeting at 8:30 PM.
