Special Meeting to Discuss Neighbors Night Out, Bylaws

By CNA Interim President Justin C. Cliburn

This shall serve as notice that a special meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 30, 2016 at the 19th Street median flagpole. The topic of the special meeting shall be our Neighbors Night Out event in October as well as an amendment to our bylaws tying annual elections to Neighbors Night Out.

Why a Special Meeting?

A recent survey sent to the Crestwood Neighborhood Association mailing list found that 88% of respondents supported expending CNA funds to get a permit to close a section of 19th Street during the three-hour Neighbors Night Out event on October 4, 2016. 

NOTE: The results are presented by screenshot in order to avoid a sizable service fee for downloadable survey results.

However, the scope of the permits respondents preferred varied greatly, as evidenced by the comments below (there are two pages of comments; click on the '2' to navigate to the second page):

Depending on which permits we seek, those costs (which may be offset thanks to sponsorships CNA member John Encomienda is seeking) may exceed $300, and the CNA bylaws require any expenditure over $300 to be voted on by the membership at a regular meeting or special meeting:

The permit application requires submission at least 30 days before the proposed closure. Here's the problem though: our next general meeting is Tuesday, September 13th — less than 30 days before Neighbors Night Out. So, out of an abundance of caution, the funds will be voted on at a special meeting, which may be called at any time by the CNA President: 

So, I, acting CNA President, am calling a special meeting to sort this out in time to follow through on permits if the Association approves them. Also on the agenda is a proposed amendment to the bylaws:

Proposed Bylaws Amendment

The current version of the bylaws was ratified in 2012. At that time, Neighbors Night Out was held in September, and some members from that era believe the intent of Article III, Section 2: Annual Meeting​ was for the annual elections to coincide with Neighbors Night Out. However, the current bylaws state that the annual meeting (to elect officers) "shall be held in September": 

On motion of a board member, the special meeting shall also be used to vote on amending that language, which is authorized by the bylaws so long as the notice includes discussion of the proposed changes: 

So the special meeting agenda will also include a vote on amending Article III, Section 2. The proposed change reads: 

Section 2: Annual Meeting.
 The annual meeting shall be held at the annual Neighbors Night Out event or, if the CNA does not participate in Neighbors Night Out, the meeting shall occur during the month that Neighbors Night Out is scheduled to occur. Officers shall be elected at the annual meeting.

If the motion passes, officer elections will be held at the beginning of our Neighbors Night Out event in October. If it is not passed, elections will be held at the next regular meeting on Tuesday, September 13th.