Bylaws changes to be considered in September
By Ken Edelstein
The CPNO Bylaws Review Committee has presented a final draft proposal to our Board of Directors. This sets the stage for consideration of a major bylaws update by both the Board and the membership in September.
Among other steps, the draft includes a new lineup for the Board officers, a longer grace period for membership renewal, and a stronger system of committees designed to engage more residents in improving the neighborhood. A summary of the changes can be viewed here. A redlined draft is here.
Committee chair Jay Sandhaus and members Kate Cantrell, Scott Lenhart and Bonnie Palter worked on their review over six months. They honed the draft proposal with the help of multiple discussions at CPNO Members Meeting, a special hearing, straw polls, and consultations with individual board members.
The committee members brought significant expertise to the topic: Cantrell is a former Inman Park Cooperative Preschool board president and current non-profit leader, Lenhart is an attorney for a major nonprofit (CARE), Palter is CPNO’s longtime recording secretary, and Sandhaus is a former CPNO president. Sandhaus’ approach was to test the waters for various changes, and then to revise the proposals so that the overall plan stood a good chance at consensus.
Now, it’s up to the Board and the membership to consider the draft proposal. As of today, I’m planning to place the recommendations on the Board’s Sept. 14 agenda. Our current Bylaws (and for that matter, the committee’s proposal) require Bylaws amendments to get a majority vote from the Board and a two-thirds vote in the Members’ Meeting. If the Board approves the committee’s proposal, or an amended version, the membership will consider that plan as passed by the board at its Sept. 21 meeting.