SPAR Board

[cindi]

Uptown girl, would you post the results of the poll?  I haven't voted because I don't completely agree with any of the choices.

SPAR has been heavily promoting the fact that elections will be held soon in their weekly emails.  There is a SPAR general meeting on Thursday which will provide an opportunity to ask some very specific questions about how the upcoming elections will be handled.   And members of SPAR could ask to be placed on the nominating committee....

You can "ask" as many questions as you like, however, in the past when actual board members would ask questions of the "executive" side they were ignored, given the run around or just plain told to either quit asking or quit.
IMHO the ones that are creating the issues will never step down and have created a system for themselves that ensure they wont have to.  In the past, when they were called to task on their own bylaws they would just change them to suit their needs. 

[uptowngirl]

Ms. Fixit- I did not display the results until after you vote because I do not want the numbers to sway anyone. My question is this: If you truly believe the changes you have posted need to be made, and a very vocal group of residents have been asking for the same over the past five years, and it has actually gotten worse than better, then I would think you have some good options to choose from. If you feel the current board can, and will support the changes you have requested, then you have a choice also. I will add an additional choice :Need change but not sure how the heck that will/should happen, but I am not sure that is really a viable option.

[Miss Fixit]

I can't imagine that the entire board is going to step down. Nor should they - there are some good board members and continuity is necessary.

The current bylaws are flawed but SPAR members are stuck with them for now. 

The best any SPAR member can realistically hope for is that the board will adhere to the bylaws and create a nominating committee that includes non-board members to put together a list of candidates to fill the open slots on the board. 

The board elects the executive committee annually, according to the bylaws.  I heard a rumor that one of the executive committee resigned last week.  Louise Despain is gone.  Sounds like there is actually a real opportunity for change through the election process.

[strider]

By and by, the by-laws say that the duly elected board then elects the executive committee from it own ranks.  A common practice and one that has not been followed for a couple of years now by SPAR Council, who has preferred to just somehow appoint them illegally.

There are still several board members there that were there during the entire or at least the majority of the "reign" of Louise.  Her leaving opened up possibilities but did not solve the entire problem. Two of the major players are on the board illegally (per the by-laws) and so I would think that at the very least, if the other board members wished to do the right thing for it's members, they would oust those two and then hold the proper elections. Anything less is still doing a disservice to the members if not the entire Springfield community.

[uptowngirl]

I can't imagine that the entire board is going to step down. Nor should they - there are some good board members and continuity is necessary.

The current bylaws are flawed but SPAR members are stuck with them for now. 

The best any SPAR member can realistically hope for is that the board will adhere to the bylaws and create a nominating committee that includes non-board members to put together a list of candidates to fill the open slots on the board. 

The board elects the executive committee annually, according to the bylaws.  I heard a rumor that one of the executive committee resigned last week.  Louise Despain is gone.  Sounds like there is actually a real opportunity for change through the election process.

I am not disagreeing with you, I am just saying if you have faith in the current board then you are happy with SPAR. So far even the "good" members have not been able to effect the change needed.

[Springfielder]

I can't imagine that the entire board is going to step down. Nor should they - there are some good board members and continuity is necessary.

The current bylaws are flawed but SPAR members are stuck with them for now.  

The best any SPAR member can realistically hope for is that the board will adhere to the bylaws and create a nominating committee that includes non-board members to put together a list of candidates to fill the open slots on the board.  

The board elects the executive committee annually, according to the bylaws.  I heard a rumor that one of the executive committee resigned last week.  Louise Despain is gone.  Sounds like there is actually a real opportunity for change through the election process.

You're right, it's highly unlikely that the entire board will step down....why, they don't want to lose the 'power' they have. You're also right that there's some good board members...this may be true, but at this point, when all faith in spar has dissipated...just who's opinion should suffice in determining who is good and who needs to step down?

As far as I'm concerned, I find it difficult to trust anyone or anything coming from spar. The current board members all served under the former ED, and I'm sorry, but there's no way that they didn't see or didn't know of what was taking place. They've heard others talk about ongoing issues with spar, they've read the forums and talked with neighbors, so just whom should we really trust that has been there and has not stepped up to the plate and demand changes?

I also appreciate the need for consistency, which makes having all newly elected board members and ED tricky, but there's a real issue of no trust. I also know that only members can vote, so why would anyone rejoin or join so they could vote, if all board positions are not made available? We can end up paying our membership and still ending up with the same as now.


edited: typo corrected

[sheclown]

If the great US of A can handle a change in leadership every couple of years, so can Springfield.  I think we can handle a new organization without risking National Security.

[iloveionia]

SPAR (the board and executive committee,) must first admit that there is a problem(s).
Then the first of many steps can be taken.

[sheclown]

SPAR (the board and executive committee,) must first admit that there is a problem(s).
Then the first of many steps can be taken.

1.) Admit the organization is powerless and has become unmanageable.
2.) Came to believe that a power greater the executive board could restore it to sanity.
3.) Made a decision to turn the neighborhood over to a power greater than the board.
4.) Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of the organization
5.) Admitted to God, to themselves, and to the neighborhood, the exact nature of their wrongs
6.) Became entirely ready to have God remove these defects of character
7.) Humbly asked him to remove their shortcomings.
8.) Made a list of all people they have harmed and became ready to make amends to them all.
9.) Made direct amends to such people whenever possible except when to do so would injure them or others.
10.)Continued to take personal (and group) inventory and when wrong, promptly admit it
11.)Sought through prayer and meditation to improve their conscious contact with the God and the neighborhood and when they are wrong, promptly admit it
12.)Having had a spiritual experience as a result of these steps, try to practice these principles in all of the organizations affairs.

(personally, I'm waiting on 8 & 9)

[CS Foltz]

A habitat on the moon would occur first I think! imho of course! LOL!

[FinnegansWake]

If someone puts together a plan to put the website link for this SPR thread (and the MJ main page) on a 3x5 card, I will help by making sure every house on Laura between 1st and 12th gets one in their mailbox.

Phil

Looks like you already put together a plan. 

Well someone needs to design it and print it up... Anyone?
I will put $50 toward the cost.
Phil

[sheclown]

Phil, if you start designing it, the rest will happen.  These things work out that way.

[FinnegansWake]

Tell you what. I will design something and get a quote for printing up...how many? (anyone?) and put it out there and you all can help pay for it.

[sheclown]

...and we could see how much it would be to do it on plain paper, self-printing, at Kinkos.  What do they charge?  What is it 5 cents a page?  If we printed 2000 copies, that would be like $100.00?  Keep it simple, front of one page, and that is very doable. 

Alex has always been very interested in something like this.

[FinnegansWake]

Cool. Let me put something together:

- design and printing cost
- printing

what I will need are boots on the ground. People who will take sections of SPR for distribution.

Anyone know how many houses/apartments/businesses there are currently in SPR?