SPAR revolt?

[jbm32206]

I do intend to be there and I will have my list

[AlexS]

I've got one. Why was AlexS asked to resign from the board?? He was the only member of said board that made attempts to quell the revolt.. Is he wrong for standing up for the people he represents???

Because the chair of the governance committee and president felt that my actions hurt the public image of SPAR, frustrated other board members and wasted the time of the board. I did not contribute either enough money myself or raise funds which is currently the #1 priority. I was also told that other valuable board members have resigned because of me or were planning to do so.

[JaxByDefault]

Alex, You were a valuable member of the board.

SPAR would do well to designate a board member in charge of neighborhood relations. This is a niche role that SPAR's leaders have overlooked to their detriment. A membership liaison board member would probably have been able to solve many of the issues raised in these threads and prevented the current backlash.

[AlexS]

AlexS, are you fu*#ing kidding?

What is the point of having a voting board if the job of board members is to simply agree with the party line?

Alex, Im sorry these little petty despots have apparently mistaken what a voting board is supposed to be about.

This is the actual proof in the pudding that the SPAR organization has become worse than the perception of it.

So let me get this straight,  You didnt toe the party line in public, represented the actual residents of the neighborhood, engaged in public and open debate and discussion as you are required to do by the spirit of the non profit charter and were told that you were out of line?

The City needs to be informed of these outrageous actions.

Who on earth is the 'governance chair'?
Its probably time to review the SPAR charter with the city.

Jack Meeks is the chair of the Governance Committtee who was appointed by the president.

I was also accused of conspiring with a small group of people with ulterior motives to take down SPAR. I never thought that trying to get the corporation to follow it's own Articles and Bylaws would be a conspiracy. Neither should be providing (already public but not readily accessible) information to the membership and general public.

[JaxByDefault]

Its probably time to review the SPAR charter with the city.

SPAR Council is a non-profit business entity charterd with the State of Florida. It has IRS 501(c)3 tax-exempt status.
Springfield Preservaton and Restoration INC, the predecessor organization, listed the same address and filed a name change petition to become SPAR Council. Springfield Preservation and Restoration INC is the organization name on the Duval Co. business tax rolls.

SPAR Council's information is available at: http://www.sunbiz.org/corinam.html (Search term: Springfield Preservation).
Duval Co. records at: http://fl-duval-taxcollector.governmax.com/collectmax/search_collect.asp?l_nm=owner&site=collect_search&sid=7D02E4959FB94544971323DC3DD7DC8F.


Articles of Incorporation, bylaws, and books of a 510(c)3 are legally open.

Non-profits and not-for-profits are no more legally bound by the "spirit of the their charters" to be community based than any other business. There are some very legal, calculating, and successful non-profs out there that have not a scintilla of community imput. I am certainly not advocating this approach for SPAR as it does run afoul of their stated purpose on their 990s and within their Articles of Incorporation.

[gatorback]

Money?

[sheclown]

.. I was also told that other valuable board members have resigned because of me or were planning to do so.

oh, for goodness sake.

Anyone who has met you, understands immediately, that you are, thoughtful and methodical -- that your mind works like a machine which needs all of the facts -- your attempt to understand this situation ought to be emulated, not attacked.

[sheclown]

I did not contribute either enough money myself or raise funds which is currently the #1 priority.

yeah, what's the deal about the money? 

[jbm32206]

I was also accused of conspiring with a small group of people with ulterior motives to take down SPAR. I never thought that trying to get the corporation to follow it's own Articles and Bylaws would be a conspiracy. Neither should be providing (already public but not readily accessible) information to the membership and general public.

Man o man, have they lost their minds?! That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard yet....of all people...you're one of the most up-standing, up-front people I've ever met. You challenged anyone who questioned anything about the workings of spar, stood up for the board, and made damn sure that things were made clear...and they dare accuse you of conspiring against them. Geez, that's about as paranoid as one could get. Clearly, that have no desire to have people of such high standards and of moral character on that board...not when they can turn on someone like you! How disgraceful, they should be ashamed of themselves. And for anyone still on that board, who hasn't stood up in protest...well...they're no better than those who have made such shameful accusations. The spar board has lost any respect, I held.

[sheclown]

I was also accused of conspiring with a small group of people with ulterior motives to take down SPAR. I never thought that trying to get the corporation to follow it's own Articles and Bylaws would be a conspiracy. Neither should be providing (already public but not readily accessible) information to the membership and general public.

Man o man, have they lost their minds?! That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard yet....of all people...you're one of the most up-standing, up-front people I've ever met. You challenged anyone who questioned anything about the workings of spar, stood up for the board, and made damn sure that things were made clear...and they dare accuse you of conspiring against them. Geez, that's about as paranoid as one could get. Clearly, that have no desire to have people of such high standards and of moral character on that board...not when they can turn on someone like you! How disgraceful, they should be ashamed of themselves. And for anyone still on that board, who hasn't stood up in protest...well...they're no better than those who have made such shameful accusations. The spar board has lost any respect, I held.

I sure wish I had a dime for every "I'm sure there is a very logical explanation for what they are doing..." that Alex said.

I could donate it to SPAR in his name and maybe they would vote him back on the island.

[strider]

Strider, how on earth are you going to 'reform' an organization that is this far off course?

Sorry, I was in the middle of the river today and not on the computer.  Some interesting things from ALexS.  I will add to what he said.  I did go to the board meeting in October, though I had to miss November’s and Gerry Troy all but came over the table at him and it seemed like Mr. Troy had Claude's blessing. It was very obvious that if you dared to question any of the executive boards decisions, you were belittled and threatened.  It is of no great surprise to me that they threatened AlexS off the board because they only want people who will do their bidding.  The message here is:  If you can think for yourself and if you believe that a neighborhood organization should actually have the best interests of the community at heart, there is no place for you on the SPAR Council board.

We can now begin to guess why it was important to ignore the by-laws and get Jack Meeks on board.  We can now begin to see that there is indeed a conspiracy developing here.  And it is not from me.  Whether any wish to believe it, if the board had just said "Yep, we goofed, we need to go ahead and have elections” , I would have shut up and more than likely, every single one of them would have been re-elected.  By doing that, they would have stopped us digging and we would have not even realized everything they have done.  Now?  Now the community needs to recognize that this is not about a few residents just thinking that they know better than us.  It isn’t even about a  few large egos.  This is most definitely about something else.  Something that we, the residents and business owners, are not supposed to know about because if we did, we wouldn’t like it and perhaps could stop it.  It is time to ask, who profits?

Let’s face it, if this group of people who have performed a hostile takeover of the non-profit called SPAR Council were actually the nice, hard working, selfless volunteers some have tried to portray them as, how would you have reacted to being told that you were knowingly ignoring the by-laws, not listening to your membership and staying on past your legal term?  I would have said, "Hey, you think you can do better?  Have at it."  But then again, if they actually were those selfless, hard working volunteers with nothing personal to gain, would we have the issues we now have?

Some of you won’t like it that I just “attacked” the executive/ governance committee - which is Claude Moulton, Louise DeSpain, Jack Meeks, Barbara Sweet and…did I miss someone?  If so I apologize.  Right now, they all deserve it.  They got rid of a man that I know is truly a hard working, selfless volunteer who was being a voice of reason.  That tells me they do not want reason.  They are grasping for some apple that we can not yet see and it is not for the resident's benefit, but their own.

Reform?  I think for now, it would be immense fun to “follow the money” - see who profits.   Afterall, it is the “Number One priority”.   If we do that.....reform is sure to follow.

[jbm32206]

Wasn't it already realized that Jack Meeks was appointed to the board illegally, and isn't Barbara Sweets' term expired? So how are they sitting on the governance board, who are the ones to oversee elections and filling of open positions?

[zoo]

Because the chair of the governance committee and president felt that my actions hurt the public image of SPAR

Ok, Alex. This is kind of sucky. However, I do have to throw out 2 things that strike me:

1. Bad PR is something that everyone that wants Springfield to succeed should be concerned about.

2. Any other non-profit organizational board having members that were felt to negatively impact the public perception of the org, would likely do exactly what Alex has indicated SPAR did. I'll suggest some examples:

- What if Habijax had someone on its board that publicly claimed they don't give a lick about building homes for low-income First Coasters, and their volunteers shouldn't either?

- What if Second Harvest had a boardmember that publicly claimed that those who need food assistance are just lazy slackers, and should get a job or starve?

- What if Downtown Vision had a boardmember that publicly claimed their real interest was growth in Jacksonville Beach because that's where the real urban fun was happening?

- What if a Jacksonville Zoo boardmember was found to be planning a trip to Chile to enjoy a guided jaguar hunting excursion?

- What if a MOCA boardmember publicly stated that contemporary art is not worth having in a city the size of ours?

These scenarios may seem ridiculous, but it's because these org's boards have members, appointed and elected, whose values/goals are aligned with theirs. It would probably seem even more ridiculous if someone who is a die-hard supporter of arts, but not contemporary art, ran for a MOCA board seat with hopes of changing MOCA's mission to featuring only antiquities.

This past summer, I sat in a SPAR board planning meeting that had each of the org's 4 strategic "buckets" on easels in the 4 corners of the room. When the independent, non-profit effectiveness leader suggested that SPAR boardmembers get up and stand by the bucket they felt was most important, 3 of the four room corners had the majority of boardmembers standing in them. Alex stood alone, briefly, in the 4th corner.

[JaxByDefault]

It is easy feel angry, frustrated, and betrayed. SPAR critics will do well by keeping the heated rhetoric to a simmer and devoting the energy to the growing list of questions. SPAR already feels cornered and under attack, inflamed rhetoric just encourages the leaders to entrench and further reject community input. It probably doesn't help to feed their claims of a band of axe-grinding rabble rousers. Why play to their unfair characterization?

I encourage people to start posting their questions to the Working Group: Questions for the SPAR Board thread. The more questions are shared, prepared, and discussed, the more familiar that people will be with the issues raised. Also, it will permit a larger group to evaluate how well SPAR addressed all of the questions posed.

[BridgeTroll]

org's 4 strategic "buckets" on easels in the 4 corners of the room.

Respectfully... I ask... What were the strategic buckets to choose from??