There was a change in state law that has necessitated some neighborhood organizations to change their by-laws so they are in compliance. If you are not sure whether your neighborhood is in compliance, contact Bob Cooper at 673-5239, MCDA Citizen Participation Director or Robert Thompson, NRP Training Coordinator at 673-5140.
MCDA Citizen Participation policy requires that 60% of the Board of Directors be residents. Beyond that, neighborhood associations are free to open their board eligibility and voting rights to other groups in the neighborhood. It is not out of line for VV to establish that each business in the neighborhood only gets one vote, or that you need to own property in the neighborhood to vote. Many neighborhoods do this. Some neighborhoods don't allow businesses to be members or vote period. NRP does not have rules on citizen participation requirement. We yield that scrutiny to the MCDA and whatever group in a neighborhood is the recipient of the MCDA Citizen Participation contract is also then charged with planning and implementation activities for the NRP. If a neighborhood association does not qualify for citizen participation designation with the MCDA, the NRP will still work with that group provided there is not another group in the neighborhood that would qualify for citizen participation designation. NRP would however, require that group to follow the policies set forth by the NRP for all neighborhood inclusion and notice for decisions made regarding NRP issues. With specific reference to the Ventura Village by-laws, they qualify for MCDA Citizen Participation designation. Therefore, their by-laws must be in compliance with MCDA requirements. I know that VV made the changes in part to avoid a hostile take-over of the organization. I support that effort. The take-over movement has only left the Central neighborhood in chaos. A big chunk of the planning commission meeting last week was spent trying to determine what group could speak for Central. A very sad state of affairs. I wouldn't wish what Central is going through on any neighborhood. I hope they can soon come together and agree to disagree, but, move forward with the formation or resurrection of one group. Not having one group to represent the neighborhood is hurting them in ways they don't even know. It is very easy for government entities to leave the neighborhood out of the discussion on a lot of issues if there is no clear choice as to what group represents the neighborhood. And I am not necessarily talking about the city. Funders tend to stay away from neighborhoods that have a high degree of infighting. It is the same reason that the Whittier Alliance established 3 year staggered terms in 1996. That was to avoid a situation where some zealot group would rise to take over the organization because they were mad about some issue or in the case of Central because some people were trying to get ahold of the NRP funds. Elections in Whittier used to be volatile every year. And, not in a good way. Barb Lickness Whittier ===== "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
