May 2nd, 2015, Saturday, 10:00 am
East Phillips Park Cultural and
Community Center
EPIC web address:
www.eastphillips-epic.com
Office: 2536 18th Avenue S., Minneapolis, MN 55404
“Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing
it.”
–ephemer,
inc
Board
Roster: Jenny Bjorgo, Rosie Cruz, Mary Gonsior, Jean
Howard, Linda Leonard, Rita Ortega
Carol Pass, Gloria Reyes
Present
board members: Mary Gonsior, Jean Howard, Linda Leonard,
Rita Ortega, Jenny Bjorgo,
Carol Pass, Gloria Reyes
Absent
board members: Rosie Cruz
Members:
Michael Green, Maggie Ewing, Chana Ware
Visitors:
Carrie Day Aspinwall
10:20
Introductions:
·
Introductions
·
Acceptance of Grievances – Michael Green
(4)
·
Approval of May 2nd Agenda
·
Approval of April 4th Board
Minutes
o JH
asked for information about the presentation by DD on March 28th,
and a discussion of the motion to approve $10,000 was held. The motion was
passed at the March 2015 membership meeting.
o JH
&RO asked for a copy of the NCR recommendations and draft response noted in
item 5 of the business report.
10:20
Introduction of the new and old board members
JH asked about election of Edwin Gonzalez
and the letter that was sent from EPIC stating that Edwin was not eligible for
nomination for the board. CDA shared NCR’s involvement in researching the
eligibility of the candidate. LL stated that the nominations committee acted in
accordance with EPIC bylaws, and a motion is not required to follow the Bylaws.
CP discussed EPIC’s experience with individuals in identical situations, namely
wishing to be on the board, but who have not been able to serve on the board
because they are not eligible, either because they did not live here or because
they had not been to a previous General Membership meeting in the past year.
The requirements for residency, or representation of a business located in East
Phillips, along with attendance of at least one previous General Membership meeting
have been in place for years, and should be followed consistently for all
individuals seeking candidacy for EPIC’s board. RO feels that the
communications to Edwin “came from the board,” but was done without
consultation with board members. RO proposed that a better resolution would
have been to call a special meeting, or to wait for the board meeting. CP
pointed out that they thought there would be additional issues to resolve if we
seated Edwin and thought we did not want to add more problems. LL pointed out
that the executive committee has authority to conduct business between meetings
and that the executive committee as nominating committee was still to carry out
their obligations. CDA reported that NCR conducted a review of Robert’s Rules
(newly revised) for clarity regarding eligibility for elections, and responses
to EPIC concerns about an elected director’s eligibility. MG stated that EPIC’s
policies and procedures contain clarification regarding both eligibility and
response to an election of an ineligible candidate, and proposed that written
policies and procedures have more weight than Robert’s Rules.
MOTION: EPIC will schedule a special meeting
along with a consulting attorney and the city’s attorney to assist the board in
navigating a resolution regarding EPIC’s board elections. MG, CP approved.
Note: a special meeting is open to the
public.
By consensus, LL will engage a consulting
attorney independent of the city’s attorney.
11:48 Business -
1. Presentation of 990 Tax return and
Annual Charitable Organization Report to the MN Attorney General. We need a
Resolution to approve the filing of the AG report. The filing deadline for Form
990 is May 15th; the filing deadline for AG Report is July 15, 2015.
MOTION: Approve the filing the 990 and AG
report. MG, CP. Approved.
2. Approval of CPP Annual Reports 2013
and 2014.
MOTION: Approve EPIC’s Annual Reports to CPP
for 2013 and 2014, and submit them to NCR. CP, MG. Approved with a counted
voice vote:
In favor: LL, GR, MG
Opposed: JH, RO
Abstain: CP
CDA stated NCR concern about potential
amendment of the reports if the reports are distributed at meetings, or online,
can create confusion.
MOTION: Extend the meeting for an additional 15
minutes (until 12:40). MG, RO.
12:25 Presentation of Board Notebooks to new
members.
MOTION:
Proceed to election of officers with an explanation of
responsibilities. MG, RO. Approved.
11:40 Election
of Officers-
MOTION: Extend the meeting until 1:00 PM. MG,
RO. Approved.
Elections-
President: CP and RO. CP approved. 3 for
CP; 2 for RO. 1 abstain.
Vice Chair: RO. RO approved unanimously.
Secretary: LL. JH. 3 for JH; 2 for LL. 1
abstain.
Treasurer: MG by Acclamation.
Grievance-
MG reported that she had investigated 2
grievances filed by Michael Green in March, and she copies of the grievances,
and distributed a report of the investigation containing comments and proposed
remedies for resolving the grievances. Meeting with Michael on April 2, 2015, Michael
graciously granted the board an extension of time until the May board meeting to
respond to the grievances. As the board does not have suffiecient time to
address the grievances, investigation and proposed resolutions at this meeting,
present members received copies of the materials, and the materials will be
distributed to absent board members. EPIC will call a special board meeting at
Perkins Restaurant on May 7th at 7 pm, to discuss the report and
decide on a final board response. EPIC bylaws provide that the board may hold a
closed meeting to discuss grievances. MG will contact Michael and inform him of
the boards’ progress.
Attendance-
MG reported that EPIC
has been considering policies and procedures for addressing board attendance,
and has instituted a board attendance roster to facilitate better awareness of
board member absences. EPIC is developing letter templates to be used.
1:20
Self
Evaluation-
At the close of the meeting, board
members were asked to complete a self-evaluation form.
TABLED:
·
Discussion of the EPIC Bylaws
·
Discussion of Policies and Procedures of
EPIC
·
Obligations of a board member- Duty of
Care, Duty of Loyalty, Duty of Obedience, Getting along
1:25 Adjourn
