Diane Collier
Chair
Angel D. Mescain
District Manager / COMMUNITY BOARD ELEVEN
BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN
1664 PARK AVENUE
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10035
TEL: (212) 831-8929/30
FAX: (212) 369-3571
Bylaws Committee
November 3, 2016 - 6:30 PM
Board Office
*** Minutes ***
NO QUORUM
Present:Alex Kohen, Nilsa Orama, Jonathan Winstone
Excused: Joseph Goldbloom, Jason Villanueva, Steven Villanueva
Absent:None
Guests:Judith Febbraro, Jewel Jones, Seema Madhavan
*** Minutes***
1.Call to Order - Adoption of the Agenda
The Committee did not have quorum. The members present and the guests in attendance discussed the documents that were previously approved by the Committee (included in these minutes). No action was taken on any agenda item.
At 7:15 PM, the Committee heard from Jewel Jones and Judith Febbraro regarding comments they had about the proposed draft.
The Committee first discussed the role of the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary with Judith and Jewel. Jewel discussed concerns that the role of the Secretary was being changed. Alex Kohen noted that it was but that the intent of the changes were to empower the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary to have greater latitude over the documentation and actions of the Board. Jonathan Winstone noted that the changes were intended to formalize the way in which the Secretary and Assistant Secretary were currently acting as, for example, the way in which they record attendance was helpful and worth clarifying their role. Jewel and Alex further discussed that the goal was not to mandate that the position would be responsible for direct preparation of documents but, rather, to be in charge of setting the process for documentation. After continued discussion, the Committee suggested that at its next meeting they would consider some potential changes to the language in the section to clarify that the intent was to have the Secretary and Assistant Secretary establish the framework and procedures for which the Board, Committees and the Staff should operate.
The Committee next discussed a question raised by Jewel with regard to the removal process. Jewel noted that the language was different than other boards and a bit confusing. Alex explained that the intent was to provide greater clarity to the rights of members who may be removed. Alex agreed that it was very “legal”-like language but suggested that it was the one part of the bylaws that required more precise and detailed language. It was suggested that the Committee could review it further at its next meeting.
The Committee then discussed any further next steps it should consider. Alex indicated that he would try to determine when the documents would be mailed to the Community Board and discussed the possibility of hosting additional meetings if there were members who wanted to discuss with the Committee the proposed bylaws.
Having not had a quorum, the Committee concluded it’s discussion at 8:05 PM.
* * *
Minutes prepared by Alex Kohen.
EAST HARLEM * HARLEM * EL BARRIO * SPANISH HARLEM * RANDALL'S & WARD'S ISLAND