As decribed in the September 2003 newsletter, HONNA's Bylaws have been reviewed and some changes were proposed the HONNA Board at its August meeting. The article summarizes the major points of revision.

A draft of the revised Bylaws are presented in this note. As discussed at the Board meeting, further changes wil be performed to incorporate Board feedback and to fix discrepancies with HONNA's Articles of Incorporation. After these revisions are made, the final draft will be presented for approval at the September or October Board Meeting.

If you want to view the current Bylaws, they can be accessed by going to the Home page of this site, selecting the ''About Our Association'' link, and scrolling down.

Because this web site restricts the size of individual messages, I'll post the text of revised Bylaws as separate responses to this note.

Article I through Article III

Article I. Name

The name of the organization is the Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association (HONNA) of St. Petersburg, Inc. It encompasses the area from the north side of 5th Avenue North on the south, to the south side of 30th Avenue North on the north, and from the east side of 4th Street North on the west, to the shores of Tampa Bay on the east.

Article II. Object

This Association is organized for the purpose of civic improvement of the Old Northeast area of St. Petersburg, Florida, to make it a better place in which to live and work.

Article III. Membership

Section 1. The membership shall consist of Active and Associate Members.
a. An Active Member is an adult aged 18 or over whose dues are currently paid and whose permanent residence is within the boundaries of the Association.
b. An Associate Member is an adult whose dues are currently paid and whose permanent residence is not within the boundaries of the Association.

Section 2. Voting
a. Active Members are eligible to vote on all matters that come before the Association. Associate Members are not eligible to vote.
b. The name and address of an Active Member who intends to vote must be included in the Association membership roster prior to the vote.
c. Matters may come before the Association with the potential to directly affect every resident and property owner of the neighborhood. In such cases, the Board of Directors by a simple majority vote may declare a vote open to all adults residing in or owning property in the neighborhood, regardless of Association membership, and whenever practical shall announce the open vote in the neighborhood newsletter and the St. Petersburg Times.
d. The Board may decide that a matter expected to be presented to the Association membership for vote is eligible for voting by mail. In such cases, a vote ballot can be requested by Active Members who joined the Association at least six (6) months prior to requesting the ballot. The Board shall adopt rules which describe how ballots may be requested and completed ballots returned by mail or in person at the meeting of the vote.
e. Voting by proxy is not allowed by these Bylaws.

Section 3. Termination.
a. If any person being a Member of the Association shall at any time be guilty of an act prejudicial to the Association or to the purposes for which it is formed as determined by the Board of Directors, by a simple majority vote of the Board of Directors the membership of said person may be terminated.
b. In the event a Member is terminated from membership, that Member shall have the opportunity to appeal the termination to the Board at the next Board of Directors meeting; the terminated Member having been notified in writing of the termination. If this appeal is denied, the terminated Member can plead his or her case to the Association Active membership whose decision by a simple majority vote will be final.

Article IV Sect 1 thru Sect 7

Article IV. Officers and Directors

Section 1. The Officers of this Association shall be a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. To qualify for office, each Officer shall have been an Active Member of this Association for at least one year prior to election.

Section 2. The Board of Directors shall consist of the elected Officers and no less than five (5) and no more than seven (7) Directors. To qualify for Director, each Director shall have been an Active Member of this Association for at least one month prior to election

Section 3. It shall be the duty of the President to preside over all meetings of the Association membership and the Board of Directors. The President shall be a member ex officio of every committee except the Election Committee. All documents made or accepted or executed by this organization shall be signed by the President, or a designated representative, only after having secured the approval of the Board of Directors for substitution. At the annual membership meeting, the President shall give an Annual Report of the work of the Association.

Section 4. The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President in the President's absence, and shall perform such other duties as may be required by the President or the Board of Directors.

Section 5. The Secretary shall keep the records of all membership meetings and Board of Directors meetings. These minutes are to be read at every meeting. The Secretary shall conduct the correspondence of the organization as directed by the President; is the custodian of the records except those of the Treasurer; keep a membership roster, send out proper notices of all meetings, keep safely all important documents such as the Bylaws, and any amendments to them, and any other standing rules which may be adopted.

Section 6. The Treasurer shall collect, receive, and hold all monies belonging to the Association, and deposit all funds in the name of the Association in such banks as the Board shall designate; pay all bills, make all disbursements, make a monthly itemized statement to the Board, a monthly report at the general membership meeting, and render annually an account of the year's receipts and expenditures. The books shall be open at all times for examination or audit as the Board shall order. All checks shall be signed by the Treasurer, or, if absent, by the President or a Board Member designated by the President. The Treasurer shall deliver to the successors all monies, vouchers, books, papers, and any other property belonging to the Association at the close of the annual membership meeting, or other meeting as ruled by the Board.

Section 7. Board Responsibilities
a. The Board of Directors is charged with transacting the regular business of this organization.
b. The Board may fill vacancies in Officer positions by election by the Board of Directors for the remainder of the term of office except that of President in which case the Vice-President shall assume the office for the remainder of the term and the Vice-President position then may be filled.
c. The Board may fill vacancies in Director positions by election by the Board of Directors for the remainder of the term of office as long as the minimum number of Director positions, as prescribed by Bylaw Article II, are filled.

Article IV (cont) thru Art. VII

Article IV (continued)
Section 7. Board Responsibilities
a. The Board of Directors is charged with transacting the regular business of this organization.
b. The Board may fill vacancies in Officer positions by election by the Board of Directors for the remainder of the term of office except that of President in which case the Vice-President shall assume the office for the remainder of the term and the Vice-President position then may be filled.
c. The Board may fill vacancies in Director positions by election by the Board of Directors for the remainder of the term of office as long as the minimum number of Director positions, as prescribed by Bylaw Article II, are filled.

Section 8. Conflict of Interest
a. Board Members shall exercise care that no detriment to this Association results from conflicts between their interests and those of the Association.
b. If a Board Member believes that a conflict of interest exists or may exist, the Board Member shall promptly and fully disclose the conflict to the Secretary or President and shall refrain from participating in the matter to which the conflict relates until the conflict question has been resolved. A potential conflict of interest is resolved by a simple majority vote of the Board.
c. When conflict of interest is actual or resolved, then the Board Member shall not participate in decision-making or voting on the matter as a Board Member.

Section 9. Resignation, Termination, and Absences
a. Resignation from the Board must be in writing and received by the Secretary or President.
b. Any Board Member whose permanent residence moves outside the boundaries of the Association during the term of office must vacate that position within 45 days of the move.
c. A Board Member failing to attend two (2) consecutive meetings of the Board, unless excused by the President, may be removed by a simple majority vote of the Board.
d. A Board Member may be removed for other reasons by a three-fourth (3/4) vote of the Board.

Article V. Meetings

Section 1. General membership meetings shall be held monthly unless changed by the Board of Directors.

Section 2. The Annual membership meeting shall be held in June.

Section 3. Special membership meetings must be called by the President or the Board upon the written request of one-tenth (1/10th) of the total number of Active Member names on the Association roster.

Section 4. Written notice of the date, time, place and purpose of all membership meetings shall be sent to the membership at least five (5) days before each meeting.

Section 5. A quorum for the transaction of business at any membership meeting shall be thirty (30) Active Members or twenty (20) percent of Active Members based on the number of Active Member names contained in the Association membership roster.

Section 6. The Board of Directors meetings shall be held monthly unless changed by the Board of Directors. Special meetings of the Board may be called by the President, and must be called by the President upon the written request of five (5) Board Members. Board Members must be notified one week prior to the meeting. A quorum for Board meetings shall be a simple majority of the Board Members based on the number of non-vacant Board positions.

Article VI. Dues

Section 1. The amount and requirements for annual dues shall be set by the Board of Directors.

Section 2. The fiscal year for this Association shall run from June first (1st) to May thirty-first (31st).

Section 3. All funds raised by any Association function, group, or committee activity shall become part of the general treasury of the Association.