VISION STATEMENT

The residents of Garfield Heights envision a safe, beautiful, multi-cultural neighborhood. Its residents shall show involvement and community pride by using historical and educational resources to better the Garfield Heights Neighborhood Association.

The following amendments to the existing Garfield Heights Neighborhood Association Bylaws are hereby adopted as of --January 2004-- by the majority vote of the membership present at a General Association Meeting. Most importantly, the following Articles replace any existing Bylaws in their entirety.

BYLAWS

ARTICLE 1: NAME

a. The existing boundaries of the Association shall be Washington Boulevard (south side of street) to the north, Mountain Street (north side of the street) to the south, Los Robles Avenue (west side of the street) to the east, and Marengo Avenue (both sides) to the west.

b. Note – Association boundaries are different from those of the Garfield Heights Landmark District.

c. Expansion of Boundaries:

1. Proposed boundary expansion shall be initiated by persons interested in joining the Association from outside existing boundaries.

2. Proposed boundary expansion shall be presented in writing to the Board of Directors (“Board”) at a Board Meeting and upon approval by a 2/3 vote of a Board Meeting quorum, shall be presented to the Membership at the next regularly scheduled General Meeting.

3. Voting to expand the boundaries of the Association will require a 2/3 vote from Members in attendance at a regularly scheduled General Meeting of the Association. If passed, the expansion request shall proceed in accordance with Neighborhood Connections and City of Pasadena guidelines.

a. Regular Membership:

1. Regular Membership shall be open to all residents and property owners (homeowners, landlords, and renters) within the boundaries of the Association who are 18 years of age or older. Membership in the GHNA shall be available without regard to race, creed, or national origin. Regular Members will receive the privileges stated in Article 6.

b. Contributing Membership:

1. Contributing Membership is a Regular Member who supports the Association by paying dues. Contributing Members will receive the privileges stated in Article 6.

c. Honorary Membership:

1. The Board shall approve Honorary Memberships for important community leaders and city officials, such as, Mayor, Police Chief, etc.

2. Honorary Memberships shall not have voting privileges unless they live within the Association’s boundaries.

3. Honorary Memberships will receive neighborhood newsletters.

d. Membership Form:

1. All Members are invited to fill out a membership form.

2. Optional information gathered will be for the sole use of the Association and will not be made public.

e. Membership Restrictions:

1. The Chairperson of GHNA’s Board may bring a motion before the Board at a regularly scheduled Board Meeting to restrict voting privileges of any Member who acts in a way as to seriously misrepresent or undermine the objectives of GHNA.

a. Dues:

1. Regular Membership is free of charge.

2. Each Member / Household of GHNA who wants to become a Contributing Member shall pay annual dues in an amount determined by the Board. As of the approval date of these Bylaws, Contributing Membership dues are $20, collected annually each January. Dues may be paid by check payable to Garfield Heights Neighborhood Association (a) during any General Meeting or (b) by mail to GHNA at its current post office box address.

3. The Treasurer of GHNA shall maintain a membership list.

b. Contributions:

1. Any additional contributions of property or money will be accepted by GHNA.

a. All Regular and Contributing Members in good standing shall be eligible to vote.

b. All Members will receive newsletters regarding the activities of the Association.

c. All Members in good standing shall be invited to participate in all functions.

d. A web site will be available for all Members and the public to communicate and find out more about what is happening in the neighborhood.

e. Contributing Members in good standing will receive $5 off tickets to the annual Garfield Heights Home Tour.\

f. Contributing Members in good standing will receive 50% off rates for Member advertising in the annual Garfield Heights Home Tour brochure.

g. Contributing Members in good standing will receive recognition in the GHNA newsletter.

h. Contributing Members with businesses will receive one free small advertisement for their business in a newsletter.

a. General Meetings:

1. General Meetings will be held in January, March, June, September, and December (unless rescheduling is necessary due to a holiday, other significant event or meeting venue conflict) on a weekday evening mutually agreed upon by a majority vote of all Members present at the preceding meeting.

2. General Meetings will be held at a predetermined location between 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. unless otherwise posted.

3. All Members will be notified in advance of the General Meeting schedule through a newsletter or flyer.

4. Agendas for the General Meetings will be provided.

5. Public comment and participation is welcomed during the entire General Meeting.

6. There shall be no Board quorum needed for General Meetings. Any votes on matters that the Chairperson brings up at the General Meetings will be decided by majority vote of all Members present.

7. General Meetings shall be governed according to Roberts Rules of Order.

8. General Meeting minutes will be taken by the Association’s Secretary and will be made available to all Members upon request.

b. Board Meetings:

1. Board Meetings will be held each month on a weekday evening mutually agreed upon by the Board Members. The Chairperson may call special meetings whenever deemed necessary or when called upon to do so by two or more Directors. In the interest of time and redundancy, General and Board Meetings will be combined in January, March, June, September, and December.

2. A Board quorum shall consist of five (5) Directors. If a quorum is not present at the non-combined Board Meetings, motions may not be voted on and will be carried over to a meeting where a quorum is present.

3. Agendas for the Board Meeting will be provided.

4. Public comment is welcomed during non-combined Board Meetings during the first 30 minutes of the meeting, and then the public will be excused for the remainder of the Meeting.

5. Board Meetings shall be governed according to Roberts Rules of Order.

6. Board Meeting minutes shall be taken by the Association’s Secretary and be made available to all Members upon request.

a. Each Member shall be entitled to one (1) vote at elections and/or on matters placed before the Membership.

b. There shall be no voting by mail or absentee ballot.

c. Directors are entitled to one (1) vote each at Board Meetings.

a. There will be a total of ten (10) Directors on the Board, four (4) of whom will serve as Officers, the duties of which are outlined in Article 10. The first election after these Bylaws take affect shall elect ten Directors, with the five getting the most votes each having a two-year term and the remaining five having a one-year term. In the case of tie votes there shall be an immediate runoff election at that meeting.

b. At the December General Meeting, Members of the Association will nominate Directors. Nominations shall be made from the floor by Members in good standing or by notification to any Director by email/mail. Self nominations are permitted and no second shall be required for nominations.

c. Prior to the January General Meeting, the Board shall contact all nominees and ascertain eligibility and/or desire to accept the nomination.

d. Nominees may present their platform(s) during the January General Meeting. Time allocations for speech lengths will be determined by the Board based on number of nominees.

e. Nominees will be elected by a majority vote of Members present at the January General Meeting. The ballot process shall be written, secretly voted on, counted during the General Meeting, and announced at that meeting.

f. Any Member may witness the counting of the ballots. The candidates receiving the most votes cast shall be elected. In the event of a tie, the Members shall vote again among the two (2) tying candidates.

g. Directors shall serve for a term of two (2) years. Directors can run multiple times.

h. The Board shall elect the Officers amongst themselves.

i. Disqualification of Board Members: Should any of the following circumstances occur, any Director may ask that consideration of dismissal of a Director from the Board be placed on the Agenda of the next Board Meeting.

1. If a Director is absent from four (4) or more Board Meetings during one (1) calendar year.

2. Board Member acts in a way that seriously misrepresents or undermines the objectives of GHNA.

The Director in question shall have the opportunity to represent him/herself should he/she desire. Any dismissal must be approved by a 2/3 majority vote of the uninvolved Directors present at the Board Meeting during which the dismissal is addressed.

j. Resignations from the Board of Directors must be submitted in writing. Replacement of the resigning Director will come from the nominees from the previous year and will be agreed upon at the sole discretion of the Board.

a. Running the Association in a fair, honest manner for the betterment of the Association.

b. Board Members may not have, collectively or individually, any conflict of interest with any political / religious group, or business.

c. To transact necessary business in the intervals between General Meetings.

d. To approve the plans of work and budgets of the standing committees.

e. To present a report at the General Meetings.

f. To attend General Meetings of the Association.

g. To attend Board Meetings of the Association.

h. All Board Members missing Board or General Meetings without prior notice to Chairperson or other Officer shall be fined $10 per meeting missed. Fines to be collected by the Treasurer.

i. In the event of a vacancy occurring in any office, other than the Chairperson, the remainder of that term of office shall be served by a person elected by a 2/3 vote of the remaining Board Members. If the office of Chairperson becomes vacant, the Vice Chairperson shall serve the remaining term.

j. Exiting Board Members / Directors will relinquish any and all materials belonging to the Association to the incoming Board during the transition meeting in January, or at a time deemed appropriate by the Board if an exiting Board Member leaves before the end of their term.

a. Chairperson: The chief executive of the Association is charged with the duty of supervising all of its functions (subject to the orders or approval of the Board). The Chairperson is responsible for running all General and Board Meetings following Roberts Rule of Orders.

b. Vice Chairperson: In the event of the Chairperson’s absence or inability to act on the behalf of the Association, the Vice Chairperson will assume all duties normally executed by the Chairperson.

c. Treasurer:

1. Oversee all of the funds of the Association, keep a full and accurate account of receipts and expenditures, and make disbursements as authorized by the Board.

2. Present financial reports at Meetings and at other times when requested by the Board.

3. Responsible for the maintenance of the financial records of the Association.

4. Maintain a list of property of the Association.

5. Make disbursements of funds. In the absence of the Treasurer, Chairperson may disburse funds.

6. Any disbursements in excess of $200.00 shall be signed for by both the Treasurer and the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson.

7. Accounts shall be examined annually by an auditing committee of not less than three (3) Members, who, satisfied that the Treasurer’s report is correct, shall sign a statement of the facts at the end of the report. The Board shall appoint the auditing committee at least two (2) weeks before the January General Meeting. The audit report shall be complete no later than two (2) weeks after the January General Meeting.

8. Assist the auditing committee as necessary.

9. Provide financial audits and statements upon request by any Member of the Association.

d. Secretary:

1. Compose and transcribe correspondence for the Association at the request of the Board.

2. Issue notices and act as the custodian of records for the Association.

3. Take roll and keep minutes for all the Association Board Meetings. Board Meeting minutes shall be done in a timely manner after the meeting and submitted to all Board Members for their review and approval at the following Board Meeting.

4. Responsible for the maintenance of the neighborhood directory.

5. Provide past meeting minutes upon request by any Member of the Association.

a. The Board shall vote upon all uses of the Association’s monies.

b. Deposits in the name of the Association will be made in such bank as may be designated by the Association.

c. Requests for withdrawals of cash will require signatures of two (2) Officers.

d. Reimbursements to individuals shall only be made with prior Board approval and valid receipts must be submitted. Payments shall be made to individuals within thirty (30) days.

a. Committee membership shall consist of all those interested in serving on a particular committee.

b. Each committee shall elect its own Chairperson and Secretary.

c. The Chairperson of each committee shall present written or verbal reports/minutes of its meetings during relevant Board Meetings.

d. Recommendations of the committees are non-binding and are advisory in nature and are subject to the approval of the Board and/or Membership.

e. All committees should meet on a regular basis determined by the committee Chairperson.

f. The committees shall propose any budgetary needs to the Board on an annual basis and are responsible for maintaining records and accountings of that budget.

g. All committees need to maintain a book of records and information which will be handed down to future committee Chairperson(s).

h. Suggested standing committees are as follows:

1. Bylaws: Responsible for reviewing and making policy/bylaws change recommendations to the Board.

2. Safety: Responsible for identifying quality of life issues in our neighborhood and making recommendations and offering solutions to the Board and helping to achieve those solutions.

3. Beautification: Responsible for identifying and carrying out special projects to beautify our neighborhood.

4. Events: Responsible for planning and carrying out special events of GHNA including the annual Home Tour, Block Parties, Holiday Parties, etc.

5. Media: Responsible for publishing the newsletter, maintaining the website, and distributing flyers.

6. Fundraising: Responsible for looking for alternative methods of generating revenue for the Association.

7. Preservation: Responsible for maintaining high vigilance for the fine housing inventories in our neighborhood, as well as our community. The committee also maintains information regarding the historical landmark district.

Adopted January 2004; Amended September 2004- Laura, Secretary