News
GVR bylaws pass, one barely
By Jaime Richardson
Green Valley News
Voters approved all 10 bylaws changes for Green Valley Recreation, with one of the more controversial amendments passing by just 34 votes out of nearly 6,000 cast.
Most of the changes passed by margins anywhere from 57 to 64 percent, board members announced Tuesday at GVR’s Annual Meeting of the Corporation. But the bylaw that allows GVR’s 12-member Board of Directors to drop to three was approved by just over 50 percent of the vote, 2,945 to 2,911.
A total of 5,978 ballots were returned out of 12,913 mailed to households last month, a 46.3 percent voter rate, election committee Chair Roberta Konen said.
There was a noticeably mild mood at Tuesday’s meeting despite the tense months leading up to the election, during which both sides squared off in the newspaper, on blogs and at meetings.
One man walked out in a huff after the results were read, but there was generally little reaction as Konen explained the vote count.
Elmer Silaghi, who runs a blog about GVR and has publically opposed the changes, told the board that GVR’s actions during the election were “unhealthy” and said “the cost of not having a free flow of information is really too high a price to pay.”
But other members Tuesday seemed content to put the election behind them, asking the board about a water aerobics program and the probability of GVR taking on major projects in the future.
Board President Altie Metcalf said she was surprised more members didn’t comment on the election, given the large number that attended. However, she said she was not surprised that the meeting went smoothly.
“I think GVR and the board have been unfairly depicted as contentious in the past,” said Metcalf, who added that most members who disagree with the board do so respectfully
manner.
Board member Jim Burt, who has publicly opposed the bylaws changes, said he was “very surprised” all 10 passed, especially the amendment that bundled dozens of minor changes.
“People are going to be sorry when the bylaws start to take effect,” he said.
In her President’s report, Metcalf said in the year ahead GVR would focus on safety issues, facility maintenance and energy efficiency to save money.
She also thanked the three outgoing board members, Eddie Peabody Jr., Leon Lies and Roberta Konen.
Joyce Finkelstein, Ann Gillingham, Dave Thomas and incumbent Gunnar Bonthran were elected to the board.
The board will hold a meeting at 9 a.m. today in the Members Services Center to elect new officers for 2009-10.
jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726
Voters approved all 10 bylaws changes for Green Valley Recreation, with one of the more controversial amendments passing by just 34 votes out of nearly 6,000 cast.
Most of the changes passed by margins anywhere from 57 to 64 percent, board members announced Tuesday at GVR’s Annual Meeting of the Corporation. But the bylaw that allows GVR’s 12-member Board of Directors to drop to three was approved by just over 50 percent of the vote, 2,945 to 2,911.
A total of 5,978 ballots were returned out of 12,913 mailed to households last month, a 46.3 percent voter rate, election committee Chair Roberta Konen said.
There was a noticeably mild mood at Tuesday’s meeting despite the tense months leading up to the election, during which both sides squared off in the newspaper, on blogs and at meetings.
One man walked out in a huff after the results were read, but there was generally little reaction as Konen explained the vote count.
Elmer Silaghi, who runs a blog about GVR and has publically opposed the changes, told the board that GVR’s actions during the election were “unhealthy” and said “the cost of not having a free flow of information is really too high a price to pay.”
But other members Tuesday seemed content to put the election behind them, asking the board about a water aerobics program and the probability of GVR taking on major projects in the future.
Board President Altie Metcalf said she was surprised more members didn’t comment on the election, given the large number that attended. However, she said she was not surprised that the meeting went smoothly.
“I think GVR and the board have been unfairly depicted as contentious in the past,” said Metcalf, who added that most members who disagree with the board do so respectfully
manner.
Board member Jim Burt, who has publicly opposed the bylaws changes, said he was “very surprised” all 10 passed, especially the amendment that bundled dozens of minor changes.
“People are going to be sorry when the bylaws start to take effect,” he said.
In her President’s report, Metcalf said in the year ahead GVR would focus on safety issues, facility maintenance and energy efficiency to save money.
She also thanked the three outgoing board members, Eddie Peabody Jr., Leon Lies and Roberta Konen.
Joyce Finkelstein, Ann Gillingham, Dave Thomas and incumbent Gunnar Bonthran were elected to the board.
The board will hold a meeting at 9 a.m. today in the Members Services Center to elect new officers for 2009-10.
jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726
Copyright © 2010 - Green Valley News and Sun