MEMBERSHIP in SNO -- "a private club of neighbors that don't want you in it" ?


An Essay by the Disaffected SNO Past President 


MEMBERSHIP in SNO -- "a private club of neighbors that don't want you in it" ?


Without a doubt, SNO was instrumental years ago in convincing the City to rebuild, rather than relocate, South Side School. SNO also played a big role in getting zoning changes which encourage renovation of fine old structures. SNO's value in the past cannot be questioned.

What about today? Does SNO foster neighborhood cohesiveness and goodwill, or does it spawn the opposite? Does SNO voice the consensus of Southside's 3000 citizens, or has it become 'a private club of neighbors' which operates like 'a bridge club'?

Does SNO live up to its name : Southside Neighborhood Organization? >> Can every resident become a full-fledged member? NOPE. Renters (who probably make up a majority of the population) CANNOT vote.

Does SNO live up to its name : Southside Neighborhood Organization? >> Does SNO now make available to the neighborhood its Minutes, Agendas, full Treasury Reports? NOPE. Does it bind itself to Roberts Rules of Order or some other procedural guide? NOPE; Roberts Rules (and its requirements for notice and hearing and free access to information) were ditched in 2011.

Are SNO meetings a pleasure to attend? Is every Southside resident given a warm welcome and a reasonable opportunity to express his/her point of view and concerns?

WHAT A GROUP SAYS ABOUT ITSELF IN OPEN COURT CARRIES GREAT WEIGHT.  Read this, then make your own decision about what SNO has become >>


Excerpts from official Chancery Court transcript
In open court on 2 November 2011  ~  Court Reporter Jayne Cox

Bobby MacBryan Green  vs.
Jodi Jones, Howell Sherrod, Betty Ann Polaha, and Mary Lee Jondahl

*     *     *     *     *
.......

MR. SHERROD: I represent the Southside Neighborhood Organization and the individuals.

[T]his lawsuit is basically a nuisance case filed by somebody who wants to be in a neighborhood club and they don’t want him in it. And it’s like if you want to be in my mother’s bridge club and they don’t want you in there. I’m sorry, you can’t sue to get in. It doesn’t matter that, you know, they’ve taken part or done something ....  [interrupted by Chancellor Johnson]

And it’s, basically, he wants to be in a club that he’s not welcome. And I don’t think there’s any legal basis for a person wanting to be in a private club of neighbors that don’t want you in it, and so he’s been removed.

And we have a problem with him trying to bully his way in, you know, an issue that he’s really just not wanted and it doesn’t matter why. So that would be our position.

*     *     *     *     *

[Bold & color added.]

[Note: The pronoun ‘he’ above refers to Green, who 'bullied his way in' by being elected the president of SNO for the 2011-2013 term by an overwhelming majority in a well-advertised formal election.]

No comments:

Post a Comment