Bylaw Changes

See Bylaw Changes

If the boards and neighborhoods vote to merge the two organizations into one organization, the bylaws will need to be updated.

The bylaws of MPNAI and EPIC have been carefully reviewed, and the changes would be integrated into the surviving corporation, EPIC.

See the phased plan for the proposed voting period. Register your voting information here.

Change Summary

The bylaw updates include the following necessary changes:

Changing the name of the organization from "East Phillips Improvement Coalition, Inc." (EPIC) to "Midtown and East Phillips Neighborhood Association, Inc." (MEPNA)
Including the geographic boundaries of the Midtown Phillips neighborhood, in addition to the East Phillips neighborhood. Voting members and directors must come from these geographic boundaries.
Modifying the Board Number and Qualification to include 5 at-large directors (with up to 4 of these being non-residential), 2 residential directors from each neighborhood, 1 director from neighborhood business association, 1 director from Little Earth.
- Previously, EPIC had 9 at-large directors, a majority who had to be residents.
- Previously, MPNAI consisted of 4 at-large directors, and 6 district-specific directors.
- Reasoning:
  - Reserving certain seats on the Board for residents of each neighborhood promotes representation across the geographic area.
  - Multiple "at-large" seats encourages the board of directors to give attention to the whole neighborhood area, not just their corner of it.
  - Businesses have been under-represented in the neighborhood boards in recent years, and thriving businesses are important for our community.
  - Little Earth is a significant portion of the neighborhood, and we want to make sure their voice is at the table.
- This is something we are reviewing and can continue to modify in the years to come to pursue board diversity and equity.
Removing eligibility restriction for Directors from the same "household or family system."
- MPNAI does not have this restriction.
- Reasoning: this restriction is unclear and imprecise. It could potentially prevent otherwise good candidates from serving on the board due to sharing a roof or being related in large family systems. The existing Conflict of Interest Policy is sufficient for dealing with potential conflicts of interest.