Membership – Page 2 – Armory Park Neighborhood Association

APNA Membership and Elections

A message from the APNA Membership Chair:

Hi Armory Parkers,

Every November, we elect directors to the Armory Park Neighborhood Association Board. This year, 6 people will be chosen at the annual meeting on November 9, 2021 to make decisions on the issues that arise during the calendar year.

To vote in the election, it is necessary to be a member of the Armory Park Neighborhood Association As per the bylaws, memberships for the 2021 calendar year must be received on or before September 24, 2021 for one to be eligible to vote. If you are not already a member, and wish to have a say in who represents you, please join now.

You may join online at our website, armoryparktucson.org, by clicking on “Become a member” and following the instructions. Dues are $10 per person and $20.00 per business. If you use the online format to join, please send a copy of your membership form to pefnaz@gmail.com.Please contact me if you need to verify your membership.

A Message about the Listserv

A message from the APNA President about the Armory Park neighborhood listserv:

Dear Armory Parkers,

At the APNA board meeting Tuesday night we discussed the listserv’s administration and the problem that arose with one listserv member being sanctioned for political posting while others were not. The following motion was made and approved with six votes in favor and one abstention.

To 1) expand the size of the oversight committee from two members to at least three people; 2) have the oversight committee clarify the guidelines for posting comments with attention paid to inviting multiple perspectives (i.e., do not limit free speech but strive for comity and civility; 3) delineate the duties of moderators and protocols to be followed and 4) that future suspensions, if they occur, will be handled privately and not announced publicly.

We accepted one new volunteer to work with the existing two listserv moderators. The committee was charged with revising the guidelines so that we do not have fairness issues again.

One last task remained, to send an apology to Amanda Maass. Over the last two days the board voted 5 in favor, with one abstention and one no vote to send the following apology. The apology is at the end of this message.

Your Armory Park Board’s hope and goal is to be as fair and open as possible with the governance of the listserv and all our other actions. Regrettably there are hurt feelings. We hope to now move on.

Sincerely,

David Bachman-Williams
APNA President

(Letter)
August 14, 2021

Dear Amanda,

We, the Directors of the Armory Park Neighborhood Association, wish to apologize to you. In retrospect it is clear that the warning and suspension of Amanda was arbitrary and selective enforcement of the ban on political posting. In addition, we regret the public announcement of the suspension.

Sincerely,

David Bachman-Williams
APNA Board President

APNA Board Meetings

A reminder: The APNA Board holds monthly meetings on the 2nd Tuesday of each month (except January), at 6:30 PM. Because of COVID-19, APNA Board meetings are currently being held on line, at APNA Meeting Stream .

Meetings are open to all residents. Attending them is a great way to stay informed about issues of neighborhood-wide interest. We encourage you to attend!

Become a Member Online!

Some APNA members want to renew their membership and pay online; you may be one of them. A new system is now available to do that! This link https://forms.gle/j7VXuSVtzXmX1v7J9 will take you to a form in APNA’s Google Workspace account. After completing the form, you will be offered links to PayPal to complete payment. The Become a Member! page here on the APNA website also has a link to the form. For help, mail tech@armoryparktucson.org. Your suggestions and comments will be appreciated. Thanks for any feedback you can offer. We hope this new feature is a convenience for you.

If you complete the online membership form and pay via PayPal, the paper form is not needed.

APNA Board Election Coming

A message from APNA President David Bachmann-Williams:

Our annual elections for the board of directors are next month and we’re looking for four people who are willing to help keep the neighborhood a great place to live. Plan on allowing about two hours for the monthly meetings, plus whatever additional time you’re willing to spend on areas of interest to you. Officer positions do require more of a commitment. There’s always a need for help with special projects such as helping neighbors maintain a safe walkway, occasional neighborhood clean-ups, and, when life returns to whatever the new normal will be, planning social events which draw neighbors together.
Please let me know if you are interested, or if you would like more information by emailing me at davidbedub@gmail.com.

APNA’s Looking for a Treasurer

A message from APNA President David Bachman-Williams:

Our Current Treasurer, Donna Taylor, will be leaving the Board and office at the end of this year. A new treasurer will be needed to carry on her work. She has established a system of record keeping and reporting beneficial to our association. Concurrent with the last few months of her term, APNA is moving to cloud applications for most functions, including the Treasurer’s

A cloud based system will be simpler to use because the hardware requirements are minimal and help will be readily available should the new Treasurer encounter problems. Remote collaboration is essential in these Covid times.

These are the position requirements as I see them:

An interest in sound financial management.
The ability to follow a systematic approach to administration.
Some familiarity with digital technology but expertise is not needed.
A computer with a modern internet browser.
An internet connection.
A printer is very desirable but not essential.

If you are interested in this way of supporting your neighborhood, I would like to hear from you. Please call me at 520-975-4852 or email me at bachmanwms@gmail.com

Board Election 11/10/20

A message from APNA President David Bachman-Williams:

Hi neighbors,
This is a notification that if you want to vote in the neighborhood association elections that you have to have a current membership up to date. Our bylaws require that you be a member at least 45 days before the election. The election will be November 10. You need to have your membership be current by September 25. If you are not sure whether your membership is up to date please contact Phyllis (pefnaz@gmail.com), our membership chair.

APNA Supports You; Please Support APNA

Not a member of the Armory Park Neighborhood Association? Please consider joining at https://armoryparktucson.org/membership/.

Our community made a great response to the threat of the proposed Central Business District expansion within Armory Park. A team of individuals and a strong response from many residents provided our council member, Steve Kozachik, with the information he needed to take action. His results were quick and effective, so this threat has passed for now.

Neighbors have expressed appreciation for the efforts of all involved, but one player has not yet been recognized. Without the contribution of our neighborhood association (APNA) none of this would have been achieved. It was at a Board meeting that the threat first became apparent and the Board expressed its concern. Very soon after, email polling of the Board authorized an aggressive response against the expansion within Armory Park. The second Zoom meeting, attended by many residents and Board members, gave City staff notice that the fight was on. President David Bachman-Williams spoke for the neighborhood in expressing our disapproval of the expansion. Only by having an active association did we learn of the threat and have a powerful voice opposing it.

APNA is built on the membership of neighbors. Our listserv has 350 email addresses enrolled. A number of those are for couples so the number of individuals subscribed is greater. 405 people follow our Facebook page. APNA has 136 members today, a third of the listserv users and Facebook followers. More people willing to pay the $10 per person annual dues strengthens the voice of our Board and President. As small as the dues are, they pay for meeting space and other expenses. Without an APNA financial contribution, the recent sidewalk improvements could not have been completed. The bottom line:

— Please pay your dues now (If you have already, thanks). Contact Phyllis Factor (Pefnaz@gmail.com), our membership chair.

— Serve as an officer, as a Board Director, on a committee or as a project team worker. 2021 elections are this November.

Armory Park is a great neighborhood, but only active engagement by our residents can keep it that way. Thanks for your active contribution.

Monthly APNA Meeting Tuesday 9/10/19 at 6:30 PM

A reminder that this month’s APNA meeting will take place Tuesday, September 10, at St Andrew’s Parish Hall. And don’t forget: the starting time for APNA meetings is now 6:30 PM! Come and hear what’s going on in the neighborhood! Tucson Police Department reps will be there to discuss neighborhood safety issues.

Here’s the agenda: APNA Agenda 8_13_19