Passed!

Finally updated the neighborhood’s bylaws after a quarter century!

Folks, yesterday, the Brookview Neighborhood Association passed the new bylaws, and these are now official.

All that remains is sending the signed copy to the City of Waco for their records.

If you haven’t seen the original and the new ones, you can read a prior post about this.

There is still work to be done, of course.

Although I am stepping down after one term as a Director on the Board, I believe that dedicating the past year to modernizing the rules to attract new members and directors, closing vulnerabilities, boosting membership turnout, streamlining various processes, including check-ins, and enhancing community safety was worthwhile.

If I were to stay on, I would focus on addressing safety issues in the neighborhood, such as curb issues and helping to handle stray animals, as well as work to boost our membership. Though as a member, I can still volunteer some time now and then.

One person even stepped up to take on the role of a director to replace me, so it balanced out.

Updating the bylaws cleared the foundation for her:

The new director has a disability and may not be able to attend meetings in person.

But the new bylaws allow for phone and Google Meet (remote video calling) attendance, whereas we didn’t have that option before. Had we not passed these, she wouldn’t have been able to join and participate successfully.

So it was meant to be, and I am glad to open up our neighborhood to more participation and ideally better results for everyone.

Although it probably seems like it, I’m not writing this to toot my own horn.

The point was to demonstrate that change takes time, but if people are genuinely interested in improvement and not just talking or driven by their ego, we can improve our situations.

We went back and forth for several months to revise these bylaws, ensure they were agreeable to everyone, refine the details with each meeting and draft, and so on.

Yes, we had some debates and arguments, and it was frustrating as hell at times. However, in the end, it ultimately worked out for everyone.

I also expect a ripple effect that will boost the neighborhood and others.

For one, we drew inspiration from other bylaws that neighborhoods had used, and I assume that newly formed associations or even current ones may wish to look at a few examples (including ours) to seek inspiration.

Over time, things are starting to fall into place.

Having attended the last general neighborhood association meeting of all neighborhoods, there was a lot of interest in our curbside painting, as this gave people an incentive to join ours. Other groups wanted to replicate our efforts (if it succeeds).

And, of course, there are the improved safety and home values that result from this act, as well as higher rates of neighborhood participation and engagement among our community members.

I realize that this may not be earth-shattering, but it still has an impact.

When I launched this Substack, it was initially going to focus solely on election integrity and exposing grifters and similar individuals.

While there has been some progress in that regard, what matters is when citizens get involved and work to improve their lives, homes, and communities.

It’s about what we can do to make our little piece of the world a better place.

Thank those of you who came out yesterday.

So, I’m proud to see that this passed with your help.

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