Absence of board members aborts WASI meeting

To the editor:

A standing-room-only group of WASI seniors gathered for a discussion of unauthorized alterations to the corporation’s bylaws on Tuesday was informed by board vice president Katie Carney that a quorum of four board members was required for a member meeting and that only three were present.

Two were reportedly ill — one was at a funeral and one was out of town — so the meeting could not be held. Thereupon, some 70 seniors were shooed from the room with an explanation that they must vacate the room because it had been reserved for a different meeting. Evidently there was a mistaken double booking?

The majority of the seniors chose to regroup in the dining hall to discuss the meeting purpose, although they could not take action. Hardworking Elder Watch parliamentarians Lois Wier and Anne Kilkenny spent most of the month of January in a line-by-line contrast of the 2009 bylaws with the current ones and found more than 11 discrepancies. The “new” set effectively diverts a substantial proportion of power from the seniors to the director and the board. The membership had not voted on these revisions and some board members could not recall having done so.

Copies of the proposed revised bylaws are available. Members are urged to read through them, despite their length and legal terminology. Members should realize that this will require time and endurance on their part to complete this essential task.

Several times Mrs. Kaplan addressed seniors with contempt and derision, branding Elder Watch volunteers as “hostile” and “toxic.” One member broke down in tears. Some seniors are so intimidated by Mrs. Kaplan’s tirades that they fear to come to the center, much less to join with Elder Watch seniors to confront her.

However, we must express our appreciation of board Vice President Katie Carney, chair of the board bylaws committee, for her willingness to meet with Elder Watch for amicable discussion of the issues.

Meanwhile, it is vital that WASI members study the bylaw revisions and plan to discuss them at the March 10 board meeting. Wake up, WASI!

We sincerely hope that the two “ill” board members recover speedily, and that the one “out of town” will return in time for the next meeting. We’ll sign up for the meeting room now.

Mary Hall

Wasilla