The community’s efforts to restart the Vashon-Maury Island Community Council continue despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which required the cancellation of the VMICC’s March 16 meeting.

The Bylaws Committee has drafted revised bylaws that are being circulated for review. For a copy of the draft bylaw, contact Diane Emerson by email at dianeemerson@yahoo.com or call 206-567-5492, or contact David Vogel by email at dsvogel.atty@gmail.com or call 206-291-7494.

The revisions to the proposed bylaws are intended to address two of the most common criticisms of the former VMICC — that it was not inclusive enough, and that people felt shut out by those using Robert’s Rules of Order as a weapon.

To enable participation in votes of the VMICC by people who would not otherwise be able to attend VMICC meetings, the draft bylaws propose that voting be allowed for residents who participate by telecommunication as well as those who are present at the meeting. The proposed Bylaws have changed the voting age from 18 to 16. And the proposed bylaws increase the responsibilities of Board Members to include outreach to the various constituencies on the Island(s).

In order to make meetings less contentious and more productive, it is proposed that the meetings will be “guided” (as opposed to “governed”) by the Democratic Rules of Order, which are less difficult to understand and less onerous than Robert’s Rules.

The next meeting of the community council committee will be held, as planned, from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, April 20. It will be a virtual meeting hosted on Webex. Those who would like to attend should contact Emerson, who will be facilitating the virtual meeting. There will be an introduction to the virtual meeting procedures and a discussion of the formation of the council, the proposed bylaws, and elections of the board members. The bylaws will not be voted on at the meeting but at a subsequent meeting, to allow more time for reflection and discussion.