Save Grassroots Radio

Subject: [petition] response to June 1, 2006 meeting requests
From: "Susan Sternlieb"
Date: Thu, July 6, 2006 11:56

Dear OpenKRFC:

The KRFC Board of Directors has considered the issues that you presented to
us at the board meeting of June 1, 2006. Part of the discussion was in
regard to our new mission, vision, and core values document. Those concerns
include dissatisfaction with:

1. the speed of the process.
2. the inclusiveness of the process.
3. the differences between the old and new mission.

The board engaged a highly knowledgeable and experienced professional in the
field of nonprofit organizational management and strategic planning to
assist with the development of the new mission, vision and values
statements. We are confident that these new strategic planning tools
succinctly portray the values and wishes of the vast majority of the KRFC
community. We, therefore, do not feel it necessary to revisit the process or
engage in further dialogue.

Part of the beauty of a large diverse community such as ours is that
although individuals don't always get what they want, the majority will work
together for the greater good.

If some of you do not support the new mission, vision and core values of
KRFC, perhaps it is time to move on with your volunteerism. Many other
worthy nonprofits exist in our area and we wish you well in finding a
community service outlet that better matches your needs.

You have further asked the board to:

1. engage in dialogue and accept mediation.
2. offer fair hearings for the dismissed volunteers.
3. promise that there will be no more dismissals without due process.
4. contact petitioners whose signatures were considered invalid to notify
them of the reason.
5. allow an independent auditor to review the petition.

Mediation and dialogue:

Individual members of the board are very willing to speak with individual
members. If you want personal conversation please feel free to get in touch
with any member of the board or Beth. What we are NOT willing to do is
engage the board of directors as a group or subgroup in conversation with
groups organized by the same people who have spearheaded numerous
discordant, disingenuous controversies at KRFC.

As the board said in the meeting, this has proven frustrating and fruitless,
even when we have had ombudsmen and/or facilitators present, and even when
we reached agreements. Too often our agreements are misinterpreted or
ignored and we find ourselves at square one. We are not willing to use such
processes again with you.

Offer fair hearings / Membership revocations without due process:

We have acted as our bylaws permit and in the best interests of the station
and other volunteers. Many volunteers have found the atmosphere at the
station much more positive and constructive since the memberships of these
volunteers were revoked. Our bylaws and policies do not require any further
process, and we will not revisit the decision.

Contact petitioners / Audit of petition:

We wrote to the originators of the petition with our explanation. As we
don't have contact information for those who signed the petition, we believe
that those originators should take responsibility to pass along the
information. An audit would not change the reason for the decision to
dismiss the petition and therefore would not change the outcome.