The Fishtown Neighbors Association hosted on Wednesday, Nov. 17, its monthly general membership meeting via Zoom, but the stakes were slightly higher than usual.
The annual board election was on the slate, and eligible residents were able to cast their votes for 11 open, at-large board seats.
Ajay Joshi, board member and communications secretary, moderated the event.
This year, 19 candidates pitched to 19125 why they should be chosen to represent the community.
The following 11 Fishtown residents were voted to the 2022 FNA Board of Directors:
Dustin Bartolomeo-Damon
Lauren Borasso
Bob Everrett
Jon Geeting
Jen Gow
Jerold Grupp
Trevor Linton
Sarah McAnulty
Eva Piatek
Natalie Short
Ian Wilson
Backgrounds were published on each candidate prior to the meeting, and each candidate was allotted two minutes to speak on Wednesday night.
Potential candidates spoke about their beliefs on various community issues and concerns including parking, FNA voting eligibility, contention among previous FNA board members, transparency of the civic association, development projects in Fishtown, diversity of board members, zoning issues, pedestrian safety, bike paths, working with the Fishtown BID, securing funds, expanding communications beyond social media and representing Fishtown residents unbiasedly.
After candidates spoke, at-large board member Gianna Grossman read questions from the audience.
Candidates were given 60 seconds to respond, with two to three candidates answering each question.
Questions spanned a variety of topics from how to grow FNA membership, should red light cameras be installed at troublesome intersections, what are ideas to improve pedestrian safety, how will meetings be conducted moving forward, what will be done to ensure the roles of FNA and the Fishtown BID remain separate, should voting eligibility be amended, and what are the candidates’ No. 1 issue to address.
Candidates responses on top priorities included safety, sidewalk accessibility, representing residents on development, unifying the FNA board, residents’ interests, quality-of-life issues and FNA board transparency,
In total, 141 individuals, including the 19 candidates, attended the meeting. A little more than 200 registered FNA members were eligible to attend the meeting and vote.
The current population of Fishtown is about 16,300.
According to FNA bylaws published on its website, registered members who are eligible to vote in director elections include those who “have attended a minimum of three General Membership Meetings or committee meetings, or any combination of three.”
Results were shared Friday evening via email.
Now that the board members have been elected, the board will vote internally for officer positions, which take place at the next board meeting on Monday, Dec. 13. ••
The next monthly general membership meeting is Wednesday, Dec. 15.
For more information about FNA, visit www.fishtown.org.
