The Fremont Neighborhood Council approved seven amendments to its bylaws at their annual membership meeting on April 28 at the Doric Lodge.
It was the first revision to the organization’s governing document in 19 years. Members also elected their board of directors for the next term.
The most discussed bylaw change raises the threshold for the FNC board to take public positions or make endorsements. The new bylaw requires a two-thirds vote of the board rather than a simple majority. The amendment also includes language affirming that the FNC will not intervene in political campaigns, which is consistent with its 501(c)(3) status.
The discussion around endorsements kept circling back to a broader concern: whether the council of a few dozen members can claim to speak for roughly 12,000 residents.
“I don’t believe that we are currently representative of Fremont with the current membership that we have,” said FNC Board President Colleen Kaminski. “Until we’re really representative of Fremont, it’s not fair for us to give an opinion on something.”
Kaminski framed the FNC’s role as a space for community connection rather than advocacy.
“Our goal is not to make stances on things and divide the community,” she said. “Our goal is for you to come here, to learn, to meet someone new, and to learn how you can plug in and use your own voice to share your opinion.”
Among the other amendments, a new section requires board members to take on at least one active role or responsibility. Board member Sophia Wagner, who led the bylaw voting process, said the change was a safeguard against misuse.
“There have been instances where neighborhood council boards have been used as a platform to advance their interests,” Wagner said. “This is an attempt to put into language that serving on the board means you’re helping run the organization.”
In 2023, the Eastlake Community Council removed four board members after a dispute over competing letters to the city about the RapidRide J Line project, according to The Urbanist. The Stranger reported recently on the Laurelhurst Community Council’s five-member board drawing scrutiny for decades of opposition to Seattle Children’s Hospital helicopter operations. The FNC’s new endorsement threshold and board responsibility requirements aim to prevent similar dynamics in Fremont.
Other changes include allowing bylaw amendments at regular monthly meetings with 30 days’ notice and a two-thirds vote of members present; clarifying that electronic votes require a full board majority; and fixing a numerical mismatch in the spending threshold language. All seven bylaw amendments passed by voice vote.
The meeting also included a zoning exercise led by staff from Council Member Dan Strauss’s office. Anthony Rodriguez, policy advisor for Strauss, walked attendees through the proposed Upper Fremont Neighborhood Center map and broke them into small groups to map where they’d prefer higher or lower density within the area’s boundaries. Strauss was unable to attend due to a death in the family. The Phase 2 Comprehensive Plan public comment period runs through June, and a council vote is expected later this summer.
Lastly, members elected an 11-member board of directors: Evgeny Burlyaev, Simone Childs (Treasurer), Kelin Christi, Lydia Heard (Secretary), Colleen Kaminski (President), Timothy Kitchen, Audrey Livermore, Steve Rubstello, Caroline Sayre, Brandon Shimko, and Sophia Wagner. Outgoing board members Cindy Krafft, Tawny Bates, and Fremont Neighbor editor Alyson Teeter were thanked for their service.
The next meeting is May 26 and will include a presentation from SDOT on Stone Way improvements and from Holland Acquisition on the former Ballroom block redevelopment at 452 N 36th St. The FNC meets on the fourth Tuesday of each month.
Fremont Neighbor editor Alyson Teeter served on the FNC board through April 2026.
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