North Enders voted to oust 5 neighborhood-board members. What comes next is in question
The future of one of Boise’s most powerful neighborhood associations is unclear after a recall vote that some say may not count.
Nearly 700 people voted to recall five members of the North End Neighborhood Association board, according to results posted online to the North End Alliance’s website. The alliance, a group of NENA members who organized the vote, is separate from the NENA board.
Neighborhood associations are coalitions of neighbors from designated areas. They plan events — the North End, for instance, hosts the Hyde Park Street Fair — and help weigh in on projects that may affect the future of the area, including being given extra time to weigh in at city public hearings. There are 34 neighborhood associations recognized by the city, and NENA is the oldest.
The North End Neighborhood Association runs from State Street to Hill Road and from 28th Street to 4th Street and represents about 10,000 people — anyone who lives or works in the North End.
The recalled members are Acting President Sarah Foregger, Carlos Coto, Daniel Foregger (Sarah’s brother), Tory Spengler and Sitka Koloski. They were accused of forcing their way onto the board and flipping the previous board’s platform on development and the neighborhood’s future, accusations they deny.
In the vote held Thursday, more than 87% of people voted to remove every member of the board, according to the alliance. More than 670 people voted to remove Spengler, Coto and both Foreggers, while fewer than 70 voted to retain them. People voted 645-91 to remove Koloski.
Sheri Edmonds, a spokesperson for the alliance, said she thought the turnout was the biggest NENA had ever seen.
But no one has heard from the board itself since the day of the vote, Edmonds said, including the other board members who have not been recalled.
“It’s all a very strange situation,” she said.
In an unsigned letter posted to NENA’s website and Facebook page, the board says the recall “has no legal basis and it is not legally binding.”
“The petitioners organizing the meeting were informed multiple times they did not meet Idaho Code legal requirements for calling their own meeting,” the letter reads. “Nor did they meet NENA bylaws requirements.”
State law and NENA bylaws allow members to call a meeting to recall board members by collecting enough signatures (10% of the voting power in state law, or 100 members in the NENA bylaws).
Daniel M. Keyes, the Post Falls-based lawyer representing the NENA board, wrote in a letter that the alliance’s signature gathering wasn’t enough. Edmonds counters that based on their reading of Idaho law assisted by some attorneys working pro bono, she believes it is.
It’s not clear whether the board will accept the results. Coto said in an email that the vote went against NENA bylaws and Idaho code. When asked by the Statesman in an email if he planned to accept the recall vote results, he responded that “it is not a recall election.” Foregger, the acting president, did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
Edmonds said that if the board did not step down as requested, members may need to take legal action. Seth Ogilvie, spokesperson for Mayor Lauren McLean, said the city has “little to no involvement” in neighborhood association disputes.
If they do step down, Edmonds said, the remaining board members, treasurer Chrystal Allen and streets committee chair Anne Hausrath, will need to take over the board to keep it running, which may involve appointing new members or holding a special election.
“I’m not entertaining any scenario where the five board members are still a part of this, because I don’t see it as valid,” Edmonds said. “They’ve been shut down by over 600 members, and I think they need to step down.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2021 at 4:04 PM.
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