Green Mountain Civic League By-Laws
PURPOSE: This organization is created exclusively for educational, charitable and scientific purposes under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, including the maintenance and improvement of public recreational areas for the use of the general public.
I. MEMBERSHIP
A. Any person over the age of 21 years; who resides upon, or is a private real property owner on Green Mountain, located in Huntsville, Alabama or Madison County, Alabama, said residence and/or private real property being at least partially situated above the 1000-foot contour line, who has paid the required annual household Civic League dues and is otherwise in “good standing” shall be a Green Mountain Civic League Member. (hereinafter referred to as “Member”)
B. The collective Members shall constitute the Green Mountain Civic League Membership. (hereinafter referred to as the “Membership”)
C. The word Member as used hereinafter without qualification shall mean League Member as defined in A. above, subject to any restrictions and qualifications as are set forth herein and the Articles of Incorporation and any amendments thereto.
D. Membership shall not be restricted because of race, religion, sex or ethnic background.
E. Non-voting Honorary membership is extended to anyone, regardless of A. above if approved by a 2/3 majority vote of all Members in attendance at any duly scheduled Membership Meeting.
II. ADMINISTRATION
A. The administration of the league is vested in its Officers.
B. The operations of the League are conducted by a Board of Directors, (hereinafter referred to as the “Board”) consisting of the Officers, the Chief of the Green Mountain Volunteer Fire Department, the Coordinator of the Green Mountain Community Watch, the Archivist and six(6) elected members-at- large with duties as hereunder described.
III. DUES
Annual dues in the Civic League and in the Green Mountain Community Watch shall be set annually by the Board and approved by the Membership, and will be administered by the Civic League Treasurer. Changes to the dues can be approved at any Membership meeting with the proposed change on the agenda.
IV. MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
A. Roberts Rules of Order shall govern all proceedings, except as specified otherwise in the Articles of Incorporation and/or these By-Laws.
B. All members have one vote at meetings including proxy or absentee ballots, except for any Membership Meeting wherein a proposed amendment to these Bylaws are discussed and voted upon as set forth in Paragraph VI below. No quorum is required. Any motion, policy, or act in violation of the Articles of Incorporation or these By-Laws is void.
C. Meetings are held in April and October at a place designated by the President with 14 days prior notice. The April meeting is the election meeting.
D. The President may from time to time call other meetings as may be necessary to carry out the functions of the Green Mountain Civic League or as these By-laws otherwise provide.
i. Within one month of an amendment submittal; or,
ii. Within 14 days upon request of 5 Members; or,
iii. In the event of urgent matters Membership Meetings may be called and any action taken at such meeting must be subsequently ratified by a majority vote of the Membership within 30 days thereof.
iv. Membership Meetings are open to the public, except the President may declare any Membership Meeting open to Members only.
V. ELECTIONS, VACANCIES and REMOVALS
A. Officers are elected every two years for a two (2) year term by plurality of vote at a duly scheduled Membership meeting. The Officers shall include the President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer.
B. Members-at- large are elected for a two (2) year term by plurality vote at an election meeting on alternate years from the officers.
C. The archivist for purposes of continuity shall be a permanent position appointed by the president and approved by the board.
D. Officers and members at large serve for no more than two consecutive terms with the exception of the Treasurer.
E. At the April election meeting a slate of nominees shall be presented by the nominating committee, appointed by the President, for the positions coming available. Nominations may also be made by members from the floor at the meeting.
F. The President with the approval of the Board may appoint a Member to fill vacated posts until a duly scheduled Membership Meeting is held and an appropriate vote is conducted for the vacant Board position.
G. Officers or members at large may be removed from office on a majority vote of the Board exclusive of the vote of the person under consideration for cause as defined below:
i. Physical or mental incapacity
ii. Failure to attend more than half of scheduled, duly notified meetings.
iii. Gross moral turpitude
iv. Said removal is subject to ratification by a 2/3 majority of the Members voting at a duly scheduled Membership Meeting, whether voting in person, by absentee ballot or proxy.
VI. Responsibilities and authorities of the Officers, members-at- large, Ex officio members, and committee chairpersons are as follows:
A. President: Call and preside at meetings. Prepare meeting agendas. Sign correspondence. Appoint committees. Appoint and remove committee heads. Act to authorize another to act in his behalf as the only spokesperson for the league to other organizations or officials according to approved policies. Perform other customary duties.
B. Vice President: Assume all duties of the President in his absence.
C. Secretary: Keep minutes of meetings and actions of the officers and Board. Distribute minutes of meetings to the Board within 14 days after a meeting. Keep all League documents current. See to the distribution of meeting notices and the agenda seven days prior to the meeting. All current League minutes and documents shall be accessible to any member upon a reasonable notice.
D. Treasurer: Receive and receipt all monies paid in to the League and the Community Watch. Hold and administer separately the Civic League and community Watch funds. Disperse funds. Keep an accurate and current account of the finances. Keep a current roster of paid up members. Submit an annual financial statement at the April meeting. Submit a proposed budget for the next year at the November meeting. File any necessary tax returns.
E. Members-at- large: Consider all available viewpoints and opinions of members in Board deliberations. Approve major policies and procedures. Participate as chairs and members of appointive committees.
F. Standing Committees: Standing committees will be maintained as follows. With the exception of the Archiving committee, Chairpersons will be appointed and may be removed by the President and serve concurrently. Chairpersons of the committees appoint and remove all members of their respective committees, with the exception of the Block Captains where this is delegated to each tier.
i. Block Captains: The goal is to provide for rapid and timely communications between the Board and the residents of the mountain. This may be especially important in times of emergency. The block Captain Committee is responsible for recruiting and managing the Block Captain program. Block Captains are volunteers who agree to provide communications between the Board and an assigned set of their neighbors. There may be several tiers to the structure with Block Captains reporting to\ an intermediary level. The block Captain Committee chairperson recruits and appoints and removes the second tier, they in turn recruit, appoint and remove the next level and so on. All levels below the Chairperson serve indefinitely until resigning or being replaced by the level above them.
ii. Data Base: The goal of this committee is to maintain an accurate database of mountain residents in order to provide for easy communications between the Board and the residents and to allow analysis of the demographics of the mountain. The Data Base Committee is responsible for maintaining a computerized database of information on Green Mountain residents and property owners. Responsibility for initial data input to this database rests with the board. Only one official copy of the database will be maintained and only by the appointed Data Base committee chairperson. On leaving that position for any reason a functional copy of the data base will be turned over to the President or a board member designated by the President and any other copies permanently erased. This data base is to be highly confidential and available only to the Data Base maintainer and officers of the Board with a need to know. It is not to be replicated or distributed to any party or entity outside of the Board. Release of data base information for board activities or committee activities is by approval of the President or Vice President only. This information is for Official Green Mountain Civic League business only. The archivist will surrender all materials to the board upon leaving this position.
iii. Membership: The goal of this committee is to increase the membership of the Green Mountain Civic league. The Membership committee is responsible for maintaining an ongoing effort to maximize Civic League membership of existing residents and to enlist new residents. This committee is also responsible for submitting a questionnaire to residents to determine those interested in volunteer work.
iv. Beautification: The goal of this committee is to preserve and improve the natural beauty of Green Mountain. This committee is responsible for initiating and evaluating opportunities for improving the appearance and image of the Green Mountain community and bringing them to the Board for approval and funding. The committee will advocate a high standard of community cleanliness, maintenance and attractiveness consistent with the natural setting of Green Mountain. The committee will act as advocates for the environmental health of Green Mountain. The committee will identify situations where there is egregious non-compliance with city ordinances and bring those to the attention of the board for decisions on what action if any to take. This committee will be responsible for organizing and conducting the biannual road cleanups.
v. Public Safety: The goal of this committee is to promote the public safety on the mountain.
Monitor and report crime activity, Observe and report deficiencies in the conditions of streets and right-of- ways, encourage participation and growth of the Community Watch program. The activities under this section is the performance of a non-profit volunteer community service and is not an activity whereby the committee members, the Membership, Board or any person is undertaking to protect any person or property from the criminal, negligent, reckless or intentional actions or omissions of any person or entity; no liability is assumed by carrying out the designated activities.
vi. Communications: The goal of this committee is to improve communications from the Board to the Residents by providing newsletters and a web site for the residents. This committee will publish, email and/or mail to all residents for whom we have valid addresses a newsletter at least three times a year. The committee maintains a website. It is the responsibility of all standing committee chairpersons and the officers to keep the content of this website current.
vii. Events: The goal of this committee is to organize and implement any annual social events approved and funded by the board for the Residents of Green Mountain. This committee will be responsible for organizing and implementing general social events for the mountain such as the fall picnic. These events may be concurrent with membership meetings.
viii. Liaison Committee: The goal of this committee is to contact and communicate with local government entities in matters pertaining to the interest of the GMCL. The overall goal is to preserve the natural beauty and setting of the mountain, the quality of life, rural character of the mountain and the property values of all the residents. This committee will interface with Madison County and Huntsville City elected officials and their staff to identify and discuss areas of mutual interests and concerns. These interfaces will include, but are not limited to, public maintenance, improvements or growth and pending private developments\ pertinent to Green Mountain. This committee will inform the Board of issues resulting from these interfaces and recommend proposed solutions for possible action by the Board. The president of the GMCL is a permanent member of this committee. This committee monitors development efforts on the mountain, to evaluate and advise the board and residents as to the impact of planned changes or developments and to advocate or take other actions, as directed by the Board, necessary to maintain the nature and character of the mountain, its environmental well-being and the rights and interests of the majority of residents and property owners and all the citizens of the City of Huntsville. This Committee does not oppose development but rather promotes development consistent with the character of the mountain. The committee will report to the Board any changes to or proposed changes to laws or ordinances which impact the mountain. They will monitor and inform the Board and residents of any planned developments. They will also monitor for any significant plans for infrastructure work that will affect the mountain. The Committee is authorized, unless otherwise prohibited by the Board, to advocate for the Mountain and take other steps as necessary and approved by the Board to protect the property interests of the Mountain Residents and the natural and environmental well-being of the “Mountain”.
ix. Archiving – The goal of this Committee is to insure that there is an orderly and comprehensive set of historical documents for the activities of the Civic League Board and major events relating to Green Mountain. The archivist is responsible for maintaining copies of all official board actions, communications, etc. which the board will make available to the archivist. The secretary of the Board and all board members are responsible for providing copies of all communications and Board documents to the archivist. Any member of the Board or member of the Green Mountain Civic League may make a request in writing to see any of the archives and examine those documents in a timely manner. The archivist will preserve all historical documents and to the extent possible public documents (e.g. newspaper articles) relating to the Green Mountain Community and/or Green Mountain Civic League. These documents are the property of the Green Mountain Civic League. On leaving this position for any reason the Archivist will surrender all Civic League information and data archived to the board. The board archivist will be nominated by the President and approved by the board and membership and will serve as a permanent ex officio board position. The archivist will serve in this position until voluntarily leaving the position or is judged incapable of fulfilling the responsibilities of the position by two thirds vote of the voting board members. Full detail charters for each committee are maintained by the secretary and archivist of the board.
G. EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Voting Ex Officio members of the board are: Green Mountain Fire Chief, Green Mountain Chairperson Neighborhood Watch, Green Mountain Archivist. All other Ex Officio members shall not have voting rights.
VII. AMENDMENTS
Any member may submit amendments to these By-Laws in writing to the President. The President shall thereafter provide notice of the proposed amendment(s) to all Members in good standing, said notice shall be effective if in writing or provided via email to the Members. Each notice shall include a complete copy of the proposed amendment and the date, time and location of the meeting of the Green Mountain Civic League for discussion and voting upon the proposed amendment. Said meeting shall be held no sooner than ten days after delivery of the required notice to the Members, but not later than 30 days from the date the proposed amendment is delivered to the President. The meeting for discussion and voting on any proposed amendment may be continued as the Board deems fit and proper in the best interest of the Members, but in no event not later than 90 days after said amendment is delivered to the President. The amendment shall be ratified and accepted if agreed upon by a 2/3 majority vote of the following:
A. Members in attendance at the designated meeting; and
B. Absentee ballots duly delivered to and acknowledged by the President prior to the closing of the voting for the proposed amendment.
C. No votes by proxy shall be allowed or considered counted in calculating the 2/3 majority required for passage any proposed amendment. No quorum of the Members is necessary for a discussion and vote on any proposed amendment.