By-Laws of the Strawberry Farms Civic Association
Article I Name and Purpose:
Section 1 – The name of the Association shall be the Strawberry Farms Civic Association, a.k.a., S.F.C.A.
Section 2 – The purpose of the Association shall be to encourage and promote the general welfare of the community.
Article II Boundaries:
Section 1 – The geographic area of the Association shall encompass everything between the intersections of Route 161 & Strawberry Farms Boulevard and Sunbury Road & Watt Road. This includes all streets radiating off Forest Edge Drive, Magnolia Blossom Boulevard, Strawberry Farms Boulevard, Wintergreen Boulevard, Honeysuckle Boulevard, and Watt Road.
Section 2 – For the purposes of newsletter distribution, the community of Strawberry Farms shall be divided into districts of approximately equal units.
Section 3 – Districts may be redrawn and additional districts may be created at the discretion of the Board of Trustees.
Article III Membership:
Section 1 – There shall be no restriction on membership on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex.
Section 2 – Any person who owns or rents property within the boundaries listed in Article II, Section 1, and resides therein, may become a member of the Association by payment of the dues. This includes single-family homes, apartments, condominiums, duplexes and town homes.
Article IV Dues:
Section 1 – Dues of the Association shall be a minimum of twelve (12) dollars per calendar year per household. Payment of dues will designate the member as being ‘in good standing’ with the Association. Dues may be increased at the discretion of the Board of Trustees based on the need of additional funds. The membership year is one year from when a member pays his/her dues.
Section 2 – Only members in good standing will be considered for association sponsored beautification awards, (i.e., best landscaping and best holiday lights display, etc.)
Article V General Membership Meetings:
Section 1 – General membership meetings will be held at the discretion of the President, but not less than once per calendar year. The purpose of the meetings is to keep the residents of Strawberry Farms apprised of issues and to give all residents an opportunity to discuss and resolve concerns and issues affecting the community. Speakers may be invited by the request of the Association Board of Trustees to address neighborhood issues.
Section 2 – Minutes of all meetings shall be transcribed and made public to the membership of the Association.
Article VI Board of Trustees:
Section 1 – The Board of Trustees shall consist of the Officers and Board Members listed in Article VII, Sections 5 & 6.
Section 2 – The Board of Trustees shall have the authority to pass resolutions as deemed necessary to promote civic unity and improvement, and the furtherance of the objectives of the Association.
Section 3 – Expenditures of the Association funds shall be at the discretion of the Board of Trustees in furtherance of the business of the Association.
Section 4 – The Board of Trustees shall strive to meet once a month, but no less than four times a year. Fifty-one (51) percent of the attending Trustees will constitute a quorum for the transaction of official business. Written proxies will be accepted for the Trustees unable to attend meetings.
Section 5 – When a quorum is not present at the board/general meetings or official business needs to be conducted between meetings, business can be handled via phone or email.
Section 6 – Board of Trustees shall serve a calendar year term starting in January and ending in December. The Board of Trustees will be elected, annually, by the general membership of the Association. All present members, in good standing, of the Association are eligible to vote at the Board of Trustees election. All Association members, in good standing, may be nominated and hold Board of Trustees positions.
Section 7 – Each Board of Trustees member is entitle to one (1) vote regardless of the number of Officer or Board member positions held.
Article VII Officers & Board Members:
Section 1 – All Officers & Board Members shall serve for a term of one calendar year. However, through annual general elections, Officers & Board Members may continue in their positions indefinitely unless Article VII, Section 9 is invoked.
Section 2 – At the last Trustees Board meeting of the year, the next years’ Trustees will be elected by a majority vote of those present. At least fifty-one percent (51%) of Board of Trustees must be present to hold the election.
Section 3 – An Officer may hold only one (1) Officer and one (1) Board member position during the calendar year. A Board member may hold two (2) concurrent Board Member positions.
Section 4 – Each Trustee position can be held by only one designated person.
Section 5 – The Board of Trustees Officers of the Association will be as follows:
President
It shall be the duty of this Officer to arrange for and preside over all general membership and Board of Trustee meetings, as well as to issue invitations to any guests of such meetings. The President shall be responsible for obtaining a quorum when deemed necessary. Correspondence shall be handled at the President’s discretions. All correspondence, on behalf of the Association, must be approved by the President. The President shall have the prerogative of delegating duties to Trustees in addition to those covered by the bylaws. In the absence of the Treasurer, the President shall have the authority to withdraw funds, upon Board approval, from the Civic Association account to pay the Association bills.
Vice President
It shall be the duty of this Officer to be the direct successor to the President. This Officer’s authority is limited to only that which the Board of Trustees majority vote may approve. If a current President resigns during their term or is excused from their position, it is the Vice President who is the first line of succession.
Secretary
It shall be the duty of this Officer to attend and record minutes at the Board of Trustees and general membership meetings for the Association archives. This Officer shall report those minutes at any and all meetings unless waived by a majority vote.
Treasurer
It shall be the duty of this Officer to handle all money and financial records of the Association, to provide a financial report at every Board of Trustee and general membership meeting, and to sign all checks that are drawn upon the Association treasury, upon Board approval. The Treasurer and the Director of Membership will reconcile their records on a monthly basis. This Officer will be responsible for arranging for an annual independent audit of the Association’s financial records. This Officer will retrieve all correspondence from the Association’s post office box and will distribute the content as required.
Section 6 – The Board of Trustees Board Members will be as follows:
Director of Membership
It shall be the duty of this Board Member to keep accurate records of the Association’s membership. This Board Member will maintain a membership database, balance membership totals with those kept by Treasurer, oversee annual membership drives, and report membership totals at Board of Trustee and General Meetings.
NCC Representative
It shall be the duty of this Board Member to represent the Strawberry Farms Civic Association at the monthly meeting of the Northland Community Council (NCC) and report to the Association any matters of importance to the community. An alternate may be found to attend the monthly NCC development committee meetings as needed.
Director of Landscape Maintenance
It shall be the duty of this Board Member to oversee the beautification of Strawberry Farms. This Board member will recruit and oversee volunteers for regular landscaping maintenance, and, with board approval, purchase all landscaping material. This Board Member will also interact with the Columbus Parks & Recreation regarding maintenance issues in the Strawberry Farms Park, as well as the City of Columbus for the maintenance of the traffic calming treatments.
Director of Social Activities
It shall be the duty of this Board Member to organize approved events in the Strawberry Farms community. This Board Member will also be responsible for advertising the semi-annual community garage sale.
Newsletter Editor
It shall be the duty of this Board Member to write and/or obtain articles from other members, organize, prepare, edit and arrange for the printing of the Strawberry Farms newsletter entitled, The Civic Chatter.
Director of Circulation
It shall be the duty of this Board Member to oversee the distribution of the Strawberry Farms Civic Association newsletter and flyers to every residence in the neighborhood. This involves receiving the newsletter from the printer, bundling the newsletters by district, distributing the bundles to the district representatives for delivery to the neighborhood. This Board Member shall fill vacancies of the district reps, maintain an up-to-date list of district reps and make the list available to the Board of Trustees.
Director of Advertising
It is the duty of this Board Member to develop and implement an advertising strategy for the newsletter & web ads and, welcome packages. This Board Member shall act as the ‘single point of contact’ between the Board of Trustees and the Advertiser(s) to ensure ads are placed in newsletters/web site and payment made based on term of contract.
Director of Neighborhood Safety
It is the duty of this Board Member to act as liaison between the police department and the neighborhood. This Board Member will provide updated safety information to the neighborhood via the newsletter and web site.
Director of Neighborhood Relations
It is the duty of this Board Member to prepare and distribute a welcome package to the new neighbors. This package will include, but not limited to, membership form, overview and benefits of the civic association, list of board contacts, city telephone numbers, copy of newsletter, coupons of local businesses, etc.
Webmaster
It is the duty of this Board Member to add, update and maintain current, accurate, and relative information on the Strawberry Farms web site. This would include, but not limited to, notice of board, general or special meetings, newsletter, meeting minutes, etc. The Webmaster will keep the domain registration current and active.
Section 7 – Committees – Officers are permitted and encouraged to delegate responsibilities and to form committees to aid in the performance of their duties.
Section 8 – Vacancies – In the event of a vacancy of any office during the normal term of office, an election will be held at the next General Membership meeting. The elected Board of Trustee member must be approved by a majority of the existing Officers, Board Members and members in good standing present at the meeting.
Section 9 – Removal from Office – Officer and Board Members may be removed for cause with concurrence of three-fourths (3/4) of the Board of Trustees. Cause consists of, but not limited to, criminal activity, failure to perform duties described in Article VII, Section 5 & 6, or actions in opposition of the best interests of the Strawberry Farms community.
Article VIII By-law Amendments
Section 1 – Any proposed amendment to the By-laws shall be presented, in writing by the By-laws Committee, to each Board of Trustees Member for their review seven (7) days prior to the meeting. The Committee shall consist of three (3) Trustees appointed by the President.
Section 2 – A fifty-one percent (51%) majority of all Board of Trustees is required to approve any amendment. All current Board of Trustees, whether present or via proxy, will be given an opportunity to vote on the amended changes.
Listed by-laws and updates approved by committee vote in June of 2007…