Bylaws
Arrowhead Gardens
Residents Community
Revised April 2016
ARTICLE 1
Name and Address
This organization shall be known as the Arrowhead Gardens Resident
Community (AGRC) located at 9200 Second Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98106-3326.
ARTICLE 2
Mission Statement
To provide the Arrowhead Gardens
residents with a welcoming environment and opportunities for friendship,
recreation, wellness, and education, thus empowering them to continue an active
and independent lifestyle within the Community.
ARTICLE 3
Membership and Voting at General and
Special Meetings
A. Membership
Membership shall be open and voluntary to all residents of Arrowhead Gardens
whose names appear on a lease.
B. Quorum
A quorum of 25 members shall be required to be present before any business can
be transacted.
C.
Voting
All members present are eligible to cast one vote on any subject when presented
for consideration and approval by the membership. No proxy voting shall be
allowed. Decisions shall be passed by a simple majority of the quorum. However, members may request a written vote.
ARTICLE 4
Meetings of Members
A. Frequency
General Meetings of the membership
shall be held monthly on the fourth Friday of each month. Exceptions to the meeting dates shall be as
follows: November and December meetings shall be held on the third Friday. Special meetings may be called by the Executive
Board.
B. Authority
Robert’s Rules of Order shall be used at all meetings of both the membership
and the Executive Board. A
copy of the referenced Robert’s Rules of Order shall
be maintained in the AGRC Logbook in
Building B.
C. Notice
A notice of all meetings shall be posted in each building no later than five
(5) calendar days in advance of the scheduled meeting.
D. Special
Meetings
Special meetings shall require at least five (5) calendar days’ notice
and shall be posted accordingly. The
notice for a Special meeting must include the topic of the meeting. Special
meeting business shall be restricted to the topic as posted (e.g., a vacancy on
the Board).
ARTICLE 5
Officers and Duties
A. President
The President presides over Executive Board, General, and Special
meetings. He/she acts as the liaison
with the Arrowhead Gardens management in representing the issues and concerns
of the AGRC. The President shall report each month to the membership the
status, progress, and plans of the Community. He/she shall be an ex-officio
member of all committees.
B.
Vice-President
The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President in his/her
absence. He/she shall assume the office
of President should that office become vacant.
C.
Secretary
The Secretary shall record all
minutes of each meeting and submit a written report to the membership and the
Executive Board. The minutes shall
reflect an absence by any member of the Executive Board. The Secretary shall
maintain all written correspondence as it pertains to the AGRC and shall post a
copy of all minutes in the official AGRC Logbook
located in Building B.
D.
Treasurer
The treasurer shall be responsible
for establishing a checking account on behalf of AGRC. The President,
Secretary, and Treasurer shall be signatories on said account. Two signatures shall be required on all
checks. Use of a single Debit Card for the AGRC account shall be the sole
responsibility of the Treasurer. There shall be no duplicate debit cards.
All
requests for projected expenditures must be submitted in writing to the
Executive Board, accompanied by supporting detail and justification. The Board
shall review the request and, if appropriate, recommend approval by the members
at a General meeting.
The
Treasurer shall keep an accurate record of all AGRC monies and submit a written
report at each General meeting a copy of the report shall be included in the
minutes of the General meeting.
An
audit of AGRC financial records shall be conducted in May and November of each
year
by three (3) volunteers selected by the Executive Board at its October
meeting the Audit Committee. The audit as completed will be presented in a
written report to the Executive Board at its June and December meetings and
then to the General meeting in June and N. The Audit Committee shall consist of
no fewer than three (3) volunteer members none of which can be members of the
Executive Board.
The
Treasurer shall chair the Budget Committee and prepare a budget to present to
the AGRC at the January General meeting.
E.
Sergeant-at-Arms
The Sergeant-at-Arms shall maintain
order at all meetings as well as ensure that all policies and rules are followed.
F.
Building Representatives
There shall be two Representatives each from Buildings A, C, and D within
Arrowhead Gardens. It shall be their
responsibility to greet new residents as soon as practical, provide them with
an AGRC New Resident Handbook, and
encourage participation in the AGRC.
They shall be a resource for general information within the
Community. They shall give a collective
report of their activities to the membership at each General meeting.
ARTICLE 6
Executive Board
Executive Board members are responsible for upholding
and enforcing the By-Laws of the AGRC.
A. Membership
The Executive Board shall consist of the President, Vice-President, Secretary,
Treasurer, Sergeant-at-Arms, and six (6) Building Representatives.
B. Responsibilities
The Executive Board shall be
responsible for managing AGRC affairs, conducting its business, planning all
meeting agendas, and providing consultation and information to its
members. It shall meet on the second
Friday of each month.
All residents are welcome to
attend and observe the Executive Board meetings. An open comment period shall follow at the
end of the Executive Board business meeting.
C. Term of
Office
The term of office shall be one year for each Officer
and each Building Representative. The term of office shall begin on the first
day of January.
D. Resignations
An Executive Board member may resign
at any time after delivering written notice to the President.
E. Vacancies
When a position of an elected
officer, other than the President, becomes vacant, an appointment to fill the
vacancy shall be made by the President and confirmed by simple majority vote of
the Executive Board. If the position
of President becomes vacant, the Vice-President shall assume the office, title,
and duties of the President and shall serve for the remainder of the term.
If both the President and Vice-President positions
become vacant, the Secretary shall temporarily assume the duties of the
President and initiate a Special Election to fill the vacancies. The Special Election shall be conducted in
accordance with the same rules as those governing the regularly scheduled
Annual Election.
If the position of a Building Representative becomes
vacant, an appointment to fill the vacancy shall be made by the President and
confirmed by simple majority vote of the Executive Board.
ARTICLE 7
Annual Elections
A. Election Committee
The President shall appoint an Election Committee,
including the Chairperson, at the regularly scheduled Executive Board meeting
in the month of August. Committee
membership shall include at least one member from each of the three (3)
buildings. The Election Committee shall meet and prepare a plan for conducting
the election.
It shall include, but not be limited to, developing a
schedule for posting the required notices in a timely manner, creating
suggestions for encouraging nominations,
providing residents with a sample ballot in advance of voting, arranging
for the printing, receiving, and counting of the ballots, and announcing the
results.
B. Nominations
Nominations shall take place only during the September
General meeting. The agenda for the October meeting shall provide an
opportunity for all candidates to present
a campaign statement.
C. Notices
At least ten (10) days prior to the nomination meeting
(September General meeting), a notice shall be posted in each building
designating the date, time, and place of the election. All notices described in
this section of the By-Laws shall include the election procedure and
eligibility requirements.
D. Annual
Election Voting
Voting shall take place between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm
during the day of the regularly scheduled AGRC General meeting in the month of
November. Secret ballots, one per
eligible resident, must be deposited in a monitored ballot box provided in the
Community Room; Building B. Election Committee members shall assist
voters as requested.
Accommodations shall be made
for residents who are (a) unable to
personally deliver their ballot to the voting location or (b) who will be absent on Election Day. They shall be allowed to
participate via absentee ballot. Write-in votes shall be accepted and counted. The
procedure for a secure absentee ballot shall be followed by the Election
Committee and posted in the election notice.
No proxy ballots shall be allowed.
ARTICLE 8
Removal of
Officers
Any officer can be removed for
one of three reasons:
·
Three (3)
unexcused absences from the Executive Board or General meetings per term of
office
·
Failure to
perform in accordance with the duties as stated in Article 6
·
Just cause. Just
cause is limited to a felony conviction or malfeasance committed during the
Executive Board member’s term of office.
1.
Recall Initiation
A.
Two-thirds of the
remaining members of the Executive Board vote to recommend a recall or
B.
Executive Board
receives a valid petition signed by a minimum of 25 residents requesting a
recall.
The Executive Board recommendation (A) or a valid
petition (B) must state the reasons for the proposed removal and must identify
the actions that are violations of duties as set forth in these By-Laws.
2.
Unaffected
members of the Executive Board select a Recall Monitor to conduct the
proceedings.
3.
The Recall
Monitor provides to the officer in question notice of a hearing and an
impending vote. The notice shall include the date for a Special meeting of the
Executive Board to be held no later than seven (7) days after the receipt of
the written notice. The notice shall
also include specific allegations to be addressed at said hearing.
4.
The Recall
Monitor shall conduct a fair and impartial hearing before the Executive Board
and the proceedings shall be open to the membership.
5.
Executive Board
shall meet in closed session and two-thirds must vote to submit the recall
petition to a vote of the residents. In
addition, a notice shall be posted in all buildings with the date, time, and
place of the vote.
6.
The vote shall be
held not later seven (7) days after the conclusion of the hearing. If necessary
to meet this requirement, a Special meeting shall be held. The decision shall
be by a two-thirds vote of a quorum of at least 25 members. Said vote shall be
cast by secret ballot.
ARTICLE 9
Standing Committees
The President shall
appoint all committees including the Chairperson with the approval of the EC.
The President shall be an Ex Officio member on all committees. Any resident may
volunteer to serve on a committee by simply notifying the Chair of the
committee. Each Committee Chair make a
written account of all meetings and such reports shall be place in the AGRC the
public notebook.
These are the Standing Committees of the AGRC:
Social Events and
Activities Committee
This committee shall
be responsible to develop and present a budget to the Executive Board for
review and approval and to help plan, organize and implement the social events
for the AGRC as directed by the Executive Board. This committee shall also prepare a report of
its events and activities for presentation to the Executive Board at its
regularly scheduled meeting(s) and for inclusion in any newsletter.
Members are encouraged
to submit ideas for events and activities not later than the 15th of
any month to the AGRC liaison committee (currently the van and bus drivers)
for presentation to the Arrowhead Gardens management for inclusion in the
monthly calendar of events.
Sunshine
Committee
The Treasurer is the
Chairperson of the committee by virtue of his/her office. He/She shall have the duty to send cards to
the ill, to notify other residents when possible that one of our own may need
some cheering up and to generally help them in any way.
Telephone Committee
This committee
maintains and distributes on a regular basis an updated telephone
registry. In order to receive a copy of
the Telephone List a resident must agree to have their name, apt # and
telephone listed for others.
Budget Committee
This committee prepares the annual budget for
presentation to the AGRC at its January General meeting
Audit Committee
The
Audit Committee shall consist of no fewer than three (3) volunteer members none
of which can be members of the Executive Board. The Treasurer shall serve the
Audit Committee as an ex-officio non-voting member.
The
Audit Committee shall be responsible for an audit of the AGRC financial records
twice a year during the months of May and November and report its findings to
the AGRC at its June and December General meetings.
Elections Committee
The
Elections Committee shall be appointed and perform the duties as required in
Article 7 of these By-Laws.
Wellness Committee
The Wellness Committee shall develop programs and
projects to promote a long healthy and meaningful for all AGRC members. In
furtherance of these goals the Wellness Committee may enter into alliances with
other entities to provide information, services and products as appropriate.
ARTICLE 10
Amendments
These By-Laws and all amendments shall be approved by
a two-thirds vote of the membership present at a General meeting. Members must be notified by posted notice 10
days in advance of the vote to approve the proposed amendments.
Proposed amendments shall be read into the record at a
regular General meeting and voted on at the next General meeting.
ARTICLE 11
Non-Discrimination
The residents, officers, and any person served by the
AGRC shall be regarded entirely on a non-discriminatory basis, with respect to
age, gender, race, religion, national origin, disability, gender identity, and
sexual orientation.
