THE
VICKERY PLACE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION BYLAWS
AMENDED SEPTEMBER 12, 2002
1.1
The
name of the organization shall be the Vickery Place Neighborhood Association
(the “Association”), a Texas non-profit corporation.
1.2
The
boundaries for membership in the Association shall be the centers of Greenville
Avenue, Henderson Street, and Central Expressway, and the alleys between
Goodwin Avenue and Vanderbilt Avenue and between Belmont Avenue and Richmond
Avenue.
1.3
The
purposes of this civic, non-profit, non-partisan corporation shall be
1.3.1 To
protect the residential integrity of the neighborhood,
1.3.2
To
prevent unwanted commercial encroachment into the neighborhood,
1.3.3
To
serve as a liaison between the neighborhood and governmental agencies,
1.3.4
To
promote communication within the neighborhood and with other neighborhoods, and
with other non-profit organizations that promote inner city living,
architectural preservation, or education of historic nature,
1.3.5
To
promote and encourage the safety, improvement, beautification, and general
quality of life in the neighborhood, and the city.
1.3.6
To
educate the broadest possible audience as the vitality of inner city
neighborhoods, the social and economic significance of rehabilitated housing
stock, and the importance of architectural and urban design practices of
1910-1930.
1.4
The
Association shall be operated exclusively for such purposes as stated
above. No part of the earnings of the
Association shall inure to the benefit of any director, officer or member of
the Association or any private individual.
No substantial part of the activities of the Association shall be the
attempt to influence legislation, by propaganda or otherwise. The Association shall not participate in, or
intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any
political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public
office.
MEMBERSHIP, VOTING, DUES AND
QUORUM
2.1
Membership
in this association shall be open to all those over the age of 18 who reside
within the stated boundaries of the Association.
2.2
Each
member of the Association shall be entitled to one vote on each matter brought
before the Association. Members may
vote in person or by proxy except that no person may hold the proxy of more
than one (1) other member. The proxy
must be signed and dated by the absent member, and shall become a part of the
record of the vote.
2.3
The
members present at any regularly scheduled monthly membership meeting shall
constitute a quorum.
2.4
Monthly
membership meetings shall be held in each month except December. A minimum of six meetings per year shall be
business meetings, held on the second Thursday of the month. A maximum of five
special meetings shall be of a social or educational nature. Special meetings may be scheduled on any day
of the month, at the discretion of the Board of Directors. In every month, a reasonable attempt shall
be made to notify the residents of the date, time and location through the
newsletter. Examples of special meetings
include National Night Out Against Crime Block Party, Vickery Place Home Tour,
picnics or field trips.
2.5
Whenever
possible, when a policy vote of the membership is to be taken, a description of
the item to be voted on shall appear in the newsletter preceding that meeting,
but no action taken shall be invalid because of lack of such publication.
2.6
If
time permits, all positions to be taken before public agencies on behalf of the
Association must be voted on by members of the Association and if time does not
permit, the item shall be presented to members of the Association for a
ratification at the next regular meeting.
ARTICLE III
OFFICERS
3.1
The
officers of the Association shall be a president, vice president, a secretary,
and a treasurer. All officers must be
members of the Association.
3.2
Officers
shall be nominated by a nominating committee and/or by nomination from the
floor at the annual meeting to be held in November of each year. Officers shall then be elected by a majority
vote of the members present at the annual meeting. The nominating committee shall first consider the person holding
the office of vice president as its nominee for the office of president. In the event that the vice president can not
serve as president, the committee’s nominee for president shall be a current
member of the Board of Directors, other than the president.
3.3
The
term of office shall be one year (Jan. – Dec.) and until successors are elected
or appointed and assume office. A
vacancy in any office shall be filled by appointment by the Board of
Directors. Removal of officers may be
accomplished in the same manner as required to amend these by-laws, as set
forth in Section 8.1. Officers may be
removed because of action in violation of these by-laws, dereliction of duty or
incompetence in office, misappropriation of funds, or misconduct in office.
3.4
The
president shall preside at all meetings; shall conduct the day to day business
of the Association and such matters as directed by the Board of Directors;
shall serve as chair of the Board of Directors; and shall serve as general
spokesperson for the Association.
3.5
The
vice president shall act in the absence of the president, shall assist the
president in the execution of business; and shall be responsible for securing a
location for general meetings.
3.6
The
secretary shall record the minutes of both general and special meetings and
those of the Board of Directors; shall keep a register of meeting attendees and
maintain correspondence records.
3.7
The
treasurer shall have charge of the funds of the Association and shall pay all
of the Association bills from those funds.
The treasurer shall make a monthly Treasury Report in writing to the
Board. The treasurer shall file all
annual tax returns, both state and federal, and shall include a copy in that
month’s report to the Board.
Expenditures of $50 or less may be authorized by the treasurer. Expenditures greater than $50 but less than
$500 must be authorized by the majority vote of the Board of Directors. Expenditures greater than $500 must be
approved by the general membership.
Exceptions to the approval limits will be the standard recurring fees
and expenses that the membership has approved.
These include but are not limited to: membership fees for the Dallas
Homeowners League, the newsletter, and post office box rental. Reimbursement and authorized expenditures
require a receipt, unless so specified by the membership.
3.8
A
special spokesperson who may represent the Association on a specific topic may
be appointed by the Board of Directors or the membership by a majority vote, or
may be temporarily designated by the president in an emergency.
ARTICLE IV
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
4.1
The
Board of Directors shall consist of the president, the vice president, the
secretary, the treasurer, and five members-at-large, all elected at the annual
meeting.
4.2
The
five members-at-large shall be nominated by a nominating committee and/or by
nominations from the floor at the annual meeting to be held in November of each
year. The Board of Directors shall then
be elected and ratified by a majority vote of all members present at the annual
meeting.
4.3
The
Board of Directors shall have the power to conduct the business and manage the
affairs of the Association on behalf of the membership between the regular meetings.
4.4
Regular
meetings of the Board of Directors shall be as decided by the Board of
Directors at its first meeting each fiscal year and no further notice shall be
given. Special meetings of the Board of
Directors may be called by any Director upon 24 hours notice to all Directors.
4.5
A
quorum of the Board of Directors shall consist of a majority of the Board.
ARTICLE V
COMMITTEES
5.1
The
standing committees of this Association shall be as follows: a Newsletter,
Website and Advertising Committee; an Education Committee; an Urban Design and
Planning Committee; a Beautification Committee; a Crime Watch / Safety
Committee; and a Code Compliance Committee.
Ad Hoc committees may be formed as needed by a majority vote of the
Board of Directors.
5.2
The
committees shall elect their own chair by majority vote and any member of the
Association may be appointed by the Board to serve on any committee.
5.3
The
Newsletter, Website and Advertising Committee shall be in charge of publication
and distribution of the monthly newsletter of the Association, and of
maintaining the Association’s Internet website. The Committee shall include the newsletter editor, the
distribution coordinator, the advertising coordinator, the webmaster and other
members as required. At least one member
shall be a member of the Board of Directors.
5.4
The
Education Committee shall promote the educational activities of public schools
serving the neighborhood.
5.5
The
Urban Design and Planning Committee shall be responsible for handling the
zoning, land use, traffic and transportation issues affecting the neighborhood.
5.6
The
Beautification Committee shall be responsible for promoting and encouraging the
beautification of the neighborhood.
5.7
The
Crime Watch / Safety Committee shall be responsible for promoting and
encouraging crime watch / safety within the neighborhood.
5.8
The
Code Compliance Committee shall be responsible for handling city code
compliance issues affecting the neighborhood.
ARTICLE VI
THE NOMINATION COMMITTEE
6.1
The
nominating committee, consisting of five members, shall be elected by the
membership at the September general meeting.
This committee shall elect its own chair. The president may not serve on
the committee. It shall be the function
of the committee to prepare a slate of nominees for the annual election.
ARTICLE VII
STANDARD AUTHORITY
7.1
The
rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern the
Association in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not
inconsistent with these bylaws.
ARTICLE VIII
AMENDMENTS
8.1
Amendments
to these by-laws (and removal of officers) may be accomplished in the following
manner: (1) at any general membership meeting, a majority vote of those present
shall determine that a revision shall be considered, (2) the proposed revision
shall then be published in the next monthly newsletter, and (3) the proposed
revision shall be enacted if it receives two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the
members present at that following general meeting.
Amended and approved by the
membership as of
September 12, 2002
______________________________________
Shelia Huffman, secretary
VPNA