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By-Laws |
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Last update on January 12, 2003
Version January 2003, last amended by the club members on January 4, 2003
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By-Laws |
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Version January 2003, last amended by the club members on January 4, 2003
The Club shall be known as "Tex-N Modular Railroad Club", herein referred to as "The Club".
The Club's objective is to promote and practice the hobby of N-scale model railroading as a community activity. This objective is to be pursued as an organization operating solely on the contributions of members, associated organizations, and fund raising events within the community.
The fiscal year of the Club shall be from January 1 to December 31.
These by-laws may be amended or superseded only by a majority vote (more than 50%) of the members in good standing, as defined below, at any annual, business, or special meeting for which proper notice has been given.
All regular members in good standing are eligible to vote on the basis of one (1) vote per member.
The Club may be dissolved by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of members in good standing. Such a vote may be taken at any business, or special meeting, for which at least fourteen days notice is given to all active members that such a vote is to be taken.
In the event of dissolution, disposition of the Club's assets shall be by auction to the membership, regardless of the class of membership, at a time and place to be determined by the officers. Notice of the auction must be given at least thirty days prior to the event to all regular members, affiliate members, and members on leave of absence.
A quorum shall consist of more than fifty percent (50%) of regular members in good standing. Any meeting at which a quorum is not present may not conduct Club business.
A member in good standing is a member of any classification who is current with their dues, and has neither been dismissed nor is on suspension or leave of absence.
Notification may be made in person, by phone, by e-mail, or letter to the member's address currently on file at least fourteen days prior to the meeting. In the event of e-mail or letter notification, the mail must be date stamped or postmarked at least fourteen days prior to the meeting.
Proxies are authorizations granted by one regular member in good standing to another to cast their vote on a particular issue or for a particular individual running for office. Proxies must be written and signed by the granting party; are only valid for a designated meeting, and must stipulate the vote to be made. Proxies can also be e-mailed to the president of the club.
Blanket proxies for unspecified votes or the granting of authority to another member to determine the manner in which a vote should be cast are not permitted.
Membership is open to any person actively engaged, or desiring to become engaged, in the hobby of N scale model railroading, subject only to the limitations described in this article.
The following membership classifications are established:
Regular members shall have full membership rights and responsibilities, and may sponsor affiliate members. Regular members must be at least sixteen (16) years of age.
Affiliate members must be sponsored by a regular member and are subject to approval by the Club officers. They shall enjoy all rights of regular members except voting and are subject to all responsibilities of regular members. Annual renewal of affiliate memberships is subject to review by Club officers.
Honorary membership may be conferred upon any person or persons deemed worthy by a vote of a majority (more than 50%) of Club members. Honorary members' rights are limited to occasional use of Club facilities and visits to or participation in Club activities. They shall not be exempt from responsibilities of regular members except that they shall not be required to pay dues, and are not required to participate fully in Club activities. Honorary members do not have voting rights.
Application for membership shall be submitted to the Club, accompanied by the application fee specified in Article 7. The acceptance or rejection of membership applications shall be by majority vote of the Club officers within 4 (four) weeks of the date of application. A probation shall begin following acceptance of the application for membership, the period of which shall not exceed the time until the second business meeting following acceptance of the application. Regular membership is subject to the applicants adherence to the Club By-Laws and majority (more than 50 %) vote of the members in good standing.
Business meetings are held at least once every quarter to transact Club business. These meetings are normally held at a time and place determined and announced by the Club officers. However, any Club meeting where a quorum exists may be a business meeting.
The annual meeting is the first scheduled business meeting of the fiscal year. Appropriate elections are held and the Club's annual financial report is provided at this meeting.
Any regular member may call special meetings to present or conduct special business of the Club. Notification of the meeting to members is required and a quorum is required to conduct Club business.
Work sessions are held to promote certain aspects of the hobby of model railroading through, but not limited to, performing work on modules, holding training sessions, planning future activities and events, or discussing the Club's goal and accomplishments. No Club business may be conducted at work sessions lacking a quorum.
Elections of officers shall occur at the annual meeting of the Club. Nominations shall be accepted from the floor subject to acceptance of the person nominated and, after nominations have been closed, voted upon by the members in good standing present. A majority (more than 50%) of votes taken is necessary for election. Officers may not be selected without their consent. Titles and duties of the officers are:
The president shall preside at all business and special meetings. He or she establishes all committees, appoints committee chairpersons, appoints others to handle and coordinate other duties as required, and is a member ex-officio of all committees. The president is responsible for the overall conduct and planning of Club activities.
The treasurer maintains custody, and keeps appropriate records of all Club assets. He or she presents a statement of financial funds and properties to the members at least semi-annually. This office is responsible for the collection of dues and fees, and is responsible for certification of members in good standing. He or she must be bondable and presides at meetings from which the president is absent.
The secretary keeps minutes of all Club meetings, and is responsible for notification of Club members regarding meetings and activities. He or she handles Club correspondence, including publicity, maintains attendance records, and is responsible for publishing and distributing changes to Club by-laws and/or rules. The secretary presides at Club meetings from which the president and treasurer are absent.
The Show Coordinator represents the Club at the North Texas Council of Model RR Clubs and attends council sponsored meetings. If unable to attend a Council meeting, he or she shall designate another Club member to attend the Council-sponsored meeting with a signed proxy giving the designee temporary authority for voting on behalf of the Club. The Show Coordinator is the primary Club Coordinator for any show or event in which the Club is involved. He or she can select assistant coordinator(s) for these events and may delegate any or all Coordinator duties to the assistant(s). The Show Coordinator presides at Club meetings from which the president, treasurer, and secretary are absent.
Term of office for these officers shall be twenty-four months. Elections will be staggered to prevent a complete change of officers in any one year, by holding elections for president and show coordinator in even-numbered years, and for treasurer and secretary in odd-numbered years.
The term of office for the Show Coordinator shall be 25 months from February 1st of the election year to March 1st of the year in which the term expires. The additional month of this term is to provide a transition to his or her successor with the North Texas Council.
In the event an officer resigns his or her position, a special election will be conducted at the first business meeting following notification of the vacancy. The election will follow the stipulations of this article except that the term will be limited to the unexpired duration of the original term held by the resigning officer.
Members in good standing shall, subject to limitations of membership classification, enjoy the following rights:
a. Voting on Club business.
b. Operation of equipment on the Club modules or layout.
c. Participation in Club activities.
d. Attendance at Club meetings and other functions.
Members of the Club shall have the following responsibilities, subject to limitations of membership classification:
a. Timely payment of dues as specified.
b. Adherence to Club rules.
c. Regular attendance at Club meetings.
d. Participation in Club activities.
e. Promoting Club goals and activities.
f. Voting on Club business.
g. Performance of duties or tasks to which one may be assigned or volunteer.
h. Acceptance and support of Club decisions once established.
i. Cooperation with others.
j. Honesty, integrity, and respect for the rights of other members and guests.
k. Each member should ensure they have enough property insurance to protect their investment in time, materials and equipment in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
l. Promote the Club and the hobby of model railroading and invite those who are sincerely interested to contact the Club through the web site.
Members in good standing may apply to the officers for a leave of absence in advance of the date that it is to commence. Such notice must also include advance notification of the anticipated date of reinstatement.
While in leave of absence status, a member may not hold office or enjoy the privileges of membership and is released from Club Responsibilities outlined in Section 6.2. No dues or fees are required from members on leave of absence.
Members in arrears in payment of dues for three (3) months are automatically suspended. Notification of the suspension is to be communicated to the member and the membership by an officer of the Club. Members in violation of Club rules or who have not fulfilled Responsibilities of members are subject to suspension or dismissal by the Club membership.
Reinstatement of dismissed members may be made upon application by the dismissed member, subject to approval of a majority (more than 50%) vote of the Club members in good standing. Qualification for reinstatement is based upon all of the criteria for acceptance of new members. Application for reinstatement must include payment of the smaller amount of either all dues and fees assessed during the period of absence or the amount currently assessed new members.
Members on leave of absence shall be reinstated following adequate notification of the officers of their intention to be reinstated.
The Club shall accept financial responsibility for property loaned to it, providing consent to the loan has been obtained from the officers in advance of the loan being made. The Club shall not be responsible for:
a. Property of members or visitors left deliberately or inadvertently at Club meetings or activities.
b. Damage caused to the belongings of members or visitors while attending Club meetings or activities which is determined by the officers to have been preventable by diligence on the part of the owner.
The following Club rules are hereby adopted, and are subject to revision by a vote of a majority (more than 50%) of the members in good standing.
The application fee shall be the regular membership dues for the first (three) 3 month. It is payable upon application for membership and is non-refundable. This shall apply for all membership classifications. The member will receive a new member packet containing, but not limited to:
a. N-TRAK manual
b. Club nametag
c. Club membership roster
Cash or checks are acceptable for payment.
The dues of the Club are: for a regular membership, $5 monthly or $50 annually; for an affiliate membership, $1 monthly or $10 annually. Annual dues are payable during the month of January and are past due thereafter. Annual dues payments may not be accepted after February 15th. Monthly dues are payable one month in advance, and are delinquent on the first day of the month for which they are owed. Cash or checks are accepted.
Each Club member participating in Club operating sessions shall use a Club standard walkie-talkie.
All modules must meet N-TRAK specifications and Club standards as to construction and track placement as well as Club standards as to appearance. Club standards for modules require the following:
a. All exposed non-sceniced surfaces, including the frame, sides, rear of sky board and legs, shall be painted flat black, unless covered by skirting.
b. All surface areas must be fully sceniced to include as a minimum; ballasted roadbed, painted surfaces, and ground foam or other appropriate ground materials.
c. The module must meet Club configuration requirements under N-TRAK standards. These standards require the use of red, yellow, blue, and alternate blue mainline placements.
Exceptions to N-TRAK specifications are allowed for modules having non-standard track placement where they can be installed and operated as a unit with suitable transition to and from Club standard modules.
d. On club-owned modules and newly constructed member-owned modules, all track, turnouts, and crossovers on mainlines shall be code 55. Track that is not a part of the four primary lines shall be code 55 or less. Modules brought in by new members at the time of their joining the club are allowed to have track codes between 55 and 80. An exception shall be requested at application for membership. The owner of such module bears the primary responsibility to ensure that the module can be properly connected to club standard modules.
e. Acceptance of modules for participation in Club activities and the configuration of modules designated for these activities are the responsibility of the of the president or the designee appointed by the president.
All rolling stock operated on the Club's modules or layout shall conform to the Club's published weight, free rolling, and coupling specifications. All engines and cars are subject to inspection by the officers or their designee. All rolling stock should be marked by a personalized color code for identifying purposes.
The following rules shall apply for operation at shows and at Club operating sessions:
a. Club dues must be paid.
b. All members are to assist in preparation and transportation of modules and ancillary equipment to and from shows, including setup and tear-down.
c. No person shall leave their train running or sidetracked unless they have arranged with another operator to watch it.
d. Members' families, visitors, and guests may operate on the Club layout subject to the above restrictions.
e. All members are to take scheduled shifts tending the throttle block controls at shows.
f. Modules may not be removed temporarily from the Club layout, or removed early from a show layout, unless provision is made by their owner to make substitution, either by installation of a "bridge" or of another module.
No intoxicants shall be tolerated at any Club function.
Each member shall wear an official Club shirt and their nametag at all public Club events.
DC and DCC electronic operating systems are used at the club layout and are provided by the club.
The decoder addresses are coordinated by a member designated by the Club president.