LOCH AWE COMMUNITY WEBSITE ASSOCIATION

 

CONSTITUTION AND RULES

 

 

1  NAME

     The Association shall be called the Loch Awe Community Website Association (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Association’).

 

2  OBJECTS

     To manage provision of an internet website available to clubs, associations, organizations, businesses and individuals in the area surrounding Loch Awe and its immediate environs (‘the Area’), to manage electronic mail services for any of these bodies who require it and have no means of accessing mail for themselves, and to provide internet access via a community access point for individuals in the Area to use the internet for recreational or research purposes.

 

3  MEMBERSHIP   

     The Association shall be run on a non-profit-making basis and shall be managed to the Loch Awe Community Website Committee (‘the Committee’).  Membership of the Association shall be a pre-condition of use of the services provided and accordingly members shall not place offensive or illegal material on the web nor allow minors access to any such material they may have retrieved from other parts of the worldwide web.  Users of the community web shall become members of the Association.  Such membership shall be free and open to all who live, work or have businesses in the Area.  The Committee shall have the power to admit clubs, associations, organizations, businesses and individuals outside the Area to membership, pro­vided that no similar community association exists in their locality and on the understanding that if such an association is formed, such club, association, organization, business or indi­vidual should transfer to that association’s services.

 

     Membership of the Association shall entitle members to vote at the Annual General Meeting of the Association.

 

     The Committee shall consist of nine members, two of whom shall be responsible for the day to day management of the website (‘the web managers’) and the remaining seven to be elected, one from Eredine, one from Portsonachan, three from Dalmally and Stronmilchan, one from Glen Orchy and one from Lochawe village.  Such Committee members shall be elected by a majority vote at the inaugural meeting of the Association.  In the event that insufficient mem­bers come forward at the inaugural or any other General Meeting to fill the available places, the Committee shall have the power to co-opt volunteers pending the next General Meeting.

 

     Any officer or committee member may be removed by a majority of two-thirds of the full club members present in general meeting, such vote to be taken by ballot.

 

4  SUBSCRIPTIONS           

     The annual subscription shall be that amount deemed necessary for the financial well being of the Association by the Treasurer and approved by a two-third majority of the Committee and by a majority of the members at the Annual General Meeting.  There will be a joining fee for new members as may be determined by the Committee.

 

     Any member whose subscription shall remain unpaid as at 28 February shall automatically cease to be a member of the Association and shall have to re-apply for membership.

 

5  COMMITTEE

     Elected members of the Committee shall serve for one year and shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting when they shall demit office unless re-elected.

 

     The officers of the Association shall be a Chairperson, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, all of whom shall be elected by the Association members at the Annual General Meeting and shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting and they shall demit office unless re-elected.

 

     The business and affairs of the Association will be under the management of the Committee.  However, two web managers shall be responsible for the day to day management of the web.  The web managers shall not be elected but either or both may be removed unconditionally by the Committee as a whole and on a majority of at least five votes to two or greater.  The web managers are exempted from election in normal circumstances to provide for guaranteed con­tinuity throughout the existence of the Association.  In the event of removal or resignation of one of these individuals the Committee shall appoint a new web manager from among their members by co-option.

 

6  POWERS OF THE ASSOCIATION

     The Association may acquire lands or houses by way of purchase, feu or lease and may sell, feu, excamb or lease any part of the Association on the security of any heritable or other prop­erty by Bond, Standard Security, bill or other debenture or otherwise.  All heritable property of the Association shall be vested in the Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer and their successors in office in trust for the purposes of the Association and, in the event of the said officers at any time being called upon personally to implement obligations, undertakings or liabilities incurred by them on behalf of the Association, the members of the Association shall relieve them and their successors in office of such obligations and liabilities.

 

     The Committee shall have the power by a vote of a two-third majority of its entire numbers, upon them being satisfied that any member has enfringed any rule, or whose conduct appears to endanger the character, interest or good order of the Association, to suspend such member from exercising his or her privileges as a member of the Association for such period as the Committee may determine.  Such suspended member shall have no claim on the Association for any subscription or interest paid.  Such suspended member shall have the right to appeal to a Special General Meeting of the Association provided fourteen days notice by given to the Secretary.

 

i.      The Committee shall have power to borrow money on behalf of the Association, and on the security of the property of the Association, and may vary such loans or obtain new or addi­tional loans either by granting Bonds and Assignations in security or Personal Bonds or bills or other forms of security which deed shall bind the whole membership of the Association, pres­ent and future, jointly but not severally as if they had subscribed the same, but the Committee shall not exercise the above power in respect of a sum exceeding £50.00 in any one year with­out first obtaining authority to do so from the Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting of the Association.  the property, effects and funds of the Association, whensover derived, shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the objects of the Association and no proportion thereof shall be paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of profit to the members of the Association.  if, upon the winding up or dissolution of the Association, the remains after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities any property whatsoever, the same shall be given and transferred to some other organization, such organization having objects similar to the objects of the Association, such organization or organizations to be determined by the members of the Association by Resolution passed at a General Meeting at or before the time of dissolution, and if and so far as effect cannot be given to such provision, then to some charitable object.

 

     The Committee shall be responsible for:

     i       the effect of overall management of the community website and to this end shall receive reports from the website managers on use, development, revenue and costs;

     ii      agreement of policy and monitoring of agreed policy;

     iii     ensuring that the availability of the community website is published to the community as   a whole as effectively as possible;

     iv     ensuring the effect of supervision of web access, particularly by minors, is maintained;

     v      determining costs and tariffs for use of the various services provided on a non-profit-     making basis;

     vi     the monitoring of performance by suppliers.

 

     At any meeting of the Committee a quorum shall consist of not less than four Committee members.

 

     The responsibility of the web managers shall be:

     i       to ensure that cohesive design standards are applied across the whole web;

     ii      to gather information for non-commercial web pages, ensuring that no information is       permitted to become out of date, and to liaise with the web builders/designers to ensure that the pages and correctly built and maintained;

     iii     to receive and process requests from businesses or organizations for web pages to be    built, agree charges, monitor building work and test the results;

     iv     to take day to day responsibility for adequate supervision of usage of the internet           access point;

     v      to maintain an accurate record of usage of the community web and the internet access    point and provide the Committee with such reports as may be required, including   information to allow for invoicing of costs incurred by the members.

 

7  FINANCE

     Correct accounts and books shall be kept by the treasurer showing the financial affairs and intromissions of the Association.  The Treasurer shall act within the following guidelines:

     i       the Association shall remain non-profit-making, but shall cover its costs in each year.

     ii      funds may be allocated to a hardware and software replacement fund and/or      contingency fund, but otherwise any surplus profit shall be returned to the members in      the form of reduced charges for the following year.

     iii     a statement of income and expenditure of the assets and liabilities of the Association       approved by the auditor(s) appointed by the Committee shall be submitted to the           Annual General Meeting and made available to the membership at such Annual General             Meeting.

 

8  GENERAL MEETING

     The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held on 31 October of each year or at a date deemed most suitable by the current Committee.  Notice thereof shall be sent by the Secretary to each member of the club at least twenty-one days before the meeting.  At the Annual General Meeting the officers of the Association and the new members of the Com­mittee shall be elected and an auditor appointed.          
An Extra Ordinary General Meeting of the Association may be called by the decision of the Association or by requisition to the secretary signed by at least six Association members.  The secretary shall within fourteen days convene a Special General Meeting of the Association upon giving each member of the Association seven days clear notice of such meeting.  In the event of the secretary failing or refusing to convene such Extra Ordinary General Meeting upon requisition of at least six Association members, the requisitioners may themselves con­vene a Special General Meeting of the Association by giving at least seven days clear written notice to the members, duly setting out the purpose for which such meeting is called, and any resolutions passed at such meeting shall have the same force and effect as if they had been passed at a meeting called by Committee and convened by the secretary.

 

     At any General Meeting of the Association 51% of members present shall form a quorum.

 

     At every meeting of the Association the Chairperson, whom failing the Vice-Chairperson, or in their absence, a Chairperson elected by those members present, shall preside.

 

     In the case of an equality of votes, the Chairperson at such meeting shall have a second or casting vote on any matter other than on the election of the members of the Committee.

 

9  RULES FOR ELECTION

     All candidates for election to any office or to the Committee shall be intimated in writing to the secretary not more than twenty-one days before the date of the Annual General Meeting.  Any such intimation shall bear the name and address of and be signed by the proposer who shall certify that the candidate has given his consent to the nomination.  Except in the case of office of auditor all candidates shall themselves be members.

 

     There shall be submitted to the Annual General Meeting a list of candidates for election and if there should be more than one candidate for any office, the election shall be decided by a show of hands or at the request of any member present, by ballot.  Each member present shall have one vote and the candidate securing the largest number of votes shall be elected.

 

     If there shall be more candidates for election to the Committee than there are vacancies thereon, the election shall be by ballot wherein each member present shall be entitled to give one vote each to as many candidates as there are vacancies and the candidate securing the largest number of votes shall be elected.  In the event of the ballot failing to determine the members of the Committee because of an quality of votes, the candidate to e elected from those having an equal number of votes shall be determined by lot.

 

10 ALTERATION OF RULES

     The Constitution and Rules of the Association may be altered by resolution passed by a majority of two-thirds of the members present at any General Meeting on a motion of which not less than fourteen days notice has been given to the secretary and not less than seven days notice to the Association’s membership.