YORK OLD MILL TENNIS CLUB
CONSTITUTION, AS AMENDED ON january 8, 2008.
The Club shall continue to be known as the York Old Mill Tennis Club ("hereinafter YOMTC") and shall operate the tennis facilities located south of Catherine Avenue and east of the Humber River with the express power to run YOMTC granted to the YOMTC Executive Committee (which is defined below) and delegated by the Corporation of the City of Toronto. Such authority is delegated to the YOMTC Executive Committee to the extent that the actions of the YOMTC Executive Committee conform to this YOMTC Constitution, as amended (hereinafter "Constitution") and the Annual Playing Regulations. To the extent that the Executive Committee's actions do not conform to the YOMTC Constitution, or the Annual Playing Regulations, the Corporation of the City of Toronto shall have the final say on such matters where a complaint is made in writing by any member in good standing.
To promote the game of tennis and such other sports as the Executive Committee shall from time to time designate.
a) YOMTC shall be governed by an Executive Committee composed of seven (7) members in good standing elected at an annual general meeting of members of YOMTC. Members elected to the Executive Committee shall receive no remuneration for serving on the Executive Committee.
b) Members elected to the Executive Committee shall serve for a term of two (2) years, except as enumerated in Article 3(c) below. Only members in good standing shall be entitled to vote or to run for the Executive Committee.
c) After each election for the Executive Committee, its members (of whom five (5) are quorum) shall elect from their number, a President, a Secretary a Treasurer, and Membership Director, each of whom shall serve for a term of one (1) year.
d) In articles 3(b) and 3(c) above, the terms "year" and "years" are approximately 12 months, being between one annual general meeting and the next. The annual general meeting shall be held between January 1 and May 15 between January 1 and May 15 of each year and the Executive Committee shall make best efforts to encourage the largest possible number of members in good standing to attend the annual general meeting in person in the hope of increasing active member involvement.
e) In the event that a member of the Executive Committee resigns or is otherwise unable to continue to serve, the Executive Committee may co-opt another member of the Club to serve out the unexpired term.
f) Special general meetings may be called at any time by the Executive Committee or by a written request signed by twenty per cent of the Club members.
g) Written notice of the time, date, place and agenda of the annual general meeting and any special general meetings shall be provided to all members of the Club at least ten days prior to the date set, by regular mail.
h) A quorum for general meetings shall be ten percent of those members having full voting rights as defined in the Annual Playing Regulations at the start of a season. However, where fewer than ten percent of all members in good standing are able to attend any general meeting, that general meeting shall be deemed to have the required quorum so long as there is an aggregate of ten percent of all members present combined with proxy representation. For greater certainty, where quorum might otherwise require that forty persons attend a general meeting, twenty persons present combined with twenty attendances (not necessarily votes) by proxy, shall suffice. Regardless of the use of proxies, the Executive Committee shall make best efforts to ensure that members attend meetings in person, and that they are actively involved in YOMTC's activities.
i) The form and substance of a proxy form for the purposes of general meetings shall be determined by and may be amended from time to time by the Executive Committee. In general, no proxy shall confer authority to vote at any meeting other than the meeting in respect of which it is given or any adjournment thereof. A proxy shall contain the date thereof and state the appointment and name of the nominee. In general, proxies must be specific enough such that they clearly identify the meeting for which the proxy is given, along with the date and time of the meeting and the name of the nominee (the person to whom the proxy is given).
a) The Executive Committee shall manage the affairs of YOMTC and carry out the duties described in this Constitution and in the applicable City of Toronto Policy for Outdoor Community Tennis Club Operations, including the hiring and remuneration of tennis professionals and other persons or staff as necessary in connection with the activities of YOMTC. The Executive Committee may so hire a member of the Executive Committee provided that any Executive Committee member so hired has abstained from voting on any resolution to hire him or her or on any matter relating to the terms of his or her remuneration or contract with YOMTC.
b) Members elected to the Executive Committee shall act on behalf of the Club in all cases where the Constitution does not require a special mandate from the membership.
c) The Executive may, at its discretion, form sub-committees to carry out specific activities of the Club and may co-opt Club members to serve on such sub-committees.
d) The Executive Committee shall, between October 31 and December 31 of each year, produce a budget for the following calendar year (January 1 to December 31) and set the annual dues which become payable before the start of the playing season. The Executive Committee shall submit that budget to the City of Toronto for its records.
e) The Executive Committee may suspend or expel a member from YOMTC for failure to abide by the Constitution or Annual Playing Regulations. Such suspension or expulsion will be made known forthwith by the Executive Committee to the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation Department with reasons. Reasons for suspension or expulsion shall also be provided in writing to the member being the subject of such disciplinary action. The Executive Committee shall have the discretion based on the circumstances of each case to either refund all membership monies paid by the suspended or expelled member, a portion of those monies, or no monies whatsoever: such decision shall not be unreasonable, shall be consistent with the mandate of YOMTC, and shall be consistent with other decisions relating to said suspensions and/or expulsions. Expelled members may be re-accepted for membership in subsequent years only at the discretion of the Executive Committee-elect during those respective years.
f) The Executive Committee shall provide to every member in good standing a copy of the YOMTC Constitution and the Annual Playing Regulations. Such regulations shall be within the norms acceptable for tennis clubs in the City of Toronto and as consistent with accepted standards of conduct for playing tennis.
g) The Executive Committee shall appoint an Auditor to carry out an annual audit of the Club's financial activities. Such Auditor may be a member of the Club and may provide his/her services free of charge but he/she may not be a member of the Executive Committee. Any audit report in relation to such audit/s shall be made available upon request by any member of YOMTC.
h) President: The President's principal function is to act as the supervisor of all affairs and activities of the Club and to delegate proper authority to fellow Executive Committee members. It is the President's duty to appoint, co-opt or organize the necessary committees. In addition, the President calls and presides at meetings of the Club and is an ex-officio member of all committees.
i) Secretary: The Secretary is responsible for preparing the agenda for meetings, keeping minutes of meetings, sending out meeting notices and keeping up-to-date lists of members and of associate members. The Secretary shall also be responsible for issuing YOMTC's tennis directory (if applicable) and all newsletters.
j) Treasurer: Since this role entails special fiduciary capacity and the handling of monies, the Treasurer's role has been enumerated more specifically in Article 6, below.
k) Membership Director: The membership director will be responsible for the registration of members and for the creation of membership records. This includes ordering membership tags, organizing membership sign-up days, organizing additional registration until membership is full, ensuring all membership money is delivered to the treasurer for deposit, entering membership data onto the computer, preparing membership lists, maintaining waiting lists, providing volunteer information to the volunteer co-ordinator, and providing a list of juniors who have registered for lessons to the executive member in charge of junior programs.
l) The Executive Committee may from time to time adopt guidelines defining the circumstances giving rise to a conflict of interest. A member of the Executive Committee shall abstain from voting on any matter considered at a meeting of the Executive Committee in respect of which he or she has a conflict of interest. If it is subsequently determined that a member voted on such a matter, then his or her vote shall retroactively become an abstention. Such a retroactive determination shall be made by a majority of a quorum of Executive Committee members excluding the member whose vote is in question.
a) The Club shall be open to all residents of the City of Toronto and surrounding area without discrimination. The term 'Resident of the City of Toronto and surrounding area' includes all residents and those persons, together with their immediate families.
b) Membership renewal forms shall be sent to all persons who were classified as full members of the Club the previous year (full members are all members except those who were accepted on a one year temporary basis as associate members). After the previous year's full members have had the opportunity to rejoin the Club, the YOMTC Executive Committee shall consider allowing new members to join YOMTC.
c) The Secretary shall maintain a list of members, showing name, address and telephone number and club tag number, and shall provide such list to the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation Department annually, prior to the start of the playing season.
d) It shall be the responsibility of the Secretary to notify the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation Department of the list of Officers (President, Secretary, Treasurer) and the dates of all Executive Committee and general meetings.
e) A member is considered to be in good standing if he or she is not in arrears of fees and dues, has not acted against the objects of YOMTC, has not been suspended, or has not otherwise been the subject of a disciplinary action for breach of YOMTC by-laws or annual playing regulations.
a) The Treasurer shall conduct the financial affairs of the Club. He/she shall be responsible for the collection of annual dues and the disbursement of all funds on the Club's behalf.
b) The Treasurer shall maintain a bank account in the name of the Club, wherein all funds will be deposited as soon as possible after receipt.
c) All payments on behalf of the Club shall be made by cheque. Each cheque more than $500 (five hundred dollars) shall be signed by the Treasurer and by one of two other members of the Executive Committee.
d) From time to time, the Executive Committee may authorize the Treasurer to withdraw up to $100 (one-hundred dollars) of the Club's funds in cash. Each voucher of $100 (one-hundred dollars) shall be authorized the Executive Committee in its minutes before any additional funds may be withdrawn in cash.
e) The Treasurer shall provide the Corporation of the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation Department with an audited Statement of Income and Expenditure by February 28 of each year, such statement to cover the period October 1 to September 30 and to be approved by the Executive Committee.
f) The Treasurer shall keep a record of all Club property.
a) A copy of this Constitution shall be provided to the Corporation of the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation Department and to all members of the Club.
b) This Constitution shall remain in force until it is either amended in the manner described in Article 7(c) or until the Club is dissolved.
c) Amendment of this Constitution shall only be made by a majority of those members attending a duly authorized general meeting of the Club. Details of any proposed amendment (identification of Article(s) to be changed, existing content and proposed content) shall be provided to all Club members when they are notified of the meeting as described in Article 3(g). Any amendment to this Constitution shall be subject to conditions of the agreement between the Corporation of the City of Toronto and the Club.
All club meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the Roberts Rule of Order, Revised. Decisions at club meetings shall be rendered by the votes of the members in good standing who are present in person or by proxy. A simple majority of those votes is required to determine a decision unless otherwise specifically stated herein.
From time to time, the Club may issue a newsletter, which contains an editorial by members of the Executive Committee or those they delegate (generally those members that wish to make meaningful contributions to same in the best judgment of the Executive Committee), along with announcements, suggestions, comments and ideas generated by Club members. The Club shall seek sponsorship where appropriate in order to buttress its revenues and in furtherance of its programs.
Rules mailed with membership applications are to be observed. Breach of the rules may result in a penalty in the form of a warning, suspension or loss of membership at the discretion of the Executive Committee.
a) The Club may be dissolved only after due Notice of Motion for such dissolution has been given at a general meeting called by the President. The Club may not be dissolved in the event that ten percent (10%) or greater of the membership oppose the dissolution or where the dissolution is opposed by the Corporation of the City of Toronto.
b) In the event of dissolution of YOMTC, disposal of the realizable assets belonging to YOMTC shall be by donation in equal amount to the Ontario Tennis Association and to Tennis Canada in support of junior development, or in the alternative, to the members of YOMTC, or as otherwise determined by vote at a duly called general meeting.
The YOMTC Executive shall make best efforts to obtain the requisite Directors and Officers liability insurance, as well as any other insurance for YOMTC that the YOMTC Executive shall deem necessary.
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