Saturday, 19 July 2014
The special meeting of the members to vote on changes to the club's bylaws was held the afternoon of Saturday, 7/19/2014, at 1:00 PM in the clubhouse after the annual picnic. There were 45 members in attendance. Club President Joe Dula established that there was a quorum present (a minimum of 25 members are currently required to constitute a quorum at a special member meeting), and called the meeting to order. There were 11 proposed changes to the bylaws, and each was presented, discussed, and voted upon separately. Several of the issues dealt with minor problems in the bylaws that had been noticed in the years since the last special meeting of the members, and were obvious enough that very little discussion was required.
The proposals and bylaws changes were displayed to the assembled members during the meeting, and copies of the text were distributed prior to the meeting. The motions and the results of the voting were as follows:
Proposal #1. That official notices required by the bylaws may be sent by either U.S. mail or an electronic means (including but not limited to electronic mail and facsimile).
Discussion. The cost of communication by U.S. mail has risen considerably in the past 5 years, and during times, such as these, when there are several official communications with the membership, the costs are excessive enough that the communication is limited both in frequency and extent, which is a detriment to the members. The cost of the notice of the special meetings that was mailed at the end of May was nearly $900.00: printing, folding, stapling, tabbing for mailing, labelling, and postage. In response to a member question at the meeting, it was clarified that electronic communications would be used for those members who had the capability to receive them, and that U.S. mail would continue to be used for those members who could not.
Vote results: Yes - 45; No - 0; motion passed
Effective date: Immediately
Proposal #2. That official records of the Club shall be kept in electronic form which may be displayed or printed as needed. Electronic form may include, but is not limited to, binary data, ASCII coded binary data, or scanned paper stored as an image in a standard format, such as JPEG or PDF. The secretary is responsible for ensuring that electronic copies of official club documents are made and archived.
Discussion. The creation and storage of electronic records, while a highly desirable activity that makes more information available to members, has additional aspects that need to be addressed to assure the membership that the records are safely and securely stored. A question arose during the meeting to insure that the club's electronic records would be stored securely to protect against loss or invasion of privacy. It was pointed out in response that the bylaws changes were to enable electronic records to be kept, and that the board of directors could then specify the procedural requirements to insure that the records were secure. Moreover, it was also noted that the bylaws changes intentionally do not specify the technology to be used, since the technology changes every 3 to 5 years, and the club should not be constrained to a particular type of storage. (JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group, developers of ANSI standards for image storage and compression. PDF – Portable Document Format, invented and supported by Adobe Systems, Inc., and now an open standard.)
Vote results: Yes - 45; No - 0; motion passed
Effective date: Immediately
Proposal #3. That the requirement for in-person attendance of meetings and special meetings of the board of directors be removed.
Discussion. This modification allows board members who are not able to attend a meeting in person to participate and vote. This also allows the board to quickly call meetings that might otherwise have to be postponed because an in-person quorum may not be possible. In response to a member question it was noted that Oregon statutes and the Oregon Department of Justice imposed requirements on such meetings, and that the board would have to comply with them.
Vote results: Yes - 45; No - 0; motion passed
Effective date: Immediately
Proposal #4. That the dues for regular members be increased to $125 per year, and that two related changes be made in the text of the bylaws.
Discussion. The previous dues increase was authorized in 2006 and effective in 2007, and since that time the amount of income has been barely sufficient to sustain the club. Member dues do not provide all of the income necessary to operate the club – we depend on fees for usage from members and non-members, and when the economy is difficult, usage decreases, and so does income. The Board considers that CRGC member benefits still exceed the cost of membership, and use of the club’s FFL and Class 3 SOT, and purchasing at a discount through the club can more than save members the cost of their annual dues each year.
Vote results: Yes - 45; No - 0; motion passed
Effective date: 1/1/2015
Proposal #5. That the criteria for life membership to be changed to reflect current actuarial data and be based upon the age at which full social security benefits may be received (currently age 66), and that the number of years before consideration for life membership at retirement age be changed to 20 years. The new criteria are to apply to new members joining after the date of this amendment.
Discussion. At the time the original bylaws were drafted, an individual retired from work generally at or after age 60, and a person’s life expectancy in 1952 – 1960 was about another 10 years after retirement. Now the situation is changed, and people generally retire at age 65 or 66, and have a reasonable expectancy of living another 15 years.
Vote results: Yes - 45; No - 0; motion passed
Effective date: Immediately
Proposal #6. That the valid date for membership applications be extended.
Discussion. The increased demand for membership in the club has resulted in a waiting list that cannot be met within the currently allotted 30 days.
Vote results: Yes - 45; No - 0; motion passed
Effective date: Immediately
Proposal #7. That annual dues are to be paid by January 31st of each year.
Discussion. The current text in the bylaws presents two dates for the payment of dues, and to eliminate confusion the requirement for dues payment on or before the annual meeting is deleted.
Vote results: Yes - 45; No - 0; motion passed
Effective date: Immediately
Proposal #8. That the minimum number of members to constitute a quorum be 5% of the total of the regular and life members.
Discussion. At the moment, with 710 members, 3.5% of the membership can meet to decide upon bylaw changes. Since a 2/3 majority is required in order to change the bylaws this means that 17 members can cause substantial changes to the characteristics, rules, and operation of the club. This is not a sufficient representation of the membership to allow potentially significant changes to occur.
Vote results: Yes - 44; No - 1; motion passed
Effective date: Immediately
Proposal #9. That the treasurer receives all fees and dues.
Discussion. This corrects an area of overlap of responsibility between the treasurer and secretary, and makes the collection of funds the responsibility of the treasurer.
Vote results: Yes - 45; No - 0; motion passed
Effective date: Immediately
Proposal #10. That a member being considered for suspension or expulsion be notified of the decision of the board of directors.
Discussion: This change specifies what notice is to be provided to the member.
Vote results: Yes - 44; No - 1; motion passed
Effective date: Immediately
Proposal #11. That the governing body of the organization sanctioning a shooting competition be the source of the rules and regulations for a competition, provided that those rules are not in conflict with safety requirements for Club ranges.
Discussion. At the time the bylaws were written there were three principal organizations that sanctioned shooting competitions: the NRA, the CMP, and the ATA. This proposal recognizes the proliferation of different types of shooting sports, and their governing organizations.
Vote results: Yes - 45; No - 0; motion passed
Effective date: Immediately
A new copy of the club bylaws is now included on the web site within the "The Board" menu item on the left side of the window.