Periodically, the CST Board determines that certain changes to the existing by-laws should be recommended for approval by the membership. This year, after a thorough review and after receiving input from many members, the Board is proposing the following 4 changes to the current by-laws. You can download the current by-laws here: CST By-laws
Proposed changes and corresponding edits are as follows (highlighted text denotes new additions to by-laws):
1) Transfer of Membership to Immediate Family members. The Board recommends that the by-laws be changed to allow for a current Chesterbrook Class A member to transfer their Class A membership to a parent, a child, or a spouse. This would allow for the new Class A member to avoid the summer waitlist/membership process. The new Class A member would be obligated to pay all of the financial requirements as all new members are required to do so. There would be no financial benefit to the new or outgoing member. This change would allow for current members to keep the membership in their immediate family if they choose to do so.
Proposed changes / additions to Article III, “Membership” / Section 7:
Section 7.1. Transfer of Membership Certificates to Immediate Family Members. Any holder of a Certificate of Membership shall be permitted to transfer his or her Certificate to a parent, a child, or a spouse without the need to follow the provisions of Section 7. Any holder wishing to transfer a certificate pursuant to this section shall notify the Membership Director of the transfer and the identity of the person to whom the transfer shall be made. Upon verification that the requirements of Section 7.1 are met, the Membership Director shall record the transfer.
2) Streamline Board Operations by Reducing the Board by One Member. This change would remove the Manager of the Club as a voting member of the Board. The Board has discussed this change with the current manager who is in agreement with the change. This change would create a clearer role for the Manager by not requiring them to serve and be responsible for Board decisions. The Manager would still be an important and integral voice in Board conversations and discussions, but at the Board’s discretion. It would also allow for the Board to selectively conduct conversations without the Manager, which currently the by-laws do not allow for. Additionally, this would reduce the size of the Board by one, which reflects members’ feedback on the current size of the Board.
Proposed changes to Article VII, “Club Manager“:
The Club Manager shall be an employee of the Club and shall serve as an ex officio voting member of the Board of Directors during the term of his or her employment. The Club Manager shall be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Club and all associated property and grounds, as well as the maintenance, repair, and security of the Club’s physical facility. The Club Manager shall supervise all Club staff unless such supervision is reserved by the Board of Directors or these By-Laws to the Board or a Committee. The Board of Directors may request that the Club Manager attend regularly scheduled meetings for the purposes of updating the Board of Directors on matters of Club operations.
3) Ensure Consistency Among Board Member Term Limits. In order to bring all Board of Director positions into alignment, the Board is recommending that any Class A member eligible to serve on the Board can do so for 2 consecutive terms (either in the same position or in two different positions). This is already the case for someone serving as an executive officer or serving a second consecutive term as an executive officer having served a first term as a non-executive offer. This would clear up the contradictory language currently in the by-laws to make it clear that any Class A member may serve two terms consecutively, regardless of position(s). It also clarifies that the limit of 2 consecutive terms (or 4 years) per household would remain.
Proposed changes to Article V, “Board of Directors“:
Section 2. Number of Directors and Compensation. The Board of Directors shall be comprised of fifteen (15) fourteen (14) Class A members, consisting of: fourteen (14) elected Directors of the Club, and the Club Manager, who shall serve as an ex officio voting member. Any Class A member or adult member of a Club member’s household can stand for election to be a Director with the following provisos:
No person shall be eligible for election who has served more than one (1) year on the Board of Directors immediately preceding an election, unless that person is standing for election for a position as an officer of the board (President, VP-Operations, VPPersonnel, Secretary, Treasurer).- A person can stand for election to a second consecutive term, either for reelection to their current position or for election to a new position on the Board.
- No person shall be eligible for election if such election would result in two people of the same household being on the Board at the same time,
and no household can hold a board seat for more than four consecutive years. - No
personhousehold shall serve more than 4 consecutive years on the Board.
Section 5. Terms
- Directors are elected for specific two (2) year terms.
and shall be eligible to serve another term only after two (2) years have passed since the end of any previous term, unless a current board member is elected to serve a succeeding term as one of the five officers. No household shall serve more than four (4) consecutive years.Newly elected Directors shall take office at the September regular meeting of the Directors.
4) Ability for the Club to Rent to Outside For-Profit Entities. This proposed change simply gives clarity to the ability for the Board to approve rentals to for-profit entities as we did this past winter with lane rentals. It does not obligate the Board to do anything, but allows for the option. This provision already exists in the current by-laws for non-profit rental use.
Proposed changes/additions to Article X, “Use Privileges“:
Section 4. For-Profit Organization. The Board of Directors may, from time to time at its discretion, allow the use of the Club’s facilities by for-profit organizations so long as any such use does not unreasonably impinge on usage by members and such use is compensated at a fair market rate, with any proceeds directed towards general operations of the Club
The Board fully recommends the approval of all proposed changes above to better streamline and organize our Board structure and the governance of the Club.