SOUTHWARK/QUEEN VILLAGE COMMUNITY GARDEN BY-LAWS
I. Name and Purpose
A. Name and Address. The organization described here is officially named ” Southwark / Queen Village Community Garden (‘Garden’).” The Garden is located at 311-333 Christian Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147. The mailing address of the Garden is:
Southwark / Queen Village Community Garden
c/o Queen Village Neighbors Association
P.O. Box 63763, Philadelphia, PA 19147
B. Purpose. The Garden, created in 1976, is a space for public gardening, creating and connecting communities and nurturing bio-diversity. The Garden is managed as a gardening park by the Neighborhood Gardens Trust (“NGT”)/ A Philadelphia Land Trust and by the Gardeners. The Garden’s secondary purpose is to be of benefit to the community.
II. Election of Executive Committee
A. The Executive Committee shall consist of the following Officers: Chair(s), Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Corresponding Secretary and Recording Secretary.
B. Officers are elected to a two-year term at the March meeting. Officers are limited to two consecutive terms on the Executive Committee.
C. In the event an Officer is unwilling or unable to complete a two-year term, the Executive Committee may appoint a replacement to fill unexpired term.
A. The Executive Committee shall implement and maintain the Garden Rules and Regulations.
III. Row Captains
A. One or two Gardeners per row will be appointed by the Executive Committee to serve as Row Captain(s) for a term of two years.
B. Row Captains are required to coordinate and lead one Clean-up per term.
C. Row Captain duties include:
1. Notifying Gardeners in his/her row of all meetings, clean-ups, and other activities either by email or by phone, as indicated by the Gardener.
2. Notifying each Gardener on his/her row of any failure to:
a. Keep his/her plot free of weeds and debris; or
b. Keep paths clear and weed free.
3. Handling grievances of Gardeners in his/her row as set out in the Grievance Procedure contained in the Garden Rules and Regulations.
4. Providing row and plot updates to the Executive Committee on a regular basis or as requested.
IV. Garden Council
A. The Garden Council shall consist of the Executive Committee, Row Captains, and the immediate past Chair.
V. Garden Rules and Regulations
A. The Garden Rules and Regulations shall be established, implemented and maintained by the Executive Committee.
B. Rules governing Garden Membership shall be set out in the Garden Rules and Regulations.
C. The Garden Rules and Regulations may be amended from time to time and shall be reviewed annually for accuracy and suitability.
D. The Garden Rules and Regulations shall be read and construed in conjunction with the By-laws.
VI. Sub-Committees
A. By-laws Committee
1. The Garden Council will appoint a By-laws Committee to consider proposed changes to the By-laws as needed.
2. The By-laws Committee will present its recommendations on the By-laws to the Garden Council and Members for review and comment.
3. Only Garden Members can approve changes to the By-laws.
B. Inspection Committee
1. The Inspection Committee consists of at least three members of the Garden Council, including at least one current Officer of the Executive Committee.
2. The Inspection Committee will conduct inspections during the months of May through October to ensure that all plots and aisles are clean, healthy, and free of weeds, infestation, and hazards. Additional inspections may be conducted at the Garden Council’s discretion.
3. The Inspection Committee will notify the appropriate Row Captains of plots or aisle areas that violate the Garden’s Rules and Regulations.
C. The Executive Committee shall have the authority to convene sub-committees as necessary.
VII. Meetings
A. Meetings shall be held once a month, at a time and location to be set by the Executive Committee and described in the Garden Rules and Regulations.
B. The Executive Committee is to give notice and provide an agenda, noting the matters on which a vote will be taken, at least two days before a Meeting.
C. Garden Members must satisfy Meeting attendance requirements in the Rules and Regulations.
VIII. Funding and Expenses
A. Membership fees will be set by the Executive Committee and may be changed from time-to-time depending on the financial needs of the Garden.
B. Each Plot must pay annual Membership Fees for use of the assigned Plot, on a date and time set by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee has discretion to reduce the cost of the Membership Fee based on the need of a Member.
C. Membership Fees shall be used to pay for the total annual basic costs, which include, but are not limited to, utilities, irrigation system operation and maintenance, trash bags and mosquito control.
D. Each fall, the Membership Fees for the following year will be determined by taking the current year’s basic costs and dividing it by the number of voting Plots in the Garden. The Membership Fees will be reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee. Gardeners will be notified prior to the March meeting of the next season.
E. A “rainy day” fund, as described in the Garden Rules and Regulations, will be kept in reserve for unexpected costs.
F. All Garden expenses shall be pre-approved by the Executive Committee.
IX. Voting
A. Each Plot has one vote. If more than one (1) Co-Gardener of a Plot is present at a meeting, the voting Garden Member must be identified upon sign-in of the meeting.
B. Helpers do not have voting rights.
C. All other issues, with the exception of amendments to the By-laws, will be decided by a simple majority of the voting Garden Members present at the Meeting in which the vote takes place (Ex.: If 20 Voting Members are present a simple majority constitutes 11).
X. Amendments
A. A quorum of fifty percent (50%) of Voting Members must be present for any vote to amend the Garden By-laws to take place. A vote of two-thirds of the voting Garden Members present is required to amend the By-laws
B. A Notice of the proposed changes, along with a copy of the changes, shall be provided to Garden Members a minimum of two (2) weeks prior to the Meeting at which the vote shall be taken. The amendments shall be read to Garden Members before the close of the meeting.
C. No amendment of the By-laws shall become effective until two weeks after ratification by the Garden Council and communication to all Garden Members.