Querencia Community Bike Shop By-Laws
Article I
The Function of Querencia Community Bike Shop
A. The mission of Querencia Community Bike Shop (QCBS) is to establish and maintain a 501(c)(3) non-profit community-run bicycle shop dedicated to providing residents of Denton County a healthy, affordable, environmentally friendly and fun alternative to the debilitating effects of automotive dependency. QCBS offers open access to the necessary work space, tools, parts, and instructional resources for one to build, repair, and maintain one’s own bicycle. QCBS encourages self-reliant transportation while strengthening the bonds of community through collective ownership and cooperation.
B. The corporation is organized exclusively for charitable, religious, and/or educational or scientific purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distributions to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or corresponding section of any future federal tax code.
Article II
The Structure of Querencia Community Bike Shop
A. QCBS is composed of a large volunteer base, the decision-making body of which is called the Collective Council. The Collective Council will choose by election a Steering Committee to act on the intent of the organization.
B. Anyone who contributes to QCBS in any way is a Supporter. Contributions include time, money, or other donations.
C. The Collective Council shall consist of supporters who contribute 24 hours of work during each season. The donation of effort and work is more highly valued than that of money or material goods as it confers a stronger role in the collective decision-making process. Decisions are reached by the Collective Council via consensus, defined as a process of discussion, compromise, and unanimous agreement.
1. It is the responsibility of the Collective Council to accurately and honestly reflect and promote the collective intent and goals of QCBS.
2. “Work” as used above is defined as any effort performed to the direct benefit or promotion of QCBS, with consensus approval of the Collective Council.
3. “Season” as used above is defined as any rolling contiguous three-month period.
4. Membership in the Collective Council is conferred once the volunteer attends a Collective Council meeting after completing the required hours of work as defined above.
a. It is the volunteer’s responsibility to record hours in the appropriate volunteer logs.
b. Membership in the Collective Council is an earned privilege that may be revoked for just cause. The Collective Council can remove a Member with a simple majority vote (51%) at two consecutive Collective Council meetings.
c. Any member at any time may place in a log called The Book suggestions or ideas for Collective Council Meeting Agendas. The Book shall be kept at the primary permanent shop location or if one is not available at the primary temporary shop location.
5. The function of the Collective Council is to discuss and evaluate evolving situations with the input of the Steering Committee, Members, Volunteers, Supporters, and the community.
6. Meetings of the Collective Council will be held every two weeks. The Collective Council may call Special Meetings for itself and the Steering Committee as necessary.
a. Notification of all meetings will be posted on the QCBS web site and disseminated to the Collective Council membership no less than seven days prior to the meeting.
b. Collective Council Meetings will be open to the community at large.
c. Only Collective Council Members have the ability to block consensus on an issue, table an issue, or vote on an issue. These actions may be taken only during official meetings at which a quorum is present.
d. A quorum of the Collective Council shall be defined as the presence of no fewer than 20% of the Council Membership. Lacking a quorum, the meeting shall be postponed until the next normal meeting time.
e. Meetings shall be called to order no later than five minutes after the officially announced time.
D. The Steering Committee shall never act on decisions which are contrary to the will of the Collective Council.
1. Members of the Steering Committee shall be nominated and elected by the Collective Council. QCBS strongly disapproves of any vote based on race, age, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, or any other prejudicial or discriminatory category.
a. Nominations shall be accepted no earlier than four meetings prior to the election and shall close during the second meeting prior to the election.
i. Nominees must be members of the Collective Council. Each candidate must receive two and only two nominations to qualify as nominee.
ii. A member can only nominate a single candidate per position.
iii. A member may nominate candidates for no more than three positions.
b. The election shall be held by secret ballot during the first meeting of November.
i. A majority vote is required to be elected. If no majority is achieved a run-off election shall be held immediately.
ii. In the instance of a tie during the run-off election, the members of the outgoing Steering Committee shall decide the winner before convening their next meeting.
c. Newly elected Steering Committee members may assume office after attending one month of post-election Steering Committee meetings.
d. The Collective Council can rescind any appointment, remove a Steering Committee Member, or remove any elected position with a simple 51% majority vote at two consecutive Collective Council meetings. Removal from the Steering Committee does not imply removal from the Collective Council.
e. In the event of removal, the Collective Council shall appoint an ad hoc committee of three Members to determine a process for replacement for consideration by the council. Members of the Steering Committee may not sit on this ad hoc committee. Replacement Steering Committee Members will serve the remainder of the term and may run for re-election. Steering Committee Members may run for re-election no less than one year after being removed.
2. The Steering Committee shall be composed of a Secretary, Treasurer, Internal Coordinator, External Coordinator, and Shop Manager.
a. The Secretary shall serve for one year. The Secretary will:
i. Maintain and distribute historical records of meetings.
ii. Take minutes (or delegate responsibility for such) at each meeting.
iii. Maintain file system for all official and unofficial organizational paperwork.
iv. Print, post, and distribute minutes from the last meeting before each scheduled meeting.
b. The Treasurer shall serve for two years. The Treasurer will:
i. Posess full fiduciary responsibility of the organization.
ii. Be responsible for the protection of the fiscal integrity of the organization.
iii. Record and report the assets and liabilities of the organization.
iv. Maintain financial records that are made available to the community, the Collective Council, and the Steering Committee at a quality that meets or exceeds the standards of IRS taxes and grant applications.
c. The Internal Coordinator shall serve for one year. The Internal Coordinator will:
i. Maintain communication within the organization and delegate these responsibilities as needed.
ii. Keep past and current records of volunteer information and volunteer hours as documented in shop log and meeting attendance.
iii. Draft the Collective Council Meeting Agenda based on the decisions of the Steering Committee.
iv. Post the Collective Council Meeting Agenda on all public QCBS communication sites and at the shop no less than three days prior to the Collective Council meeting.
v. Chair Collective Council Meetings.
d. The External Coordinator shall serve for one year. The External Coordinator will:
i. Mobilize the community toward the goals of the organization.
ii. Initiate and maintain contact with other organizations.
iii. Maintain necessary contacts with the media.
iv. Compose and disseminate media releases and the newsletter.
v. Coordinate with Steering Committee to ensure accuracy of outgoing information.
vi. oversee a sub-committee to carry out their duties. This sub-committee will include a Resident Artist who, serving for one year, shall:
a. coordinate organizational media for design consistency.
b. consult with the External Coordinator on all organizational media.
c. foster creativity among participating volunteers in the design and fabrication of organizational media.
d. Election of Resident Artist. After interviewing candidates and reviewing their resumés the Steering Committee shall, no fewer than eight and no more than ten weeks after taking office, submit for election by the Collective Council the names of qualified candidates for Resident Artist. Qualifications and criteria shall be determined by the Collective Council.
e. The Shop Manager shall serve for one year. The Shop Manager will:
i. Ensure the philosophy of the organization is manifest in the operation of the shop.
ii. Oversee general operations of any and all temporary, satellite, or permanent shop locations.
iii. Chair a Shop Committee
iv. Oversee instruction and scheduling of shop volunteers.
v. Coordinate with Treasurer in maintaining inventory records.
vi. Deliver “The Book” to Steering Committee meetings.
3. All elected Members shall advise their successors for a term of six months.
4. Each elected Member shall report their activities and hours in writing for the review of the Collective Council. Reports shall be attached to the agenda at every other Council Meeting.
5. Decisions are reached by the Steering Committee via consensus, defined as a process of discussion, compromise, and unanimous agreement.
6. Steering Committee Members must attend all Collective Council meetings.
7. The duties of elected positions shall meet all work requirements for Collective Council Membership.
E. An Information Technologist, serving for one year, may be selected in the same manner as the Resident Artist. The information tech. shall:
a. equip QCBS volunteers and elected officials to communicate, keep records, and coordinate activities via the web.
b. maintain and develop the web site of the organization
c. construct and improve the volunteer database of the organization
d. adapt and deploy existing and evolving technology to the benefit of QCBS.
e. integrate organizational knowledge in an accessible digital format.
Article III
Amending the Querencia Community Bike Shop Bylaws
The Collective Council must reach consensus at two consecutive meetings in order to amend the Bylaws. In the event that consensus is not reached after two consecutive Collective Council meetings, an 80% majority of the Collective Council members present at the third meeting must vote to amend the bylaws.
Amendment 1
When resources become available, QCBS shall undertake to publish all of its documents in both Spanish and English, beginning with these Bylaws.
Amendment 2
Collective Council requirements temporarily will remain as 12 hours of volunteer hours preformed outside the 3 month timeline limitation. This amendment shall be implemented until otherwise decided by the Collective Council.