Downtown Waterville Farmers' Market Association

By-Laws

[As Adopted 16-Jan-07; revised 9-Jan-2008, Mar. 2015]

Article 1 - Formal Title

This organization shall be known as the Downtown Waterville Farmers' Market Association.

Article 2 - Purpose

The purpose of the Downtown Waterville Farmers' Market Association is to improve the production and marketing of local farm and garden products in Downtown Waterville and surrounding areas by holding a farmers' market, and to stimulate public interest in the consumption of local farm and garden products thereby supporting, preserving, and improving the quality of rural life in the area.

Article 3 - Membership

A "member" of Downtown Waterville Farmers' Market shall be any vendor who has been accepted into this organization by vote of the membership, has paid annual membership fee, is current in payment of any other dues, and has agreed to abide by the established market Rules and By-Laws.

Membership is open to any home gardener, farmer or other producer qualifying with Maine homegrown or homemade products.

Article 4 - Officers and Steering Committee

The officers of the Association shall consist of Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, and Market Manager. The officers shall serve for one year, or until qualified successors have been elected. Duties of the officers and Steering Committee are as follows:

Chair: The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Association and the Steering Committee. She or he shall request the secretary to call regular or special meetings and attend to all duties expected of such an officer. The Chair shall also appoint committees, including advertising and promotion.

Market Manager: The Market Manager shall attend to the duties of the Chairperson in his/her absence or inability to serve. She/he shall be in charge of advertising, publicity, and public relations, as well as enforcing collection of dues and adherence to market rules. Each market location shall have a Market Manager, and a person may serve as Market Manager for multiple locations. Should no one volunteer as Market Manager, the steering committee may appoint one.

Secretary: The Secretary shall keep record of all meetings and send out notices of all meetings, and whenever requested to do so by the Chairperson. The Secretary shall maintain the roster of current membership.

Treasurer: The Treasurer shall keep a record of all dues and other money received from the operation of the market. She/he shall record any monies report on the foregoing, whenever requested to do so. She/he shall deposit all monies received in a local bank account.

Assistant Treasurer: The Assistant Treasurer shall share some of the work of the treasurer, and shall be able to sign checks.

The Steering Committee: These above officers, together with at least two other elected members, shall constitute the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee shall meet on the call of the Chairperson, or in his/her absence, the call of the Market Manager. The Steering Committee shall arrange for all meetings, and have general charge of the Association activities, including the power to authorize the Treasurer to pay bills approved by the Steering Committee. In the event of a vacancy, the steering committee may appoint a temporary replacement for the remainder of the term of the vacancy. The Steering Committee may sponsor any advertising or promotion and request support from various municipalities and other entities for promoting the successful operation and expansion of the market. At the request of the Market Manager, the Steering Committee shall investigate any suspicion of questionable practices employed by any seller. If verified, the Steering Committee is authorized to immediately enforce corrective action. The Steering Committee may appoint sub-committees as it deems necessary or useful, and create a set of Rules for the day-to-day operation of the market.

Article 5 - Meetings

Voting, Notification and Quorum. All members in good standing shall have the privilege of voting at all association meetings. Each farm membership may have one vote. Twenty percent of the membership shall constitute a quorum. A formal vote may be dispensed with if a call for consensus determines there are no objections. Members shall be notified of any meeting at least one week prior to the date of the meeting.

Annual Meeting. An Annual Meeting shall occur in the first quarter of the calendar year to nominate and elect members of the Steering Committee, report to the membership on the state of the market, and conduct other business as needed.

Other Meetings. Other meetings may be called by the Steering Committee from time to time to conduct such business as may be required.

Article 6 - Records

Every member shall have the right to examine, for any reasonable purpose, the books, records, roster of membership, and other appropriate records of the Association. Such records will be kept as is determined by the membership.

Article 7 - Dues and Liquidation

Section 1. Setting of Dues. The annual dues shall be annually determined by the Steering Committee, payable to the Downtown Waterville Farmers' Market Association. The Steering Committee may also set a per day fee for market attendance. All dues shall be paid by the date appearing on the membership form.

Section 2. Payment of Dues. Any member of the organization whose dues fall into arrears shall, after proper notification by the treasurer, be automatically dropped from membership in the organization, with forfeiture of all membership rights and privileges, unless immediate payment of such dues is made.

Section 3. Liquidation of the Association In the event of liquidation or dissolution, all remaining assets in the Association's treasury shall be donated to one or more non-profit associations that work to benefit local agriculture or community food distribution. The specific beneficiary of the Market's assets will be determined by a general vote. The sum of the donation will be any monies remaining after all debts and other obligations of the Association are satisfied. (adopted 9-Jan-2008)

Article 8 - Amendments to these By-Laws

The articles outlined herein may be amended by a two-thirds majority of members present at any regular or special meeting, providing that a notice of such revision or amendment was included in the call of the meeting, or else that the matter had been duly presented at a previous meeting.