Executive
Athina Tagidou, President
Lesia Forse, Vice - President
Roman Wozniak, Treasurer
Open - Secretary
Steve Burns, Director
Colin Tyler, Director
Honourary Board Member
Betty Caldwell, Past President and founding member of the initial Applewood Hills Residents' Association which began in the 1960's.
This Constitution & By-Laws for the Applewood Hill & Heights Residents’ Association (AHHRA) were completed on March 25, 2019.
ARTICLE 1. NAME OF ORGANIZATION
The name of this organization shall be the Applewood Hills & Heights Residents’ Association (AHHRA). In this document referred to as the “AHHRA."
ARTICLE 2. MISSION STATEMENT
The Mission Statement shall be to advocate for the betterment of community living for all residents of the Applewood Hills & Heights Communities within the AHHRA’s designated boundaries and in Ward 3 when needed.
ARTICLE 3. OBJECTIVES
1. The objectives of AHHRA shall be to inform the membership of issues concerning their community through emails, public meetings, printed material and other AHHRA social media sources.
2. To lobby municipal /provincial/federal level of governments for better community living.
3. To advocate on behalf of the community on issues relating to community esteem.
4. To hold/sponsor community events in order to develop a growing sense of "community."
ARTICLE 4. BOUNDARIES
The boundaries shall be the: From Cawthra Road East to the West side of Dixie Road, and the South side of Burnhamthorpe to the North side of Dundas Street.*
ARTICLE 5. MEMBERSHIP
Eligibility for membership shall include all residents within the "boundaries." Membership fee is an annual $10 (ten dollar) per household amount for all residents 18 years of age and older.
It is to be requested as a donation to the AHHRA to cover its administrative and other operating expenses.
Payment is not mandatory for a household to be a member of the AHHRA. It is required however, to be a member of the Executive Board and Directors. As well, for all AHHRA members who would like to vote for Executive and Director members.
ARTICLE 6. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
Eligibility for Associated Membership shall include businesses, landlords, service providers or any other organization or individual as deemed so by the Executive.
ARTICLE 7. BOARD AND DIRECTORS OF THE ASSOCIATION
1. At the first Executive meeting following the Annual General Meeting, the following 4 positions of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer shall be designated by the Executive and Directors.
2. Additional Directors will be 6 members of which one position will include the past President. The remaining 5 Executive members will consist of elected members and Committees leads as created and as required by the Executive and AHHRA members. Each committee lead will be identified as a Director.
3. The duties of the Board of Directors of the AHHRA are:
The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Association and shall preside at all meetings.
a) The President, or his/her designate, shall represent the AHHRA in all official capacities.
b) The President, or his/her designate, shall be the liaison for communication with City of Mississauga matters.
c) The President shall have signed authority with the Treasurer. These two authorized signatures will be required on all cheques.
d) The President shall have authority to authorize expenditures not more than $100.00 without the approval of the Executive.
The Vice-President shall assume the duties of and exercise the powers of the President in his/her absence.
The Secretary shall be responsible for the accurate recording of the Minutes of all meetings.
a) He/she will be responsible for preparation and circulation of Draft Minutes and Agendas.
b) He/she will be responsible for the preparation of all other documents of the Association as deemed necessary by the Executive.
The Treasurer shall oversee all monies and accounts in the name of this AHHRA.
a) He/she will be responsible for the accurate reporting on the accounts at all meetings.
b) He/she is responsible for quarterly written reports to be submitted to the Executive.
c) The Treasurer shall sign and endorse all cheques together with the President.
d) The Treasurer shall receive financial reports from the Lead(s) of all Committees (that are determined by the Executive) and which be included in the AHHRA’s financial reports that are determined by the Executive.
The Lead(s) of each Committee shall report to the Executive on a regular basis on the activities of their respective committees.
a) The Lead(s) of each Committee is(are) responsible for chairing the respective Committee meetings and all activities and shall report to the Executive on a regular basis on the respective committee’s activities.
The Directors will provide input and feedback on matters discussed at Executive meetings.
The Past President shall serve for one year following his/her last year of service as President, retaining all Executive privileges.
a) He/She does not have to reside within the boundaries of the AHHRA to serve for this one-year term.
ARTICLE 8. NOMINATION AND ELECTION
1. All candidates for the Executive, other than Past President, shall be nominated at or before the Annual General Meeting for the following year. A maximum of ten members of the Executive shall be elected at a duly called Annual General Meeting.
a) Nominations may be received from the floor of the meeting at which the elections are being held, provided that the nominee is present and is prepared to accept the nomination or has previously indicated his /her willingness to the President or Secretary to stand for election.
2. Elections are by a majority vote by the membership at a meeting of the AHHRA. The position of Past President is Ex-officio.
3. The term of office for the AHHRA Board of Director positions (4 – Executive, 6 Directors) shall be for 2 (two) years. They will be elected at the Annual General Meeting election date to the election held each 2nd year.
a) If any Board of Director member would like to resign from their position within their 2-year term, a letter and/or email is to be written to the AHHR addressing their resignation and the position will be filled at the next AGM.
b) If an Executive Member resigns, the Board shall hold a special Board meeting to appoint one of the Board members at that time to the position of the member who has resigned for the balance of his/her term until the AGM for elections is held.
4. Elected Officials (Municipal, Regional, Provincial, and Federal) are exempt from holding an Executive Position.
ARTICLE 9. MEETINGS
1. The membership shall meet at least one time each calendar year at an annual AGM on a Wednesday in June prior to June 15th.
2. Executive meetings shall be held at the call of the President, or any two members of the Executive.
3. Ad Hoc Meetings shall be held at the call of the President or all other members of the Executive.
4. All members of the Executive must be notified of an Ad Hoc meeting at least 48 hours in advance of the date of the Ad Hoc meeting and must be notified at the same time of the agenda of the meeting.
5. Where circumstances warrant such action, the President may canvass members of the Executive by telephone to obtain a consensus.
6. Quorums for Meetings:
a. A Quorum for any General meeting of the membership or Ad Hoc meeting is established when a minimum of ten members are present.
b. A Quorum for an Executive meeting is achieved when a majority (50% plus one) of its members are present.
ARTICLE 10. RULES OF PROCEDURE
In the event of any procedural conflicts, the President shall use Robert's Rules of order as the basis for the resolution of such disputes.
ARTICLE 11. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
The Constitution may be amended at any membership meeting of the AHHRA provided that:
1. The Amendment is promoted within 7 days prior to the vote being called on the amendment.
2. The Amendment is approved by at least two-thirds of the voting members present at the meeting in which the vote is called.
ARTICLE 12. POLITICAL AFFILIATION
1. The AHHRA is a non-partisan organization, and therefore does not endorse any specific candidate seeking a public office.
2. The AHHRA will seek all reasonable opportunities to provide members with appropriate non-partisan information about the candidates and important community issues so that members may be able to make informed decisions when electing a candidate to public office.
ARTICLE 13. DISSOLUTION CLAUSE
In the event the AHHRA is dissolved, all its remaining assets, after payment of liabilities, shall be offered to, in the following order: To be determined at an AGM of the AHHRA by all members in attendance.
Approved at an Applewood Hills & Heights Residents’ Association Executive meeting held on April 11th, 2019.
*This Constitution is currently under revision.