DEFINITIONS
The terms “UBC”, “the AMS”, “SAC”, “the Co-op”, and “the board” shall be interpreted according to their relevant sections in the Constitution.
BYLAWS
BYLAW 1: GENERAL MEETINGS
1.1 The Co-op shall have at least one General Meeting during each term of the school year. There shall be one (1) Annual General Meeting (AGM) during the first two (2) weeks of March.
1.2 A General Meeting shall be called by the President at the request of the Executive Committee.
1.3 A General Meeting shall be called by the President on receipt of a petition representing at least forty percent (40%) of the Regular membership of the Co-op, or quorum as specified in the Co-op constitution, whichever is lesser. The General Meeting must occur at least seven (7) days after the initial receipt of the petition.
1.4 Notice of a General Meeting shall be posted in an obvious place at least fourteen (14) days before the meeting is to take place.
1.5 The President shall post the Agenda for the General Meeting at least three (3) days prior to the meeting.
1.6. A record of attendance must be signed by each member attending the meeting.
1.7 Minutes of the meetings must be kept if Co-op decisions are to be upheld by SAC in case of dispute, and shall be the accepted record of proceedings.
BYLAW 2: ELECTIONS
2.1 The election of Executive Officers shall take place during the Annual General Meeting during the first two (2) weeks of March.
2.2 Voting shall take place through secret ballot and will use Approval Vote.
2.3 Nominations shall be submitted to the President at least a week before the election meeting. If the President is running for a second term, the Vice-President shall accept nominations.
2.4 The election shall be conducted by the Election Officer; to be nominated by the Executive Committee one (1) week before the election meeting. By convention, the Executive Committee will usually nominate the Bike Kitchen Manager to fulfill this role.
2.4.1 The nominated candidate for Election Officer shall be formally accepted by a resolution of the members present at the General Meeting. If the candidate is rejected the President shall have the authority to nominate an alternative candidate with input from the Executive Committee.
2.5 The Election Officer may accept nominations from the floor.
2.6 The new Executive Committee shall assume office at the second Executive Meeting after the election.
2.7 Results of the election shall be submitted to the SAC Vice-Chair no later than seven (7) days after the election.
2.8 In the event of an Executive position becoming vacant, the President shall have authority to either appoint an interim officer or call a by-election to replace the officer.
BYLAW 3: ELIGIBILITY OF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
3.1 Only living, Active Members of the Alma Mater Society shall be eligible to hold executive offices.
3.2 An Executive Officer may be removed from office by way of a resolution supported by two-thirds (2/3) of the Regular members in attendance at a General Meeting.
3.3 An Executive Officer who has been absent for 3 consecutive Executive Meetings may be removed from office by way of a resolution supported unanimously by the Executive Officers in attendance at an Executive Meeting.
3.4 Employees of the Co-op or any of its programs may not be Executive Officers.
BYLAW 4: MEMBERSHIP PRIVILEGES & RESPONSIBILITIES
4.1. Only Regular Members of the Co-op as defined in Article 5.1 of the Constitution shall vote, or sign Petitions.
4.2. All members will be expected to participate in maintaining the community bike fleet by reporting or returning to the workshop damaged bikes, and attending maintenance sessions.
4.3. All members can participate in Co-op social, recreational, political and volunteer events.
BYLAW 5: EXECUTIVE DUTIES & PRIVILEGES
5.1 The President shall:
a) act as liaison to the SAC,
b) call a General Meeting as required by Bylaw 1,
c) direct the organisation,
d) call and chair all other meetings, and
e) ensure that the Constitution and Bylaws are adhered to.
f) The President may cast a tie-breaking vote at General meetings and Executive meetings.
5.2 The Treasurer shall:
a) act as liaison to the Finance Commission,
b) act as one of the two Bookings Representatives of the Co-op as required by Article 5.4 of the Constitution,
c) act as the sole signing officer of the Co-op as required by Article 7.8 of the Constitution,
d) manage the finances of the Co-op,
e) seek additional funding to expand operations, and
f) prepare and submit a budget and inventory list, as required by Article 7.7 of the Constitution.
5.3 The Vice-President shall:
a) assist the President with all their duties and responsibilities,
b) fill the presidential role in the event the President is not present, and
c) audit Co-op programs to ensure that they are adhering to their relevant Policy sections.
5.4 Each Board Member at Large shall:
a) attend regularly the meetings of the Executive Committee,
b) send notice when unable to attend Executive meetings, and
b) fulfill other incidental duties given to them by the Executive Committee.
5.5 Each member of the Executive Committee shall, in addition to those duties required by their position as described above, also fulfill the duties of their given Portfolios (see Bylaw 6).
5.6 In the event of a vacancy in the President, Vice-President, or Treasurer’s position, the duties of that officer may either be subsumed into one of the other positions, or the Executive Committee may appoint another officer to that position, until the date of the next meeting where elections are held.
5.7 Each member of the Executive Committee shall be entitled to certain privileges, depending on how long they have been on the Committee. If a member leaves the Executive Committee and returns at a later date, the duration of their membership is taken to start at their latest election or appointment.
5.7.1 One (1) month after joining the Executive Committee, the member shall have access to unlimited use of the workshop, as long as such use does not interfere with the operations of the Bike Kitchen or any other Co-op Program or event.
5.7.2 Three (3) months after joining the Executive Committee, the member shall be entitled to purchase new parts at 110% of the cost at the Bike Kitchen.
5.7.3 Six (6) months after joining the Executive Committee, the member shall have access to a small storage space (a “cubbyhole”) in the Co-op. This privilege is contingent on there being space available.
5.7.4 Three (3) months after joining the Executive Committee, the member shall be entitled to a door code and an alarm code for out-of-hours access to the Co-op.
5.7.5 The Executive Committee may suspend these privileges by way of a resolution supported unanimously by the Executive Officers in attendance at an Executive Meeting, excluding the member in question, in the case that a member is not fulfilling their duties and responsibilities, abusing their privileges, or otherwise acting against the interests of the Co-op.
BYLAW 6: PORTFOLIOS
6.1 Portfolios define specific duties and responsibilities that need to be fulfilled for the Co-op to run effectively and efficiently.
6.2 Each Board Member at Large shall be given at least one (1) Portfolio upon their joining the Executive Committee contingent on there being a Portfolio available.
6.3 Members of the Executive Committee may take on additional Portfolios as required.
6.4 Employees of the Co-op may also take on Portfolios.
6.5 If a Portfolio is unassigned, it must be assigned at the next meeting of the board.
6.6 All Portfolios are to be defined in the Policy Document.
6.7 Each Program shall have a Portfolio associated with it. The person to whom the Portfolio is assigned shall be responsible for the administration, operation, and evaluation of the program. They are also responsible for the Program following their relevant section of the Policy document.
BYLAW 7: PROGRAMS
7.1 There shall be two (2) permanent programs of the Co-op:
7.1.1 The Bike Kitchen shall be a full-service bike shop providing service to the community by performing general repairs, selling refurbished bikes, renting bikes, and providing a space for customers to repair their own bikes.
The manager of the Bike Kitchen shall take on the Portfolio of Bike Kitchen Representative. The Bike Kitchen Representative is responsible for informing the Executive Committee of important happenings of the Bike Kitchen and providing a financial report to the Executive Committee during each academic term (Summer, Fall, and Winter). They, with the Bike Kitchen Liaison, facilitate communication between the Co-op and the Bike Kitchen.
A more detailed description, including operating procedures is provided in the Policy document.
7.1.2 The Purple and Yellow Bike program shall be a cost-free bike share provided by the Co-op and supported by volunteer labour. A more detailed description is provided in the Policy document.
7.2 Program Policy
7.2.1 Each program must be described in detail in a section of the Policy document.
7.2.2 Each program must have a Portfolio as required in Bylaw 6.7, and this Portfolio must be described in detail in the Policy document. Programs with unassigned Portfolios are considered halted until the Portfolio can be assigned to a suitable Executive Officer or employee.
7.2.3 The section of the Policy document dealing with each program shall contain:
a) the full name of the program,
b) the name and description of the Portfolio for the program,
c) the goals of the program,
d) the ways in which the goals shall be achieved,
e) a description of typical activities, including special events over a suitable timescale,
f) a budget of expenditures and revenues,
g) a description of criteria for evaluating the success or failure of the program, and
h) any other relevant information about the operation of the program.
7.3 Creating New Programs
7.3.1 A new program is created when
a) a complete and final proposal for the eventual section of the Policy document has been presented at a Executive meeting,
b) the proposal has been reviewed and approved by the Executive Committee, and
c) the Portfolio for the new program has been assigned to a Executive Officer or an employee.
7.4 Evaluation of Programs
7.4.1 The person to whom a Program Portfolio has been assigned shall, from time to time, evaluate the success of the program according to the Policy document as required by Bylaws 6.7 and 7.2.3g.
7.4.2 The Vice-President shall, from time to time, audit Programs to ensure that their operations are as outlined in their section of the Policy document.
7.4.3 Programs failing their evaluation criteria or failing to comply with their Policy shall be considered halted. This halt shall endure until a solution can be found by one of two methods:
a) altering the operation of the program within the confines of the Policy, which can be done without intervention from the Executive Committee, or
b) altering the Policy to conform to the reality of the operation of the program, which must be done by the Executive Committee as per Bylaw 14.
BYLAW 8: PROCEDURE
8.1 All meetings shall remain unstructured but civil, with participants making every effort to allow others to speak, while still allowing the meeting to progress in an efficient manner.
8.2 Decisions at meetings will be made upon reaching a consensus, and where no consensus is possible, by majority rule.
8.3 Any issues which cannot be resolved under the previous two sections shall be discussed at a meeting governed by Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.
8.4 Any further discrepancies shall be decided by the AMS Student Council, which is the final authority.
BYLAW 9: MEMBERSHIP FEES
9.1 Fees shall not be refundable under any circumstances
9.2 The Executive Committee may amend the fees at the first Executive meeting of the winter session, but the amendment shall not be valid unless passed by the SAC.
9.3 The amount of membership fees shall be recommended by the Executive to the membership and voted on at General Meetings by the membership.
9.4 Associate membership fees shall be at least fifty percent (50%) more than the Regular membership fees.
9.5 Honorary membership fees shall be zero (0) dollars.
BYLAW 10: BUDGET
10.1 In accordance with the AMS Bylaw 13(6), all funds shall be remitted to the Finance Commission by May 30th.
10.2 An annual report including a statement of proposed expenditures and expected revenues shall be submitted to the Finance Commission along with the budget.
BYLAW 11: INTERPRETATION
11.1. Nothing in these bylaws shall be interpreted in a manner contradictory to the AMS Constitution, Code, rules, regulations or policies enacted from time to time by the Alma Mater Society.
11.2 If members deem that the elected Executive Officers have acted outside the bounds of the constitution, they shall either:
a) report the infraction to a suitable officer of the SAC, or
b) propose an amendment to the Constitution clarifying the issue.
BYLAW 12: BIKE REGULATIONS
11.1 Members are responsible for operating Co-op bikes in a safe and cautious manner.
11.2 Members are responsible for providing their own helmets if bikes are to be operated on public streets.
11.3 Co-op bikes may only be used on campus which includes the Academic Core, the Village, and the South Campus. Co-op bikes may not be taken “down the hill” without special approval.
11.4 Members are responsible for properly locking Co-op bicycles in a safe and visible location.
11.5 Co-op bikes locked with a lock not belonging to the Co-op will be deemed stolen property and will be recovered without notice.
BYLAW 13: MEMBERSHIP REVOCATION
13.1 Members who abuse the bikes, use more than one bike at a time, steal bikes, or in any other way infringe on the purpose of the Co-op, lose membership in the Co-op.
13.2 Reinstatement will occur only with special permission of the Executive Committee.
BYLAW 14: POLICY DOCUMENT
14.1 The Co-op shall maintain a Policy document corollary to the Constitution and Bylaws. The contents of the Policy document shall be:
a) Program and portfolio definitions,
b) descriptions of operating procedures for both regular and exceptional events,
c) official position statements of the Co-op, and
d) agreements made with other organizations.