Onion River Co-op Members

The Board of Directors is fresh off from their yearly retreat, where they focused on goals for the coming year or more.  The Board spent time working with a guest consultant who specializes in helping co-ops with their by-laws.

A Letter to Members, from Susan Munkres, Board President:
By-laws are an important part of the Co-op’s foundation. They define the democratic structure of a co-op and provide general rules for its governance. They are intended to be both flexible enough to respond to changing conditions and accessible enough to allow members to understand their rights and responsibilities as owners of the co-op. (Of course, they also need to be consistent with state statutes and other laws.)

We are currently planning to present revised by-laws at the Fall Co-op Member Meeting and on the ballot of the annual election that follows that meeting. 

Our by-laws were last revised ten years ago, and there has been talk of revising them ever since they were approved. We decided to tackle the challenge of revising them this year.  

Our goals for revising our by-laws include:
1)  Making the language as simple and clear as possible
2)  Clarifying several issues with unambiguous language
3)  Simplifying by not repeating information given elsewhere, and
4)  Creating by-laws that “stand the test of time.”

For this last goal, we are particularly concerned with creating by-laws flexible enough to respond to changes in communication technology:  for example, requiring a “mailed” ballot limits the Co-op’s options in encouraging people to vote in elections. 

I will be reporting on our progress through the next months. All of us on the Board hope that you will contact us if you would like to know more, or if you have thoughts on the by-laws that you would like to share. Our email addresses or phone numbers are posted at the entryway of the Co-op and in every Onion Skin newsletter. My email is susan.munkres@gmail.com, and I welcome messages from Co-op members. 

You are also always welcome to come to our Board meetings, which are from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. on the fourth Monday of each month. We include in every meeting some time for members to share ideas or ask questions, and members are welcome to stay for the entire meeting.