Ada Lake Association Constitution & By-Laws 

Below are Ada Lake Association Constitution & By-laws.  The text in red font are the proposed changes that will be voted on at the June 15th annual Members Business Meeting at 9:30 am CST at Ponto Town Hall.

The changes are in general to accomplish the following:

1. Clarify the definitions of the membership meeting.  The old by-laws had inconsistencies in the wording of these meetings.  You may want to look first at Section III. Membership Meetings and all other uses of these terms should be consistent with the wording in Section III.
2. Make clear that information provided to members may be on paper or electronic.
3. Removed specifics that the Annual Membership Meeting will be on the last Saturday of July and the Members Business Meeting will be in June.
4. Remove the amount of annual dues and state that dues will be set by the Board of Directors.
5. The old By-laws indicated that the board "may periodically indicate" a need for voluntary donations but for many years this has been an annual extra donation in addition to the annual dues.  This resulted in a slight wording change in Section IV C.

Ada Lake Association

Constitution June 8, 1996

Article I – Mission Statement

The mission of the Ada Lake Association shall be to maintain or improve the living, recreational, environmental and ecological conditions of the Ada Lake area.

Article II – Membership

Membership in the association shall be open to all persons interested in promoting the mission of the Association and with property ownership within the Ada Lake watershed.  Evidence of membership shall be payment of annual dues as established in the association by-laws.

Article III – Membership Meetings

Membership meetings shall be held in accordance with the association by-laws for the purpose of establishing association policy and objectives, updating the constitution and by-laws of the association as required, and electing officers and directors.  Each member family shall have one vote at membership meetings and decisions are by simple majority vote of the members present, with the exception of amendments to this constitution.

Article IV – Board of Directors

A Board of Directors consisting of four officers: President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, and other Directors selected from the members as established in the by-laws, shall be authorized to manage the affairs of the association in accordance with the constitution, by-laws, objectives and policy directives of the members.

Article V – Constitutional Amendments

This constitution may be altered, amended, or repealed only by a 2/3 majority vote of the members present at a membership meeting, provided notice was sent to all members of the intent to modify this constitution at least 20 days in advance of the meeting.

Ada Lake Association

By-Laws

June 15, 2024 (Revised)

I. Purpose

The purpose of the Association is to accomplish the organization’s mission through a spirit of stewardship among property owners within the Lake Ada watershed.  Specific purposes of the association in support of the mission include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Maintaining Lake Ada’s water quality.
2. Maintaining Lake Ada’s fishery.
3. Promoting the aesthetic and environmental qualities of the shoreline.
4. Working to prevent invasion of exotic plants and aquatic animals.
5. Promoting a spirit of community through an annual picnic and periodic publication of a directory of Lake Ada Property owners either electronic or on paper.
6. Maintaining a system of navigational buoys.
    

II. Board of Directors

1. Qualification: The Board of Directors shall consist of officers and other directors and shall be elected from and by members at the Annual Membership Meeting held in conjunction with an annual picnic.
2. Number: A minimum of eight, but members may elect more directors.  Remaining directors may fill vacancies by majority vote if the number drops below eight.
3. Tenure:  Each member of the Board of Directors shall stand for election at the Annual Membership Meeting and shall take office Immediately following election.
4. Nominations:  The Board of Directors shall call for nominations at the Members Business Meeting and ensure nominees are available for all positions prior to the Annual Membership Meeting.  Nominations may also be made by motion from the floor at the Annual Membership Meeting.
5. Ex officio members:  The immediate past president may serve on the Board of Directors as an ex officio member without vote for a period of one year.
6. Chairperson: The President shall serve as the chairperson of the board.
7. Meetings of the board: At least two meetings of the Board of Directors shall be called by the President and held between the months of May and October.  The President or any two board members may call a special  meeting by giving a minimum of 10 days’ notice to other board members.
8. Quorum: Three board members shall constitute a quorum, and a simple majority vote of all present officers and directors shall govern.
1. Committees: The Board of Directors may establish standing committees to undertake programs or projects in carrying out each purpose of the association as defined in these by-laws.  Other committees may be established by the board in support of policies or objectives of the members.  All committees are to include at least one board member and may include other Association members as required to fulfill their purpose.
10. Duties: To represent and promote the mission and purpose of the Association through individual actions, jointly as a board, and in committee.  Duties of officers shall include:

1. President: Preside at membership and board meetings and ensure the constitution and by-laws of the organization are being followed.
2. Vice-President: Act in the absences of the President.
3. Secretary: Publish minutes of membership and board meetings electonically or on paper.
4. Treasurer: Supervise the safekeeping of all funds and property of the Association, keep record of financial transactions and furnish periodic financial statements.

11. Terms of Office:  Terms for board members and officers are one year, board members may stand for re-election each year.  The President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be limited to a maximum of four consecutive terms.  There are no term limits for board members.  The Board of Directors, by majority vote, may extend office term limitations in cases of unusual or specialized need.

III. Membership Meetings

1. Annual Membership Meeting: The Annual Membership Meeting shall be held in conjunction with the annual picnic for members.  The location of the meeting will be announced by newsletter and/or electronic communication at least 10 days prior to the meeting.
2. Members Business Meeting: A Members Business Meeting shall be held earlier in the year in the Lake Ada area
3. Special Membership Meetings: Special Membership Meetings may be called by the President, by two board members, or by a minimum of 10% of the members, by requesting such a meeting of the Secretary at last 20 days prior to the meeting  It will be the duty of the secretary to insure notices are provided to members at least 10 days prior to the meeting
    

IV. Dues and Fees

1. Annual dues are set by the Board of Directors, payable by May of each year and are to be used in support of the mission, purpose, policies and objectives of the Association
2. The Board of Directors may establish additional fees for services or merchandise provided by the Association or vendors of the Association.
3. The Board of Directors may indicate a need for voluntary donations to meet objectives of the Association that cannot be adequately met through annual dues alone.

V. Communications: The Association shall communicate with its members through periodic newsletters and electronic communication to ensure adequate communication with members on status of objectives, education of members on issues of importance relative to the Association purpose, to encourage membership in the Association and to communicate with other organizations important to the Association purpose.  These communications may also be used to inform the lake community of events not sponsored by the Association but of interest to members.

VI. These By-Laws may be altered, amended or replaced by the members at any regular or special meeting, by a majority vote of the Association members present at such meeting.