Dates indicate the Board Meeting when the act was adopted. Refer to the minutes of the meeting to follow previous wording (if any). Recent changes and additions are:
Changes:
15-038 Annual Report (changed).
15-054 Deleted - combined with 15-038
Additions:
03-082 Project Fund Categories.
06-083 Duties of Preserve Managers.
05-084 Standards and Practices.
17-085 Lobelia Saltpeter Cave Management Committee.
17-086 Jennings Cave Management Committee.
17-087 Jennings Cave Preserve Management Plan.
17-088 Junkyard Cave Management Committee.
Chairperson: shall serve, when present, as the presiding officer at all meetings; shall coordinate the efforts of the corporation; shall function as the representative for the corporation in external matters; and shall serve as advisor to all committees.
Secretary: shall assist the chairperson in performing his duties; shall give the required notices of the Annual Meeting; Board of Directors' Meetings, and other specially called meetings of the corporation; shall maintain the office of the corporation and administer its correspondence and publications; shall prepare the reports and records required of the corporation; shall record and maintain adequate minutes of the Annual meeting, Board of Director meetings, and Executive Committee meetings; shall maintain a codified log of all corporation decisions and shall maintain conformed copies of the Articles of Incorporation, the Bylaws, and Policies; shall keep the corporate seal and shall preside at meetings in the absence of the Chairman.
Treasurer: shall maintain adequate books and records that delineate the financial status of the corporation; shall provide to the Secretary the financial data necessary for the required reports to insure proper and timely filing with all government agencies; shall take charge of all money, receivables, and payables. Each treasurer's report shall include the SCC membership count. Shall preside at meetings in the absence of the Chair and Secretary and appoint an interim Secretary for such meetings.
The terms of office for Board members shall be from July 1 to June 30.
Board members should abstain from voting on matters of business which may have a direct effect on their business interests. A Board member should not serve as chair of a committee if such position presents a conflict of interest with their business interests.
The number of Directors of the Conservancy shall be nine.
Minutes shall include only motions, disposals of motions, and other positive action taken
Only corrections relating to the content of previous minutes will be brought before the Board for their approval. This includes the tabulation of votes. Corrections dealing with typographical errors, spelling, punctuation, etc., not affecting the content of the minutes, may be presented directly to the Chair, who will relay them to the Secretary.
Minutes of closed meetings of the Board shall be included within the Board minutes in chronological order and shall report all motions and votes.
Motions without unanimous decisions shall be recorded to show how each person voted. Results may be recorded by numbers only for decisions by the body of members, and elections.
The fiscal year for the corporation shall be from May 1 to April 30.
Checks, drafts, money orders, postal notes or other negotiable instruments coming into the hands of anyone on the Board shall be promptly transmitted to the Treasurer.
The treasurer is solely responsible for all cash, checks, or other negotiable instruments intended for the SCC or its committees.
To keep the general membership informed of the financial state of the SCC, of its income and outgo, of the uses made of the expenditures, and of reasonable future expectations, the Treasurer will write an annual report of the financial position of the SCC. This report will be distributed at the annual meeting.
Non-allocated expenses are to be reimbursed as follows: Expenses less than $100 are to be submitted to the Treasurer. Expenses between $100 and $250 require Executive Committee Approval. Expenses exceeding $250 require Board approval.
The original copies of all SCC contracts and deeds shall be kept in a SCC safe deposit box under the control of the Secretary.
The Board may authorize any officer or officers, agent or agents, to enter into any contract or execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf of the corporation and such authority may be general or confined to specific instances.
The Board may authorize any officer or officers, agent or agents, to enter into any lease agreement or execute and deliver a lease in the name of and on behalf of the corporation and such authority may be general or confined to specific instances.
The Board may authorize any officer or officers, agent or agents to negotiate loans. No loan shall be contracted on behalf of the corporation and no evidences of indebtedness shall be issued in its name unless authorized by a resolution of the Board. Such authority may be general or confined to specific instances.
The Treasurer shall be empowered to write checks up to $2000 on a single signature; sums greater than $2000 must have two signatures.
A stewardship fund shall be established at 10% of the market value of all preserves. All interest from bank accounts will be added to the fund at the end of the financial year. An additional $1,000 per year will be added from the general budget.
An operating reserve fund shall be established with a minimum balance of $3,000. Board approval is required to withdraw funds from the reserve.
A restricted fund shall be established and shall contain sufficient funds to make required payments on debts, excluding balloon payments, for three months, and shall only be used to maintain solvency should all other funds be exhausted.
Donations may be designated for a specific project. Such funds are to be used only in the furtherance of the designated project. If the project is not completed, donation of $100 or more are to be returned tot he donor, unless the donor gives permission for the funds to be applied to another project. Designated donation of less than $100 will not be returned, but will go into the general fund for use on other projects. If surplus funds remain after completion of a project, they till go into the general fund for use on other projects.
Project fund Categories and Completion (or cancellation) of projects are to be determined by the Executive Committee or the Board of Directors.
Charter memberships shall be $10.00. Charter memberships will be sold until April 30, 1992.
After the expiration of the Charter membership period there shall be one class of membership, with the same dues for all members.
Dues shall be due May 1. Dues will not be refunded or prorated.
The permanent address for the corporation shall be in LaFayette, Georgia, at the residence of Diane Cousineau.
Operating practices shall be as specified in the Land Trust Alliance's Standards and Practices Manual
Committees are created and dissolved by action of the Board of Directors and shall report to the Board. Committee Chairs are appointed by the Board Chair and should refer to the Chair for assistance. The Committee Chair appoints committee members.
Management of SCC Preserves shall be as specified in the SCCi Preserve Manager's Duties.
All ballots will be secret.
Only members who are current in dues and eligible to vote will receive ballots. New members admitted to the SCC after the ballots are mailed or distributed will not receive ballots.
A nominating committee shall conduct SCC elections in accordance with the Policy for the Conduct of Elections.
A closed portion of each Board meeting may be scheduled and included in the meeting agenda.
Acts of the Board that establish policies and procedure of a duration such that they terminate prior to the following Board meeting will not be added to the policy manual unless by order of the Board at the time of adoption of the act. All other acts of finite expiration will be included in the policy manual.
An agenda will be followed for Board meetings. The agenda will be standardized to style and format.
Board meetings will be scheduled quarterly, on weekends, and at locations geographically central to the TAG area.
In the event all Officers are absent the remaining Directors shall appoint an interim Chairperson and Secretary from the quorum.
Proxies are not allowed.
All changes to the bylaws or articles of incorporation shall clearly indicate which document is being amended and exactly which paragraphs are affected. The complete revised wording shall be included in the motion, and when the motion is printed the old words shall be crossed through, and where necessary, the new words underlined.
The SCC mailing list will be made available by the SCC to SCC officials and groups for their use in SCC or internal organization related business or activities. The SCC Board may approve the use of the mailing list by non-SCC organizations if such use is in the best interest of the SCC. Upon such approval the mailing list may be made available to: a) conservation and education organizations; b) state and federal agencies for cave related use; c) commercial suppliers and/or manufacturers of caving related products. The mailing list will be made available at no charge to all SCC officers, internal organizations and permanent committees; and upon Board approval to nonprofit organizations and state and federal agencies; upon Board approval for commercial use of the mailing list, the list will be made available for a fee. The SCC will develop a method to allow SCC members to keep their names off any bulk mailing list sold.
The membership list is copyrighted. It is therefore not to be used by unauthorized concerns.
The mailing list is to include the NSS Library, the NSS Conservation & Management Committee, all southeastern Grottos, the NSS News newsletter reviewer, and the Speleo-Digest editor.
Members of the Conservancy who fail to pay dues or other debts to the Conservancy within one month of rendering bills or upon expiration of the membership, whichever is later, shall be dropped from membership.
If a check is returned for inadequate funds, the signator of the check is not a member.
If a membership number is assigned at the time a check is received, and that check is later returned, the assigned number will be voided and will not be reassigned.
Application for membership may be made only on the form appearing in the official SCC membership brochure, on a facsimile thereof, or on other forms approved by the Board which are in conformance with all policies and acts of the SCC.
Gift memberships or renewals may be given by SCC members in good standing. Ordinary membership rates apply.
Where the goals of the SCC are served by association with a coalition of organizations, and no obligation is assumed through this association that is contrary to the articles of incorporation or bylaws of the SCC, the Conservancy will seek to become a part of said coalition. The representative(s) to the coalition shall be approved by the Board.
All reimbursements for payment must clearly and in detail state for what the money or payment requested was spent. These requisitions will be retained by the Treasurer as part of the records.
The budget for the next fiscal year shall be approved by the Board at its fall meeting. The proposed budget shall be submitted to the Board including projected income and expenses for the following three (3) fiscal years, proposed transfers from the operating budget to restricted funds, proposed capital budget, and a cash flow analysis.
The Chairperson and Treasurer are responsible for developing and presenting a budget which shall be presented at the fall Board Meeting
The logo shown is the official logo of the SCC and will be used by the conservancy for official purposes.
The use of the SCC name, initials, and/or logo is subject to control of the Board.
The adoption of symbolic devices is subject to the approval of the Board.
The annual report shall be distributed at the annual meeting. It shall include: Treasurer's report; statement of activities; and the attendance recorded of Board members.
The newsletter is to be published three times a year and distributed in August, November and February. The annual report is to be distributed in May.
Acquisition of Cave Property by the Conservancy shall be conducted in accordance with the Guidelines defined by the Board.
The management of the Howard's Waterfall Cave property shall be as specified in the SCC Howard's Waterfall Cave Management Plan.
The management of the Howard's Waterfall Cave property shall be the responsibility of the Howard's Waterfall Cave Management Committee.
The management of the Surprise Pit property shall be as specified in the SCC Surprise Pit Management Plan.
The management of the Neversink Pit property shall be as specified in the SCC Neversink Pit Management Plan.
The management of the Glove Pit property shall be the responsibility of the Glove Pit Management Committee.
The management of the Glove Pit property shall be as specified in the SCC Glove Pit Management Plan.
The management of the Glove Pit property shall be the responsibility of the Neversink Pit Management Committee.
The management of the Kennamer Cave property shall be the responsibility of the Kennamer Cave Management Committee.
The management of the Kennamer Cave property shall be as specified in the SCC Kennamer Cave Management Plan.
The management of the South Pittsburg Pit property shall be the responsibility of the South Pittsburg Pit Management Committee.
The management of the Gourdneck Cave property shall be the responsibility of the Gourdneck Cave Management Committee.
The management of the Frick's Cave property shall be the responsibility of the Frick's Cave Management Team. The Team shall consist of a person who has an on-site presence, a person who has the appropriate Haz-Mat and Bio-Hazard training for safe entry , a bat scientist or expert, a salamander scientist or expert, and a designated member of the SCC Board to serve as liaison with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
The management of the Frick's Cave property shall be as specified in the SCC Frick's Cave Management Plan.
The management of the Fern Cave property shall be the responsibility of the Fern Cave Management Committee.
The management of the Gourdneck Cave property shall be as specified in the SCC Gourdneck Cave Management Plan.
The management of the South Pittsburg Pit property shall be as specified in the SCC South Pittsburg Pit Management Plan.
The management of the Fox Mountain property shall be as specified in the SCC Fox Mountain Management Plan.
The management of the Horse Skull / Jack's Hole property shall be as specified in the SCC Horse Skull / Jack's Hole Management Plan.
The management of the William Halliday Cave Preserve property shall be the responsibility of the Logsdon Committee of the Nashville Grotto of the National Speleological Society
The management of the William Halliday Cave Preserve property shall be as specified in the Nashville Grotto's (of the National Speleological Society) Cave Management Plan.
The management of the Fox Mountain property shall be the responsibility of the Fox Mountain Management Committee.
The management of the Horse Skull / Jack's Hole property shall be the responsibility of the Horse Skull / Jack's Hole Management Committee.
The management of the Swirl Canyon property shall be the responsibility of the Swirl Canyon Management Committee.
The management of the Lobelia Saltpeter Cave property shall be the responsibility of the Lobelia Saltpeter Cave Management Committee.
The management of the Jennings Cave property shall be the responsibility of the Jennings Cave Management Committee.
The management of the Jennings Cave property shall be as specified in the SCC Jennings Cave Management Plan.
The management of the Junkyard Cave property shall be the responsibility of the Junkyard Cave Management Committee.
Recognition of Corporate sponsors shall be conducted in accordance with the Program defined by the Board.
Volunteers at the TAG Fall Cave-In are to be recognized with a Certificate of Appreciation.
Note: see SCC Bylaws, Article V, Section 10 for Bylaws pertaining to this category.
Business conducted by email shall be in accordance with the Procedure defined by the Board.