Following the unsuccessful proposal of a block of revised by-laws at the February GM, the uncontroversial revisions of all but four of them will be re-presented as an ordinary resolution for approval at the April GM, as shown in the document below:
- Comment
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
Goolawah Co-op Members 
Wayne
The current by-law text, proposed text and rationale was posted on the website in November and discussed in detail with members.
Seeking new members to get involved with keeping rules, by-laws and policy current and up to date. I’m stepping down from this role after many years.
Thanks Denise, Appreciate you highlighting the amendments and giving a chance to add to the rationale.
There are 18 By-law changes in the table proposed for amendment. Many of these have been discussed but we have received a number of good questions raised since then that were agreed to put to the community as amendments.
Also, this motion includes current By-law text and the proposed text with the rationale in the motion, this was not include in the December GM and no rationale was included for each change or the old wording for comparison.
Hopefully we will receive more comments before the April GM.
Note, members can raise amendments at the GM so any serious issues can be raised and voted on as an amendment for each By-Law.
The by-law numbers for the amendment are not as specified in your comment above but I have updated below to save confusing the December motion with the new April motion. Also rationale is in the table for the motion of the Ordinary resolution
15 – “other approved toilet systems. Exceptions exist in Goolawah today and Kempsey Council must approve the systems. Hopefully this satisfies Maireads question on who approves the system and which systems as they are detailed on the Kempsey Council website.
Bylaw 8 – about herbicides – It is understood that there are exceptions. It has also been pointed out by Craig that this is a historic rule leftover when the community first started and some members at the time were inclined to use herbicide to kill large quantities of grass on their site.
Bylaw – 14 Development consent condition. It is mandatory for the owner “Goolawah Cooperative’ to consent to any DA submission. As members are not owners, the board is responsible for this action. A question has been asked as to the reason for 4 signatures on the form when only two are required by law. This is to ensure that it is a board majority who consent. Also, Peter O’Hara has pointed out an overlap between the proposed by-law 14 and 15. 14 is about owners consent to submit a DA, whereas 15 is about Council approval of a DA. But, agree, this could be consolidate into by-law 15 if worded well.
Bylaw – 20,21 and 22. This is consolidating the requirement to abide by policies into one by-law. However, as it is difficult for a member to know and then drill down from Rules, By-laws and policies to understand what is required. Although there is a graphic to help with governance on the web by including reference to the policies in the By-law this helps demonstrate the relevance of a policy. That is, it is part of a by-law and not a policy written without a rule of reference.
Hope this helps.
Hi everyone
The Feb GM minute stated “Consensus was to separate the by-law changes that were presented at the previous meeting (Dec GM), and at the April GM vote all changes excluding the following by-laws which require further discussion.’’
3. Dangerous driving of cars/motorbikes
4. Noise time frames and types of noise
6. No Cats, dogs, hoofed animals, and firearms
7. Other introduced species – includes revision of ISMP/AMP.
I understood this to mean that the remaining by-laws would be voted on as presented at the Dec GM. I just wanted to make sure members didn’t miss the Board has approved the following revisions to the by-laws presented at the Dec GM:
By-law 14 has “other approved toilet systems” added along with some minor word changes;
Note: There is new information about submitting a DA and grey water system in the top DA tab on our website.
By-law 9. has “without permission from the board or” added with regards to herbicides, pesticides, and non-biodegradable detergents; and
By-law 13 has “Consent by the board is required for all new DAs before commencement’’ added
By-law 19 has specific polices added.
I hope this helps with understanding the By-law revision table.
Thanks Mairead, good point. You are right, it needs to be clear. The intention of the change to the by-law 15 is because we do have exceptions on Goolawah and was to ensure Council approval. Happy to keep track of this comment and raise at the GM to amend the by-law such that it is not ambiguous. Is wording such as “Council approval” appropriate. I have an understanding that we (Goolawah) do not have the expertise to approve Waste management systems, but council does and we do not have the expertise not approve systems that council approve. However, we can be selective of systems that council might approve. As an example, pit toilets will not be approved by council. However, including this in the by-law is a reminder to the community that they cannot live on their site unless they have an approved toilet available or a neighbour accommodates them by providing toilet facilities.
Change No. 15 – proposed change from dry composting toilet systems to allow “other approved toilet systems” may not be seen as an “uncontroversial revision”. Other approved systems is open to interpretation: approved by who, what type of systems, non-dry composting systems?? Needs further community discussion/consultation/clarification, should not be included in this list.