Active Association Bylaws
THE OLD LYME SHORES BEACH ASSOCIATION
OLD LYME, CONNECTICUT
BYLAWS
(As Adopted December 3, 2005)
ARTICLE I
General
Sec. 1. The following shall supercede all Bylaws previously adopted by the Board of Governors
of the Old Lyme Shores Beach Association , shall become effective on and after August 26,
2005, until amended, as hereinafter set forth.
ARTICLE II
Meetings of Members
Sec. 1. Any meeting of the members of the Association may be held at any place, within the limits
of the Town of Old Lyme, in the State of Connecticut, as designated in the call of such meeting.
Sec. 2. All public meetings of the Association, other than the annual meeting, shall be
announced by the secretary of said Association either in writing delivered to all members or by
posting notification publicly within boundaries of the Association. The method used is at the
discretion of the secretary with approval of the Board of Governors.
Sec. 3. All persons who are over twenty-one years of age, who own or may own any land within
said limits shall, while they continue to be owners of such land, be members of The Old Lyme
Shores Beach Association, shall be entitled to vote at any meeting of said Association and shall
be eligible to hold office in said Association. Joint owners of any freehold interest in any land
within said limits shall be considered for voting purposes, as one member of said Association.
Husbands, wives or domestic partners as defined under Connecticut State Law of said owners
shall be members of said Association but shall not be empowered to vote at any meeting of said
Association except as proxies for said owners. The Secretary of the Association shall solicit,
annually, the names of the proxy voters from each owner. Each owner is entitled to the
appointment of one proxy designee, and the proxy designee who is voting for the owner must be
a member of the association.
ARTICLE III
Board of Governors
Sec. 1. The Board of Governors shall have the power to choose, appoint, and employ such
employees and agents as it may deem the interests of the Association may require. All such
employees and agents shall be subject to the order of the Board and shall hold their offices at
the pleasure of the Board, and may be removed at any time by the Board at its discretion.
Employees and agents shall continue to hold office until their successors have been duly
designated by the Board, or until their services have been terminated by the Board. No member
of the board can serve as an employee or agent of the Board while serving as a member of the
Board of Governors.
Sec.2. the Board of Governors may appoint and remove security personnel to act within the limits
of said Association, who shall have the powers and duties assigned to them by the Board.
Sec. 3. The Board of Governors may fix a penalty for each violation of any by-law, ordinance or
regulation of not more than twenty five dollars per day.
Sec. 4. All regular meetings of the Board of Governors may be held at such time and place as
the Board may determine in accordance with the provisions of the Connecticut Freedom of
Information Act.
Sec. 5. Special meetings of the Board of Governors may be held at any place upon the call of
the President or upon the call of any three or more members of the Board of Governors. Notice
of each meeting shall be given in accordance with the provisions of the Connecticut Freedom of
Information Act.
Sec. 6. The Board of Governors shall have the authority to seek professional advice and
services on behalf of the Association as needed, including but not limited to, engineering, legal
opinion, land surveying, etc. These costs shall be borne by the Association except in the case of
misuse of Association property by a member. In that instance, the costs shall be borne by the
offending member.
Sec. 7. Unless and until otherwise specified by the Board of Governors, a majority of the
members of the Board of Governors at the time in office shall constitute a quorum. All questions
shall be decided by a vote of a majority of the voting members of the Board of Governors present
at any meeting thereof.
Sec. 8. Executive Session: The Board of Governors may hold an executive session in
accordance with state law, at which the public is excluded, upon an affirmative vote of two-thirds
of the members present and voting. Said vote shall be taken at the public meeting of the board,
and the reason for the executive session shall be stated at the time of the vote.
Sec. 9. Committees: The Board of Governors shall annually appoint standing committees to
advise the Board with respect to assigned areas of responsibility, and may appoint ad hoc
committees for specific short-term purposes. All committees shall be advisory to the Board and
may not act for the Board unless expressly authorized by the Board to do so.
Sec. 10. Parliamentary Authority: The rules contained in Robert’s Rule’s of Order (latest
edition) shall govern the Board in all cases to which they are applicable but not inconsistent with
these bylaws.
Sec. 11. The Board of Governors shall maintain, through the Secretary of the Association, all
records for a period of not more than seven years, or in accordance with accepted business
practices and or federal and state law.
ARTICLE IV
Officers
Sec. 1. The officers of the Association shall consist of a President and a Vice-President, who
shall be President and Vice-President, respectively, of the Board of Governors, and a Secretary,
Treasurer, and a Tax Collector.
Sec. 2. The president shall preside at board meetings but shall not have the same right to vote
as the other members of the board, except in the instance of a tie vote, in which case the
president may vote to break the tie vote. The Vice President shall act in the absence of the
president. In the absence of a president or vice president, the board shall elect a temporary
president. The secretary shall be responsible for records of proceedings of the board and their
custodianship. In the absence of a secretary, the president may appoint a temporary secretary
who shall act as and perform all the duties of the secretary. In addition to the duties specified
herein, and such other powers and duties as the Board of Governors may prescribe, each officer
shall generally have the powers and perform the duties which by law and general usage
appertain to his or her particular office.
Sec. 3. Written notice of the year’s tax rate and of the amount apportioned to each member of
the association shall be sent by the tax collector on or before the first of July, after the annual
meeting when the year’s mill rate is determined, and such tax shall be due and payable not later
than the first of the following September, and, if such tax is not paid when due, it shall bear
interest at the rate of six percent per annum from the date when it was so payable. The tax
collector shall have all the powers of collectors of town taxes and shall pay over the taxes as soon
as collected to the treasurer of the Association. Each such tax, if not paid when due, shall be a
lien upon the property upon which it shall be laid and may be collected by suit in the name of the
Association by foreclosure of such lien. Such lien may be continued by certificate, which shall be
recorded in the land records of Old Lyme, pursuant to the provisions of the general statutes
relating to the continuance of tax liens.
ARTICLE V
Amendments
Sec.1. These Bylaws may be altered, amended, added to or repealed at any regular meeting of
the Board of Governors, provided that a copy of such amendment shall have been provided to
board members at least ten days prior to such meeting.
Sec. 2. If any by-laws or regulation adopted by THE OLD LYME SHORES BEACH
ASSOCIATION or their Board of Governors shall conflict with any valid ordinance of the town of
Old Lyme, the ordinance of said town shall prevail. Any tax lien levied by said town of Old Lyme
on property within the limits of this association shall have priority over any lien for taxes levied on
the same property by said association.