By-Laws of the CCWC

Washington County

Arts, Heritage and Humanities Coalition

Bylaws

Article 1. Purpose

Section 1. The Washington County Arts, Heritage and Humanities Coalition was created

by the Board of County Commissioners for the purpose of distributing funds from the

Oregon Cultural Trust to address the priorities of the Washington County Cultural Plan.

To that end, the Washington County Arts, Heritage and Humanities Coalition (Coalition)

shall serve as an advisory body to the Board of County Commissioners to promote the

cultural identity, quality of life and economic vitality of Washington County and its arts,

heritage and humanities organizations.

Section 2. The responsibilities of the Coalition shall be to:

a) Promote public awareness of and participation in arts, heritage and humanities

organizations and events in Washington County though development of a countywide

cultural plan which shall be reviewed and updated on a bi-annual basis;

b) Administer funds received from the Oregon Cultural Trust and other sources;

c) Establish administrative policies and bylaws for the Coalition, and recommend

appointment of a fiscal agent for funds and grant management;

d) Develop guidelines and policies for granting funds consistent with the goals of the

Cultural Plan;

e) Encourage cultural learning by enhancing young people’s access to and

participation in art, heritage, and humanities events and opportunities in

Washington County in order to promote an understanding of culture and to aide

in fostering healthy human development;

f) Integrate art and heritage projects into public spaces throughout Washington

County;

g) Assure that there are accessible, suitable and affordable spaces for cultural

activities in Washington County;

h) Encourage comprehensive arts-focused planning efforts in Washington County

through the integration of cultural development strategies with economic

development policies;

i) Strengthen and promote local heritage organizations, sites, landscapes,

collections, exhibits, folklore, research and education programs for the purpose of

preserving local history;

j) Integrate the County’s historical roots with its modern ethnic diversity to promote

social connectedness and understanding;

k) Identify and support existing cultural organizations, scholars, artists, historians

and facilities;

l) Recruit leaders who will promote the integration of arts, heritage and humanities

in Washington County; and

m) Advocate for additional public and private funding and resources to implement

the goals of the Cultural Plan.

Article II Membership

Section 1. The Board of County Commissioners, through the Board’s Rules and

Procedures, will appoint the Coalition members to the Washington County Arts, Heritage

and Humanities Coalition. The Coalition will be comprised of not less than nine (9) and

not more than fifteen (15) members, representing the geographic diversity of Washington

County, as well as a broad range of business, education, and arts, heritage and humanities

organizations located within Washington County. Members shall reside in Washington

County or be members of a business or organization significantly involved in arts,

heritage or humanities activities in the County.

Section 2. Terms of appointment shall be three years. The initial slate of members shall

be appointed to staggered terms by the Board of County Commissioners. Thereafter, the

Coalition will recommend candidates to fill vacancies for approval by the Board of

County Commissioners. Members’ terms shall commence on January 1st and end on

December 31st. Members may only serve a maximum of two (2) terms consecutively. In

case of a resignation, a new member shall be appointed to fill the remainder of the

unfilled term.

Section 3. Recruitment of new members to fill expired or vacated positions shall be

coordinated through the Board of County Commissioners’ established process, including

announcement of vacancies, advertisement, applications, review and appointment. The

Coalition shall actively encourage application by qualified community members, and

offer recommendations for appointment to the Board of County Commissioners.

Section 4. The Board of County Commissioners will appoint at least one member of the

Board as a member of the Coalition.

Section 5. Members of the Coalition and any committees thereof shall serve without

compensation.

Article III Officers

Section 1. The officers of the Coalition shall be a Chair and Vice-Chair. The officers

shall be elected by the Coalition for a term of one year and shall serve until their

successors are elected. Vacancies shall be filled by an election of the Coalition for the

unexpired term for the vacant office.

Section 2. The Chair shall preside at all Coalition meetings, call special meetings as he

or she deems appropriate, serve as spokesperson for the Coalition, and act as liaison from

the Coalition to the Washington County staff. The Chair shall be the previous year’s

Vice-Chair.

Section 3. The Vice-Chair shall serve in the absence of the Chair, including serving as

Interim Chair is the event of a vacancy in the Chair until such time that an election can be

held.

Article IV Work Groups and Committees

Section 1. Work groups or committees shall be established and terminated as determined

by the Chair, with approval of the Coalition, based on the interests and goals of the

Coalition.

Article V. County Liaisons

Section 1. A staff liaison employed by Washington County shall be identified by

Washington County to serve as staff to the Coalition. The Staff Liaison shall assist the

Coalition in coordinating and conducting business, and be responsible for assuring

compliance with the public meeting laws, preparation of meeting notices, agenda and

minutes, maintenance of files, preparation of correspondence and other tasks for the

Coalition.

Section 2. On an occasion, other Washington County staff may be called upon to provide

information or assistance to the Coalition. Such involvement from the other County staff

will be coordinated through the Staff Liaison.

Article VI Meetings

Section 1. Regular meetings shall be held by the Coalition at the date and time agreed

upon by the majority of the Coalition. Special meetings may be called by the Chair or at

the request of three or more Coalition members.

Section 2. Notice of meetings shall be given no less than seven days in advance of a

meeting. However, should an issue of urgency arise, a meeting notice may be given

twenty-four hours in advance of a meeting. Meetings shall be held at a location agreed

upon by the Coalition, and shall be accessible to persons with disabilities.

Section 3. A quorum shall consist of a majority of Coalition members. Any formal

action of the Coalition shall be taken with a majority vote by a quorum of the

membership.

Section 4. Each member of the Coalition is entitled to one vote. The Staff Liaison is not

a voting member of the Coalition.

Section 5. In the event that urgent business must be transacted between regularly

scheduled meetings, a vote of the membership may be taken by electronic mail. To be

considered a valid vote, 80% of all Coalition members must participate.

Section 6. Questions of procedure not addressed by the bylaws shall be in accordance

with the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.

Article VII Rules of Conduct

Section 1. Individual Coalition members may represent or speak on behalf of the

Coalition to the public, to the Washington County Board of Commissioners, or to other

groups only with the authorization of the Coalition, made by a motion at a regular

meeting.

Section 2. In the event that a Coalition member engages in business with the County that

could present a potential conflict of interest with matters within the Coalition’s purpose,

such member will declare the potential conflict of interest and refrain from voting on any

such matters.

Section 3. A member unable to attend a scheduled meeting shall notify the Staff Liaison

in order to be issued an excused absence. At the discretion of the Chair, three unexcused

absences may result in dismissal from the Coalition. Replacement members will be

appointed to the Coalition by the County Board of Commissioners following the

County’s adopted procedures for advertising, recruitment, review and appointment of

residents to boards and commissions.

Article VIII. Amendments

Section 1. These bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the Coalition members at

a regular meeting. The Washington County Board of Commissioners shall give final

approval to an amendment to these bylaws.

Section 2. These bylaws shall be reviewed on an annual basis.

Approved by the Coalition:

Signature, Name of Chair

Date

Approved by the Board of Commissioners:

Signature, Name and Title

Date

Text approved by the Washington County Arts, Heritage and Humanities Coalition

12/8/05.