ByLaws
These Bylaws extend MSC's Articles of incorporation, and the most complete set of Bylaws that will follow here will be referred to as the Policy Handbook.
MSC may plan adjustments to more elegantly adhere to the current Minnesota Statute for Cooperatives 308A in a District Structure that better fits our reality of 2 clusters of Houses with some freedom regarding expenditure from House Funds. Incorporation of a Mission Statement and provisions for accountability and long strategic planning as a highly sustainability oriented organization are desired.
We are Minnesota Cooperative number: COOP-2591, filed first on 8/21/1947 under the name Independent Mens' Co-Op, Inc., Reincorporated 12/20/1971 under the name: Minnesota Students' Co-Op, Inc. with allegedly $100,000 shares. According to visitors who stopped by 2008 to 2016, IMC's First President was Mr Nelson in 1952 when Main House was purchased with investments from most if not all the Agricultural Co-Ops in Minnesota. Mr Nelson joined as a freshman, while those who instigated IMC were returning veterans of WW2 that shared a home on Como Avenue. Initially someone's spouse cooked meals at the Main House kitchen.
After our Articles of Incorporation, and what Revisions to Bylaws passed by the 2009 Members at the Annual Meeting are deemed legally tenable
voted into Members agreement is our Membership Agreement
For now refer to the resident Booklet for the most basic policies.
The Special Interest Funds Policy provides for the Sustainability Fund and House Funds.
The Policy to create House Funds
Board of Directors Procedures:
Procedure fore Meetings without a President to Preside:
1) Any Director can Motion to call a meeting to order and any other Director can 2nd once a quorum is achieved.
2) Any Director can Motion for any Director to Preside over a meeting and any other Director can 2nd once a quorum is achieved.
3) Once established by the Members, the Board of Directors can add Directors up to the limit of 9 specified by the Articles of Incorporation, yet will seek to have 7 active Directors so that they can produce a Member quorum of 5 to deliberate vital discussions.
4) At Annual Meetings MSC tradition is to nominate all House Elected House Coordinators to the BOD, and to elect all willing by acclimation.
5) Officers are to assure MSC operations proceed smoothly between BOD meetings, and that preparations for productive meetings have been made.
Fees charge for services rendered, while fines imply punishment for breaking a rule. One can choose to pay a fee many times, but repeated fines may induce MSC to take further action.
Fines:
Each failure to adequately complete a house chore results in a $10 fine at the end of the month. Requests to delay a chore become failure to complete if not completed with extra chore time within a month. (Note that 3 such notices within 6 contiguous months results in a warning. Litter fines cost $10 per hour it takes some member to clean it up, but cleanup fees will be whatever is necessary to cover the cleanup cost.
Transactional Items:
Room Related Items:
Rental & Extra Service Items:
Locked shared Storage
Bike Rental
Per vehicle parking
Gardening
Furniture
(added Mar '15 based on past convention)
Kitchen & Office ware
(added Mar '15 based on past convention)
$5/mo
$50
varies
free
free while member,
Lent to Alumni for a fee, of which half is refunded upon return with receipt.
free while member,
Sold to non-members
non-members and members with >3cu.yd. of items in locked storage for > 2months.
If MSC has a bike in our custody for use by residents, we charge a fee and expect the borrowed bike to be returned in proper repair.
Be sure the house coordinator connects you with other gardeners to discuss your plans before digging any new or shared garden plot.
Gardeners are expected to conserve our water, and not to plant in such a manner that requires daily or otherwise significant water use. Gardeners are likewise responsible to empty all open outdoor water containers within 2 days to prevent mosquitoes.
MSC provides some furnishings for free resident use, to be returned to circulation at move-out.
Past members and friends of MSC leave various items and furnishings for free resident use. Please return highly desirable items to circulation at move-out.
Surplus gifted items, like pencils, perishable foods... can be high quality yet not worth record keeping. Simply donate to the free items or a House or other MSC fund if you like. Thank you for reusing :)
All members have a right to store stuff in shared MSC Storage. Nothing is charged for <3 Cu.Yd. of stuff while a member. They must clearly label their items with name, room ID, and a date.
$25 of this is refunded when bike is returned in good repair. The borrower is responsible to protect the bike from theft & vandalism.
Guests of members park in the lot for free except from 10am-2pm during the State Fair. This is not for use by a member's friends if using the lot to attend the UMN rather than while visiting with the member.
Residents are welcome to garden on our shared land, but must respect the rights of others. MSC's BOD can reimburse purchase costs for successfully established perennial food plants, desired perennial shade trees, and native perennial plantings that reduce maintenance efforts.
House Consensus, often delegated to a HC, may grant members permission to leave with some less used future. Particularly furniture made of particle board, or would fall apart in general use.
For a one time fee MSC can lend furniture to MSC alumni & friends with the understanding that half the fee is collatoral refunded upon return of the borrowed items. Typical fees are $5, $10, $30.
House Consensus, often delegated to the HC, can grant members permission to leave with some items at no charge if no current resident would prefer to have use of them. Price generally assumes that the item will not be returned, and receipt should indicate a buy-back price, if any, that is generally half that initially paid.
Rental & Service to Community:
Experience has shown that serving our community indirectly creates value for our members.
Knowing that MSC is ready to offer an extended payment plan to any member in good standing with a temporary cash flow problem and refund most interest or fees charged in full upon complete repayment has insurance value for most members who never need to use this privileged. Similarly student members fluidly move into the rest of our community such that our needs are not met exclusively by MSC. Students relocate for work, proximity to research, accommodation of visiting family, shifts in their home study needs as facilities related to academic roles change, and various adaptations as friends needs change. Thus facilitating transfer of various amenities, and reusable items beyond current residents more robustly serves our interest in making study oriented lifestyles affordable. By being a resource we are visible to others who may appreciate what we do enough to join as members, we gain respect that translates into tolerance and neighborly support as we face challenges, and we are more likely to discover common ground as our members share in enjoyment of many neighborhood amenities.