Town of Standish, ME Article XV Old Red Church

§ 3-59 Title.

This governing board of a historic site shall be known as the "Trustees of the First Parish Meetinghouse," hereafter referred to as "The Old Red Church."

§ 3-60 Purpose.

The purpose of this Board shall be the responsibility for financing the maintenance, repair and use of the Old Red Church to ensure that the property is maintained in its historic condition and used in a manner appropriate to its historic importance as the second meetinghouse of the First Parish Congregational Church and later as the First Unitarian Church with the upstairs used as Standish High School.

§ 3-61 Membership; voting.

A. Membership. There shall be a Board of Trustees of 15 members, all of whom shall be residents of the Town of Standish. Trustees shall be appointed by a majority eight of the Board of Trustees. In addition, the Town Council shall appoint an ex officio member to serve as a liaison between the Board and the Town Council. Terms of members shall be for five years.

B. Voting. Each individual appointed as a Trustee shall be entitled to one vote.

§ 3-62 Officers.

A. The members of the Board shall annually elect a Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

B. In the event of a vacancy occurring during a term, the remaining officers shall poll the Trustees to elect a replacement to serve the remainder of the term.

§ 3-63 Meetings.

A. Meetings shall be Annual, Regular and Special.

B. There shall be an Annual Meeting once a year, held on the regular meeting day with mailed notice one week in advance, said meeting to be held between May 1 and July 1 each year.

C. Regular Meetings shall be held once a month from April through October of each year, on the day of the month selected at the Annual Meeting and stated in the minutes of that meeting.

D. Special Meetings may be called at any other time during the year by action of the Chairperson or, in his/her absence, by any three Trustees. Verbal notice shall be given to the members of the Board of Trustees of such call for a special meeting.

§ 3-64 Quorum.

A. A quorum for any meeting shall consist of five members in good standing.

B. In the event that less than a quorum of such Trustees are in attendance, the Chairperson may telephone absent Trustees to come to the meeting. Failing to reach the required quorum, the Chairperson shall adjourn the meeting to another date and notify all absent members.

§ 3-65 Attendance of Trustees.

Regular attendance at meetings shall be a duty of all who accept appointment as Trustee of the Old Red Church. Failure to attend three consecutive meetings shall be considered as a significant lack of interest in the projects of the Old Red Church and unless for illness or major reason, such continued absence may result in said Trustee being placed in an inactive status or being dropped from the Board of Trustees at the discretion of a majority eight of the Board of Trustees.

§ 3-66 Duties of officers.

A. The Chair shall preside at all meetings and shall appoint chairs for standing committees as needed.

B. The Secretary shall record the minutes of all meetings and give a verbal report at each meeting of progress made on business previously discussed. The minutes shall be read and corrected or approved as read. The Secretary shall prepare and mail notices of the Annual Meeting, one week in advance of that meeting. The Secretary shall maintain a record of all correspondence and contracts. The Secretary shall be responsible for submitting a report to the Town Council each year for the Town's annual report.

C. The Treasurer shall be responsible for receiving and expending all funds and shall furnish regular reports at meetings showing moneys received and expenditures made, together with a statement of all invested money and checking account balances. A copy of this report shall be furnished to the Secretary and recorded in minutes of the meeting. The Treasurer shall submit necessary financial information as requested by the Town Council. The Treasurer shall invest and/or deposit money under the direction of the Trustees. The Hasty Fund shall be maintained by the Town with interest paid annually to the Board of Trustees. Funds raised by the Board of Trustees shall be expended at the sole discretion of Board of Trustees.

§ 3-67 Committees.

A. Fund Raising Committee for each year shall consist of the Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and other members of the Trustee to be appointed by the Chairperson. The principal source of funds shall be the continuation of the Annual Crafts Fair on Thanksgiving weekend.

B. Maintenance Committee. There shall be two Trustees appointed by the Chairperson to keep an active survey of any exterior or interior work that needs to be done and to bring proposals before a meeting of the Board of Trustees for action.

C. Church Service Committee. The Chairperson shall appoint two Trustees to work with him/her in planning a summer service so that the requirement that the meetinghouse be open to the public during July and/or August for at least one annual religious service be met. The Old Red Church shall be open for services by any established local religious organization.

D. Nominating committee consisting of three members of the Board of Trustees shall be appointed by the Chairperson at the Annual Meeting each year. The purpose of this Committee shall be to present the names of proposed officers for the coming year at the Annual Meeting. Any Trustee may make additional nominations from the floor. This Committee shall be appointed at each annual meeting for the following year.

§ 3-68 Other uses of the Old Red Church.

A. The church shall be available for weddings and other appropriate displays or activities at a fee to be decided upon by the Trustees.

B. The upstairs rooms of the church building shall continue to be used exclusively by the Standish Historical Society for the purpose of a private museum open to the public.