Rules of Procedure

Fremont Parks & Recreation Commission

RULES OF PROCEDURE FREMONT PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION

SECTION I:  PURPOSE

MISSION STATEMENT:  Dedicated to planning & providing recreational activities through open space and facilities for the Fremont Community including children, adults and senior citizens.

These rules of Procedure describe the duties and methods of operation of the Fremont Parks & Recreation Commission.

SECTION II:  ORGANIZATION

A)  RESPONSIBILITIES OF MEMBERS:

All members shall make every effort to attend each scheduled meeting.

Members of the Commission have authority only when acting as a Commission, legally in session. The Commission shall not be bound by any action or statement of any individual member, except when such statement or action is pursuant to instructions from the Commission.

B)  OFFICERS:

ELECTION – A Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall be elected at the first regularly scheduled meeting following the swearing in of members elected at the annual Town meeting.  Election shall be by majority vote of those present at the first meeting after town elections.

DUTIES – The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Commission and perform all duties required by law.

In the absence of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson shall preside and assume all duties and responsibilities of the Chair.  The Secretary shall record all of the meetings.  In the event, Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson can not attend meeting, a board member will be appointed to run the meeting.

SECTION III: RULES OF ORDER

A)  QUORUM

A quorum shall consist of three (3) members of the Commission.  The Commission consists of five (5) members; appointed by the Select Board.  All members are considered voting members.

B)  AGENDA

      Shall be published with meeting notice and included with the minutes binder. A suggested agenda is provided below.  It may change by the Chair or by vote of the Commission.

Call to Order

Announcements.

Approval of Minutes

Old Business/Tabled and Pending.

New Business

Adjournment by 8:00 pm, unless by unanimous vote by members present.

Persons, wishing to place an item on the agenda must notify the Chairperson before the agenda setting deadline which is 12:00 Noon the day before the scheduled meeting.  If the person is going to make a presentation, s/he must provide a copy of all presentation material and documentation for all Commission members.

C)  ROLE OF THE CHAIRPERSON:   The Chairperson's duties are as follows:

To open the session at the time at which the Parks & Recreation Commission is to meet by calling the members to order.

To announce the business before the Commission in the order in which it is to be acted upon.

To state and put to vote all the questions which are regularly called or necessarily arise in the course of the proceedings, and to announce the result of the vote.

To authenticate by his/her signature, when necessary, all acts, orders, and proceedings as directed      by vote of the Commission.

D)        CONDUCT OF MEETINGS:

Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with generally accepted practices of order and decorum. In the event of a dispute regarding procedural matters, Roberts Rules of Order shall serve as a guideline with a vote of the Parks & Recreation Commission being the final deciding authority.

Comments which are not addressing the business on the agenda shall be limited to two minutes with as much time as the Commission shall require for questions and answers.

Discussions which are conducted in a disorderly or disrespectful manner, shall be ruled out of order. The Chairperson shall take whatever action is necessary to achieve and maintain order, including ordering the removal of any person who continues disorderly conduct.

Presentations to the Commission may be limited to 15 minutes if the presenter did not acquire permission prior to the meeting by the chairman for an extended timeframe.

Any member of the public present shall be allowed to speak during public comment.

If public comment for New or Old Business has not been opened during the current meeting, any member of the public may request a public comment period before a vote by the Commission by a point of order.

If ten members of the public have commented or greater than 30 minutes of public comment have elapsed about a single agenda item, the Chairperson may limit public comment to final remarks which shall be not more than 2 minutes for each member of the public present and wishing to speak.

E)   RECORDING OF VOTES:

      The vote of each member present shall be recorded. 

F)   REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION:

      Requests for information from Commission Members, between meetings, should be made to the Chairperson which shall relay requests to the Town Administrator and specify if the information is needed before or at the next meeting. Any information provided shall be provided to the entire Commission.

G) Electronic Attendance:

In accordance with RSA 91:2-A II, a member of the Parks & Recreation Commission can attend a meeting electronically via conference call via cell phone or other electronic communication subject to the following provisions:

Member’s electronic attendance must be arranged with the Chairman by noon the day prior to the meeting

The electronic attendee must be able to hear all the discussion on an issue including questions/comment from the general public and vice versa.

All votes, when there are members attending electronically, must be by roll call.

SECTION IV: Minutes

A) An official copy of the records is to be filed in the Select Board's Office and open to inspection by any person at reasonable times.  Recording Secretary has one week to email minutes to Board and Town Hall (Heidi Carlson).  A Recording Secretary shall record the essentials, called "the minutes" of the proceedings as follows:

Time and place of meeting.

The presence/absence of Board members.

Whether the minutes of the previous meeting were approved or amended.

A brief, written record of the general topics discussed.

All main motions and points of order and appeals, whether sustained or lost.

Record of any votes by the Parks & Recreation Commission.

The hour of adjournment.

All provisions of the NH Right to Know Law shall be followed (NH RSA 91-A).

SECTION V:  APPOINTMENTS TO VACANT SEATS

A) The Town Administrator shall request from members their choices of resident voters to fill vacant seats.  Advertising shall take place at the Commission’s direction.  The Town Administrator shall collect and disseminate to Commission members all respondents information for open seats. 

B) The term of all appointments to fill vacancies on the Commission are valid until the next Town Meeting.  The Commission shall vote by majority on appointees, with their recommendation to be forwarded to the Select Board for Appointment.  The Select Board shall then make appointments at a regularly scheduled meeting. 

SECTION VI: AMENDMENT PROCEDURE

An amendment to these Rules of Procedure may be moved at a Commission meeting but shall not be voted upon until the next regularly scheduled meeting, not less than seven (7) days later.  A copy of any amendment shall then be submitted to the Recording Secretary for inclusion in the Parks & Recreation Commission meeting minutes.

SECTION VII: EFFECTIVE DATE

These Rules of Procedure shall take effect immediately following a majority vote of the Parks & Recreation Commission at a regularly scheduled meeting.

Adopted: September 14, 2021