Paynesville, Minnesota's

Crow River Trail Guards

AMENDED

CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

OF

CROW RIVER TRAIL GUARDS

8/6/99

I. NAME OF ORGANIZATION AND DATE OF FOUNDING

  This document shall be the Constitution and By-laws of the Crow River Trail Guards; hereinafter referred to as the "Trail Guards." Founding date for the Trail Guards shall be January 27, 1995.

II. MAILING ADDRESS

  The mailing address for the Trail Guards shall be 327 Augusta Avenue, Paynesville, Minnesota 56362.

III. STATE OF DOMICILE

  The state of domicile for the Trail Guards shall be Minnesota.

IV. GROUPS PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS

  The Trail Guard's principal place of business shall be 327 Augusta Avenue, Paynesville, Minnesota.

V. PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION

  The Trail Guards intent is to be an incorporated, on-going, non-profit, charitable, tax exempt citizens' organization whose activities center around the creation, development, and maintenance of, but not limited to, parkland and trail systems along, but not limited to, the Crow River floodplain and adjacent countryside within and around, but not limited to, the city of Paynesville.

  Furthermore, the Trail Guards intend to actively recruit, organize, and supervise members aged 8 to 19 to be involved in the construction and maintenance of said parklands, trails and such and who shall hereinafter be referred to as Honorary (as in "unpaid") Trail Guards.

  A goal of the Trail Guards will be to develop and implement programs and opportunities for Honorary Trail Guards beyond construction and maintenance that will provide positive, exciting and educational exposure to nature such as, but not limited to, canoeing, fishing, camping, hiking, backpacking, travelling, and so forth, to be supervised in a responsible, healthful, wholesome and positive manner.

  Furthermore, the intention is to develop a more extensive local/regional natural walking trail system, done through volunteer labor and donated funds, and to incorporate this system into a local/regional effort to preserve and/or restore some of our area's scenic natural tracts. The intention is that any areas used remain in as natural state as possible. This includes the use of no chemicals or poisons for weed control or any other reason.

VI. HISTORY OF ORGANIZATION

  A goal of the Trail Guards is to remain consistent with all intentions outlined in the Crow River Natural Walking Trails Proposal dated March 22, 1992.

  The original focus of that proposal as presented to the Paynesville City Council in March, 1992, was to provide an easily accessible, low maintenance, scenic nature trail for use by the general public for health, recreation, nature appreciation, and other reasons, and serving, among others, these functions:

1. Exposing the scenic beauty of the river bottom.

2. Demonstrating the feasibility of a local trail system

3. Demonstrating the low construction cost and easy maintenance of a trail system

4. Generating more interest in trails in general.

5. Generating more interest in saving some of the local remaining natural and scenic areas.

 6. Demonstrating our ability to use and the practicality of using an area by the public while still allowing it to remain in an almost totally natural state.

VII. FOCUS OF ORGANIZATION

  The primary focus of the Trail Guards is to promote environmental awareness through positive exposure and all decisions shall be directed toward that thought.

VIII. LAND PURCHASES

  Any land purchased with money donated to or raised by the Trail Guards will be immediately protected in a perpetual conservation trust or easement. This arrangement will allow for low impact park usage such as, but not limited to, walking trails, ski trails, biking trails, remote low-impact or no-impact campsites, and educational areas, as pursuant to the intention of the purchase as determined by the executive committee.

  Any land thusly purchased and protected by the Trail Guards is thereby open to be donated to public ownership through, but not limited to, appropriate entities such as the City of Paynesville, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources or local non-profit organizations which agree to care for and conserve such land for the intended environmental and recreational benefit of the community. Any land donated will be released only upon agreement in writing stipulating usage and management intentions for such tract.

IX. FUNDING

  The Trail Guards intends to carry out its activities and realize its goals using primarily volunteer labor and donated and/or self-raised funds, especially to not include any money coming from any public and/or tax source, such as municipal, state, or federal grants or allotments, local park resources, or any other tax-based sources. Grants or gifts from private sources such as private companies or corporations would be allowable. The purpose of this stipulation is as follows:

1. In so doing, we avoid or cushion public scrutiny of decisions, projects, ideas, intentions, goals, and so forth, especially on activities concerning and/or affecting land outside the original 12-acre nature park owned by the city of Paynesville.

2. Furthermore, we offer an example of the rewards of creative thinking and community cooperation in realizing objectives not otherwise possible and/or practical and/or popular through other normal public channels of development.

X. COMMON INTEREST OF GROUP

  The common interest of the Trail Guards is that all members are interested in promoting environmental awareness, creating recreational opportunities, and enhancing the lives of the participating youths.

XI. MOTTO

Connecting Kids to the Outdoors.

XII. LOGO

  The logo adopted by the Trail Guards shall be as shown at the end of the by-laws.

XIII. MISSION STATEMENT

  To provide an opportunity for local youth to share in the creation and maintenance of the Crow River Nature Park and area trails, and offer in return affordable, wholesome outdoor adventure rewards.

XIV. NAME AND ADDRESS OF PERSON TO WHOM LETTERS OR DOCUMENTS SHALL BE SENT CONCERNING THE TRAIL GUARDS

Tom Koshiol

327 Augusta Ave

Paynesville, MN 56362

XV. AFFILIATIONS

  The Trail Guards may work under the auspices of the Organization For Enhancement of Rural Life, the Paynesville Youth Athletic Association, or other organizations or departments as necessary for fund raising, land purchasing, or other activities.

  At present (founding date) no affiliations apply.

XVI. MEMBERSHIP

  Any person age 8 to 19 may become a member of the Trail Guards as Honorary Trail Guards by fulfilling the requirements outlined in Article XVII.

  Any person 20 years of age or older may become a member of the Trail Guards by fulfilling the requirements outlined in Article XVII.

XVII. MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

  Any prospective Honorary Trail Guard must fulfill the sole requirement of working on the nature park and/or other Trail Guard project for one hour and/or to the satisfaction of the acting president of the Trail Guards. Thereafter that person is considered to be a lifetime member of the Trail Guards and they are invited and encouraged to work with the Trail Guards and Honorary Trail Guards on any and all projects, activities, fund raisers, and so forth for the life of the organization. The following rules, however, must be followed during those periods:

1. Anyone choosing to not work or participate must remove themselves physically from the area where the activity is taking place.

2. There will be no swearing allowed.

3. There will be no smoking allowed by Honorary Trail Guards.

  Honorary Trail Guards reaching the age of 20 hence become lifetime members of the Trail Guards and are welcome at all meetings and activities.

  Any person age 20 or older who is not nor has not been an Honorary Trail Guard who wishes to join the Trail Guards may do so by fulfilling the same work requirement listed above for the Honorary Trail Guards, or by attending an executive committee meeting and/or paying dues of $5.00. Either of these requirements must be renewed annually by those who were not formerly Honorary Trail Guards.

  To remain active on the mailing list, any member must be involved with at least one Trail Guard work related activity annually or pay $5.00 annual dues.

  To qualify for any Trail Guard recreation-only activity, any member must be involved with at least one Trail Guard work related activity annually.

XVIII. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The executive committee for the Trail Guards shall be comprised of a President, no fewer than four and no more than six directors, a secretary, and a treasurer. Any member of the executive committee may serve also as secretary or treasurer.

XVIX. PRESIDENT, OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

  The president and directors shall be elected annually by membership vote. A secretary and treasurer for the organization shall be elected by the executive committee at the time of vacancy. The secretary and/or treasurer can be determinated by executive committee vote at any time. Any active member age 18 or older is eligible for the positions of president, director, secretary, or treasurer.

  Executive Committee members shall be elected each February at the annual meeting by all Trail Guard members present, age 18 and over. Each position must be renewed annually, except for the presidency, which is a perpetual term until vacated voluntarily. Also, a newly elected president may be accepted or rejected by the outgoing president. If the newly elected president is rejected, the acting president shall continue his duties until such time as an acceptable president is elected.

  Executive Committee at time of founding:

  Tom Koshiol, President (CEO)

  Dale Klein, Director

  Mike Parks, Director

  Paul Schramel, Director

  Kaye Hopfer, Director

  There was no acting secretary or treasurer.

XX. DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

  The executive committee shall be responsible for the over-all direction,

operation, and day to day activities of the Trail Guards.

XXI. VOTING

All active members of the organization aged 18 and over are eligible to vote

on all matters related to the conduct of lawful gambling at the monthly

membership meeting as posted in the Paynesville Press and in our annual

newsletter. Only executive committee members shall have voting privileges for

non-gambling activity motions. All members of the Trail Guards may attend

meetings and lobby for specific concerns. Any non-gambling motion must first

pass the board of directors by majority vote. The president then has full veto

power, allowing him or her to pass, dismiss, or table a motion for further

discussion. There is no veto override, or any other means of passing a

non-gambling activity motion without presidential approval. However, any

motion made by the president must also pass the board of directors’ vote.

All Trail Guard members age 18 and over may vote at executive committee

elections at the annual meeting.

XXII. MEETINGS

Meetings open to all active members shall be held monthly at a

predetermined time and place, with all active members being given adequate

notice. Annual meetings open to all members will be held each year in February

to coincide with the annual Honorary Trail Guards appreciation party, to be

scheduled at that time to accommodate for school activities and so forth.

Regular meetings of the executive committee shall be held no less than once

every six months as scheduled. These meetings are also open to all members

but need not be posted. No lawful gambling decisions may be made at these

special meetings.

XXIII. AMENDMENTS

  This constitution and by-laws may be amended at any regular meeting or special

meeting of the executive committee as per voting procedure outlined in Article XXI