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01-24-2019 Revised 1 Schertz Historical Preservation Committee By-Laws Ratified: April 17, 2008 Last Revised: January 24, 2019 ARTICLE I Name and Location Section 1.1 The name of the Committee Shall be the Schertz Historical Preservation Committee, referred to herein as the Committee. Section 1.2 The office of the Committee is to be the City of Schertz Mayor’s Office located at 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas 78154. Section 1.3 All mail shall be directed to the Committee through the City of Schertz Secretary at the above address. ARTICLE II Purpose Section 2.1 A. Maintain an organizational structure to allow for the conduct of meetings, management of the committee and maintenance of records. B. Assign and monitor sub-committees, programs and projects. Section 2.2 A. Collect, authenticate, assemble, display and archive artifacts, documents, photographs, structures, and places of historical interest. City of Schertz, Texas Historical Preservation Committee By-Laws 2 B. Record (in manuscript form or vocally) for retention the memories and knowledge of individuals about people, places and events relating to the City of Schertz. C. Designate historical structures and sites in the City of Schertz. D. Sponsor and present programs and performances to the public. Research, record and publish historical information regarding people, places and events that have contributed to the development of the City of Schertz located in Guadalupe, Bexar and Comal counties. Section 2.3 Encourage community interest and involvement in the historical preservation of those activities set forth in Section 2.2 above. ARTICLE III Membership and Meetings Section 3.1 Membership shall be open to any Schertz resident who holds an interest in historical preservation and the history of Schertz, Texas. Section 3.2 All members shall be volunteers who are unpaid and uncompensated. Section 3.3 All members must agree to abide by these by-laws. Section 3.4 The number of “appointed” members shall be no more than fourteen (14). Their appointment shall originate from nominations placed before the Schertz City Council. The “appointed” members shall be the only authorized voting members on Committee activities. “Non-appointed” members shall be received simply by showing an interest in Committee activity and presenting themselves at scheduled Committee meetings. “Non appointed” members shall not have a vote on Committee business and shall be titled “Associate Members”. Section 3.5 Meetings of the Committee will be held on a quarterly basis with the first meeting of the calendar year being on the fourth Thursday of the month of January and subsequent meetings on the fourth Thursday of April, July, and October. The time of the meetings will be 6:30 P.M. City of Schertz, Texas Historical Preservation Committee By-Laws 3 Should there be a scheduling conflict that requires a change of time and date of any meeting, all members shall be notified prior to the scheduled meeting date. Special meetings may be called by the Chairman at his or her discretion. A quorum (50% of members) must be present for a Committee meeting to begin. If a quorum fails to be achieved or maintained during the course of a meeting, no binding votes will be taken until a quorum is again achieved. Section 3.6 An agenda will be prepared by the Chairperson and provided to the City Secretary at least four (4) days prior to the scheduled meeting date. Agendas will establish the date, time and place of the meeting and list of discussion items. Section 3.7 Members shall be expected to attend meetings as scheduled, and if unable to attend a particular meeting, the member shall notify a committee officer to announce his or her expected absence. Should a member be absent for two or more consecutive meetings for reasons other than health related circumstances, the committee may inquire with the member as to whether his or her personal commitments are such as to warrant release from the committee membership. If deemed appropriate, the committee chairperson will notify the member of his or her prospective release from committee’s active membership and request he or she assume an associate member role or resign from committee membership. ARTICLE IV Officers Section 4.1 Officers shall consist of a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson.. Section 4.2 Nominations for officers shall occur at the October and January meetings. Voting will occur at the January meeting. The only exception to this time schedule shall be the nominations and vote for the initial slate of officers. Officers will assume their positions at the January meeting or in the case of the initial slate of officers, at the time of member voting. The nominee receiving a plurality of votes will be deemed the selected candidate for the officer position under consideration. City of Schertz, Texas Historical Preservation Committee By-Laws 4 Section 4.3 The term of office for all officers shall be one year except for the initial slate of officers who will serve until the next scheduled election. Section 4.4 Officers shall not jointly or individually enter into any legally binding contract on behalf of the Committee. Section 4.5 In the event that an officer is unable to complete his or her term of office, the membership will nominate and vote on a replacement and the newly selected officer will assume the officer post as of the date of the vote. ARTICLE V Duties of Officers Section 5.1 Chairperson. The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings and perform all executive functions of the Committee. He or she shall appoint all subcommittee chairs. The Chairperson shall be responsible for all meeting notices. The Chairperson shall be an ex-officio member of all sub-committees. Section 5.2 Vice-Chairperson. The Vice-Chairperson shall, in the absence of the Chairperson, preside at all meetings and perform all executive functions of the Committee as delegated by the Chairperson.. ARTICLE VI Sub-committees Section 6.1 Subcommittees will be created based on need and activity. Section 6.2 The Committee chairperson will create all sub-committees. An “appointed” committee member will serve as the sub-committee chairperson. “Non-appointed – “Associate” members can be selected to serve on a subcommittee. ARTICLE VII Parliamentary Authority City of Schertz, Texas Historical Preservation Committee By-Laws 5 Section 7.1 The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Committee activities so long as they are not inconsistent with these by-laws and any special rules the Committee may adopt. ARTICLE VIII Amendments Section 8.1 These by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the present and “appointed” members voting at a Committee meeting. ARTICLE IX Publications Section 9.1 The Committee will obtain permission from the owner (when known) to place pictures and articles in Committee publications. Section 9.2 The Committee will conform to the highest professional standards of publishing, editing and writing. Section 9.3 Anyone seeking to publish materials in the name of the Committee will submit such to the Committee (via the Committee Publications Director) for membership review and for vote (two-thirds of “appointed” members present for voting) before publishing in the name of the Committee. Section 9.4 News releases being made on behalf of the Committee will be first coordinated with the Committee Publications Director prior to release. Section 9.5 The Committee Publications Director shall be appointed by a two-thirds vote of the committee members present and voting at a committee meeting where nominations are raised. The Director’s duties shall be as set forth in the memo of “Duties and Responsibilities” for the Publications Director (Appendix A). City of Schertz, Texas Historical Preservation Committee By-Laws 6 ARTICLE X Committee Budgeting Section 10.1 The Committee will provide whatever expense projections requested by the City of Schertz for its consideration in allocating funds for the operation of the Committee. ARTICLE XI Member Expense Vouchering Section 11.1 Expenditures by members of the Committee shall be reimbursed by the City of Schertz through the vouchering process that includes the following: (1) Individual Items costing more than $250 must be pre-approved by the Committee before being purchased. (2) Any purchase of $1,000 or more must be accomplished through the Schertz City Manager's Office for a City of Schertz Purchase Order. (3) Other purchases by a committee member in support of the Committee’s work will be submitted to the Committee for payment. The vehicle for submitting the expenses will be the Committee Invoice document (Appendix C) attached to the Committee Letter of Request for Fund Disbursement (Appendix D). (4) All requests for expense reimbursement will be brought before the Committee for approval by a majority vote. (5) Receipts will be required to support an Invoice. If no receipt is available a written explanation for its absence will be provided. (6) Once Committee approval is obtained, the Committee Chairperson will forward the expense reimbursement package (keeping a copy) to the City Finance Office for processing and payment. ARTICLE XII Designations Section 12.1 Authority: Per Section 21.3.6B1 (Boards and Commissions) of the Schertz Unified Development Code (UDC) the Committee (Commission) shall have those duties and approval authorities as granted by the ordinance establishing the Committee (Commission). City of Schertz, Texas Historical Preservation Committee By-Laws 7 Section 12.2 Designation of Heritage Neighborhoods. Nominations for such a designation can be made by any person or group interested in doing so using the application form in Appendix E. A heritage neighborhood will be defined as one in which multiple properties are contained meeting the definition of such in Section 14.3 below. There will be no legal restrictions set on any such neighborhood or individual property contained therein. The process for approval will include the following: (1) a majority vote of Committee members present and voting (vote to be based on the historical merits of the application presented to the Committee by the nominator) (2) the application with Committee recommendation for approval or disapproval will be provided to the City Council for approval or disapproval. Nominations for such a designation can be made by any person or group interested in doing so using the application form in Appendix E. Section 12.3 Designation of Landmark Properties. A “Landmark Property” is defined as any property that presents itself as a unique feature of the City of Schertz or its ETJ landscape (community) due to either its nostalgic, aesthetic, architectural, or symbolic attributes and which could or will have an enduring impact on the community’s cultural identity. There will be no legal restrictions placed on any such properties. A property will be granted selection as a named landmark property by means of nomination for such status by any person or group interested in doing so using the application form in Appendix E. The Committee will vote on the nomination and thereafter present any positive (majority) vote to the City Council for final approval. Prior to City Council presentation the Committee will notify the property owner and ask for permission to nominate his or her property for designation as a Landmark Property. If the property owner objects the nomination will closed without City Council consideration. If approval by the property owner is obtained the nomination will be presented to City Council with the owner’s approval noted. ARTICLE XIII Schertz Main Street Area Preservation Incentive Program Section 13.1 Authority: Per City Council Resolution 15-R-03 the City of Schertz will offer an incentive grant program for historic preservation related projects (50/50 matching up to a $20,000 cap) involving City of Schertz, Texas Historical Preservation Committee By-Laws 8 designated Landmark properties within the Main Street Incentive area as shown on Exhibit B of the Resolution. Section 13.2 Administration: Shall be administered by the City of Schertz Building Inspection Division. Section 13.3. Committee Responsibility. Section 13.3.1: A City representative will present an application for a City of Schertz Incentive Program Grant to the Schertz Historical Preservation Committee at the Committee’s next quarterly meeting or at a special called Committee session if expedited treatment is requested or required by an applicant. The Committee will review the application for reasonable compliance with standards set by the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. A majority Committee vote shall be needed to approve an application for forwarding to City Council for action. Section 13.3.2: Committee Chairperson and/or City Staff will report to City Council its recommendation as determined by Section 15.3.1 above. Section 13.3.3: Committee members, by majority vote, may allow an extension of the one year time allowance for project completion if deemed warranted by applicant appeal. END OF BY-LAWS APPENDICES A. Duties and Responsibilities of Committee Publications Director B. Committee Invoice Document C. Letter of Request for Fund Disbursement D. Application for Heritage Neighborhood/Landmark Property Designation City of Schertz, Texas Historical Preservation Committee By-Laws 9 APPENDIX A Schertz Historical Preservation Committee Publications Director Duties and Responsibilities: • Originate and develop conceptual ideas with regards to the publication of committee documents (books, articles, newsletters, brochures, pamphlets, etc.) • Serve as subcommittee chairman for initiatives to develop committee publications as noted above. • Provide revisions and updates for existing committee publications as necessary (Remembrances journals, by-laws, cemetery journal indexes, Remembrances indexes, etc.). • Screen and revise as needed quarterly newsletters, Remembrances Special Edition Articles, book/pamphlet drafts. • Collect and retain in archives a copy of all presentation materials relating to committee member presentations relating to committee programs and/or projects. • Serve as the committee’s public affairs representative for issuance of press releases and/or press interviews. • Assure that copies of any and all publication materials are being held in the committee archives • Serve as Committee Historian and as such maintain a committee scrapbook that documents events significantly affecting the city and/or the activities of the committee (newspaper articles, etc.) City of Schertz, Texas Historical Preservation Committee By-Laws 10 APPENDIX B Schertz Historical Preservation Committee Committee Invoice ITEM PURCHASED QUANTITY COST PER TOTAL TOTAL: $ I certify that the above expenditures were made on behalf and to support the work of the Schertz Historical Preservation Committee (receipts attached). _______________________________ Signature Date City of Schertz, Texas Historical Preservation Committee By-Laws 11 APPENDIX C Schertz Historical Preservation Committee Letter of Request for Fund Disbursement FROM: TO: Schertz Historical Preservation Committee DATE In accordance with Article V, Section 5.4 of the Schertz Historical Preservation Committee By-laws, I am requesting reimbursement for expenses set forth in the attached Committee Invoice. I have attached all available receipts to the invoice and where no receipt was obtained an explanation is enclosed. I affirm that the expenses shown on the invoice were made on behalf of and in support of projects of the committee. __________________________ Committee Member Schertz Historical Preservation Committee review and approval on ___________ ___________________________ Chairperson ATTACHMENT: Copy of itemized invoice with attached receipts City of Schertz, Texas Historical Preservation Committee By-Laws 12 APPENDIX D Schertz Historical Preservation Committee 1400 Schertz Parkway, Schertz, Texas 78154 Application for Landmark Property or Heritage Neighborhood Designation This application is to serve as the means by which citizens may apply for approval to have a structure, residence, neighborhood, or designated area within the city limits and/or extra territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) of Schertz, Texas designated as either a “Landmark” property or a Heritage Neighborhood. “Landmark” shall mean any site or structure, designated by the Schertz Historical Preservation Committee (Commission) (SHPC) and declared as such by a majority vote of the Schertz City Council that is of exceptional cultural, archaeological, or architectural significance. “Heritage Neighborhood” shall mean a significant concentration, linkage, or continuity of sites or structures united architecturally, archaeologically, or culturally, by plan or physical development. NAME OF APPLICANT / NOMINATOR: ADDRESS OF APPLICANT / NOMINATOR: TELEPHONE NUMBER: NOMINATION FOR: (Landmark Property)/(Heritage Neighborhood) NOMINEE: SECTION A. DESIGNATION REQUEST STATEMENT OF JUSTIFICATION: (Continued on next page) City of Schertz, Texas Historical Preservation Committee By-Laws 13 (Appendix E Cont’d) SECTION B. COMMITTEE ACTION 4-25-2013 □ APPROVED  APPROVED WITH MODIFICATION  DENIED SECTION C. CITY COUNCIL ACTION  APPROVE  APPROVE WITH MODIFICATION