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Wallington Recreation Commission
24 Union Boulevard
Wallington, NJ 07057
Bylaws
Commission Name
Commissioners”, hereinafter the “Board”.
Enabling Legislation and Authority
Non-Partisanship
Purpose and Objectives
Article I: Definitions
A. The following definitions are used by these bylaws:
1. The Board: Shall mean the Board of Recreation Commissioners and the Recreation Director;
2. Commission: Shall mean the members of the Board of the Borough of Wallington Recreation Commissioners as appointed by the Mayor and Council;
3. Members: Shall mean the members of the Board of Recreation Commissioners;
4. Committee: Shall mean a selection of members, not less than two, to fulfill a particular function of the Board;
5. Standing Committee: Shall be a permanent committee, and will consist of Commission members only unless approved by the Board;
6. Special Committee: Shall be a temporary committee, convened as necessary, and may contain non-Commission members.
Article II: Board Members
A. Any member of the Board shall be known as a “Commissioner.”
B. Any individual seeking membership on the Recreation Board shall file a letter of interest in the Borough Administrator’s office
C. Membership, term of office and procedures for removal of members and the filling vacancies shall be established by the Borough of Wallington Governing Body.
D. As established by resolution by the Borough of Wallington Governing Body, the Board of Recreation Commissioners shall consist of nine members (seven regular members and two alternate members) who shall be citizens and residents of the Borough of Wallington. The regular members of the Board of Recreation Commissioners shall be appointed by the Mayor and Council for a term of five years. The alternate members of the Board shall be appointed by the Mayor and Council for a term of one year.
1. An alternate member shall vote in the absence of a regular member. If the Commission has a fully-seated quorum, an alternate member shall not vote. An alternate member shall have the ability to participate in all meetings. In the event of a vacancy of a regular member, an alternate member can assume that vacant position.
E. The Director of Recreation shall serve as an advisor.
F. Regular Commissioners shall have voice and vote in all Board meetings. A majority of Commission constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business (four of the seven regular members).
G. Any member who accumulates more than three unexcused absences within a six- month period of time or five unexcused absences within a twelve-month period of time shall be forced to resign; thus, there will be a vacancy. Notification of such will then be forwarded in writing by the Board President to the Mayor and Council for the purposes of appointing an additional member to the Board.
H. Resignations shall be made in writing and submitted to the Borough Clerk; a copy shall also be forwarded to the Board President.
I. One Commissioner shall be appointed by the Board President to serve as Chairperson of any standing or special committee. The Chairperson of a committee must record minutes of every meeting and submit them to the Board Secretary, prior to a Board meeting, for distribution to all regular members of the Board. The Chairperson of a committee is expected to record and manage all financial transactions of the committee.
J. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Board President, Vice President, and Treasurer, and have all authority to execute business on behalf of the Board.
Article III: Powers and Responsibilities of the Board
A. Initiate and supervise studies of local conditions and needs affecting recreation;
B. Recommend the acquisition, design and improvement of additional areas and facilities for recreation;
C. Initiate and supervise the administration of a broad program of recreation activities and services to meet the needs and desires of the community in accordance with rules, regulations, and policies set out by agreement of the Board;
D. Establish and maintain cooperative relationships with the State and other local recreation agencies and officials;
E. Recommend all permanent or temporary salaried and non-salaried personnel as per NJSA 40:12-6 and Section 2-7.7g. All voluntary personnel serve at the discretion of the Commission;
F. Determine and recommend all service, participation, and admission fees;
G. Adopt suitable rules of conduct for the use of all recreation facilities and the conduct of all persons while on or using same;
H. May recommend appropriate disciplinary action against any person or organization which violates these rules of conduct while on or using same;
I. In order to perform the foregoing duties, the Board shall have the following authority:
1. To adjudicate complaints, disputes or other grievances from the public arising out of recreation activities and to conduct such review hearings per resolution.
2. To adopt bylaws and other rules of procedure to achieve its purpose and function, with final approval by the Board of Commissioners.
3. To establish rules governing participating in recreation programs and the consequences for failure to follow aforementioned rules.
4. To establish rules applicable to only auspices of the Recreation Department.
5. To establish rules governing the hours of operation and use of recreation facilities.
6. To establish and regulate player participation requirements, volunteer coach guidelines, volunteer coach qualifications, sport playing time schedule, other concerns that enhance the total recreation program, and assist in the establishment and regulation of team draft systems.
7. To hear and act upon complaints given to them in written form by the Director, using the procedures set forth in these bylaws.
8. To review requests for use of Recreation Department property, facilities, and equipment
Article IV: Meetings
A. Regular meetings of the Board will be set in November for the upcoming year. All meetings will be held at the Borough of Wallington Court Chambers unless otherwise agreed upon by the Board, and public notice has been given;
B. A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum;
C. The Reorganization Meeting shall be the January meeting for the purpose of election of officers and voting for acceptance of the Bylaws. A quorum is necessary; designation of any Commissioner as the Chairperson of a committee can also be made in that meeting;
D. A quorum being present, the order of business at a regular meeting of the Commission shall be as follows:
1) Call to Order/Pledge of Allegiance
2) Roll Call
3) Approval of the Prior Meeting’s Minutes
4) Treasurer’s Report
5) Presentations
6) Old Business
7) New Business
8) Communications
9) Use of Facility Requests
10) Open to the Public
11) Tabled Matters
12) Adjournment
Changes in order of business or dispensing with any item can be made by request and approval of the Commission. Unless otherwise specified, Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the proceedings of the meetings of the Commission. In addition, all meetings and actions taken during such meetings shall comply with New Jersey’s Open Public Meetings Act, known as “The Sunshine Law.”
E. In the event of a potential meeting cancellation, every Commissioner must be contacted and queried on availability. If there is a failure to contact every Commissioner, the regularly-scheduled date of the meeting will remain;
F. Special meetings may be called by the Board President or a majority of Commissioners at any time deemed necessary or desirable. All Commissioners must be notified of the meeting seventy-two hours in advance of said meeting and a public notice of the meeting shall be posted. A quorum is required. Any decision or action voted on, in this meeting, will be in effect until the next, regular meeting, at which time it will be subject to review and final approval by the entire Board;
G. Workshop meetings can be convened at the discretion of the Board;
H. The Board shall operate under the precepts of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised;
I. Minutes and/or records of the business conducted in all meetings of the Board or any committee thereof shall be kept by the Board Secretary or designee and shall be open for public inspection. The minutes of each meeting shall be forwarded to each Commissioner prior to the regular meeting at which such minutes are subject to approval by the Commission.
Article V: Election of Officers
A. In the Reorganization Meeting, the regular members of the Commission shall nominate from their rank a President, a Vice-President, a Treasurer, and a Secretary;
B. Election will be by a majority vote of the Board;
C. Terms will be for one year;
D. In case of a vacancy during the year, an election to fill such vacancy shall be held at the next, regular meeting following such vacancy, provided at least five days written notice of such election shall have been sent to all Commissioners.
Article VI: Duties and Responsibilities of Officers
A. The President shall:
1. Preside at all meetings and shall have the general supervision, control and direction of the affairs of the Board;
2. The President shall be elected to such position by nomination and majority vote of all Commissioners;
3. The President will serve for a term of one year;
4. The President shall have voice and vote on all Board matters;
5. Sign such official papers as are prepared or approved by the Commission;
6. Call special meetings at his/her discretion or upon the written request of any of the Board members;
7. Initiate preparation and submission of an annual, capital-budget estimate with the advice and aid of the Finance Committee;
8. Appoint the Chairperson of of any standing and special committees;
9. Bequeath authority, in the event of his/her resignation, to the Vice-President of the Board for the remainder of the one-year term.
B. The Vice-President shall: 1. Possess such powers and shall perform such duties as may be assigned from time to time by the President, and in the absence of the President assume and perform all of his/her duties;
2. Serve for a term of one year.
C. The Secretary shall:
1. Notify the members of all meetings;
2. Keep a written record of all meetings;
3. Call special meetings upon request of the President;
4. Record all votes by members, in the minutes;
5. Make a copy of the record of all meetings available to all Board members and the Council Liaison to the Board.
D. The Treasurer shall:
1. Prepare and submit a current financial report for all meetings of the Board;
2. Collect and disburse funds as operational necessity dictates;
3. Maintain the Board budget;
4. Assist any approved fund-raising committee; and
5. Assist the President in his/her duties.
Article VII: Committees
A. The President shall submit for approval, by a majority vote of the Board, any committees deemed necessary;
B. The Recreation Director shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, and as such be notified of all committee meetings;
C. The Executive Committee has seniority in relation to all other committees.
Article VIII: Amendments
A. Amendments to these bylaws must be submitted in writing to the Recreation Board in a regularly-scheduled meeting. No action on the proposed amendment(s) can be made at that meeting. Action on the proposed amendment(s) will be taken at the next, regularly-scheduled meeting or at a subsequent meeting;
B. A quorum is required;
C. Any amendment requires approval of at least two-thirds of the members in attendance.
D. Written notice of the proposed amendment shall be sent to the members by the Secretary at least ten days prior to the meeting.
E. These bylaws shall be reviewed at least every five years and will be adopted annually.
Article IX: Communication
Article X: Adoption of Bylaws
Article XI: General Recreation Administration Policies
A. It is understood that all sports organizations/programs, sponsored and/or approved for operation by the Wallington Board of Recreation, will adhere to the seasonal-sports schedule below:
-Winter (December, January, February) – Basketball, Bowling
-Spring (April, May, June) – Baseball, Softball
-Summer (July, August) – Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Football
-Fall (September, October, November) – Football, Soccer
B. All sports organizations/programs will adhere to the seasonal-sports schedule, as outlined above, unless specific authorization is provided by the Wallington Board of Recreation to operate outside of that schedule.
C. Any organization/program considered to be “sponsored” by the Wallington Board of Recreation will operate according to the following criteria:
1. an organization’s/program’s lead coordinator is hired/ appointed by the Board
2. an organization’s/program’s income/expenses and trust account are directly supervised by the Board
D. Any organization/program that does not fulfill the criteria above is considered to be “non-sponsored” by the Wallington Board of Recreation. However, a non-sponsored organization/program may be eligible for material/financial support from the Board if the following criteria are met:
1. submission of a letter of request to stipulate the amount of material/financial support that is needed along with proof of non-profit status and tax compliance
2. in the letter of request, there is inclusion of an explanation for the specific purpose of the material/financial support and an explanation as to how the material/financial support benefits the Wallington community
3. agreement to submit a line-item report along with receipt(s) to demonstrate proper use of the material/financial support
E. Regulations exist for the use of any facility by an organization/program:
1. The use of the following facilities (weekdays, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and weekends, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., unless stated otherwise) by any organization/program is contingent on the approval of the Wallington Board of Recreation:
-High School Field
-Dul Field
-Centennial Field
-Little League Field
2. Any request for the use of a facility must be submitted to the Wallington Board of Recreation, at a regular, monthly meeting for review. Additionally, the Facilities Manager must be consulted at that meeting to complete the facility-request application for a permit – to ensure availability of the requested date/time. Regarding facilities, priority will be given to any organization/program whose sole purpose is to serve the recreational needs of the residents of Wallington.
3. In order to secure a permit for a facility, a non-sponsored program, in particular, must complete the facility-request application, provide a certificate of insurance (with stipulated limits of liability & a Hold Harmless Agreement – see Section E, subsection 5), and pay any facility-usage fees. The facility-request application, certificate of insurance, and any facility-usage fees must be submitted to the Wallington Board of Recreation, according to the following schedule:
– Winter-season permits – not later than the Board’s October meeting
– Spring-season permits – not later than the Board’s February meeting
– For Summer-season permits – not later than the Board’s April meeting
– Fall-season permits – not later than the Board’s June meeting
Approval of a permit on the part of the Wallington Board of Recreation can take up to thirty days. A permit will be issued for a specific date/time (set of dates/times) and for a specific facility (set of facilities) . Issuance of the permit to any youth-sports organization/program is also contingent on fulfillment of coaching-certification requirements (see Section F).
4. Any facility-request application must identify an individual (designee) from the requesting organization/program that will be held responsible for maintenance of the permit and responsible for granting the organization/program access to the reserved facility (facilities). The designee is responsible for any violations of facility rules/regulations.
5. A certificate of insurance must identify both the Borough of Wallington and the Wallington Board of Recreation as co-insured and demonstrate a minimum limit of liability in accordance with the following outline:
-$1,000,000 – for-profit organization/program
-$500,000 – non-profit organization/program
-$300,000 – individual
Moreover, the certificate of insurance must include a Hold Harmless Agreement on behalf of both the Borough of Wallington and the Wallington Board of Recreation.
6. The amount of any facility-usage fees for the permit will be determined by vote of the Wallington Board of Recreation each year at the January, reorganization meeting.
7. Damage to a facility is the responsibility of the permit designee and the organization/program that has reserved it.
8. Outdoor-facility access is from dawn to dusk unless the use of floodlights is authorized.
9. Unauthorized use of a facility will be considered trespassing, and appropriate, legal proceedings will be pursued at the expense of the violator(s).
10. The Wallington Board of Recreation reserves the right, on a case-by-case basis, to reduce or waive any facility-usage fees.
F. Coaching-certification requirements must be fulfilled by any youth-sports organization/program that plans to gain access to a borough facility.
1. Any youth-sports organization/program must present a complete list of active coaches with the following, verifiable documentation prior to the issuance of a facility permit:
-CPR certification
-concussion-care certification
-fingerprinting for criminal-background check
2. Any youth-sports organization/program that plans to use a borough facility must also provide the chief of police in the Borough of Wallington with a complete list of active coaches along with identification of each coach as being in compliance with fingerprinting for a criminal-background check; this must be completed thirty days prior to the start of the organization’s/program’s season (per Borough Ordinance 124-3C). Non-compliance with or violation of the that borough ordinance will result in denial of an organization’s/program’s facility-request application or revocation of its facility permit.
G. Any violation of Article XI by any Recreation Board member will be formally addressed by the Executive Committee
Article XII: Finance
A. The annual budget for the Wallington Board of Recreation is an appropriation from the Borough Council; thus, the budget is at the discretion of that governing body.
B. Trust accounts for all sponsored organizations/programs are the responsibility of the Wallington Board of Recreation and are under the direct supervision of the treasurer of the Wallington Board of Recreation. Proper accounting-procedures of debits, credits, income and disbursements is a mandate from the governing body (Borough Council) of the Borough of Wallington.
C. Guidance on annual expenditures:
1. A minimum of twenty percent of the annual budget is to be spent on facility maintenance and/or improvement. Issues related to facility maintenance and/or improvement are the direct responsibility of the Executive Committee of the Wallington Board of Recreation.
2. Regarding non-sponsored organizations/programs, the amount of a donation will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Non-sponsored organizations/programs that solicit a donation from the Wallington Board of Recreation shall comply with the following:
-provide a financial statement that includes the past six months of income and expenses
-provide a forecast of income and expenses for the current, calendar year 10
3. Any non-sponsored organization/program shall first submit any receipts for expenditures up to the approved donation amount to the Wallington Board of Recreation; subsequently, a reimbursement in the form of a check will be issued by the Borough of Wallington in agreement with the total amount stated on any submitted receipts.
4. All volunteers associated with a sponsored organization/program will receive a reimbursement for any criminal-background-check fee after submission of a receipt.
D. The Council allocates funding each year and the amount may not be consistent or the same depending on the budget, economic, and political variables.
E. General Recreation Funding does NOT carry over past the fiscal, calendar year. If a balance exists, it is returned back to the Council. It is NOT carried over into the New Year.
F. NEVER EVER spend more than is allocated in the Recreation Budget. It is a violation of New Jersey state law.
G. The Recreation Treasurer and or President will report the monthly expenditures and balance of the account if available once a permanent budget is adopted. Permanent budgets historically are not available until the June/July timeframe annually.
H. All purchases totaling over $2600 require three (3) bids by New Jersey state law.
I. The Recreation policy is to explicitly state and divide funding by gender to meet Title IV requirements.
J. All Recreation Members are advised to follow state law concerning ALL budgetary requests from citizens. Citizens can request official borough records through an OPRA Request (Open Public Records Act). Consult with the Borough Attorney, if necessary.
These Bylaws shall not be considered or construed as superseding any ordinance or directive of the Governing Body of the Borough of Wallington, nor shall they preclude the preparation and adoption of further procedural manuals and policies by which the Advisory Body may direct its activities.
ORIGINAL DATE: December 9, 2014
AMENDED DATE: December 1, 2020
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