CEA Constitution

The Association shall be called the “Cap Estate Association” (CEA) and is hereinafter referred to as “the Association”, and the Association’s Executive Committee shall be called “Cap Estate Action Committee” (CEAC) and is hereinafter referred to as “the CEAC”.

Cap Estate is the large residential area at the northern tip of St. Lucia defined in the appended map (Appendix 1).

1. OBJECTIVES OF THE CAP ESTATE ASSOCIATION (CEA)

The overall objectives of the Association are to improve the quality of life and the environment in Cap Estate for the betterment of Members and their families. These objectives are specifically, but not limited to, the following:

To help enforce the building codes and covenants for dwellings and developments within Cap Estate.
To liaise with the respective agencies for the maintenance and improvement of Cap Estate’s Infrastructure, such as public roads, drainage, sewage and solid waste disposal, and supply of water, electricity, and communications.
To protect existing infrastructure by ensuring developers are held accountable.
To promote road safety measures within the Cap Estate area.
To promote and support crime prevention and noise abatement measures in Cap Estate in co-operation with the Royal St. Lucian Police and private security companies.
To promote the common interests and rights of all property owners, residents, tenants, and leaseholders (with lease terms of longer than one year), regardless of nationality, age, gender, race, colour, religious or political beliefs.
To liaise with and support NEMO for disaster preparedness and relief for the community in times of emergency.
To be a united voice for lobbying or liaising with Government and other Institutions that may help achieve the Association’s objectives.
To organise and promote social activities for Members of the community.

2. MEMBERSHIP

There shall be two (2) Association Membership Categories: Ordinary Member and Honorary Life Member, as hereafter defined. In this Constitution, the singular includes the plural and the masculine gender the feminine gender. For the purpose of this Constitution:

Ordinary Member
“Ordinary Member” shall mean any person aged 18 years or over, who is a Property Owner or Resident within the area defined as Cap Estate, as shown on the map (Appendix 1), and who has completed the Membership Registration Form, has been accepted by the CEAC (constituted as hereinafter mentioned), and has paid such Annual Subscription as the CEAC may determine from time to time.
1. The Ordinary Member Annual Subscription shall be EC$100 (one hundred East Caribbean dollars) or such sum as may be determined by the CEAC and approved at a duly constituted General Meeting, is non-refundable, and is payable in advance by the 31st January in each year. Any individual joining the Association for part of a year only shall be liable for a full year’s Ordinary Member Annual Subscription (unless levied pro-rata at the sole discretion of the CEAC).
2. There shall be no maximum number of Ordinary Members from any one household or vacant property lot PROVIDED that each Ordinary Member pays the Annual Membership Fee as determined from time to time.
Honorary Life Member
“Honorary Life Member” shall be any person who, based on outstanding service to the Cap Estate community, is recommended by the CEAC to the general Membership for such status at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting and shall be elected by a two-thirds majority of Members present at the meeting. Such Members shall not be required to pay any entrance fees or subscriptions.
Subscription Arrears and Default
Should the subscription of any individual be in arrears for two calendar months or more, the CEAC may notify the individual of the default, and if the subscription remains unpaid for a further 30 days, the CEAC may suspend the individual from membership. During any period of suspension, the individual so suspended shall not be entitled to exercise any of the rights of membership of the Association (including voting).

3. CAP ESTATE ACTION COMMITTEE (CEAC)

The management of the Association shall be vested in the Cap Estate Action Committee (CEAC), who shall be elected annually at the Annual General Meeting. The duties and powers of the CEAC shall be:

To carry out the objectives of this Constitution as set out in Clause 1 hereof.
To appoint any willing Member of the Association not elected at the AGM to be a Member of the CEAC to serve until the next AGM, or for such lesser duration as the CEAC may consider appropriate at the time of appointment, provided that such appointee shall not have a vote at CEAC meetings. This power shall be exercised only if the CEAC feels it necessary to add additional Members to strengthen its ranks.
To appoint sub-committees for any purpose connected with the Association and to delegate to such subcommittees such powers as it may consider fit, and to receive reports from all sub-committees. PROVIDED THAT the President shall be an “ex officio” Member of each sub-committee of the CEAC.
To interpret this Constitution, provided that all such decisions shall be reported by the CEAC to the next Annual General Meeting.
To control and apply the finances of the Association, and to pay such expenses as may be deemed expedient in connection with any of the business of the Association.
To investigate any allegation of misconduct or behaviour detrimental to the interests of the Association by any individual Member, and on such investigation to make a determination to suspend or expel from membership as it sees fit. PROVIDED ALWAYS THAT, prior to such determination, the individual Member shall be given an opportunity to defend, justify, or explain such conduct, behaviour, or practice.
To consider and deal with:
1. All applications to join the Association.
2. The removal of individuals from membership of the Association as a result of action under 3.6
3. The reinstatement upon terms or otherwise, as it may think proper, of any individual penalized by expulsion from the Association for any offence.
4. All suggested amendments to the Constitution by notifying the Members of the Association of the amendments and summoning the necessary General Meeting of Members to review and deal with all suggested amendments.
To borrow money for any of the purposes of the Association, PROVIDED THAT all borrowing must be approved by a minimum of five (5) CEAC Members (constituting a Quorum) at a properly convened meeting.
The office of a Member of the CEAC shall, IPSO FACTO, be vacated if: by notice in writing to the CEAC he resigns office; or he ceases to be a Member of the Association; or he shall fail to attend any three (3) consecutive regular meetings of the CEAC without leave of the CEAC and is requested by his fellow CEAC Members to resign his office.

4. CAP ESTATE ACTION COMMITTEE (CEAC) MEETINGS

The CEAC shall meet at such times and places as it may from time to time decide, but it shall meet at least four times in every year.
Notice of every meeting, stating the business to be transacted thereat, shall be communicated by the Secretary to each Member of the CEAC at least five days prior to the date fixed for such meeting; PROVIDED, however, that the failure of the Secretary to notify any Member (as aforesaid) shall not invalidate the business conducted at such meeting.
At all meetings of the CEAC, the President or, in his absence, the Vice President, or if both be absent, a Member to be appointed by the meeting, shall take the chair. Each Member of the CEAC shall have one vote only, but in the case of an equality of votes the Chair of the meeting shall have a casting vote as well as an original vote.
The Quorum for a CEAC meeting shall be five (5) Members.
If within half-an-hour of the time appointed for the meeting, there shall be no Quorum present, the meeting shall stand adjourned for a time and place seven (7) days hence. If at such adjourned meeting there shall not be present the prescribed Quorum, the meeting shall be reconvened.
The Secretary shall ensure that minutes of all meetings are made and a draft circulated to all CEAC Members for review within two (2) weeks following the meeting.
All casual vacancies arising amongst the CEAC may be filled by nominees who are Members of the Association and approved by majority vote at one of its meetings. A casual vacancy shall be deemed to include a vacancy on the CEAC which should have been voted in at an Annual General Meeting but which for any reason was not filled.

5. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS (AGM’s)

Once in each calendar year, not later than the 30th April, the Association shall hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) at which all paid-up Members shall be entitled to attend and vote.
At every Annual General Meeting of the Association all Members of the CEAC shall retire from office. The retiring Members shall be eligible for re-election at the same or any other General Meeting.
At every Annual General Meeting of the Association there shall be elected from the general Membership a CEAC consisting of:
1. President
2. Vice President
3. Secretary
4. Public Relations Officer (PRO)
5. Treasurer
6. Four (4) Floor Representatives
  PROVIDED THAT the same person may not hold the offices of Secretary and Treasurer at the same time.
In addition to the above-named officers, the Immediate Past President shall be a Member of the CEAC for the year immediately following his ceasing to be President.
Nominations for membership of the CEAC must be proposed and seconded by paid-up Members and forwarded to the Secretary in good time so that the general Membership may be informed of the nominees at least five (5) days before the Annual General Meeting. Exceptions to this rule will be considered only if a post remains unfilled and the meeting decides to accept nominations from the floor.
The duties to be discharged by the Membership at the Annual General Meeting shall be:
1. To receive reports from the CEAC of its work in the preceding year.
2. To receive and consider for approval the Annual Accounts.
3. To deal with Any Other Business for which the Secretary had received five days’ written notice, or Any Other Business which the Chair and or the majority of the Members at the meeting deem necessary or desirable.
4. To elect the persons mentioned in Clause 5.3 to the CEAC.
5. To accept proposals to correct or alter the Constitution of the Association and put them to vote.

6. SPECIAL GENERAL MEETINGS (SGM’s)

A Special General Meeting, at which all Members shall be entitled to attend and vote, may be called by the CEAC or by requisition, signed by not less than twenty (20) Members of the Association and delivered to the Secretary, who in turn must call such a meeting within fourteen (14) days from the date or receipt of such requisition. Only the business stated in the requisition may be debated at a Special General Meeting, and details of the said business
should be included in the notice of meeting sent to all Members.

7. PROTOCOL FOR GENERAL MEETINGS (AGM’s and SGM’s)

The Secretary shall give at least fourteen (14) days’ notice of each General Meeting. Such notice shall be sent by ordinary mail or faxed or e-mailed or communicated as appropriate to each Member of the Association at their last known address, and a copy of the notice shall be posted on the Notice Board.
At all General Meetings, the President or, in his absence, the Vice-President, or if they both be absent, a Member to be appointed by the meeting, shall take the Chair. Each Member of the Association shall have one vote only, but in the case of an equality of votes, the Chair of the meeting shall have a casting vote as well as an original vote.
The Quorum for a General Meeting shall be twenty (20) Members.
If, within half-an-hour of the time appointed for the meeting, there shall be no Quorum present, the meeting shall stand adjourned for a time and place seven (7) days hence. If at such adjourned meeting there shall not be present the prescribed Quorum, the meeting shall be reconvened.
The Secretary shall ensure that Minutes of all meetings are taken.
Only those paid-up Members personally present at a General Meeting, or those voting by proxy, may vote. Any question shall be decided on a show of hands unless before, or on the declaration of the result of the show of hands, a demand is made for a secret ballot, such demand to be made by at least two Members present, when such secret ballot shall take place immediately.

8. FINANCE

Subscriptions and all other funds payable to the Association shall be forwarded to and received by the Treasurer of the Association.
The Treasurer shall lodge the funds received by him in a Bank Account of the Association, the said Bank Account to be operated as determined by the CEAC.
The CEAC will nominate cheque signatories. There shall be four signatories, preferably the Secretary, Treasurer, President, and Immediate Past President.
All cheques shall require signatures of any two (2) authorised signatories.
Any expense greater than EC$1,000 (one thousand East Caribbean Dollars) shall be approved by at least three (3) Members of the CEAC before payment.
The accounts of the Association shall be closed for audit purposes on the last day of December in each year.
The Treasurer shall maintain auditable financial records at all times, available for the CEAC to review, and submit quarterly financial summaries for the CEAC as well as Annual Financial Reports within one month after the closing of the financial year and in time for presentation at the Annual General Meeting.
The Treasurer shall keep and maintain appropriate accounting records of any and all loans awarded to the Association and properly approved by the CEAC, as defined in Clause 3.8 above.

9. DISSOLUTION

The Association may be dissolved only at a Special General Meeting (Clause 6 above) called for that purpose and must be advertised fourteen (14) days before the meeting.
A proposal to dissolve the Association shall take effect only if agreed by two-thirds of the Members present at the SGM.
Any assets remaining after the payment of all debts and liabilities shall be given to charitable purposes according to the wishes of Members at the SGM.

10. POWERS OF THE CAP ESTATE ACTION COMMITTEE (CEAC)

The CEAC reserves the right to make Operational Rules to allow and maintain the efficient and better operation of this Constitution.

This Constitution
The clauses and provisions hereinbefore defined represent the Constitution of the Cap Estate Association (CEA) and are the regulations and protocols by which the CEAC, hereinafter legally designated the Cap Estate Action Committee (CEAC), shall manage and implement the Association’s objectives.