A. Requirements for Membership

Any person, firm, association, corporation or body politic or sub-division thereof may become a member in Pointe Coupe Electric Membership Corporation, (hereinafter called the "Cooperative") by:

1. filing a written application for membership therein;

2. agreeing to purchase from the Cooperative electric energy as herein specified;

3. agreeing to comply with and be bound by the articles of incorporation and by-laws of the Cooperative and any rules and regulations adopted by the board of directors; and

4. paying the membership fee hereinafter specified

No member may hold more than one membership in the cooperative, and no membership in the Cooperative shall be transferable.

The Membership fee shall be five dollars. The board of directors may establish from time to time a service connection fee to be charged and collected for each service connection.

C. Purchase of Electric Energy

Each member, shall, as soon as electric energy shall be available, purchase from the Cooperative all electric energy used on the premises specified in his application for membership, and shall pay therefore monthly at the rates which shall from time to time be fixed by the board of directors; provided, however, that the board of directors may limit the amount of electric energy which the Cooperative shall be required to furnish to any one member. Each member shall pay to the Cooperative such minimum amount per month as shall be fixed by the board of directors from time to time, regardless of the amount of electric energy consumed. Each member shall also pay all amounts owed to the Cooperative as and when the same shall become due and payable.

ARTICLE IV
Directors

Section 1. General Powers. The business and affairs of the Cooperative shall be managed by a board of seven (7) directors which shall exercise all of the powers of the Cooperative except such as are by law, the articles of incorporation or these by-laws conferred upon or reserved to the members.

Section 2. Qualifications. No person shall be eligible to become or remain a director or to hold any position of trust in the Cooperative who:

(a) is not an individual member and bona fide resident in the area served by the Cooperative; or
(b) is in any way employed by or financially interested in a competing enterprise or a business selling electric energy or supplies to the Cooperative;
(c) is the incumbent or spouse of, or a candidate for or spouse of, an elective public office, it being the intent of the members of the Cooperative that the board of directors of the Cooperative be free from the influence of political officials; or
(d) is a convicted felon; or
(e) is a close relative of any employee of the Cooperative; or
(f) is a current employee of the Cooperative or a former employee of the Cooperative or a close relative of the former employee, which former employee has been voluntarily or involuntarily terminated, with or without cause other than by reason of normal retirement, from employment by the Cooperative within the past five years.

Close relative shall mean husband or wife, child, mother or father, step-mother or step-father, mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister or brother, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, or son-in-law. This provision shall be effective from and after the date of the adoption of these by-laws, it being the intent hereof that current directors and close relatives in the employ of the Cooperative as of the date of adoption are validly qualified and/or employed.

Upon establishment of the fact that a director is holding office in violation of any of the foregoing provision, it shall immediately become incumbent upon the board of directors to remove such director from office.

Nothing contained in this section shall affect in any manner whatsoever the validity of any action taken at any meeting of the board of directors.

Section 3. Voting Districts. Beginning with the year 1988, the territory served by the Cooperative shall be divided into seven (7) districts, each of which shall be represented by one director elected by the membership of each such district. The original seven (7) districts are set forth and designated on the maps, copies of which are attached hereto and made a part of these by-laws as Exhibit "A".

On a date specified by the board of directors, beginning in the year 1998, the board of directors shall provide for and schedule a separate election for the membership of each district with a director standing for election in such year, at a location within such district, for the purpose of electing a person from such district to represent that district on the board of directors of the Cooperative. The terms of office of Directors elected from each such district shall be as follows:

(a) Directors elected from Districts Nos. 1 and 7 shall serve for a three (3) year term beginning in January, 1988.
(b) Directors elected from Districts Nos. 2, 4 and 6 shall serve for a three (3) year term beginning in January, 1989.
(c) Directors elected from Districts Nos. 3 and 5 shall serve for a three (3) year term beginning in January, 1990.

The current directors shall continue to serve until the expiration of their existing term or until their resignation at which time they may qualify and run for election from their repective district.

The board of directors shall provide for similar elections in each district as the term of office of the director from that district expires or as otherwise provided in these by-laws. Such elections shall be decided by plurality vote. All directors elected shall serve for a term of three (3) years. All such subsequent elections shall be on a date specified by the board of directors. If less than a quorum votes at any district election, the current director representing such district shall automatically be declared re-elected, provided, however, that in the event the current director representing such district is not a candidate for re-election, the nominee of the nominating committee shall automatically be declared elected and the board of directors shall be notified that a quorum failed to vote. An independent certified public accountant shall be used to verify all election results.

Section 4. Nominations. It shall be the duty of the board of directors to appoint, not less than sixty nor more than ninety days before the date of a district election of the members at which a director is to be selected, a committee on nominations composed of not less than three nor more than five members residing in said district. No member of the board of directors shall serve on such committee. The committee shall prepare and post at the principal office of the Cooperative, at least thirty-five (35) days before the election, their recommendation for the director from that district. Any fifteen members acting together may make another nomination by petition not less than fifteen (15) days prior to the election and the secretary shall post such nominations at the same place where the nomination of the committee is posted. Nominations from the floor are prohibited.

The date, time and place of any meeting of a committee on nominations so appointed by the board of directors of the Cooperative shall be published in at least two issues of the official journal of each Parish in which the Cooperative is domiciled or provides service, not less than ten days prior to the meeting. In lieu of publication of official journals, such publication may be accomplished by the use of the monthly issue of the membership publication immediately preceding the meeting, mailed to all members of the Cooperative.

These are just excerpts and the full document may be obtained in person or by mail from the office of Pointe Coupee Electric.

©All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from Pointe Coupee Electric Membership Corporation is prohibited.

This site is maintained by CamSoft Data Systems, Inc.