June 2016

The June 7th meeting of the Board of Directors was called to order at 8 pm at Mario’s Pizza in Randolph, hosted by Christine DeLeon and Mike Del Vecchio. Red type indicates an addition or amendment to the minutes.

ROLL CALL

Present were Joanne Cronin, Lois DeRitter, Grover Kemble, Allan Kugel, Elizabeth Lachowicz, Lindsey Meyer, Mitch Radler, Chris Riemer, and Jay Wilensky (officers and trustees); Mike Agranoff, Pat Brangs, Ken Brody, Christine DeLeon, Lori Falco, Paul Fisher, Deborah Graham, Pam Robinson, Ed Roffman, Mark Schaffer (committee chairs).

Guests: Barbara Moo and Aaron Roffman.

Absent: Kathleen Caccavale, Mike Del Vecchio, Bob McNally, George Otto, Leigh Walker, and Barrett Wilson.

MOTION THIS MONTH

The board approved a $500 expenditure for legal advice regarding our Workers’ Compensation Insurance coverage.

ADMINISTRATION REPORTS

Secretary

The May minutes were approved.

Treasurer Written Report

Chris had nothing to add.

President

Barrett was absent.

OLD BUSINESS

Workers’ Compensation Commission - ad hoc committee

Chris Riemer moved “that the Board accept the recommendation of the Workers Comp Commission and allocate approximately $500 to engage an attorney who can offer expert advice on whether our performers need to be covered by WC under New Jersey state law.” The lawyer that we’d use is a conservative lawyer who specializes in this field. Mike A. said that if we DO need the insurance, he would pay the $500 himself so as to avoid the FP paying extra. We thanked him for his generosity. We discussed the value of getting a legal opinion and whether it would be trustworthy or useful. Jay stated that a legal opinion is a statement by someone with expertise that he or she is willing to stake his professional reputation on. He said it’s not a guarantee but it is an honest, professional opinion. Christine said that it is not good use of $500 to seek a legal opinion when any future motion to drop Workers' Comp insurance should not be considered (regardless of any legal opinion) as long as the Folk Project does not carry Directors and Officers Insurance. Discussion ensued. Elizabeth and Chris both pointed out that we were exploring the same territory that the commission had already covered. Joanne called the question and her motion passed. Then we voted on Chris’ original motion and it passed with a clear majority.

Summer Songs

Mitch reported a successful show with 64 attendees, including 48 paid and 15 volunteers. He said the event more or less broke even and he thanked all his volunteers. Christine thanked Mitch for producing the show and we all applauded a job well done. Elizabeth reminded us that this event was meant to be a fundraiser and said that we should think about this for next year – is our goal FUN or FUNDS?

FP Archives – CAPES Grant - ad hoc committee

Lindsey reported that the FP doesn’t qualify for this particular grant, since we don’t have an existing archive in an existing building. However, she has received excellent professional advice about initiating a formal FP archive. The committee now has the outline of an action plan and will discuss how to move forward:

1. Educate: get the word out to the members and former members about what we plan to do and what we're looking for.

2. Conduct a survey to find out what people have and how much.

3. Find a secure space to collect and sort it all.

4. Collect, sort, and remove duplicates.

5. Decide what to copy and digitize.

6. Contact archivist and director Chad Leinaweaver from Morristown and Morris Township Public Library so he can have a look. If MMTPL can't take it, he said he can help us find another institution.

She suggested that the board consider creating a formal Archives committee and that she would be willing to chair it next year when she’s no longer the board secretary.

Intentions and Resources - ad hoc committee Written Report

Bob McNally was absent.

NEW BUSINESS

ASCAP/BMI Issues

Mike A. spoke about issues relating to how Getaway is assessed ASCAP and BMI fees for live performance of copyrighted work. These fees are based on a percentage of the ticket price. For Getaway, a straight payment of fees would be inflated because the Getaway ticket price includes accommodations, meals, and other non-music related costs. He said that the companies just want their percentage of the ticket price for the musical performance part of the event. We discussed 1) how to organize our accounts so as to avoid paying inflated fees based on non-musical costs and 2) how to avoid complicated ticket sale splits that would confuse the public. Chris stated that, as treasurer, he can account for it in Quickbooks so that the fees we pay reflect what we actually owe. This would apply to UkeFest as well, since ticket prices cover much more than musical performances.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Newsletter Written Report

George was absent.

Horses Sing None of It Written Report

Ken had no additions.

Swingin’ Tern Written Report

Leigh was absent.

Publicity Written Report

Paul had no additions. Chris said that we’ve earned our own Youtube vanity URL: www.youtube.com/c/folkprojectvideo . His brother Don has agreed to create a 1 minute video introduction for the page for the purpose of attracting new people.

Getaway Written Report

Mark reported on the current exciting line-up for fall Getaway. Allan suggested moving registration closer to Getaway because it sells out fast and then people cancel. Mark replied that when this happened in spring, they used the wait list to fill in the spaces that had been vacated, so it all worked out. He also said that fall registration will begin on July 15 instead of July 4, like last year. He said they eliminated early bird registration and that helped financially. Mark, Lori, and Barbara received applause for their heroic current and past Getaway chair dedication, successes, and sacrifices.

Electronic Communications Written Report

Lori discovered that, as a non-profit, we qualify for a 22% savings on our Paypal account. The account was originally opened by George, when he was webmaster, because he thought the FP ought to have one. As it’s still in his name, we haven’t been receiving the discount. Chris said we’re transitioning ownership of the account from George to the treasurer. Lori said we’ll save $250 – 300 per year, which made everyone happy.

Membership Written Report

Eddie had nothing to add.

Community Services Written Report

Pat thanked Pam for running the FP booth at “Meet Me in Morristown” in May, which took place on and around the Green. FP members provided live music from 5-9 pm and educated the public about FP activities and upcoming events. MMiM is sponsored by Morris Arts and will run on the last Thursday of every month through August.

Special Concerts Written Report

Pam reported a $182 net income from the Irish Mythen concert on May 13.

According to her audience surveys, the most requested musical style is Celtic, by a wide margin. Following Celtic are traditional folk, folk harmonies, and folk rock, followed by a tie between Arcadian and Classical.

She’s planning a holiday show in November and she’s in negotiations for a March 2017 date. UkeFest is already 1/6 sold out in the first 6 days of ticket sales.

Minstrel Staffing Written Report

Deborah had nothing to add.

Minstrel Booking Written Report

The Morris Township zoning board approved MUUF’s request to redo their parking lot but the construction probably won’t begin till next year. This is important because it affects the Minstrel and any special concerts or other events that we may want to schedule at MUUF. The zoning board conditioned the approval on some operating covenants, which could affect the FP. Outdoor amplified music will no longer be allowed (UkeFest did this once.) We have heard that some of MUUF’s neighbors have complained about noise and not just from us. Mike said our indoor music isn’t perceptible outside the building. The issue appears to be noise generated when people leave (cars on driveway, car doors slamming, people talking.) Mike will ask all future emcees to request that attendees be cognizant of the neighbors and to mitigate noise when leaving.

Event Hosting Written Report

Christine had nothing to add.

Mike requested that Christine move her May member show to June. Barbara said that the February, May, and October member show dates were already approved by a motion and can’t be changed without a new motion. Christine reminded us that the first Friday in February is the Valentine’s show, the first Friday in May is Summer Songs, plus the October Halloween show.

In response to a question from Grover about Open Stage, Christine said she’s experimenting with room changes (due to cost and room temperature) and break changes (due to periodic lack of food volunteers and because people tend to leave after the break). Discussion followed, with suggestions for possible changes.

Sound Reinforcement

Mike D. was absent.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 9:45 pm. The next meeting is at 8 pm on July 5 at the Florham Park home of Gloria Friedman.

Respectfully submitted by Lindsey Meyer, Secretary