September 2020

The meeting was called to order at 8:00 PM on September 2, 2020, via a Zoom teleconference.

ROLL CALL

Present:

Trustees: Elizabeth Lachowicz, Todd Dennison, Lois DeRitter, Dave Heistand, Christine DeLeon, Paul Fisher, Allan Kugel, Evelyn McNally; Jeff Canter Officers: Paul Fisher, Jay Wilensky, Peggy Karr, Jeff Canter (acting); Committees: Elizabeth Lachowicz, Lindsey Meyer, Evelyn Maurer, Mark Schaffer, Jay Wilensky, Gary Pratt, Mike Agranoff, George Otto, Todd Dennison, John Mahon, Lee Walker; Guests: Robin Schaffer.

Absent:

Jean Scully, Sandie Reilly

MOTIONS MADE

  • Motion made to accept the August minutes. After some discussion involving what could be attached to the minutes, and whether or not minutes can be retroactively altered, the motion passed by a vote of 15 for with 0 against and 2 abstentions.

  • Motion made to have Membership Committee Chairman Gary Pratt to also be the chair of the Nominating Committee. Motion passed unanimously.

  • Gary Pratt moved to cease using the “Fullboard” distribution list for Board business (see New Business). Motion was tabled so that Gary could give his motion further consideration. The motion to table passed 15 for and 1 against.

  • Motion made that we upgrade to a business account to allow for Zoom transcriptions. Motion passed unanimously.

TREASURER'S REPORT (written report)

Treasurer Peggy Karr reported that she successfully was able to retroactively reduce our liability insurance. Officer and trustee insurance has not been adjusted, but will be examined at the end of the year. She also reported that all the Swingin' Tern Covid checks were sent out and thanked Chris Riemer who has reviewed and volunteered to continue to review the QuickBooks accounts for Peggy.

OLD BUSINESS

Meeting etiquette and rules for discussion

Peggy observed how some speakers could talk for excessive periods of time, and suggested that a time limit be established for speakers with 3-5 minutes for the initial presentation, 1-2 minutes for comments and 1-2 minutes for responses to comments. She also reminded the board that courtesy and respect for others should always be observed.

This generated a considerable amount of discussion, and while considered a good idea, there were issues with how it would be enforced and who would enforce it. The issue was also raised that there could be subjects that could not be properly presented in 3-5 minutes. Trustee Lois DeRitter raised the issue that there were times that projects were decided on before being presented to the board and that this was an example of poor communication. Lois stated that poor communication in general is a major problem and should be the subject of a dedicated Board discussion. Her comments generated considerable discussion, however, due to limited time, it was determined that further discussion be continued at a future date.

S863 Committee update

S863 is a New Jersey Legislature proposed bill which says that for the purposes of all State employment laws, individuals who are are presently designated as independent contractors (e.g. the performers at the Troubadour) shall be deemed employees, and shall be subject to the provisions of those laws unless their employment meets certain conditions. Folk Project contends that performers fall under the provisions which describe those conditions and that the reclassification of independent contractors to employees would seriously harm our ability to provide live entertainment.

Folk Project is fortunate enough to be represented pro bono by Kelley, Drye and Warren who has been in correspondence with State Senator Steven Sweeney, the sponsor of the bill. Board President Paul Fisher discussed latest response to Sen. Sweeney. He also discussed the California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5), legislation which will require companies that hire independent contractors to reclassify them as employees, with a few exceptions, and a subsequent amendment which would allow music professionals will once again be able to follow a less-strict test to determine employment classification for both live performances and studio recordings. He described the amendment as a template for our response to the pending New Jersey Legislation. Paul also mentioned that there were three different letters (depending on the type of recipient) being prepared to be provided to other organizations to sign on to the effort.

NEW BUSINESS

Proposed amendment to the by-laws on Board meetings. (proposed amendment)

Paul described the updates to the bylaws which would allow for followup meetings to be held with less than a 10 day notice is agreed to by the quorum present at the meeting where the followup meeting is created. The other update was to allow for remote meetings (such as Zoom) as long as all participants were able to hear each other (to allow for participation either by computer or phone). The updates were presented at this meeting, and will be voted on at the next meeting.

Board email distribution lists.

Motion made by Gary Pratt to eliminate the use of “Fullboard” for board matters, including minutes. There was significant discussion as to whether or not to have an extended (board plus additional recipients) mailing list, and who should be on it. The consensus was that there are reasons for an extended list and there was discussion on how to maintain and populate it. Gary amended his motion to include renaming “Fullboard” to “Board Legacy”, not using it for any Board Level discussions, that annually the list would be reviewed, and an email would be sent to each person on the list so that they could decide if they should remain on the list. After continued discussion, it was suggested that the motion be tabled to the next meeting, to which Gary agreed (see Motions Made).

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Sound Reinforcement (written report)

Stand on report.

Archives

Nothing to report

Open Stage (written report)

Stand on report

Troubadour Booking (written report)

Committee chairman Mike Agranoff stated, that on further reflection after the August meeting, he decided that due to safety concerns, the amount of effort involved, and the uncertainty of how many performers would be willing to make the trip, he decided to shelve plans for starting a Troubadour Online series of webcast concerts from MUF. That made the followup extra meeting to consider the discussion on that topic unnecessary, and it was canceled.

Community Services

As part of her report, Evelyn requested that the minutes reflect that a week ago was the 44th anniversary of the Minstrel/Troubadour. Evelyn has no computer availability and could not provide an "in memorium," and thanked Jean Scully and Chris Riemer George Otto for standing in for her.

Swingin’ Tern (written report)

Nothing to report

Newsletter (written report)

Chairman George Otto requested that John Lamb create a special email address GOTO@folkproject.org for items to be included in the newsletter. Paul suggested that whoever takes over that email include George.

Membership (written report)

Stand on report, with comment that August was the first month with an increase in membership since February.

Horses Sing None Of It (written report)

Stand on report

Special Events (written report)

Chairman Mark Schaffer stated that Gary Pratt has taken over 2/3 of the executive responsibility and that he, Kathy Kathi Caccavale and Open Stage Chairman Todd Dennison have put in a lot of work to improve the platform for which Mark is eternally grateful.

Trustee Lindsey Meyer asked about the “hacker” issue, which Paul explained that that was a misnomer, and it was simply trolls on the chat. Lindsey asked about a common platform, and Mark explained that they are working on the possibility of using Facebook, but there are issues which, if not resolved, will not be implemented. Gary added that there are some performers were already approved to use other platforms, and those agreements will be honored. There was a concern that you had to be a member of Facebook to see the concerts, but the response was you could see the concert without being a member if the concert is hosted by Folk Project.

Event Hosting (written report)

Stand on report

Publicity/Web (written report)

Stand on report

ADJOURNMENT

Meeting was adjourned at 10:10 p.m. Next month’s meeting is Tuesday, May 5 October 6, 2020 at 8 p.m in cyberspace via Zoom.

Submitted by Jeff Canter.