April Special 2021

The April 13, 2021 special Board meeting was called to order at 8:15 pm, via Zoom, by President Elizabeth Lachowicz.

Present: Trustees: Todd Dennison, Lois DeRitter, Joe Guzzo, Pamela Zave, Evelyn McNally, Diane Polledri, Allan Kugel; Officers: Elizabeth Lachowicz, Paul Fisher, Peggy Karr, Jeff Canter; Committees: Mark Schaffer, Sandie Reilly, Jay Wilensky, Gary Pratt, Mike Agranoff, George Otto, John Mahon, Leigh Walker, Bob McNally, Lindsey Meyer, Evelyn Maurer; Absent: Jean Scully, Nancy Beyer; Guests: Eitan Grunwald

MOTIONS MADE

• • Motion that The FP board will allow indoor events, in homes, of up to 25 people, with proof of vaccination, in accordance with CDC and NJS guidelines. Precautions would include an "Acknowledgement of Risk" by the participants. The motion passed 12-4.

  • Motion that the FP board approve the expenditure of $400/yr for an annual subscription for a cloud-based Membership Platform. The motion passed by unanimous vote.

BUSINESS

Proposed Motion: Request the expenditure of $400/yr for an annual subscription for a cloud-based Membership Platform. Chair Gary Pratt recapped the proposal explanation he originally gave at the regular April meeting. Vice President Paul Fisher explained that it was not necessary for Gary to have come to the board for this and thought it was considerate of him to come before the board. Trustee Allan Kugel thought this was an example of cost creep which could cause funding issues in the future and historically this was handled in house for both cost and security concerns. Treasurer Peggy Karr wanted to make sure this was integrated into QuickBooks. Gary assured her that the platform supports QuickBooks. President Elizabeth Lachowicz noted that the proposed platform also integrates with Constant Contact, and that would be very useful. Mike Agranoff felt that this and other costs, which were formerly known as G and A (General and Administrative) expenses, might require the FP to go back to assessing the venues a portion of profits to cover these expenses. Evelyn Maurer wanted to know if the data transfer was a manual process. Gary responded that the process was mostly automatic. Trustee Lois DeRitter raised concerns about security. Gary responded by saying he had access control and could add and delete member access at will and that the website itself was very secure. Todd Dennison added that FP has total control over what data is kept in the website.

Proposed Motion: The FP will allow indoor events, in homes, of up to 25 people, with proof of vaccination, in accordance with CDC and NJS guidelines. Precautions would include an "Acknowledgement of Risk" by the participants. Trustee Lois DeRitter believed, by virtue of being Folk Project events, they may not qualify as private functions in accordance with CDC and NJ guidelines and that the opinion of our pro Bono counsel re this should be obtained. Mark Schaffer responded that New Jersey law exempts private homes from the public gathering requirements. Trustee Allan Kugel stated that while there was a liability issue, he was more concerned that there could be a health issue caused by the gathering and a decision should be delayed by at least 1 1/2 months when he felt the situation would be much improved. Jay Wilensky noted that, while a Hold Harmless waiver may protect us, it does not protect the audience, and while legal compliance is important, our first priority should be what we are doing to protect the audience. He also noted a number of cautionary statements that appear in the NJ and CDC Covid guidelines, and that Mark could achieve many of his objectives by continuing to host concerts as private, rather than Folk Project, events. There was considerable discussion about what constitutes a public or private event. President Elizabeth Lachowicz stated that the FP, regardless of designation, should go above and beyond whatever standards are recommended. Treasurer Peggy Karr brought up the fact that we are going out now, and understand the risks and the proposed motion already reduces the risk in comparison to general public gatherings. She also stated that the Covid guidelines state that fully vaccinated people can get together without additional protections. The final consensus of the board is that, barring a contrary opinion by the pro bono counsel, a concert held by Mark in his home is private event.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:20 PM by President Elizabeth Lachowicz.