CSC Minutes 10/18/97

Community Search Committee Meeting

Saturday, November 8, 1997

Time 6:45-8:20PM

Location: F.R Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA - Boston Weekend

Attendance: Bill Bassett (facilitator), Anne Moss (note taker), Margaret Flinter, Paul Freundlich, Bill McAvinney, Dena Gartenstein, Steve Robins, Neil Cowan, Judy Cowan, Lisa Kennedy, Mary Loan, Chris Orth, Mitch Levine, Scott Sandler, Sarah Hickler, Renard Thompson, Dan Gottesman, Zack Domike; briefly: Randy English; (after 7:45 pm also: Emmy Rainwalker, Kevin O'Connor, Peter Romani, Doug Belling).

Next CSC Meeting: Noon on Saturday 12/20 in Brattleboro, VT

REPORTS

1. "Property Search Specification Sheet", CSC Minutes from 10/18, and draft of "CSC Report 97"

Copies of "Property Search Spec Sheet" were read; looks great; will be submitted as part of "CSC Report 97". Thank you Margaret! Feedback on draft of "CSC Report 97" - The committee would like clarification: How much of the $400 is left in our 1996-97 budget?

2. Update on Camp Mataponi

Next summer we'll be returning to Mataponi. If they build the new Rec Hall, our rent would go up to $25K; if not, we'd pay $22,600. Though camp will still go for only 14 days, our set-up time will be longer, as the owner has cancelled the weekend ahead of our camp.

3. CSC Retreat Weekend 1998

Earth Dance is available as our retreat location; Another Place Farm is being considered, if registration high.

It was decided to schedule the Retreat Weekend for either:

March 6-8 or March 13-15.

Reminders from 10/18 regarding Retreat Weekend jobs:

1. Those who agreed to build an agenda and post it to DNESrch were Dena, Paul, and Bill McA, with possible help from ALisa, who will also be asked if she would like to think about play/vibes.
2. Paul was to check out food for the weekend, as well as make final arrangements regarding the space.
3. David Kahn agreed to create a timeline: What needs to be done by when?
4. Dena agreed to work on a budget($200) and registration for the weekend.(Early Registration would be necessary to determine if our location is Earth Dance or Another Place Farm, and if we'll need babysitters).
5. Carolyn said she would get the word out to the community.
6. Written materials to go out to those planning to attend will be prepared by Bill Bassett, Margaret, and David.
7. Scenarios will be put together by Bill McA (DNE buys) , and Margaret (cooperative corp.), and Paul and David (long-term rental). Note: These scenarios may need rethinking in view of Camp Chaya. (below)

4. CSC Website

Randy English is in the process of finishing work on the new Website, which should be available by the end of the week. He will then move the CSC information from MIT to his server. Thank you Randy!

5. Partnerships

Paul spoke with Tom Boynton of Friends & Lovers. They are interested

in partnering with us, but they aren't ready yet.

Paul also spoke with Jimi Two-Feathers of Earth Drum Council about

properties in North Central Massachusetts.

Len Huber spoke with a contra dance group about possibly sharing a

long-term rental

6. To Buy: Camp Chaya

Description:

In North Central Connecticut there's a campsite which might meet our needs. Chaya is two hours from all our major centers of population on 128 acres near Winsted, CT. It is close to a reservoir, which abuts state land, and there is not much traffic. There is a private pond, a huge, very private, in-ground swimming pool, and 41 mostly decrepit buildings.

The Dining Hall is 5,500 sq. ft. It appears that 11 or 12 buildings would need to be shored up soon and renovated, and that a lodge would need to be built. A hedge could be planted to ensure privacy from the road. The private pond is about the size of a football field, but there's a huge town lake about an 1/8 mile away for folks who want boating, etc.

Chaya opened as a day camp for a while (the permit now is for a day

camp), but last summer when someone turned the wrong valve, raw sewage backed up into the dining hall. County health officials closed down the camp. The septic has since been repaired.

Paul Freundlich borrowed the appraisal document from the foreclosure

lawyer and brought it to the Boston Weekend, where many of us were able to take a look at the photos and maps.

price/Financing/Bargaining/Timetable

The property sold for $375,000 a year ago. The previous owner took back a note for $300,000 (as mortgage). There are also about $138,000 in back taxes. The present owner is in complete default to the town and to the previous owner, which is the reason for the foreclosure.

The price of the property might be from $200,000-$450,000.

The owner will take open bids and auction after foreclosure, which is set for 1/6/98. If we had our decision-making and our finances in place by the end of this year, we could make an offer well ahead of others who have expressed interest. In early January we could go in to evaluate septic, plumbing, architecture, etc. and decide what we would bid. One idea is to create a self-mortgage pool, raising $250,000 - $400,000 from DNE members, and cooperatively structure the loan so that those loaning would have equity protection. (Many might not expect to receive interest nor even their money back.) Paul could turn over his 501-C3 (tax exempt status), so that we'd have a strong bargaining position with the town of Winsted. We could possibly have Vermont Bank as a financing partner and we could go into the foreclosure prepared to put down $10,000 to hold our bid from January-March. All of this is, of course, speculative. Other options are possible. Ideas?

 

questions

Do we want it? What's it worth? Will it meet our needs?

What don't we know that we need to know? How good is the septic

system; how good are the wells; how many folks can this space support; what about zoning?

How much would refurbishing and stabilizing the buildings cost?

($10,000-15,000 plus sweat equity) How much would it cost to build a lodge? ($150,000-200,000)

What's the development/business plan? (See Paul' s comprehensive

separate report, which follows his excellent presentation to the Boston

Community Meeting!)

How would sweat equity come into play? (The Elders are working on the

issue of DNE equity as it has been seen and dealt with in the past.)

Would the Reps, as our legal Board of DNE, authorize this? Would they make $75,000 available (from the $90,000 in our DNE account) as well as $7,000 from our Homeplace account? Could this "earnest money" be a contingent commitment of the financing package going into the purchase of this property? Could we raise the rest? Could we get the issue of the 501-C3 status cleared beforehand?

Should DNE move forward on this? At the very least it would get us

into the stage of readiness. That tangibility would carry over into other potential sites.

Could we do a mail referendum to the DNE community? Or could we call

an emergency Community Meeting? (75-80% positive responses would be desirable)

 

It was decided that:

1) Paul would present the idea to the community during the Boston

Community Meeting tomorrow afternoon (11/9).

2) We would formally ask the Reps to consider our recommendation to

investigate the purchase, to give a contingent commitment to buying the property, and that we inform them of our plan to schedule and in-depth weekend meeting on this topic in early March.

 

Paul will continue to coordinate this project. He and Margaret will attend the upcoming Rep meeting at Another Place Farm on Sunday, Nov. 23, if the Reps can fit this into their agenda. He estimates the presentation to take 30 minutes and the discussion about 60-90 minutes. Thank you Paul!

Next CSC meeting

The next CSC meeting starts at noon on Saturday, Dec. 20

at Dena Gartenstein's in Brattleboro, VT. Potluck.

The Brattleboro Dance, to which we are invited, takes place that same night. We are invited to stay afterwards at Dena's.

Call or e-mail Dena for directions: (802) 258-9088, <dweaver@sover.net>

Last modified: Marcy 10, 1998