[fsf60k] the munificent 5

dear friends,
though small in number, participants in last night's meeting focused like
members of congress voting on a pay raise for themselves.
behold:
1. they approved hiring a lawyer to draw up a waiver-release-disclaimer form
to be used by any member who is acting on behalf of friends, particularly on
trips to nicaragua. the form may cost about $1,200 and hopefully will be
ready by march. a meeting was held monday with a lawyer, who pointed out
that the group is vulnerable to lawsuits involving actions by "agents" who
are acting in our behalf. his proposed "iron-clad" form would not prevent
lawsuits, but would reduce the chance of a successful suit that could drain
our bank account. in addition, those present felt that a majority of those
attending a given meeting will need to give approval for any request to have
someone act on the group's behalf in nicaragua. for example what would
happen if someone asked conchita to visit nuevo amanecer to deliver food,
and she got in a traffic accident? the purpose is to regulate who is acting
on our behalf in order to reduce legal vulnerability. it was determined that
buying extra insurance against claims would be prohibitively expensive.
in a related matter, the group discussed setting up one or more off-long
island chapters through the irs. these chapters would keep their own books.
unresolved issues include the liability of the parent organization (friends
in northport) should the chapters, for example, break irs rules.
2. the lawyer also recommended tighter rules on the use of conchita's jeep,
such as giving her sole discretion over its use, and if she's not available
to give permission, using it only in cases of life-threatening emergencies.
3. the group also voted for a proposed $13,000 solar power system for the
nuevo well, replacing a diesel generator. george pardo and bill ofenloch
have spent a lot of time refining the technical aspects with douglas of suni
solar in managua.
4. letters of inquiry have been sent to several foundations requesting
support for our proposal to build 100 homes in chacraseca. two foundations
have expressed interest, and pete white is working with jason king in
washington to answer their follow-up questions. several foundations have not
yet responded.
5. approved a request by mike cipoletti to spend $1,800 to build a house in
chacraseca. the donation came from a family foundation in boston, and mike
is hopeful that this project will lead to other similar donations. conchita
will research who should receive the home.

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