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Meeting Notes
Minutes of the Business Meeting of April 20, 2006
1. The meeting began shortly after 7 pm with Ed Lentz and Joe Richardson
serving as facilitators.
Present: Nick Albaugh, Leslie Albaugh, Colleen Blacklock, David Cyr, Mike
Kaufmann, Paddy Lane, Ed Lentz, Joe Richardson, Alice Richardson, Linda Seifried,
Stef Seifried, Emily VanLaeys, Mark VanLaeys, Walter vom Saal, Sandy Twang,
Hilda Wilcox,
2. The minutes of the March Business Meeting were approved.
3. Treasurer's Report: Income - $61; Expenses - $121 to the IRS for taxes
on income. There were no expenses to deduct. Balance on hand - $30.34.
Paddy asked how we could structure our organization so that at least some part
of our activity is tax-exempt. Ed will review requirements for becoming a 501c
organization, and will report back on this. Anyone with knowledge of this subject
should please contact Ed.
Walter: can we put some of our contributions into a fund that would be used
to pay for an event? Linda will consult a tax accountant to see if this would
shelter such contributions from taxation.
Agenda Review - Ed noted items to be covered and also called for help in
facilitating business meetings. He and Paddy prepare the agenda; a rotating
chairperson would enable the two of them to participate in discussions and
vote on issues. Please consider taking a turn at this job; it has its benefits,
and Ed and Paddy would really appreciate the help.
Iran - How shall we respond?
Dave: our group is already engaged in many useful and demanding local endeavors
Paddy: the April 29th activities in NYC will be focusing on Iraq, not Iran.
There is much evidence [which Paddy summarized] that Iran is “a hot issue,
quietly getting hotter”, and we should be raising a huge outcry over
this dangerous situation.
Nick: look at our position on Iraq and the actions we have already taken. Other
activist groups will likely “piggyback” the Iran issue onto Iraq-related
activities.
Ed: in the public’s eye, the Iran situation doesn’t yet even exist.
Awareness must be raised.
Mike: the public knows it was lied to in the case of Iraq; it may be easier
to convince them of danger this time.
Colleen: the onset of Peak Oil may very well overshadow and alter any “plans” for
Iran.
Dave: realize that both major political parties are supporting or allowing
this situation; the useful remedy is to register and vote Green.
Joe: we could sponsor a public forum on this issue.
Nick: [presenting more details indicating an attack] - the facts are complex
and the public faces many urgent problems, from global warming to bird flu.
Info on Iran must be put into an understandable form to have any benefit.
Motion: [Seifried, Wilcox] CfD should form a sub-group to look into ways and
means of publicizing the Iran issue. Carried unanimously.
Dave: new slogan from Greens is “Get Out of Iraq; Stay Out of Iran”
Peak Oil report:
Colleen Blacklock reported that the County Board of Representatives will soon
be hearing a presentation on peak oil and the need to prepare for “the
Long Emergency” [Kunstler]. Forty people attended the first showing
of “End of Suburbia”, and the Autumn Café has agreed to
schedule a showing. Colleen mentioned several specific concerns, including
the problem of obtaining seeds for food crops in the future. She is part
of a group that is learning about gardening and establishing an ‘intentional
community’, an agriculturally based community working to develop a
sustainable, off-the-grid lifestyle.
Next event: Linda reported on efforts to obtain a speaker for a program
dealing with municipal ownership of power production. Linda and Leon Kalmus
are in discussions with pro-municipal power people in Sidney, and with Steve
McCarthy, founder of the DelCoWind group in Delaware County that is heavily
involved with promoting municipal ownership of wind power facilities.
Motion: [Richardson, Albaugh]: Linda authorized to set a date for a public
forum on municipal power / renewable energy as soon as speaker can be arranged.
Carried unanimously.
Biomass plant: Dave reported on a public meeting discussing how plant emissions
would affect air quality. Attendance was lower than previous public meetings,
and was short on concrete figures. Dave has investigated claims that compare
the new plant very favorably with other area plants, finding these claims
misleading. He reported on the new technology that uses algae to clean stack
emissions. How available is this new technology? And why did plant reps and
DEC seem opposed to the idea?
Nick - should CfD’s position be that, for wind or biomass, a deciding
factor should be municipal ownership, or no plant at all?
John Miglietta and Cynthia Marsh are working together to make a documentary
about Peak Oil designed to reach youth.
Fast in Washington
Paddy: given that our present government is unresponsive to the needs of citizens
and governs by deceit, and the political process is not working properly,
a new way is needed to confront the government. How can one function as the “conscience
of the nation”? Paddy and her husband Dave Grodsky are working on setting
up an ongoing fast (rotating among various participants) in Washington, to
be combined with lobbying efforts. Would Catholic Workers or Quakers be supportive
of this? Would Hillary’s Albany office be a good location to do this?
Endorsing candidates : should CfD actually endorse candidates, or stop short
of that? It would likely be difficult to get everyone to agree on one candidate.
But we could educate the public on what candidates stand for, and publicize
issues. Information could come from questions put to candidates, or taken
from their web sites. This would be a community service and also serve one
of our functions, which is to get suitable candidates elected.
Motion: [Lentz, Wilcox] CfD should not endorse any candidates, but should issue
a “report card” which we will publicize. Carried unanimously. Members
should be consulted to determine what they want on such a report card. Details
to be decided.
Ed noted that we should host a public debate between all candidates, from all
parties, before the primaries. The entire group supported this idea. Paddy
will assist Ed in arranging this.
Dave reviewed the candidates of the Green Party.
Other work group reports:
Next Generation - this group has had a meeting, with a small attendance, but
showing promise.
Health Care - Mike reported that, rather than host a June health care forum,
the forum and study groups will take place in the fall. Meanwhile, the Health
Care work group hopes to find a speaker in the near future on the subject of
the recently-enacted Mass. Law on compulsory health care.
CfD Web Site: Walter handed out a draft of a design for the web page, and
he invites anyone to submit feedback - thoughts about the design of the site,
ideas for issues to be covered. He would like each group to submit a summary
of its purpose and activities. A moderator will be needed, to oversee comments
and material that is submitted. A domain name will also be needed. All expressed
appreciation to Walter for his efforts in providing this web site.
The meeting adjourned …somewhere around 9.
Minutes submitted by Linda Seifried.
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