Alex and all: Yes, this kind of ass-backwards thinking does get my blood pressure up. First, we would not be giving much away if the NSS Board followed it Acts and Policies (it would be nice if the Board was familiar with the same; they were not during my tenure). From Appendix L of the Board Manual (http://www.caves.org/nss-business/bog/Append-L.pdf): "The NSS, as a guideline, shall not pay more than 10% over fair market value as documented by a credible appraisal. This is an IRS recommendation for non-profit corporations." If an organization is only willing to pay appraised value, then a negotiating position is not given away by having such in the public record.
Secondly and more importantly, most of the NSS Business is not sensitive. However, the sensitive business is supposed to be conducted in closed session for which there are no minutes, published or otherwise. I tried to get a closed session policy adopted that included acquisition discussion and authorization as closed session business. However, the Board voted it down twice. Just because there is a perceived problem in one area, does not mean that it is to the NSS' advantage to hide all of our business. Doug Medville had a motion authorizing the NSS to spend up to $220,000 for an entrance to Great Ex (see http://www.caves.org/nss-business/minutes/oct02bog.html) and that was done without an appraisal. That certainly had a great deal of potential to undermine any potential negotiating potion. What if the property had been appraised and had come in at $45,000. Kind of hard for a landowner to walk away from that kind of money. Hiding our business pages is no substitute for good business practices or the ability to think critically. Philip L. Moss [email protected] ____________________________________________________________ Click here to find experienced pros to help with your home improvement project. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/PnY6rw2eRIsJ8umxR8A1OKvcoqa7Jn9dFN8nUuulvi7Lhf6U4KeT9/
