Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Affiliate/associate members

[PattyMara (PattyMara]

In a message dated 5/10/00 2:02:26 AM !!!First Boot!!!, Berrins [at] aol.com 
writes:

<< 
 BTW, our lawyer advised us not call them "members", even associate members, 
 as that would infer some kind of legal say in Pathways business.  Whatever.  
 So, we are brainstorming for another handle to refer to them by.  Any ideas?
  >>

How about "neighbors" or "friends"?   

At Tierra Nueva, central CA coast, we *agonized* over this issue of associate 
members or whatever, because we had a former member who purchased a 
neighboring house after dropping out of the group, then wanted to participate 
and reap all the benefits of our community life.  Some sour grapes because we 
really needed the member to stay on so we could make the project a go.  
Eventually we got more than enough members and sold all the houses so it was 
no longer an issue.  All of the pre-move-in discussions and agonizing 
dissispated when the reality of living here settled in. 

 The ex-member, now good neighbor, Carol, has been a wonderful addition to 
our community, offering many contributions in time, extra parking, committee 
work and good energy buffer zone with our other not so friendly neighbors.  
She has also pledged a generous amount to our workshop fund, so she is 
contributing to our common holdings.  

My sense is that every situation will be different, depending on the 
neighbor's willingness to pitch in and really do the work of community living 
as well as enjoy the benefits of proximity and shared resources.  In my mind, 
there is more value to contributions of time and enthusiasm than money 
(monthly homeowners dues or whatever you call your assessment) especially 
during the intitial move-in when everyone is so weary and tapped out.  A good 
neighbor who really is there for you is worth their weight in gold....so my 
advise is to welcome them into community activities, set some clear 
boundaries about expectations of sharing the work in trade for sharing the 
perks, and keep communication open to assess what is working, or not working. 
 

coheartedly,
Patty Mara
Tierra Nueva Cohousing, central CA coast.