Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: commitments to community

[Lynn Nadeau / Maraiah (welcome]

RoseWind Cohousing, long-built in Port Townsend WA. 

There are legal commitments. If dues are not paid, first one loses the right to 
use the common areas (if x time in arrears); eventually, there accrue late 
fees, and it becomes a lien against the property, due upon sale of the 
property. (One mentally ill member stopped paying and on his death the lien was 
paid off.) Dues can be paid on various payment plans, but must be current at 
least to the "monthly" payment schedule, unless another agreement has been 
reached. This is spelled out in our legal documents. 

There are social commitments, I might call them: doing one's part in the many 
sorts of tasks to run the community: attending meetings, committee work, 
helping with meals, working on the land and perennial food crops. There are no 
explicit consequences for failure to pitch in in these ways. And about a third 
of our households do little or nothing in this regard. 

We do have work parties of 2-3 hours, typically in the afternoon after our 
monthly meeting (which is in the morning). Each household is obliged to put in 
at least 5 work parties a year. (Multiple household members participating 
counts for multiple credits-- so a couple plus a helping kid could fulfill the 
obligation on just two work days.) Those 80 years old+ or disabled are exempt. 
For each work party short of 5, a charge of $30 is due to the community. Each 
time we have a work party, there is someone who takes attendence. At year end, 
the treasurer adds this required "contribution" to that family's bill. 

Maraiah Lynn Nadeau
in the NW, where one can still walk out in just a sweater, and there is still 
spinach and such in the garden