All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: review of management election process
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: Letter to Utility Commission, how to feel better and support each other
All-Community
All-Community
Decisions: Decision: North field will be used as a garden during 2017
Topics: Use of north field
Proposal: North Field Use as Garden
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: discussion why cohousing, the purpose of community, supporting community. When you want to do something in a common area
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics:
Discussion: Discussion: how to handle low-level interpersonal conflict
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: Topics: community calendar, email policy
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics:
Discussion: Topics: Community calendar, mail without unit numbers, questions for ACM survey
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: Topics: the Four Agreements (process exercise), definition of member, new community calendar
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: Topics: consensus review, herbicides & pesticides. No decisions.
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: Topics: presentations on SL community plans & recycling, new protocol for tracking equipment usage, cohousing.org donation,
All-Community
Decisions: Decision: Kathy #6 will submit FHA application.
Topics: Topics: wildlife on property, FHA approval, elder units
All-Community
Decisions: Decisions: Participate in River District Home Tour June 18. Get more information about FHA qualification. Offer paid position of property manager to community members.
Topics: Topics: tour, FHA qualification, property management
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: Topics: lessons from conference, weeds
All-Community
Decisions: Decisions: Use north field as garden, as organic as possible. In August, discuss planting an orchard or other long-term uses.
Topics: Topics: what makes us unique, conference planning, report on irrigation to north field, use of north field as garden this year
Proposal: North Field Garden
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: Topics: check-in & announcements, then adjourn to work to get community ready for open house next weekend.
Discussion:
Proposal:
Proposal File: proposals/
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: Topics: review Vision Statement
All-Community
Decisions: Decision: Do not lease north field to BUG Farms this year.
Topics: Topics: BUG Farms, north field
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: Topics: Exercise, why do we live in community; use of north field by BUG Farms
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: Topics: participation in maintenance, BUG Farms use of north field, email policy
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: Topics: conference, website,
All-Community
Decisions:
Topics: Topics: parking lot cameras, snow melt, dining club update, tree work
annual
Decisions: Decisions: Elected Kellie Henderson & John Garrison (owners) and Joel Cannon (renter rep). Consensed 2016 budget.
Topics: Topics: Election for Management, two owner positions, one renters rep. Budget.
Sociocracy book club chapters 9-10 Thursday night.
Maintenance circle meets last Saturday of month 10:00 a.m., next meeting Dec 31. Everyone is invited, separate email list. They will figure out how residents can submit requests for work to be done.
New Year's Eve party, usually starts with games. Bring finger food and drinks. Midnight toast bubbly and alternate will be provided.
No ACM on Christmas day. Regular weekend get-togethers will be held Christmas weekend, Saturday caf‚ at Lynda's & Sunday potluck.
Hans will host the dance group in the common house. (Laraine can't attend.)
Announcements & Reports
Got the dining room thermostat replaced; something wrong with its electronics. Joel will get someone to come look at the furnace.
Shawnie has shrink-wrapped hothouse cucumbers 3 for $1.
Esther's parents & grandparents will be staying in Wasons' house.
Items cleared out of messy crafts room will be in dining room until Monday then sent to DI. If there are things that should be kept, talk to Kellie & Joel.
Process is discussing having ACMs being a regular "give it away" time, for people to bring things to give away.
Elaine will be working on cleaning up the workshop.
Review of timeline for proposals:
Woman wants to rent a room for four months starting in January. Talk to Vicky if you are interested in renting a room.
Management has been working on the 2017 budget. Will finalize proposal at Jan 2 meeting for presentation at ACM January 11. [There is supposed to be a reserve report at the Annual Meeting.]
Please note that the annual budget that the community approves each year is for the operating budget. Major expenses such as roof repairs and appliance replacement are in a separate capital budget, not in the operating budget.
Handouts: (1) Process for Management Committee Election. (2) Excerpt from Bylaws on Management Committee responsibilities.
The community's financial and legal issues are Management's primary responsibilities. Maintenance is Management's responsibility per the bylaws, but that can be delegated to a separate Maintenance committee.
If you cannot be at the meeting, (1) give someone who will attend a written proxy to cast your vote. (2) If you are willing to be nominated, give someone a written statement that you are, such as an email to the community, a note to Process, or a note sent with someone to the meeting. People who aren't present at the meeting and haven't given consent to be nominated cannot be nominated.
If you want to nominate someone in particular, you might approach them before the meeting to make sure that they will be there or will submit a note indicating they are willing to be nominated.
On Saturday, December 17, 2016 2:30 PM Wasatch Commons G.G. on behalf of Kay Argyle wrote:
The Annual Meeting for the Wasatch Commons Condominium Association will be the first meeting in January (the second Wednesday).
Management has five official (voting/owner) positions. Among these positions there are three officers: President, Secretary, Treasurer. The President signs official papers on behalf of the WCCA. The Secretary (usually) takes meeting minutes. The Treasurer oversees and works with the Bookkeeper (usually a hired position).
Renters are encouraged to select one of themselves to attend management as the Renter's Representative, a nonvoting advisory position. Management tries as much as possible* to make decisions by consensus, so in practice a Renter's Rep can have considerable influence. (*In 18 years, Management has voted on only one or two decisions.)
Elections are not for particular offices within management, although a nominee's abilities to fulfill the duties of a particular office may be taken into consideration. Management chooses which of its members hold which office.
We will use the sociocracy nomination process, as people were pleased with how well that worked last year.
Nomination Round
All persons present receive a slip of paper, on which they write their own name, and the name(s) of the person(s) they want to nominate. Nominations may be submitted by proxy. Nominations may be of people who aren't present.
Nominations are handed in. The facilitator reads the names on each slip and asks the person who nominated that/those person(s) for the reason(s) they are nominating that person.
The people being nominated (or those holding their nomination proxies) do not at this time say whether or not they are willing to be nominated.
Attributes Round
Round robin. Each person present offers any comments they have about any of the people nominated, or any comments about the qualifications to be sought in a member of management.
Consent Round
The facilitator asks each person who has been nominated if they would be willing to serve if elected, or if there are nomination proxies for people who aren't present.
Nominations of people who don't consent or who aren't present and haven't submitted a proxy (and can't be reached immediately to ask) are withdrawn.
Election Round
Persons who are qualified to vote ("voters") receive a ballot. Qualifications are (1) one vote per unit, and (2) renters hold the proxy for their unit if the owner isn't present and hasn't submitted a proxy. The vote for a unit may be split in fractions among the adult of the household.
Voters write the names of the nominees they are voting for, one name per open position; e.g., if there are three open positions, they write three names. Indicate on the ballot if the vote is a one-half or one-third, etc., share, if more than one person of that unit is voting.
[Q. for future discussion: If you really really want to make sure a particular person gets on, can you write their name three times and have it count for three votes?]
Tabulation
Votes are tabulated. The nominees who receive the most votes are elected, as many as there are open positions.
Newly elected and continuing members of Management should confer on a regular meeting day and time for the committee.
Not discussed, but added by note-taker:
There will be two(?) documents circulated at the meeting. Each person present should sign each. If someone holds the proxy for a person not present, they should note on the signature page: "Proxy for Jane Doe held by Jack Moe." The names of the persons newly elected to management and elected as officers for 2017 will be filled in on the documents after the election.
Saturday Dec 3, 7:00 p.m. First hour refreshment, cider, pear jam. Caroling ~8 p.m.
Saturday Dec 3rd 11 a.m. at c.h., Elders Rising, making posters. Skit December 7 11:30 in front of BLM office, north of Gateway.
Parking lot drain was covered with leaves and unable to drain. Please keep parking lot drains clear.
Putting together budget for 2017. Will schedule preconstruction meeting with Google for fiber installation.
Scott Hittman is recovered from his wrist surgery and done with Forest Service for year and should be able to start work on trees soon.
Rocky Mountain Power is holding hearings to raise rates on solar.
Our policy is that the community doesn't take public political stances as a community. On the other hand, we as a community own solar panels.
Could frame the letter as presenting our experience with solar panels. Management
Decision: Kellie & Kay will draft a letter and distribute it for community input.
Watch cheerful movies.
Get more exercise. Get an exercise partner. Walk together. Northwest Community Center recreation is $125/year for senior. If insurance has Silver Sneaker, membership is free. Track, swimming pools, spin bikes, weights. Lynda & Carol go at 7:30 a.m., M-F (7 a.m. Th); Mary & Izzy go 10:00 a.m. Be out on the path waiting, to go along. Lynda will send an email with details. Post the Center's schedule in common house.
Become politically active. Call politicians. Write letters. Even if you don't believe it will change anything, it will make you feel less passive.
A door card that is stronger encouragement for visit than green.
More community social events, movie nights, game nights, dinner out, music nights. Organization doesn't need to be more complex than "I'm going, anybody interested?" Share what you are doing.
Have a regular night for community get-togethers. First Wednesday of the month? Celebrations Committee will work on this.
The minutes are copied below and attached.
Regarding my announcement about filming by Sierra Club on Friday:
Kathy A. As part of the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Initiative
(http://content.sierraclub.org/coal/ ) they are doing a film about the haze on the Wasatch Front. They will be filming in Wasatch Commons on the afternoon of 11/18 because of our commitment to sustainable energy with our Solar Panels and plug in for electric vehicles. Kathy cannot be with them the whole time and would appreciate it if other community members might be around to talk with them. Please let Kathy know.
* I have touched base with Shyra about concerns about filming her children; she will take whatever precautions are necessary.
* Are the other spokespeople who are familiar with our various solar collectors--both for the community and individual units--who can be available Friday afternoon 2:00-ish to talk with the videographers?
* Any quick clean-up around the outside of the units and carports is appreciated, as always.
* Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions--801-803-2384, Unit 17
Kathy A.
Isabella Sat. Nov 12 3pm Izzy's student recital, violin and taiko. Several students of all levels including Kay on violin and Mary on the taiko o Fri. Nov 25 6-10pm Taiko party. Join members of Izzy's taiko group (Kenshin
Taiko) for food, drink, and drumming. Please bring food to share if you are able to.
Becca--Sat. Dec 3, evening. Singing Christmas carols. Also cider and cookies. We start in the common house and then go to people's houses to sing for them (caroling).
Mark Lords of Nature will be shown at the Marmalade Library, Tues, Nov. 15.
Kathy A. As part of the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Initiative they are doing a film about the haze on the Wasatch
Front. They will be filming in Wasatch Commons on the afternoon of 11/18 because of our commitment to sustainable energy with our Solar Panels and plug in for electric vehicles. Kathy cannot be with them the whole time and would appreciate it if other community members might be around to talk with them. Please let Kathy know.
Linda A. -- Are people interested in a WaCoHo Thanksgiving Dinner? Please talk with
Linda A; she will also put a sign-up sheet up (4 people present expressed an interest).
Submitted budget request for 4 cameras and online video history
Mark installed Swan system from Lowes; very unreliable
Joel also put up a couple of cameras; looking at other options; does not recommend that system.
What are we trying to achieve? o Lighting also on to-do list; maintain in carports and improve along the path. o Goal to ID people who break into cars or come on property o For prosecution, rather than just stopping it. o Camera system has 30-day return policy so we can try it out
Community detective meeting o Working on that o A Rep from the Mayors office and a detective assigned to our community will be here Thursday or Monday.
Vaughn has had no problem since he started rolling down the windows and putting on a steering wheel lock. He didn't have problems before, either.
Light bulb over Isabella's car is almost out; spare light bulbs are in the Linens Room across from the Laundry Room
Question about budget what is the process? o Management invites community to come to meetings and chime in o First or second ACM meeting in January community votes on the budget
(Annual Meeting).
Next management meeting will be a discussion of the budget; committee people should be prepared to discuss.
This is Part I of the process These are ideas; no decisions or consensus:
What does land use mean? o Lawn around Common House o Front yards/back yard/landscaping/carports o Not the north field, but there was tension and confusion there. o Spiral, Wild Area, garden boxes, E/W Berm, Common House front/back. Who is responsible and what is the plan? Who is working on those areas? o Participation and delegation needed for these decisions. o Not allowed to complain about something unless you are going to take care of it yourself.
When do you need to go to the ACM for consensus? o Transitory (bounce house), Intermediate (Sukkah Hut), Permanent changes
(Fencing, Out Buildings).
What issues do we have that we need guidelines? o Where do the "yards" end and where are common areas? Historically we have been responsible for own front and back yards.
Are there concerns about front/back yard landscaping and usage
Common Area belongs to whole community
Limited Common area porches under the roof
We have said people can maintaining further and can come to agreement with neighbors about which is whose
What if someone doesn't want to take care of the land beyond the limited common area?
How many changes can you make to "your yard" trees are long term
(need community buy-in); bushes are short term (resident can decide)?
Some backyards are disgraceful, some can't be seen behind fences. How do we define successes? Do we have a level of maintenance that is definable, acceptable? Kathy K will be working on Unit 10, front.
Enforcement and consequences important to define.
Problem can be that there is no clear boundaries; need a process to create a boundary. Where do people's yards end in the wild area?
Some feel they are not allowed to do any maintenance; boundaries would help so that people can "adopt" a certain area;
Clearly defined work groups to participate in. o Trees trimming, watering, removal who "owns" trees?
What about tree-trimming; who pays for the trees in our yards?
Trees are technically common area & community is responsible for care/removal
We now only remove trees with approval of the people living under them
Trees that are causing the problem are not what we planted; problems are Siberian Elms and Russian Olive
Several years ago, we agreed that the Siberian Elm trees need to be slowly removed after replacement trees have been planted.
There should be notification of the community before trees are removed
How do we plant trees?
At one time there was a tree committee
Markers placed at proposed tree places and the community had an opportunity to comment.
Problem: trees got planted without the necessary irrigation being installed.
Sewers
Do trees damaging the sewer make it community responsibility? Area of ambiguity.
Hans bylaws written in '97 makes drain between house and common sewer responsibility of the homeowner; now the laws have changed; need a lawyer looking at the bylaws. o Landscaping of common areas
We need a long-range maintenance plan.
Who makes these decisions? Management? ACM? Tree Committee?
Mary in charge of landscaping and she considers that to include trees o Water
A number of units have valve boxes (for irrigation) in their yards; another category who is responsible for watering?
Household drain clean-outs and storm drains need to be found, marked, and maintained.
Drainage around the buildings is a problem o A lot of these issues can be resolved using Common Sense and Communication
Caroling party December 3rd. Becca is coordinating.
November 12th 3:00 p.m. student recital, five violin students and one taiko student.
November 12 Peace Corps pot luck 6:00 p.m. slide show 7 p.m. Everyone is welcome. Guests will be former Peace Corps volunteers. Guest speakers Peace Corps volunteers over 50 years old who worked in Uganda and Mexico.
Multiple car break-ins on the east side last night.
All committees please submit budget requests before November 1. Mgt will try to get last year's budget and actuals posted. Will be changing insurance agents from Craig Crockett to Scott Hirschi; premiums will drop from $15K to $11K.
Underutilized Spaces: Former southwest dumpster enclosure/recycling shed is clean and empty. Newer TV has been donated and old ones will be going. Getting rid of VHS tapes from common house. Anyone who can use them please take them.
Welcoming Committee is working on its budget: Vicky, Joel, Linda A
Process meets the Sunday before an ACM, following potluck.
Once a proposal is presented it belongs to the community, not to the individual(s) who wrote it. It is not an adversarial process. Blocks may be on the basis of what is good for the community, not on personal preference.
Sequence:
Version distributed on paper isn't the latest version.
Current version:
"Allow the current Garden Circle to continue, through the year 2017, the ongoing
project of cultivating the North Field (approx one-eighth acre) into an adaptive, integrated urban farming model that approaches an ideal from the perspective of organic methods, community participation and benefits, and intensive, synergistic production (i.e. ample seasonal produce shared with the community). Organic urban farming includes gardening crops, as well as practicing permaculture through the use of chickens for weed control, pest control, egg production and soil improvements.
The north field boundaries are from the property boundary (the fence) on the north, the alley on the east, the firepit on the south, and the fort play structure on the west.
"Both the farming and the chickens will be accompanied by a storage shed and a chicken coop [amendment: and a compost structure]. Both of these structures are non-permanent and could be removed and sold at a later date.
"[amendment] A path will be maintained through the area for community use."
This proposal is for one year.
Space is expanded from last year's proposal of the area used by BUG Farm.
Requests: Make boundaries more explicit. Explicit paths, particularly along fence.
The community will continue paying for water. This proposal does not include a budget request but does not exclude the possibility.
Proposing to use a biodynamic approach. Organic is basically a list of thou-shalt-nots. Biodynamics looks at processes to improve system health.
The north garden group meets Saturday mornings but welcomes involvement by those who can't attend at that time.
Communication to community will be helpful. Have been sending out email reports and can continue that. Consider a committee report at ACMs.
Need to learn from mistakes in interaction and communications made this year.
Community residents who are actively participating in the work have first dibs on produce, but surplus is expected and will be available to the community.
Many of the participants in the north field group are new residents and may unintentionally step on toes. Please be patient and help guide them if that happens.
It's good to see a cooperative effort working. Finally have a community garden that is shared rather than individual boxes. Enjoyed knowing food was being canned.
Please make structures attractive or screen them.
No blocks. Two stand asides (decline to state reasons). Consensed.
Just to be clear, the proposal is consensed through the end of 2017 after brief discussion. Reason, It is November, we still have plants being harvested, and thorough, proper garden winterization will take weeks more. Conclusion at meeting was year end still left plenty of time to assess and decide for 2018.
Also, they're not recorded, but thank you to those who made some of the most favorable, encouraging comments about the project, upheld the community values/processes through the discussion, kept it healthy, and for the lovely, inspiring way that meeting was conducted and facilitated. It was a beautiful, shining, community memory for me. And totally rejuvenated my faith and enthusiasm in WCC. I want to list names, but afraid I'll skip someone...you know who you are. Your support before the meeting and during was golden!
Thanks to those who spent a lot of time formulating the proposal and all its revisions and for all the great advice from multiple corners.
Several of us are really looking forward to a new year in 2018, and for the good memories and bonding the North Field will create within this community. And we want to be super ready for all the tours! Don't forget, if you do not have either time, space or know-how for a full garden of your own...the North Field Garden Circle welcomes you for 2018. Come join us next year for the camaraderie and the therapeutic experience of working the land with others as a team. We meet every Sat morning. We have a good time back there and it has become a gathering place, and an opportunity to know others better.
Sincerely, Shawnie
PS. At present, we can't keep up with egg demand but we will have more chickens for adoption and double egg production come spring or even much earlier. Depends on how the cold affects the newer, youngest chickens which should start laying next month.
On Monday, November 7, 2016 12:59 PM Wasatch Commons G.G. on behalf of Shawnie Cannon wrote:
One more small detail...the west boundary was named as the willow tree in back of unit #5, not the fort itself...reason: the tree is a stationary object, fort can be moved. Thanks.
Next cohousing conference is in Nashville in May. Linda R, Shawnie, Kathy K, and Carol are considering going.
Read Values Statement.
Relationships: Healthy way of aging. Combat isolation or loneliness. Having neighbors who know you wasn't the motivation to move in but became an unexpected benefit. Opportunity for richness in relationships. Knowing others also value relationships. Avoid expecting spouse to be everything to/for you. Accomplishing things with a group that can't accomplish alone. Enjoy things more if you have people to enjoy them with. Diversity of skills. Connecting with a lot of different people. Coming together in grief. Oasis.
Values: People with shared idealism and values. The inspiration of living around people trying to change the world if only in small ways. Sustainability and pooling resources. Ability to garden, especially organically. Solar panels. A buffer in dealing with shocks of climate change or economic collapse. Cars on the outside instead of the inside.
Intentional communities throughout history have had a shared goal among the members, for or against something: A mission. Often a community is a means to the community's goal, rather than the goal itself as it is for cohousing. WCCA's original mission was to create a place to live in community.
Harmony comes from singing different parts, not the same notes.
Communication: It isn't necessary for everyone to like each other. Being willing to find a way to live together anyway is what makes us not a "regular" neighborhood.
Living with the intention of touching others' lives in positive ways leads to a life in which others touch your own life in positive ways.
Social Support: People doing things to promote togetherness. Lots of little interactions scattered through the day. People are here because they have committed to being neighbors, and to show up for the community whether we are getting along at the moment or not. You have to intend to be a community to be an intentional community. Having a common space and other people interested in helping to put on events, instead of entertaining alone. Music. Neighbors who don't object to drum lessons next door. People who are delighted to be an audience for music. People sharing their pet projects with the community: solar panels, air quality monitoring.
Emotional Support: Loving support in difficult emotional times. Being able to give support. Learning to give support. Going to memorials for family of community members and feeling like one belongs, not like a gate crasher. Getting to share joys and griefs, losses of family members, finding previously unknown family members. Being a single mom yet having a lot of people in a child's life.
Practical Support: Everyone pitching in and getting things done. Shoveling other people's walks. A call goes out for help and people fill in. Cat care, rides for stranded kids, rides to airport, borrowed pickup trucks. Having to be careful not to complain for fear the screwdriver fairy will repair things. Bounty from garden being shared. ("What do you mean, I have to BUY a zucchini?") Jam club is better than canning tomatoes alone, but some who not very successful at growing tomatoes wouldn't even be canning alone without the sharing.
Communicate when you want to do something that affects the community. Talk to people and send out an email. If people have concerns they can raise them. Most small decisions don't need more process than that. Usually if more is needed someone will speak up and suggest a higher level ACM discussion, a formal proposal, etc.
Joel is getting replacement hinges. $5/pair. If you have cabinet doors that don't close, let Joel know and he can order extra.
In another month Scott H will be off his Forest Service work and more available for tree work.
Walton Plumbing will give a quote on Monday for one-tank, two-tank, and tankless water heaters.
Washer that had computer replaced for F9 error now has an F20 error. Mary will get more information. Reminder: Leave washer doors ajar when they are not in use, to avoid mold problems. Use liquid bleach, not dry.
Caf‚, both attending and giving. People knowing which mug you like. Can talk about issues at caf‚ and get them settled.
Neighbors. Seeing people walk past one's windows. Going to water aerobics together. Houses connected by paths, not streets. Knowing who is supposed to be here. Garden leaks being looked after when you are gone. Neighbor taking care of three households of kitties. Ride from airport at short notice. Opportunity to travel helped by neighbor lending their place elsewhere.
Sharing agriculture, land, efforts, new ideas. Chickens, fire pit, llamas. Doing work together seems less like work. Feels like a big family. Sharing cats. Sharing plums, apricots, apples, tomatoes, ice cream makers. Diversity of knowledge. Help with computer. Several households pitching in to look after kids.
Process is working on three documents:
Emotions, pros & cons: There is a place for anger. Anger is an appropriate response to injustice (to yourself or others), but anger itself does not resolve injustice. Anger can motivate action or change.
Emotions can get in the way of solving a problem, especially quickly.
Usually attempting to communicate when angry is counter-productive. It can be more effective to calm down before you talk to someone. Otherwise they hear the anger and not the message.
We think differently when we are angry. A person speaking emotionally reveals things about themselves, but it is not a good time to resolve conflicts. Anger puts people into fight-or-flight or survival mode, and it sacrifices long-term goals for immediate advantage.
You know better than anyone else what you are feeling. The same is true of other people. You can tell someone what you have observed about their behavior and ask if your interpretation has validity, but don't tell someone they don't feel what they feel.
Our consensed email policy includes an agreement not to handle interpersonal conflict over email. That isn't effective and it causes collateral damage. Email tips: Write emails without the TO field filled in, or in a different program. It lessens the chance of sending prematurely or by accident. Sit on an email. Share the email with one another person. You may decide it isn't necessary to send it. Writing about a situation can be productive even if you don't share it with anyone.
Use "I" statements. "When you do , I feel " not "You are " or "You always ". State how a specific action affects you, and what you would like to happen.
Get clarification. "When you said --, what did you mean?" People want others to hear them.
Avoid taking offense when no offense was meant. A person may not realize their phrasing could be taken a way they didn't mean. Sometimes apparent rudeness has nothing to do with you but is the result of other stresses in the person's life.
Control a conflict; don't let it control you. Focus on what kind of person you want to be.
Be aware of your own buttons. It might help to share our buttons with each other: "I'm touchy about -."
Spending time together gives us a chance to learn tolerance for each other.
Being right is not necessarily going to get you what you want. No matter how right or wrong you are, you cannot force others to see it.
Successful outcomes of conflict resolution can include getting your way, the other person getting their way, figuring out how both of you can get your way, nobody getting their way, each of you realizing that something else is better than what you thought you wanted, agreeing to disagree.
Separate a conflict into (a) What is the data? (b) What are the emotions? Separate facts from feelings. State your feelings as feelings instead of asserting them as fact. Just because you feel something doesn't mean it is a fact.
Realize that sometimes your facts are not their facts. Everyone cherry-picks facts, especially when a belief system is involved. Be aware of your own cherry-picking.
Facts and beliefs aren't the same thing. Sometimes different belief systems cannot be reconciled. Sometimes all you can do is to respect other people's belief systems and feelings.
Look for what you do agree on.
Realize that the other person may not be interested in agreeing.
Sometimes what seems to be a person-to-person conflict is a failure of community policy. Policies can contribute to, or at least not head off, conflict.
Living in community provides more opportunities for conflict because of the shared resources yet different standards for how they should be used and maintained.
Cohousers are self-selected pioneers. The passion and strong beliefs that draw people to cohousing can bring them into conflict over implementation of the beliefs.
Explore how to avoid conflict in the first place.
Remember our value system. Review our community values more often. Maybe revise them; there's very little in them about communication.
Exercise: express something that you appreciate about the person to your right.
Oct 10 slideshow and potluck 6:00 p.m. Peace Corps, Vicky hosting.
Debate for candidates for governor at Unitarian Church. Weinholtz (Dem) and Kamarath (Lib). Herbert (Rep) doesn't plan to attend.
Sunday at noon Jam Club is holding an apple pressing in common house.
Taiko group and other drum groups will be playing at Beat the Bomb, anti-nuke group, a week from Friday 7:00 at Liberty Park.
Saturday there will be a protest gathering of Native Americans at 2:00 at the Capital and a march to the Leonardo
Joel has some cards that will be posted in the c.h., smart phone access to community docs(?)
Ben & Esther want to list their downstairs bedroom on Air BnB. Talk to them if you have concerns.
When Ben & Esther (#13) had a leak, the gas company turned off the meter that had the account number on his bill. It turned off the gas in Kay & Mary's (#11) instead. So for the past eighteen years #11 has been paying #13's bill and vice versa. Given that #1 and #2 had a similar mix-up with their water bills and meters, there may be other attached units with the meters mixed up.
Naomi will be glad to help anyone renew their registration for voting.
If you see Kelsey, Linda P's son, around the property, ask him if he's here to visit Carol. If he says she isn't home, ask him to knock again, because she doesn't always make it to the door before he gives up. He's on his meds and doing better, and he and Linda P may be applying together for low-income housing.
North Garden Club meet at 9: a.m. Saturday morning in north field.
Underutilized Spaces will be working on the southwest shed (former recycling ceneter and dumpster enclosure)
Landscaping Mary & workers got one of the Russian olives cut and out for pickup. John has been talking to sprinkler companies about their rates to get east berm water fixed, since it hasn't been on all summer. Vicky reported that she has seen the sprayers on the berm spraying recently, including today.
Everyone will get an email tonight with instructions for the new calendar.
First, write your reservation on the paper calendar. Next send an email to the calendar committee requesting for your event or reservation to be posted.
Email your invitation or announcement to the community list. The calendar committee will put events on the calendar but they won't "announce" them.
When planning an event, remember to reserve the set-up and clean-up times also, to avoid conflicts during someone else's event.
Handout: Copy of 2014 email agreement, for review.
The foremost part of any policy is to have compassion.
Tension is natural. Difficulties in communication are human, common and a part of community experience.
Don't take it personally and don't judge. Respect. Forgive.
Remember we are not perfect but we can always become better.
Consider the source. If a person's emails come across much harsher than the person's in-person communication, take that into account when you read them.
One way to deal with unpleasant email is to use the delete button.
There's a tendency to withdraw when there is an unpleasant exchange. Remember that a hurtful email is a reflection of the writer's pain, not a judgment by the whole community.
There's a tendency to look for the perfect solution to difficulties. Sometimes it's necessary to periodically revisit and review a solution, to freshen it up and get it working again.
Email conflict is a symptom of conflict, not of a problem with email.
The email agreement should be part of the orientation packet for new residents.
If you vent to a friend, they can just let it wash over and past them. Venting on email drags everyone in. An argument on email is like an argument screaming on the path.
The way our email is set up, REPLY replies only to the sender, not the whole community. Best sometimes to reply only to the sender.
Good communication by email is a skill. Skills can be improved. Would feedback help? "This email was helpful, on a scale of 1 to 5."
Might reply (privately) to someone who sends an unhelpful email, redirecting them to a different approach. Instead of blowing up, here is who to talk to, to get a discussion about how to keep this from happening again.
Put the most important parts of the email policy as the auto-trailer for every email.
A moderator could become the scapegoat for allowing objectionable emails.
Settings in GoogleGroups allow selective moderation some accounts being moderated (on probation), others not.
For any policy to work everyone has to be willing to comply.
Is there a way to flag emails? If an email gets multiple flags, then it can be dealt with. It doesn't give great power to a single person.
Instead of a moderator, maybe we need a Keeper of the Heart for email.
Feedback could include: This email should have been handled in person. This email should have gone to X committee.
Need balance. Angry emails cause harm, yet shutting people down isn't helpful.
A list where emails go out instantly is more useful for security or emergency issues.
Preventing escalation is important. Avoiding angry emails in the first place is better.
Technological solution: An email program that required you to solve a long-division problem to send an email after 3 a.m. We could have a pop up that asks, Do you really want to send this email?
General feeling seems to be against having a moderated list.
Round robin, "I will commit to "
Labor Day breakfast. Welcome committee is in charge, Joel is cooking. Could use help serving & decorating & canvassing the neighborhood inviting neighbors. Encourage residents to attend & mingle.
Izzy will be setting up another sing-along.
North field garden club meeting Saturdays 9 to 11 at north field.
City pickup September 5. Can start setting stuff at the curb a week before. Please keep junk/trash separate from vegetation piles.
Please write on dry erase board in workshop when you borrow things. Elaine has been organizing screwdrivers & wrenches.
Mary, Matt & Scott (of Forest Service) have been trimming trees away from roofs that are being reshingled. Will be doing more.
Welcoming is setting up an email list for alumni & interested non-residents to notify them of events.
Please be careful, and remind kids to be careful, around where the roofers are working. They run a magnet over the ground to gather up nails before leaving for the day, but meanwhile it is a construction zone and is hazardous.
Management is moving the capital reserve from the University Credit Union to an account at Goldman Sachs, 1% interest, FDIC insured.
Write reservations or events first on the blotter calendar on the table in the coatroom (the "paper calendar"). It is the official calendar; electronic calendars are for convenience.
The google calendar will go live Sept 14. The calendar committee will have editing ability. All residents will have viewing ability. When announcing events, cc also to the calendar email to notify the calendar committee to put it on the calendar.
If mail doesn't have a unit number, the carrier leaves it on the table in the coatroom. (This is considered an improvement over the previous system, where the carrier sent it back.) If you are concerned about privacy of your mail, make sure your senders have your unit number.
Anyone who sees mail on the table, drop it in the file folders of the internal mail. Izzy will update the names on the file folders of the internal mail.
To help the carrier, you can tape a label inside your box with your name.
Process will be doing a survey regarding ACM and would like suggestions on what/how to ask. This is aimed at people who do attend, as well as those who don't.
Why you do or do not attend ACM?
How much is it a matter of timing conflicts vs. not wanting to attend?
What's your favorite part of ACM? What do you like least?
What do you get out of ACM? what you find valuable?
How important do you think ACM is?
What is the purpose of ACM? What would you like the purpose to be?
What would make you more likely to attend?
How can ACMs be better?
Would you like a knock on the door remainder just before the meeting?
How long/often should ACMs be?
Ask just a single question: What can we do to bring you to ACM?
Style of questions matters. Open-ended, multiple choice, yes/no, ratings.
Asking in person is a nice ideal but can produce evasive answers.
If it's anonymous, people feel they can be honest with uncomfortable answers.
"Survey" is a problematic word. Surveys get used dishonestly as a pretext for other purposes, e.g., asking for donations.
Put signs on the c.h. door, a few days before, saying ACM SUNDAY in large letters.
Serve wine occasionally.
Visitors from a community in Portland, woman and 20yr-old son, will be here this weekend. Hosted by Shyra.
Visitors, hosted by Kathy A, Friday night in common house, attending "Fire on the Plateau" conference, program by Peaceful Uprising. Likely to include Native Americans or people of color.
Request for someone to take on mowing. Currently being done by Lynda A's son(?).
9:00-11:00 Saturday garden work party. If you need help with something let Joel know.
Monday morning Labor Day 8:00-9:00, outreach breakfast for neighborhood. Hosted by Welcoming (Joel, Shyra, Vicky, Lynda).
Kay has located the proposal binders and will pass them to Kathy K.
Lynda has a scanner that turns documents into searchable Word documents and offers to let people use it if they have community documents that should be archived.
Deadline for donation matching by Hans is the 15th.
Appreciations: Carol, hosting cafes. Vicky & Mike let the Hurleys stay at their house (Danielle & kids). Elaine has brightened up the area in front of her place. Shannon gave Esther a ride this morning. Joel & Shawnie's flytraps, feeding flies to chickens. Kathy K joined a work team for this month. Joel got Linda R hooked up with fast internet. Kathy for making hornet signs on east berm. Vaughn for work on east berm. Kay for fixing irrigation on west berm.
Roofer has confirmed for August 24th start day. John will resend his email with details.
East gardeners (boxed garden beds) met and came to some agreements.
Gutters are being cleaned. Trees being trimmed off roofs. Mary has been trying to get the washer fixed, working with Mendenhall over the phone, for two weeks, without success. It may need to be taken to their shop.
The Cannons purchased #14 hoping for their daughter & grandkids to move in. That isn't going to happen, at least not yet, and they will rent the unit temporarily. Linda P attended Wednesday potluck.
from The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz
Be impeccable with your word.
Don't take anything personally.
Don't make assumptions.
Always do your best.
Break out into small discussion groups, then reconvene.
We have guidelines for when young adult children transition to adult members of the community. Some young adults have chosen to join a work team in return for adult privileges like a common house key. The pay-or-play obligation is based on adults per household and defines "adult" as having graduated from high school.
Some cases will be gray. How long can a stay be before someone isn't a guest? How about people who are out of town for work, much of each month. A rule of thumb could be whether this is the person's only address where they receive mail.
(Some people indicated they weren't sure why we were discussing this at all.)
Hans is not continuing the email diary. How can we replace this function?
The way Hans kept the email diary was that he would edit a file of events to add things. At 3:00 a.m. every morning, the system checked to see if that file had been updated in the past 24 hours. If it had been, it exported all the entries where the date hadn't passed, sorted them into date order, formatted, and sent an email.
This greatly simplified keeping the calendar, but it was cobbled together from several programs and some custom programming. Do commercial calendars such as Google Calendar have such a function?
A number of people really like the weekly update by email.
Some people can't open Google Calendar.
With an online calendar, we have a choice:
Pros/cons of having an admin or gatekeeper:
Pros/cons of having self-service or anyone being able to edit:
We had one incident of somebody erasing someone else's reservation. How much influence do we choose to give this episode?
Ad hoc calendar committee: Becca, Izzy, Kathy K, Myste.
Saturday 30th Ben & Esther will have a moving truck here. Joel will announce the time when he hears more for anyone willing to give a hand unloading. Following potluck, welcome for Ben & Esther and farewell for Lydia, who will be there.
Welcoming committee (Joel & Marina) is working on getting documents onto Google Docs.
Management report. Linda P resigned from owner position on Management and took position as Renters Rep. Mgt selected Mary to fill out Linda's term. Got signature card at bank updated. Debit card out of Kathy A's name and put in Mike's. Signaed a contract with Roof Doctor.
Big branch fell from tree behind Prices'. Scott _ cut it up, paid him extra for coming on an emergency basis. Tiller repaired; Speed's was able to manufacture a couple of parts that are no longer available. Will try to announce when roofwork and path bricks are being worked on.
Linda passed out a flowchart of the consensus process. A little different from some we've looked at previously starts with "Introduce issue", and proposal comes later. There is a step missing, "clarifying questions" comes after "make proposal" and before "discuss proposal".
We need to organize records so we can know what decisions have been made in the past. Having a "decision log" that lists decisions and links to the minutes and proposals involved would help. Kathy K and Myste are interested in working on this with Isabella.
Most people's memory is that we did agree there should be notice before spraying. The details are fuzzy. Is notice 24 hours (or maybe 48, or maybe a week), on the central path (or maybe anywhere on the property), notice by email (or maybe notices on doors?). Some remember that the community garden was to be organic (or maybe not).
Agreed people could avoid getting their close areas sprayed if, after notice was given, they cleaned up the area.
Mary has not been spraying the central path since the agreement about issuing notice was passed, because it's impossible to predict when there will be no wind.
Maybe simply need to move forward.
Is the policy to be same for all areas? Or different for yards, the garden, the central path, other common areas?
Organic methods only work if you keep up with them. How else do we deal with the weeds or pests? How do we respect people who don't like bugs and weeds? Organic is a lot more work, and we have a community full of fifty- and sixty-year-old backs.
Several people are accusing Mary of recently spraying around the garden beds. She says she sprayed the bind weed around her own garden beds eight weeks ago and has not sprayed since. When Amy said her mint had been sprayed, Shawnie checked and couldn't see any signs of spraying. The weeds growing outside the wood beds were healthy and green. We need to be careful about witch hunts.
Do people who don't garden get to dictate what the gardeners can do? The non-gardeners don't have any reason to care if the weeds get out of control and gardening becomes impossible.
Reminder: give notice of when & where herbicides or pesticides will be used (this is an old agreement).
Presentation on plans in Salt Lake by Ray Wheeler parks, bike paths, stream daylighting, etc. July 20 Glendale Community Council meeting will vote on whether to support plan.
Recycling
Presentation by Gary, from Ace Disposal. Our pick-up is Monday morning for recycling, Tuesday morning for trash.
When gas prices are down, prices for plastic recycling drop also. Because prices are down, the recycle facility is being extremely picky about what it will accepted.
Do not bag items. Everything should be put in the bin loose.
If an item is composed of different materials, separate the materials where possible. For a plastic bottle, take off the lid. Remove the metal spout from cardboard salt containers. A few staples in paper are okay. Don't need to remove can labels.
Rinsing out juice bottles or other food containers is recommended. The calculation of when the water used to wash the item is more valuable than the recycled item is complicated.
Clear plastic film or veggy bags are okay.
Plastic grocery bags are not being accepted by the recycling facility. They jam the company's sorting equipment. However, bags can be recycled at many grocery stores.
No pizza boxes, even clean ones. No wood, grass, yard waste.
Vaughn would like to adopt the east berm this summer and take care of the watering & weeding.
Joel would like to organize a canning club.
Kathy K still needs some financials to file the FHA application. She will meet with Amy.
Hans announced that Linda P has sold her unit. (He doesn't know anything about the buyer.) Management will need a new member to replace Linda P.
Elaine wants to put a window air conditioner in the west bedroom. Change the window from a casement to a sash. She would like to have the installer come out to give a bid.
:: Talk to Management next Tuesday.
Elaine would like to do some landscaping on her front yard.
:: Email plans to community.
Shyra: Community equipment will have a laminated card with instructions on fuel, starting, etc. There will be a clipboard to record usage time. When you are using the equipment, hang the card on the clipboard; when you bring it back, record your time and put the card back on the equipment. Record maintenance on the clipboard also.
Shyra passed around a signup for equipment expertise or maintenance needs.
If you have a donation for cohousing.org, give it to Hans, either cash or check made out to Hans. He will match it. The community budget will bring it up to $250 (already in the budget). Hans will also match donations to West View. Give him your donations before August 15.
Kathy would like to call a meeting of people who have beds in the east garden.
To avoid redundancy, let everyone know if you are putting out mosquito dunks.
Different people have different memories on whether herbicide/presticide use was forbidden in the east garden.
Vaughn requests that a discussion on herbicides be scheduled for the next meeting. He asked if we could have a moratorium on spraying until the next meeting; it was pointed out that at least one party who would have an opinion wasn't present.
Reiterate consensus: Give prior notice, 48 hours if possible, of when and where toxic chemicals (herbicides/pesticides) will be used.
Before hiring work done, check with Management who has provided insurance information.
Roof Doctor will be doing roofs. (Hans wants to be on record that he doesn't agree with this decision.)
Linda WG said that Matt is grateful for the support and encouragement to get his business made official.
Management will be deciding this week which contractor to hire to repair roofs. Will schedule a special management meeting to discuss.
July 20 community council meeting will discuss Nature in the City riparian restoration. Ray Wheeler has asked to be on the agenda for the July 13 ACM. He may be at potluck the Sunday before also.
Wasatch Gardens tour yesterday. The Bells' place was on the tour, about 150 people. About thirty visitors came through their backgate to our property, invited to attend a potluck.
Several timers in the garden have been turned off. Not the water, the timer itself. If there is an issue with a timer, please talk to the owner of bed.
Tuesday, 7 to 9 p.m., Izzy will lead a council circle with a talking piece. Everyone is invited. A few people from outside the community may come.
The west berm water does not seem to be on. Joel & Kay will look at the timer box this evening.
The red Toro is at the repair shop. John is coordinating its repair. The black one was overfilled with oil and needs to be drained. Joel has borrowed Myste's mower and will sharpen or replace the blade tomorrow. Mary has been working on the tiller and may take it to the shop.
Linda R would like to hire/trade/barter someone to mow the lawn in front of her unit.
Apparently more than half of all raccoons are infected with roundworm. Contact with scat can infect humans. This is a serious health hazard.
Raccoons don't use the same nest every night.
Some ways to discourage raccoons: Chicken coops should be fortified. Fallen fruit attracts raccoons. Put grates over drains.
Need to keep a balance in nature. Getting rid of predators results in a boom of prey species.
Frequent skunk spray this year may be because mother skunk was killed, and the orphans are hungry and scared.
Hob & Sandra's new community is renewing their FHA approval. However, Vicky hasn't gotten any more information regarding experience of cohousing communities with FHA. Kathy is ready to submit application. Based on current info, seem to be more advantages than drawbacks. Go ahead.
Hans's motives in buying the property to our south was to encourage urban agriculture and keep it out the hands of developers. Afterwards he thought about how our common house being in a corner rather than the center of the community would permit some units built south of it designed for elders. Hans would like some commitment from community residents before proceeding; he doesn't want to finance it all himself. For instance, residents could invest in a unit and rent it out until they need it themselves.
The discussions were two or three years ago. At that point no one but Hans said they would move to such units if built. It takes time for people to process and acknowledge that they are getting older and may need to think about future adaptations.
The units would be higher density (apartment building) and would require different zoning than Wasatch Commons has. Units would be clustered in corner where Noorda house is, with remainder used for urban farming. Cheyenne St house + Utah St house + land between, three parcels, total one and a half acres. Zoning might make it impossible to legally integrate it into Wasatch Commons. Hans assumes it would be a separate condo association, with a contract to use our common house. Probably higher cost per square foot than our units.
Handicap units would want very close parking. A building on Utah St could have parking right next to units.
A way to have them be fully part of the community would be to build on the east garden. Parking spots along driveway. The garden could be further north, or the community could buy Mary's field for a garden. Would be a ways from the common house however.
Adding nine more units with no laundry facility might overwhelm our facility.
We have a struggle getting our own residents oriented; nine new households at once might be overwhelming.
Hans is concerned about involving Cindy Turnquist. Hans wants the elders living in the units to be from Wasatch Commons. Want to avoid turning us into a large senior community.
Sunday potluck will be a farewell for Shaira, who will be leaving Monday.
"River District Home Tour" Saturday June 18, 9:45 to 1:00, West View editor Charlotte Jefferson Fife would like Wasatch Commons to be part of a tour. Self-paced tour. Giles will put together a map.
:: Joel will be in charge of tours. Becca will set up a table. They will recruit others to be guides or man the table.
West View issue with Lynda's article should be coming out this week.
Vicky has several copies of Fifty-Five Plus Senior Resource Directory, published by Salt Lake County Aging & Adult Services.
Linda R has a birdbath to give away. If it hasn't been claimed, Linda will be taking it to her church yard sale.
During the "Aging Better Together" there was discussion about how to remain a multi-generational community. One way that helps young families is for the community to be FHA qualified.
Kathy has an application already prepared. She needs a little clarification on financials for 2015. She could submit it within about two weeks. Since she has purchased her unit, that relieves time pressure to do it quickly.
If the application doesn't succeed, we can hire an advisor. Vicky has had contact with someone from National Condo Advisors, FHA specialist, who has experience with five other cohousing communities. Fee is $2250. Also does VA qualification.
FHA has to renew every two years. No fee to renew or recertify. (When we've looked into it before, there was a yearly fee.) Obama administration is trying to make FHA qualification easier to get.
Why do this? Loans requirements tightened after the recession, making FHA qualification more important, although mortgages are not as difficult to get as they were for a while.)
Pros: Having certification might open us up to more buyers. Makes reverse mortgages possible. "Energy-efficient loans" roll energy upgrades into a mortgage.
Con: Declaration and bylaws need to be pure condo. Nothing mandatory. No nightly rentals (e.g., airbnb). Can't have first right of refusal (although we already got rid of that). Work requirement might be a problem.
Our current CC&R might be fine, but CC&R changes would need to be compatible to FHA rules. CC&Rs are a level of government federal, state, county, city, community. In revising the CC&R, we were trying to reconcile our practices with condo law, to build a constitution for the community as we live in it. Going back to strict condo language would be a loss.
Applying doesn't commit us to not changing the CC&R to meet our values. Since FHA qualification is for a limited period, we can apply under our current CC&R. If before the next renewal, we change the CC&R in ways that won't qualify, then we don't apply for renewal.
Straw poll: No blocks on investigating this further.
Vicky has requested info about other communities experience with FHA qualification. See if we get useful information from that and discuss more at next ACM.
History: At the beginning the units were new and not needing much maintenance, and residents were enthusiastic. We've tried a bunch of different approaches cheerleading and handholding for work parties, an official maintenance committee, a paid community member, leaving it up to whoever is most bothered to fix whatever. Monthly work teams originally were responsible for outside tasks as well, not just cleaning the common house.
The professional management company we had one year basically just paid bills (and not always that). Arranging maintenance wasn't part of the contract.
There is value in doing work ourselves, in working together, in taking responsibility for our living space.
It could be an expectation of the monthly work team to arrange a community work party to accomplish some project.
Community work is an issue for many if not most communities. Agreements that are total failures for some communities work well for others. What is successful depends on the community culture. Our culture has changed over the years, and approaches that we discarded in the beginning are worth another look.
We need better recordkeeping. E.g., have the c.h. smoke detector batteries not been changed in the last year, or did they get changed three times in the same month because no one knew the others had done it? When none of the wheelbarrows (or ladders, etc.) are in the garage, who has them?
One rule of thumb is that 1% to 2% of the worth of a house should be spent on maintenance annually. Assume units average $150K (range $100K-200K); 1% is $1,500, 2% is $3K. Assume half of that would be spent (by the owner) on the inside. That rule would put the community maintenance budget at
($750 to 1500)/unit/year x 26 units = $19,500 to $39K per year
Identifying what vendors and contractors to use is a substep.
Work falls into two buckets, work someone here can do and work we need to hire out. For both, the first step is identifying what work needs to be done.
John wrote up a Property Manager Solicitation. This person would identify what needs to be done and arrange to get it done, not necessarily by themselves but hired or community work party.
Many maintenance tasks are periodic in nature; once we get a system set up, so we know what needs to be done when, it would be somewhat self-sustaining.
John sees the first step as doing a detailed unit-by-unit inspection determining what needs to be done. Hire an outside building inspector? Amy had her unit professionally inspected recently. She estimates it might cost about $450/unit.
Document inspection with photos. Take a photo of a chalkboard with the unit number, then a photo of what needs fixing.
Although there are advantages in having a single person manage and track work and maintenance needs, the position could be divided into specialists in buildings, irrigation, etc.
Decision: Post job solicitation. Anyone interested in applying, come to Management.
This is Mike Polacek's last ACM as an owner.
Lessons from the Conference
Struck by how all the people met at the conference would fit right in with our community.
Can do things to attract families with children. Even if you don't have kids in your household any more, you can maintain the play structures so they are attractive to families with children.
Show-and-Tell: Weeds
Problem weeds: Sandbur, cleavers, white top or hoary cress, bindweed or wild morning glory, salsify, thistle, foxtail, goathead or puncture vine
There are plenty of weeds that not too badly behaved and can be left alone.
Do not compost a weed if the plant has seeds. Put them in the dumpster. Ideally let them dry first.
Skunks are helpful because they eat earwigs and snails. Raccoons also eat snails.
Take a group photo of the community after the next ACM.
Monday at 5:00 p.m. next roofer coming.
Friday June 3 2-5:30 open house farewell at Vicky's house for Shaira.
Saturday May 31 Genny & Aiden's reception here, afternoon.
Linda R's grandson Kalikava's seventh birthday party next Saturday at the c.h.
What good things have been accomplished this past month? Gardens going in, irrigation, staining posts, relaying path bricks, flipbook for conference table
Vicky & Grace could use help from someone who knows about sewing.
John disassembled the Toro to see why wheels were locked. Getting parts. Don't use it until it is completely fixed.
National Cohousing Open House Day will be an annual event.
Ten days to finish up projects around the community before the conference.
What Makes Us Unique
- Some maps of Salt Lake show a tomato on our neighborhood to represent the urban farming.
- Economic diversity. Most cohousings are upper middle income. We had low-income units, still pretty affordable.
- Solar panels
- Residents have purchased adjacent land.
- Very close to downtown but have open space, country feel. Communities are either urban or rural.
- Diverse neighborhood, particularly for Utah.
- Here for seventeen years, older than most communities.
- llamas, rabbits, bees
Conference Details
Weekend of the conference won't have caf‚ on Saturday. Caf‚ will be Sunday, probably in the common house.
Still figuring out transportation. Maybe shuttle from Trax; Kathy's electric car?
Will probably be showing Mike P's & Lydia's units.
Let Vicky know if anyone else is interested in showing theirs.
Need people to sit in on sessions.
Tabling volunteers to talk to people at coffee break & lunch.
Sign at the turn onto Utah Street.
Buy treats for table.
Guests in c.h., need pickup from airport
- Susan Weis from Frogsong
- Joani Blank from Oakland
- Mira who works for Cohousing USA
Linda R doing a conflict management presentation Thursday the 19th 5:30-7:00. $15 for session, free pass for residents.
Free movie Thursday, Aging Gratefully
Hans Saturday 10:30-12:00, staying multi-generational
Helen Rollins 3:30-5:00 Saturday , with nurse from Aging Services. Caring for people as they age.
How to get there: Take red line trax, get off at stop by bridge (after stadium), walk across bridge.
Free time Friday night. Volunteer to escort someone to Living Traditions. Taiko on Sunday.
People who might be willing to give tours: Susan, Vicky, Joel, Shyra, Marina
Write up in May Catalyst.
Next ACM
3:00-5:00 Sunday after conference. Good opportunity to debrief.
Get a picture of everyone in front of the common house, after next ACM
North Field
At previous ACM, lots of ideas for north field, which would take multiple meetings to work through. Use of north field during 2016 for community gardening was implied, a number of people remember it as a decision. Not a formalized decision recorded in minutes, but no dissent. Treat it as a decision.
Shyra sent out a map of garden plan, based on companion planting. She wants to get seeds in this week.
New garden faucets at each corner of the garden beds. Nonfreezing yard hydrants in garden (1), wild area, near fire pit. Ten valves installed.
Who will be doing the work? Shyra and Joel & Shawnie have been doing everything so far. A bunch of people expressed interest, but interest isn't a promise to do work. Shyra's current plan is that produce will be for community use for meals etc. May also be individual use even by
Shawnie has put flags at proposed spots for fruit trees. Need some deliberate decisions. Where orchard trees will go will impact use for decades. Are we willing to treat trees for peach borer and so on?
Planting time for fruit trees (Stacy was head of trees & shrubs at Millcreek Garden). Bare-root planting in March or in fall; usually better selection in spring. Can be ordered online or at a local nursery.
Shawnie & Joel have taken an organic gardening class. Shyra prefers organic principles.
For 2016, the northeast will be used as a garden. In August schedule discussion about an orchard, for possible fall planting, and other long-term uses.
Block: Hans. Because it isn't promised to be organic.
Stand aside: John, concern about organic vs. synthetic chemicals.
Amendment: with the intention of organic gardening.
Block: Mary. Unfair to add requirement for organic to north garden.
Extend meeting for ten minutes.
Amendment: with the intention of gardening as organically as possible.
Stand asides: Stephen. Concern about being sufficiently organic. Kay. Concern about emotions, particularly fear, being given precedence over facts.
Consensus: For 2016, the northeast field will be used as a garden, with the intention of gardening as organically as possible. In August schedule discussion about an orchard, for possible fall planting, and other long-term uses.
Committee heading work: Shyra, Shawnie, Joel.
Elaine will have a pod arriving and needs to parking spaces straight down the Cheyenne driveway, where the horse trailer usually is.
Becca will be reorganizing the work teams.
The Bicycle Collective, 23rd S West Temple, where some residents in #22 work, lets people use their tools for bike repair for a suggested $5/hr donation.
Mary is making regular trips to DI, Restore, metal recycling etc. Set things to go in the back of the truck.
Shyra will be organizing maintenance. Let her know anything that needs fixing. Email or text is best way.
200 people are registered for May 19 conference, mostly out-of-state. Cindy would like more local attendees. Vicky has flyers. Signup sheet for volunteer jobs.
A list of items to be done around the community before the open house next Saturday went out on email & will be posted. Need volunteers for mailing/calling former residents to invite them. Put up banner in dining room. Get framed values put up. General decluttering.
Genny & Aidan getting married the last weekend in May; the reception will be here. Vicky & Lynda are hosting.
Party for Hob & Sandra, Thursday April 21. Planning Saturday at caf‚.
Reminder: Open house is April 30, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. National Cohousing Day. About 72 cohousing communities will be holding open houses that day. Caf‚ in Lynda's and tables outside for refreshments. Mike P's house will be showing. Trial run for conference.
Flyers to be posted.
Signup for cleanup, greeters, tours.
Please everybody clean up their own porches, patios, & carports.
Plan on parking on Cheyenne that day.
See Mary for linseed oil & brushes to paint trestlewood on porches.
Vicky wants help with weeding east parking lot islands this weekend & next.
Mary has put mosquito dunks in community drains.
See Vicky if you want starts of sedum or hens-and-chicks.
Lynda would like permission for pruning toys in playroom. If you have put stuff over there and want it, retrieve it.
BLM hearing on proposed oil shale development, NE corner Book Cliffs. May 5, 6-8 p.m. 4795 Wiley Post Way (International Center, by the airport).
Laundry room washers & dryers pulled out & cleaned under. Swollen trim replaced with wood.
Dirt is getting knocked into the trenches in the garden & wild area. Someone turned on the water and flooded the trenches. If you see any kids romping around the trenches, please pursuade thm to play elsewhere.
Report by Joel. Field trip to view irrigation work in garden, through wild area, into north field, canceled due to rain. Repaired some original oddities in garden. Lines in garden is close to being done. Mary is paying for extension onto her field with water meter. Water pressure & volume is higher.
Exercise Break into groups of two & discuss Vision Statement
"We create community by sharing resources & experience, and through our respect and support for individuals, relationships, and the Earth."
Are we doing this? What would doing it well look like?
Support for individuals: People attended the Dining Club meals that don't attend other community activities. The first quarter of the renewed Dining Club went well but nobody has signed up for the second quarter.
Invite people to break down the emotional walls around them.
Knowing each other for a long time can leave old grudges if they aren't worked on.
We do a good job of supporting middle-class intellectuals who are verbally adept, but we don't do as well with residents who don't fit that. We need to bridge that.
It might help connect residents better to make dining funded by the community.
Hosting events like weddings helps support people in their relationships, connecting family & neighbors.
It's nice to let people know politely how close you want relationships to be. Some people want close relationships with everyone; some don't.
Once you've explained your views about how people ought to live, don't force it. Respect that others have a right to make their own choices.
Sometimes need to un-support bad relationships by stepping in.
Reach out to people invite/remind them to ACMs or potlucks, invite them your home.
Sharing & respect for the Earth: Shawnie took a class & shared info about insects; Kay got curious & shared her research on the list.
We all express our support & care for the Earth in different ways, activism, getting hands dirty in garden, electric cars, choosing where to shop.
Weed control -- If you don't get rid of dandelions in your space, they spread to someone else's. You can eat the raw flowers in salads.
Get yard projects done before April 30 so the community looks good for the conference. $320 early bird price for conference registration ends April 1. To register, go to cohousing.org. Linda R will be doing a session on conflict management Thursday the 19th at 5:30, $15. WCCA residents can get a free pass for it.
March 30 Love Utah Give Utah fundraiser. Charities get prizes for number of donors.
Reminder to move laundry along promptly to not delay other people's use. Spray vinegar in dishwasher after turning it off after use.
Purple Air project shows both minute-to-minute readings and readings over time. Amy didn't get quite enough donations to cover the cost.
Shira & Aitch will be renting unit 18 from Hob & Sandra for a year. Lyda is putting unit 13 on the market.
Jordan River clean up every Saturday at noon. Kevin Bell will rent a kayak, bicycle, & carrier for $10; you can bicycle to the river, & put the kayak & carrier on the kayak.
The agreement to let BUG Farms use the north field had a clause that it should be reviewed. This year would be the third year.
Term of the lease that BUG Farms suggested: lease March to March. Renewal year-to-year. Use by BUG Farms, workers & volunteers. Neither party shall be liable if use of the property is prevented by force majeure or acts of god. Parties are required to defend each other. Mike P says the indemnity clause is poorly written and unclear.
Craig Crocket, our insurance agent, attended a meeting with Management and others Monday March 21. He recommends that any vender or contractor retained by WCCA should provide us a certificate of liability & a certificate of workers comp coverage.
A worker can get a waiver from the Utah Labor Commission that waives workers comp for $50 per person. Every person coming on the property would need to get the waiver. Craig indicated that the waiver doesn't absolutely protect against liability.
He pointed out that our insurance rates are based on us being a nonprofit, in a low-risk pool, and the presence of a for-profit entity leasing our land affects that.
Craig recommended a workers comp policy for residents for $495, particularly since we require residents do work. It would cover both owners & residents (but not BUG Farms, their workers, or volunteers, since they are a for-profit).
When BUG Farms started Sharon wanted to supply prepared food, but the commercial kitchen required liability insurance. BUG Farms decided at that time not to carry insurance, and dropped that aspect of the business.
Question: Do we sign the agreement as written? Lots of thumbs down.
Brainstorm possible modifications to the proposal:
Alternative agreement with BUG Farms.
Accept BUG Farms proposal, if they agree to buy workers comp & liability, and modify the lease? Ask them to buy insurance as their "payment" to us rather than a CSA share. Or, Hans suggests that he could pay one-sixth of insurance, Wasatch Commons could pay one-sixth, and we ask BUG Farms to pay the other two-thirds. (If liability plus workers comp costs $1500 per year, a one-sixth share would be $250.)
Are there other organizations that would be interested in using the land to farm, who have insurance?
Alternative uses for north field (one-eighth of an acre):
resident garden area (note 1)
orchard (note 2)
yurt for additional guest room
green house
playing field
wild flower meadow, wildlife refuge
solar hot tub
community garden instead of individual plots
Olympic swimming pool
If residents farm the land and sell at farmers market, what would be the community's liability? The farmers markets lets SL residents sell their own produce without a business license.
Note 1. Some years we have not had enough garden beds for everyone who wanted one. That pressure was eased by Hans letting people use his orchard, but that will end next year. The old plan for garden shed involved pulling out northeast bed. Pull out first row of beds along Cheyenne Drive and put extra parking spaces. Build single-storey handicap units in current garden. Make donations to food bank.
Note 2. With Hans taking use of his property back after this year, we are losing our orchard.
If BUG Farms uses Hans's field, the fruit trees are actually an obstacle. What is the importance of having the land farmed by an outside entity? Good relations with neighbors, having insurance of food production in the event of bad times. Sponsor the rising generation in urban farming. They have tilled and worked on improving soil.
Hans (not BUG Farms) paid for installation of water from his Cheyenne property. They can roll up and move their irrigation system without major cost.
Individuals can support BUG Farms by buying a CSA share.
At the time we made the agreement with BUG Farms, one motivation was that we didn t have manpower to keep up the north field in other ways. With the Cannons that has changed.
There is a request that, however the land is used, the appearance be tidy.
Joel has offered to buy the irrigation equipment from BUG Farms.
BUG Farms may use the land for the 2016 growing season, if they get liability and workers comp insurance and sign a full indemnity going to Wasatch Commons. They must vacate the land at the end of the year. They are not required to provide a share in payment for the use of the land.
Mix of thumbs up, stand asides, half a dozen thumbs down. Not passed.
Block by Naomi: There isn't time for the community to set up gardens there, whereas BUG Farms is already set up, and it isn't fair to BUG Farms to take it back this close to growing season.
This proposal would eliminate the possibility of getting another organization.
Easter is March 27. Lynda will be organizing egg coloring, probably 2 p.m. Saturday, & a hunt 10 a.m. Sunday. Please provide hard-boiled eggs if you are attending. Prepare children for the fact that the eggs they create Saturday will be left for the Easter bunny to hide for Sunday.
Dinner March 17. Lynda will post a sign-up.
Local air-quality activist Nina Dougherty's memorial service 569 S 1300 E 11 a.m. Friday March 11.
Reclamation of Underutiized Spacess will be meeting/working in the common house Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
Play at West High this Thursday Friday Saturday, $5. Sam is on the technical crew for it.
Sandra has accepted a job at University of Michigan. She & Hob will be moving to Ann Arbor, to Touchstone Cohousing.
Elaine will be purchasing Hans's unit within the month. She will probably give her sculpting lessons in her unit, but do her own work in the workshop. Becca has been working on straightening the workshop. Hans will give Elaine Becca's contact info.
Attempted break-in at the yellow house on Cheyenne (east of the field Matt Morganti farms).
Joel has determined there is a leak near the garden boxes of ~2 cu ft per hour. The meter had not changed from when it was turned off last fall to when it was turned back on today.
Circulating sign-up for conference, (1) someone to orient people about Salt Lake mass transit etc, and (2) 5/17 Tuesday evening putting badges together or filling conference bags
Starts of philodendron available from Hob & Sandra.
Great neighbors, have a garden, shared meals with fantastic cooks, safety, wildlife, learning about people's interests and projects, borrow an egg, get a ride, great place to raise kids, extended family, knowing neighbors' names, plenty of references for security background checks, complement each other, variety of interesting things going on, challenge of working things out with people, learning how to get along, having email flame wars with people you know in real life instead of random strangers on the internet.
Concerns that caused the issue to be opened: Payment for use of land. Untidy with pulled weeds and picked rocks. Disrespect between farmers & residents. Risk & liability. No contract. Is having a for-profit business using our land in keeping with our principles? Is it the best use of that land? Is BUG Farms the best associate if we want the land farmed?
Background: When the relationship started, the owner of BUG Farms was a renter at Wasatch Commons, Sharon. BUG Farms was sold to Coleman. He & Tobi were renters of Hans's house on Cheyenne. Now they have purchased their own house. Although they are neighbors, they are not community members. Because the agreement was informal, payment slid from a monthly community meal to attendance at potluck with their volunteers.
The farmers who still rent here are not associated with BUG Farms.
We got a copy of their standard contract from them. It puts all the liability on the land owner. The rosy view that our friends would never sue us isn't realistic. When someone is injured, it isn't necessarily them that decides to sue. Sometimes it is the insurance company.
Their standard contract gives a CSA share in return for using the land. We have discussed having some residents purchase that share from the community.
Shawnie contacted our insurance agent, Craig Crockett, about the contract. He said we have no "insurance backdrop" (coverage) for a for-profit entity leasing our land.
Storage bin: There are issues we need to work on with our insurance regarding not merely contractors or leases but our own residents doing work on the property.
Even if you have a contract that gives indemnity, a suit can be brought against whoever has the deeper pockets. The BUG Farms owners have considerably fewer assets at risk than we do, and they have no insurance (Shawnie asked, & they confirmed). Because we are a non-profit, we are seen as low risk & our insurance is cheaper than a for-profit's.
Keeper of the heart point: Anxiety level in room seems high.
Is there a way to formulate the relationship that it isn't a lease, since we aren't trying to make money? Doesn't relieve our liability.
Management will be meeting with Craig Crockett on Monday the 14th.
Their contract has a start date of March 15, next Tuesday. As a courtesy we should warn them our concerns probably won't be settled by then.
Straw poll: If we can work out the liability and contractual issues, do we want to continue the relationship with BUG Farms? No blocks, about five stand-asides.
Stand aside concerns: We don't really have a relationship with Coleman like we did with Sharon. Agreement doesn't feel equitable. Contract renewal should be on a yearly basis. It feels a little intrusive to the nearest resident household; would like border moved back.
BUG Farms isn't the only option if we want it farmed. Other uses of the land, particularly by a resident, might be more appropriate to the community. BUG Farms is paying for their water, & other entities might need us to supply it.
Some of our residents are using Hans's land without recompense or insurance, although liability is greater in the case of a business using the land.
It's usual for a landlord rather than a tenant to write a lease.
Decision: Empower an ad hoc committee to talk to BUG Farms: Mark (convener), Shawnie, Amy, Hans. Is BUG Farms willing to get insurance? If we proceed, we may want to have an attorney look over the contract; Mike P guesses it might take an hour of time.
Next ACM is on Easter; please submit input & proxies if you won't be there.
Request: If you have documents in your possession that are community maintenance-related, please send them to the list, for instance, lists of work-team tasks, schedules for maintenance, participation records of maintenance done, serial or part numbers for community equipment, how-to's for cleanup etc.
Joel & Shawnie have closed on #5. [Applause.]
Utah Caucuses March 22, 6:00 p.m. Mountain View Elementary. Must be a registered voter.
Sign up for meal Friday.
Tuesday, public discussion of Utah lands 6:30 OSH Auditorium.
John sent out a proposal Feb 18, to get a discussion started.
Having a calendar, like for dining, with different days to sign up for work parties would help people find days that fit with their schedule, and provide greater visibility of what needs to be done and who is willing to sign up. A more reliable web-site would help. Even a sign-up clipboard passed around at ACM. We need people to coordinate, schedule, communicate.
Over the years we've put together many documents of community tasks. The first step in not reinventing the wheel is to pull these together and see what we've got.
Homework: Pull together whatever fragmentary lists of tasks anyone has access to, how to's, proposals.
Coordinating Linda WG & Izzy.
Coleman and Carlie are the current owners of BUG Farms. Coleman was working for BUG Farms before he became the co-owner about a year and a half ago. No written contract with Wasatch Commons. They have written contracts with some property owners; usual agreement is one CSA share ($600 value). The past year they have been bringing food to Wednesday potluck as their "payment." Original agreement was largely because Sharon loves cooking.
Their business model is selling CSA shares plus sales at farmer's market. They haven't managed to sell all of their CSA shares. Farmer's market agreement is that all the food they sell is what they have grown themselves.
Altogether they have about one and a half acre including all plots [40650 sq ft in an acre]. They planted a cover crop last fall which is now coming up. They rotate crop types each season. Work-trade and volunteering Tuesday and Wednesday mornings 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for a share. Real Food Rising last year had three groups of about eight teens each. They try to compost all weeds; put non-seeding weeds in paths; harder-to-compost items in pile at slam-ranch. Rarely use fertilizer. They are getting a weedwhacker.
The field here has more variation in soil quality than most of their sites. There's a low spot, about twenty feet from the west side, that is very clayey. Near the alley it is light and fluffy with lots of wood chip material.
[Carlie & Coleman left 4:15.]
Email is bugfarms@gmail.com. Shawnie will act as point-person with them. She will check with Hob and Sandra and Mark about what questions they have.
How soon does BUG Farms want to get started on their planting? Like to see a copy of the lease they have with other properties. That provides a starting point for a proposal.
What we want: Written agreement, reduce area to allow Colemans some planting area, water to be supplied by them, rocks gathered so they don't get back into soil (e.g., dumpstered or spread on alley).
A number of people are feeling overwhelmed by recent traffic on list serve. Review of agreement that was passed last year on appropriate use of community list serve. Better subject lines. Easier to train your email program than it is to train your neighbors.
Passed around flyers for Aging Better Together cohousing conference. Take one to post if you have someplace. Village Hearth Cohousing in North(?) Carolina is the other community sponsor. Hans is presenting on day 2. Helen Rollins (former resident) is presenting Saturday. $320 early registration until May. Includes dinner Thursday night, lunch boxes Friday & Saturday. Joel, John, Vicky, and a couple of others have been meeting with Cindy. 10:00 Saturday morning planning meeting. Volunteers get free registration. As a sponsor, Wacoho gets a free table and will need people to man it.
Program on mailroom board on green housing.
Next Tuesday 8:45 is BLM lease auction. 8 a.m. gathering outside Salt Palace.
1:00 hearing on
Feb. 13 Saturday (Linda's) Sara's family has a party at common house.
Got domain name wasatchcommon.org. Our website will have lots of visibility from conference, especially from tour. Link on conference site to our site. John would welcome content, photos etc. Time frame is to get preliminary site up in two weeks. Will probably be less than $20/month for hosting. Probably using Word Press. Second phase will be a members site.
Last year, exchange for using north field was that BUG Farms (Coleman) provided food for Wednesday noon potluck. Year before cooked a couple of dinners (which was what the community agreed to). Volunteers came to work Tuesdays and Wednesdays, for example Grace with Real Food Rising. (Note: Water comes from Hans's Cheyenne property.) This year they propose providing one CSA share ($550 value).
Lynda and Kathy each subscribe a half share. Would it work for a community member to claim the CSA share and pay the community for it?
It would smooth the relationship if they control weeds better around the field, particularly not just chuck them onto unlandscaped area. It would help to have a contact to discuss issues and schedule weeding, etc. Liaison on our side should be a gardener.
Maybe discuss with them rotating plantings of nightshade family to avoid nematode infestation. Mary's observation is that they use water carefully. Standing water on north end is from bathtub spring. They have been fine with her gleaning blemished produce that they toss aside. They don't always bring as much to the potluck as they eat. Cannons would like a ten-foot stretch for their own garden area.
Have further discussion on this issue at a future meeting closer to planting time. Maybe have Coleman come to a meeting, then discuss without him at the next meeting. Currently they are in Hawaii at a wedding. Original agreement was with previous owner of BUG Farms, was on a trial basis, and for different compensation. There's no written agreement, with BUG Farms just verbal.
Glendale Community Council
The community council represents the neighborhood at the city council meetings. They can write grants and do other things.
According to the community council bylaws, everyone attending is part of the council, not just the three "board members". Those people have been on for eighteen years, switching officer positions at elections every four years. They rewrote the bylaws but never submitted them; e.g., members would be only the people on mailing list instead of attendees. A very small number of people are on mailing list to receive the agenda, and it's very hard to get on it. Since the last meeting they went to the city and added four new members that they chose. Per bylaws, the agenda is supposed to be posted on the city's website.
The next meeting is next Wednesday at the library at 7:00 p.m.
Open House
April 30 Saturday "Cohousing Open House" day, advertised on cohousing.org. Need a public contact, a private contact, and people to arrange and give the tour. Can do a google voice phone that will forward to whatever number we choose. Specify limited tour hours and RSVP. Could offer special tours garden, solar, open for-sale houses.
:: Thumbs up on participating in open house day.
Management officers. Kellie is secretary, Mike is treasurer, Hans is president. Meetings will be on first and third Tuesdays.
EPA hearings on clean air, Tuesday Jan 26th 1-5 and 6-8 p.m. at library, two coal-fired coal plants in southern Utah.
Jake will move into a tiny house in the driveway of the yellow house on Cheyenne belonging to Hans.
Mary will lead a walkabout after the meeting to indicate which trees are being considered for removal. Trees that are over houses and have been requested removed by the resident, or are dead.
Elaine is hoping to move in once she sells her house. She is Kevin Bell's (?) mother. She will want to use the workshop to teach art classes.
Linda P's tires were slashed last night by Kelsey. He's been taken up to university hospital.
Joel installed a camera facing to the west parking lot from Izzy's & Kellie's. It's motion-activated, currently a little too sensitive (snowfall sets it off). There is an app that lets people look at the live feed or at recordings. Joel will email more info and the log-in.
24 units have participated (eaten and/or worked) in dining so far. For now trying to do no more than one dinner per week, since there are six positions to be staffed for each dinner. It will help if we can get clean-up more streamlined.
Susan is in charge of calling to get the parking lots cleared.
If anybody has small covered buckets to contribute, we can use them to put containers of magnesium chloride in multiple places. Sprinkle very small amounts on icy pavement, or even before a snowfall. It's helpful to shovel so that the water can reach the drains.
Kathy has emailed Wiggio to ask about shutting down that email list. They haven't responded yet. We don't know who the admin for that account was.
Joel has installed a security camera on west parking lot. The feed and recordings can be viewed online. He will give further instructions on that next ACM.
Isabella is seeking violin and taiko students. She has 25 years experience as a professional musician and teacher.
January 26 Tuesday main library, EPA hearing on state's plan to clean up Huntington power plant pollution.
Common meal taco bar this Friday, paper signup sheet in mailroom. Lynda is cooking.
February 16 Tuesday, Elders Rising action to stop auctioning of oil & gas leases. Salt Palace room 255.
Tree company will be working in February. It will help if residents will help dragging branches, let tree workers spend their time doing more.
Appreciations.
Elect two owner members to Management. replacing Kathy & Kay. Hans, Mike W, & Linda P are in second year of term.
Nominations using sociocratic method. Two nominations from each person present. Facilitator read nominations and reasons. Round of additional comments. Round of acceptance or decline of nomination. Accepting nominations: John G, Kay, Isabella, Kellie.
:: Elected: John and Kellie.
Elect renters rep. Nominating & comments round: Joel.
In some cases the budget line is a different name than the committee that spends it, e.g., common house furnishings budget and Underutilized Spaces Committee.
Monthly fees for January are the 2016 rate.
Most of the insurance line is premiums for disaster insurance flood, fire, earthquake.
Budget consensed.
April 25, 2020