ACM Minutes, September 27, 2026: Proposal passed 'Clarify Definition of 'Community Work' in the Pay-or-Work Agreement

Decision: Proposal "Clarify Definition of 'Community Work' in the Pay-or-Work Agreement"

In attendance: Kerry, Lila, Becky, Cheryl, Kellie (notes), Emily, Lynda, Ben, Scott, Mike W, Vicky, Laraine, Mike A, Joe, Brian, Alex, Coleman, Kay, Sarah

Anouncements
-    Children's committee: Meeting Thursday, Oct 1st 6:30pm, location TBD to plan the Halloween party. Usually one unit's 
-    Landscaping: Tree care on Wednesday Sept 30th at 5:30, meet by the workshop and will convene again on Saturday Oct 3rd after cafe to finish whatever we couldn't on finish Wednesday.
-   Maintenance: need to finish cleaning under decks and 
-   ACM planning: Meets 1st and 3rd Sundays at 7pm. If you have topics you would like to bring to ACM, you can fill out the form online or come to a meeting. Current meetings: Abby, Kerry, Lynda, and Ben, Next meeting is Oct 4th. Continue to need facilitators and note-takers.
-   Committee budget requests are due by Thursday, Oct 1st
-   Mike and Vicky Wason anounced they are moving, not sure the timeline but do have a place they are interested in. There will be a vacancy on welcoming, need someone to replace her who is tech savvy. Grae is looking for a room if anyone is renting. 
-   New company that picks up donations takes everything except chemicals and used mattresses. They take beauty products, etc. 

Participation Discussion
  -   Activity: On a piece of paper, write what words come to mind when you think of participation?
             Shared what is on the note without commentary. Things mentioned:
                    Working & creating vital community together
                    Service, fellowship, teamwork, co-housing
                    Show up, do your part
                    Honoring/showing gratitude for others' contribution, cooperation
                    Stepping aside, sharing space and time
                    Trying new things, active listlening, help,
                    Being available, flexible/adaptable 
                    Help with decision-making, help with leadership, commitment, putting your shoulder to the wheel push along
                    Collective ownership, mutual support
                    Asking "what needs exist in a community"
                    Community, vulnerability, fun &not so fun, sharing
                    Being involved and supportive
              Separate into groups based on color of cat hand out to discuss what is on the papers. What was the consensus from the group?
               - Group #1: Being bored together,- do we tolerate it together or try to intervene? What does support look like, what does it mean to live in co-housing?
               - Group #2: Showing up is underlying all of this, we show up in different ways in different times in our lives. 
               - Group #3: Stepping back to allow other people to take a leadership role
               

    **5 minute break***

 Discussion of   Proposal: Clarify Definitions of Community Work
      
      What is the reason for this proposal?
         -In part response to presentation at previous ACM by Cheryl discussing changing legal landscape that puts more pressure on HOA's to maintain communities to a higher standard. Need to increase participation or hire out more jobs. Additionally, participation is part of maintaining the culture of Wasatch Commons. 
     Where does the funds for pay-or-play go?
          It goes to the general operating fund, it is part of the income of Wasatch Commons. Funds are not ear-marked but does give us more wiggle room in the budget. 
    Becky mentioned that she has hired out landscaping around unit 1 to make it safer to traverse her pathway. 
    Clarification that Kerry is facilitating, Ben is merely presenting his proposal. 
    
Discussion:
    "Generally, community work does not include maintenace of one's own yard or private unit." Difference between legally-defined "limited common area" (proch and patio, parking spot and storage area) and what is considered a personal yard vs community area. Trying to make sure work of maintaining the community gets done, but is not the same as what is definied as each unit's space, but it requires judgement. 
     Want to clarify that the community mentioned in the question  - "what am to doing to contribute to... the community" means more than the physical community. Examples include facilitation and planning, child care to help neighbors attend community meetings, note-taking, calling vendors, etc.
     Want to come up with a list of suggested activities. Don't want this to replace coming up with a list of ways to participation. Could we have a standing "participation" committee that comes list of community work and interviews community members for their skills and how they want to participate. 
     Broader concerns about neighbors not taking care of yards, clarification that that is part of a different discussion. This proposal is about setting a common standard for what counts as community pay-or-play(work) hours. 
    Proposal: consensed, one stand aside
    

    
   Proposal Process: (see handout)
  Level 1 :   Identify values
                  Open with sharing of values and ideas
                  Test for consensus
  Level 2:    Identify Concerns
                   List any concerns, notice related concerns 
  Level 3:   Resolve concerns
                   Resolve set or related concerns (if any) 
                   Test for consensus 
   If no consensus: 
                 Restate any unresolved concerns one at a time
                 Questions to clarify
                 Identify Value base of concern
                Creative interplay of ideas for mutual resolution of concern
Other options if no consensus: 
                 Send to committee
                 Test for stand aside or blocks 



  

Proposal as ammended:

Proposal: Clarify Definition of "Community Work" in the Pay-or-Work Agreement

Date: 

Proposed

Amend the Pay-or-Work Agreement (as amended August 26, 2012) by replacing the sentence:

For now, each adult resident decides for themselves what is community work.

with:

Each adult resident uses their own judgment in determining what counts as community work, guided by the question: 

'What am I doing to contribute to the overall operation and maintenance of the community, beyond what is expected of a good neighbor?'

Generally, community work includes planning, preparing, and facilitating meetings or community events; taking meeting minutes or presenting at meetings; maintenance, repair, and upkeep of shared property; landscaping of common areas (mowing, weed-whacking, irrigation, and general upkeep) and work in the farmette/community garden; cleaning and organizing common spaces; active participation in committee or project work (organizing, coordinating, writing and maintaining documentation, calling vendors, managing logistics, hosting community-wide activities, providing refreshments or snacks); and providing organized childcare for another household's children as part of a community event or activity. 

Generally, community work does not include maintenance of one's own yard or private unit, work in one's own East Garden box, personal favors to individual neighbors, supervising one's own children, or attending a community meeting without a designated role (such as facilitator, note-taker, or presenter).

These categories are non-exhaustive examples, not a fixed list. Residents should use the guiding question above for situations not specifically addressed, and Management is available for case-by-case input.

All other provisions of the Pay-or-Work Agreement remain unchanged. The self-reporting, honor-system structure is unchanged. This amendment adds shared guidance, not new enforcement.

Background Summary

The current agreement leaves "what counts as community work" entirely up to each resident's individual judgment, with no shared frame of reference. In practice, this has led to wide inconsistency, with the bulk of the work that keeps the community running (maintenance, meeting facilitation, event planning, vendor coordination, etc.) falling on a small group of people.

This is a story of an undefined standard, not a story of bad faith. Without any shared sense of what the hours are meant to represent, reasonable people land in very different places. The result is that the pay or play system isn't accomplishing one of its core goals: spreading the labor of running the community equitably across more people.

How This Proposal Intends to Address the Issue

This amendment gives residents a clearer compass for the judgment they're already exercising, anchored to a single guiding question, plus illustrative (not exhaustive) examples of what generally does and doesn't fit. The goal is for residents to recognize the kind of work the community actually needs and feel invited to step into it, rather than to crack down on past reporting or create a list someone has to police. It doesn't change who decides, how hours are reported, or how payment works.

Pros

• Gives residents a consistent standard to reason from, reducing the wide variation in what gets reported
• Makes it easier for residents who want to contribute meaningfully to identify real opportunities to do so (maintenance, planning, event-hosting, etc.), which helps spread work across more people
• Preserves the honor-system and self-reporting structure.
• Uses non-exhaustive examples rather than a fixed list, so it doesn't require future consensus amendments every time a new kind of task comes up
• Directly responds to a known pain point (overconcentration of labor) without changing the underlying agreement's mechanics

Cons

• Some residents may need to find new ways to contribute if the current work they're logging doesn't meet the new guidelines
• "Guidance" still requires interpretation; a determined resident could still stretch examples to fit personal tasks, since there's no formal review mechanism
  
• May prompt requests for further clarification on edge cases not covered by the examples, creating occasional case-by-case discussions with management or the broader community