April 12, 2023 ACM Minutes

Topics: conflict support, civility, tracking maintenance work, c.h. playground, parking

All-Community Meeting, Wednesday April 12, 2023, 7:00- p.m.

Present:  Eliza (co-fac), Lynda, Kerry, Cheryl, Mike (fac), Kay (notes), Laura, Thomas, Robin, Jorge, Laraine, Renae, Myste, Vinnie, Lila

Conflict Support

Conflict Support will be doing a short presentation at each ACM.  Presentation by Laraine. Handout, Suggested Steps toward Conflict Resolution.

Framework. Talk it out with a member of C.S. or a friend. Conceptualize your view, identify feelings, wants and needs, brainstorm possible resolutions or ways of solving the problem.  Carry out an individual plan for resolution.  Go face-to-face to resolve the conflict, with or without a helper. As a last resort when all earnest efforts toward resolution fail and conflict is still unresolved, mediation.

Members: Laraine, Linda R, Eliza, and Laura. (Alex expressed an interest but has only been to one meeting.)  Several people have mentioned that a retreat might be helpful; this is not C.S.’s mandate.  It would be Procedures', but Procedures isn't functioning currently.  Maybe an ad hoc retreat planning committee.

Civility

Document to go into orientation packet, be posted, and review upon need. Presentation by Robin. Guidelines to maintain civility.  To apply to ACMs and personal interactions.  The people who’ve been working on the document don’t feel it needs consensus; it is a synthesis of other documents. 

Suggestions:  if something gets heated, the co-facilitator could ask to step outside the room with them.  The facilitator could call a break.

Request to spell out what is meant by “maintaining a safe environment”.

School definition of abuse, over thirty years, has shifted towards “It’s abuse if someone feels abused.”  The person whose actions/word were upsetting may have intended nothing of the kind.

Tracking Maintenance Work

Presentation by Cheryl. Working on organizing things that need doing, their priority or urgency, their history.  Tracking what gets down when on which buildings/units, areas.

If you know the approximate dates of when community maintenance has been done or work has been done on your unit (outside), let Maintenance know what and when.

If there are things that should be added, let Maintenance know to add them.

Maintenance is tracking whether things get done but doesn’t need to be the ones doing it.  Common house monthly teams could have particular jobs in particular months.  Some tasks will have dedicated work parties.  Some jobs can be tackled by individuals.

C.H. Playground

Does the playground by the common house need removal?  Can it be replaced and how soon?  Where will the funding come from?

Concerned about children getting hurt.  Open House coming up.  Need a plan to make it safe.  Parents are reluctant to remove it without already having a plan to replace it and people committed to it.

Uprights are sturdy but decking needs to be replaced.  Some of the boards around the fort need replacing.  The ladder doesn’t meet safety standards for a playground.  Some of the uprights are treated wood, indicated by the marks like staples. 

Vertical pillars – sand them down, lacquer them, metal cap on top. 

At budget time, Management didn’t put money in the budget for it but told the parents committee to figure out what they wanted and how much it would cost, then come to Management and we would try to find some money.  Renae would like a little more certainty on the funding before she starts calling contractors for bids.

The community needs to not be liable.  While hold harmless agreements can be ignored, we could ask parents willing to continue using it to sign a waiver saying they have been warmed of and understand the risk.

Parking

There are many more uncovered spots in west lot than east.  There are only a couple of uncovered spots in reach of electric car chargers, all on the east side.  Move one handicap spot from east to west?  Keep vehicles that don’t go out often on west? Ask people closer to the west side to try to park there?

Vinnie would like to get drains done within next three weeks.  Vinnie would like the rosebush pruned back from the drain cover. 

Committee Reports & Announcements

Sat May 6 National Cohousing Open House.  Start with café at 9 a.m., then tours. Beth & Coleen’s unit is for sale.  Sign-up sheet.  Reaching out to some local government people, council members etc., with invitations.  Residents please attend café for visitors to talk to.

Common House.  Working on organizing the office.  The file cabinet will be going.  It would be helpful for many reasons to have electronic version of the blue-prints.

The public library has a large-bed scanner that can be reserved.

April 19, Wednesday, dinner at Chanon Thai 5:00 or 4:30 at Barrio

Amalie would like to start a Baking Club. Perhaps every other weekend.

Review of Storage Bin

Remove

• suggestion to use Slack
• hot tub; Vinnie says legally we can’t have an above-ground hot-tub, it has to be built-in. 

Keep

• fire pit
• partnership benefits (cohousing association)

Emailed 4/16/2023.