2011feb17-general-meeting

Assign roles:

  • Facilitator: William
  • Note-taker
  • Stack-taker

Open meeting time:

Anyone new? If so, Explain how our general meetings function

  • Agenda (wiki beforehand, review at start of meeting), Facilitation, Stack, Note-taking
  • Hand signals – raise hand, thumbs, twinkle, point of process triangle, direct response
  • Everyone in attendance is welcome to voice input.
  • Based on twinkles, thumbs, head nods and conversation, we will sense when we are nearing consensus and form a proposal on which to vote.
  • Collective Council members vote – will council members please raise hands now.

Attendance (would any of you prefer to remain off the record? Would intros be helpful?)

Council members:

Non-Council Volunteers:

Other Attendees:

Review Agenda

  • Anyone need to add anything?
  • Any of these items resolved, can be removed?

Guests’ proposals

Requests for keys

Is person a council member and/or significant to staffing shop? Is person present? Is person vouched for? Vote. Assign action point to copy and arrange receipt of key.

Committee Reportbacks (can skip those not current/relevant)

  • (2 min) Wimmin, Trans, Queer and Femme Committee
  • (2 min) Shop Committee
  • (15 min) Program Committee
  • (2 min) Staffers
  • (2 min) Finance and 501c3
  • (2 min) Communications Committee
  • (2 min) Anti-Oppression
  • (2 min) Fix-for-Sale

Total time: 29 min

Reportbacks of respect issues

In 2010 retreat, we consensed to provide time in general meetings for attendees to disclose problems they have had with being on the receiving end of disrespect, harassment, etc. in the shop and collective. This is not the venue all people would choose, but it may be right for some.

Meeting Specific Topics and Proposals

  • (20 min) Proposal on staff mechanic in open shop
  • (5 min) Proposal to swap Tuesday volunteer night with Monday night drop-in classes, to break up class days and make it easier for folks to pay for classes with volunteer hours – Program Committee.
  • (5 min) Proposal to move Advanced Mechanic drop-in classes to Sunday, before Basic Mechanic drop-ins – Program Committee.
  • (5 min) Consensus on Mission Statement developed on Crabgrass What next for Mission Statement?
  • (5 min) Consensus on Conduct Card, Code of Conduct developed on Crabgrass
  • (5 min) Progress on Anti-Oppression Training for all staffers
  • (20 min) Discussion on Articulating levels of trust & milestones; Shop security
    • Review proposal and come to agreement where possible.
    • Focus on coming up with a plan to move forward on other items.
  • (15 min) Staff coordinator
    • Ideas on how to move forward with Staffing Coordinator?
    • Initial discussion to formulate a plan for moving forward
  • (5 min) Discussion on current status of move planning

Total time: 85 min

Note: Some agenda items were set at the 2010 winter retreat. See we.riseup.net/freeride_council/2010retr...

Action Points (add to throughout meeting)

  • _____________ someone to briefly summarize our doings in newsletter to volunteers, blog, maybe other newsletter subscribers
  • _____________ designate specific person to obtain/deliver copy of key
  • set future meeting dates/times/places, 3mo. ahead

Visiting Trainings

at the 2010 retreat, folks talked about tacking respect/anti-oppression trainings to the end of general meetings, when possible. occasional.

Close meeting time:

 

I want to put this stuff right on this page without bloating the agenda. These are the details we set out in the retreat of points to go over in February:

FEBRUARY COUNCIL MTG

 
 

I added what I hope are three brief items to the agenda. These items are unfinished business from the Retreat and last meeting and sometimes the meeting before. With the exception of the Mission, they were all proposed and are all aimed at making the Shop a comfortable place for all people including staffers. That it is not so currently is a problem.

We seemed to be very close on Mission and Conduct and agreed to move them forward on Crabgrass. Can we discuss to a point on Crabgrass or email that we are satisfied enough with the products to attempt consensus immediately, and if we aren’t there, table these items?

On Anti-Oppression Training, I think there was a temporary committee working on this, and perhaps we can get a brief report-back. If there is no plan for training, as a fall-back plan I propose we have staffers hold the same conduct card and read the policy. Maybe we can also make-do with something brief mixed-in to the existing staffer training?

We open in one month.

 
 

To make room for the above, I propose we push the following to the April meeting:

  • Info hierarchy if no proposal exists for it.
  • Deconstruction day/time – little discussion so far on the proposal for it.
  • Staffing Coordinator if no proposal exists for it.

I also propose we limit discussion on the Move. There is a lot of information on Crabgrass about the move.

Finally, I suggest that for the meeting we adopt a worst-case set of rules for discussion that limits time on any topic. We can consense to extend as needed, and any item that does not get extended gets tabled for another meeting.

 
 

Hey Marc,

No proposal exists for staffing coordinator because we need to begin a discussion on it as a group. We should devote some time to this topic so that interested people can have some direction for any type of proposal or other action moving forward.

Also, I see your comment on the mission statement. Since it does not look like we are ready to agree on the wording, we can take some time in the meeting to determine how to move forward.

So lets not remove these items from the agenda, but maybe keep them brief and develop them further outside of this meeting.

 
   

Sounds good!

We can also remember a strategy that worked at the retreat: progress on some things can be delegated to committees and brought back to council later.