Post by kim on Dec 18, 2011 20:22:35 GMT -7
Agenda & Minutes to GA of 12/18/11
~ 30 people in attendance
Agenda
Review of Process.
I. Announcements
II. Working group reports
III. Proposals
a. State aloud/Scribe
b. Clarifications/questions
c. Concerns
IV. Other Business: Identify Discussion Topics*
V. Confirm date time place of next assemblies
VI. Adjournment: Discussion of Other business & Soapbox*
Minutes
I. Announcements
1. Occupy 2.0: Occupy the Commons. (What is the Commons in the USA? Internet is one).
2. Conversation listserv is started as a way to discuss outside of the forums. Kate will have a signup list to join that.
3. Email list administered by Ethel, serves as an update listserv. Send email to occupymissoula@gmail.com. To be added to that list. Will send around the link to join #2.
4. Occupy the Courts Working group (will report in
5. Free school group: Transition Towns group meeting at Gabe's house rather than the UC commons this week.
6. Caroling downtown with Occupy lyrics: Meet at Courthouse 6pm Thursday
II. Working Group Reports
1. Communications group: 8 people met on Monday for intense discussion to write letter to commissioners. No report
2. Encampment: Extend invitation to go to camp and get to know the people there.
3. New Group: First Night Working Group. Will work with the Cultural Council to start a positive interaction, they are open to working with Occupy. Working Group meeting with Tom of the Cultural Council on the 21st, someone from the commissioners will join as well. Prettying up the camp. Will pass around work group sign up sheet. Short term group. Work party Wednesday at 4pm
4. Direct Action: Four people met, planning is ongoing but no report. Solidarity Network met with Melissa, this group will help with direct actions by joining as “bodies,” meet at the break 6pm Tuesday(?). Check calendar.
Meeting at Russell & Broadway. Details will be emailed and added to the calendar. MovetoAmend.org staging January 20th protests in front of the courthouses around the country, organize an event here in front of our federal courthouse. Should appeal to 75% of Missoula!
5. Foreclosure Defense Group: January 8th at the Break, noon, then the 15th, will be the next two meetings, will decide future meetings during the meetings. Many ideas, a few include: Plaster the city with posters that say foreclose on banks, not people! Walk through what’s happening in Missoula and nationwide, hold a Parade of Foreclosed Homes! Write stories about foreclosed homes. Everyone welcome to join. Rebecca’s name & number can be put on
6. Move to Amend working group: List of links to information regarding the amendment, occupy the courts. Working group sign up is going around.
7. Facilitation: Meet noon Sudays for Sunday GA. Proposal
8. Finance: Met at Camp. Learning about 501c3/501c4. Need legal advice, a lawyer’s input would be very helpful! Wepay not perfect, but other things are not seeming any better so have a agreed to continue using that for now. Currently we have $139.75 in Wepay account, which was already agreed to give to the camp by GA consensus. Very difficult to access it. We need a donate button or some way to better donate and access the money. Have $185 in Good Food account, Casey, Becca, Charles & Melissa will have their name on it. Tent is paid off!
Next meeting Friday 6pm Meetings, at encampment. Still organizing the finance problems, spoke with JRPC about becoming a fiscal sponsor. Everyone welcome to attend…PLEASE attend.
9. Occupy the Oval. Many students have gone home for holiday break. Will start officially after the break. Working with encampment. Meeting tomorrow at 7pm at the UC commons food area upstairs, may be a small group.
10. New Working Groups: Flashmob before Christmas, New Years, with positive spiritual sentiments/sign up sheet passed around, also will collaborate with Direct Action work group.
11. May Day Planning Group: Labor and economic system event.
12. Union Working Group: Thursday 6pm at Union Hall. Note: next meeting may be postponed due to Christmas/contact Mark for more info.
Formation of Community Development Council/Coalition. In regard to the donation of the Fox theater site to build a convention hotel (city owns land, working with developers and might donate the land for building a convention center). Public is giving something, give them a list of things they should do in order to get labor behind the deal. Use union labor that ensures at least minimal working conditions during construction and later operations. Also, that planning respects the river and the city’s plans so that it integrates into Missoula. Proposal that Occupy set up a camp at the theater site to help further the efforts of the Coalition. Begin this as a process that begins, not an end result: organized around a very well structured goal with an end result outlined (research “community benefit agreements” to learn more about the overall idea). Post Office: stay of execution until May, need to keep the pressure on. This is a push to privatize the post office. Two clipboards passed around: 1. Petition, 2. Sign up sheet for rallying from 9-6 in front of post offices, asking people to sign petition. What about small post offices around other communities? Any one can have copies of the petition sheet and start rallies at any Post Office, Mark will look into sending a digital copy to occupymissoula@gmail.com. Closure of post offices affect on voting by mail?
13. Study of Tactics (start a new study group?): Effective forms of resistance and protests. Occupation, protests, voting, petitions, etc. See Jay. Learn about history of protest.
III. Proposals
A. Statement of Proposals – Scribed:
Proposal 1. Tuesday Night GA become a forum for discussion, actual GAs once a week on Sunday at 2pm. Sunday 1pm forum will will be moved to Tuesday at 5:30pm.
a. “Proposal 1.5”: Population is not a part of Occupy: Education and knowledge are key. Face to face gathering/ talk-in. Economists and others who can speak to the issues at hand, bring in multiple resources (reading, video, etc). Thursday night free school a part of that/Transition Towns being studied now, & Tuesday Forum.
Proposal 2. Community benefit agreement: Development Process
--------------------10 MIN BREAK -----------------------
B. Prioritization of Proposals [note: discussed both proposals on the table, in order presented]
Structure of Discussion of Proposals:
1. Proposal
a. Questions/Clarifications (e.g. “Did you mean…?”)
b. Concerns (“I like/dislike it because…”)
c. Resolutions (Ask for consensus or amendments, table if it’s clear consensus is unlikely)
2. Repeat (#1) for each prioritized proposal on the table
Proposal #1: Discussion of Tuesday Forum in lieu of GA
a. Questions/Clarifications
i. Is group open to holding it in a larger space, and inviting the public?
Yes. Communications group outreach, add to community calendars around town, etc.
b. Concerns (“I like/dislike it because…”) Vibe Check: Positive. No concerns.
c. Consensed/Passed
Proposal #2: Get folks from the encampment and the Coalition and to get together and discuss potentially supporting a community benefits agreement. Discussion of an action: Does not require GA consent. Involved working groups (Union group and Direct Action group, and others e.g. communication as needed) get together and discuss the action, then the larger group can consense on the proposal that comes out of that. Bringing awareness to the larger group, but understood that it can go ahead as working groups. Discussion/clarification:
d. Questions/Clarifications
i. Question for encampment group: Part of consensus process is to find a third way that every one can agree with, so need to determine how larger group and encampment group feel about a move to a new location? Becomes a much bigger discussion topic. Will people work together?
ii. What’s your sense on how the city would respond to moving the encampment to a new location? Answer: Similar to how the county feels. Many issues that need to be resolved, this might not be the best place to come to those resolutions.
iii. Isn’t that site a parking? Cars mixing with tents? Only a small part of it is paved, however many other issues to work out as well.
iv. Time frame? Not asking the camp to move right now. “Third positions” are available that are a synthesis of oppositions. Organizing is building relationships, much discussion and working things out to take place first. No set time frame in place, but begin discussion now (has already started).
v. Asking them to do this is a compromise. A way to keep the camp carrying on.
vi. Was placed on the board as a proposal. Is it a proposal? Vibe check: Mark will bring more info
e. Concerns
i. If we do nothing, somebody will make a decision. Occupying is noisy, there are dangers, houseless community doesn’t want to be there. Commissioners will try to remove occupiers every time there is an event. This issue might burn the relationships we have now. Question: What relations with whom are you referring to? Answer: City and commissioners don’t want to be for or against the movement, they just want the camp gone from the courthouse lawn. Another event could lead to them moving us out. Missoula city council has a calendar of events going on there, eventually one will come to an impasse, need a fall back plan that’s a good action that has structure to it. Discussion point: Fox site is city owned, courthouse is county. Difference. City is more responsible for the issues being raised than is the county, therefore more sensitive.
ii. Agreeing to the proposal lets Union and Camp work group to pursue this action. If there are any blocking concerns now we should state them now rather than waiting until later when this has moved forward.
iii. This compromise could be more problematic, as it gets between business and a money making endeavor.
iv. No blacking concerns if working groups go on with talking about this action? None
f. Resolution: Consensed that groups can continue working on the action.
IV. Other Business/Discussion points*
1. Define Working Groups, GAs, & processes
a. Working groups are where the work gets done. In other Occupy sites, questions are asked before a proposal is brought to the GA, which ensure that proposals are well thought out before they come from the working groups. Everyone is encouraged to be in workgroups. Some are in many workgroups. Work groups don’t last forever-they may accomplish something and dissolve. A general discussion of how to start a work group will be added to GA overview in the agenda—this will also help define processes for new attendees to the GA. General ongoing discussion of how to define processes for regular attendees and new people. Consensus work group is working to define the decision making process, communication can continue working to write up the occupy processes.
2. Change of Tuesday night to a forum. [The following topics were raised for Other business discussion and will be considered for forum discussion instead]
a. National Defense Authorization Act: Sovereignty. Vibe Check: first topic of first forum? Passing already, how can we move forward from this? Need a little discussion tonight. Was stopped in one house so there is a reprieve, more time to discuss than thought.
b. The Union Group proposal re: the community benefits agreement is also a pressing topic, also a forum topic for a Tuesday?
V. Confirm date/time/place of next assemblies
Sunday 12/25: No Sunday GA for Christmas Day. Consensed
Sunday 01/01: Regular meeting time at 2pm at Union Hall on New Years Day, but will be discussion groups only, no GA. Potluck, bringing of instruments & jig-dancing is encouraged.
Sunday 01/08: January 8 next Sunday GA, 2pm, Union Hall
Tuesday, Dec 20: Forum at the encampment. 5:30 pm.
Tuesday Dec 27: Regular GA at the encampment, in order to address what comes from the Cultural Council meeting re First Night. Also, discussion of going forward with bigger forums with public invited, to start after the first of the year: Forums will be held at Union Hall, either in big room or downstairs, one is usually available. Movie showings in the room next door a possibility, and the Open way available (a big open space). We may need a Tuesday Forum working group to plan the forums.
Friday , Occupy the Oval: (? School break- UC closed, members of OTO left meeting earlier)
VI. Evaluation of Meeting
Discussion of meeting/there was a definite overall positive vibe.
Ad hoc proposal: Set discussion topics during “IV. Other Business,” then BEFORE going into the open ended discussion, go through the rest of the Agenda and after adjournment move into discussion of the stated topics. (Consensed/passed)*
Set a meeting end time: ? [note: for future GA decision]
Other continued discussion: Conflict is welcome, it’s how we find a third way. Everyone can’t just agree on everything or we won’t get anywhere. Ethel’s poll and request for feedback shows growth in all of us. Thanks to Sara for facilitating, Kim for note taking, and Casey for all his work to solidify the process. Stand aside is ok, in order to let the group move forward. Stand-aside will be noted in the minutes, and not lost. One or two people can currently block things, should we use stand aside as a request and as a demand? Stand-aside should also be accepted, noted, and moved on from. Consensus is a way to say your piece and be acknowledged, so that those with differing ideas can express those positions without stopping the process. Focus on the goal. There was an evaluation go-round, to get evaluation/comments from everyone present.
VII. Adjournment 5:10pm. Discussion & Soapboxing
~ 30 people in attendance
Agenda
Review of Process.
I. Announcements
II. Working group reports
a. Communication
b. Encampment
c. New Group: First Night Planning
d. Direct Action
e. Foreclosure Defense
f. Move to Amend
g. Facilitation
h. Finance
i. Occupy the Oval
j. Flash mob Direct Action
k. May Day Planning
l. Unions
m. New Group? Study of Tactics/Historical Context
III. Proposals
a. State aloud/Scribe
b. Clarifications/questions
c. Concerns
IV. Other Business: Identify Discussion Topics*
V. Confirm date time place of next assemblies
VI. Adjournment: Discussion of Other business & Soapbox*
Minutes
I. Announcements
1. Occupy 2.0: Occupy the Commons. (What is the Commons in the USA? Internet is one).
2. Conversation listserv is started as a way to discuss outside of the forums. Kate will have a signup list to join that.
3. Email list administered by Ethel, serves as an update listserv. Send email to occupymissoula@gmail.com. To be added to that list. Will send around the link to join #2.
4. Occupy the Courts Working group (will report in
5. Free school group: Transition Towns group meeting at Gabe's house rather than the UC commons this week.
6. Caroling downtown with Occupy lyrics: Meet at Courthouse 6pm Thursday
II. Working Group Reports
1. Communications group: 8 people met on Monday for intense discussion to write letter to commissioners. No report
2. Encampment: Extend invitation to go to camp and get to know the people there.
3. New Group: First Night Working Group. Will work with the Cultural Council to start a positive interaction, they are open to working with Occupy. Working Group meeting with Tom of the Cultural Council on the 21st, someone from the commissioners will join as well. Prettying up the camp. Will pass around work group sign up sheet. Short term group. Work party Wednesday at 4pm
4. Direct Action: Four people met, planning is ongoing but no report. Solidarity Network met with Melissa, this group will help with direct actions by joining as “bodies,” meet at the break 6pm Tuesday(?). Check calendar.
Meeting at Russell & Broadway. Details will be emailed and added to the calendar. MovetoAmend.org staging January 20th protests in front of the courthouses around the country, organize an event here in front of our federal courthouse. Should appeal to 75% of Missoula!
5. Foreclosure Defense Group: January 8th at the Break, noon, then the 15th, will be the next two meetings, will decide future meetings during the meetings. Many ideas, a few include: Plaster the city with posters that say foreclose on banks, not people! Walk through what’s happening in Missoula and nationwide, hold a Parade of Foreclosed Homes! Write stories about foreclosed homes. Everyone welcome to join. Rebecca’s name & number can be put on
6. Move to Amend working group: List of links to information regarding the amendment, occupy the courts. Working group sign up is going around.
7. Facilitation: Meet noon Sudays for Sunday GA. Proposal
8. Finance: Met at Camp. Learning about 501c3/501c4. Need legal advice, a lawyer’s input would be very helpful! Wepay not perfect, but other things are not seeming any better so have a agreed to continue using that for now. Currently we have $139.75 in Wepay account, which was already agreed to give to the camp by GA consensus. Very difficult to access it. We need a donate button or some way to better donate and access the money. Have $185 in Good Food account, Casey, Becca, Charles & Melissa will have their name on it. Tent is paid off!
Next meeting Friday 6pm Meetings, at encampment. Still organizing the finance problems, spoke with JRPC about becoming a fiscal sponsor. Everyone welcome to attend…PLEASE attend.
9. Occupy the Oval. Many students have gone home for holiday break. Will start officially after the break. Working with encampment. Meeting tomorrow at 7pm at the UC commons food area upstairs, may be a small group.
10. New Working Groups: Flashmob before Christmas, New Years, with positive spiritual sentiments/sign up sheet passed around, also will collaborate with Direct Action work group.
11. May Day Planning Group: Labor and economic system event.
12. Union Working Group: Thursday 6pm at Union Hall. Note: next meeting may be postponed due to Christmas/contact Mark for more info.
Formation of Community Development Council/Coalition. In regard to the donation of the Fox theater site to build a convention hotel (city owns land, working with developers and might donate the land for building a convention center). Public is giving something, give them a list of things they should do in order to get labor behind the deal. Use union labor that ensures at least minimal working conditions during construction and later operations. Also, that planning respects the river and the city’s plans so that it integrates into Missoula. Proposal that Occupy set up a camp at the theater site to help further the efforts of the Coalition. Begin this as a process that begins, not an end result: organized around a very well structured goal with an end result outlined (research “community benefit agreements” to learn more about the overall idea). Post Office: stay of execution until May, need to keep the pressure on. This is a push to privatize the post office. Two clipboards passed around: 1. Petition, 2. Sign up sheet for rallying from 9-6 in front of post offices, asking people to sign petition. What about small post offices around other communities? Any one can have copies of the petition sheet and start rallies at any Post Office, Mark will look into sending a digital copy to occupymissoula@gmail.com. Closure of post offices affect on voting by mail?
13. Study of Tactics (start a new study group?): Effective forms of resistance and protests. Occupation, protests, voting, petitions, etc. See Jay. Learn about history of protest.
III. Proposals
A. Statement of Proposals – Scribed:
Proposal 1. Tuesday Night GA become a forum for discussion, actual GAs once a week on Sunday at 2pm. Sunday 1pm forum will will be moved to Tuesday at 5:30pm.
a. “Proposal 1.5”: Population is not a part of Occupy: Education and knowledge are key. Face to face gathering/ talk-in. Economists and others who can speak to the issues at hand, bring in multiple resources (reading, video, etc). Thursday night free school a part of that/Transition Towns being studied now, & Tuesday Forum.
Proposal 2. Community benefit agreement: Development Process
--------------------10 MIN BREAK -----------------------
B. Prioritization of Proposals [note: discussed both proposals on the table, in order presented]
Structure of Discussion of Proposals:
1. Proposal
a. Questions/Clarifications (e.g. “Did you mean…?”)
b. Concerns (“I like/dislike it because…”)
c. Resolutions (Ask for consensus or amendments, table if it’s clear consensus is unlikely)
2. Repeat (#1) for each prioritized proposal on the table
Proposal #1: Discussion of Tuesday Forum in lieu of GA
a. Questions/Clarifications
i. Is group open to holding it in a larger space, and inviting the public?
Yes. Communications group outreach, add to community calendars around town, etc.
b. Concerns (“I like/dislike it because…”) Vibe Check: Positive. No concerns.
c. Consensed/Passed
Proposal #2: Get folks from the encampment and the Coalition and to get together and discuss potentially supporting a community benefits agreement. Discussion of an action: Does not require GA consent. Involved working groups (Union group and Direct Action group, and others e.g. communication as needed) get together and discuss the action, then the larger group can consense on the proposal that comes out of that. Bringing awareness to the larger group, but understood that it can go ahead as working groups. Discussion/clarification:
d. Questions/Clarifications
i. Question for encampment group: Part of consensus process is to find a third way that every one can agree with, so need to determine how larger group and encampment group feel about a move to a new location? Becomes a much bigger discussion topic. Will people work together?
ii. What’s your sense on how the city would respond to moving the encampment to a new location? Answer: Similar to how the county feels. Many issues that need to be resolved, this might not be the best place to come to those resolutions.
iii. Isn’t that site a parking? Cars mixing with tents? Only a small part of it is paved, however many other issues to work out as well.
iv. Time frame? Not asking the camp to move right now. “Third positions” are available that are a synthesis of oppositions. Organizing is building relationships, much discussion and working things out to take place first. No set time frame in place, but begin discussion now (has already started).
v. Asking them to do this is a compromise. A way to keep the camp carrying on.
vi. Was placed on the board as a proposal. Is it a proposal? Vibe check: Mark will bring more info
e. Concerns
i. If we do nothing, somebody will make a decision. Occupying is noisy, there are dangers, houseless community doesn’t want to be there. Commissioners will try to remove occupiers every time there is an event. This issue might burn the relationships we have now. Question: What relations with whom are you referring to? Answer: City and commissioners don’t want to be for or against the movement, they just want the camp gone from the courthouse lawn. Another event could lead to them moving us out. Missoula city council has a calendar of events going on there, eventually one will come to an impasse, need a fall back plan that’s a good action that has structure to it. Discussion point: Fox site is city owned, courthouse is county. Difference. City is more responsible for the issues being raised than is the county, therefore more sensitive.
ii. Agreeing to the proposal lets Union and Camp work group to pursue this action. If there are any blocking concerns now we should state them now rather than waiting until later when this has moved forward.
iii. This compromise could be more problematic, as it gets between business and a money making endeavor.
iv. No blacking concerns if working groups go on with talking about this action? None
f. Resolution: Consensed that groups can continue working on the action.
IV. Other Business/Discussion points*
1. Define Working Groups, GAs, & processes
a. Working groups are where the work gets done. In other Occupy sites, questions are asked before a proposal is brought to the GA, which ensure that proposals are well thought out before they come from the working groups. Everyone is encouraged to be in workgroups. Some are in many workgroups. Work groups don’t last forever-they may accomplish something and dissolve. A general discussion of how to start a work group will be added to GA overview in the agenda—this will also help define processes for new attendees to the GA. General ongoing discussion of how to define processes for regular attendees and new people. Consensus work group is working to define the decision making process, communication can continue working to write up the occupy processes.
2. Change of Tuesday night to a forum. [The following topics were raised for Other business discussion and will be considered for forum discussion instead]
a. National Defense Authorization Act: Sovereignty. Vibe Check: first topic of first forum? Passing already, how can we move forward from this? Need a little discussion tonight. Was stopped in one house so there is a reprieve, more time to discuss than thought.
b. The Union Group proposal re: the community benefits agreement is also a pressing topic, also a forum topic for a Tuesday?
V. Confirm date/time/place of next assemblies
Sunday 12/25: No Sunday GA for Christmas Day. Consensed
Sunday 01/01: Regular meeting time at 2pm at Union Hall on New Years Day, but will be discussion groups only, no GA. Potluck, bringing of instruments & jig-dancing is encouraged.
Sunday 01/08: January 8 next Sunday GA, 2pm, Union Hall
Tuesday, Dec 20: Forum at the encampment. 5:30 pm.
Tuesday Dec 27: Regular GA at the encampment, in order to address what comes from the Cultural Council meeting re First Night. Also, discussion of going forward with bigger forums with public invited, to start after the first of the year: Forums will be held at Union Hall, either in big room or downstairs, one is usually available. Movie showings in the room next door a possibility, and the Open way available (a big open space). We may need a Tuesday Forum working group to plan the forums.
Friday , Occupy the Oval: (? School break- UC closed, members of OTO left meeting earlier)
VI. Evaluation of Meeting
Discussion of meeting/there was a definite overall positive vibe.
Ad hoc proposal: Set discussion topics during “IV. Other Business,” then BEFORE going into the open ended discussion, go through the rest of the Agenda and after adjournment move into discussion of the stated topics. (Consensed/passed)*
Set a meeting end time: ? [note: for future GA decision]
Other continued discussion: Conflict is welcome, it’s how we find a third way. Everyone can’t just agree on everything or we won’t get anywhere. Ethel’s poll and request for feedback shows growth in all of us. Thanks to Sara for facilitating, Kim for note taking, and Casey for all his work to solidify the process. Stand aside is ok, in order to let the group move forward. Stand-aside will be noted in the minutes, and not lost. One or two people can currently block things, should we use stand aside as a request and as a demand? Stand-aside should also be accepted, noted, and moved on from. Consensus is a way to say your piece and be acknowledged, so that those with differing ideas can express those positions without stopping the process. Focus on the goal. There was an evaluation go-round, to get evaluation/comments from everyone present.
VII. Adjournment 5:10pm. Discussion & Soapboxing