Event:2015/09/24 Delegates Meeting

Weekly Omni Delegates' Meeting - September 24, 2015

Who's Here?

Meeting Roles

• Facilitator/s: Alex & co.
• Explanation of hand signals: "deaf applause", "raised hand", "point of process", "direct response"(wildcard), etc.
• Stacktaker:
• Timekeeper:
• Notetaker/s:
  • URL of this pad: https://pad.riseup.net/p/omninom
• Vibe Reader:
• Next weeks facilitator(s):

Delegates

• BAPS: Sadie
• CCL: Jacob
• FNB: Joe
• MPM:
• LL:
• Sudo: Matt
• TIL:
• GWS: Lori
• Quorum:

Introductions

Introduce yourself: Name; Prefered Pronoun; Affiliation

Announcements

Matt:

• Rent Party: Part II - Sun 9/27 - 10am - 10pm
• Rummage sale, bake sale, live music, book sale, lunch /dinner, movie night
  • https://omnicommons.org/rentparty
  • Suggest a movie! http://backchan.nl/meetings/view/4106

Sadie:

• Birdhouse is growing out of BAPS and seeks to become a distinct member-collective!
  • Seek to be an arts organization in Omni Commons
  • Programs include:
    • Classes about art
    • Bringing in artists and art-related speakers / presentations
    • Hosting exhibitions, especially using interstitial or unused spaces.
    • Artist Residency (non-live-in, just studio / work / collaboration space).
      • As artists interested in doing some kind of project with one of the collectives and would do whatever they would do that would end in a class, presentation, a work, etc. Some classes to include hands on arts.

Bans

• Jerome
  • last Thursday had physical altercation, hit Rob, defended himself. Rob found two of his tires slashed today- could be related or unrelated.
  • Robb is considering getting a restraining order against Jerome.
  • Robb does not currently consent to engaging with Jerome in any mediation, conflict resolution, or restorative justice process. However, Robb accepts that others may wish to pursue restorative justice or other forms of mediation with Jerome in order to identify, build, or discuss acknowledgement of the actions and harm done in this situation, especially the violence against Robb.

• • Matt Senate acted as Conflict Steward for this first conflict that arose over Jerome allgedly leaving a door propped open, Robb confronting him, and Jarome responding with threats.
    • Matt attempted to discuss the conflict with Jarome twice. Both times, Jerome refused to acknowledge there was any conflict, or any wrongdoing. Jarome preferred to carry on about his business on his own and not be wrapped in anything else, such as a process of discussion, mediation, understanding, and resolution concerning a conflict between he and Robb. In the second discussion Matt held with Jerome, he did get Jerome to agree to discuss with a mediator. Jerome said he would discuss with anyone, in this case meaning anyone with whom Robb was comfortable. Matt reached out to the mediators email list and at the delegates' meeting. Cere was the only person who expressed availability and agreed to participate as mediator, but was unable to speak with either Robb or Jerome. She left town for a bit and sent a message that she needed to step down as mediator in this conflict. Matt reached out again for a new mediator, found Jenny was willing. In the end, Jenny was not able to speak with Jerome or Robb about the conflict before the conflict resurfaced and escalated through the physical altercation outside of the building last week (thus 9/17).
  • Sadie: Robb what would you like the omni to do moving forward? You seem unsettled about how this was handled.
  • Robb: Yes, i feel like members aren't willing to enact our rules about access to teh building and bans.
  • Sadie: Is this an item we should add to the agenda for next week?
  • Item will be added to next weeks agenda.

Working Group Report-Backs

Building & permits

Meetings: Mondays at 8pm

• This group needs help; https://omnicommons.org/lists/listinfo/building
• Joe the wall in the Ballroom is progressing. Doors supposed to be hung next week (Oct 9). What wasn't done was getting the doors rehung between Ballroom and entry way. Propose to move the walls over to block the space when events are going on.

Becoming Omni

Posters should be coming up soon and emails. Still thinking about idea of having delegates at the becoming omni.

• • Joe will it be more than one member from the collective.
  • Alex we hope there will be many more people than that.
  • Matt: for that one person we should get their phone numbers and call hem the day before.
  • Robb: Its a big time commitment.
  • Alex: Yes but the idea would be that teh work would make our core stronger.
  • Joe: I think that my suggestion
  • Alex: We created a central design question.

Commons

Meetings: Sundays at 7pm

• • Sadie the commons has some events we are doing in Sept and Oct. There is a fair amount of stress on the group because it had to work with people and stressful for people who want to have events. Calender has been stressful. When people do sound events for outside people they get paid and also a point person, we are considering getting them paid.
  • Joe: I'm point person for 2 large evets in Oct and I'm really enjoying it.

Communications

• • Matt: Calendar not yet fixed. Thought it was but isn't. it's not syncing. Yar and I having a hackathon on Sat- anyone who wants to come play with communication systems and use different programing languages should come. We will build our own calendar scissors.

Finance

Meetings: Every other Thursday at 7pm

Buy the Building

Meetings: Mondays at 6:30pm

• Matt: Has detremined that we were a bit forward with our lender and now we need to console them- it is a bit aggressive on our budget. Huge prospects. The Western Workers collective had a lot of resources. We're in Network of Bay Area Cooperatives- may be possible loan payments related to this. Possible options: Kiva does a lending program- maybe get 9 or 10 collectives to raise $10,000 then kiva does a matching program. Need to shift our strategy from buy the building and manage the budget to how to we do both and raise money. Credit unions are also sources of loans as are other resources/loans for buying building.
• Robb: BACLT has encouraged us to seek other ppl to be our land trust. They haven't said no. Question for teh dleegates- should we be sending out what the attorney says to us to the larger community?
• Joe: Excercise some sort of discression but need to have much more light about what is going on.
• Matt: To be clear the way way people have been communicating a need for transparency has made it challenging for me to do my job.
• Joe: I would like a plan from the finance or fundraising group about how we are going to exist for the next 4 or 5 months.

Discussion

Discussion: David Keenan Sabbatical

• Matt wants to check in about the 3-month term of David Keenan's sabbatical, open a discussion for next-steps for all. Seems like July 2nd - Oct 1st is the appropriate 3-month term.
• We should discuss if David may return to Omni Commons as a member of the public (as previously determined) then vote by Thurs Oct 1, or, we should draft an alternative proposal to be reviewed over the week and voted upon on Thurs, Oct 1.
• Jenny: Alternatively, remove 'as a member of the public'
• Joe: So ahs anyone contacted David or Niki?
• Matt: I have mentioned to Niki that I put it on the agenda. I have talked to David recently but not about this being on the agenda. In his sabbatical David has only has the best interests of teh omni in mind when comunicating to the landlord etc. and I think he only wants the best for the Omni.
• Sadie: I am fine with David coming back but think that there are some things at the Omni that happen that we have not addressed that were related to his sabbatical. Some things for ou larger community to think about is how power is consolidated, burnnout, how choices are made -- these are things that have nothing to do with David at all but that are important for our community to address.
• Robb: I think a formalized conflict mediation process might be helpful here. I don't feel like there has been any mediation.
• Joe: I think its important to talk about him coming back and whether or not he attends Becoming Omni
• Sadie: I think if Becoming Omni is facilitated well that might be okay.
• Jeremy: I really like David and Niki. not as teh same person. As seperate people.
• Everyone agrees.
• Joe: Can we run circles with the woman from the UC Restorative Justice Center and hold circles at Omni? What do we need to do to start?
• Robb: Do we accept any responsibilities for the apprearance of violating our bylaws in teh removal of David? There appeared to be some secret meetings. It has come to my attention that those meetings were never published in any way. it's just been alleged that there were secret meetings and that the minutes from those meetings were not published.
• Matt: My understanding is that there were no bylaws violated- you can do your own research if you'd like. publishing meeting notes is not manadatory but a courtesy. There is no responsibility to publicize- last minute meetings happen all the time. You do need qourum. I don't think any bylaws were violated- the issues might be more moralistic. I only came to the last meeting and it really was a last ditch effort and folks had felt that mediation had been attempted. We had a circle about burnout and consilidation of power. I think descretion goes a long way- David might not have wanted things published and all over teh internet.
• Sadie: I think the notes were left on the pad and erased by accident.
• Joe: i was the first person to meet with David after his sabbatical and he was at a party and people were looking at him like "how'd you fuck up david?" and I need to think of it as some sort of saving face thing because teh effects of teh meeting were so destructive. There was a certain selectivity about the secret meetings.
• Sadie: For the purpose of this meeting if we don't have to make a decision on it seems like there will be a discussion about it next week. With that in mind is there anything else?
• max: I don't know a lot about David but after Niki left I really felt it in teh space- as far as the space being really safe and clean and people looking after kids.
• Matt: I would like to have a sense of teh range of proposals so I can bring them back to Sudo. I think what I've heard is that he comes back as a member of teh public, or Jenny's proposal, or that we hold a circle or that we have a conflict steward which Robb has volunteered to be.
• Joe: I don't think we have enough imput from more members than there are here.
• Matt: We are voting next week.
• Joe: Why?
• Matt: Time matters a lot to him.
• Sadie: I think what we are votimg on next week is whether or not David should come back. Then if we agree he should come back and can vote on what that looks like.

Bay Area Public School (BAPS) Existence / Resistance

• Sadie: Financial concerns are limited, because the primary funders are participants (not organizers aka members). This is mainly an organizational capacity concern.
• Sadie: Let's wait to see what BAPS does over the coming weeks.
• Sadie: There will probably be some kind of redefinition of BAPS's internal membership over the coming weeks.
  • Sadie: Would also be great to restructure / redefine how BAPS membership works with respect to Omni Commons (access, labor, responsibilities, etc).

Entrance Hall as Common Space for Month of Oct

• Matt: Classify the space as common space and classify the front desk as a space for collectives to display things etc. and engage with ppl walking through. Then after that doing the work to start making that a part of a market space and start egtting stalls and a prep kitchen in there.
• Robb: it seems that there are a few points to that. Would it be better to say that it is common space until all the details are filled in.
• Matt: Yes and to prioritize the front space as a space for all of the collectives to share and use as a front desk space.

End of Meeting

• please archive these meeting notes by copying the entire pad contents onto the omni wiki
• then please erase the contents of this pad
• then please cut & paste a blank template from here: https://omnicommons.org/mediawiki/index.php?title=Delegates_Meeting_Notes_Template&action=edit
• previous notes are archived here: https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Calendar