General Membership Meeting 28 Sep 2003

Attendance- Not formally taken, varied between 45 and 50 throughout the meeting.

-Richey and Melanie give a brief new member orientation.

-Richey and Dinae introduce/explain the concept of consensus

-Eric Devin (JS) is elected secretary. Other candidates are Sophie (L), Katie Wiedman (L), and Maggie ? (?)

-Discussion starts on Richey’s posted proposals.

1- Proposal to eliminate the position of corporate membership chair (4 points)

  • All duties go to recruitment coordinator (Ben Cutler)
Sophie (L) – Describes duties over summer as merely circling yes or no on applications, feels that she didn’t do a whole lot of work
Jesse (JS) – Feels that these duties should be that of a member, and laments the potential loss of a board member
Richey (L) – Reminds meeting that everybody can attend board members, and vote
Ian (CC) – Says that meetings are not publicized as much as they should be, as he was not consistently aware of them.
Richey (L) – Explains efforts he has made to publicize meetings, i.e. chalkboard notices.
Hollis (JS) – Favors more board members, because of their power in terms of harassment decisions.
Richey (L) – Reminds meeting that houses have final say
Eric (JS) – Asks if Ben’s salary will reflect changes
Melanie – Ben is paid via wages, so yes.

With 20 for (2/3 is needed), the proposal fails.

2 Proposal to eliminate the position of corporate maintenance manager (1/2 of house points)

Richey (L) - Feels that this position distributes money unfairly, citing the amounts of money spent at CC last year, 30k as opposed to 6k for JS & L combined. He also feels that because they are not required to do any actual work, this job does not warrant its existence.

- Points are raised that Jim did a lot of work, people attest to it

Hollis (JS) - He created a five-year maintenance plan; we are already behind said plan, which he feels is due in part to not having a manager over the summer
Maggie ? (?) – Says that the job’s existence is not conditional on what people have done in the past, such that any position is what people make of it.

With 26 for, the proposal fails.

Richey motions to table the remaining three proposals in the interest of time.

A vote is conducted, and they are indeed tabled by a large majority

A number of proposals have been passed by the board, and they need ratification by the general membership (please see attached, numbered proposals for their respective specifics)

1 – Proposal to eliminate food purchasing accountant (4 points)

Richey (L) explains that the jobs are done already by Kitchen Managers of the respective houses

- By a visual majority, it is ratified

2 – Proposal to modify the SCA policy on smoking to say that “smoking tobacco in any interior portion of the houses is prohibited”

Maggie ? (?) – Says that this policy permits other (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) herbs, and is unfair in that respect.
Richey (L) – Refutes the need to state that, saying it is Oregon law

-A specific case is brought up wherein smoke from one room was blowing into another at night.

Dinae (CC) – Says that, even as a smoker, she supports this.

With 26 for, the proposal is ratified, thus modifying SCA policy

3 – Proposal to eliminate Board Retreat Policy

Richey (L) – Explains the ability to abuse this policy, cites examples

It is ratified by a visual majority

4 – Proposal to eliminate parking policy

Richey (L) – Explains that this policy is not necessary, as it simply a restatement of existing law, and says that the policy does not affect Melanie, and anyway, why should an employee have priority over a member in terms of parking?

Not much discussion, this is ratified by a visual majority

5 Proposal to elimination ski mask policy

Richey (L) – Explains that this policy is unnecessary and is not in financial good sense, as it allows for the appropriation of SCA funds to buy masks.

This is ratified, again by visual majority

6 Proposal to eliminate Car Rental Policy

Richey (L) – Explains that circumstances do not warrant this being a part of the SCA policy book, due to its infrequent application and that indeed, it is even against the cooperative spirit.

This is ratified by visual majority.

7 Proposal to terminate tent policy

Richey (L) – Explains that this policy has something to do with tents that no longer are in the SCA’s possession, and is henceforth not needed in the policy book.

This is ratified by visual majority

8 Proposal to eliminate “chaff” in the SCA policy book.

Richey (L) – Explains that this eliminates all portions of the policy book that state that “no policy exists.”

This is ratified by visual majority.

9 Proposal to eliminate the position of Office Helper (2 job points)

Melanie – Says that she thinks it is a useful position
Thomas (CC) – Says that even though it is a negligible number of points, they do add up.
Timothy (CC) – Wonders if it would be possible to have helping in the office be a work party job.
Dinae (CC) – Says that she likes it, as rote tasks can be fun, and that the time she put in per week varied significantly, but that 2 points was probably fair

By a visual majority vote, this proposal failed

ELECTIONS

-First, the election of a speaker was tabled until it is decided at the next general membership meeting as to whether or not we will have a speaker

CHAIR (4 job points)-

Candidates were Richey (L), Maggie ? (?), and Hollis (JS)

Richey outlined his agenda as a streamlining of the SCA’s government
Maggie said that she differed from Richey in that respect, wanting a more inclusive board, and drew upon her experience as past president of her house, but cautioned that she would only be here for one or two terms.
Hollis agreed with Maggie about his inclusiveness, and also stated that he loves the co-ops, and wanted to start his own.

Richey Thomason is elected chair

TREASURER (4 job points)-

Katie Wiedman (L) runs unopposed

CORPORATE MEMEBRSHIP CHAIR (4 job points)-

Elizabeth Allen (JS) runs unopposed

CORPORATE MAINTENANCE COORDINATOR (1/2 of house’s job points)-

Hollis (JS) – States that he has experience in contracting
Matt (CC) – States that he wants involvement in co-op leadership, is a hard worker

Hollis Shostrom is elected Corporate Maintenance Coordinator

HARASSMENT COORDINATOR (2 job points)-

May (CC) – States that she is a good listener, and is impartial
Chris Parson (L) – States that he is a good listener, and he wants to try to resolve disputes before they reach the board level,p> Maggie ? (?) – States that she has house experience in this position, and understands the job from a legal standpoint
Ian (CC) – States that this is in concert with his major, and he believes that it can help his resume

Ian ? (CC) is elected harassment coordinator

OFFICE HELPER (2 job points)

Alice (JS), Paul (JS), and Chelsea (CC) are candidates

Alice Sattler (JS) is elected office helper

-Ratification of eliminating the CAR is tabled, as is the rest of the agenda.

-The next meeting is set for Monday, October 6, 2003, at 7pm at the Campbell Club.

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