General Meetings Minutes

Transition Joshua Tree

Quarterly Meeting Minutes

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Transition Joshua Tree is a grassroots movement that focuses on building sustainable community resilience in response to climate change, the global economic crisis, and the end of cheap fossil fuels.

Host: Heart & Soul Team

Facilitator: Susan

Minutes: Tami

Attendance: 19 Members/ 6 guests (40/19)

12:20 pm Potluck

12:40 pm Check in/ Introductions

Business Meeting:

Quorum Call: Pass

Agenda Review: No

New Business: Free Table set up.  Announcement table set up. Ring bell for dinner

Team Reports:

Transition Enterprise Group: By Jennifer Jungwirth. Read Aims.                                                                         1) JT Local Food program meets every 4th Sunday. Going Strong. Last month they had squash Sunday. 7 different recipes were enjoyed. Diners took home recipes and squash. Need donations of dinnerware. . The educational component of that group is teaching 4 – H students about growing in the container garden at the CUMC. Need money and volunteers.

2) Hosting the “Free Table” at General meetings.

3) In process of looking for software for their Time Banks, (exchanging goods and services without money)

 

Heart and Soul: by Mittie Staininger. Read Aims.                                                                                                  1) Creation of a NEW MEMBERS Handbook, 11 pages, includes all materials one might need to acclimate themselves to the Heart & Soul Team.  It is a slimmed down, easy to read version in binder.                                                                                                                      2) Heart and Soul Treasure map collage was shared. We chose to include images and words that represent values and our future visions.                                                                                                                  3)  Process of Change- Discussion on how we can support community, transition and regeneration in a changing world. Eva presented “process of change” where we explored questions like, how do we deal with change? What happens while we go through the change? What do we feel?  After breaking into small groups, a common observation was the similarity of the stages of the transformation to the stages of grief.

Coordinating Council Report: by Joe Fairbanks. Read Aims.                                                                                                                1) Welcome New CC members Debbie and Jennifer                                                                                                      2) New Notebook available to orient new CC members                                                                                         3) Business cards are now available                                                                                                                                                4) CC is working on posting bio’s for all the new CC Representatives on the website.

5) CC is working well and getting things done.

Water Group Report:  by Joe Fairbanks                                                                                                                                  1) the team took two field trips to the Cadiz property to check on the plan to sell water from that desert aquifer to Orange County. They met with the hydrologist for the company and he answered all of their questions.  That aquifer has a lot of water and the hydrologist made some good points for the company’s plan.  Water Team is rethinking their position against the Cadiz plan.

Permaculture Team:  by Jill G.                                                                                                                                    1) Bottle brick project is going well. This consists of filling water bottles with dry, clean trash packed in to make it very strong. These bottles are then used to build benches and such. Bottle bricks use trash and things that would otherwise end up in landfills for a higher purpose and to help the environment.           2)  Perma-Blitz continues at The Joshua Tree Music Festival, plans to install dry Gardens and sponge wells in future.                                                                                                                                                                          3)  Tim & Jill will be having a workshop on harvesting rain water and earth works. Jill has signed a conflict of interest with our organization. Cost $60/ 20 people max. Water Harvesting for Arid Lands, Saturday March 19th, Landers.                                                                                                                                  4) Permaculture group currently has two booths on earth day and water Education Day.                                                                               5) Team now has Instagram and you tube channels. Address is TJTpermacultureteam

Presentation: by the Heart and Soul Group: Transition Joshua Tree- The Timeline. Presented by Kathy and Eva. A 30 ft.  Paper hung across one wall with the timeline of Transition Joshua Tree’s Core events from 2011 to current to future.

Step 1. What is significant about your time with TJT? We had approx. 20 minutes of silence to reflect and write them down on post it’s and place directly on the timeline.

Step 2. What is your vision/ dream for the future? We had another 20 minutes of silence to discover our future vision/hopes for TJT and place them on the timeline.

Step 3.  In groups of 2, Discuss and answer the following questions (20 mins)

For these Visions/Dreams/Desires to be realized, what shifts need to happen:                                                     a) in you personally?     b) In your team?        c) In our organization?

Many poignant discoveries came about in Step 3.  Some examples were: More community outreach, younger people involved, cultivate your passions, know your skillset, Be the sponsor that you wish you had, help new members get involved, teams need to outsource more often, stay centered personally, let go of control, use core resources.

Next meeting to be hosted by the Enterprise Team, details TBD

Conclusion/Reflection/Adjourn.

 

Transition Joshua Tree

Quarterly Meeting Minutes

Sunday, November 1st, 2015

Transition Joshua Tree is a grassroots movement that focuses on building sustainable community resilience in response to climate change, the global economic crisis, and the end of cheap fossil fuels.

Hosted by the Water Group of Transition Joshua Tree

Facilitator: Joe Fairbanks

Min: Deb Bollinger/Patricia Mencarelli

5:00 pm Potluck

5:20 pm Check in

Business Meeting:

Quorum Call: Tabled pending tabulation.

Agenda Review: call for additions/corrections. Heart and Soul request to be placed at the end of the group reports. Agreement Made: Heart and Soul report to be presented at end of team reports. Motion to approve Agenda. Motion seconded. Vote: Agreement Made: Agenda Passed.

New Business:

Policy Review- Determining a Quorum at a TJT General Meeting: Reading of proposed policy. Discussion: Motion to approve Quorum policy with recommended changes: Revise language to “A Quorum Call is required at the beginning of a General Membership Meeting.” Motion seconded. Vote: Agreement Made: Policy for Determining a Quorum at a TJT General Meeting: Passed with revision.

 

Policy for

Establishing Quorum at a TJT General Meeting

 

  1. Policy for Establishing Quorum at a TJT General Meeting
    1. A Quorum Call is required at the beginning of the TJT General Membership Meeting.
    2. A “Quorum Call” will be required to establish Quorum, and will be collected and counted by the Meeting Facilitator or chosen representative, with the results being verified, announced and recorded in the meeting minutes, prior to any voting on “formal decisions”.
      1. A Quorum Call will be the act of establishing a quorum in a TJT General Membership Meeting and shall consist of:
        1. Each team providing a list of Voting Members names in that team, with a tally of Voting Members and a tally of Voting Members present. A Voting Member shall not be counted more than once or in more than one Team.
        2. The Gross number of voting members and voting members present shall be stated and recorded as passing, with quorum of 33% of Voting Members present, or failing, without quorum which is less than 33% Voting Members present.
        3. The Facilitator or chosen representative and any witness or observer, will verify the List and Count from each team.
        4. The Minutes shall record the net count of Voting Members and Voting Members present and confirmation that the count was verified and who witnessed the verification.
        5. The Minutes shall not reflect the names of those present, other than those regularly recorded in the minutes in relation to the agenda and program.
        6. A Quorum Call can be requested at any time during a TJT General Membership meeting, if:
          1. a quorum is in question, based upon those present, if changed, from a previous quorum call.
        7. Establishing a Quorum will be required upon receipt of a “Quorum Call”

Policy Review- for General Membership Meeting Agendas: Reading of proposed policy. Discussion: Motion to approve Policy for General Membership Meeting Agendas. Seconded. Vote: Agreement Made: Policy for General Membership Meeting Agendas: Passed as Written.

Policy Recommendation

Policy for General Membership Meeting Agendas

 

  1. Policy for General Membership Meeting Agendas, shall be:
    1. Agenda shall be drafted by the Hosting Team, four weeks in advance of the meeting.
    2. The Draft Agenda shall then be forwarded to the Coordinating Council and Teams for review and comment.
    3. The Draft Agenda shall be open to amendment until one week in advance of the meeting.
    4. The Hosting Team can limit the Draft Agenda, in consideration of time, priority, and continuity, with the exception: any agenda item submitted, that has been approved by the CC or any Two Teams, must be included.
    5. When the General Membership Meeting begins, the hosting team will post or distribute the Draft Agenda and call for any amendments to the draft agenda. It is the responsibility of the Hosting Team to keep the meeting on track and on time.
    6. The agenda will be approved by a simple majority vote.

 

Team Reports:

Water Group Report:  by Deb Bollinger. Status of Group. Activities include: Water Barrel Distribution. Issues: Eagle Mt. Pump Storage Project. Emergency Drought Restrictions and affects. Open Discussion

Permaculture Team: by Eva Soltes. Video screening and meeting schedule posted on the website. New meeting format: 1st hour program followed by business. New sign and recognition at MDLT. Current activities. Instagram account and Gmail account creation. Five upcoming field trips. Hiroko is organizing Bottle Stuffing Party. Please contact Home Depot to remove bee killing pesticides from plants.

Transition Enterprise Group: By Jennifer Jungwirth. Read Aims. Approved 1st week of September as a TJT Team. Regular Meetings. JT Local Food Program’s Food Hustle activities and Food Demonstrations. Demonstration Garden at the JT Community United Methodist Church.  Sharing activities being discussed, like tool libraries. Time Banks, exchanging goods and services without money. Food Program fundraiser: Mesh Bags for storing Veggies.

TOPS (Open Space Event Special Project Group) Report: By Eva Montville. Read Aims. Decision to postpone fall event, based upon deadlines and quality issues. Join the effort to reconstitute SPG. Lessons Learned. Directory of Venues available for consideration.

Coordinating Council Report: by Joe Fairbanks. Read Aims. Treasury Report by Eva Soltes. $614 in Treasury. Fixed expenses: Web hosting, domain name, business cards, JT Chamber of Commerce Membership. Expenses for requests from team for funds, like display by Permaculture Group. Admins given courtesy gifts for volunteerism. Expenses for Administrative Costs. CC Report: Eva Soltes: Creating a notebook for new members that contain a history and record of the CC and TJT, event checklist, Minutes of General Membership Meeting, Contact List, Online Resources. Joe F.: Policy Review. Approved SPG for NPS Boundary Scoping/Eagle Crest Mt. Pump Storage Project. (with signup sheet) Approved Transition Enterprise Team Status. Approved to sign on letter on behalf of TJT to the Palen Letter.

Heart and Soul: by Mittie Staininger. Hiatus taken during summer. Group activities. Read Aims. Hosted Ohm Circle enjoyed by all. Request for input on event. Held two developmental meetings, Developing a Core Team & Inner Transformation: is it for everybody. Creating a document listing services of H&S Group to be posted on website. Working on handbook for new members. Last meeting presentation on Laughter Yoga: Demonstration (HA HA).

Break:

Program: by the Water Group: The Story of Water. Presented by Kory and Marcia.

Conclusion/Reflection/Adjourn.

Draft Minutes for Transition Quarterly Meeting & Potluck
6-9pm Sunday, June 28, 2015
Mojave Desert Land Trust

Facilitator: Janet Tucker
Minutes: Debbie Hopkins

Janet thanked Ernesto Ali who played guitar as people filtered in for the potluck.
Janet thanked Vickie and Danielle of the MDLT for letting us use the courtyard for our event.

All three teams reported they had quorum.

Tim DeLorey gave a Powerpoint presentation of “Six must-have perennial desert hardy food plants” which was result of a long-running discussion of the Permaculture Team.  Aili made drawings of plants, part of the table-top display.  The top six were Mesquite, Paloverde, Prickly Pear-Nopales, Fig, Jujube, Pomegranate,

Manuela gave an Introduction to the MDLT Permablitz Project – How it Happened.  First through the Polish Ambassador and Barnett English.  Then by the MDLT to demo their land restoration efforts by way of putting in native, edible, and drought-tolerant plants around their headquarters.

Clay described how plants were chosen and placed at the Land Trust planting beds.  Noted how soil can be leached of its nutrients and needs amending. Cattails and rocks were used as mulch.

Janet explained about the Walkaround; a tour of the planting beds.  Permablitzers stood next the planting beds they lead: Janet & Debbie on the south side, Manuela on the west, Patty & Isaiah on the north, Louis on the east, Clay on the “berm.” On the berm rocks and agaves were placed to stabilize the bank and stop erosion.
Charla directed surgically removing diseased branches to save ailing Paloverdes.  Eva Soltes supervised where needed.  Mary Mullaly lead the soil and cattail piles.

Team Reports:
Coordinating Council
Eva gave an overview. The original Transition Initiative–2005 in England, Transition US–2008, and TJT–2010.
Beth explained what the Coordinating Council does to support teams, and our responsibility to educate the greater public.  Directs TJT website.  Communicates between teams.  Strategic planning.  A horizontal organization, not top down.  Crafts policies and procedures.
Louis explained the team-building exercises Kathy Jennings directed the CC through–like digging deeper in their norms process.

Joe Fairbanks explained Transition Enterprise accomplishments and plans, including ‘Local Foods’ and community potlucks over the summer.
Joe F. introduced Open Space Project Team representative Mittie Staininger.  Mittie spoke about the Open Space event coming November 14-15 and urged attendees to think about what they would really like to be doing in the Morongo Basin and then make it happen.

Swagging:  Beth thanked Tim DeLorey on the occasion of stepping down from the Coordinating Council; in helping it to grow in profound ways.  And to Susan Jordan for her Communications Director duties, and Martín [not present] for IT.  The Permaculture Team presented Louis an envelope and encouraged him to “get a phone!”

Water Team: Joseph Fairbanks introduced Joe Gibson,  as the new CC representative from the Water Team.  Joe G., Matt and Douglas Buckley reported for the Water Team.

Heart and Soul Team: Bernard gave a humorous take on H&S plans.  The team put on three “Death Cafes.”

Permaculture Team: Manuela explained how the Permablitz at the MDLT came about.  Isaiah listed the many events the team was involved with this spring.

In the one business item, Susan Jordan expressed her concerns about having a policy on Quorum for TJT as a whole.

The raffle prizes were: tote and hat by MDLT, two cakes made by Patty, six cactus centerpieces made by Diane, essential oils by Isaiah & Manuela, 1 gal of biocompatible soap by Nicholas, and Aili donated an olla.

The Water Group will host the next Quarterly Meeting.  Contact Joseph Fairbanks for Agenda items.

 

Draft Minutes 3-22-15 – TJT Quarterly Meeting

(To be ratified at the next General Membership Meeting)

Yucca Mesa Community Center

Minutes: Paula

 

Called to order at 5:35. 46 people in attendance

Welcome and introductions, agenda review, and centering exercise

 

Working team reports:

 

Water: Ron Cole report:

 

  • Black Rock lecture series, Water Team table & gave away a storage barrel.
  • Field trip to KB homes ‘double zero home’ in Lancaster. Inspiring concept for limiting a home or development to the energy they generate the water they can collect. Clear to us that the City and developer’s claims are not true and the subdivision is still awaiting approvals.
  • Next field trip is to Cadiz
  • Working on bumper stickers: water is life. A Hopi proverb.
  • Million gallon challenge to promote rainwater harvesting is ongoing. Putting together a from on the web page that everyone can complete.
  • Many group members assisted the JT Local Foods committee to install a demonstration garden at the Community United Methodist Church, using the containers from the old JT Elementary supplies.
  • Next meeting April 9 will be at the CUMC to determin the best way for rainwater capture.

 

Tranistion Enterprise Team (forming):

  • Ran a musical event that raised $650 for purchasing fresh food for Local Foods initiative (in conjunction with the Joshua Tree Methodist Church).
  • Setting up a demonstration garden at the United Methodist Church, using the containers from the defunct container garden at JT Elementary School.
  • Next event is a fundraiser on Earth Day, April 25th at the Community United Methodist Church of Joshua tree to benefit JT Local Foods Program. Potluck, arts & crafts, demos on companion planting and tours of the garden.
  • Next meeting is 4/9/15.

 

CC Report

  • Kathy is working with the CC on leadership development and to focus on goals.
  • Eva Soltis read a draft of the new CC aim.
  • Beth reported $336 in the treasury. Paid $100 to JT Chamber of Commerce, $81 for subscription for website; $100 to permaculture group for water awareness day. She also said the CC’s treasury report is always available upon request for members to see.
  • Beth recommended that we all sign up to get the newsletter from Transitionus.org as it is a great resource and includes free webinars.
  • Tim asked for people to volunteer for another open space event to recruit new members and start new Transition Teams.  Contact Tim if you’re interested.

 

Permaculture:

  • Louis reported on two successful workshops hosted by the Team; a seed ball making workshop by Jill and Tim, and a permaculture & tree grafting demo in Riverside.
  • The permaculture Team will have a double booth at Water Awareness Day on Sunday, March 29th at the Joshua Tree Water District. They have raffle prizes, scale models of different permaculture techniques and more.
  • Tim & Jill will give a Drylands Permaculture talk at Furst World on Monday, April 6th.

 

Heart and Soul

  • Paula reported that H&S meetings are now split between planning and development so meetings are only 2 hours instead of 3.
  • Starting in April meetings will be back to 2nd & 4th Thursdays, 6:15 to 8:15
  • H&S had a development session on the Death Café Jan. 26th that attracted new members and resulted in good feedback.
  • The group held a public Death Café on Sunday 3/15 at JTRC, with 28 people in attendance.

 

 

Heart and Soul, The Musical:

Lots of laughter and fun! Thanks big time to Beth for putting it together. It covered some of the basic things we do and teach like non-violent communication, meditation, working together as a team, and having fun.

 

Plan next General Membership Meeting:

Permaculture will organize and facilitate the next meeting. Contact Louis regarding agenda items.

 

 

Note:    See H & S minutes of 3.23.15 on the website for a debrief of the General Membership Meeting, an evaluation undertaken and posted to contribute to the continuing and improving quality of TJT’s organizational strength.

 

TJT QUARTERLY MEETING HOSTED BY THE WATER GROUP

DRAFT MINUTES OF MEETING 11/16/14

Place: Community United Methodist Church

Facilitator: Joe

Minutes Taker: Deb

Timekeeper: Tammi

Quorum was determined

Previous minutes accepted

 

Joe reviewed the agenda and added announcements. He confirmed with members that initial decisions would be made by consensus as previously agreed, then turned the meeting over to the Constitution Committee.

 

Constitution Committee voting issues and recommendations.

Beth outlined the history of TJT events and processes, from 2010 to present, leading up to a need for changes in the voting rules and formal adoption of an updated version of the 2010 draft constitution. She pointed out that the Constitution is a living document, and can be changed if needed in the future. Louis and Eva introduced the four recommended items for vote prior to consideration of the draft Constitution:

  1. 80% majority vote required when deciding issues at a General Membership Meeting, to pass a motion, if consensus isn’t possible. Susan moved to adopt the 80% rule, Tim 2nded. This is a change from full consensus and was recommended by Transition Sebastopol. Discussed substituting the language “voting members” for “participating members”, but determined clarification was not needed. Called for anyone who didn’t agree with the 80% majority vote. None opposed. Tim moved to accept, Jill 2nded.
  2. Determination of Quorum, i.e. the minimum number of voting members who must be present at a General Membership Meeting before any formal decisions can be made. Discussed number of people normally in attendance, which had never been more than 50% of voting membership, which is currently 45. Tonight’s meeting was attended by 28. A one-third (33%) consensus was discussed, which would have required 15 people using today’s current membership numbers. A suggestion of one-third or minimum number of 15, whichever is less, was considered and rejected. Tim moved to accept one-third, and Eva seconded. Motion passed without objection.
  3. Determination of who can vote. Eva read language proposed for the constitution describing supporting vs. participating members. The two proposed changes to the constitution are: (1) a supporting member may be asked to vote, and (2) Transition Teams are responsible for identifying their own voting membership. Discussed and rejected voting “in absentia”. Penelope suggested amending the language in the Supporting Members description from “is unable to attend” to “does not attend”. Members voted by consensus to accept the language as amended.
  4. “Terms of Office” and “Term Limits” for Coordinating Council Representatives. The recommendation is to include the following language: “The term of office for elected representatives on the CC will be one year, with a term limit of three years. After the absence of one term of office, a member can be re-elected to the CC.” Discussed Transition concept of passing the torch, and sharing leadership and responsibility. Teams are to elect CC representatives each year.   Tim moved to accept the term limit language as proposed, Joe F seconded. There were none opposed.

 

Constitution Discussion and Vote

  • Beth proposed two addenda to the constitution: the organizational structure, and the conflicts of interest document. Joe moved to accept the addenda as proposed, and Tim 2nded, none opposed.

 

  • Beth introduced the vote to officially adopt the draft document as the TJT Constitution. Tim moved to adopt the Constitution “as in its entire current form”, Susan seconded, and the motion was approved.

 

  • Joe requested that the Constitution Team prepare a report for the TJT website.

 

Team Reports

 

Coordinating Council. Susan reported that the CC had two new members representing the Permaculture Team, Eva Soltes, and Louis Kannenberg. Recent accomplishments include getting ownership of the TJT website domain and adding a new forum plugin, as well as the Enterprise Committee’s research into alternative currencies and the launch of the Local Food Local Places project. Susan will be replacing Jill as Communication Director in January.

 

Heart and Soul. Karen reported that the group debriefed on their successful Full Moon Ohm Circle. Attendance increased and they determined to sell it as “sound therapy”. She read the group’s new Aim statement, and reported that they are designing new flip charts for development sessions. They will be offering a new service, Mandala sessions. The group spent time discussing ‘4 Stories of the Future’ a teleconference offered by Transition in June and available at transitionus.org.

 

Permaculture. Jill reported that the group was up to 30 members after their summer hiatus. They started the year with successful site visits, then set goals. In-team workshops will be held to help members understand permaculture. They have posted a form in Googledocs that allows any member to propose workshop topics and have an interest list of 65 people. The group will cover fruit tree grafting and seed balls in upcoming workshops. Lastly, Tim discussed his research on the feasibility of Life Dollars for our community.

 

Water Group. Joe described committee activities including: a solar cooking/outreach display at the Nov. 8 New Economy event, field trips to area cisterns, Reche Recharge Basin, and Oasis of Mara at 29 Palms Inn, progress on rainwater collection – over 6200 gallons since July 1, distribution of Emergency Water Barrels (1 barrel raffled at meeting), and the Climate Change/Drought committee who contributed to development of water related topics for the Desert Institute’s Black Rock Lecture Series.

 

Program. The Water Group provided a preview of their table display for the Jan. 16 ‘Water in a Decade of Drought’ lecture and described their 3 water themes: Capture the rain, Save every drop (repair leaks), and Reuse it (greywater). They distributed materials developed for the event and asked for feedback.

 

The Enterprise Committee reviewed topics presented at the New Economy event:

Concepts for a new economy, life dollars/alternative currency, the sharing economy, and Local Food Local Places. They invited anyone interested to join them or contact Joe.

 

 

The following decisions were approved and adopted by consensus:

  • The 80% majority vote will be used when deciding issues during a general membership meeting.
  • A quorum of 33% must be present at a General Membership Meeting before any formal decisions can be made.
  • Participating Members identified by each team and, when called upon, Supporting Members may vote.
  • Term periods for CC members, and term limits as described above.
  • The draft Constitution as in its entire current form was adopted.
  • The next General Meeting will be hosted by the Heart & Soul team

__________________________________________________________

TJT Voting Members PotLuck Minutes

Date: 3/9/14

Place: Susan and David’s house

Those Present: Janet, Susan, Jill, Eva M., Deb, Martín, Ron, Anny, Jane, Tami, Bernard, Tim, Mary Beth, Buck, Gregory, Patricia, Joseph, Karen, Penelope

Team Building Exercise Outdoors-hoops, colored balls and coins

Facilitator: Eva

Minutes Taker: Karen

Treasurer: Tami

Time Keeper: Deb

 Decisions Made:

CC create teach-in with Martín for newly appointed “reporters”

CC begin work on ethical considerations-discussions of when to endorse, how to vet, keeping in mind standards of quality, self-interest, money, possible fears

 Working Groups’ and Project Groups’ Reports:

Permaculture Team: Janet-Drylands Permaculture Lecture February 5 at Roadhouse Café a big success with approx. 40 people. Generated good business for Miguel, owner. We will hopefully be welcome back there for events. Lecture was a good lead-up to Workshop February 23 at Kathy & Eva’s, also a huge success tho’ a tremendous amount of work. Description of workshop: tree planting and swale building with PowerPoint presentations on water harvesting and guilds. Workshop enlivened by harmonica playing and dancing. Launch of Permaculture Team at pot-luck last week brought approx.. 30 peeps.

 Water Team: Deb- 2014 in Water Team begins with look back at 2013. A lot was accomplished. They are very happy with new AIM, help from Kathy much appreciated. Working to include “regenerative” and permaculture principles into their aims and project goals. Accomplishments in 2013: rainwater harvesting workshops, booth at Music Festival, letter to future golf course, Joshua Tree elementary school gardening project, participation in many events as well as registering awareness with many organizations with influence on desert water. Now focusing on narrowing goals for 2014 which will include collecting data on amount of rainwater harvested and creating a White Paper, or statement of water use in the desert, films, organizations like MWA and thematic switch from conservation to regeneration.

H&S: Tami-Team welcomes new members- Strategic planning now in progress- Paula’s Dome location for next meeting on avoiding burnout-H&S building skills in NVC, 4 Agreements, Starhawk’s Mandala of group formation and other services, outlined by Bernard and included in a document on the TJT website. H&S would like to be available to take these skills into the larger community. Upcoming in May: facilitation workshop for the public and OM circle at the JTRC under full moon in June

CC Report: Tim- First few months in the life of the new CC has been a study of honing communications skills. New website is up and running hosted by “green company” includes a Pipeline Forum to keep content and discussions fresh. CC requests that each Team select a “reporter” to update activities on Calendar and create postings for the Forum. Postings can include activities relevant to our AIM statements even if not TJT events. CC to arrange teach-in w/Martín for reporters. (Jill is still CC Admin. Duties include event notices, posts which post to FB also, PR notifications and gmail)

CC/TJT also has YouTube account now. TJT Banner with Martín’s logo now available for public events; biz cards will be ready soon. Planning for booth at Farmers’ Market to sell goods produced here by members and do public networking with cards, chairs, shade, banner.

Reskilling workshops: CC proposes for a Saturday. Bring your skill and offer a 45 minutes “mini workshop” to be combined with others; they repeat or overlap and can be extended into day long workshops as need/desire arises. Charge at the door or request for donations will go to funding larger workshops.

Discussion of economic and ethical considerations. Document to detail considerations of perceived conflicts of interest needs to be generated. Careful vetting needs to be part of the process. Recommendation to look elsewhere in Transitions for guidance including Scott McKeown in Sebastopol. Water group requests guidance, as they will be participating in Water Education Day at JBWD

Review of “membership” voting vs. supporting

Commendations to Tim and Nicholas for scholarships to Permaculture Voices 4 days later this week in Temecula. They will be there with Jill and several others including the biggest names in sustainable farming and permaculture. Jill wrote and distributed PR announcement. Exciting!

CC submitted Transition theme song. Each Team asked to submit a song at quarterly meetings. Voting for official theme song will occur first quarterly meeting 2015

Janet outlines her idea for colorful buildings in Joshua Tree to involve art students at CMA and panorama of what multi-hued businesses downtown could look like.

Permaculture Team will host next quarter’s meeting. Date TBD.

________________________________________________________

Draft Minutes – Revised

Restructuring Buckaroo’s Meeting and Potluck

December 8, 2013

Attendees:

Jill, Stacey, Karen, Tim, Rhonda, Eva, Kathy, Buck, Gregory, Deb, Ron, Janet, Tammy, Susan, Sequoia, Karen, Martin, Eva S, and B.C.

Minutes approved with changes, attached.

Coordinating Council (CC) Election Results:

Susan and Beth will represent the Heart & Soul Team. The Water Group submitted 4 names: Buck, Matt, Gregory, and Tim (with conditions). Buck will represent the Water Group and the group will elect a 2nd member (Tim, Matt, or Gregory) and inform the CC as soon as possible. The Permaculture Project Group will not have a representative and no “at large” TJT members were identified for the CC at this time.

Administrative Team:

Jill will serve as communications member for 1 year as agreed. Martin will consider serving as website administrator after talking with Stacey and reviewing the role description. Stacy will continue to serve as website administrator until a replacement is found.

Next Steps:

The CC will meet by Saturday 12/14 and determine aims, then contact the outgoing IG and new Admin Team to prepare for passing the baton by 12/31/13.

Bios of the CC will be presented for posting on TJT website (schedule to be determined by CC).

A tutorial on posting minutes/diary in WordPress will be presented at a future date. Meanwhile Karen and Jill will continue to post minutes for Heart & Soul, and Water Group teams respectively.

New Projects (Buck):

Buck proposed an “In the Pipeline” blog/tab for the website where ideas for future projects can be posted. The voting members agreed in concept and discussed the use of “pipeline” in the name. Susan proposed that we determine the name during the next quarterly meeting. We will also need to determine how info gets on (and off) the project list. Eva suggested that all projects should go through the filter of the TJT aims to ensure projects are in alignment with the larger intentions of TJT and the Transition movement.

Buck proposed a trash pickup on December 28th in partnership with San Bernardino County and co-sponsored by the Listening Lounge. Other potential partners are the JT Clean Team and MBCA Clean n’ Green Team. Buck will serve as lead and will ensure that event incorporates recycling/repurposing trash rather than allow it to go directly into the waste stream. The trash collection location will be Broadway and LaFerney in Joshua Tree.

Approved

Discussion:

Tammy commented that the Listening Lounge is looking for art projects using recycled materials to display on its walls.

Buck discussed development of an historic site in Joshua Tree as a potential “pipeline” project. Property with well is near Sunfair and Hwy 62 and was formerly used as a watering hole during cattle drives.

Jill, Karen, Stacy and Janet were each presented with a bouquet of flowers as a token of the TJT community’s appreciation for their vision, commitment and extraordinary dedication as the Initiating Group for Transition Joshua Tree.

Next Quarterly Meeting

Sunday March 9 was proposed. Time and location to be determined.

Approved

________________________________________________________

November 17, 2013

Revised December 8, 2013

Minutes of the Restructuring Buckaroo’s/Voting Membership Meeting:

Attendees: Jill, Stacey, Tim, Eva, Kathy, Julia, Suzanne, Buck, Gregory, Debbie, Ron, Janet, Tammy, Susan, Beth, Matt, Sequoia, Cynthia, BC, Karen, Bernard.

Proposed:

All new Transition teams (includes Coordinating Council, Admin Team, Transition Teams and Special Project Teams) are required to participate in initial team building and must be willing to do conflict resolution as needed facilitated by the Heart and Soul team.

Approved

Proposed:

Approve the Restructuring Buckaroos’ proposed Roles and Responsibilities for the Transition Teams, Coordinating Council, and Administrative Team. See roles, attached.

Approved

Proposed:

Approve Jill’s nomination as the Communications member to the Administrative Team for one year.

Approved

Proposed:

The quarterly general membership pot luck meetings will include a review of how the new organizational structure is working.

Approved

Proposed:

Add a one year minimum- three year maximum term limit to Coordinating Council membership.

Approved

Recommendations:

  • Transition Teams and the Coordinating Council will post meeting minutes on TJT website. Transition Teams will also post a short, interesting synopsis on their team “front page”.

Discussions:

  • Stacey agreed to assist new IT Administrative Team member for a term of less than one year.
  • The formation of a new special project team to look into ways to fund the Administrative Team and Coordinating Council operations.
  • Operating funds are essential to the survival of TJT
  • New Coordinating Council is not expected to pay out-of-pocket for such things as flyers.
  • Gregory suggested thinking about fundraising projects.
  • Buck talked about his interests in organizing a solar cooperative
  • Karen reported that the number one thing Rob Hopkins said would raise up the Transition movement were the formations of cooperatives.
  • How the Heart and Soul group was a resource to support groups.

Next Meeting of the Voting Members:

Sunday, December 8th

Susan Jordan’s house

4PM to 6PM

Action Items:

 

  • Janet will review IG’s treasury log to report on the out-of-pocket costs by the IG. Janet will provide this information prior to the next scheduled Transition team meetings this week, so that the TT’s can makes decisions on their contribution amounts to help fund the Coordinating Council/Administrative Team. (Software license, office supplies. . . )
  • Transition Teams will name their representative(s) to the Coordinating Council.
  • Voting for the member at large nominated by the permaculture group.
  • Gregory and Tammy will report back on their conversations with the IT folks they know who might be interested in joining the Administrative Team.

________________________________________________________

Minutes from the TJT IC meeting held 1-6pm, September 29 2013

Attendees: Susan, Matt, Eva, Jill, Tim, Gregory, Buck, Karen, Janet, Cynthia, Kathy, Sequoia, Rhonda and Deb

IC Team Members: Matt, Susan, Beth, Eva

Aim: to choose a new framework for governing TJT, in a way that is creative, collaborative and purposeful, so that TJT continues to grow and thrive and becomes a resource for the sustainable development of ourselves, our community, and our planet.

Summary of meeting:

1. WELCOME: Matt welcomed everyone on behalf of the Restructuring Team (Matt, Susan, Eva and Beth). The group met a number of times over the past three months to define and clarify our options for a new TJT organization structure.

2. INTRO activity: Cynthia facilitated a team exercise – everyone had to stand together on top of a tarp and then flip it over and stand on its other side—without anyone stepping off the tarp. Afterwards, the group was asked to discuss what helped us be successful.

Key comments:

  • We had a similar objective
  • There was good communication—hearing each other
  • Cooperation
  • “OK to get squeezed together!” (Surprise!)
  • “Enjoyed following, going with the flow”
  • Being flexible!
  • Tremendous trust and comfort in this group
  • I learned a lot: ask the right questions; work from the general to the specific.
  • “Noodling” ( Nerdling?) helps
  • The Edge has the most interesting problems
  • “We can solve this thing!”

Other observations:

  • People were talking over each other at first
  • We jumped into action pretty quick
  • Initial chaos is natural…allow it to happen
  • It is an organic process
  • Different people led at different times

Cynthia then encouraged the group to consider the tarp activity as a perfect metaphor for our work today, and how the same kinds of strategies, behaviors and attitudes would serve us well.

3. IC Team’s Process: Susan described their three months of work:

Wrote a clear AIM right away, and set the intent that it would get done and we would have FUN in the process!

Then everyone went off to do research:

Beth found an amazing expert contact person who advised the team to

  • Stand back and focus on the Big Picture
  • Check the organization’s history—“What will be lost when the IG disbands????”

After that we were able to focus on various methods, forms, models, options

Finally, we planned this meeting

**BIG lesson—information came as soon as the AIM and Intent were set!

4. Decision-Making—Eva talked about the need for the group to decide how to make the decision about a new org structure. (Sources: Starhawk, Transition USA Handbook)

She went over the types of group decision making (voting or consensus) and recommended consensus for a matter of this type.

After discussion, the group unanimously agreed to use the form of consensus which includes the ability to “stand aside”, and also to “block” if necessary (blocker must offer an alternative proposal).

5. IC TEAM recommendation—Susan presented the two models the IC Team recommends as viable options for the new TJT structure. (SEE flipcharts)

6. Broke intro Small Groups to Discuss Options:

7. Whole group came back together to hear and discuss what the small groups had come up with. A lengthy discussion raised a number of questions/issues/comments:

 

  • Some of the current work done by the IG needs to shift to the WGs
  • What is meant by “elected” versus “volunteer” to be on the steering committee?
  • Not enough working groups yet to form a Steering Committee—have some “at-large TJT members elected to the SC?
  • How about getting a grant to pay for an admin person to support the SC?
  • How about re-naming Working Groups to something more upbeat? (suggestion was “Transition Teams”)
  • Change SC or CC and call it “Coordinating Council”
  • Website is under-utilized, needs to be more user-friendly
  • Instead of Minutes—write a short report/article for the TJT site—more interesting to read!
  • How much time does it take to manage a website?   (can we find someone to do this for us? )
  • Can we attract a “webmaster”? A“tech” person?
  • Sebastopol’s model didn’t fail—one the core group was elected, they needed to have some team building–for both the CC and admin support team. Didn’t happen.
  • Core group (CC) needs to be very cohesive/this is critical.
  • The IG needs to stay on and handle the current TJT admin tasks for a while, until some of the work can be shifted to the working groups and/or admin support team.

Someone proposed that we create a Project Team to define some of the details needed in order to create a new working structure: what are the core group’s tasks/responsibilities, what are the WG’s , and what are the admin group’s

Also, that we adopt the coordinating council model, with an Admin subgroup

There will be no more admin work added to the WGs

Interim Step—IG stays on as Admin Organization to do technical admin, and not make decisions that effect TJT.

Project team to work out job descriptions, timeframes, elections

7. Formal Proposal statement was constructed:

To adopt the CC model with an admin sub-team, and have an interim step of the IG team staying on and doing current admin and other essential functions.

A project team will be formed to work out the details and then present to the voting members of TJT:

  • Specific roles and responsibilities for the CC, Transition Teams (WGs) and the Admin sub-team;
  • Timeframes
  • Election process

Proposal was passed with unanimous approval!

8. Next steps:

Project Team was formed: Jill, Buck, Matt, Beth, Kathy, Susan

Team facilitator: Susan

First meeting date—to be determined by team

Date chosen to report back to TJT members: Nov 17, to be convened at

Susan’s house