Common House minutes: 2016-05-11

Special Notes:

Proposal to keep common house locked

Agenda:

Consider replacing broken washing or wait until June for repair
CSA tubs in entry way coat area for summer CSA trial dinner
Office renter verification of liability insurance
Move meeting to 2nd Tues at 7pm
Reminder about guff and leaving stuff on the table in the ch entryway
Keep doors locked at all times - proposal for next community meeting

Minutes:

present: Jim, Nancy, Elph, Rod, Helen


1. Consider replacing broken washing or wait until June for repair
DECISION: Our middle washer has been down for repair for several months.
While it seemed the repair was imminent it seemed wise to wait. Now that
repair is expected to take months longer, at best, it seems better to
replace the washer with a similar style from Reserve fund.

2. Tema proposes CSA tubs in entry way coat area for summer CSA trial dinner
While no one is a fan of more clutter it does seem the coat area is
underutilized for the summer when this program for Community Supported
Agriculture dinners will run.
DECISION: Approved with concerns.
Concern: Tema should be responsible for making sure the tubs have very good
signage explaining what they are to be used for and how.
Concern: Tema should be responsible for making sure they tubs are cleaned
out weekly and that vegetable matter is not left to decompose therein.
Concern: What is the expected end date?

3. Office renter verification of liability insurance
Finance has advised the CH Convener that all three office renters should
turn in proof of liability insurance to finance. We asked Kelly to do this
as she passed by our meeting. We will email Melisa and Syndallas.

4. Move meeting to 2nd Tues at 7pm
As many meetings seem to be happening on Wed in the CH we are moving our
meeting from the 2nd Wed at 8 to the 2nd Tues at 7pm.

5. Reminder about guff and leaving stuff on the table in the ch entryway
The following message is to be sent:
It is the end of Winter and the common house cmtee has noted an increase in
"stuff" scattered around the common house. Let's get clean for Spring!

Please help us dispose of, recycle, or donate stuff that you know you
brought in to the common house.

Note that we actively discourage the donation of free items on the common
house table. This is now successfully done from the front porch of your own
home.

Thanks for keeping the common house clean and tidy.

6. Keep doors locked at all times - proposal for next community meeting
The following proposal is to be sent:

Common House Locking Proposal
May 11, 2015
Common House Committee (Elph, Nancy, Jim)

Background:
There has been an increase in inappropriate use of the common house.
Children from our community without supervision and children and adults
from outside our community use the common house for the bathrooms, the
kitchen, and other rooms both in the day and night. This practice has
become more frequent and should increase even more when school summer
vacation begins soon.

The result is use of supplies, increased cleaning needs, and especially
allowing expensive equipment to be vulnerable. It is also a safety risk for
those individuals, increasing the liability risk for Great Oak.

Proposal:
All doors to the Common House will be locked during the day and at night.
This will be a trial run for the summer that will end Sep 30 unless renewed
by the Common House cmtee.

Pros:
Common house would be used as intended for owners, renters, and guests.

Expensive equipment, supplies, and furnishings would not be in jeopardy.

Both Sunward and Touchstone have successful 24 hour per day locked common
houses.

Lockup crew will hopefully find themselves out of a job.

There is no additional cost to accomplish this.

Sets clear boundaries for our children and neighbors.

Cons:
The door code would need to be widely known and not divulged.

The door code would need to be changed, as needed, or perhaps once per work
season, which could cause confusion and inconvenience.

When carrying in groceries, laundry, etc, it would be inconvenient

Mail and delivery persons would need to know the code.

The locked doors will require extra consideration by residents and office
renters when expecting visitors or clients.

Those hosting groups must make sure door are opened for their guests,
managed during their event, and locked up afterwards. Examples include book
clubs, exercise groups, game days, raw milk club, etc.