General Community Agreements
• Community agreements as per Requirements and Maintenance for Community Membership/Partnership & Committees (1/9/2012)
• Community members will abide by guidelines of Fiscal Policy (5/15/2012)
• Decisions are made by creative alignment
• Use respectful voices and actions (12/28/2011)
• We support the fourth amendment and the safety of the entire community (12/28/2011)
• We honor diversity in belief systems, spirituality, and ceremony (12/28/11)
• We have a commitment to transparency (12/28/2011)
• Leave all community spaces clean and organized (10/20/2011)
• When using community-owned items or items lent to you within the community, leave them in as good of shape or better than you received them in
• Noise ordinance enforced from 10 pm to 8 am (7/10/12)
• Community members agree to be in communication with all members of the community regarding decisions that affect the whole community before taking action. If a community member is impacted by an action that is taken by another, the community member should be in communication as soon as possible regarding the impact of that action. Ways to communicate to the whole community may be discussion at meeting, text, email, FB messaging, etc. (7/10/2012)
• Keep promises/community agreements in the timing and way we said we would do them. If for some reason the promise or agreement won’t be able to be done in the timing or way promised, notify person(s) you have the agreement with as soon as you know it’s not happening as planned. (10/20/2011)
• Be accountable for the problems caused by un-kept promises and take action to get complete with other community member(s) regarding them, especially and including matters that may damage relationships within community. (10/20/2011)
• Disputes will be handled through mediation. Individuals can choose a mediator who works for both parties. The agreement that gets created through the mediation must receive alignment from the whole community (12/28/2011)
• Members will communicate to the facilitator if they have new or returning visitors coming to a community meeting, and will post visitor names and their relationship to them on public Facebook group (11/14/11)
• Community members with friends/family members visiting longer than two weeks must have community alignment. Concerns related to guests in community to be brought up and discussed at community meetings (1/15/2013)
• Guests remain visitors until completion of community membership process (1/15/2013)
• Community involvement relinquished upon consistent neglect of community agreements, and with alignment of community (1/9/2012)
Community Membership
To become a member one must:
▪ Agree to abide by any pertinent policies & rules adopted by the community, including the Community Agreements
▪ Attend eight community meetings within six months and contribute to two quarterly workdays
▪ Have 100% creative alignment of community members
▪ Maintain communication with the community at large as to their participation over time
To MAINTAIN membership, members must:
▪ Abide by any pertinent policies & rules adopted by the community, including the Community Agreements
▪ Live in the community, or have active plans being carried out to live in the community.
▪ Attend at least three community meetings per quarter
▪ Attend at least one work day per two quarters (unless otherwise specified)
▪ Attend at least one social gathering yearly
▪ Participate/attend 75% of community meetings yearly. Alternately, a member may participate in 2 hours of community contribution in lieu of each meeting
▪ Receive community alignment to reinstate community membership if member becomes inactive as defined by a. alignment by the community and b. non-participation during a twelve month period. (3/12/2012)
▪ Communicate leave of absences longer than 30 days to the community in advance. Members will be exempted from attendance requirements during their time of absence. This includes seasonal memberships (3/12/2012)
▪ Review notes for any community meetings they do not attend
▪ Agree to give their creative alignment to whatever decisions are made at the community meeting if they do not attend
▪ Communicate non-alignment (regarding decisions made at community meetings when they were absent) with all community members within one week. This includes proposed changes/alternatives
▪ Retain the support of the community as to their membership
Rights & Privileges of a Community Member:
• Responsible stewardship and usage of community spaces and resources
• Alignment opportunity on all general community matters and any committee matters for which the member is a committee member
• Inviting visitors to community meetings, and sponsoring visitors and visitors of returning visitors at community meetings
All community members are also considered community partners (although not all partners all community members *refer to Community Partner section).
Previous relationships/Newborns:
(1/9/2012)
Ex partners of current community members are welcome based on the current community member’s opinion of their ex’s involvement in the community.
Newborns are automatically born into community membership.
Community Partnership
A partner of the community is someone who does not plan to live in the community, but wants to participate with the group.
This includes:
-Individuals planning to live in the community in the future.
-Individuals who want to actively engage in the community, but do not plan to live there.
-Individuals who have a specific contribution to make to the community.
A partner becomes a partner by visiting with the community and having creative alignment from the community. Alignment decisions will be announced at least one month ahead so that everyone can make arrangements to voice whether or not they are aligned. The person seeking partnership will not be in the room for the creative alignment conversation. There will be a person from the community designated to have a conversation with the person seeking partnership after the alignment conversation.
The amount of time visiting will vary from partner to partner, depending on their intended involvement. In most cases, the partner will then have voting rights in community matters, EXCEPT that partners do not have voting rights on fiscal matters (unless they have already made financial contribution to the community). Some partners may not be granted voting rights, if their participation is extremely limited; these partners may have voting rights in committees such as gardening, but not in overall decision-making.
All PARTNERS must:
• Agree to abide by any pertinent policies & rules adopted by the community
• Maintain communication with the community at large as to their participation
To maintain Alignment Opportunity rights partners must:
• Attend at least three community meetings per quarter
• Attend at least one work day per quarter (unless otherwise specified)
• Maintain at least one social gathering per quarter
• Retain the support of the community as to their participation
Rights & Privileges of a Community Partner:
• Voting on certain matters specific to their areas of participation in community unless otherwise determined
• Input on design and use of community space (may be limited to certain decisions determined by community members)
• Inviting visitors to community meetings
All Committees
• Unless otherwise stated, committees are governed by the same rules as the community (5/15/12)
• Committees must keep meeting minutes (12/28/11)
• No committee has authority to make decisions for the community unless the community gives them that authority (12/28/11)
Fiscal Committee
Description: The Fiscal Committee (FC) shall consist of at least 3 people appointed by the community at large. There shall be a chairperson for the committee, designated by the members of the committee.
The purpose of the FC is to:
I. Manage the bank account(s) of the community, including keeping up to date bank records, paying bills, and making the general community aware of all fiscal issues.
II. Make decisions on smaller fiscal matters, issue checks as needed, and make recommendations on larger fiscal matters to the general community.
III. Protect and ensure the fiscal viability of the general community.
Policies and Procedures:
I. The FC shall take notes at ALL meetings, including any impromptu meetings held over the phone, through computer chat, etc, thus creating a record of all fiscal decisions made and their outcomes. These notes shall be given to the secretary of the general meeting within 48 hours of said meetings, so that the secretary can include these notes in the minutes/agenda of the next general meeting.
II. The FC shall appoint a member who will manage the bank account(s) of the community, by using Quicken or other computer software. This person shall make available at each general meeting the balance of these accounts, and bi-annually shall present an overview of income & spending.
III. The FC can, by meeting in person, over phone, or getting alignment over email, text, or chat, make decisions regarding spending in amounts under $100, assuming funds are available. For spending in excess of $100, the FC can align on recommendations to make to the general community at the next general meeting.
IV. The FC will manage all bills (utilities, etc) and expenses approved by the general community, and can pay these even if they are in excess of the $100 spending limit. All annual expenses approved by the general community do not need to be re-approved by the general community; however, it is the responsibility of the FC to notify the general community when these expenses are upcoming, preferably 2 weeks before the payments must be made.
V. The FC will manage, in spreadsheet and/or contract form, the amount of investment into the community made by each member/household, as well as any payments made back to each member/household. This will include rent payments, purchase of ‘pad sites’, expenditures for improvements or projects, “HOA” fees, and any other payments or investments. This information will be kept accurate and up to date at all times, in order to support the individuals and the community in being fiscally responsible.
Community Officer Terms
*Annual shareholders meeting and elections will be the first meeting in July
Officers: (5 year terms, stagger)
President:
Vice-President:
Secretary/Treasurer:
Community Agreements on Shared Spaces
Yurt
• Take shoes off when entering
• No children in yurt without permission of adult
• No food
• Close dome when leaving
• Take garbage when leaving
Hot tubs
• No children allowed in large tub
• Observe noise ordinance
• Shut off jets and close when finished
Chicken Coop
• Certify kids before giving them access to the coop
• Keep door secure with bolt in place
• Only take eggs on your days
• Rotate purchase of food
Responsibilities of the Meeting Facilitator
• Be in communication with the previous facilitator about what items are on the agenda and why
• Email returning visitor questionnaires
• Create an agenda and post it on Facebook at least one week prior to next meeting, asking for amendments/additions
• Start meeting on time regardless of attendance/dinner status
• Facilitate the meeting as follows:
1. Acknowledge members not present or when they will be coming if late and have communicated
2. Briefly introduce new visitors
3. Read or have another member read the community mission statement
4. Follow agenda (see agenda format below), directing and redirecting conversations to stay on topic
5. Be accountable for the reporting of action items and creation of new action list
Limit visitor sharing to one person or couple per meeting. Limit each sharing to 10 minutes. (11/14/12)
Format for Agenda for Community Meetings
1. Announcements/reminders (Upcoming events, including next meeting date/location/facilitator)
2. Business items (things that require a motion & vote, or other actions)
3. Open discussion
- a. Prioritize, with items requiring action handled first
- b. Estimate and assign amount of time for each agenda item, and request for assistance keeping on track of time (3/26/2013)
In the case of alignment conversations for new community members:
If needed (for sensitive matters) a member of the community will be designated during the alignment conversation to have a conversation with the individual seeking membership after the alignment conversation, in situations where 100% alignment does not exist. In a circumstance where 100% creative alignment is present or where creative alignment is not reached and all present at the meeting agree, the individual(s) seeking membership will be invited back into the room to hear the result of the alignment conversation.