Community Village Minutes January 2015 – November 2015

November 11, 2015 Village Meeting Notes

Hello Village,

Last night’s meeting was a beautiful example of the loving spirit of our village. The last few village meetings have been really something to be proud of where everyone has been speaking up and feeling heard and conversation has flowed easily and warmly. For those of you who have been needing to see the spirit of our values in action, these meetings have been that for many.

Tim posted the minutes from October’s meeting, and at that meeting the group consensed to move ahead with accepting the new village space from path planning, provided that certain conditions were met: that a committee from village would be actively involved in all aspects of design and implementation and that village would provide that committee with a list of conditions that must be met by the design in order to be approved.

At last night’s meeting our task, set forth by October’s consensus was to finalize that list of criteria that must be met by the design and path planning. We had 28 villagers present. It was a wonderful sampling of our beloved village with elders, the usual suspects, new faces, people who have had deep concerns throughout the process, and people with persistent excitement present. Sam Rutledge facilitated.

Our agenda was short: Agenda Review, Welcomes, Discussion of Expansion, One Fun Thing, Announcements, and Closing.

We spent the majority of the time talking about the list and the committee who would be tasked with communicating and designing with Path Planning. In the end we reached consensus on the following:

1: We as a village are empowering a committee to design the new village space with Path Planning, provided that the committee adheres to the following three lists while doing so: A list of mandatory criteria regarding the design of the space, a list of conditions that must be followed for village to move forward with the new space, and a wish list of design elements we hope come to fruition.

2: The mandatory criteria list for the committee is as follows. The design must be:

Safe for children
Preserve green space
Have appropriate space for our customary workshop and will ideally be quiet
Quiet space for reflection
No booth will be forced to move outside of the already existing village consensus process for movement of booths
A plan in place to secure existing camping space
The design will inspire, excite, and educate
Ideally will create new village camping space
Will have a narrow entrance and a slow flow of traffic

3. The list of mandatory conditions that will be followed for our consent stand is as follows:

Village committee will develop the design and have an ongoing voice in implementation
Peace Parker area will be nonsmoking
The design will have a narrow entrance and slow traffic flow
Capital for the project will come from OCF
Village committee’s involvement will be ongoing

4. The wish list for the area includes:

The new entrance can be closed at night

Blessings villagers 🙂

Katie MacCionnaith

October 14,2015 Village Notes

Sam sent these notes to the council list, they are brief, but you get the idea…

“Here’s the skinny on what went down. Splat facilitated. It was his first time out of the gate, and he did awesome.

We talked about the (Village Expansion) plan, and everyone at the table agreed that all the concerns that had been raised by the group are addressed by elements in the designs we have or could be addressed by tweaking some of those elements. The group was uncomfortable, however, coming to consensus on such a big issue in such a small meeting.
We also agreed in principle that coming to consensus on the actual design would be unmanageable for the Community Village.
What the table generally thought was the best way forward was to generate a list of requirements for a final design (we have been discussing this, but people want to see it in a formal list: things like;
“The design is safe for children.”
“The design preserves green space”
“The design has adequate space for workshops”
“The design preserves space for quiet reflection.”
“The design does not compel any booth to move if the booth doesn’t agree to move.”
“Peace Parker must become an expressly NON SMOKING area.”

The meeting decided to direct the Council to develop such a list at our next meeting to bring back to the November Village meeting.
The hope is that the November Village meeting will make adjustments to the list of criteria, and then agree to move forward with the new space understanding that those criteria must be included in a design. From there, a smaller group will begin to work with path planning to finalize a design. The hope is that after the November Village meeting we can tell Path Planning that we are at a YES as long as our criteria can be met. Everyone present at the end of the October meeting agreed that with one more month for the word to get out that we’re close to a decision and the proposal posted to CV Drum after next week’s council meeting, a consensus in November would be appropriate.”

So please, all come on November 11 to Growers Market and participate.
Village Expansion Design ideas here:
Proposal for Village Expansion

September 9 Village Meeting Notes

Sam and Katie facilitating
about 20 people attending

Who are we as a Village within the Fair?
– what it means to be part of the Fair – keeping things sane, stretching reality to serve us
– being in a loving space: healthy, sane, caring together in coherence
– trust – I feel it in the Village
– Village asks us to bring compassion, openness, bringing that top help find solutions
– to work together through resource sharing and networking to build a better world, as spoken in our Guidelines
– people care as much about the community as they do about their own personal interests
– “Fair effect upon the world” – the Fair is one of the top 10 events in the world, family friendly with a profound world effect.. “There really is such a place?!”
– a Core Value is the process – how we get there is even more important than getting there
– we have to bring a sense of humor, humility, how to “do it” when we leave the Village, we try really hard to do it right. Truly multi-generational, an anchor.
– coming together just to be together sharing art, kids, space
– “swimming in the pools of insanity, resting on the beaches of peace”
– no one gets left out, inclusive, consensus respects everyone’s goals
– we find ways to address fears and anxiety through consensus, the cutting edge of decision making
– Consensus: “sensing together”, trying to understand others’ point of view. Together.
– opportunity to honor diversity, to some degree we are a “whole”, not just individuals.
– takes trust and takes time. With no time, trust is hard
– let’s not give up on consensus
– trust that someone else is already thinking what I’m thinking, so I can wait and listen
– give quiet people an opening to speak up.

Expansion Design Discussion/Presentation

Overview:

Four Design Workshops were held, attended by different people, some opposed, some enthusiastic, some ambivalent. Tim and Tulsi were at all four, the rest came and went. Design ideas were discussed and amended, and drawings were inspired and inspiring to many there.
Tim explained what the icons on designs 3B, 5 and 9 (see them here) meant – tipi (circle with X inside), yurt (daisy like circle with circle inside), pyramid (triangle shape) – and noted that the “buffer along 13th” space is actually the Fair’s plan to widen 13th there with an inviting space that we understand to be the Fair’s design but ours to maintain. This area will be redone, without a smoking area, whether we consense on expanding or not. Green in the drawings is green space or behind-booth camping, the blue rectangle is the entrance to Council and Meadow camps.
Tulsi then explained the drawings she made representing an area-wide “floor plan” of seating and meditative spaces clustered around a 12-15 square foot structure with a translucent patterned roof. Those drawings will be posted as soon as I can get them scanned.
It was explained the different designs were created to attempt to address concerns the Village had expressed during previous discussions of this expansion: traffic, noise, kids’ safety and green space preservation. Design elements to accomplish this include meditative spaces, signage encouraging quiet, a walking pattern that includes turns and twists and mis-direction, distracting activities like interacting with booth personnel and interactive displays, and more.
People then had the opportunity to walk around and look at the designs and drawings (mounted on foam board) and write comments or ideas.
Following that, a round robin discussion took place commenting on the designs. Notes from that discussion follow here. (go here to see all the previous discussions and drawings)

Expansion Designs Feedback

– Noise and crowd density is not really an issue because it is noisy anyway, a lot of which comes from the stage.
– If there is a way through the Village, people will use it to pass through. In front of Wild Edibles is a pinch point now. But even so, we should do this for the good of the Village and try to mitigate the potential damage.
– put the meditation structure at an angle rather than square with the entry.
– make the path not look like a shortcut (see design #5), a new entry could reduce congestion in front of Green Earth. Folks who get caught in the dead end now are just looking for a way to get to Main Stage from Shady Grove.
– a widened 13th could eliminate some 13th ave congestion
– do we need a new entrance? we already have 3…
– better signage could help direct people to 13th to go to the Main Stage
– more traffic would benefit our non-profit activists, giving us more chances to spread the word about our issues.
– the sideways/backwards entry path in design #5 would discourage folks looking for a short cut from 13th ave.
– with a functional traffic pattern, a destination and a thouroghfare. It could be a space that makes people go “Wow” so they can’t just walk through it.
– “I am inspired by this proposed structure and we can impress the Fair, too.”
– the dome design can affect traffic, create more safety, more sanctuary, more quiet. Find things we like about the Village and make MORE of that!
– the “floor plan” maze drawing looks more like a maze than a path – folks might not make it into the Village
– “I like all the designs. It may take a few years of experimentation to see what works over time”
– most of these designs have very little effect on the present Village proper – no disruption.
– a story was told (not about the Fair) about how cool a day care place would be without all those pesky kids. As for new traffic in the Village, why worry about “all those pesky people” interfering with our place? We are there to engage people, be compelling and get people’s attention.
– even our small efforts can affect the whole planet. We can capture fair-goers’ imagination with our boldness, newness and audacity.
– Wild edibles wants more space, Intentional Communities wants to move away from the stage and have more space, Apollo’s Den and Rainbow Village want new booths. We can do this.

Meeting Evaluation
Everybody had a chance to talk, and took it
Focused on the positive, not much negative
someone’s real concern was finally articulated and understood, that had been elusive at the larger meetings
the room gave grace for silence so quiet people could find room to speak
More organic / slower = good
enjoyed using the Fall meetings to be constructive

notes by Tim Mueller

June 28 CV meeting notes Onsite Meeting

Hannah opened with a song.
Omo facilitated

Announcements:
OM Circle is 10:30 AM Sunday, OM the whole Fair.
Childcare is working today, we will take you kids away from the meeting….
Anna from Archeology reminds us folks have been gathering here for 10,000 years. Don’t dig without them… Respect the history.

July 4th – EVERYONE will need a wristband to get onsite all day. There will be only 2 main camp meals. Get your pre-ordered wristbands from Sam, contact him if you don’t have one, he will be at the Taphouse Thursday at 5:30. (541)637-6970, samuelrutledge@gmail.com.

Camping – Go to info booth first to get your camping tag, and a bead if you camp in the Village. If you are in Far Side, talk to Keith, (541) 513-1238 quackerbacker1@msn.com. Our guidelines ask you to camp in your booth’s loft prior to another location – to use all our space. Contact Ben with other questions. stircrazyben@gmail.com.

Fire – Everyone is responsible to keep us all fire safe: to know where your fire exits are (go find them if you don’t know), to check that an extinguisher and water bucket with burlap is in your booth (and a barrel in your campground), to know how to find and use a fire extinguisher, and to NEVER USE OPEN FLAME this year. No campfires, so far, are allowed in any of the camps. Village Saturday night fire, yet to be determined.

Youth Power – they want work, want to be part of the Village – come seek them out if you or your booth need help.

Marijuana – it is legal to carry up to 1 oz, but smoking or vaping is not allowed. OCF is a drug and alcohol free event. Paraphernalia is not allowed, either. OK in private spaces only.

T-shirts – will be available for purchase Thursday of Fair week. The design is still a mystery…

Peace & Loving Kindness – Let us celebrate the rainbow SCOTUS ruling re: gay marriage and the ACA. The rest of the world can be so mean. But here we try extra hard to be nice, be forgiving. Take advantage of the “letting go” bowl in Spirit Booth.

VegManEC – Please do not move dead stuff for a camping spot. Bamboo is ready to place.

Decon – Monday is Decon day – 1. clean up your booth area, 2. Put away your booth’s ladder and floor (wait until Teddy Bear Picnic, only if you must), 3. Set out burlap to dry, buckets to stack, 4. Clean up your campsite, 5. Help take down the Shady Grove fence, the stage walls, the stage curtains, the parachutes, the House Sails, 6. Help load and transport and unload at the barn all this: the SG fence, the Gather Round furniture, the stage walls and floor, the bamboo, and more. Big John will be proving a check list to the booth decon designee. Please identify yourself to him.

Admissions – talk to Karla. Get your wristband at the CV area in the admissions tent. Open till 9pm Wed & Thursday. Be prepared, be on time. Karla Caudell (541) 337-5319 kjcaudell@yahoo.com.

Networking Exercise:
Our Children’s Trust – filing court case to sue the government to protect air and water for the future. More at www.ourchildrenstrust.org Talk to Kelsey.
Partners for Sustainable Schools – inspiring wonder and hope. www.partnersforsustainableschools.org Talk to Blue.
Donate organs – www.donatelifenw.org Be an organ donor. Talk to Emily, H&H.
Does everyone want more of these reports from our activists?? YES!!

Village Expansion – Conversation regarding the Village Expansion and design ideas to respond to concerns will continue. Village Meetings will be scheduled for September, October and November to focus on the opportunity and to seek consensus on a way forward. Please attend and participate.
(During the summer, a few people will meet to create some design options. Contact tim@gwproj.com.)

Safety – if you get hurt, call Whitebird from info booth – do not call 911 first.

Bob read the list of CV stage acts, see it here: Schedule

There were some other announcements I missed…

We sang. We Pokeyed. We wandered off.

Tim Mueller

Community Village Meeting, June 10, 2015

Agenda Review

Child Care: Lyn will be onsite Sunday 6/28 from 12-4 and this Saturday 6/13 from 11-3.

Fair Announcements.
– Prefair overnight camping is only for OCF crews, not village.
– Youth power provides jobs for youth who are too young for teen crew but want to contribute. Contact kelsyelekia522@aol.com for information.
– You’ll need to get a wristband in town before 7/4 if you want to go onsite that day. They will be available to those who have already pre-signed up at the onsite meeting. Email samuelrutledge@gmail.com for details.
– Go check out all the new construction in the new area.
– Humanistic intervention training on 6/28 at 10am. Same day as the village on site meeting.
– Board of Directors meeting 4:00pm on the same day at the Alice’s fire pit.
– Thursday of Fair Week, there will be an elder’s meet and greet at 3:00 at the Alice’s fire pit.

Site Rap
– It’ll be a hot fair this year. Bring water. We’ll be posting maps and routes for fire evacuation. Shady grove erosion has continued, and one of these years the stage will have to shift. For fire control, no candles or incense. Report a fire, tell a specific person to go to info booth, and start to put it out with wet burlap. Know your fire exits. Know how to use a fire extinguisher. Every booth must have a five pound fire extinguisher.

Consensus Rap
– When you are using consensus, you have three options. You can accept a proposal, stand aside, or block. We keep discussing an issue until everyone accepts the same conclusion. For a future meeting, we should revisit our consensus process and talk about how we practice consensus.

Host Rap
– Don’t park in the neighboring church’s lot.
– Be respectful.
– Don’t drag the chairs.

T-Shirt Rap
– CV tee shirts theme this year is water.
– Shirts will be on sale starting Thursday of Fair Week.
– Find the Tie Dye King in the Arts Booth.

Peace and Loving Kindness Rap
– The war is outside. In this room, we are trying to do things differently.
– We are at peace with each other.
– We speak to each other in a loving way.
– We avoid labeling one another.
– We exercise kindness.
– We listen to one another.
– We pay attention to one another.

Camping Rap
– Camping coordinator will be at the info booth for you to check in.
– Camping begins Thursday Morning.
– With special arrangements, people with a good reason can camp on Wednesday.
– Please don’t put your tent up early.

Admissions Rap
– Vouchers come from your booth coordinator.
– Get your wristband from admissions Wednesday or Thursday.
– After Thursday, there is no Village admissions crew.
– If you plan on coming after Thursday, let admissions know in advance.
– Bring your ID to admissions.
– If you are coming on site after Thursday without a wristband, get a dragon voucher in advance.
– We are hopeful that we’ll get all the vehicle passes we asked for.
– At this point, there will be no guarantees until they are literally stuck to our cars.
– There may be options to park at the winery next door with a shuttle on to the site.

Workshops and Demos – You’ve missed the deadline for peach pit. Our schedule is pretty full this year, but there’s still time to have a non-peach-pit workshop. Talk to Beth.

Everyone must do at least two work parties. They are Saturday and Sunday. Toilets in the 8 will not be open until Fair, so stop to piss on your way in. All lofts, railings, counters, ladders, and other wearing apparel must be in place by this Saturday Morning for the Fair Construction “shake rattle and roll” test.

Networking Exercise.

Alan from Spirit booth has been in village for years, and for as long as that he’s run a metaphysical supply shop called Stargate. It’s their anniversary. This Saturday 2-7 they are having a party, which is a fundraiser for Nepal.

Peace and Justice booth hosts many groups, one of which is Occupy. It is a broad movement. Locally, many people have supported homeless rights. People will be at fair this year in support of palestinian human rights, free medical care, and striking student debt.

Intentional Communities has a lot of groups that are modeling intentional community living. East Blair housing coop talked about their work, which is broad and diverse but also fun. Maitraya (sp) eco village also talked about their work. Many groups are represented.

Booth Breakdown

Unfair Announcements

Meeting Evaluation

Community Village Meeting, May 13, 2015
Facilitated by Jen-Lin and Sue B
Notes by Tim Mueller, who is paraphrasing everything, no actual quotes…

Began with the song, “Rise Up” led by Paul Simon

Childcare
At this meeting and these onsite meetings:
Saturday June 13, 11-3pm and
Sunday June 28 (onsite meeting at 1pm) 12-4pm
Hat was passed.

Agenda Review

Consensus Rap
Sam: No more decisions this year so why talk about consensus? Because consensus is about discussion, speaking and listening and evolving your opinion. Once you speak something it is a gift to the group, it belongs to the group to evolve it in an organic discussion. Consensus lets ideas grow into something that works for all. The interchange i=of ideas in the consensus process.

Fair Announcements
– Bob read the Stage schedule. Here it is…

Thursday Sound Check
6:00ish: STEEL WOOL
FRIDAY
Noon: Omo’s Mountain Dulcimer Revue
2:00 PM Jair of Theurgic Seed
4:00 PM: The Neverever Band
6:00 PM: Fireweeds
SATURDAY
Noon: The Dirty Dandelions
2:00 PM: The Chris Chandler Show
4:00 PM: DuridSisterBlind
6:00 PM: Hot Tuna Tribute Band
SUNDAY
Noon: Ashleigh Flynn
2:00 PM Scared Harp Community Singers
4:00 PM: Sharanam & Friends
5:30 PM: I-chele & The Circle of Light

– Sunday the 17th is the Sound Summit discussing sound levels at the Fair. At the Hilyard Center. The Sound Survey is on the Fair Family site: http://www.oregoncountryfair.net/
– Splat: Loves all of us.
– Frog: He’s gonna do his regular Joke Workshop at Fair.

Registration
John Flannery reminded Booth Coordinators to return the Census Form right away. Registration should be completed in 10 days (May 23). Please pay tonight! All vehicle stickers must be paid for through John, pay before the 23rd. Teen and Youth passes’ deadline is more flexible, but must be paid SOON. Make checks payable to “Community Village”. Call John at 541 345 6822.

Camping
Ben: forms are due TONIGHT. Use small tents, really. Stay in touch if you are on a wait list or are a late or early arrival. Ben would like some camping help on Wednesday and Thursday at Fair. Please consider spending some time helping people find a spot. If you have not filled out a camping form, find it here, print and send to Ben Barrett, PO Box 3319, 97403.

W&D Rap
To be in the Fair Peach Pit, workshop forms must be handed in today. Bev had a schedule to see if you wanted.

T-Shirt Rap
Because the Village did not choose a them this year, David doesn’t know what to design. Someone named Sam shouted out “Water” and so it was agreed. Shirts for sale at the June meeting.

Site Report, Work Party Advice
David reminded us what crews give us for site work commands. 1) the Village is an archeology site – no digging or disturbing the earth without their approval and presence. 2) Vegematics require NO cutting of brush, even dead stuff. 3) David leaves quality hand tools for your use during work parties. Please treat them with respect and return them to their place immediately after use.

Pass Allocation Process discussion
What is the difference between Eligibility and Allocation? About half of us said we knew what that difference is. Eligibility is determining whether a group or individual meets our eligibility guidelines, found here. Allocation is determining first, by the Council, how many passes are assigned to each booth/service area (which changes only slightly year to year) , and next, by the Booth (who can use their own process mostly), who gets those passes.
Should we have more stringent guidelines on eligibility? What does it mean to be in the Village?
A – Been in the Village since 1997. Networking was important back then, both between Villagers and the public. We should do more to attract the public’s interest and get them involved.
B – There used to be more discussion in the Eligibility Meeting, something that had diminished to almost nothing.
C – The guidelines we have are good. Some booths have their own specific booth guidelines. Too. That is booth empowerment.
D – What is special about us? What activism are we doing? But that does not apply to Info, Little People, Areas passes. They should have a different form listing jobs they do. Also, some booths don’t have groups, they have people giving presentations just at Fair.
E – Booth Empowerment only applies to accommodations made to Village and work party participation for folks who are unable to meet those guidelines.
F – People/groups have been found ineligible in the past because their groups have become inactive or the people were behaving badly.
G – Info used to be groups, LP used to be childcare professionals. 4A was developed by a group that was in Info. Everybody was in an Organization that helped people somehow.
H – Groups got flagged because they were no longer active, or were organized solely to get a Fair pass.
I – Participants in the Arts Booth are all part of Orgs, but do not represent them at Fair.
J – Allocation numbers do not change the booth. Just stay this way.
K – LP does not represent schools, though they are all experienced at child care, and meet set qualifications.
L – Too religious groups have be rejected
M – Booths don’t want to permanently lose a pass by allowing a temporary reduction.
N – Pass allocation amount fluctuate a bit every year.
O – Booth become invested in the people – the team. And sometimes people leave, making openings.
P – IC gave up passes a few years ago and did not recover them.
Q – The Council keeps a spreadsheet of historical pass allocation data, but does not always note temporary or special pass changes.
R – There are Day Passes as well for new groups to start with.
S – We are here to do important work in the Village. Everybody needs to do their part.

Booth Breakdown

Spin the Bottle
Jasmine is planting native milkweed all over the place.
MindFreedom – Helps people with mental health challenges. This year will try to get Patch Adams back.
Bret is on Info Crew. He gives info and mis-info. He used to be in the Communications Booth (now the Doors of Expression)

Unfair Announcements
Sat 16th David Rodgers at Saturday Market at noon, and 2pm in the Plaza for an anti-electric shock demonstration.
June 13 at 4pm from Skinner Butte is the Naked Bike Ride
Square Dances are starting back up at Spencer Grange, Sat at 7pm. Slippery Slope String Band
Visit the Black Forest Triangle Lake Conference Center co-op
Fri & Sat see “12 Angry Men” at the Wildish.
Sunday is the Wildflower Festival at Mt Pisgah, featuring STEEL WOOL at 11am.
Saturday is the Autism Rocks PROM fundraiser
Center for Dialog and Resolution fundraiser May 28, casino night at Hop Valley

Community Village Notes April 8, 2015

Notes taken and written by Jay Patton quakejay@gmail.com
Edited by Tim
Disclaimer: Remember all I am reporting is paraphrased since I did not record the meeting, people talk (making it difficult to hear), I have hearing loss and I can only write so fast. [Stuff that is written from my memory and not my notes is in brackets.]

7:05 Opening Song

7:10 Katie and Jackie Introduce themselves as facilitators

7:12 Lynn is providing childcare.

She will announce the childcare hour schedule for work parties next meeting. We passed the hat to support our future.

7:13 Agenda Review.

We need a white board. If anyone wants to volunteer to bring one to the meetings, please let the council know. Also, if anyone thinks that someone else is bat-shit crazy, take five breaths before you say anything.

7:14 Fair Announcements

Louis: When communicating electronically, we are not communicating like we do face-to-face. Please have someone review your comments before you post them in order to help each other express our higher selves online. This is not just about tolerance, it’s about loving one another. We are about enriching each other’s lives, not simply about tolerating each other. It is when we disagree that we show our true selves.
Beth: Workshops and Demos: Forms are due at the next [May] meeting.
T-shirt announcement (sorry I could not hear most of what he said, people were talking and he was quiet): He will sell the shirts at the on-site meeting. (He was hoping for a theme before creating a design.)
Villager: 4/26 11-4 pm OCF Vision Action Meeting at LCC (free lunch), register online or at the OCF office.
Villager: 5/2 is the Spring Fling at the WOW hall and is free to villagers
Sam: All who want to be facilitators, please contact him at samuelrutledge@gmail.com because the council wants to develop a pool/team of engaged and enthusiastic facilitators for our meetings. This team will focus on reinvigorating our meetings.
Tim: open the windows if it gets hot in here.
Chip: I’ve been in peace and justice for 7 years and keep learning about when to speak. To correct the Theater of Change, the NAACP has been involved in the Peace and Justice booth for several (2) years.

Site Report (David):

More river [fluvial] erosion. It could be this year or next year that we need to reduce the size of the Shady Grove stage.

Registration Rap (John Flannery):

The booth decides how to allocate their passes to their booth. Give your money to the booth coordinator. Given this, John will register people. New this year: There will be NO onsite sales of vehicle stickers.
Eligibility (Sam Rutledge):
We went out of order. Eligibility is typically done tonight, so I presume that is why we are all here. Tonight we need the forms to be turned into the booth coordinators (absolutely must be to the eligibility committee prior to their 7 PM meeting at the growers market next Monday 4/13 – 405 Willamette. Anyone is welcome to help at the Monday meeting. The eligibility cmte will review all forms and decide who is eligible. The cmte will provide these recommendations to the council, who will review and decide booth pass allocation numbers at their meeting on Tuesday 4/14. Anyone is welcome to attend that meeting. On Thursday 4/16 the booth coordinators will get the results from the council at a 7 PM meeting at the growers market in Eugene.

One Fun Thing (Katie):

Turn to the person beside you and take turns spending one (1) minute telling them something fun that happened to you at the fair. I told my villager friend about how much fun it was to dance to the showing of the film from the 1972 Grateful Dead concert at the fairgrounds (shown on main stage in 2012). She told me about some fun stuff that happened to her when she was 7. She started with the village when she was 4 and she is now 28! I have only been to the fair for 7 years, but she said that is plenty of time to have fun.

7:30 Council Confirmation Process Review (OMO):

During the last meeting (March meeting) we missed discussing this review of the prior meeting (February meeting). I facilitated the March meeting and afterwards, I felt like I was wielding a double edged Viking axe that had blood dripping from it. I felt like the process was a failure, that we had found a loophole instead of actually finding a solution. People told me they thought it was facilitated [well]. This process was not a success and I wonder if anyone else had that sense.
David: There was a big list of issues that we were dealing with at the March mtg. The council does not have a process to deal with some of those issues. The council is fair staff. If the council were just fair staff, a crew, or just on the OCF list, they could make decisions. But, we are part of the village, we are a bunch of hippies, and we need to have a process in place in order to deal with the issues that came up [in case that they come up again.]
Louis: We are a bunch of idealists. We are humans. Guess what? Think NOW about who should be on council. [I want to see more people on council] [I did not write this in my notes, but Louis made a statement something like this; I remember it.]
Joe Magner: to OMO: You took a beating [at the March meeting.] I appreciate how you handled it.
John Flannery: I understand [what you went through OMO], the hollow feeling afterwards, it comes with the job. The meeting went well, considering with what we dealt with. We all kept a constructive tone. Though we have some unfinished business. Someone blocked, yet we moved ahead. There is a process, but we need to do the work [to resolve this].
Sam Rutledge: I apologize to the village. I got deeply emotional and expressed [stuff] in a more violent manner than if I was being my best self. I think we need to change the process to reduce bringing people to the point of being violent.
Many Villagers: We love you Sam.

Council Support CMTE: 0

Pass Allocation CMTE: 0

Apollo Den Introduction (Cass, sp?):

I am the wattle guy. We intend to place and create a sense of community for make issues. If you want to support this, please contact me or Mike. If anyone has space for Apollo’s Den in their booth [for a few hours or longer], let me know!

Rainbow Introduction (Oblio):

I was a little sad about the meeting notes because we were not mentioned. [Tim apologized that the notes are edited for length to get into the Theater of Change]
We are creating LGBTQ safe space in the village and we want your support! When I post on the CVDRUM, I get no responses, other than comments like, “this will be hard to do,” or “can’t happen this year.” I need support, how are you going to show your support? I need some action. I want to make this LGBTQ safe space so please engage with me and Max. Please support us by giving/sharing us some of your spare space in your booth. Please contact me at obliostroyman@gmail.com
Max: People that I speak with are really surprised that there is not already LGBTQ space in the village.

7:45 New Entrance

Katie: Diane will introduce this CV council proposal (not an OCF proposal, but a CV proposal) for 5 minutes and then we will discuss it for 45 mins.
Diane: Like in the village, in the council, there is not a one-mind about the entrance. The council chose me to introduce this.
The council proposes that we form a joint committee [heheh, commentary by jay] of OCF and CV members. This cmte will focus on solving all the issues and concerns with the possible new entrance. [The cmte will prepare a presentation to the village.] A subset of these issues [also of which there are exhaustive lists of these issues from prior meeting notes, if anyone wants to learn what they are] include:

Relocating the quiet space: pyramid, teepee, etc.
Security for children and camping areas
Continued preservation of Village Green and Green Space

If the cmte cannot solve these issues, then the CV can reject the new entrance.

Katie: Clarifying Questions?

David: What is the timeline? Sam: We don’t know the timeline.
Villager: if we say yes, we get options. But if we say no, there will be no change? Katie: we’re thinking of forming this cmte, saying “yes” means we are interested and we can talk. [Saying no means we do not form the cmte.]
John: If people are open to ideas will step aside so only people who have concerns will be on the cmte? Sam: That is a relevant question! Council did not address it.
Villager: will the cmte work with path planning (PP) and OCF? Katie: we hope!
Ben Barrett: When will we know about the craft lot? Katie: we don’t know. Villager: we missed the boat for the craft lot this year. Next year there will be a form. Last year 3 separate groups contacted OCF about the craft lot and it was confusing for them. (Tim: the committee did present re: the Craft Lot but wasn’t included as the development was downsized due to storm cleanup work hours. There were no “missed boats”)
Villager: we will vote in 45 mins? Katie: yes, we hope.
Oblio: Tonight, we will make a yay or neigh if we start a dialog to see if OCF can meet our needs? Katie: yes.
Villager: I thought we have been discussing this all along. Sam: What originally was brought by PP was a yes/no for the concept. If we came to them with consensual support, they would form a design cmte. Today, we want to say to PP, we are not at consensus yet, but if we get a design, we might be able to consense. Tim: we are trying to answer the concerns that villagers cannot choose without a design (people in the “maybe” group from the March mtg). Then the designs will be presented to the CV mtg in November or January for us to review. The vast majority of the village was in the maybe group. [Recall that maybe meant that they were not sure if they wanted to discuss the entrance or not.]
Villager: It seems like the proposal was backwards. We should now propose what would work for us. OCF created division, we should come up with a proposal.
Joe Magner: At the January meeting, David from PP said it was OUR plan, it will be what WE want. This is our decision, [not theirs.] We need a team to generate maps and design [so that we can make a good decision.]
David: Please let me rephrase. This seems like too little time for this fair. Would the design be for next fall? Sam (?); Yes
Villager: I was also at the January meeting and the walk through last fall. PP said this would happen next year at the earliest. They do not have a plan that they are shoving down our throats. I want all people who have concerns to join the cmte. I am not attached to the entrance, but I am attached to how we are [and how we operate and relate to each other.]
Villager: It has been a while since I have been to a CV mtg, but I have gone to PP mtgs (worked as a scribe). [What I came away with is this]: get involved, change happens… get involved.
Sam: I started out not supporting the path, now I don’t care, but am attached to present to OCF a face = we, CV are weird, but can be reasonable.
Villager: shit happens, life goes on.
Villager: suggest a short cut: if yes only says we meet with PP (path planning)
John: proposal to talk to the fair, but still some feel strongly = no. want to approach the fair, can only do this is “no” people buy in. question: if “no” person, are you willing to serve on a cmte? 3 people raised their hands, therefore we should do it.
Matthew: I have worked with bureaucracy for 35 years, OCF asked for consensus, we consensed “no.” (Not true)
Villager: I have been part of the citizen planning cmte, I know the needs of open space and quiet space, these are rarely served by development.
Villager:” I am the keeper of the yurt, I hear discussing from the OCF, what do we get back in exchange for the path?
OMO: last month Kelsey talked about going to the county courthouse, which happened yesterday, preserving the atmosphere. The only way to do that was to talk about it. We are a community, we see a paradigm and we look beyond.
David: as part of consensus, initially I was deeply opposed, it [new entrance] still has issues. If a person has an issue, we cannot make a decision, we cannot make it until we come upon consensus. We need to meet on site to walk the entrance.
Villager (Jackie?): there are strong voices, [this is an] underlying thing. “this is not for us.” But ok to have this position. [I’m[ glad people keep making statements, “not right for us.”
Villager: If no cmte, is this a no?
Same: I think that question comes from a position from wanting a “no.” Consensus we have (1) the power of the block and (2) the power of the agenda (we can bring things to the agenda again, and again, and again). This keeps the balance [between the block and the agenda].
Rick: I am on the construction crew. 3 issues: (1) they may be giving us space in the Craft Lot! Also, on cmte to determine what to do in the space. We were offered space, I proposed we design a garden, OCF said no. they wanted to give energy park the cell charging area instead. The real issue is space. We need space. If our answer to OCF is _______ [sorry, I did not get this part]. If we don’t take this opportunity, OCF may give the public more space and this might mean more noise for the CV.
Oblio: I have been in the fair for 10 years. I am not pro nor anti path, I am pro info. What I hear is that quiet space is more important than LGBTQ or Apollo space. If quiet space is important, then how [can we find] “yes and” instead of “no.”
Ben Barrett: I am honored to be stewards at the OCF. Only way we can lose is to not participate.
Peter: timeline seems arbitrary. We don’t have enough info, I am opposed to the path.
Jackie: we are not talking about the plan, we are talking about a cmte.
Ben [who we know loves us all, as mentioned in the past two meetings, which is why I know his name now.]: I see people who want to see closure, I see the cmte as responsibility to answer these concerns.
Arthur: I have been for it, before I was against it, now I am neutral. This is our decision. I want to hear from proponents, to see a real plan.
Louis: the proposal, in order to come up with a plan, we need the cmte. The fair has only been open to us. We have always been making the choice for us. OCF/PP has not been telling us what to do.
Villager: the cmte should include proponents in addition to opponents.
Katie: straw poll? If not comfy with proposal, raise your hand: 1 hand went up.
Matthew: [this is] classic co-option
Sam: I don’t know you well, Matthew, but I love you (Matthew: I love you too). Sam: [I] ask [a] question: is there a proposal we could go to the OCF with that you would be happy with?
Matthew: we will come back to you in 5 years.
Dea: I don’t want to speak to the path, I do want to say this: I see a small number of people who are co-opting the entire process. [I find] it disturbing that we can stop the process because a few people are taking over.
Sam: Matthew, you and me, sit down, talk it out, strong P.O.V., continue the dialog, and bring back a discussion next month.
OMO: a point of process, pure consensus. Therefore, if one person feels strongly is the heart of consensus.
Jackie: are there any blocks to the proposal? No
Jackie: are there any stand asides? 5 hands
Jackie, can we put this on the table for the next meeting (and have a decision in May, which we don’t typically do), are there any blocks for this? Y 1 hand.
Booth Breakdown: GO TEAM BOOTH!
Katie: is 5 stand asides enough?
Frog (and others?): YES
Meeting Evaluation:
Sam: we need an evaluation process
John: we shorted booth breakdown
Unfair Announcements:
Shy person talent show
Peace jam northwest: contact northwest@peacejams.org
HOPES sustainability conference at UofO
Pomela Peace Center 5/10/15. 2nd yr anniv. Dalai Lama.
Heart of Now 5/1/5 workshop contact Julie Stein
4/22 event students shut off cell phones all day, seed planting 12-2 pm at Collier house.
Ben: camping forms due in May
Steel wool band with fat jesus
Moon lodge 5/3 moon lodge circle
4/18 OSU master gardener sale, EWEB at noon.
Katie: Kelsey’s mom, Kelsey was in court yesterday: Oregon Live interview, PBS news, Forbes, Intl. Biz
4/25 Ashton Baker 2PM kids activities

Community Village Meeting Minutes, March 11, 2015

Facilitators Sam and Katie

There presently is NO PERSON SET to take notes at meetings. Volunteers ARE NEEDED. My notes suck. You can do it better. Next month? OK? Contact me: tim@gwproj.com

Sam put his tie on his head. Wild Man.

Childcare: Lynn and Adrian have the kids downstairs. They hope tpo have an onsite schedule available soon. The hat was passed.

We did a Spin the Bottle. Jean Luc was pointed at, and I got fixated on his name and didn’t get what he said. Then we did it again and Shontell was pointed at, she smiled.

Agenda Review:

Fair Announcements
Peace and Loving Kindness Rap
Site Report
Workshop & Demos | T-shirts (T-shirts was not there)
Eligibility form, new design
One Fun Thing
A Man Cave to go with the Moon Lodge?
Add LGBT announcement
Helen – (was not there)
Discussion: New Village Entrance
Booth Breakdown – designate Booth Coordinator
Council Confirmation Process – feedback (very brief – no time – next month…)
Council Support Committee Report (no report)
Pass Allocation Committee Report? (no report)
Meeting Evaluation
Unfair announcements

Fair Announcements:
– Arthur passed around re-found photos of the original integral house under construction. David explained the history: It was designed to be a demonstration home for sustainable living, cheaply and off the grid. The concept eventually moved to Energy Park.
– The Fair Teddy Bear Picnic is on Sunday this year, August 16.
– Diversity Task Force is looking for participants, contact jon@vipertoons.com
– 9 Goals of Fair workshop April 26 at the LCC longhouse. More on Fair Family .net website.
– Jen Linn can help you get fire extinguisher discounts.

Peace and Loving Kindness Rap:
Ben says, “I love you and I love the Village”. Sweet.

Site Report:
Fair flooded 3 times, 2 bad ones. Path space along river by Shady Grove is eroding too fast. What will the future bring? No Shady Grove Stage??

Workshops and Demo:
Beth Mottweiler: bethmottweiler@gmail.com, or call 541-525-9588 has forms here and online Forms . May 13 is Peach Pit deadline… Workshop scheduled after that will not appear in the Fair Peach Pit, but may still fit on the schedule.

Eligibility Forms:
The Council, in response to the growing trend of minimum scrutiny of eligibility, has added new questions for this year’s form. Plus Booth Coordinators will be required to comment on each form. The new form can be found here, and is due at the next Village meeting in April. 2015EligibilityForm.pdf

One Fun Thing: Make a funny face to the person next to you.

Apollo’s Den and LGBT:
A group of self-identified men want a space to call their own. So does a group of LGBT individuals. Don’t know what, don’t know when, but they are talking about it…

New Entrance Path discussion:
The facilitators asked everyone to move to one of three groups in the room: the “Yes I Wanna Keep Talking About It”, “No I Don’t Like It”, “and Maybe I will like it someday.” One by one folks made comments and we’d see if anyone changed their minds and moved groups while we were talking.

Melissa handed out some updated map copies and gave a brief intro. Answers to some common questions will have to wait, except for 1) the path does not have to be 12 feet wide always – it can get slimmer or fatter at various points. 2) The frontage on 13th is 60 feet, mostly for the Rest Stop. 3) The Fair wants a better Rest Stop. 4) The new path was designed to make a better Rest Stop, not to relieve traffic congestion (a common thought at first). It seemed to some on Path Planning that it would be very easy to see a path going from the back of the Rest Stop right into CV. So they brought the idea forward. 5) A “not straight” path is better than a straight one, according to PP. and 6) The Fair will NOT force us to accept a new entrance – it’s up to us.

So I started taking a few notes about the comments people made, but they were all the same as other meetings: “It would be cool, more space, a chance to grow” and “too noisy, too intrusive, too different.” Blah Blah. About 15 – 20 people were in the “no” group, maybe 50 another “yes” group, and another 50-60 in the “Maybe” group. Hardly anyone moved between groups.

While the facilitators tried to make it clear the discussion wasn’t about ‘should we agree to the new path’, but about ‘should we agree to continue the discussion with Path Planning’. Some people didn’t understand that.

Booth Reports:
After a brief booth breakdown, folks reported who was the Booth Coordinator for this season. To see, visit this web page: People and Jobs Most of them are the same as last year…

Meeting feedback:
People can get confused, feelings can be sensitive. It was hard to hear. Didn’t know what to do during the group thing.

Non-Fair Announcements
Note: if anyone sent this editor (tim@gwproj.com) your non-Fair announcement the weekend before the CV meeting, it will be in the Newsletter for all to see, with your dates and times. Why not do that?
Some of the events mentioned are already over as I write this, so never mind. Others are:
1) Shy Person Talent Show, April 11 at Sam Bonds. (see blurb below)
2) Someone can car pool from Portland for these meetings. Talk to them…
3) Circle of Children passed out brochures about their awesome huge facility and event spot. See more at http://circleofchildren.org/wp/

Please come to the 22nd annual Shy Person’s Talent Show on Saturday, April 11th, 2015 at Sam Bond’s Garage from 5 to 8 pm. Sliding Scale $5 to $500 to raise money for two wonderful local causes, David Oaks and Occupy Medical. Come early to socialize, buy some yummy food, order a drink of your choice and get a good seat. We are both the audience and the show so let’s pack the joint and enjoy some good times together. To secure a place on stage over walk ins email shypersonstalent@gmail.com

Notes by Tim Mueller

Meeting Notes, Community Village (CV) February 11, 2015
6PM- 9:30PM

Taken and Transcripted by Jay Patton quakejay@gmail.com . In some cases I might have used slightly different words than were really used, but I hope to have gotten the spirit of this right. If I am unsure of the correct word, I put it in {braces}. I did not begin taking diligent notes until the consensus rap.

Facilitators, omo and sue barnhart

I was a couple minutes late and arrived during:

Peace and Loving Kindness Rap, led by Dea. She discussed how our intentions can have positive affects and effects upon our own health, the health of others, and the health of the Earth. We all chose to hold loving space for the night.

Space rap: don’t drag the chairs.

Archaeology Crew Visit (name?): 1987 was the first fair for archaeology. Due to red tape mixup, they did not have a space at the fair. The Community Village offered her space, so we have a long lasting relationship with the archaeology crew. Lots of the prehistory of the Country Fair site is documented in the book “Oregon Archaeology.”

She again mentioned, as she did at our onsite meeting in June 2014, that she is making a playing card set. The CV has the opportunity to design our thirteen card designs. If we do not do this, she will do the designs (commentary: I hope someone from the Village chooses to do this!).

9:25: Consensus Rap: Sam Wrote it and Katie read it. In summary, do things with humility and grace and block out of love.

One sign of a community with a healthy culture of consensus is that blocks rarely happen. The reason for this is simple: consensus isn’t about blocking, it’s about working things out. When we’re operating with consensus, we’re all thinking about the fact that everyone holds a piece of the truth. We are thinking about our own piece of the truth, and our obligation to share that with the group, and (maybe more importantly) we are thinking with humility and grace about all the other pieces of the truth that our village family carry with them. When we do this, as a community we very rarely bring a proposal to the point of calling for consensus before consensus is reached. If there are people thinking of blocking, we have more work to do before we call for consensus. Sometimes, however, because of deadlines, or because our own strong feelings push us to action before our community is ready, we do face a block.

Each of us in this community is endowed with the sacred trust of protecting the community. If we are certain that a course of action will deeply damage our community, we can block that decision from being made. This is an intense step to take: by choosing to block a decision of the community, you are saying that your personal piece of the truth outweighs the truths of every other member of the group.

You are, in a sense, substituting your will for the will of every other villager in the community, and saying that you are wiser than the group. And you might be: our process recognizes that sometimes only one among us can see the danger of taking a particular step. Some guidelines around using a block well; we should never block out of anger or fear. It can be hard to know, sometimes, whether this is what we are doing, because those strong emotions cloud our judgment, so we should sit with our decision and be very sure that it is coming from a place of clarity. We should take time before we block, and if there is an opportunity to avoid blocking and continue to discuss and process, we should take it. We should always block out of love, for the community and everyone in it. If we are angry at those who disagree with us, we should reconsider whether our block is coming from a place of the heart.

And finally, some people say you should only block twice in your entire life. I don’t especially like that rule; I would say, you should make it your goal to never use a block. When consensus isn’t reached, our process has failed us, because the goal of consensus is to bring all of us into agreement, and a block confirms that we are not there.

9:30: completed agenda review, and, council confirmation is FUN.

9:30: New Entrance (Sam): Sam introduced the agenda item and reviewed what we did in the Jan mtg. (we used breakout sessions to seek creative solutions). The new path idea was originally from Path Planning (PP). Tonight, we breakout in groups based upon our booths. We will discuss the proposal with one main goal, to list the benefits to our booth (and the Village) from having this new path. We can also do the following: (1) We will generate a list of questions (what we don’t know) to send back to Path Planning. (2) Should we continue talking about it? In our booth group, are we done? Is it too hopeless that we must stop considering this?

Dea: Could we have more background on this process.

Sam: PP proposed the bench area, a smoking area called Peace Parker, as a location for a “pocket park” (PP has been looking for places to make these pocket parks around the entire fair). Someone suggested that they could poke a new trail to the CV at that location, so they brought this idea to the CV 2+ years ago. We discussed this new path idea at many meetings and we did many round robins about it. For the last 2 mtgs, we chose to do breakout sessions to try to get more focused. This meeting we will breakout into our booths, loosely (accepting new CV members who do not have a booth yet, join a fun sounding booth to join). Note, OCF is offering substantial new space to the CV. 35 feet of 13th 12 feet wide path. Refer to notes from last time in the “Theater of Change.”

Arthur: Congestion on 13th

Sam: According to PP villager (name?), not so much about traffic, but about making the path at Peace

Parker (widen the path, not a “freeway”).

Louis: Can the booths think about how the new path may benefit the booth?

Nel: note takers need to take really good notes since we won’t have time to go over the results of this session at tonight’s meeting.

Sue T: Those who took notes, Sue has attended PP mtgs for years and they meet this weekend. If anyone has a question for PP, get them to Sue so she can bring them to the next PP meeting. Here is her email: theolass@efn.org

Villager: Clarification? Path width = 12 feet

Sam: if not part of a booth, pick one.

Breakout: see individual booth notes, I did not take notes for our booth. Go here for more of this agenda item’s information.

7:58 Workshops and Demos (Beth Mottweiler): She has forms, get them from her. They are also online. The forms are due 5/15, but the sooner we get them in, the better!

One Fun Thing (OMO): Find the villager next to you and share something fantastic about someone else.

After we did this, OMO said this: This one thing is great because (1) we shared something about being with someone else (instead of ourselves) and (2) sharing something about someone else builds community, which is what we are. Also, there is no I in team, but there is in community. “I” relies on every other {villager}.

Louis: Please respect the facilitators.

Council Confirmation: Those who are standing for council, please stand, say your name, state what you did on council last, what you bring to council, why do you want to be on council.

Tim Mueller: I’ve been on council for a decade, I do the newsletter, I built the info booth, and because I like to tell people what to do.

Katie MacCionnaith: in art booth, I am good at being diplomatic.

David: every year we clear brush at the fire road. Last year, I showed this young woman how to do practical Tai Chi. Later she was teaching others the same.

Diane: not ready to retire yet, I bring flowers, decorate the yurt, work with Karla on $ issues.

Sam R.: at village info, little people for ~ a decade. This is the first year I am standing for council.

Dale Kegley: last year was the 1dt yr on council. Started at CV in 2005 in doors and started hanging out at CV/OCF since 1982.

Louis Inman: I am the fire goddess, a liaison for several booths, oversee the function of the women’s urinal, want to be here, and this will be my last year on council.

Karla Caudell: started at the CV in 1989, on council for ~20 yrs, the CV is home and is family and she wants to give back to the CV. She does $ and budget stuff and works on admissions.

Melissa Kirkland: 2005 was my first fair, on council last year, I have been in wild edibles and the coordinator for last 8 years, done mapping of the village, and she enjoys _________!

Keith Herchberger.: 15th year in village, 1 yr at health and healing, 2 years on water and areas, and, council for the last ~10 years. He is good at operations, helped get many booths built, gather round tables, teens help build things, develop far side camp.

Big John, I broke my tooth so will keep it short, I do pre and post decon, and construction.

OMO continues process: are there any stand asides? NO

Are there any blocks? YES

Jennefer: I have at least one block. As I understand it, if anyone has an issue, they are to contact that villager and have a conversation. I have had many of these conversations.

Some background: I have been in CV since 2000, at the fruit booth and on council. I supported that occupy be in the peace and justice booth. I observed stuff happen. I found dysfunction in the council. I tried to work on behalf of villagers. This year, there were more conversations about dysfunction. There were lots of logistics for these conversations, but it was worth my time. I found lots of understanding and healing of {conflict}. Lots of stress fell upon me.

I am here because I cannot support because I see lots of dysfunction on the council for many years. I want to work to help with {fixing} the dysfunction on the council.

OMO: please tell us who you are blocking.

Jennefer: re: the DRUM email list: I want to understand that if I block that all the council will step down. If this will happen, should I still block?

Sam and others: YES

Ben: how were your concerns no resolved? There is some agreement, action plan…. How were your concerns not met?

Jennefer: I met with 8 people. With 4 of them, my concerns are resolved. With 2 of them (Tim and Melissa), we continue mediation and I would like to take 1 more month to resolve this. With the remaining 2 (John and Keith), I would like to block them tonight. Do you want to hear more and why?

Louis: YES

Jennefer: I want to do this for the fair. John, you have not acted with the best integrity and you have not been honest. I cannot support someone who is dishonest. I {know you are new to the village} and I think you should spend more time in the village to help learn more about cooperativity. You don’t know the process and you have not fulfilled your job responsibilities. Then, decon will be successful. It bothers me that you didn’t want to mediate when we had a problem. You don’t have a grasp of the process. It is not in the best interest of the CV if you are on the council.

John: {choose to say nothing, sorry I did not hear what he said…} {he explains more later}

OMO: shall we hear about Keith before we respond to Jennefer?

CV: YES

Jennefer: Keith, you have been in the village a long time. You do lots of hard work and are not the most diplomatic. I think you should take the construction role and not be on the council. You are intimidating and aggressive. You lack patience. You lack commitment to cooperation when _______ conflict. When people attend council meetings, they are turned off. If you focus on construction, not on diplomacy, this could be better for the welfare of the council.

Keith: People please count how many times the word “I” was said. This is personal. I am not perfect but I have not done anything wrong. There is a problem with Jennefer, she took 8 council members and had them jump through hoops like monkeys because she is really upset by being removed from council. I never yelled. I have the best interest for the CV and am all about us at the fair. Personal dislikes should not determine a block. For a month I have had to deal with this; at 2 council meetings, we only dealt with this, instead of all the things that need to be done to get the fair going.

Villager (tie die guy): I suggest we choose to block this block

OMO: straw vote: should be continue to talk or discuss this block:block proposal?

Continue to discuss = YES

Villager: Keith is always there to help with the fair.

Villager: I am new to my booth {and the CV}, but this is the only process where people are held in reflection and Jennefer is asking for the process. Jennefer is asking for 1 more month. The process is being engaged. I saw Keith attack Jennefer for engaging the process.

Jay: she is actually asking now to block 2 people

Villager: ok

Ben: I am just a person, but I was once on council. It is made up of people. What I heard Jennefer say, that could have been me. We are a whole community, we’re all imperfect. This is how we create something greater, with a sense of humanity.

Sam: if anyone applied for a job, and as a condition, you will be evaluated by everyone and anyone, for any basis, they could fire you. Please hold up your hand if you would take this job. Splat was a person who held up his hand.

Sam: This is what it is to sand for council. I hold exquisitively high the standard to block. I know Jennefer, you got hurt when 9-10 people removed you from council. You, Jennefer, cannot have enough clarity to block others.

Joe Magner: clarification, you sent out concerns for 8?

Jennefer: yes, I voiced concerns for 8 people

Joe: How many concerns?

Jennefer: Many, several for each.

Joe: I have worked with Keith for many pre-fairs. I have had run-ins with Keith. I worked it out with Keith. It was better in the end. I watched Keith go out of his way to help people. Re: big John, I don’t know him too well, but he has done decon for at least one year. I did hear of a problem from Nathan Greene, that John was not trained properly and not provided {sufficient oversight}.

Sue T.: To Jennefer: From my heart, we have history and went through serious concerns for 3 years. Each time, I have been hoping that you would get better, so I opted to stand aside {when you ran for council}, to give you room to grow. I now ask you to do the same.

Valory (?): It does not make sense to attack Jennefer. {I find it} difficult to think that is not personal {Jennefer’s block of the 4}. If these are legitimate concerns, there would be many people who would discuss these. {There are none others.}

Shari (sp?): for the last couple of years, I have gone to some council meetings. People tend to move things along, but Jennefer held up {everything}. Jennefer was then removed, so this must be a reaction {to that}.

Drake: is this really consensus? People may feel better if we change the process. The existing process is confrontational, ____ bloodletting.

Jen Lin: It is not appropriate for a person to be bringing concerns {during council confirmation} to discuss the process. I heard Big John broke his tooth, he may not be speaking due to pain, should not be judged for not participating. Not all what council does is visible, including what has proceeded in the last 30 days. So, please give council some grace if they get impassioned.

Fred Rolley (sp?): I am in a housing coop and have been researching consensus. They had blocks so I looked them up online. I found about ten references. In general, (1) they are only supposed to deal with stuff that is going to be destructive to the group and/or (2) only when there is a serious moral objection. I have not heard yet, how these people will destroy the CV. You gotta agree to go to mediation.

Person: no you do not need to go to mediation.

Fred: it shows bad faith if you don’t.

Nel: I have seen people standing for council that work together well. I see 1 person who has issues with 8 people, who work well together. This doesn’t look right to me. This is very concerning. The council selection process is broken.

Tim: Some people did not participate in mediation. The Council wrote a letter to Jennefer {after the 1014 fair} and we did not share it with the village {to protect Jennefer}. In the final paragraph, we wrote, “…happy to meet with you, continue the discussion after the fair.” She was encouraged but waited months until just before {the council selection process started} to begin expressing her concerns.

Jennefer did not invite mediation following the suspension from Council. Jennefer’s present concerns were {are} vague, not specific enough to respond to. Some of these concerns are being discussed in the unnamed council support cmte. Those concerns belong in that committee, not in the council confirmation process. {There is a} long list that she was not doing, nor did she act in time.

Melissa K.: at meetings all year, I saw the work ethic. Sure, Keith and john may be loud. But, I am not intimidated by them {I am someone who could get intimidated}. I have worked with John and he is not dishonest. These are people who are doing their best. Jennefer is doing her best. These are valid points, but not blocking issues.

Villager: take a step back and discuss what is “stand aside,” let’s give Jennefer an opportunity to change to stand aside.

OMO: are you willing to stand aside?

Jennefer: NO

Laura: part of village for 10+ years. I have seen the council operate for 100’s of hours. They are not paid, there are no perks, there {is only} dedication. I have never seen a council member be bad for the village, so much work to get done… we can’t use personal feelings. I am glad they can work together to get stuff done. The processes is broken. If someone wants to do all this work, we should let them!

Villager: {I am} missing a step. If there is a block that rises to the point to be sustained by the entire group.

Dea: in spirit booth, when we have dealt with conflict, we have a process. (1) talk first (2) have person to handle to grievances. I propose that we have a grievance committee to have handle the conflict {so we others can proceed with the business of the CV}.

Villager: if Jennefer had been asked to stand aside, would Keith/John/Jennefer wait 1 more month? (1) OCF has mediation team (2) people are hard workers, people have emotions, we do not value emotions.

Jennefer: I also asked for 1 month to mediate 1 more month.

Big John: I felt CV was the wrong venue for occupy. Jennefer called {me} and she yelled at me. We did a mediation with OCF BUM observer and she cursed at me. Jennefer is the only one who has triggered my PTSD. Because of these reasons, I am reticent to mediate with Jennefer.

Sam’s wife: I grew up in the CV, CV is my family. I have 3 heart beads.

OMO: Gather Here song. We all joined in.

Drake: it seems like we hit a wall, can we decide now?

OMO: we will complete the circle

Bob: in the DRUM, we discussed this: if we do not reach consensus on council, the old council will stay on council.

Louis: in healthy community, none of this should be a surprise. Hope we can work out before it becomes a public spectacle. We need to get better at practicing criticism. This should not be a surprise at council confirmation. I don’t know how to take care of Jennefer, we do need to do that.

Chip Coker (sp?): I’ve been in the peace and justice booth for 6 years. I would never stand for council. I wish I had asked this earlier. Jennefer, you have chosen to block in opposition to those being blocked. Is there another way to meet your needs, other than blocking? Anything under the sun?

Jennefer: re Melissa and Tim, we have 1 more month of mediation. Re Keith and John, I like to see more stuff before I can address that. Re: Keith: I feel that I do not know if his demeanor can change.

OMO: tonight, Jenn got attacked. Jenn attacked. BUT, are there other alternatives, like talking more?

Chip: I am not saying we should take the block out, but is there a way to find a way to meet her needs?

Jennefer: I know this looks personal. But I am being diplomatic, I have concerns for 8 but am not blocking 8. I have not stopped working on this. I have been working on this the whole time. Re: Keith and John: I do not want to sound like I am attacking them, but I need to be critical. I need to block to pave a way for a better functioning council. Therefore, there is nothing Keith and John can do.

OMO: we need to be out by 9:30. Revisit the earlier question, does CV feel this block is a valid block?

Sue: is there anyone who thinks this is not a valid block?

Villager: define a block

Fred Rolley (sp?): can block a person for any reason. Valid? (1) where destroying the organization or (2) moral principle involved. I have net heard a moral principle. Are these people destroying the CV?

Straw vote: anyone think this is invalid? ~1/2 hands rose.

Chip: lots of definitions of blocking

John Flannery: we have a process (1) how many people consider, hold up hands if we would like to confirm all the people standing for council.

OMO: rather, hold up hands if you would stand aside: NONE

Who would block?: Jennefer

OMO asks John, what does this look like?

John F.: it looks like everyone gets confirmed.

Villager: seems like we need a valid reason is (1) bad for group and (2) moral. Is anyone else who sees that John or Keith or Melissa or Time would be bad or morally wrong for CV?

Nobody stood.

The reason we don’t see blocks in consensus is because consensus works as a group. If everyone else doesn’t agree with a block, then….

OMO: if no one says so, the council that stands now council stands as council.

Nobody stood and all who stood for council are now the new council.

9:27 Sam: I propose that we change it back to the way it was, those who stand get to serve.

OMO and Villagers: that is for another meeting

9:29 OMO: this meeting is over.

Villager: don’t drag the chairs!

January 14, 2015 Village Meeting Minutes

Jan. Village Meeting (1/14/2015)
Facilitator: Percy Hilo

Fair Announcements:
Tim: Theatre of Change is awesome
Dianne: Fair Board has formed a diversity task force and is seeking members
David: The data from site clean up is on email.
Nathan: Laura Lee had a healthy baby boy last Friay.

Site Report: David
Floods were bad, and Shady Grove is worst. Haybales were affected. Shady Grove path may or may not need to be widened, wihch may reduce Shady Grove Stage, and green spaces have been discussed.

Consensus Rap: Sam
We were raised in a competitve decision making electoral process. Village does it differently. We are collaborative, not competitive. We look for solutions that work for everyone, which asks for focus, our best selves, hearts that are open, listening, and valuing one another.

Pass Allocation Committee Report: John Flannery
The longer notes are available on the drum. The goals were to evaluate if we are using a good process or not, eligibility, flexibility of size of booths, moving items on the form, may bring more ideas to village at future meetings. Clarified that participation requirements is different than individual group requirements. More discussion is needed for consensus.
Proposal to Council: Empowered Task Force made of 6 members group with 1 council member and 1 booth coordinator that is formed for up to 4 years. Process would be per normal. In fall 1/3 of eligibility forms would be evaluated. Every year 1/4-1/3 of groups/individuals would be looked at. There were questions about who is on the task force. More discussion is needed.

Council Support Committee Report: Sue Barnhart
Provided recommendations to council: Council meeting announced on the website, summary of meeting provided in the newsletter. More understanding is needed of council roles. Council and village members have varied understandings of consensus and facilitation, so more educational workshops are needed. New council members need mentors to better understand duties. Better facilitators are needed.
More suggestions can go through committee members and all meetings are open. Email is on the theater of change for comments. A formal proposal will be made in the February meeting.

Standing for Council
All previous council members stood again. Three new villagers stood: Sam Rutledge, Katie MacCionnaith and Helen Shepard.

Village Entrance Discussion: Tim and Sam facilitated this section
We have discussed this during three meetings in 2013 and 3 meetings in 2014, which revealed some commonly reoccuring concerns:
Removing dead end by yurt and traffic flow, opportunity to expand village with the Fair budget and support with possibly more passes and traffic, more stranger traffic, quiet space relocation issues, security of children, and how to arrange a map with as few changes as possible.
The village divided into groups based on these concerns, with villagers participating in the groups that most closely reflected their top priorities on this topic. We discussed these topics in the spirit of finding solutions to these concerns and how to make this entrance work in order to reflect the nature of our consensus process (problems are presented with possible solutions).
Report from small groups:
1) Security of Children:
Concerns of nightime play safety: Nightme crash gate/wattle fence/alteration of path at night (some were concerned this solution could cause confusion for those used to the path in the day). More nightime lighting. Roped-off circle of safety in the green with some lighting of some sort and possible adult supervision. Co-op parent babysitting at night, which some booths currently do.
Age-appropriate boundaries could change: Childcare folks could provide suggested guidelines. Parents currently set these boundaties in the rest of life and others areas of Fair and can adapt. Kids meeting each other and knowing each other would increase safety (Youth Booth might help coordinate this). Youth Booth could have a larger lounge.
More paths equals more risks: A booth in the path could slow the flow (is there a fire code issue with this?).
Stage Visibility: Ran out of time
Creation of new dead areas: Ran out of time
Traffic Flow/ flow through cul-de-sac: Ran out of time
2) Current Map Functionability:
If current map indicates what happens the traffic might escape into the village…maybe not…Can we control the flow?
3) Noise for Yurt and Tipee:
Perhaps relocating the yurt and tipee behind the stage and art booth and health and healing. But, council camp might also work with more security. Moving them to new crafts lot? Could keep the dead end with a Grateful Dead End sign.
4) Small Change Group:
Tipee and Yurt relocation to behind stage is a concern about displacing existing village campers. What is the square footage we have to work with? If Spirit Booth were to relocate, maybe we could put the yurt and tipee there. Could the path be more narrow?
5) Big Change Group:
Uncensored brainstorming which was catagorized into: ambiance, structure, an egress with a booth in the new path, a bridge with two stories, booths reshuffle and resize, less walls, quiet space and sitting areas, tunnel, waterslide, winding path, hall of mirrors, secret garden, class space, bigger tipee, revival tent, more draw in and interactive and action, visually active, participants create, art booth space, glitter shower, more ambiance, water arch.
Feedback and comments:
1) Square footage: we don’t know exactly, so lets come up with ideas that excite us.
2) New passes and how wide should the path be: we dont know, but at least wide enough for one cart to go through. We dont know about passes.
3) New kid loop brush clearing was violent. Will it be like that?
4) Everyone has been moved at some point. Displacing campers is the fair norm.
5) Fair land is magical and grows during fair…it gets physically bigger during fair. So, whatever we see off-season is misleading.
6) Width of path and exact numbers can be massaged to fit our creations and creative/exciting ideas are in line with Fair ideals.
7) Consensus in March or April. Discussion next meeting. Consensus is just to do this, NOT the exact plans. A consensus to create.

Unfair Announcements:
Louis is turning 70! Birthday party on the 21st at the Axe and Fiddle at 7pm.
Steel Wool is playing on Valentines Day, from 7 to 10pm at the Lowell Grange for a dance funraiser for those in the autism spectrum. Dance is alcohol free.
Please remember to pick up your chairs.

In the midst of sparkling crystals, aromatic foods, and a river of people rests an island of idealism, the Community Village. At the heart of the Fair, Community Village promotes social and environmental awareness by providing a forum for the free communication of ideas. The process of putting The Village together is as significant as the end itself, as we organize cooperatively through consensus decision-making.

Since 1976, we have grown from a modest display of appropriate technology to a community involving the energies of individuals from over 90 organizations.

Village Guidelines Here