Present: Graham(minutes), Cayla, Bernard, Quinn, Will, Philip, Richard, Leah, Stormie, Lynn, Cory, Robbie, Kate, 2 Sasona members, Jennifer, Alyssa, Russ, Chinhae, Cathrine, Dwayne, Jill, Radish, Phoenix, Josh, Josh’s friend, Dom, Leo

None

Minutes from May 21st pass

Bernard: I have a Wednesday cook and cleanup, Will is added to Thursday DCU, Quinn and Radish are cooking/cleaning on Fridays. Katie is cleaning the commons and bathroom, someone was added to grounds. Some other things have been moved around.

(Kate) Approve a house budget for fiscal year 23/24. There are three options:

-The first would bring the rent to 508 per room, or 1016 per unit. This is the lowest possible option.

-The second would bring the rent to 513 per room, or 1026 per unit. This option includes raising the food budget from 400 back up to 600 (per month). Since we once again have full occupancy, and more meals per week, this seems like a prudent thing to consider.

- The third option would bring the rent to 525 per room, or 1050 per unit. This includes a 3% surplus intended to help us rebuild reserves which have been depleted over the last 3 years (it does not include an increased food budget)

Here's a link to the the spreadsheets detailing the budgets: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17Ey24TrnrUkmC9zVpOVbyYHBF_P4RE1HoIUBh5S3ABI/edit

Kate reads budget options

Bernard: what is the exact amount rents can go up

Kate: $28 for option 1, $35 for option 2, $43 added for option 3

Leah: what is our reserve at?

Kate: tells what reserve is at, about one months costs

Stormie: Could we split between two options and split the surplus spending and food increase?

Kate: yes, it might not be fair because we have sent out these options to everyone so that they can give feedback, we might not want to change them at a meeting.

Stormie: we could vote for the 525 option, then send out a new amendment to reallocate some of the money over to the increase in food budget

Kate: yes I think that would be fine if we sent it to everyone. We can split the increase between surplus and food budget and keep the rent at 525

Quinn: why do we need the food increase?
Stormie: we could have some more constant food supplies when it runs low. The Keep Austin Fed food is inconsistent and sometimes only one or two items.

Alyssa: the food budget also goes to cleaning stuff and mop heads and toilet paper and other necessary stuff, and I can’t always get everything on the food board. A little extra wiggle room in the food budget would be nice.

Richard: is the $20 per month office supply budget still a thing?

Kate: it is, but we haven’t used any of the money in a while. It is mostly for printer paper and someone bought a ton of it a while ago so we are still using that

Kate: goes over all three options again. If we vote for option 3 we can amend it later.

Cory: we can change around money as needed with the budget, we just can’t change the rent without the 30 day notice.

Richard begins a straw pole

Option 1 - 12 hands up

Option 2 - 7 hands up

Option 3 - 5 hands up

Jill: if we are going for the cheap option it will raise you personal food costs

Richard: vote to approve the option 1 budget: all hands up

Budget option 1 is approved

(Kate Leah Phoenix Chinhae Philip) Officer Review of Steward for the following:

-Creating a hostile environment in which specific members felt that they were being targeted for eviction.

-Publicly vocalizing their disdain for having to help certain members of the community.

-Shouting the private information of members in a public space.

-Reacting with hostility to any concerns raised to them about their behavior.

Richard: reads the officer review out loud

Bernard: asks if someone can record the meeting

Josh: it is a general meeting, you can record, I would like it to be recorded

Richard: asks for consensus if we are okay with being recorded

No hands go up to object to being recorded.

Kate: Josh shouted at phill that he needed to take his meds, shouted at Phil about drinking. Personally witnessed a few incidents of Josh not backing down when others expressed that their behavior was out of line. Phill came to Cory and David with concerns that he was going to be evicted even though there was no membership review or proceedings. Asked around to people and it was corroborated that Josh was doing this. Josh said that Phil had been talking to them and wouldn’t stop and that’s why they were shouting at them. When Kate asked if Josh was shouting about a house matter or a personal matter Josh became more agitated and Kate never got an answer back. Kate knows Phil was waiting for paperwork and thought it might be about that. Josh had brought up that Phil was harassing them and may have asked for a point person to deal with it, but not anyone specific.

Josh: wanted to notate that we have had an overload this past week. Having Kate recount things might make some new memories about things that happened. I have a statement, and I want someone else to read it, so Radish will do that. I ask that you don’t make up you mind before, listen to both sides. Didn’t want to say anything this week to divide the coop.

Radish: Reads Josh’s statement. Phill came up and started conversation about Phil not taking meds, was done with Josh, wanted a point person to deal with things, Phil chase them down, Josh wanted to talk about getting a place for Phil to live, Phil tried to talk with them again and they were fed up and yelled ‘I’m fucking done with you’. Scheduled a meeting with Kate, Cayla, and Cory and Leah moderated, and the conversation was about if Phill harassed them and not about Phil’s behavior. Said I wasn’t steward 24/7 and Leah said I kinda was. Phil has said he is targeted for eviction even when he’s not. Did not publicly cause disdain when that didn’t happen. When they said they were done, it was personal not as steward. Was not done with Phil, just done personally. Didn’t make someones’ medical history public, just mentioned something they overheard. Radish reads entire steward description from wiki.

Kate: I never heard that Josh wanted a point person to deal with things. Have no memory of that. Someone I spoke to said that when Josh went to get keys they said they have been dealing with Phils problems all night.

Josh: Kate, I accept that you don’t remember. You may not have been present when it was said, I know you care about me, and a lot happened very quickly. Said to Phil that they devote a lot of their life to them, but that was a personal statement. If their behavior upset then at all that is not good.

Bernard: I was not approached at all about being a point man to deal with the Phil situation. Bernard’s first words to Josh was “are you sure you want to take on the responsibility of doing all this work” Josh said yes. When we were discussing how to handle Phils situation you became agitated very quickly and stormed out because someone was trying to explain something. There were occasions where Josh yelled at Phil about taking his medication. We are not social workers or case managers. We cannot tell people to take their meds or not to drink. We have asked Phil to go to officers with issues. When you can’t get your point across you sometimes lash out, which is not appropriate and does not help the situation.

Richard: would like to limit discussion to concrete behavior. Someones medication isn’t really part of this review.

Bernard: Medication was brought up by Josh, I’d like to make a point about it.

Richard: Josh’s medical information is not part of the officer review

Josh: I disagree that I went off on Phil immediately. This was personal time. Phil had just mentioned meds earlier. Was told they can be involved as much as they wish. Steward is not steward 24/7. Can Bernard say the exact time and date of lashing out at people?

Bernard: Josh has snapped at Cory several times at meetings. Cory is kind and doesn’t speak out of line, when Cory says something it is usually important.

Chinhae: I wanted to speak as a witness to these events where Josh lashes out and does erratic behavior. There was an event on the stairs where Phil came up the stairs where Chinhae was relaxing after a long day of work. There was a big shift in Josh’s tone and their body language immediately changed. They stood up and didn’t give Phil a second to say anything. Immediately shouted aggressively. Just because they don’t want to be near someone it doesn’t give a right to treat people that way. An officer or person should not do this, I make these statements out of love, and that’s why I make these critiques.

Josh: no comment

Leah: I didn’t witness anything, but things were brought to me haphazardly. Phil came to Leah concerned about housing. Josh made it seem that they were just chilling, but later wanted a mediation. Josh had a hair trigger and Josh was given time to talk, when Josh was finished they spoke back, but Josh exploded immediately, and did not allow any discussion. Josh took words out of context and twisted them. When they spoke privately they blew up again, couldn’t listen to anything. These were public spaces everyone can be in.

Josh: no comment

Jill: this started the Friday before (9 days ago), she and Josh and Bernard and Chinhae and some others were there. They brought up Phils housing but not evictions, and when Phil was leaving he said if you want to talk about someone you should talk to them about it. All three of them mentioned Phill taking his meds to him. All three said it, and Jill felt they kinda ran him off. Phill responded, but Josh wasn’t the only one who said anything. That was Friday, and things only went off from there.

Josh: so I was not the only one, and people did say differently in their testimonies.

Quinn: wanted to mention that Josh isn’t the only one to mention meds, feels like its a bit of a double standard. This has been discussed at meetings and many of us have mentioned Phils meds so we are all guilty of this. It did sound like Leah said they are the steward 24/7 and that may have caused Josh’s response. Josh has been regularly interfacing with Phil for a year, and one break is not a failure.

Robbie: respects the idea that the steward has time off, but in reality the person speaks with the steward voice all the time. Bringing up someones’ medication is not appropriate and is near to housing discrimination. Josh had an incident where they lost their temper and stormed out. The inability to separate emotion is problematic.

Josh: Who owns La Reunions lease? Who is the head of nasco?, Daniel Miller said that I am not the steward 24/7.

Phoenix: when people were member reviewed you don’t come up to people and say they are going to get evicted, that’s not how this works. Cannot tell someone they will be evicted just because they want to, we have a voting system here to handle things like this.

Quinn: we went through the whole democratic process, and they believe the member review was violated and they don’t want Phil to get evicted because they are concerned. Josh was saying if Phil behaves in this manner he will probably get evicted.

Phil: Case manager came over a while back about the behavior contract. The agreement was for him to go to officers with issues, they asked Josh a question, but Josh flipped out. Phil worked it out with his roommate. Phil felt discriminated against, Josh was aggressive. Maybe drinks a little, but has a limit, but Josh was harassing him about drinking, but that’s none of their business. Phil is nice to everyone, but they have stuff going against them. Treats people with love and respect. The officers have rules to obey. All the rules are in the contract. Gets along with his roommate, everything with him has been worked out.

Cory: I want to flag that Josh’s statement was that Phil was talking to them and bugging them, but Josh hasn’t said what exactly Phil said. This is important because if Phil needs information, then that is important for us to know. Fair housing discrimination can apply to everyone if they are an officer or not. Josh was making statements that Phil has to get out, he has to leave, we have to call his case manager. We cannot tell people where they can live. Josh is not the only one who can post member reviews. Most of us know about the incident but nobody posted a member review.

Josh: Me shouting across the courtyard about taking meds never happened. Discussed talking to Phils case manager.

Radish: on the note of when you are an officer you always speak as officer, the difference is treating people charitably. Will say the reactions have not been great, could be better. Thinks Josh could do good going forward.

Cathrine: In regards to talking about medication, the conversation was hush at first, but Josh did yell across the courtyard about medications, which is a different thing.

Stormie: When I was moving stuff Josh yelled ‘I am done helping you until you get on your meds’. People are saying your words will reflect as the steward, so when people come with concerns then you are an officer.

Josh: wants to clarify something that Leah said, that Leah apologized for not doing a better mediating, then there is an anonymous person said that Leah was exasperating the situation

Leah: I used very neutral language in the email to try to make communication better.

Josh: loudly and abruptly yells ‘NO that is not what happened’

Leah: I have appreciated the hard work and that they have done, but all the officers have a lot of extra stuff to deal with. Josh yelled and erupted. To Radish: this doesn’t seem like a blip, josh doesn’t see that they did anything wrong, has no introspection.

Radish: Has changed her view, some of this is understandable. Is a little disappointed by Josh’s childish conduct

Quinn: wanted to call back to when one of Phils roommates was threatening to evict them. The roommate that Phil is referencing had clear grounds to move forward with Phils eviction, but Phil feels his roommate is threatening to evict him but isn’t. Too Cory: Phill is on a behavior contract that was violated, so it seems we should try to get the best of both worlds so he is happy with his housing and we don’t want to evict him. It seems tough for Phil for us to be able to talk about eviction but not be able to talk about getting him better housing.

Robbie: To Phil: who was threatening to have you evicted?

Phil: My roommate has talked about having him evicted, talked to case manager, but she won’t talk to people without Phils permission.

Kate: Regarding incident about putting Phils member review up, the first time she heard about this was at the mediation meeting. Hadn’t heard about that beforehand, and if someone wants a behavior contract, that should be added as an agenda so everyone can discuss it. Phils case manager said several months ago that some sort of assisted living situation was not possible with Phils fixed income.

Cory: Josh has done a lot to aggravate the situation by getting several board members and Danial miller involved. The board has had three meetings about this, but Josh wanted to pull rank and make threats.

Josh: reaching out has helped a lot and I have met some very good people and is grateful for reaching out to everyone.

Cory: Josh has requested to not talk to most of the house. They do not want to talk most of the officers, so that presents some logistical issues for being steward.

Josh: I want to not talk to them only as long as I say

Bernard: we don't have cliques here. We had a meeting where we discussed handling issues at the house level. Josh cut everyone off, didn’t want to deal with officers. You can’t fulfill a position if you can’t talk to most of the officers. People won’t interact and know how to help each other. Two people are here from the board and Josh is whispering to them secretly when we are having a member review.

Josh: I told them I’ve already lost and I love you. Then asked if I could come to Sasona after this.

Bernard: I have told you that I love Josh with all their heart but their actions here are why this officer review is happening. Josh wants to have everything the way they want but not listen to anyone else. Has painted everyone else as the enemy. When I speak with Phil, I do it respectfully.

Phil: Bernard always talks to me with respect

Bernard: Josh, you didn’t come to the house with problems.

Richard: it is 9:00pm, we are having a straw pole to extend meeting by 15 minutes

All hands are raised for meeting extension.

Bernard: an officer who throws tantrums and doesn’t give people a chance to work with them isn’t going to work. Bernard has to work with a lot of people and there are lots of times it’s hard but they work it out.

Leah: to quote Josh in an email ‘it was clear from the start that the house cannot handle the situation’ Josh accuses them of acting in bad faith, and they cannot trust the words of the officers

Josh: we will see who is correct with nasco.

Leah: The email betrays that your concern is for yourself, not the house

Chinhae: you are going to continually not take criticism well. You made my husband run away with your behavior. Your anger has been the center of this entire situation. You have had these outbursts

Josh: interrupts Chinhae to say this is not what happened, then walks away

Chinhae: I am not going to finish because Josh walked away

Josh’s friend: respects everyone for being here for a few hours. This is sometimes how people react and break, this should have been put off until later to avoid this explosion.

Kate: does Leo want to say Josh’s closing statement?

Leo: no, that was just for me

Richard: It is 9:15 we are doing a straw poll to extent the meeting by 15 minutes

All hands are raised to extend meeting

Jill: Josh’s outburst was just a reenactment, to show what happened. Still should not have happened.

Cory: Because of this whole ordeal, we may lose several officers because they have been burned out from this.

Richard: Everyone gets a ballot, write yes to remove Josh from steward position, no to remain.

Results of pole:
20 votes to remove steward
1 vote to not remove

The steward is removed from position

Cory: we can appoint an interim steward until the election takes place

Stormie: I volunteer for interim steward

There are no other volunteers.

Cory explains to Stormie the basics of being the steward.

Kate: I am not running for treasurer at upcoming elections, I can give anyone the information they need to do the treasurer position, like knowledge about quickbooks. I can answer any questions about the job.