Present: Stormie (facilitator), Len, Chinhae, Graham, Bernard, Paul (minutes), Corey, Radish, Quinn, Dwain, Kate, Logan, Phoenix, Philip, Robbie, Leo, McAllen, Joshua

Beryl (second meeting, accepted), Ivy (second meeting, accepted) Lorenzo (first meeting)

Minutes approved.

Tracy & Jared signed their labor contracts.

(Russ) Request clarification on the following text: If, by the 21st day of the month, a payment plan agreement is printed and signed by the NGS member, OR THE AMOUNT DUE PLUS ANY LATE FEES HAVE BEEN PAID IN FULL THE MEMBER RETURNS TO GOOD STANDING.

During my term as bookkeeper I have given members the option to remain in good standing, and allowing the balance to remain at or below 0.00.

How do we define, “THE AMOUNT DUE…”?

Does the 0 apply only if they are in good standing and once they aren't then the whole balance becomes due plus any late fees?

Thanks.

(Russ is not present, so there is no discussion.)

(Quinn) It has been two weeks since staple food requests have come in. I have concerns about the feasibility of cooking food. Food buying consistency has been an issue for a while.

Quinn: We've had problems with food supply in the kitchen. Turnaround time on food buying requests has been long. We've been out of staples for a while. I don't know if Food Not Bombs is contributing, but other people have mentioned the possibility. This is not a new problem. I've seen the inadequate turnaround time for months now. This is the first time I've put up an item about it.

Quinn: Most of you know I've been Friday cook for a while. I've struggled to cook full meals with what's available. I've talked to other cooks with similar concerns.

Logan: When there is stuff in the commons for use, some of it seems to be people supplementing the pantry with their own supplies and money.

Corey: Are we hitting our budget or not? Do we need to cut back on meals or change what we purchase?

Quinn: I'm also curious about the budgetary use. I know my requests would only be a small part of that pie.

Stormie: Would it be feasible to make a for-cooking-only zone? <Several people agree.>

<Lyssa the food buyer arrives.>

Lyssa: I'm down with a for-cooking zone. I'll take input on which day I can be here. I just started a new job recently so I've been distracted.

Radish: It'd be good to get an email when a purchase is made, with information on what was purchased/not purchased and why. It is part of the requirements of food buyer.

Lyssa: OK, I was just handed the card.

Quinn: I'd love to see once-a-week food buying. I think a good time to buy would be after the food donation comes in, since we get good staples sometimes from the donation - onions, potatoes, tomatoes, and so on. I just need the basics to make meals, everything else is optional.

Stormie: Can cooks label their requests with amounts and their names, so we can help determine amounts?

Lyssa: Sometimes I do a pantry check, sometimes I just go by what's requested.

Robbie: It's important to keep an eye on quantities and update them as necessary, even if that's just once a week during the purchase.

Radish: I want cook requests to have priority. <Several people agree.>

Kate: Other staples are important - rice and maybe canned or dried beans, staples that will last.

Quinn: I'd also love to see weekly restock levels for different foods. If we can have a list with the food buyer that would go a long way.

Bernard: What if cooks have individual plastic bins, labeled, to set aside food for their meals? <Several people agree.>

Question: What's the budget?

Point of information: It's $400/mo, so about $100/wk.

Lyssa: I also have to get delivery since I don't have a car.

<Paul & Stormie agree to potentially drive to the grocer's sometimes on Mondays.>

Stormie: So we've got a restructuring plan for the kitchen.

Corey: Board meeting this Thursday.

–

Robbie: What's up with the fig tree?

Stormie: The fig tree will be cut down significantly, but like a bush, not like a tree. It might be allowed to regrow for future people living in the unit.

–

Stormie: I signed some contracts with a DocuSign free trial. I know we discussed DocuSign being expensive - for the year it's $85 for non-profits.
Corey: Make it to the board meeting. They've been having broader discussions about document retention. We should probably standardize on something between the houses, but right now the houses have very different policies.

Stormie: I was thinking about CHEA doing it for the houses, Hardy House too. DocuSign also has integration into Google Drive.

–

Leah: A journalist wants to potentially do an NPR story about La Reunion. It sounded like a pitch, not a done deal yet.

Stormie: Since it was a gmail account, it might've been a KUT student.

Point of information: I'm a little nervous it's people trying to scam or misrepresent us.

Leah: They want to do email and possibly voice interviews.