Present: Paul (minutes), Cory, Kate, Bernard, Graham, Joshua, Chinhae, Philip, Len, Stormie (facilitator), Dwain, Logan, Lorenzo, Jennifer, Leah, Russ

Amelia (first meeting), Tiff (first meeting)

Minutes approved.

Joshua is working on coordinating with a local liberation group.

(Lorenzo) I am needing a payment plan for my rent and deposit.

Lorenzo: I have a job now. I couldn't get a job previously without a place for my dog. I'll be able to pay much of it back with my first paycheck on Friday.

Russ: I'm the bookkeeper. It would be $339 for the deposit, with most of a month's rent as well. It's on the contract.

Lorenzo: I can pay weekly.

Russ: How long would it take for you to pay that back?

Lorenzo: Within a month.

Russ: This is a unique situation because normally we don't extend payment plans for security deposits. Since he's in the apartment now, I think we should honor that with a payment plan.

Cory: It's not something I like or think we should do regularly, but there's precedent. We should ensure the pet deposit too.

Point of information: That's another $50.

Lorenzo: I understand the payment plans and that this is serious.

Unanimously approved.

(Stormie) Discuss rules for move in and move out as well as who has the ability to tell a potential member that they can move in. There was an issue where it was found out after the fact that someone had moved in prior to paying rent or deposit without house approval. They were told by non-officers that they could move in prior to paying first months rent and deposit and that “the coop is very lenient and won’t mind”.

Paul: This is the membership coordinator's role, or the Steward if there's no MemCo. Please don't do this. It makes the MemCo's job very hard.

Logan: I'll be honest, I did this. I knew he was in a tough place financially. We weren't able to coordinate signing contracts together because of conflicting schedules, and I thought it would be OK while he was within the guest visitation threshold.

Chinhae: I know there were delays contacts and communicating when we first signed leases.

Leah: The deposits were already in, though, which implies a contract as well. What we've been told is that the guest policy is not very relevant to the legality of whether someone stays here.

Logan: We did understand and wanted to get the contracts signed ASAP.

Paul: There isn't a guest to resident pipeline in our rules. A judge would just see that someone went through the residency process and then started living here.

Cory: Residency is a fuzzy thing. Are you sleeping there? Is a bunch of your stuff there? Do you have a key? There's a slope that people can slide down.

Stormie: Lorenzo had not been formally told by the MemCo that the room was his when he moved in. There's residency concerns and squatter's rights and all kinds of other issues.

Len: I thought a week turnaround would be OK. I was busy with my full-time job. I've had several people move out without telling me, and now this. It's not a fair situation. I'm trying to get it all fixed ASAP. For the sake of me and for the community, please don't do this.

Russ: I think everyone here had good intentions. There's no blame here. But MemCo does have certain legal requirements as a gatekeeper for providing housing.

Joshua: MemCo & Steward are some of the hardest positions. People being off-lease was definitely one of the most-stressful situations while I was Steward. Think about your actions and what they'll do to officers. They're already positions that'll burn people out.

Joshua: I'm tearing down my room. I've got a nice computer desk and two television stands. Some people might have first dibs, but there's a chance they'll be available. I'll also be donating a computer/monitor combo to the commons.

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Leah: We've been invited to a co-op fair on the 19th of October. If people want to table for that, that would be welcome. 6-8 pm. Wilhelmina, near Airport & 35. <Several people volunteer.>

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Stormie: With going back to school and my new job, I don't have regular open office hours anymore. Please email me about issues. I'll also be covering MemCo this week - please email me about those issues this week as well.

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UFCU account is opened, and the board is working on setting up Divvy so we don't need to card-swap with the treasurer.

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Return your co-op plates and bowls!