Town Hall Minutes Oct 2021

Location: The Society – On Discord

Board in Attendance: 

Board:  Facilitator, co-facilitator, Secretary, Ombudsman, Member at Large, Treasurer, Archivist

Emeraldash taking minutes

Meeting Items:

  1. Call to Order – Facilitator   7:15 PM
  2. Quorum Check – yes
  3. Minutes

Vote – Approve September Board Meeting Minutes

  •   “To approve the September Board Meeting minutes except where noted by member concerns.”

Movant: Facilitator

Second:  Ombudsman

Approved:  11 approved, 0  unapproved,    2 abstention

Vote – Accept September Town Meeting Minutes

  • “To accept the September Town Meeting minutes except where noted by member concerns.”

Movant: Facilitator

Second: Ombudsman

Approved:   11  approved,  0  unapproved,  2 abstention

  1. Treasurer Report  Read by Treasurer as per website

i. Questions 

    Bartleby:  what are our fixed monthly expenses

        Answered by Treasurer

  1. Ombudsman’s Concerns

nothing pertinent

  1. Old Business 

Announcement of three new chairs:


Tasha as Education Chair 

Pleasantly unpleasant as Events

BrightnBitter as Outreach

        Building Committee:  

Co-fac as chair, Member at large as co-chair and Harlequinn is secretary/note keeper

Talked to a real estate agent and she is going to start looking at places, very familiar with our lifestyle and the society.  She is aware of what we are looking at and will do a search.  As i get more information from her i will be posting it to the committee so they will know.  

Bartleby wants to know what the fee is:

Flat 1% commission fee or one month rental. 

  1. New Business
    1. Vote on purchase Consent

Ombudsman:  One of the things that we discussed  was the idea of purchasing a location as opposed to renting or leasing.  I brought up that we need member approval for that and should get that first before seriously looking.   We need to hold a vote online that will ask if the membership will grant consent to the building committee to include purchasing as one of our options in purchasing a new place.   The vote will be announced on Fetlife (in response to bartleby asking).

Co-fac:  one of the things that the agent  brought up was purchasing rather than renting.  Basically the commercial market is a buyers market right now due to businesses going under or deciding they did not need a physical space.  

Owning means if something goes wrong we can handle it quicker rather than relying on a landlord.

There was discussion about the merits of renting vs. owning (pros and cons for both including costs, risks, etc.)

Harlequin asked what the proposed vote language was.

Bartleby:  Question: If we are aiming for a buy, and we are partially funding by an interested party, how to we handle our relationship with that person going forward? Will they hold a disproportionate amount of power? Is it a good idea to have them write a simple mortgage, so if things go sour, we are both protected?

Co-fac:  I assume we are talking about them acting as a loan agent.

Ombudsman:  that would be a membership vote.  I would recommend that they make it a donation.  NOt that they don’t get an influence in the organization.  They are making a donation.

Emeraldash asked what if they offered a loan:

Bartleby:  If they offered a loan, it would seem to take the position of a second mortgage, which is not as protected as a first mortgage, but if, in the worst case scenario, if we folded, could be treated as a tax loss, perhaps just as valuable as a donation re: tax write offs.

Ombudsman:  that would still have to go through member approval

Facilitator:  before the next town meeting we will schedule a vote of the three options:  rent, rent to own or outright by as options to pursue.

Bartleby:  Question, will there be a difference if we become a 501c before any purchase as opposed to after we purchase?

Harlequin:  There are tax benefits to 501c status for purchasing if we do it after purchase, less sure of the effect.

Bartleby:  It might be a good idea to check with an accountant to be sure before we commit ourselves.

Ombudsmans;  before we vote about re-organizing ourselves as a 501c i would recommend the board put together a document listing the pros and cons of both.

BlackCloud:  Additionally 501c3 or 501c4 which are quite different

b. Name Change:

Facilator:  In the past, the Society, as a name, has had different degrees of animosity towards it.  I am proposing that we change the name of the location, to something more.  We thought it would be a nice way to have members get involved if we gave them the option to suggest names. And then we narrow it down to three for a vote.  The new place wont be associated with mold and flooding and rats, etc.

Ombudsman:  A name change is a way of telling the community the bad old days are over, gone and buried.

There would have to be a series of votes.  FIrst, yes or no to changing the name.  After that, if approved, then we have a series of votes to hash out what the name is going to be.

Harlequin:  are we going to lose any name recognition or word of mouth?

Ombudsman: probably but i think it would result in a net positive in the end

Bartleby:  I think that our actions have removed stains that the organization has had.

Ombudsman:  yes, but mostly to those who are still active here.  

Bartleby:  I honestly believe that The Society has gotten its reputation back.  I have had my differences with the society.  I am totally amazed and appreciative of how people have come together.  I think that this is again an amazing organization that it was when i first came in the doors.  I’m proud of the organization and proud of the name.

Treasurer:  i am proud too and when i need to tell someone about The Society just saying The Society doesnt translate well with what we do.  I want to highlight a place where people feel comfortable with being themselves and being accepted.  Those are things i want to highlight in a name.  Personally i would want to have a name that highlights an important part that is giving to the community.

Harlequin:  I almost think it might be beneficial to take name suggestions before voting to change it, Blue makes a good point

Facilitator:  motion to go through the archives where the members voted to move to a non-profit and if it proves true, we implement that.

Second:  Member at large

c. Discussion of Discord Verification Process

Because we do not have a physical space and do not know people personally I propose that regardless of membership level, to have everyone use the current non-member verification method and limit people to 1 week to verify before  being removed for non-verification,

Contact a Verification Team Member in a Direct Message  and provide them with all of the following.

*Picture of a Government Issued ID, everything edited out besides your picture and DOB.

* a selfie of you containing the following items; a clear view of your face, and a piece of paper with your discord username & numbers, server name, the Verification Team members username & numbers and today’s date

* You have 1 week to verify your account or you will be removed from the server.

Voted:

    Approved:  11 approved, 0  unapproved,     0 abstention

  1. Motion to Adjourn:  8:42 pm

Movant: member

Second:  Ombudsman

all in favor: all in favor

motion passes

Meeting ended at: 8:43  pm

  1. Next Meeting Date: November 10th