OccupySacto.org

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Sunday, November 27, 2024 5:30 p.m. PST
Location: Cesar Chavez Plaza
Facilitator: Sara Beth
Stack Taker: Tiffany
Time Keeper: Kim
Minutes: Michele

1. Facilitation

1.1 Welcome

1.2 Introductions

1.3 Explanation of Hand Signals

1.4 Introduction of Agenda – report backs, old business (none), new business (none), announcements, adjournment, soapbox

2. Report Backs

2.1 Sara Beth – Facilitation Working Group

There was a well-attended meeting today – more people will be working with facilitation. The next meeting will be next Sunday at 3:00 pm in the park (with slight chance that it may be cancelled due to scheduling conflict). Will try to have meetings regularly in park on Sundays at 3:00 pm.

2.2 Sara Beth – Finance Committee

Sara Beth reported: She received a call from Darryl a few minutes before the GA started. OccupySacramento no longer has any money. There is no longer any money to keep the truck. It needs to be unloaded into someone’s garage at 18th & H and returned. Darryl is asking for volunteers to help unload the truck at 6 a.m. tomorrow. Without someplace to keep stuff and unload it, it will be very hard to have food, information table, and GAs in the park. A lot of people want to take this opportunity to regroup and leave the park for a while. Darryl is taking a step back to regroup. He has given of himself completely, including $2000 of his own money, hoping that there would be reimbursement. The number of individual donors we have had in Sacramento for the last eight weeks has been fifty.

Point of Information from Tiffany: We are trying to get a 501(c)(3). Maybe someone could announce a working group for that.

Discussion: Someone said that there was a vote announcing two or three people on a finance committee; she was concerned when people in the park come through and drop money in the piggybank, it doesn’t get put in the correct box or bank account and that is hindering the finance situation. Sara Beth said that Amani, Darryl & Mark are on the Finance Committee; Mark has been gone for a couple of weeks, Darryl is tapping himself out, and she hasn’t seen Amani for a while; it is a concern those people are not here to talk about it themselves; Darryl wanted to be here to talk about it, but couldn’t because of a scheduling conflict; there were not enough donations over the weekend to pay for the truck. Sea said that we stopped getting donations because we’ve been disorganized; it’s not that we can’t get organized; armies don’t fight during the winter – we can meet inside with less people, use the time to upgrade the information table and organize things, use normal organizational process rather than anarchic free-for-all; he would volunteer to work on organizing. Sara Beth stated that the folks occupying City Hall would undoubtedly stay.

Temp check regarding the process – whether to return to the agenda, which is very short (no new business, no old business), and continue the discussion on finances after adjournment. There was consensus on having the finance discussion after the very short agenda.

2.3 Tiffany – Nonviolent Communication Committee

There was a teach-in yesterday at 3 pm and we will continue to have teach-ins every Saturday at 3 pm.

2.4 Kim – Gender/Sex Issues Working Group

Every second and fourth Sunday at 2 pm, the working group will have discussions on gender issues. Today they discussed issues regarding sexuality and procreation. They are trying to form a women’s council and need more volunteers.

3. Old Business – None

4. New Business – None

5. Announcements

5.1 Anne announced a women’s council working group has been formed. There will be a screening on December 17 of the movie Thrive at 7:30 p.m. It is about the geopolitical, global picture being broken down and many different solutions offered. It is action-oriented – a two hour movie that points the viewer to the website. If any questions, contact AnneBrackett1@gmail.com.

5.2 Sara Beth announced that she will be here Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week. There are no GAs on Tuesday. We need someone to facilitate GA on Thursday (it will cover items that will be aggendized at tomorrow’s GA). Going forward, the general rule is that she will not be available Tuesday and Thursday. Tiffany stated that she could facilitate on Thursday, but she would need to leave the park by 7 or 7:30 pm.

6. Adjournment – 6:05 p.m.

INFORMATIONAL NOTE: After adjournment and soapbox, a number of people continued and/or joined the discussion about OccupySacramento finances. There was some support for an indoor location – somewhere to store supplies, meet where it is warm and dry – it wouldn’t mean that OccupySacramento doesn’t exist, just that we would be occupying somewhere else and regrouping for spring. There was some support for finding creative ways to fundraise and continue to occupy the plaza, at the very least to be able to keep the truck until a proposal could be made at tomorrow’s GA to put an agenda item on and have 72 hours to consider such an important thing as a move to an indoor location. There were discussions about the coordinating working group’s role and ways to respect the process agreed to by this group in previous GAs.

Sorry I haven't been able to attend meetings, but I have been helping out, and am concerned about the sustainability of the group.

Certainly spending $$ on a rental truck is not sustainable, and I'm shocked at how much Darryl spent! Something else has to be figured out.

The group has also been running a gas generator at the park for power, which is noisy, polluting, and costs a lot of $$ to keep running (not sure, maybe $100 a week?). We have been working on getting those solar panels working, but would need an inverter and maybe another battery, so probably another $300 (unless someone donates them). But after that we wouldn't be spending $$ on gas.

Also, I can tell you that getting your 501(c)(3) status is a pain in the ass!! And, get this: You'll have to designate leaders! Yup, can't get around that one.

Usually the national group (in this case OWS/NYC) would get nonprofit status, and it would apply to all of the "chapters" of that group. But I think our opposition to hierarchy and structure will have to change before we do something like this.

Also, you'll have to keep MUCH BETTER records of donations if you do become a 501(c)(3).

I support re-grouping, and thinking about how to make a more sustainable movement.