12/19/11
Hi all,
These are really rough because I was facilitating (and didn't realize no one was taking notes! sorry!!) ---
what was on the agenda
- coordinators for this group: Greg Murphy (Facilitation) and Jay Kelly (Signs)
- next meeting (agreed to Friday at 6pm, most likely at E5? -- other meetings?)
- timeline (proposed Dec as research month, January as next phase, but looks like there was strong support for a Jan 1 deadline for finding a space)
- sharing prior research about space (Jay's realtor brother-in-law, Greg's meeting with Access Strategies' Kelly Bates and funder, Paul J's research on downtown spaces)
- sharing visions of an indoor space and expectations (roundtable: each person shared a vision of the space)
- HUD and the homeless (coordinating an indoor space option that would allow the homeless activists to receive benefits from HUD. Nicole and Cherie spoke to this issue...)
Some questions raised about space---
how local? (Chinatown? North Station? What about JP? etc.)
what's our price point?
do we want a short-term solution as well as a long-term solution?
do we want separate work spaces and living spaces? or just a work space? (24 hr. use subject to zoning laws)
OB would have to sign a lease as a legal entity e.g. 501c3 (who would be willing to sign for us?)
see also below, where I wrote down as much as I could what everybody in the circle said for a vision of the space....
Prior research--
Jay: set up meeting with agent. Going to look at 105 South St. $10,000/mo rent for a space like E5, as well as other spaces in the area on 12/20 and on 12/23.
Paul J.: called area for-rent spaces. Price points are like $30/squared foot for 2400 square ft. space.
John Murphy and others: Peace Abbey facing foreclosure. Discussed a regional Occupy space at the Peace Abbey.
Greg, with a friend whose name I forgot( sorry!) briefly spoke about Democracy Center (Harvard Sq.)'s willingness to host us, but noted that the largest space available is for 80 people (smaller meeting rooms available for WGs) and that we're risking confirming the worst stereotypes about the movement, if we settle in Harvard Square. Greg also spoke about a meeting with Access Strategies, which links funders with communities in need and community orgs. At this meeting he met a funder (Greg Jobin-Leeds - sp?) interested in funding a space in Boston for activism and activist development. Funder interested in creating a space shared by many community organizations...
other brief discussions: our over-reliance on E5, OWS renting office spaces, church spaces and going to unions for help with renovation, zoning laws and commercial spaces re-built for tenants.
Visions of the space --
Greg - storefront, 6-10 meeting rooms at the top, 300-500 person space for GA, kitchen, laundry, showers..
Greg's guest also shared her vision, but I caught only a question about whether we want a temporary or a permanent space, for example an office space for 2-3 months..
John Murphy - shelter for the houseless, no space for GA necessary, showers, kitchen, laundry, open floor format (like E5, where we can set up partitions for offices etc.)
Jay - central Boston location, residential and commercial space (2 separate spaces), kitchen, showers, partitioned offices
Sage - long-term, ultimate progressive space, short-term offices and housing, human functioning space with amenities like showers, etc.
Eric - working space and living space with amenities
Kendra - didn't catch most of it! sorry! I think she agreed with what has been said and asked a question, which I also didn't catch...
Paul - storefront (info, library, OB merch on sale), lounge for students etc to hang out, office spaces upstairs, as well as mailboxes, showers, and other amenities geared towards houseless community. Paul urged Jan 1 deadline and urgency of the issue of indoor space.
Nelson - space like E5, mentioned Edinborough and Essex corner storefront space, headquarters space in DT Boston...
Nicole - raised possibility of emergency shelter for the houseless. Spoke about list of public housing and, with Cherie, asked that the headquarters space uphold the values of Dewey Square Tent City.
Katharine - (from Info) I didn't catch what she was saying...
Cherie - storefront and living space, co-op living, Food not Bombs providing food... spoke about HUD issues.
John Ford was there also, I've no record of what he said...
Next Steps---
Jay, John M. and others to follow up on meetings with agent that showed them commercial spaces
Nicole will look into zoning laws?/a model emergency shelter and how to set one up/HUD issue?
Cherie will find out more about HUD issue
Paul will continue to look at local commercial spaces for rent..
Greg will follow up with Ian from Democracy Center and with Kelly from Access Strategies..
anything else I'm forgetting?
Next meeting looks like Friday at 6pm. Check back for the exact location. Please make an announcement at Thursday's GA about the next meeting of this group!
-Anna