===== Agenda Item 1 ===== (Jessi) Thymel's membership Alice, Alex, Bailey W (Star), Jessi, Kaycie, Mae, Matthias, Vic, Ruth, Olivia, Rowan Guests: Thymel, Owen, Owen Jr., Kate, Cory, Daniel, David M Jessi: I tried to uphold the line as best as possible. It wasn't until today until we got a response from rosewood - read during meeting and sent to house. There is concern from rosewoods side about the money missing from the books. They explained that Thymel paid a friend with PayPal but the fees were taken out. The friend refunded the money. The house said she still owes rosewood the money. I want to give the floor to the community to see what concerns we have with thymel's pending membership Alice: Want to ask why Thymel couldn't be here for this Jessi: we thought it would be best for members only Alice: I disagree Mae: She paypaled someone at rosewood the $150 Jessi: yes. there was back and forth. They refunded through PayPal and wasn't enough money to pay for. They take out fees for vendor side of things. Matthias: just to clarify on that. if they were to pay, they would have to put the fees in as well so rosewood would have to pay the fees. This is why we don't do this. We're not set up for PayPal. Caleb you lived at rosewood could you share the type of environment and related to how its different from here if you are comfortable Caleb: its been at least 4 years and there was such high turnover. I don't think I could contribute anything that relevant Rowan: I think it should 100% by money order and we shouldn't excuse that. I would like to have specific info why Starr: tonight I kind of avoided Thymel. I want to know if anyone knows if she brought in a money order or how she intends on how to pay for future payments David: would it make a difference if she did have a money order right now Jessi: the concern with the $150 missing with rosewood - the concern we have is the inability to pay rent which is an evictable event. The fees does make it more complicated. From what were receiving from rosewood, Thymel is not accepting accountability. The biggest concern is the financial issue and they had a social issues come up which led her leave abruptly. David if you could help talk about thymel taking legal action against rosewood Matthias: I will not be living so take with grain of salt. I remember that someone said she could cover the fees if there were fees. All that is mute because we are not accepting PayPal. All that matters to us is that she will have to pay through a money order initially and after. this is the part that needs to be clarified. As for $150, our rules say if someone owes another party (not chea) that's between the two parties and is not on us. There seems to be confusion on how rosewood took payments and how they are managing funds. How we do things may be more secure and consistent. If anything, we should learn from them not to do this stuff. Olivia: the idea that thymel's friend had an arrangement to pay rosewood on her behalf. I feel like I would have a social responsibility to give it all back. We're talking about an amount that's less than 150 which sounds more inter Kaycie: its really confusing for Thymel and she is unclear and I gave her clarity. I think it is an issue of communication. I think it would give us more clarity to have her discuss this with us. I think she is willing to do the money order but was just confused about the process Olivia: despite my confusion, I think money orders and checks Mae: I feel like we ought to know where we stand. if she agrees to have the money order for all future payments and Kaycie: I could more info from her about the rosewood situation. there are things we don't know. She says she is cool with paying her rent through Zelle and money order Ruth: that's not the whole thing Rowan: I don't feel super concerned about the amount owed to rosewood. it seems like a problem between friends. I am concerned about the word dangerous that was used with rosewood. From the financial side, I am not worried as long as its paid through the money order Alex: I am wondering what are the payments that cause such trouble and why did it take two weeks David M: kaycie said she can pay through wise. wise is an international transfer. maybe she is confused. anytime someone talks about taking legal action I let the board know so I did that. I do not want this to be directed towards sasona or CHEA. My job is to help this organization be protected from these things Matthias: when you brought that up, it was in response to the $150. David M: there is interpersonal stuff - has to do with false advertisements. what was told to me was that rosewood told them nudity was allowed. Ruth: what was the conversation you had about it not being a fair housing problem David M: it didn't seem like a fair housing issue at all. it was communicated to me by him that there is no fair issue housing in my mind so we can say yes or no Jessi: failure to pay debt on a previous housing. this rule does not say CHEA in it Starr: I just pulled up evictions in wiki. Specific grounds for eviction: 4.2 debt owed on previous contract. it doesn't specify CHEA or anything Jessi: there is the social aspect. Thymel felt it was in best interest to leave rosewood and it may have to do with nudity not being said upfront. someone brought up so we need to be super clear on fleas, noises, labor shortages. What we're hearing from her about rosewood is happening in sasona. we need to be clear on our end of things. 8 to 3 thumbs up. Kaycie: we thought we could clarify some questions. we need to understand the way your going to pay and the amount you owe to rosewood Thymel: I don't owe them anything and they owe me back my deposit. I checked wise yesterday if its possible to transfer balance from mine to yours Kaycie: thank you for explaining Matthias: everyone in this community pays a money order - its a piece of paper that is like a check. It's worth cash. Check could be no good. With money order, . The reason we have done it this way is because sometimes the money isn't there. There are different locations throughout the city. The money order is specifically worth that amount of cash no matter what. the reason we do the money is for the deposit so we have that at least. we take the amount of first months rent. After that, you can pay with a check, a money order or zelle. Thymel: I didn't understand that before. I need a guide to get a money order. Jessi: I go to heb Thymel: ok I don't think it will be a problem. I think we can find a solution for that. I would prefer more flexibility because sometimes I have different accounts (French, Belgium, American). I think its possible I can find a solution. zelle is only for America. so for the second payment I can do money order. Matthias: you don't want to lose it. its like having cash Thymel: sometimes like tomorrow if my application I will go to HEB tomorrow to make that happen. they can take my cash too. I have my debit card but to convert euro to US I try to use some platform. it cost be $50 to do Rowan: will you be able to get a money order every month Thymel: yes Matthias: the first of every month is when rent is due. you have a 3 day grace period. Alice: you can also get a money order from the post office. Jessi: only 69 cents at HEB fees are greater Jessi: the story that rosewood has is that they received $600 cash and the remaining $130 was paid to a person and then that was paid through a vendor. they are saying the full amount was refunded back but then there was a large social issue in which you decided to leave. the $130 never got paid. ThymeL; that is not true. they did not give all of the information. I said I need to pay with wise or PayPal. they said it was no worries and they gave an account to wire. they never gave an international number. it was ok to give some cash and give the rest with PayPal. when I paid the PayPal, it was the same day I gave cash. Luke said I will refund you the money and when you receive the money and you will need to refund me back. I receive anything from. i can show you the texts. after that, I had a lot of issues and say I cannot stay there and we need to find a solution. a lot of information was given on the phone and its not possible for me to stay. the culture you presented me was not accurate. I tried to be very respectful and they don't want to talk about a positive solution for back. I say what is the option. some people are coming to the house and I didn't feel safe. they don't want to talk. my safety is the most important thing so I said I can get an Airbnb and clean the room. i sent an email asking if I could get the deposit back and I sent my paypal receipt. this is something you need to figure out the issue. I was disappointed because the first meeting I said I had a bad experience and I applied to sasona before rosewood. you didn't have the capacity to let me apply if I didn't come to dinner so I said I was going to find something else. I want to take the next step and I will let them keep my deposit and forget this happened. this was not a good experience Jessi: I'm hearing a financial thing and I'm hearing there is a social concern that you have over there. a lot of the stuff we are hearing are some of the same issues we have. recently, we have had fleas which leads to worms and pet noise. hopefully, that is on the way out. there is a lot we are hearing is also present here. We are wondering if you could clarify what the issue was Thymel: the issue I had it was the culture. I really want a diverse age and different background. everyone has their own identity and a little tribal and I didn't feel accepted and comfortable. The safety with the homeless people. this was not information. people would wake me up at 4am with. I know that when we live in community nothing can be perfect. I have a limit and sometimes it was too much. I really love dogs and the negligence broke my heart. no alignment in culture, safety and comfort. Korina: I never used checks or money orders until I came to this house so that made me nervous. I have been paying with HEB - if you have cash they will give it to you. I would recommend HEB for. I don't know if memmal lives there this. I lived with memo first and I do remember memo being clear - its the same process for this house. we had a dinner outside and we were asking both questions. Thymel: I didn't have this experience. I was in new york Korina: its supposed to be the same process and it was for me. I asked about the nudity in the policy but its not just rosewood and there is a segment in the house policy's it says nudity is allowed as long as you put a cloth under you. the structure of the co op. I felt rosewood was pretty honest with me about what was expected and required. I knew what to expect and I chose not to live there because of different reasons - location. it feels weird Thymel: I was not available to meet them and I was in new york. every phone call was to wait two weeks. I never had the experience of people being naked. I never saw people before. my experience was bad and that's the reality. I have all of the proof. I have my experience living there for one month. all the information I asked - they said. I am not lesbian or gay and I have a lot of friends. I want to have diverse people around me. they are very oriented with LGBT and I tried but it was very tribal Korina: I appreciate you saying that and we are inclusive. we do have members aligned with the lgbt. I am not sure if they haven't said that but if you are choosing to live here at sasona - I would expect respect our community. I am concerned if you would feel safe here so anyone could come. I have very good friends that live at rosewood and loved it. Thymel: I don't want to criticize anyone. I thought they would be more affirmative and that's why I take my responsibility . you take 5% of my deposit and you take 5% of my deposit korina: this is another community and there is conflict that comes up every week or so. if you feel disappointed at rosewood, I feel a little nervous how you will feel living with us. I am sure its a matter of spending time with you. this house is not always perfectly clean and we try to take care of our pets as best as possible. if you already have your reservations, we have similar situations at this house. if you feel disappointed now, be open to the expectations not being super high. Olivia: in addition to HEB and post office, if you have an account at American bank is a lot. in addition to that, there's Walmart - don't do that. I still would recommend an heb but basically you hand over debit or cash but its like a check not relying on money coming later. Thymel: how long? Olivia: as fast as the person can take. the hardest part is getting out of bed and second part. thank you for clarifying the PayPal experience. I have limited experience so I have never experienced a refund working or not working. thank you for coming back and for giving us the grace to ask the questions. Alice: 7-1-2 motion passes Matthias: sasona, CHEA, has processes when you have issues with someone. understanding that - we have mediators so if there is a problem with an individual we have a process for that. understand there is a process for issues that you can work for at this house. I do remember you need a quiet space. we do have quiet hours from 11-6. doors you hear them and occasionally you will hear someone talking but you can always say something. its usually in the kitchen. ear plugs is a good process. a fan would be good. I just want you to be aware. Thyme: I think maybe what I can do is to get a different room that's more isolated Matthias: there is a process of seniority. someone Rowan: I think it would be beneficial to talk to someone who lived in that room Jessi: I loved that room and I like the windows. you do hear the door slam. it really depends on house culture. there's a reason we moved out Rowan: definetely in my room, I hear footsteps. at 9 or 10 there are definitely people coming in the door Kaycie: I lived in that hallway. its been quieter than the other ones. no one who lives there right now. I am moving out in a month. I like to feel like we have a culture where we can knock on peoples doors. I don't hear peoples footsteps. I want to acknowledge that it seems difficult. Thymel: are you using the living room Kaycie: Ruth: we have guests that sleeping Thymel: are you quiet in living room Kaycie: sometimes people talk. Ruth: if people don't close the door, I can but if people close it then its much better Thymel: it says minimum stay is 6 months. is that right matthias: our leases are 6 months. breaking a lease is $100 off your deposit. 30 days is typical. labor is super important. Rowan: it may be a problem if quiet hours are at 11 and you go to bed at 10pm. its not frequent that people hang in the dark side living room but its house policy for quiet hours at 10 Mae: I don't think its realistic that you wont always get the quiet time you want. there will be an adjustment period and there's no guarantee but I have found that most of the time people are quiet Jessi: I think we're getting in the weeds. Thymel: I am interested in associate membership Jessi: we have not made a decision yet to keep Thymel as a prospective member Matthias: I know I am not going to be living here but from what I'm hearing is they understand this house. the money situation is between them and we have clarified it how to pay and where to go. it is reasonable to allow them to make their own decisions if they want to move in here. Jessi: do we want to release the hold on room 3 and proceed as normal Kaycie: when I was outside, she said she would like to come by tomorrow morning. Bailey: we have an open membership policy and Justin wants the room kaycie: we held it this long Bailey: I try to let all prospectives know the time so they have an equal chance Matthias: I think the room should be back on the market - its money out the door. whoever the prospects are, we let them know to come on down and give us money Rowan: I feel a little concerned with the comment about LGBT community and I don't feel very clear about it Mae: wouldn't Justin have seniority Bailey: it hasn't been a month that he has been here so no Kaycie: I agree with Rowan. I wanted more clarification with what exactly was going on with the lgbt thing. I want to give her benefit of the doubt but also look out for our community. queer people are usually drawn to community. it seemed like she had an issue with the vibe of rosewood Matthias: I completely understand that there was an issue. I also heard her say she doesn't have a problem with the lgbt community and that her relationships included that. I think its a challenge for her to communicate because of language. I did hear the words coming out of her mouth VOTE TO EXTEND: 7 -0-2. pass kaycie: she was showing me videos of homeless people going through gates and re arranging things in the front of the house. I can see why she would have felt unsafe - she said there were mental health issues and brought it up to rosewood. she felt shut down with her concerns with safety and was met with more hositlity David M: it was communicated to me she wanted to call the cops. rosewood said we don't call cops unless its a dire emergency. Kaycie: it sounds like there was an issue to communicate - not sure if cultural or social issue David M: this was the issue told to me. sounded like there was a communication where maybe nuance lost and there was stuff related to LGBT and I didn't want to speculate Jessi: I'm hearing we're moving on like normal. Starr: I personally still feel unclear about the money that is or is not owed. my understanding is that a member of another community that's in good standing let us know this exists. I want to believe another co op member and I don't think they would tell us she owes an amount if she actually doesn't Rowan: I don't feel super concerned about the financial but I do with culture things. I am torn with following open member policy and am questioning how a decision should be made Jessi: I will quote this lovely question. read from second meeting question. Matthias: if were deciding whether to let someone in or not starr: I still feel concerned about grounds for eviction. as a LGBT person, I feel concerned with how we were characterized and feel worried about harassment. David M: if it is harassment, I was told she asked why we had pride flag up because it should be everybody. it was communicated with me that there were other people who were straight and was not just queer people . Matthias: Its important for people to learn and ask questions about things they may not understand. people should feel safe. in my experience with co ops, I have learned a tremendous amount about lgbtq and I was very naive. I thought I understood it but I would have never learned and experienced what I have if it weren't for a co op. I wouldn't have grown. Jessi: voting on letting Thymel in 2 kind of no 1 yes and a bunch of maybes Starr: its not the responsibility as a member of LGBTQ, I dont want to have to explain Cory: Double edged sword with open memberships. Open membership says compelling evidence. we wont have all evidence. do we feel comfortable saying this compelling enough evidence Korina: I'm not against it. I am concerned that there may be things that she comes across when she moves and we may not meet her comfort standards. iw would like us to think about existing members safety. to each their own, its a different thing when she moves in and both sides get to know each other and its up to everyone to determine their own comfort level. i would like to keep in mind the existing comfort levels - noise, lifestyles Jessi: vote to extend entire meeting: passes Jessi: if people don't feel like $150 is compelling evidence enough. barring compelling evidence, we can motion to move forward with Thymel with our membership process as normal. voting to proceed as normal with thymel's membership process. David M: concerning 130-150, my understanding is that rosewood said she owes this money. Thymel said she paid it and paid a persons personal PayPal (goods and services) and this would technically be a person to person transaction. who is responsible - was it on Thymel if this was a good idea or was it on the co op for taking responsibility for the payment Matthias: personally I am not swayed by that. I think we are very clear with how we do money here. that question that happened over there isn't going to happen over there. I am going to abstain for the vote. Kaycie: I am a little confused still about the situation. I feel like someone needs to sit down with her and look at the receipts on her PayPal account if we use this as grounds for compelling evidence. I was hearing that she thought she paid $150 - she accidently paid with the goods and services instead of friends and family. she said she never got refund back. there is a need for specific clarification so if that's what we need to determine I don't know if were ready for that Olivia: It doesn't feel like compelling evidence for. setting aside that it was to individual and, it doesn't seem an inability to pay - instead a payment going missing. voting anything other than abstain for me would be creating policy that doesn't already exist. I believe status quo - it feels to me like pause is over Starr: the reason were having this discussion is because I was asked if she could pay by PayPal or cash. I reached out to Matthias, Cory and then it was revealed she owed money to rosewood. in our wiki, it doesn't clarify that we only accept money orders for initial. Rowan:lets vote because I need to go to bed Jessi: we will unpause thymel's prospective membership status. steward and memco will notify Thymel tomorrow morning that the room hold is no longer in effect. Vote: 8-0-2 Kaycie: we need to be clear that other people == Agenda Item 2 ===== (Jessi) How to talk to the police Alice, Alex, Bailey W (Star), Jessi, Kaycie, Mae, Matthias, Vic, Ruth, Olivia, Rowan Guests: Thymel, Owen, Owen Jr., Kate, Cory, Daniel, David M ====== New business ======