Decision Log 2005 |
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Pasture Management Agreement with Dave Harwood
March 6, 2005
Posted Decision
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
Pasture Management Agreement between Dave Harwood and the Heartwood Pasture Team
February 2005
AGREEMENT GOALS
The goals of this agreement are to:
1) create and document a clear understanding between Dave and Heartwood.
2) help ensure that Dave¹s and Heartwood¹s needs are met; to create a win-win arrangement.
3) help ensure preservation and improvement of pasture health.
PASTURE TEAM LIAISON
The Pasture team, in collaboration with Dave, will assign someone from the team to act as liaison with Dave. The liaison¹s job will be to act as a conduit for all communications between Dave and Heartwood. The initial Pasture Liaison is Werner.
DAVE’S RESPONSIBILITY
1) LAND STEWARDSHIP – Dave will be working to improve the health and productivity of the irrigated land.
2) EDUCATION – Dave will work with those people who are interested in learning about the care and maintenance of the animals and the land. In conjunction with the Pasture team, he will write up a procedure on how to water, feed, and what to look for when you are in the pasture. He will also verbally communicate these procedures to anyone interested.
3) PURCHASING MATERIALS – For 2005 through 2007, Dave will pay for seed, amendments, or other materials that are used up or easily moved, including temporary fencing. Beginning in 2008, if it is decided he will continue to keep all the crops, he will continue to pay for the seed. If the pasture team and Dave decide that Heartwood gets some of the crops, the cost of seed and amendments will be divided according to who gets what. For example, if Dave keeps 50% of the crop, he will pay 50% of the seed/amendment cost. If perennial pasture seed is planted, Heartwood will pay for half the cost of the seed.
4) COMMUNICATION – Dave will be in close communication with the Pasture Liaison. He will work with the Pasture Liaison to ensure that they are working within the pasture team’s budget. Dave will communicate to the Pasture Liaison on pasture work that the people on the pasture team can help with.
DAVE’S AUTHORITY
1) FENCING – Dave is authorized to put up temporary fencing wherever he wants.
2) CROPS – Dave is authorized to plant any crop he thinks will benefit the pasture.
3) CARRYING CAPACITY – In 2005 and 2006, the spring, summer, and fall carrying capacity of the pasture will be set at 16 animals. More animals are desirable in the winter to add manure to the soil. In 2007 and thereafter, Dave is authorized to decide pasture carrying capacity.
In order to achieve the carrying capacity, supplemental feeding may be required, in which case the cost of the supplemental feed will be divided equally among all animals. In calculating carrying capacity and the share of purchased feed cost, a draft horse counts as 1.5 animals, a horse counts as one animal, and a donkey or a llama count as half an animal. With any other types of animals the pasture team in conjunction with Dave will decide on the number of units for steers, cows, sheep, goats etc.
4) PASTURE ROTATION – Dave is authorized to decide how animals will be rotated through the pastures and where they will be watered and fed.
Heartwood animal owners are welcome to express concerns to the Pasture Liaison about how their animals are managed on the pasture. The Pasture Liaison will communicate these concerns to Dave. Dave is encouraged to keep the Pasture Liaison informed of animal management plans.
DAVE’S RIGHTS
1) GRAZING – Dave has a right to 60% of the carrying capacity and Heartwood has the right to 40% of the carrying capacity. Beginning in 2008, if Heartwood and Dave agree, the split may be changed to 50%-50%. If they don’t agree, the split will remain at 60%-40%. If either party chooses to exceed its share of the carrying capacity and thereby put more animals on the pasture than the carrying capacity, that party will be responsible for the costs of supplemental feed to support those excess animals. There will be no grazing fee for Dave, associated with these grazing rights.
In any given year, if either party doesn’t intend to pasture as many animals as they are entitled to, the other party may pasture more than their share of animals up to the carrying capacity.
2) CROPS – Dave can raise crops on whatever irrigated pasture land is available after allowing for the grazing animals. He will be entitled to any crops that he raises in 2005 through 2007 with an option to extend that through 2009 if he and the Pasture team agree that it is warranted. Anyone wanting to use the irrigated land for purposes other than grazing must work with Dave to ensure that it is compatible. Dave may allow others to use the land, but is not required to do so.
3) MATERIAL OWNERSHIP – Dave owns any materials he has bought with his own money and has the right to remove them from Heartwood at his discretion.
HEARTWOOD’S RESPONSIBILITY
1) PURCHASING MATERIALS – Heartwood will pay for any permanent fencing materials, irrigation materials, and equipment purchases and rental. Dave will decide what will be bought and the Pasture Liaison will authorize the spending.
2) LABOR – Heartwood will make every effort to supply extra labor when requested by Dave. The Pasture team will give Dave a list of things they would like to help with.
3) TREES – Heartwood will be responsible for protecting any trees that they want protected.
4) COMMUNICATION – The Pasture Liaison will clearly communicate concerns and provide feedback to Dave. The Pasture team and Dave will have a minimum of two meetings together per year. The first one in the early spring to talk about plans and a second one in the fall for a review of the season.
HEARTWOOD’S RIGHTS
1) GARDEN AREA – Heartwood will retain complete control of the fenced in garden area (see map). It will be managed using organic gardening practices. They also retain the right to enlarge the garden area if they choose to.
2) MATERIAL OWNERSHIP – Heartwood owns any materials it has bought.
3) GRAZING – See the GRAZING under DAVE¹S RIGHTS section above.
HEARTWOOD’S AUTHORITY
1) FENCING – The Pasture team must approve the location of any permanent fencing.
2) PASTURE TEAM BUDGET – The Pasture Liaison will authorize any spending from the pasture team budget.
SPECIFIC AREAS OF CONCERN
1) WETLANDS – The area around the spring pond will be considered wetlands. The exact boundaries of the wetlands will be decided by the Pasture team by April 30, 2005. The boundaries will be added to the attached map and communicated to Dave.
Our goal is to promote the growth of diverse wetlands plants in this area and make it available to wildlife. The wetlands may be grazed for short periods of time approved by the Pasture team.
The drainage corridor (approx 70¹ wide) from the garden pond to the spring pond will be managed primarily as a wildlife corridor.
2) PRAIRIE DOGS – Prairie dogs will be discouraged by non-lethal means or by encouraging natural predators from living on the dam or in the irrigated pastures.
3) CHEMICALS – Any herbicide or pesticide must be approved by the Pasture team prior to use. Dave may use chemical fertilizer when he feels it’s necessary during 2005 and 2006.
4) DOMESTIC ANIMALS
A) ANIMAL FEED COSTS All animal owners will share proportionally in the cost of purchased feed based on the number of animals owned. In calculating carrying capacity and the share of purchased feed cost, a draft horse counts as 1.5 animals, a horse counts as 1 animal, and a donkey or a llama count as 0.5 of an animal.
B) NEW ANIMALS When a Heartwood resident intends to add an animal to the pasture, they must inform the Pasture team ASAP. The Pasture Liaison will inform Dave ASAP and no later than 1 month prior to moving the animal to the pasture. Dave is to inform the Pasture Liaison ASAP when he intends to bring a new animal to the pasture. The Pasture team in conjunction with Dave will write up a procedure for animal owners adding a new animal to the pasture.
For health reasons Heartwood needs to know the health history of new animals, including vaccinations, cogins test, etc. Dave will define exactly what is required by April 30, 2005.
Any new animals have to be quarantined (pastured by themselves) for 7 days when coming from a pasture and 14 days when coming from a barn. The owner of the new animal is responsible for fencing, feeding and watering them during the quarantine period.
ANNUAL REVIEW & AGREEMENT REVISIONS
In January, Dave and the Pasture Liaison will review how this agreement is working for both Heartwood and Dave. The agreement may be modified at any time if both Heartwood and Dave agree on the modification.
TERM OF AGREEMENT
This agreement will run for 5 years, from 2005 through 2009. Either Dave or Heartwood may terminate this agreement if they believe that the above agreements have been broken and a 60 day written notice is given. The cost of seed and amendments applied to not yet harvested crops will be reimbursed to Dave if the agreement is terminated by Heartwood.
ATTACHMENTS
1) Detailed Map of Pasture
2) NRCA management plan
3) Consensed community vision.
Steering Team Selection
March 14, 2005
Business Meeting
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
• Sandy Thomson, Brian Derry, Mark Waller, Alice Robbins & Lyn Goldberg will serve on the Steering Team for the 2005 term.
Tennis Court: Teams Agreement CFT
May 20, 2005
Posted Decision
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
• Once the tennis court is built and fully paid for, it will be gifted to the Heartwood Ranch HOA. The HOA will take ownership of and responsibility for the court, which means that all households (including the Outback) will have free and equal access to the court. A reserve for tennis court major maintenance will be created with a Reserve Cap of $2250, a Life Cycle of 15 years, and an Annual Contribution of $150. The Common Facilities section of the TEAMS agreement will be revised by adding “tennis court” to the list of facilities that the team is responsible for.
Telephone Line Ownership: Teams Agreement CFT
June 16, 2005
Posted Decision
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
• The Heartwood Ranch HOA will assume ownership and responsibility for maintaining telephone wiring in the cluster, starting at the green junction box just east of the common house on the north side of the lane and running to all of the individual houses, and including intermediate junction boxes. The Common Facilities section of the TEAMS agreement will be revised by adding “telephone wiring in the cluster, starting at the junction box just east of the common house on the north side of the lane and running to all of the individual houses, and including intermediate junction boxes” to the list of facilities that the team is responsible for.
Automatic Electronic Defibrillator
August 15, 2005
Business Meeting
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
• Heartwood Cohousing will apply to Heart Safe La Plata for an Automatic Electronic Defibrillator (AED). If successful, we will need to pay $900 (half the value of the unit) from savings. Since this will be an unbudgeted, extraordinary expense, it will need to be approved by the Steering Team. In addition, we will be responsible for up to $100.00 per year to maintain the unit. This can be budgeted as an expense of the Common House Team.
Tractor Parking Area
September 16, 2005
Posted Decision
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
The tractor COOP is retroactively asking for the permission to use the previously dug out and graveled area east of the North carport to park Lucy. When that area is no longer used for parking the tractor, the tractor COOP will restore it to its original condition.
Conflict Resolution Agreement Changes
September 29, 2005
Posted Decision
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
Conflict Resolution and Non-Compliance
While conflict is not a problem per se, indeed it is a normal and healthy part of community life, non-compliance can become a serious problem. We define non-compliance as a member repeatedly not honoring or following one or more of our agreements. In practice this will usually involve the interpersonal, communication and conflict resolution related agreements not being followed. As conflicts between sincere parties can presumably be resolved by following those agreements, conflicts that remain unresolved probably involve one or more parties not following those particular agreements in good faith. Furthermore, aside from these communication related agreements, almost everything else in our agreements is voluntary, and most of the few exceptions are in the covenants and can be dealt with legally.
In general, this process of conflict resolution works in the following steps, which should resolve conflicts where the parties are sincere and making good faith efforts.
1. The parties in conflict try to work it out together.
2. They may go to a team that has authority over the issue for help.
3. The parties or team may go to P&C, or the issue may become apparent publicly to P&C.
4. Members of P&C will talk to each party to evaluate what might help, such as mediation or facilitated dialogue.
5. P&C members or their appointees facilitate the mediation or dialogue.
6. At some point, the content of the conflict may reveal a need for changes or a decision regarding a policy, agreement, etc. by a team or the entire community.
Further StepsIf a member is in one or more conflicts with others that cannot be resolved with the process above, or if a number of similar conflicts occur with someone such that a pattern seems to be present, P&C may decide to call an Accountability Task Force (ATF). The Accountability Task Force will be established by P & C to work only on a specific situation, and will not function as an ongoing team. It will be composed of some members of P&C, plus other members who have been involved with the issue or whom P&C feels would help add balance, and who are reasonably acceptable to the parties involved.
The Accountability Task Force would serve independently of any other team, and would establish a constructive channel of communication when a member is repeatedly in conflict or breaking community agreements. The Accountability Task Force would not be called in unless attempts at conflict resolution were unproductive.
The formation of an ATF is community knowledge, including who are on it and the general issues and members involved. This alerts the community that a serious issue is being addressed, and anyone with input on those issues will be encouraged to approach the ATF. The ATF is expected to operate with discretion, and to protect the privacy of its discussions to the extent that it can while fulfilling its mission, although it may share necessary information with the Steering Team, P&C or other teams.
ATF Goals and ProcessWhen formed, the ATF will work expediently to achieve the following goals:
1. Gather information and clarify the specifics of the problem and its causes.
2. Put this understanding of the situation in front of the person(s) involved so they are clear about the effects of their behavior.
3. Support people affected by the behavior as necessary.
4. Restore harmony.
Although the ATF does not have power to compel anyone to do anything, all members are expected to respond favorably to a request from the ATF to have a conversation about their involvement in an issue brought before the group and to make a good faith effort to work cooperatively with the group to find a mutually agreeable solution to the issues. The ATF may decide to use one or more persons (who may or may not be members of the ATF and are reasonably acceptable to all parties) to facilitate parts of this process. This may involve seeking help outside the community membership.
If All Else FailsIf these efforts fail to resolve an issue, or if the problem persists or reappears, the ATF and/or P&C can decide to bring the issue to a special business meeting, where the entire community would be fully informed of all aspects of the history of the situation, hear from and ask questions of the member in question and others, and discuss what actions to take. ATF and/or P&C would facilitate this meeting, which would be open only to members, with the possible exception of any outside facilitators that have been working on the particular issue.
Ridge Name
December 12, 2005
Posted Decision
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
• Name the ridge running along the west side of the King’s Highway, "Queen’s Ridge".
March 6, 2005
Posted Decision
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
Pasture Management Agreement between Dave Harwood and the Heartwood Pasture Team
February 2005
AGREEMENT GOALS
The goals of this agreement are to:
1) create and document a clear understanding between Dave and Heartwood.
2) help ensure that Dave¹s and Heartwood¹s needs are met; to create a win-win arrangement.
3) help ensure preservation and improvement of pasture health.
PASTURE TEAM LIAISON
The Pasture team, in collaboration with Dave, will assign someone from the team to act as liaison with Dave. The liaison¹s job will be to act as a conduit for all communications between Dave and Heartwood. The initial Pasture Liaison is Werner.
DAVE’S RESPONSIBILITY
1) LAND STEWARDSHIP – Dave will be working to improve the health and productivity of the irrigated land.
2) EDUCATION – Dave will work with those people who are interested in learning about the care and maintenance of the animals and the land. In conjunction with the Pasture team, he will write up a procedure on how to water, feed, and what to look for when you are in the pasture. He will also verbally communicate these procedures to anyone interested.
3) PURCHASING MATERIALS – For 2005 through 2007, Dave will pay for seed, amendments, or other materials that are used up or easily moved, including temporary fencing. Beginning in 2008, if it is decided he will continue to keep all the crops, he will continue to pay for the seed. If the pasture team and Dave decide that Heartwood gets some of the crops, the cost of seed and amendments will be divided according to who gets what. For example, if Dave keeps 50% of the crop, he will pay 50% of the seed/amendment cost. If perennial pasture seed is planted, Heartwood will pay for half the cost of the seed.
4) COMMUNICATION – Dave will be in close communication with the Pasture Liaison. He will work with the Pasture Liaison to ensure that they are working within the pasture team’s budget. Dave will communicate to the Pasture Liaison on pasture work that the people on the pasture team can help with.
DAVE’S AUTHORITY
1) FENCING – Dave is authorized to put up temporary fencing wherever he wants.
2) CROPS – Dave is authorized to plant any crop he thinks will benefit the pasture.
3) CARRYING CAPACITY – In 2005 and 2006, the spring, summer, and fall carrying capacity of the pasture will be set at 16 animals. More animals are desirable in the winter to add manure to the soil. In 2007 and thereafter, Dave is authorized to decide pasture carrying capacity.
In order to achieve the carrying capacity, supplemental feeding may be required, in which case the cost of the supplemental feed will be divided equally among all animals. In calculating carrying capacity and the share of purchased feed cost, a draft horse counts as 1.5 animals, a horse counts as one animal, and a donkey or a llama count as half an animal. With any other types of animals the pasture team in conjunction with Dave will decide on the number of units for steers, cows, sheep, goats etc.
4) PASTURE ROTATION – Dave is authorized to decide how animals will be rotated through the pastures and where they will be watered and fed.
Heartwood animal owners are welcome to express concerns to the Pasture Liaison about how their animals are managed on the pasture. The Pasture Liaison will communicate these concerns to Dave. Dave is encouraged to keep the Pasture Liaison informed of animal management plans.
DAVE’S RIGHTS
1) GRAZING – Dave has a right to 60% of the carrying capacity and Heartwood has the right to 40% of the carrying capacity. Beginning in 2008, if Heartwood and Dave agree, the split may be changed to 50%-50%. If they don’t agree, the split will remain at 60%-40%. If either party chooses to exceed its share of the carrying capacity and thereby put more animals on the pasture than the carrying capacity, that party will be responsible for the costs of supplemental feed to support those excess animals. There will be no grazing fee for Dave, associated with these grazing rights.
In any given year, if either party doesn’t intend to pasture as many animals as they are entitled to, the other party may pasture more than their share of animals up to the carrying capacity.
2) CROPS – Dave can raise crops on whatever irrigated pasture land is available after allowing for the grazing animals. He will be entitled to any crops that he raises in 2005 through 2007 with an option to extend that through 2009 if he and the Pasture team agree that it is warranted. Anyone wanting to use the irrigated land for purposes other than grazing must work with Dave to ensure that it is compatible. Dave may allow others to use the land, but is not required to do so.
3) MATERIAL OWNERSHIP – Dave owns any materials he has bought with his own money and has the right to remove them from Heartwood at his discretion.
HEARTWOOD’S RESPONSIBILITY
1) PURCHASING MATERIALS – Heartwood will pay for any permanent fencing materials, irrigation materials, and equipment purchases and rental. Dave will decide what will be bought and the Pasture Liaison will authorize the spending.
2) LABOR – Heartwood will make every effort to supply extra labor when requested by Dave. The Pasture team will give Dave a list of things they would like to help with.
3) TREES – Heartwood will be responsible for protecting any trees that they want protected.
4) COMMUNICATION – The Pasture Liaison will clearly communicate concerns and provide feedback to Dave. The Pasture team and Dave will have a minimum of two meetings together per year. The first one in the early spring to talk about plans and a second one in the fall for a review of the season.
HEARTWOOD’S RIGHTS
1) GARDEN AREA – Heartwood will retain complete control of the fenced in garden area (see map). It will be managed using organic gardening practices. They also retain the right to enlarge the garden area if they choose to.
2) MATERIAL OWNERSHIP – Heartwood owns any materials it has bought.
3) GRAZING – See the GRAZING under DAVE¹S RIGHTS section above.
HEARTWOOD’S AUTHORITY
1) FENCING – The Pasture team must approve the location of any permanent fencing.
2) PASTURE TEAM BUDGET – The Pasture Liaison will authorize any spending from the pasture team budget.
SPECIFIC AREAS OF CONCERN
1) WETLANDS – The area around the spring pond will be considered wetlands. The exact boundaries of the wetlands will be decided by the Pasture team by April 30, 2005. The boundaries will be added to the attached map and communicated to Dave.
Our goal is to promote the growth of diverse wetlands plants in this area and make it available to wildlife. The wetlands may be grazed for short periods of time approved by the Pasture team.
The drainage corridor (approx 70¹ wide) from the garden pond to the spring pond will be managed primarily as a wildlife corridor.
2) PRAIRIE DOGS – Prairie dogs will be discouraged by non-lethal means or by encouraging natural predators from living on the dam or in the irrigated pastures.
3) CHEMICALS – Any herbicide or pesticide must be approved by the Pasture team prior to use. Dave may use chemical fertilizer when he feels it’s necessary during 2005 and 2006.
4) DOMESTIC ANIMALS
A) ANIMAL FEED COSTS All animal owners will share proportionally in the cost of purchased feed based on the number of animals owned. In calculating carrying capacity and the share of purchased feed cost, a draft horse counts as 1.5 animals, a horse counts as 1 animal, and a donkey or a llama count as 0.5 of an animal.
B) NEW ANIMALS When a Heartwood resident intends to add an animal to the pasture, they must inform the Pasture team ASAP. The Pasture Liaison will inform Dave ASAP and no later than 1 month prior to moving the animal to the pasture. Dave is to inform the Pasture Liaison ASAP when he intends to bring a new animal to the pasture. The Pasture team in conjunction with Dave will write up a procedure for animal owners adding a new animal to the pasture.
For health reasons Heartwood needs to know the health history of new animals, including vaccinations, cogins test, etc. Dave will define exactly what is required by April 30, 2005.
Any new animals have to be quarantined (pastured by themselves) for 7 days when coming from a pasture and 14 days when coming from a barn. The owner of the new animal is responsible for fencing, feeding and watering them during the quarantine period.
ANNUAL REVIEW & AGREEMENT REVISIONS
In January, Dave and the Pasture Liaison will review how this agreement is working for both Heartwood and Dave. The agreement may be modified at any time if both Heartwood and Dave agree on the modification.
TERM OF AGREEMENT
This agreement will run for 5 years, from 2005 through 2009. Either Dave or Heartwood may terminate this agreement if they believe that the above agreements have been broken and a 60 day written notice is given. The cost of seed and amendments applied to not yet harvested crops will be reimbursed to Dave if the agreement is terminated by Heartwood.
ATTACHMENTS
1) Detailed Map of Pasture
2) NRCA management plan
3) Consensed community vision.
Steering Team Selection
March 14, 2005
Business Meeting
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
• Sandy Thomson, Brian Derry, Mark Waller, Alice Robbins & Lyn Goldberg will serve on the Steering Team for the 2005 term.
Tennis Court: Teams Agreement CFT
May 20, 2005
Posted Decision
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
• Once the tennis court is built and fully paid for, it will be gifted to the Heartwood Ranch HOA. The HOA will take ownership of and responsibility for the court, which means that all households (including the Outback) will have free and equal access to the court. A reserve for tennis court major maintenance will be created with a Reserve Cap of $2250, a Life Cycle of 15 years, and an Annual Contribution of $150. The Common Facilities section of the TEAMS agreement will be revised by adding “tennis court” to the list of facilities that the team is responsible for.
Telephone Line Ownership: Teams Agreement CFT
June 16, 2005
Posted Decision
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
• The Heartwood Ranch HOA will assume ownership and responsibility for maintaining telephone wiring in the cluster, starting at the green junction box just east of the common house on the north side of the lane and running to all of the individual houses, and including intermediate junction boxes. The Common Facilities section of the TEAMS agreement will be revised by adding “telephone wiring in the cluster, starting at the junction box just east of the common house on the north side of the lane and running to all of the individual houses, and including intermediate junction boxes” to the list of facilities that the team is responsible for.
Automatic Electronic Defibrillator
August 15, 2005
Business Meeting
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
• Heartwood Cohousing will apply to Heart Safe La Plata for an Automatic Electronic Defibrillator (AED). If successful, we will need to pay $900 (half the value of the unit) from savings. Since this will be an unbudgeted, extraordinary expense, it will need to be approved by the Steering Team. In addition, we will be responsible for up to $100.00 per year to maintain the unit. This can be budgeted as an expense of the Common House Team.
Tractor Parking Area
September 16, 2005
Posted Decision
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
The tractor COOP is retroactively asking for the permission to use the previously dug out and graveled area east of the North carport to park Lucy. When that area is no longer used for parking the tractor, the tractor COOP will restore it to its original condition.
Conflict Resolution Agreement Changes
September 29, 2005
Posted Decision
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
Conflict Resolution and Non-Compliance
While conflict is not a problem per se, indeed it is a normal and healthy part of community life, non-compliance can become a serious problem. We define non-compliance as a member repeatedly not honoring or following one or more of our agreements. In practice this will usually involve the interpersonal, communication and conflict resolution related agreements not being followed. As conflicts between sincere parties can presumably be resolved by following those agreements, conflicts that remain unresolved probably involve one or more parties not following those particular agreements in good faith. Furthermore, aside from these communication related agreements, almost everything else in our agreements is voluntary, and most of the few exceptions are in the covenants and can be dealt with legally.
In general, this process of conflict resolution works in the following steps, which should resolve conflicts where the parties are sincere and making good faith efforts.
1. The parties in conflict try to work it out together.
2. They may go to a team that has authority over the issue for help.
3. The parties or team may go to P&C, or the issue may become apparent publicly to P&C.
4. Members of P&C will talk to each party to evaluate what might help, such as mediation or facilitated dialogue.
5. P&C members or their appointees facilitate the mediation or dialogue.
6. At some point, the content of the conflict may reveal a need for changes or a decision regarding a policy, agreement, etc. by a team or the entire community.
Further StepsIf a member is in one or more conflicts with others that cannot be resolved with the process above, or if a number of similar conflicts occur with someone such that a pattern seems to be present, P&C may decide to call an Accountability Task Force (ATF). The Accountability Task Force will be established by P & C to work only on a specific situation, and will not function as an ongoing team. It will be composed of some members of P&C, plus other members who have been involved with the issue or whom P&C feels would help add balance, and who are reasonably acceptable to the parties involved.
The Accountability Task Force would serve independently of any other team, and would establish a constructive channel of communication when a member is repeatedly in conflict or breaking community agreements. The Accountability Task Force would not be called in unless attempts at conflict resolution were unproductive.
The formation of an ATF is community knowledge, including who are on it and the general issues and members involved. This alerts the community that a serious issue is being addressed, and anyone with input on those issues will be encouraged to approach the ATF. The ATF is expected to operate with discretion, and to protect the privacy of its discussions to the extent that it can while fulfilling its mission, although it may share necessary information with the Steering Team, P&C or other teams.
ATF Goals and ProcessWhen formed, the ATF will work expediently to achieve the following goals:
1. Gather information and clarify the specifics of the problem and its causes.
2. Put this understanding of the situation in front of the person(s) involved so they are clear about the effects of their behavior.
3. Support people affected by the behavior as necessary.
4. Restore harmony.
Although the ATF does not have power to compel anyone to do anything, all members are expected to respond favorably to a request from the ATF to have a conversation about their involvement in an issue brought before the group and to make a good faith effort to work cooperatively with the group to find a mutually agreeable solution to the issues. The ATF may decide to use one or more persons (who may or may not be members of the ATF and are reasonably acceptable to all parties) to facilitate parts of this process. This may involve seeking help outside the community membership.
If All Else FailsIf these efforts fail to resolve an issue, or if the problem persists or reappears, the ATF and/or P&C can decide to bring the issue to a special business meeting, where the entire community would be fully informed of all aspects of the history of the situation, hear from and ask questions of the member in question and others, and discuss what actions to take. ATF and/or P&C would facilitate this meeting, which would be open only to members, with the possible exception of any outside facilitators that have been working on the particular issue.
Ridge Name
December 12, 2005
Posted Decision
We consensed to approve the following proposal:
• Name the ridge running along the west side of the King’s Highway, "Queen’s Ridge".