DNC Board Meeting Minutes - January 26, 2012

DNC Board meeting minutes

January 26 2012

Agenda

1. Opening and introductions
2. DISCUSSION: DTES gentrification weather report
3. Committee reports
1. LAPP
2. Shelters and homelessness
3. Street market
4. Tenant union strategy and Wolsey report
5. Treasurer and funding update

4. General meeting
1. Theme
2. Poster
3. Location and time
4. Outreach
5. Agenda

Present: Herb, Louie, Roland, Jada, Tami, Ivan, Paul, Jamie, Harold, Jen, Kelvin, Dave H.

Guests: Jacek

Chair: Herb

Minutes: Ivan

1) Opening
Chair: Herb
Clean-up: Harold, Jada, Ivan

Acknowledgement: Herb

Constitution: Read by Tami
Meeting end time: 7pm
Agenda amendments (moved Paul). (Passed unanimous)

• Table the point on the DTES Neighbourhood House

• Discussion instead on gentrification and what's happening in the neighbourhood

2) Discussion: Weather report on gentrification in the DTES

Ivan

- Economic and land based gentrification

- Cultural and ideological justification

Paul

• We should start naming the officers that are harassing us

Dave M

• Can we get the 'other side' of the story out? When they did the last series on City TV about BET cops there was no response from the community.
• Can we talk to the people making those shows and ask for a chance to respond?

Harold

• We need to figure out how to get a theme out publicly
• We are going to be launching our DT East at the end of February and we can deal with this problem there
• And because some of these projects are not in the DTES we need to make alliances with people near the Friendship centre where the eastern projects are coming
• And we should not deal with this one-at-a time but need ways to deal with it as a package
• Can we go after city policies instead of one project at a time?
• And we have other problems emerging, like the “Inner City Coalition” that is taking an aggressive pro-developer angle.

Paul

• Can we take take on our own media projects that shadow the cops when they go around with their camera crew?
• We can put it up on youtube and facebook and get the other perspectives out

Jacek

• I have tried to speak with the camera crew following cops a couple times and they just run off, they're not interested in getting neighbourhood perspectives

Jada

• I've noticed posters announcing “Notices of Filming” for most TV shows and movies that are filming in the DTES but never for the BET filming. Can we write something opposing this and asking for notice?
• Can we contact the city and get details for each of these development applications?

MOTION (Moved by Jada): To contact Tom Wanklin, senior planner for CoV, for details of the development permit applications for the coming projects, and write letters to council analyzing and opposing them. (Second: Harold. Passed, 1 abstention)

MOTION (Moved by Harold): To make “Weather report on gentrification in the DTES” the theme of the next general meeting. (Deferred to later in the meeting)

2) Committee reports

a) DTES Local Area Planning Process

Herb (reading Wendy's report)

• Meeting weekly with BCS and CoV
• Need to move towards moratorium on development during the course of the LAPP, BCS is so far agreeing to support us on holding off on rezonings.
• The only empty seats are SRA and Alive but they might come on board
• CCAP has received funding for a 10-workshop series to engage groups of low-income people divided by communities

Harold

• It seems to be a problem that the city is pushing things through too fast, we need space and time to get a process that works for us.
• They are producing a workplan that has no relationship with the Terms of Reference, and have buried the TOR in the appendix... while the workplan currently tends to remove the low-income community from the centre of the LAPP.
• The LAPP committee has basically formed and the first meeting will be the second week of February in the Chinese cultural centre.

Herb

• It's only a draft workplan and we can edit it, but it's going to be a fight with the city... again.

Ivan

• We are in critical time and we need to consider on what terms we should continue to participate in the LAPP: Stop rezonings, stop incentives, or full moratorium

Tami

• We should drop our gloves and really go after city hall

Harold

• We should not pull out on our own, but we can sharpen our language

Ivan

• I think we should negotiate so that we have as strong a bloc as possible willing to walkout from the LAPP process

Paul

• We should stop taking a soft approach and take a hard stance, people will follow us if we take a hard line and walk out.

MOTION (Moved by Ivan): To negotiate for the strongest uniting position possible with our allies to push for a strong interim zoning policy that slows, or optimally stops market development for the course of the LAPP to protect the LIC assets and tenure. (Seconded by Tami. Passed, Paul abstained)

NOTE: That after checking in with our LIC allies we seek to develop a bottom line about what the DNC needs in order to continue with the LAPP.

b) Shelters and homelessness committee Roland

• Our committee meets every Monday, 6pm at Jacob's Well. All welcome
• Good news: The Aboriginal shelter is not closing March 31 any longer. It's funding has been secured
• But FUC shelter is still on the chopping block and there is no plan to replace the shelter beds there with others
• We met with Harsha from the DTES Womens' Centre to find out whether they would oppose or support a campaign to save the shelter beds at FUC. She was not specific about it but it seemed that the Womens' Centre would not come out in opposition to the shelter. It also seemed that they would prefer the maintenance of the Rain City HEAT shelters to FUC beds
• At the “length of stay” shelter committee meeting of BC Housing yesterday they confirmed that the Aboriginal shelter funding is no longer threatened

MOTION: To organize two discussion group meetings a week

c) Street market

Wendy (by written report)
*insert Wendy's report

MOTION (Motion by Paul): To apply for $10,500 for the street market core funding and $20,000 for community development for the Pigeon Park site. (Seconded by Roland. Passed unanimous)

MOTION (Moved by Ivan): To only set up a second day at Pigeon Bank on the following conditions:

• That vendors call for it
• Guarantee from Parks and Engineering that we can stay permanently at Pigeon Park
• That it is funded by the city separately
• That it is last priority for funding and operations. (TABLED)

MOTION: That Roland is the keymaster for the 50/50 draw lockbox. (Passed unanimous)

MOTION: To write a letter to the city and PHS demanding they do not set up a competing street market operation. (TABLED for more information)

d) Treasurer report

MOTION (Moved by Herb Varley): For Roland Clarke, as DNC treasurer, to be empowered to access the DTES Neighbourhood Council banking account to receive all account information. (Seconded by Paul Martin. Passed unanimously)

MOTION (Moved by Ivan Drury): To move the DTES Neighbourhood Council bank account from CCEC Credit Union to the VanCity Credit Union. (Seconded by Paul Martin. Passed unanimously)

3) General meeting

MOTION (Moved by Harold): To make the theme of the February general meeting “Weather Report on  gentrification in the DTES”. (Seconded by Paul. Passed unanimously)

Closing.

Moment of silence dedicated to Ricky Lavallie.

DNC Board Meeting Minutes - January 19, 2012

DNC Board Meeting January 19th, 2012

Present: Tami, Joe, Yvonne, Ann-Marie, Jamie, Ivan, Paul, Wendy, Jen, Harold, Jada, Herb,


TAMI
- Chair
- Acknowledgments

Paul
- Reads Constitution

Ivan
- Request or motion as part of our openings that we decide on who’s chairing and who’s going to stay afterwards to clean up, always the same couple of people
- Some job sharing here

Herb
- Yup I can help

Ivan
- Choose a finished time to end meeting
- Choose chair, minute taker, and job sharing as protocol
- Motioned by Ivan, second by Tami

Motion carries unanimously.

Ivan
- Yvonne, Leo, Jada to clean up
- 7:30 is our goal to end the meeting

Tami
- Any amendments to agenda?

Jada
- Add announcements, PHS lecture series

Tami
- Approve agenda as is
- Second by Wendy

Motion carries to accept agenda as-is.

Committee Reports
LAPP At-large members

Wendy
- LAPP committee will have 30 people on it
- Almost formed
- It will be very diverse
- About 35 people applied to be on the LAPP committee, we have to pick 7 of them
- Short-list of low-income list…..we short-listed 4 low-income reps, done by Wendy, Tom from the City, and Ian Chang.
- After talking with Tom and Ian, realized that having 3 presidents from the DNC will be completely stacked…Herb, Harold, Paul and Tami.
- Looked at all of them again, all of the applications.  Talked to paul, tami and herb…checked-in, step-down from the competition?  Maybe get away with 1.
- Herb stepped down.  Wendy thinks he should reconsider.
- Harold says he’ll step away to avoid conflict.
- Wendy thinks it’s ok if they still want to.
- Decided  from those who still want to keep running for the seats, and why they should run.  Then we’ll have an in-camera discussion on it.
- The City and BCS had a preference out of the 4 based on a matrix based on diverse criteria.  They were willing to look at Tami based on criteria.
- We have to have a solid rationale for someone.
- Wendy said to them that we need to have a discussion, and we need to make a decision.

Herb
- Can make an argument for anyone based on language you use
- Still submit the application

Harold
- We have a problem, we agreed to a process of 7 at-large seats
- We have too many qualified applicants for a limited number of seats, obviously difficult
- We don’t want to dominate the committee, it’s suppose to be an open process, people in the community want a fair chance
- I’m happy to withdraw, it’s up to the DNC on how other people can make a contribution
- Harold withdraws

Herb
- We should have seen this coming, Wendy has established relationships with some of us

Ivan
- This is sort of a great problem to have
- How do we pick the right person? We have too many people who still want to do more! It’s funny.
- This is a real achievement
- We should have checked in at the last board meeting and GM
- It’s too much for Wendy

Wendy
- We’re doing this now

Ivan
- Could have thought about board members who put their names forward for President could have revoked their application for the LAPP
- Herb is going to shadow Wendy for the LAPP, consider that
- LAPP committee meetings should be public meetings so everyone can participate/listen (not vote), but can pass notes etc on this, stay involved
- At-large members need to bring perspectives from the whole group into this process.

Tami
- Concern default representing marginalized people

Wendy
- Set up some tables, roundtables, we all should be spreading ourselves around
- We are going to be responsible for including residents into this planning process

Herb
- Submitted LAPP application before being considered President
- Normally at LAPP committees, the City invites whoever they feel are important, they invite whoever, why do we have to justify who we pick?
- We wear so many hats, I’m a part of multiple communities
- Community work, activist community, it’s a small group, we wear different hats at different times

Jamie
- Herb was going to shadow Wendy on the LAPP
- Reconsider being on the LAPP

Wendy
- Ann-Marie, Ann, Jada and Joe applied
- Transparent with everybody
- Other low-income reps are: Victoria Bull – grandmother, res school survivor, volunteers at strathcona elementary school; Rob Morgan – high on points, illicit drinkers, perceived as “high-impact”, he’s articulate and awesome advocate; Beth – high in points.
- Non low-income: Jada applied, didn’t get in, she’ll help anyways; Amanda – homeowner and parent; Angela McDougall – lives in Chinatown, condo person, rental, connection to women’s groups; Jeff Summers – use to do research with CCAP, works with Portland, researcher with heart and stroke foundation.
- Why should you be on the committee, Tami and Paul?

Tami
- Not a redhead
- Uncomfortable being in competition with other board members
- I like cooperation, unity
- I don’t claim to represent anyone but myself
- I acknowledge some representation, I’d like to think that I’m standing up and participating in the LAPP and my voice heard as my identification
- Humbly respect, put my name forward.
- Concern, I don’t feel that I represent anyone but myself
- But having this outer circle of input , I don’t know what to expect but do my best

Paul
- I’ve been involved in this process from the get-go, meeting after meeting
- Invested a lot of time and energy
- I don’t have all the checkmarks, but I represent something’s….Black, SRO, homeless
- I bring a strong and powerful voice, and I think people listen, and I listen to people
- Good with media, let DNC view be known, people recognize this
- I put a lot of work into this.  Selfish?  Maybe. If you put that much energy into it versus to someone who put no effort into this process.
- At most best to represent your views on this committee
- I would like to keep my name in

Tami and Paul leave the room for discussion.

(In-camera discussion)

Motion to recommend Tami, 1 person against, 1 abstain.

Discussion about decision……

Tenant Union

Ivan
- Monthly tenant meeting lunch discussion at Balmoral Bar noon on Sunday
- Theme: How do you get through the month on $610?
- Create a Top 10 list on why they should raise welfare
- Number 1: so we don’t have to go to food lines or food banks
- Number 2: stop child apprehensions
- Last time we went to the Balmoral, served 75 people with good discussions
- We didn’t have enough organizers
- Sit at table with about 5 people, beer is being served
- Cook here at 8:30 – Yvonne, Ivan, Jamie
- Lead Discussions – Joe, Ivan/Yvonne, Herb, Jada
- Tuesday night doing the same at the Washington Hotel, 6pm
- People are complaining about the Balmoral living conditions, trying to deal with things myself. I’ve asked people with those buildings to take on helping out.

Paul
- Tenant Union at Balmoral is great idea
- Be mindful, owner of building is Sahota
- We’re organizing against him, unreal he’s letting us do this
- Raise the rates wouldn’t be a problem
- Be tentative and aware that tenants might not say things outloud
- Intimidate people to get out of there

Joe
- They can’t kick people out in winter time, can they?

Police Committee and Cop Watch

Jen
- DNC can put together a police committee, and the Vancouver cop watch will be separate, but we can work together
- Jamie does the street intel
- Coordinate the two
- Jen explains Vancouver Cop Watch
- Foot patrols
- Hold police accountable, help people put in complaints

Jamie
- Want to start a bad-cop sheet, like a bad-date sheet
- Send complaints to police department

Jen
- Separate the good cops from the bad cops
- Hooked up to cop watches around the world on how to do this

Paul
- Certainly agree with you
- Will we put cops in danger by put photos up, will we get into trouble?

Jamie
- We’ll get some legal guidance to produce sheets, apply the same standards
- Get advice

Paul
- I don’t know if legally we can do this…

Yvonne
- Story about police issue she had

Harold
- Think it’s a great idea
- We need to come up with something to keep police accountable, but there is a whole range of issues with policing
- This will inform our work
- Many different elements to it
- Tremendous amount of frustration about the complaints process
- Issues of liability

Herb
- Once we figure out the legal aspects, there are some logistical things
- What if I try to take a picture of a cop, and they take my phone and throw it in a puddle?

Jen
- Professional photographer, scrap book, and identify cops
- We are also here for cop protections, based on evidence

Herb
- Single out good cops too

Tami
- Bottom-line police committee
- Others can start

Ann
- Jada and I have been diving into stats, report that, expose it
- Meeting with geography guy, he thinks he can have access to bail conditions data

Paul
- Suggestions – find out how many tickets for people going over speed
- Vs. Jaywalking tickets
Tami
- Wednesday January 25th 7:30, Carnegie

Treasurer and Fundraising

Ann
- We’re running out of money

Ivan
- List of DNC Expenses, what we need money for
- $40/week for food
- Donations from Craig
- We  need to find out how much money we need to fundraise

Harold
- We should think about where to make cutbacks after look after list

Ivan
- Board Meeting Food: $240
- Cell Phones: 5 cell phones for $117.60/month
- Meeting Space for GM: $112/month
- “Feed the Roots” $300
- Photocopying/stationary: $100/month
- GM Food: $60/month
- GM Honorariums: $300/month maximum
- $969/month (without “Feed the Roots”)
- Stipends covered around
- We need $700/month to cover us

Wendy
- Cupe?

Ivan
- Writing a proposal to UBC Justice Centre for Feed the Roots, 6 months of cell phone use, 3 months of board meeting food
- Apply up to $1,500

Wendy
- We should make a contribution to Jacobs Well and other friends, just a little bit of extra money

Ivan
- $100 per month to Jacobs Well?
- Newspaper is starting, $800 per month, funding separately

Jada
- I think we should get about $12,000-$15,000 per year

Ann
- We need to fight with the city to get neighbourhood funding

Wendy
- Jada and Wendy to look into that
- Maybe have cell phones are DNC phones

Harold
- Prefer that we had this discussion was prepared
- Hard to make decisions are going

Jada
- Will research and report back

Street Market Report

Wendy
- Street Market Committee meeting with City
- Need to decide what we’re asking for regarding funding
- Need to raise $10,000 for the year, City should pay for that from casino money
- We could try to bump it up
- We asked for $50,000 and they gave us $20,000
- They might give us more this year because we’re more established
- We’ll debate this at the Street Market meeting, tomorrow at 3:15pm at Vandu

Harold
- We shouldn’t make a request for things we aren’t prepared for

Jada
- This is a street market committee discussion

Dave Murray
- Talked to Lynn regarding how the report is going etc, no response from her

Wendy
- Concern that the deadline is coming up
- We could ask for more money

Ivan
- If enough people are at tomorrow’s meeting, then maybe let them make the decision

Tami
- Wait to see what happens tomorrow

Everything Else

Ivan
- Paul Taylor will talk about space for DNC
- We need to have skill building workshop for board members to expand facilitation skills for board members to improve them. Suggest great facilitator. Table to next Thursday.
- Feed the Roots: can’t come on Thursday for a draft workshop. We could set up a separate time on Monday or something to inform board what is going on. Maybe set it up for next Friday? Ivan will set it up.
- Memorial March: Jamie’s point, not here. February 14th
- Special Committee Report: Charles against Jamie. 3 of us met with Jamie, have a resolution, privately resolve this, we won’t give details, ask the board to leave it be, tentative agreement, bring a recommendation to have a code of conduct of board members with how we treat each other and between board members and general members.  Paul and Herb to work on this, and Tami.
- VCC Dinner: This Saturday, Christmas in January, we should get memberships from that line-up!
- PHS Lecture Series on Sunday, announcement, and Vandu 2-4pm on Monday.

Paul
- Motion to adjourn!
- Second by Harold

Close.

DNC Board Meeting Minutes - January 13, 2012

DNC Board Meeting

January 13 2012

Board members: Tami, Jada, Ivan, Paul, Dave M, Harold, Ann, Herb, Jamie, Joe, Louie, Kelvin, Wendy

Guests: Gary, Dave D, John, Yvonne, Leo

Agenda

MOTION (Moved Paul): To accept with additions, Announcement on DTES Not For Developers Coalition; City and Postering; 611 Main Film. (Seconded Herb, Passed unan)

2012 Action Planning

Ivan

-      Introduces the report on the 2012 action planning

Wendy

-      Maybe it'll help to work on what the main points are, what are we bottomlining?

-      The ones that are listed as our main campaigns we are already working on and we need to keep doing

Herb

-      We should also consider the political climate. The Omnibus crime bill and the new prisons coming mean that we should also prioritize our policing campaign. This is going to be more and more of an issue

Joe

-      We can work on getting services here as a recycling plan. We can recycle old computer parts and get work here

Paul

-      We need to rattle the cage of Stephen Harper and broaden our political attacks and get a social housing policy

Ann

-      We should prepare for our general meeting if nothing else.

-      We could present on two things:

-      Focus for 2012 and

-      Our main campaigns for 2012

Harold

-      There are two questions we're dealing with and they're actually interlinked. One is to build the organization and get people involved; The other is to set goals and decide on campaigns that get us there.

-      We should not just take on campaigns without knowing our goals

-      But there are also certain campaigns that we cannot drop because of our investment in the work

-      We should not come in with a laundry list of what we should be involved in without first addressing our capacity.

Jamie

-      I agree with Harold that we should not spread ourselves too thin and try to put out too many fires.

-      We should think about paring it down and focussing on what brings us closer to our goals

-      There is a danger that if we're spread too thin then we

Ivan

-      Given the political climate – federally, provincially, municipally – it might be naive to focus on winning some reforms now

-      I think we should work on developing organizational capacity, our networks and connections

Wendy

-      I agree that we should focus on organizational development

-      The only campaigns that we need to focus on are street market and policing, other campaigns are being driven by CCAP and other groups

-      Organizational goals could include getting more women involved, Chinese residents and families too

Ann

-      So we could go through these points and decide which ones we have agreement to work on

Herb

-      Some of these we could off load to the LAPP: The pool, the 10 sites, wireless internet,

Dave Murray

-      Policing is really important.  Vandu is working on this already, good to coordinate with other organizations already doing this.  Ending prohibition has been in the works already for a long time. Vandu is campaigning around ticketing.  Getting police involved, they don't show up in the community for meetings except maybe the Urban Core.

Harold

-      We need people to participate in campaigns even if it's not DNC work.  I don't want us to do tons of work on housing one year and then nothing the next year.  Let's not do an either-or-choice. We're going to have to respond to different things, it's dynamic.

Joe

-      There is a smoking ban now all Metro Vancouver.  The police were in Oppenheimer Park and Pidgeon Park.

Paul

-      We always have to be ready.  We have to take the lead

-      AFD monitor when police have interactions with Aboriginal people

-      Vandu is doing a great job monitoring

-      We need to offer our support.  LAPP has to be one of our first priorities – all those things are going to come into the LAPP – pool, housing etc.

Ivan

-      Emphasis on organizational and skills building

-      Shift an emphasis of organizing and campaigns

Ann

-   They are not exclusive

-      We need to be more deliberate

Ivan

-      I can't be running around doing campaign work if I want to help/assist others to work on organizing.  The way everyone communicates is different.  If we want to focus on this level of organization I can't do it all, and it will take twice as long.

Ann

-      Getting ready for tomorrows meeting, we need to be visual

Herb

-      If we focus on organizational skills, we need to outreach into our membership to find out their skills and their capacity, the better we are to deal with fires or other campaigns

Tami

-      Get our general membership to sign up to committee work

-      Meeting time?  Friday interferes with my long term committment with another meeting involvement and vice versa.

-      Thursday at 5pm, with Tuesday at 5pm as a backup, at Jacobs Well

Table discussions, move to board positions.

Ivan

-      Lists the nominees for Co-Presidents

-      Explains the Co-Presidents role

-      Does anyone want to withdrawl?

Ann

-      Would like to chair some meetings

Ivan

-      Every board member can chair meetings

Herb

-      Want to wait to hear if he gets Kenya trip

Ann

-      What about 3 presidents?  Fascists Chile does it

-      Paul is going to be far

-      Move to make it Tami, Herb and Paul – backup for Paul if he's away

Ivan

-      Move a motion to elect Tami, Herb & Paul

-      Herb and Paul abstains from vote.

-      Motion carried: Co-Presidents are Tami, Herb and Paul

Ivan

-      General Meeting Coordinator

-      Need to choose bottom-liner, it's been Wendy and defaulting to Ivan

-      Wendy & Ivan are the shared bottom-liners

Ivan

-      Site Coordinator

-      Who wants to do this?

Ann

-      If we get a LAPP site we need to seize it for the DNC.  We need to push for a space.

-      Is anyone on the LAPP committee not on the site coordinator list?

Ivan

-      Ann you seem interested in this question, do you want to be close to this?

Ann

-      Yes

Ivan

-      LAPP Committee Rep

-      Any opposition to Wendy maintaining this?

Herb

-      When the LAPP meeting starts, I thought we were going to have a rotating rep?

Wendy

-      There is one seat for sure DNC, I was elected last year for that seat

-      There is the job for the general liaison with the City, that came out of CCAP

-      We should try to buddy with this.

Ann

-      Nominate Herb to be Wendy's shadow for the LAPP

Ivan

-      Treasurer

-      Roland would like to be treasurer unless Ann is opposed

-      Motion to make Roland is the treasurer, with Ann as a mentor and backup

Ivan

-      Fundraising

-      Jada eyes and ear to this

-      Write grants for funding, nothing is coming in so far

-      Yvonne to help too, she has connections with the Nishka

-      Persons involved: Jada, Herb, Wendy, Yvonne

Ivan

-      Advocacy

-      We collect the advocacy skills of all board members so we can refer board members

-      Dave Murray to coordinate, email everyone requesting it

Ivan

-      Elders Council

-      Kelvin is going to work on this

Ivan

-      Spiritual Advisor

-      Kelvin and Jen

-      Role to make sure nobody is burning out, checking-in on emotional, physically, etc., fun activities

Ivan

-      Publication

-      Wait for report

Ivan

-      Communications Secretary

-      Ivan has been doing this

-      Dave Hamm wants to help out, with postering etc.  I don't have time to do other stuff

-      Herb wants to help

-      Roland has website skills

-      Everyone should work on this, divide it into 3 types of tasks

Jamie

-      Dan Blair has years of experience doing this kind of stuff, he wants to help, use him as a resource.

-      Add him as a volunteer, he's an asset

Ivan

-      Street Market Coordinator

Dave Hamm

-      It's a committee

Ivan

-      Who's the point-person, bottom-liner

Dave Murray

-      I've inherited it, but have help from Ann and Wendy

Ivan

-      Dave Murray to remain point of contact, liaison

Ivan

-      Media Secretary

-      Teach people once in a while on different parts, skill-sharing

-      Somebody who is coordinating needs to have an email

-      Ivan is the bottom-liner, supporting other people

Ivan

-      Board Meeting Coordinator

-      Should be shared with Co-Presidents

-      Presidents with task-master?

-      The Coordinator is the Presidents

-      Richard and DJ should help with General Meetings

Wendy

-      Legal Secretary

-      Louis wants to learn about this, he's willing to do this with some report

-      Wendy, Roland, Letitizia, Louis, Ann, Jada

-      Louis as the bottom-liners, with support from others

Ivan

-      Membership Secretary

-      Sarah and Lorna has been working on this

-      Louis wants to learn more about this

-      Legal and Membership go together

-      Louis as the bottom-liner with support from Roland, Jamie, Wendy, Jada, Elroy, Sarah B, Lorna, Letizia

Ivan

-      We will take these positions to the meeting tomorrow for the GM

-      Back at the action planning point, we need to know what to present

-      Page 2 – Do we continue these...:

-      LAPP: Yes - Active

-      Street Market: Yes - Active

-      Tenant Union: Yes

-      Fight for 10 Sites: Drop it into active campaigns but simmering, incorporate into all of our work.

Joe

- Keep an eye on the sites we want.

Harold

-      There is an ongoing coalition, some of it is shifting to coalition work

Ivan

-      Homelessness & Shelter Committee: Yes – Active

-      Policing: Yes – Active

-      Participate in these coalitions?

-      End Prohibition: As it has been

-      Raise the rates: Greater Emphasis

-      DTES not for Developers: As it has been, simmering

-      Other Campaigns

-      Arts & Culture: Hibernating

-      Publications: Wait until project proposed. Tabled.

-      Education: Ivan thinks we should have discussion groups on this.

-      Free Wireless Internet: Nobody is working on this, mention in LAPP.

-      Pool: LAPP.

-      Justice: Now policing committee.

Joe

-      Good idea to have a committee about missing women's inquiry

Ivan:

-      Policing: Jen is the bottom-liner, with support from Ann, Jada, Wendy

-      Homelessness: Roland

-      End Prohbition: Dave Murray, Ann, Dave D.

-      Arts & Culture: Plug into the LAPP

-      All the committees/campaigns can have sign-up sheets at tomorrows GM

Ivan

-      Item 3, c. Natural Community Member, Grant Fraser

Grant

-      Involved in social activism

-      Stand up and support people in this community

-      Wants group to grow with members outside the community so powers at be can't ignore us

Paul

-      Stance on mix-community, social?

Grant

-      No problem with that

-      I don't like segregation of rich and poor

-      Rather see mix

-      Like to see no rich or poor,everyone treated the same

-      Can't have rich moving in and taking over

-      Equal rights to rich and poor

-      In theory its a good idea

-      Live Nanaimo and Broadway, don't spend most of time in community, work downtown

-      Don't spend as much time down here as I'd like

Wendy

-      Would support Grant's application

-      Explains Natural Community Member

Dave Hamm

-      Keep spots open for community members?

Wendy

-      Activists are important and we need to keep connections

-      Make sure that people using services here are saved spots

Harold

-      In this case definitely in favour for Grant, he has something to contribute

-      It can be an issue with people with the wrong attitude and that's what I look for and I don't think that's the issue here, that's why I'm voting yes.

-      We do want to reserve some spots, we're not overwhelmed with applications

Yvonne

-      Lived in Burnaby, down in East Van since 1972

-      Shunned because I don't live here because I'm more involved then a lot of people

Grant

-      Always going to be around

-      If getting closed to 10%, no problem stepping out so the spot is available

Grant steps outside.

Ivan

-      Anything more to say?

Dave Murray

-      Friends of the DNC meet his criteria a lot more, better, if existed

Wendy

-      If he self-identifies as a DNC member in front of Council, not the same

Ivan

-      Ask him to form a Friends of the DNC, he can take that on? Fundraising, promoting DNC outside the community.

Paul

-      Skills he can bring

-      We say we're DNC members

-      We should support him

Ivan

-      Unanimous recommendation of Grant Fraser as a Natural Community Member, and ask him to take on the Friends of the DNC committee, or take a role therein.

Ivan

-      4.b

Dave D.

-      Explains End Drug Prohibition Forum

-      Want DNC name on the poster as one of the hosts, seems fitting

-      Campaign we were already a part of

Harold

-      It's a part of campaign, and clearly identified and our membership fully understands this

Dave M.

-      There will be a series of these forums

Ivan

-      Motions to endorse, Ann and Dave to present at GM, Paul seconds.

Dave D.

-      February the 8^th at the Carnegie, public forum and discussion and everyone is invited

Herb

-      Announcement at the GM

Ivan

-      Motion carries unanimously.

Wendy

-      LAPP Report

-      Letter from Scott from ALIVE

-      Confirm ALIVE's participation on the LAPP?

-      Wendy reads letter

-      We should resend letter to him, October or November letter, the letter says that we welcome them a seat on the LAPP

-      Maybe he just missed that last paragraph

-      Forward him the originally letter, and the City can see that we had a gracious correspondence

Harold

-      Two things here

-      The guy is lying, whatever, it's an interpretation

-      We need to prove that we acted in good faith, with this evidence

-      Faced with a situation that it could get explosive but we don't want to get into that

-      We need to cool it

Ann

-      Agrees with Wendy

-      I don't know where Scott comes from, or who he is

-      He behaves like a bully

-      Send a letter, but we need to be prepared for the next thing

-      They don't think it's being done democratically

-      We need to prove that we are consulting a wide group of people

Herb

-      January 20^th meeting

-      Extending invitation – differences that we're willing to work through them

-      Leave a trail of evidence that we gave them every opportunity to participate

Wendy

-      Wendy to draft a letter to Scott?

Ann

-      Motion for Wendy to write a letter to Scott to re-explain

-      Wendy motion, Ann seconds.

Ivan

-      4.c DT East Newspaper

-      Dan can do the design?

-      Dave D. Says he has a bunch of time.

-      Proposal: Have Dave D. Be the overall coordinator for this project

-      Ivan explains the roles and everything else to do with this idea

-      5,000 papers a month for $800 a month

-      Ivan knows a professor that would donate $250 a month forever

-      Ivan can look for more, intellects like to fund publications and they like to see where there money is going towards

-      This is a working suggestion...the first issue, Dave D. Has called a meeting for this week.

-      Print 1 issue a month, out and distributed a week before the general meeting, every room and every hotel, saturation with the neighbourhood!

-      Working editors: Harold and Jean

-      Production Coordinator: Ivan

-      Distribution Coordinator: Herb?? Ivan suggests Herb, Herb confirms.

-      This is initial core group, then appoint another 7 people as editors (section editors) based on connections to issues etc.

-      Agree to this crew as the founding group?

-      With Dan Blair as the designer/layout guy?

Herb

-      We could talk to former employee at Red Wire? What kind of model they used for distribution and content finding etc.

Ivan

-      They had funding

-      But we should look into that

-      Motion to recommend these people for the initial editorial board, bring to GM tomorrow, and appoint 7 more later.  Ann seconds motion.

Ivan

-      Just catering, we need to pay them

Ann

-      Ok.

Ivan

-      Agreement for payment

-      No motion needed

Ivan

-      Add Illicit Drinkers Group presentation tomorrows GM and have Rob Morgen Present

Ivan

-      City and Postering

-      They are tearing them down

-      Motion or suggestion that we make a motion at GM tomorrow for that we depend for communicating

Jada

-      We don't have a space or place or poster board for them

Ivan

-      Can we send the City a letter that this is discrimination?

-      We will write a letter, but take it to the GM tomorrow

Ivan

-      611 Main Film

-      She wants to mentor 3 people on making a film

-      Tami is interested

-      Herb?

-      Yvonne is interested

-      Dave Hamm is interested

-      Model of interviews of people who live near the site

-      Other idea, make it a parody that mixes in the facts

-      5 minute video, show it as a testimony

-      Use people around the site who can be the actors, people who live in the building

-      It would be different, and be a surprise

-      Sharon Kravitz

Herb

-      Depends on who you have working on it

Wendy

-      Show her other movie, as an example, show to people to get an idea

Ivan

-      Will write a script for a parody movie

-      Sharon will do the coordinating and the work, with some teaching of film editing

Wendy

-      She has a good tract record

Ivan

-      Decision is to work on it

Ivan

-      GM

-      Change our discussion on what we said today

-      Editing the GM agenda

-      Chairs: Tami and Paul, Ann supporting when needed

-      Meeting at Carnegie at 1:30 and Dodson by 2pm

Close.