This document started as an agenda/notes to be discussed at the meeting. I've made annotations as appropriate on points Robyn and I discussed (marked by -->). There are still a number of outstanding questions that we need answers on, as well as tasks to do. Please read through the minutes and report back to the list with what you know and/or what you are willing to do. Thanks! -San

Minutes

Mosaic Commons General Meeting
Sunday, August 6, 2000
Location: Watertown

Agenda

1. Approve minutes from 7/16
2. Planning for Chris ScottHanson's visit
3. Planning for 8/20 general meeting
4. Other business

Present: San & Robyn

1. Approve minutes from 7/16

Put off to next meeting.

2. Chris ScottHanson's visit:

o Prepwork for Everyone (from Cat's talk with Kelly):

The best thing we can do is really read through both books - know the vocabulary - to be ready really study his book. "what's a pro forma" will drive him crazy.

o Publicity

--where are we on getting to word out about CSH visit?

--faxes to monthly publications done?

--> Robyn reported that someone suggested to her that

in future announcements we should note the event is free.

--web: Boston coho network, Diane's website, etc., national list

--> Robyn will contact Stella and Diane with info;

Cat, can you mail an announcement to the national list?

--posters to be mailed around to members, to post around the area

--> San and Robyn have posters about Chris's talk to post. San can print more to mail to folks who want them- the more we get out the better! San can also send the WORD file of the flier for people that have a color printer available to them.

--Robyn: status of NPR follow-up?

--> Robyn sent info back the interested reporter. Still waiting for a response.

--Adam hear back from anyone re newspaper article? Seems should contact Framingham paper:

--> Robyn suggested also the Town Crier and the Metrowest News.

(Adam, 7/28)

I sent the e-mail below to Town-Online (a Community Newspapers company) and to Gareth Cook at the Boston Globe (he's a MetroWest reporter, I believe). I haven't heard from either of them yet, but I'll follow up next week. I was told by the Lexington office of Community Newspapers that they would only do a story on someone if that person was a member of the local community or speaking in that community. So should I pursue this with the Framingham paper?

o Notes

--Chris's flight cost is $750

--Hotel arranged yet? where?

--> Suggestions: Sheraton Tara in Framingham (expensive),

Hampton Inn (?) on Speen Street.

o Meeting Times

--Chris will be travelling on the 25th and 30th, so we can count on full days the days he is here.

--Need to set up some time for each household to meet with Chris individually. What are people's scheduling constraints for this? Where will these meetings take place?

Meetings to set up: Homeport (as one group?), San & Kai, Robyn & JB, Adam, Todd??

--> For San and Kai, location makes a big difference in determining when the meeting can take place. Will Chris come to our house or do we need to go to him?

--SAT, AUG 26 10-3 Parmenter

--talk about why we want him here and what we want to get done

--some initial financial discussion?

+some individual household meetings later in the day?

--need babysitting -- Andey back on the 9th. Can she arrange?

--> Robyn will be away until Sat afternoon. Someone else needs to pick up the key on Friday!

--Consider: bring bagels and stuff on Sat and Sun morning meetings and people who want to come a little early can have breakfast (do they make wheat-free bagels for Adam & Lisa?), and then potluck lunch stuff?

--SUN, AUG 27 10-2 Parmenter

--talk about financing and budgeting

--need babysitting?

--> Yes, we probably want our regular babysitters, if possible.

--Sun, Aug 27 3-6 The Community Room and gym are reserved at the Framingham Civic League

--Talk by Chris on cohousing and the stream-lined development model, plus orientation to our group, followed by reception

--Who in group plans on going?

--> Will it benefit our group to have everyone be there?

--We need to bring our own toys for childcare in the gym

--Will we provide the childcare ourselves? or hire someone??

--> With all the other babysitting we need for Chris's visit, it seems it would a lot to get babysitters for this event too. And hard on our kids. Plus we don't have any idea how many outside kids to expect. San's sense is that we should offer an area for kids to play and have some of our members be there, but that we may need to ask outside parents to stay with their kids if they are having a hard time.

--Need someone to be in charge of arranging reception afterwards in the community room.

--> Easiest to have one person go to Trader Joe's and buy stuff? We could have everyone in the group bring something, but people are already going to have so much to do. Can we offer coffee?

--Has the rental been paid? (Andey wrote either send half the rental now and the other half by two weeks before the event, or if it's easier just to send the whole amount now since it isn't too long. It is $175 ($100 for the community room and $75 for 3 hours of the gym),

--What's happening on Monday and most of Tuesday?

--meetings with individual households

--presumably, time for him to work on his report

--else?

--Will he be driving around the area a bit, starting to poke around for land possibilities?

--> Robyn can meet with Chris to pass on what she knows about the land we've looked at already, zoning laws, etc. Maybe Mike would be willing to be there too, or talk to Chris on the phone about what he learned. San will ask him. Robyn has asked Joel to send the maps and documents that he copied.

--Tuesday evening, 8/29

-- to look at list, present results, etc.

--Need Location: can't be Parmenter. So, Homeport?

--Decide Time: Cat ok with 6:00; Robyn unsure whether she can attend; San & Kai 6:00 should be ok

--Dinner plans

--Babysitting arrangements

3. Planning for 8/20 general meeting

--Who will be there?

yes, San and Kai

Cat and Dave back by the 12th but may have family thing on the 20th

Robyn away

--Hopefully can take care of business quickly and then have fun.

--Agenda items (**most of which need action before the meeting):

a. Make sure everything is ready for CSH visit

b. Have people do location survey that Robyn found and distribute results and the meeting?

'[mosaic] FW: location preference survey]' 7/19

--> Could also do at meeting. Some of the questions here people may already have answered in previous survey in the spring. San will check.

c. What about old surveys? anything useful there to reference now?

--> Chris might like to see them. May have suggestions on how to amend them, may like to see results.

--> San will check over them and make sure we have all the data that people filled in. Did anyone ever get the final data on residence preferences from Mike? San will bring results to next meeting.

d. Discuss Kelly's membership docs (still need to get these posted)

-- how these differ from our present ones beside the $ stuff; consider how to define a member = household?

e. Draft financial questions we have for Chris. These seem to fall into two main areas to me, one re more immediate issues, such as how to keep record of how group pays for Chris's visit (is it considered a loan, how is it recorded in terms of equity, etc.), Kelly's idea about people putting more money in earlier, when we start paying other professionals, etc., and the second more longterm re budget, unit cost, etc. Does this make sense? Perhaps the former could be discussed with Chris late Sat afternoon, the latter on Sunday morning??

From Cat's email "Talked to Kelly today..." 7/20:

What financial info (if any) is needed before arrival?

What financial info will be needed during the visit?

None before the visit, basically he needs to know what we can come up with long and short term - total assets & liquid assets. assuming that we can buy homes, question is how much money can we put up up front.

f. Members need to pay their $150 share of Chris's visit. Given that it's 3000+expenses, household share will be more than $150. Need to decide about how to distribute the extra.

--> Robyn thinks that in order to get Chris to come again, we will need to have a substantial amount of money in the bank. It is her sense from talking to other developers that they won't take a group seriously until members have made a serious financial commitment. This is something to ask him about in detail when he's here.

g. Get a bunch of maps together before Chris's visit and try to layout for him where our geographic area is.

Cat: FYI, here are the towns within the region we described at the meeting. Towns marked with a * are mostly outside the border. (2/90, 495/95)

*Harvard, Boxborough, Acton, Concord, Lincoln, *Lexington,
*Bolton, Stow, Maynard, Sudbury, Wayland, Weston, *Waltham,
*Berlin, Hudson, Marlborough,
*Westborough, Southborough, Framingham, *Natick

4. Other Business

---Important Dates, discussed at 7/16 meeting:

Next General meetings: 8/20 and 9/17, 10/1, 10/15

Possible social event dates (we need to have fun together after all the work with Chris!):

9/1, 9/8, weekend of 8,9,10 to Maine??;

helping San & Kai move mid-late Sept :)

Sept orientation date Sept 24

--space reserved?

--when send ads?

Late Sept, early Oct for consensus workshop??

--Robyn to follow-up with Laura and Mary

---Membership:

-Adam should be officially signed up on a committee. He has been doing membership and marketing work.

-What's Todd's status???

---Is Boston Coho Network going to do the Fannie Mae Housing Fair on August 26 (Diane Simpson). If so we should send brochures.

--> Robyn has asked. They are not doing the fair, but will forward info about Chris's talk around as much as they can.

---For the future: follow up with Adam about Donna; does anyone else know her?

Contact us! * Email info or webmaster

Last modified: October 3, 2001