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= Consensus = * '''invite a knowledgeable volunteer to give '''[[Consensus Process|a brief primer on consensus process]] * It is important that everyone in attendance understands at least: ** Blocking with verbalized principled objections. ** Why we use consensus over other approaches to decision making. ** How consensus isn't a legislative process ** Why consensus isn't applicable to some things like conflict resolution, resolution of time sinks, and the like. Roy - The idea of consensus is to get an outcome/proposal that everyone is comfortable with to move the space forwards to a better place. For small-c consensus, you might want to make a change to the space larger than one you would be comfortable making on your own. Big C Consensus is a more formal process, the exact nature of which is up for debate. My basic understanding is that a formal written proposal without changes between the two meetings has to come to two meetings and not be blocked. Must be posted on current consensus items and on the noisebridge-discuss mailing list. Once everyone is comfortable with it you can then consense on it. == [[ Consensus Items History | Proposals from last week ]] == ''(Add any items which are consensed upon or someone has raised a principle objection for to the [[Consensus Items History]] page.)'' == [[ Current Consensus Items | Proposals for next week ]] == ''(Add any new items for consensus to the [[Current Consensus Items]] page.)'' Trent reading proposal from Zach - **Establish an Elevator Repair Fund** Establish a fund for repair and maintenance of the Noisebridge Elevator. The fund established and agreed upon should be a minimum of $400 per year drawn from the Noisebridge General Fund. The funds are to be used for 2 purposes: 1) To hire professional repair person(s) and 2) To pay for parts needed for the Elevator to be safe and 100% functional. The funds are not to be used to pay Noisebridge members who wish to do repairs. Zach - 100% functionality is defined as: today we were fixing the call button to bring the elevator down to the lower level. While not necessary to move up and down the elevator, it is necessary for 100% functionality. Gate got jammed on the way up today. Zach knows how to fix it, but not everyone does. Defined as the gate works, 100% of the time, people don't get trapped. Multiple discussion participants: we should strengthen the proposal by defining what "100% functional" means. What are the objective definitions? Zach - From an electrical engineering background, 100% has a particular meaning. Would like to go to the tresurer and say "I need $35 for a lightbulb", seems unlikely that someone would block that. Multiple discussion participants: Perhaps add a list of things on the Wiki that are expected to work? Zach - What is there are intermittent issues that aren't captured by individual things on a list. Where is the line on a consensus proposal? Does this need to be proposed again from scratch as part of defining the "100% functional" term? Ryan - One comment: I understand what electrically what 100% means, but I also understand that defining 100% is somewhat an issue. 100% of the time it works 60% of the time is not true 100%. Definitely think this is something that we can define over time. 100% for 100% of the time is probably impossible. Over time things wear down. I think 100% working should mean it should go where you want when you ask it to. We've had 10 major breakdowns in the past 2 years, if not more if you include smaller breakdowns. We get it to about 90% working order about 85% of the year. We do need the fund to improve. Katherine - Trying to enumerate what counts as 100% is a bad idea, because it will be used to rule-lawyer. What's going to happen if there are 5 bullet points? Kevin - There may be value in defining how the elevator works as a system on the wiki systematically. Adrian - We're overthinking it! Kevin - Context: elevator was out for 6 to 8 weeks. For some of our participants, it is their only way into the space. Imagine traveling from far away and not being able to get in at the gate. Part of a pattern of unconscious/inadvertent ableness, and we should be more cognizant of it. Important to have a consensus item to encourage discussion and stimulate efforts to improve things. Trent - If we make changes to wording now, it doesn't slow down the consensus process for next week. Zach - The way I think about 100% is if you take your car to a mechanic, if you've had a car, there are always little things. Cupholder rubber wears out. Fold-out cupholders wear out. Lightbulbs need replacement. Radio antenna needs replacement. Things in addition to alternator, transmission, etc., that's why I put in the word "maintenence" of the elevator. I want to prevent, as in the electrical repair community, do preventative maintenence. Spend a couple of dollars now. Save hundreds or thousands of dollars later. That's what I want to do with the elevator. That's what I was working on tonight, the call box and light. It "worked" but wiring was poor, close to shorting out, could have been a hazard. Don't want to turn people away from NB because the elevator is broken. Elevator is much more important to me because don't have an option anymore. As a result of the process, I've been building a Noisebridge Wiki page on the elevator. Took pictures. Sections on repairs and upgrades. Ways people can plug in and volunteer. I want to take a more active role, and the community is starting to see this as something that should be cared for. This is a step to removing a financial roadblock to working on this. ? - Perhaps instead of defining 100%, defer to the Wiki for operational optimum parameters. Trent - Another way without invoking a specific document, instead of saying "safe and 100% functional", say "members of the community need to buy into and agree that the elevator is functional and safe". Zach - Not trying to counter to be difficult, but that sounds like it might lead to requiring getting consensus to a consensed item. On deferring to a Wiki: that has an advantage of having a document/checklist, which should be relatively transparent. I will continue to work on it because I must. Darryl helped today with laser cutter skills that I don't have. I think it's a moot point, if there was something that was fuzzy, and I don't know what that would be (like an add-on?), and that was fuzzy? By definition that would make it not count. The community and treasurer would say "that's not required for the elevator to function" and that would be ok. Nobody wants a gate that gets jammed off the track. Nobody wants a callbox that doesn't work that's held up by masking tape with 100 live volts that they can shock themselves on. Katherine - I think it's strage we're having this conversation at all. If the stairs caved in, we would just fix it. The elevator is broken, and people who give a lot to the space use it, and even if they don't, it should be accessible. If someone has a problem using NB money to fix the problem, that's wrong, and we should take care of each other. We go to great lengths to make this a safe space, let's make it a reliable space too. We have things that are janky, but we make them work. Let's make the elevator work, and it's strange we keep coming back to it and we should give money to this process. Adrian - I definitely agree, this seems like a strange discussion. Clarifying question: in future, does using elevator money require big-C consensus to use it? Zach - The think the way it works is I email the treasurer on the public noisebridge-discuss list, to say, I need $35 for elevator lights, send links, and everyone sees that. If someone has an objection, they make it. If not, John buys the part and mails it. The reason we do this with consensus now is so that's less necessary on a purchase-by-purchase basis. Adrian - By going through the mailing list is less machinery than seeking consensus? Zach - I'll try to answer this as best I can. Wish John was here, but he has another obligation. Don't want to put words in John's mouth: he keeps track of the money and where it is spent. When I buy $35 lightbulbs, it's $400 (fund size) - $35, and that shows up in public records. Reduce red-tape around the process. The way I see it, the elevator is broken a lot, and what usually happens (in the last 7 years), people say "oh, that kind of sucks", wait for the landlord or someone else's initiaive, and depending on how broken it is, controls how long it takes to get fixed. It's a long drawn out process. If the front door was broken, it would never happen. It would just be fixed. I want that kind of care/expiditeness for the elevator. By having a consensus item and discussion, it raises awareness that Noisebridge has this thing that needs work. Elevator is an ongoing project. Darryl - The process around this shouldn't be much different from the equipment fund. The fact that there's any process around getting this, which is vital accessability equipment, is rediculous. If it's necessary, that's nonsense to discuss it. Adrian - Whoever is repairing the elevator should be able to go buy what they need, right now, and know they will be reimbursed from the elevator fund. Darryl - $400 a year is less than half of a philanthropist. We just added 6. We can accord a bunch of elevator fund. Trent - If there's critical infrastructure that needs fixing, it can go through little-c consensus. Go to the treasurer. The process is not document. Zach - There are some things about the elevator that are exception. That process is not well documented or well known. Initially went to Patrick because I thought he was still treasurer. A big question in this project is that it is the landlord's responsibility. Do we want for them? How do we (as a space) get reimbursed for it? Again, if this was the front door, I don't anticipate a long discussion. Someone would just go change the lock in an hour. It's reasonable to have the discussion and be concerned about this. I've had a lot of person-to-person conversations and tried a lot of avenues before bringing this up as a big-c consensus item. For people who haven't been in the space in recent weeks, especially on Tuesday, this might feel really out of the blue, and that's not the case, and that's been a huge part of my frustration with this entire process. This is something I have been championing since July. It would be great to publicize these (little-c) processes more, but the process isn't bulletproof either. Trent - I told Zach this already: I do support this consensus proposal. The reason that the elevator took so long is because the elevator company physically locked the elevator, and they left it locked for 6 weeks. They finally came and "did the repair" where it was usable but unsafe when they unlocked it. There was some strangeness about locking/unlocking safe/unsasfe. Long talk with landlord, and were locked out by the elevator company for 6 weeks. Kevin - How does the equipment fund balance get decided? What if the $400 vanishes, what then? Zach - Can try to answer that: Part of why I chose $400 figure -- John was surprised it was low. Chosen very low on purpose. This is supposed to be a baby step. Challenges in process show how necessary it was to take a baby step. Chose a small dollar amount so that some amount of money set aside for the elevator is a good thing. If we agree it's a good thing, we can have another (hopefully easier) discussion should we need to expand. I'm down to take that through consensus. Let's just take a baby-step in that direction. Also, this is the first time I've heard about the elevator lockdown. On a larger note: I could not come to the space to continue learning some software, or come to a class. I was email and trying to talk to people to get updates. Was getting lots of vague messages. Sometimes heard elevator was partly working. If I take a bus and it isn't working, I turn around and go home. Had that happen. How do we handle dissemenation of this information, especially to members who need elevator access? All we had was an "elevator broken" sign, and sometimes it would go away, and that was infuriating. Many conditions require a lot of energy to be mobile, and get assistance to the space (para-transit). 1-3 days ahead to schedule a window. To find out it's broken after that is not a good way. Kevin - I would like to return to how equipment fund is funded. How? Trent - Equipment fund was a grant from Google with no strings attached. $15,000 once, and then another $15,000 on accident. Didn't want to spend it in case they wanted it back, but they said to deduct it from future invoices. No renewal process. Don't know how much is left. There's a wiki page which may (or may not) have information on it. Adrian - ~$6000 left. Kevin - Given ease of equipment fund allocation requests, how about adding verbiage to allow replenishing elevator fund from equipment fund? Zach - That's probably a different consensus item. Adrian - Get that written out formally as a separate consensus item. Trent - We really do want to pass this next week.
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