An Interpretation of the March 2 General Meeting and a Response to Members' Letters

Sumitted by Yvonne Sabraw

The letters written after the March 2nd meeting deserve a response. An apology, for sure, from one of the people who was perceived as dominating the meeting and clearly upsetting many people. Last year, when we headed into the June 7th meeting, Richard quoted me in his opening statement to the meeting. It was a piece of a letter I had intended to send to the whole membership regarding what I feared was about to happen at that particular meeting, and asking newer members who might not be familiar with co-op practices to be aware that this was going to be an unusual meeting. Perhaps I should have prepared some kind of preamble for the March 2nd one as well.

What would it have said? What follows here is a mix of what could have been a preamble and my interpretation of the March 2nd meeting.

Preamble:

That people should know that they were going into a meeting that had no motions, and therefore, following Robert’s Rules, unless they asked for it, there would be no forum for discussion. Reports would be submitted, and it is standard to simply note that these were received, only discussing them if there is a recommendation that requires a motion that comes out of them.

That whether they agreed with Richard’s essay’s conclusion or not, they might want to take exception to any single member in our co-op stating that they have just given the final word on how our community documents its meetings. We could all appreciate the work that Richard put into this effort. And thank him for it. It is valuable to bring this research and thought to the discussion. Nevertheless , no one person has that special position or power in our co-op and we should not set such a precedent. Which is why I asked him to make a motion that the membership accept his proposal and this would give us all a voice. And if we agreed with him, the conclusions would be our membership’s word, not just Richard’s.

If there were argument on this, I would have had to go a bit further and say I was disappointed to read assertions in Richard’s essay that “almost a year of discussion” had taken place on minutes. It is a perennial discussion. But besides the challenges over the documentation of the June 7th meeting, there hasn’t actually been a forum for ANY community discussion. I would have welcomed that forum - as an opportunity to educate ourselves and as a chance for every member to think hard about what works for us.

That I hoped somebody other than me would point out that our Board had gone directly against co-op policy when it had failed to promptly provide minutes of our meetings to the membership. That even Robert’s Rules makes a statement about minutes having to be presented in a timely manner. There was no justification for holding back the minutes of P&D general meetings from Sept and December. Or the special meeting requested by Grounds on July 28 for that matter.

I wish someone had raised their hand and asked what a “Consent agenda” is. And why no one has ever presented a consent agenda at a meeting this way before. And what was the purpose this time around.

I wish someone else had pointed out the errors in the minutes that were being presented. Members at the meeting should know that in these minutes there were items contrary to what we had just said we wanted from our minutes. Truly, folks, I waited for others to speak on this. No one raised these points. Our July 28 minutes would have passed with an obvious error if we’d all just raised our hands and said “aye” for the consent agenda.

That a “committee of the whole” is more or less what we do every year when we discuss the proposed budget - for members to make recommendations before it comes back to another meeting for a vote. But there are no examples on the internet of a “Committee of the Whole” being the title of the facilitated/mediated group therapy session like the one we had on June 7th.

And - after reading the letters in the special edition, I want to thank people who commented on how we use Robert’s Rules. You have confirmed that we do still need dialogue and thought in this.

Okay - fun part of my letter:

True or false: a member who was not at the meeting for which minutes are being read and approved can not vote to approve them (actually - this is False! You don’t have to have been at a meeting to approve the minutes... this is apparently a common fallacy!)

True or false - the names of the person making the motion and the person seconding it should be recorded in the minutes? (Also false! The person making the motion can be named, the seconder should not. There should be no assumption that the seconder supports the motion - only that they believe it has merit in being discussed!)

A final word. I’m glad that the newsletter might now be a forum for discussion.

Finding a Path Forward Through Conflict

Submitted by David Broadhead

Dear neighbours,

In response to Phil’s note about the investigation that the Board reported on recently, I tapped out a few thoughts. This note is meant to engage ideas and push pull and tug at them. Let’s see where they land.

I can’t know where the investigation started and stopped. It was confidential and needs to stay that way. That honours the folks who contributed, believing in that confidentiality.

Let me quote a chunk here:

“Where we have difficult interactions across the membership that are traceable to personal styles and convictions and not malicious intent…,”

In this statement I find assertions that lack support. They need to be filled out. Are these conclusions of the investigation or the judgement of a member or members?

If these are conclusions from the investigation, they can’t be discussed. There is necessary context that members cannot know. Conclusions like these would be a stab in the dark.

Should these judgements be the opinion of a member or members, where does that take us? Most of us have strong feelings about inter-family conflict. Much of the time we don’t understand the full story. With respect, the stabbing here is in the same darkness.

And thus the next question – are we equipped to deal with tough conflict in our community?

I experienced difficult conflict last year, in fact I know I contributed to the conflict. At times I turned the heat up rather than dowsing the flame. However we describe that time, it did not feel like “personal styles and preferences”. I can’t know if others were acting out of “malicious intent”. Hopefully malicious intent was absent from all of our words.

What’s the point? It’s this – we can’t go back and redo or undo the investigation. Nor can we journey rearward and do a better job of handling old conflict with our neighbours. This is a one way street.

Many of us think that we were unprepared for community life over the past couple of years. The careful writing and lots of it on this page shows that. Members speaking. There are strong, deliberated ideas here. Hear the calls for us all to be better.

Let’s all contribute to the questions about Continuity Planning. We are hungry for courage and compassion. The whole is wiser than any one or group of us.

I have to work Roberts Rules in somehow. Here is my attempt:

I am a fan. That is, I am a fan of any operating policy that helps the shyest among us find equality with the brashest. That making way for others is a beautiful thing. Without waiting for survey results or construction grants, I can do exactly that now.

The question of what to do about past pain is too much for this note. People hurt, the community must acknowledge it in some way. We need wisdom and big soft hearts.

When I arrived at Sunnyhill I soon heard about Vision 2020. Didn’t know much about it, but it was the first time I associated Phil with anything. Since then he has constantly looked to the future and at times I get to work with him. Let’s keep our future in focus and head that way together.

Clarification on Minutes Review Report at March 2 Meeting

Submitted by Brenda Willman

CLARIFICATION ON MY MARCH 2, 2021 REPORT ON MINUTES DEFICIENCES AND APPEAL TO MEMBERSHIP ON RETIREMENT FROM COOP LIFE – FROM BRENDA WILLMAN

Fellow coopers: It was revealed to me on March 12, 2021 that the set of minutes I spent time reviewing was not a complete set of minutes from 2008 – 2021, thus my findings were incorrect.

I was not aware that I had not been provided all of the minutes I had asked for, having repeatedly commented that I needed to see all of the minutes from 2008 and going forward to be thorough. I put that in writing.

Had the fact that I was working with an incomplete set of minutes been pointed out to me at the March 2, 2021 meeting, I would have been sufficiently chagrined, and embarrassed as well, so as to have withdrawn the findings and gone back to the drawing board with a full complement of minutes. I will admit to my own shortcoming that I would have been put off as well, as I don’t like to present incomplete findings due to no fault of my own.

I received a comment, at the same time I learned that the minutes were a subset of the total, that it had been my intention to point out that people “were wrong” on March 2. I know why I introduced my findings - because of my genuine desire to alert my fellow members to what I thought was a severe deficiency – and I wanted to alert you all prior to commencing any discussion about minutes and prior to commencing any discussion about the ESSAY ON MINUTES penned by our Chair. At no time did I infer that the present board or anyone else caused the deficiencies. I was not personally involved in a finger-pointing exercise, and if anyone read that into my making the point of information, I cannot help that. I cannot comprehend why anyone would believe that I would deliberately blame the present board for missing minutes which were recorded (or not) well before their time. It is not logical, and if I am anything, I am logical and extremely detail oriented when doing that kind of work. (15 missing sets of minutes for sure, plus all of 2011, part of 2020 and all of 2021 is a lot of missing minutes, and at least 18 sets of minutes maybe not subsequently approved – THAT is what I wanted the membership to hear and act upon).

I have decided to completely withdraw from participating in any future coop life. I have asked the present chair (as de facto person to approach) to be excused from volunteering. I am no longer able to shoulder bullying, the frequent misrepresentation of my motives to others and to my face, and the resulting animosity. I also consider that I was part of the entire Newsletter Committee that was replaced, and that recently I was refused participation on the minute review project, so I cannot see how my participation will be suitable or welcome on any project or committee.

I have given much over the course of 31 years, and many of you are not aware of the volume of work I have done. I appeal to the membership at large to not take action against me (termination of membership) for failing to meet any volunteer requirements now and in the future. Thank you.

Using Legal Interventions to Resolve Sunnyhill Co-op Member Issues

Submitted by Phil Cox

If a member wrecks their unit, causes a disturbance or falls into arrears, and if they then disregard internal processes of sanction, then engaging legal services seems a viable option as a last resort.

Where we have difficult interactions across the membership that are traceable to personal styles and convictions and not malicious intent, there is no place for a legal intervention, ever. It is for us as a community to find a way.

The board initiated a very risky procedure designed to assign fault and make a repair. Confidentiality now is justified to protect the parties, but it has cordoned off what can be talked about and left a few of us feeling just a little less at home. And that is a loss to Sunnyhill.

We can build back from this, to be sure. But please, let’s not hail the use of a private investigator as a tool for making us stronger.

To Follow up on the March 2 Meeting in Preparation for the Meeting March 14

Submitted by Richard Harrison on behalf of the Board

Dear Members of the Co-op, 

Thank you to all who’ve written for the recent Special Edition of the Sunnyhill Voice, and thank you, too, those of you who’ve spoken or written to me personally since March 2. And thank you to the Board, who had an intense and lengthy conversation in its March 10 meeting to analyze the one on March 2 and craft a response to it. Thank all of you for your comments, and more, for your faith in Sunnyhill and our ability to deal with our current issues in such a way that we not only maintain but enhance our co-operative identity. 

It’s clear that we don’t want what happened in March 2’s meeting to happen again. It is clear, too, that the method to make sure of it isn’t just Robert’s Rules, it’s the will to support and apply them for the good of the whole. I’ve been in this situation before, where a meeting completes its agenda, but misplaces its spirit, the fellowship that makes it the meeting of a community. Over and over, I hear that we can no longer allow individuals to turn the common purpose of the meeting to their own agendas – and do so without appropriate respect for their fellow members of the Co-op. 

It’s widely accepted that each of us ought to have freedom, and at the same time, that the freedom we each have is limited by the freedom of others. But how that almost universally accepted principle works in practice is a political problem that requires constant thought. I think the Co-op itself is a metaphor for the answer: our homes are our own, but our walls belong to each other. 

This is the difference between Co-op living and private ownership. In a stand-alone house, your walls are your own; you can enjoy your home by playing your music louder than you can when you share a wall with someone else. You can raise your voice along with the music. You can tend your garden, or not, as you see fit, without regard to the weeds you might spread to your neighbors. You can put up pictures in the middle of the night. You can let your place fall to ruin. You can refuse to volunteer time or money … you get the idea. In a Co-op all of those individual exercises of freedom are limited by the walls you share with others, giving you your own space, but holding up both your houses. Living in a Co-op means to willingly contract to give up the liberties and privileges that private ownership permits. 

In return, we get community. We all know 10 or 20 or 60 of our neighbors. We share food and games and clean up duties in the common area and a financial future and the making of decisions. I love that. And while many of us might have come here at first attracted by the affordable housing charge and the view and the cedar ceilings, the ones who’ve stayed, I believe, stay here because the kind of love that’s found in a fellowship worth giving up stuff for. 

In meetings, Robert’s Rules are our shared walls. The complete book of them is 716 pages long. It has been in print, revised and reissued since 1876. Its 11th Edition is the result of 130 years of study of the way collective decision-making can best be facilitated as times and technology change what we expect of each other. I’ve acted as Chair in various organizations for decades., and I know I’ve made mistakes with the rules, and I’ve learned that sometimes, in interpreting them within the boundaries that they themselves allow, I have erred on the side of letting unproductive things go too long. I’m sensitive to the accusation that that the chair can become dictatorial. We are all sensitive to the accusation that we aren’t offering respect or are limiting someone else’s freedom of expression – those two are two of the great sins of our age – but certain latitude with the rules here has led to alienation and disrespect. So for a while at least, listening to the voices I’ve heard rise to a chorus over the past few days, as Chair I am going to use Robert’s Rules in the strict sense. 

So here is a quick guide to Robert’s Rules:

1. The Philosophy of Robert’s Rules

2. The Mechanics of Robert’s Rules

3. Robert’s Rules and the Agenda

4. Robert’s Rules, Civility, and the Mood of the Room

5. Robert’s Rules and Reading into the Minutes 

6. Robert’s Rules and the Chat Function 

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1. The Philosophy of Robert's Rules        

A: Robert's Rules are rules in favour of the shyest person in the room. 

Robert’s Rules is a system of discussion that gives everyone their turn and no more than their turn. It appoints a chair trusted by the group to make decisions according to the rules but who also acts in accord with the group as a whole 

B: Robert's Rules recognize that there are two kinds of votes. 

Robert’s holds to the idea that some decisions require more "buy-in" than others. In some cases, a simple majority (half those who vote plus one) is enough to assure the group that the decision in question is supported enough to warrant their support. Things for us like whether we support the Rooftops initiative or what the Housing Charge will be are such decisions. In meetings, these proposals for action are debated under Ordinary Resolutions.

But there are matters -- like bylaws and constitutions -- that do effects on the way things are done that can outlast the participatory lives of the people who make decisions about them. For those decisions, Robert's argues, those motions express Special Resolutions which require a 2/3 majority vote.

C: Robert's Rules are only rules. 

They're not laws, and they don't try to be. Admittedly, any group has its moments where the will of the majority, either expressly by vote or by extension through people voted into positions of authority, is imposed on everyone. In democratic institutions, there are protections against abuse of power, but such protections often take time to work. 

But Robert's Rules are constantly in front of us while we are in a meeting. In a sense, they are the procedures for free decision-making, which, to my mind, is decision-making that can explain itself. They do allow for variations on themselves with consent of the meeting -- things like allowing the maker of a motion to answer a question during the discussion, or the raising of "Points of Information" and "Points of Order" that both break the flow of a discussion when they are invoked and reconnect when they're done. 

It should be noted that Robert’s does allow a group to tailor things to their own needs, so even a consistent reference to Robert’s Rules will produce different results depending on how strictly or loosely the community chooses to use them. 

2. The Mechanics of Robert’s Rules 

Under Robert’s Rules, discussion is guided by a Resolution, which is expressed as a Motion. A motion is a statement about what the group should do. It is made by a member in the form of “I move that …..” . Once it is made, it needs to be seconded by another member in order to be discussed. If no one seconds a motion, it is dropped. 

For seconded motions, the order of the discussion is this: The person making the motion speaks in favour of it. 

Then the Chair opens the discussion to the members who signal their intention to speak. The Chair calls on each in turn. Each speaker can speak only once until the speaker’s list is finished; only then can someone who has spoken speak again. Each speaker must speak only about the resolution under debate. The Chair’s responsibility is to make sure that happens. No speaker can speak longer than 5 minutes/time they get to speak.

When the speakers have finished, the maker of the motion gets a chance to reply if they wish to. 

Then a vote is called. Motions for Ordinary Resolutions require a simple majority vote to pass; for Special Resolutions it is a 2/3 majority.

Everything in Robert’s Rules stems from this core. It’s orderly, and if followed, efficient. 

That said, there are variations on this theme that can complicate it and, if not checked, derail it and the meeting.

During debate, members can Move to Amend a motion. The motion they are proposing to amend is then known as the Main Motion. The amendment they make (if it is seconded), is considered a Subsidiary Motion and debated and voted on. If successful, it changes the wording of the main motion, if not, the main motion is unchanged. 

There are several other motions that can also be made once a main motion is under discussion (or, as Robert’s calls it “on the table”).  These are called Incidental Motions. The most-often used of these is Point of Order through which a member can raise a matter of procedure during a debate. The member can raise this point at any time during the discussion. However, the point of order must actually be a point about rules and procedure. Members cannot use it to add information or make arguments about the content of a motion or presentation under consideration. 

The other is a Point of Information. Like the Point of Order, this can be raised any time during a discussion, but can only be used to request information the member making the request sees as knowledge essential to the discussion at hand. 

When the debate about a motion is finished, the Chair, or a member can Call the Question. This is the call to vote on the motion.  

These are the most commonly used subsidiary and incidental motions. You can go through a whole meeting without needing much more than these. The rest are fine points of procedure, and the Chair will do their best, in future meetings – and in future writing on the subject – to familiarize the membership with these. 

3. Robert’s Rules and the Agenda 

We’ve had some recent difficulties with the agenda that need addressing. The Agenda is a proposal. The Chair puts it forward for the membership to approve the content and order of the items to be discussed. 

Since it is a proposal, the membership can modify it at the beginning of the meeting. However, it should be noted that every such modification, should, strictly speaking, require a vote by the membership in favour of including it before it is added. Likewise with items suggested for removal. Addition of items to the agenda may be spoken to by the member proposing them, but they are not debatable since debating them would automatically be putting them on the agenda. 

4. Robert’s Rules, Civility, and the Mood of the Room 

One of the reasons Robert’s Rules become loosely applied is that the Rules themselves acknowledge that people get used to each other, and that it is possible to read a room. So often things that technically require votes, usually procedural things, are dealt with without the cumbersome making of motions and voting on them. For the near future, in order to preserve the decorum of the meeting from the outset, the Chair will go by the book on all such matters. 

Robert’s also assumes that, once accepting of the rules, people will not speak over one another or break the decorum of the discussion. However, as noted below in the section on The Philosophy of Robert’s Rules, the Rules, from Henry Robert’s first writing of them in 1876 on, knows that it is those who can be shouted down who most need protecting by them. 

So the Chair has certain responsibilities to maintain order and a dialogue of respect. If a member speaks more than their time, uses language outside the bounds of parliamentary respect, becomes antagonistic towards another member, or behave in a way that disrupts the meeting, the Chair can cite that member as Out of Order and ask them to desist. If the Chair names the member, the naming of the member and the reason for it is recorded in the minutes; likewise if an apology is offered, and if a withdrawable remark withdrawn. 

Also, if the Chair does not reprimand a member behaving in such a manner by name, another member can ask for that member to be called out of order. 

If the behaviour persists, the Chair alone does not have the authority to reprimand a member further. That lies with the members at the meeting. The Chair can ask that a member move that the offending member be censured. Such a censure may be a demand for an apology or removal from the meeting. The motion to censure is not debatable, and it can be passed by a majority, voting, given the sensitivity of the case, by ballot. Those who have pointed out in their articles in the Newsletter are in line with and find support in this aspect of Robert’s Rules: the decorum of the meeting the responsibility of the meeting itself. 

5. Robert’s Rules and Reading into the Minutes 

Until these past issues with minutes, it’s been customary here for the Chair and recording secretary to add to the minutes anything a member requests be added. However, this, too, is a loose interpretation of Robert’s on the matter. 

According to a strict interpretation of the rules, which will be followed for the next while at least, only additions to the minutes requested by a member and voted by the membership to be accepted as additions to the minutes will be included. 

6. Robert’s Rules and the Chat Function 

Remember when passing notes in class got you in trouble? Now it’s not only allowed, Chat encourages it. We’re still getting into trouble, only this time it’s the notes themselves that often cause the grief. There is no specific mention of Chat in the 11th Edition of Robert’s Rules, but online updates to Robert’s extend the Rules’ warnings against sidebar conversations within meetings. They divide the attention of the room, and with Chat, they can set up their own parallel, un-chaired and un-minuted meeting within the meeting. 

As long as Chat remains incidental, and private between members as they share information about matters at hand, it can be useful. However, in the case where a Chat thread becomes diversionary or its language unparliamentary, it will need to be restrained. The Chair of the meeting cannot consistently follow two meetings at once. It will be up to members to monitor Chat, and if it becomes a detriment to the meeting, to draw the Chair’s attention to it. The Chair can call members to order and return to the main meeting, or, if the membership finds that the Chat is harming the decorum or purpose of the meeting, it can be disabled for a period of time. 

Member Letter About the General Meeting on March 2

Submitted by Debbie Willis

Dear fellow members of Sunnyhill Co-op,

I've been thinking about our meeting on March 2nd, where we witnessed a lot of hurt and frustration within our membership. I believe that most of the membership (many of whom were not directly involved in this current constellation of conflicts and may not even be aware of the specifics) will soon be ready to formally close this chapter and move forward. I personally look forward to hearing the policy changes that the board will suggest to help the co-op deal with future, similar challenges. The co-op has spent a huge amount of money, and the board and those involved in the investigation have given enormous amounts of time to this conflict, and I hope we won't allow it to go on forever. It would be best if we could move towards healing these rifts, and though I'm not sure how that will be possible in this specific case, I am optimistic that we will move beyond our current situation.

To that end, I had one idea that could perhaps help us in the future: Sunnyhill could pay to train a small team of volunteer mediators among our membership, people who could be called upon to help deal with interpersonal issues. Many Indigenous cultures have traditions of healing circles, and perhaps a similar, small-scale initiative could help us deal with interpersonal conflicts as they come up. I think this group could respond based on our shared values, which I hope we’ll soon define, and could take as their mission to ensure fair, generous-hearted dialogue at the co-op.

We live in a complex time, dealing with the pandemic and a climate-crisis that will continue to get more and more severe. As a co-op, we are also looking towards the challenge of organizing and implementing an ambitious and exciting Deep-Green Retrofit. We must have strategies to work together and to remain cooperative in spirit.

Thank you,

Debbie Willis

Member Letter Concerning the March 2 General Meeting

Submitted by Kris Wenzel

I would like to voice my chagrin as it relates to the March 2 General Meeting.

Strong opinions and passion are the lifeblood of any community, but I venture to suggest that no matter how strongly one may feel on any topic concerning the welfare of the Co-op, it does not justify dominating the agenda and monopolizing speaking time to the extent we witnessed on March 2.

There are dozens of members with equal stake and interest in the Co-op who were not heard while louder and more insistent voices prevailed, repetitive in content and adversarial in tone. Newer members like myself who are interested in becoming more engaged at Sunnyhill left that meeting feeling browbeaten and alienated.

I do not dismiss the concerns of any speaker. All feelings have merit and must be addressed, but in the context of an online, ‘general’ meeting involving dozens of potential participants, there should be a limit on the sheer amount of time any one member can speak. Or in lieu of that being mandated, perhaps we can remind ourselves that allowing for more and varied opinions to be heard is simple courtesy.

Clearly there are disagreements on meetings procedure and broader issues of trust to address, but the meeting March 2 had the qualities of a U.S. Senate filibuster, in that the majority of Co-op members were continually being diverted from actually confronting the issues at hand by a strident minority, and were left feeling confused and disrespected.

The pandemic is wearing us down and the world of Zoom meetings is hardly satisfying, which is all the more reason why our discourse needs to be as polite and as inclusive as possible.

Thank you,

Kris Wenzel

Letter from Member Regarding the General Meeting, March 2

Submitted by Sherry Kozak

The most recent SHC meeting was monopolized by a few members who were discussing items not on the agenda. In order to avoid this in the future, I suggest we return to a stricter use of Roberts Rules which we have used in the past.

1. The person making a motion may speak to explain the motion, then members can ask questions relevant to that item when recognized by the chair and may speak for a maximum of 5 minutes each. They may not address the issue twice. The mover of the motion may summarize the motion prior to the vote.

2. Due to lack of familiarity with Robert’s Rules, all meetings should be conducted with the basic Robert’s Rules (how to make a motion, second a motion, amend a motion, etc) but should not allow use of Point of Order, Point of Procedure, etc as these have been used improperly by members to interrupt proceedings and expound on other matters.

3. The summary pages of Robert’s Rules should be redistributed on paper to each unit as well as posted on the website.

Member Letter About March 2 Meeting

Submitted by Cindy Schnee

I feel trepidation about attending the next co-op meeting on March 14 because the last meeting on March 2 left a bad taste in my mouth. There were negative feelings and mistrust conveyed by some individuals, a feeling I do not share and resent having to participate in. I am frustrated that this kind of behaviour can dominate meetings, especially as attending meetings is an opportunity for members to participate in the co-op. Opinions are important and need to be heard, but there is a need for balance by other voices. It is also concerning that the meeting was unnecessarily long because some members were intent on advancing their own agendas. I left that meeting feeling flabbergasted that it happened the way it did. I don’t like that a meeting can devolve to a point where individual members need to decry uncooperative behaviour. It doesn’t feel good to have to write this type of note after a meeting and I am hoping that we can find a way to prevent uncooperative agendas from overtaking meetings. Despite my apprenhension I will attend the next co-op meeting, because participation is important to our governance and community.

Member Letter Regarding March 2 General Meeting

Submitted by Bonnie Robinson

We wanted to express our frustrations with the general meeting we had Tuesday March 2. We had to leave early but in the hour and 15 minutes that we were there, we didn’t even get beyond the agenda. We are still unclear of the catalyst of all the drama ( and quite frankly we don’t really need to know) but it feels like personal issues are being dragged up and general meetings are not the place to do so. James and I just wish we could move on because at this point, it feels like things are worsening. Both of us woke up the next morning still feeling gross about that meeting. We love this community and just want us to pull through. We are hoping that voicing our feelings can in the smallest way contribute to healing as a co-op.

-James and Bonnie #740

Open Letter to the Board and Membership

Submitted by Eric Moschopedis

Dear Board and fellow Members,

I want to thank the Board for all of  it’s diligence, kindness, and thoughtfulness over the last many months. I believe that the work you have done will lay the foundation for some positive change in the future. So thank you. You deserve and have earned my trust and respect—and in my opinion, that of the Membership. 

The March 2nd meeting left me, and others who have reached out, feeling sad, bruised, and disappointed. Having the meeting dominated by personal, as opposed to collaborative agendas, wasn’t productive or fair to the rest of the membership. We are a community with a multiplicity of voices, but to be healthy we need to hear them. This means creating safe, fair, and equitable spaces for exchange. Roberts Rules provides a framework for engagement, but it cannot demand respect and kindness, only we, the Membership can. 

I am happy that the Membership was able to come together to pass the motion regarding minutes and that the report about the investigation was presented. But I don’t think that we—the Membership—can ignore what happened at the meeting or we will see this behaviour repeated. As a Membership we need to firmly state that “enough is enough” and not put all of the onus on the Board to curb inappropriate behaviour.

A tremendous amount of time, hard work, and money has been dedicated to the physical infrastructure at Sunnyhill, but without proper intervention (think acupuncture) into the body politic of Sunnyhill, we risk an unhealthy community. Sunnyhill is a courageous idea populated by individuals, but only through kindness, generosity, and honest dialogue can we be a heterogeneous community.

The Board and the Membership have created momentum to affect change. I encourage us to use this momentum to create the conditions for healing and the space to be imaginative about who we want to be. 

Much respect,

Eric

Member Letter Regarding Recent General Meeting

Submitted by Dorrie Derbowka

Dear Members of the Board and Sunnyhill members:

I am writing to express my feelings regarding the last general meeting, and to acknowledge the community concerns this meeting raised. The meeting was difficult to witness, in that the voices of a minority of members dominated the conversation, and that these voices were at times adversarial, inappropriate and disrespectful. This behaviour is concerning as it not only directly impacted the meeting in a negative way, it has also had a ripple effect whereby the negative behaviour of any member in a general forum inadvertently permeates our entire community.

Acting from an individual mindset and agenda, and forgetting the big picture of community and cooperative behaviour results in an outcome like what we saw at the March 2nd meeting. Although the acrimonious tone of the meeting was disheartening, the beauty of membership at Sunnyhill is that members have a voice. A voice to say that we will not allow this behaviour to dominate our co-op. A voice to say that these actions do not define Sunnyhill, and that we do not want them to be allowed to continue to impact our community. It is not the board’s responsibility to create the community for us. It is up to us as members to take responsibility for creating the kind of community we want to live in.

The creation of a diverse, fair and welcoming community involves holding ourselves and each other accountable to the standards and values we agree to abide by when we sign the membership agreement. Cooperative living involves valuing the opinions of other members as much as we value our own, and doing our utmost to ensure that our individual wants do not usurp the wants and needs of other members, or of our community as a whole. It also involves listening to each other, and ensuring that all voices have the opportunity to be heard equitably. I hope the membership can hold on to these values as we attempt to move forward in a positive way.

I would like to thank the Board for all they are doing to make Sunnyhill a vibrant, cooperative community for all of us. Your efforts are noticed and are deeply appreciated.

Sincerely,

Dorrie Derbowka

Unit #24

The Principles and Practice of Being Cooperative

Submitted by Rachel Rose

An invitation to Sunnyhill, 

I have been reflecting on what it means to be cooperative and would like to share my thoughts... 

We often speak about “being cooperative” but in my time here I have seen many behaviours we assume are cooperative despite being in contradiction to one another. 

It seems at times that there is an assumption that since we are part of a co-op that we must be behaving cooperatively, but I don’t believe that’s the case. I think being cooperative is an intentional act that needs to be practiced time and time again. It’s not an arrival but rather an ongoing activity. We can’t declare that we are being cooperative, cooperation needs to be driven by shared ethics and values. 

We rely on our policies, Robert’s Rules, as well as norms to govern how we operate, but in many ways these are incomplete. These are merely tools and it’s the ethic and spirit in which they are utilized that can become cooperative or uncooperative. 

I have been wondering, what are the principles of cooperative behaviour? What does this look like in practice? What behaviours undermine cooperation? 

Over the last year I have observed instances of behaviours that I perceive to be uncooperative including: 

• Making assumptions

• Starting dialogue with accusations and adversarial tones.

• Refusing to communicate or shutting down

• Seeking to be right rather than to be heard

• A refusal to take perspectives

I have also seen behaviours that I believe to be cooperative including: 

• Asking questions with curiosity

• Listening

• Turn taking

• Showing appreciation

• Starting with goodwill

• Trusting in the good faith of others to function on our behalf

In my opinion Sunnyhill is at a pivotal juncture whereby we need to begin to further deliberate what it actually means to be cooperative and hold ourselves accountable to this or we risk division, harm, and fracture. My fear is if we don’t do this, uncooperative behaviours will further silence and marginalize members who we so deeply need engaged. Without this our meetings will be empty and we will find ourselves further apart and falling into disrepair.

I am sincerely interested in exploring the ethics and values of how we cooperate and would love to engage in dialogue and learn about what this means to you in efforts of starting to craft a shared vision. 

All my best, 

Rachel 

#807

Keeping Our Homes Well-ventilated During the Winter

Submitted by Heidi Mithaug-Cook on behalf of Buildings

Hi Sunnyhill!

In the cold winter months we want to keep the ventilation of our homes clean and operating smoothly. Here are a couple of important reminders:

Make sure you are changing out your furnace filter. This should be done every 3 months. This keeps your furnace in good working condition and eases stress on the motor.

Don't forget to empty the lint collector in your dryer before every use! This ensures lint build up in your dryer and dryer vent is kept to a minimum, reducing hazard and a cleaner exhaust.

Grounds Committee Update

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw on behalf of Grounds 

Grounds continues to meet virtually on Zoom one Monday evening per month over the winter,  the next meeting is Monday March 22nd 6:00. Everyone welcome. Email us at  shcgrounds@shaw.ca and we’ll send you the Zoom link 

Garbage enclosure murals, anyone?  

We have gotten such good feedback from the greater community on the artwork we  commissioned for the enclosure by the garage, we would like to pursue more artwork on other  enclosures. We know there are many talented artists in our own Co-op community and would  like to explore having one, or many, artists from Sunnyhill paint our enclosures. Perhaps we  could also consider having children’s artwork on an enclosure. If this piques your interest,  please let Grounds know so we can start making a plan to propose to the membership.  

Shears and lawn mower blade sharpening: Everything has been sharpened except the push mower blades which have to be taken to a specialty shop. Aiming to have them done for the  spring as well.  

YardWorx contract for snow removal 

There have been a few hiccups, but most of the feedback on the snow removal contract this  year have been positive. We welcome your general comments to the Grounds email. The leak  next to the 7th avenue SHC sign is being dealt with by the City.  

Spring Dumpster  

Yes, we will be bringing back this very popular spring ritual. However, we were wondering if we  should have some kind of item exchange opportunity before the dumpster arrives (anyone  remember the wild and wonderful SHC yard sales of yore?!) This would help to avoid having  perfectly good items tossed and then damaged so no one else can claim them. Perhaps we  can come up with something that would also address the problem of people leaving items out  by the dumpsters in the hopes that they are claimed by others. If you have suggestions, let us  know.  

SHC Gardening Club 

You might receive a personal invitation to join the gardening club if your unit is located near a  common area that needs a little extra love and attention. But if you don’t, and you’d like to be  part of a regular crew looking after key communal areas this summer, please let us know.  Weeding, watering, keeping branches off of pedestrian ares will be some of the tasks.  

Plan and seed exchange 

This has been proposed by a member who we know is a gifted gardener. Look for a date in the  April Newsletter, and if you have seeds you want to share, or plants that are available for splitting and sharing, keep that in mind as we all look forward to a new growing season.  We would also like to make that an opportunity for members to share ideas on growing fruits  and vegetables in our backyards. Potatoes in compost bins? Vertical hangers for strawberries?  There is a move toward increased food sustainability with backyard gardens, and some  members have had great success which we hope they will share. 

February Recycling Tip: Automotive Chemicals

Submitted by Peter Clyne on behalf of the Education Committee

It is quite icy out there! A reminder that there are some gravel bins available around the co-op to make our walkways a little less slippery. As well, the city has made its sand-salt mixture (called pickle) available for free again this year. There are a number of pickup locations around the city that can be found at this website: 

https://www.calgary.ca/transportation/roads/road-maintenance/snow-and-ice-control/sanding-material-pick-up-locations.html

I think the closest location to us is at the EMS station off of Memorial Drive (1940 Westmount Blvd NW).

Additionally, this month's recycling tip is about automotive chemicals like motor oil, transmission fluid, or coolant. These cannot be dealt with in our garbage, recycling, or composting receptacles. They are disposed of free of charge at hazardous waste drop off locations, either a designated fire hall, or the landfill's throw and go area. Just bring it in a sealed, spill-proof container and label it. https://www.calgary.ca/uep/wrs/what-goes-where/chemicals-automotive.html

Revisiting My 2014 Green Audit

Submitted by Bob Bott

In 2014, I was one of the last beneficiaries of Green Calgary’s “Healthy Home” inspection program that had run for about six years with support from the City. The non-profit then had to stop making individual home visits due to changes in their funding and organization. However, Green Calgary continues to provide other support for communities and households that want to become more sustainable: https://www.greencalgary.org/green-homes-communities. 

The inspection was friendly, thorough, helpful, informative--and free, although a donation was suggested. I undertook it both for my own benefit and to help inform Sunnyhill’s environmental Green Plan then being developed by our Vision 2020 Task Force (which later became the Planning and Development Committee). 

I originally wrote up the following account in November 2014 for the Sunnyhill newsletter, and I have added some updates in italics based on the subsequent six years’ experience. 

The 2014 inspection was conducted by Green Calgary advisor Jori Baum and involved two visits, June 30 (2 hours) and November 3 (1.5 hours):

While signing up, I was also asked to fill out a questionnaire to determine my “ecological footprint.” According to this tool (which they admit is far from perfect) my footprint is well below the Calgary average but only slightly below the Canadian average. That was the first surprise. I thought my recycling, composting, Spark Energy green power, car-free living, etc. would lead to a better score. Things like buying processed foods and taking airplane trips enlarge the footprint. Alberta’s dependence on fossil fuel-fired electricity (coal and natural gas) enlarges all our footprints. Spark Energy is now Alberta Co-operative Energy, and Alberta’s grid now uses much less coal-fired electricity. I no longer do as much air and bus travel. I have signed up for Communauto carsharing but have yet to use its vehicles. Bicycle, foot, and transit meet almost all by transportation needs.

Jori started out by examining my utility bills:

• Electric: She noticed a small increase in my consumption since January compared to the previous year. She suggested checking for “vampire” gadgets draining power when not in use. I borrowed a vampire power tester from the Calgary Public Library, and I found several things that could be unplugged or turned off when not in use. She said Spark Energy was good – less reliance on coal-fired power – and noted most of my bulbs are compact fluorescent. The EnergyStar fridge and stove were good, but she recommended minimizing use of the clothes dryer and air-drying as much as possible. I do some air-drying but don’t have much room for a rack. One idea might be a rack on a pulley in the high-ceiling part of the unit, but I’ll probably try one of those folding, apartment-type racks first. I probably still have too many vampire power drains, and I never followed through on air-drying; maybe this year.

• Natural gas: My gas usage was not too bad for an end unit, considering our insulation and windows, and I do a pretty good job of controlling the thermostat. At her suggestion, I’ve put that shrink-fit plastic on my windows this winter. I’ve also put insulation on the copper pipe from the water heater. In the long run, we need to improve wall and roof insulation in our buildings to become really efficient; windows will just be a start. She was surprised that my furnace, installed a few years ago, doesn’t appear to have an air filter; she recommends the pleated type of air filters. I got a furnace filter, but after a couple of years I stopped doing the plastic on the windows each winter (tsk tsk). Our proposed retrofit will deal with the bigger energy-efficiency issues.

• Water: We couldn’t judge usage because it’s not individually metered and the co-op pays for it. She checked my taps and toilet for leakage (none leaked). She replaced the “low-flow” shower head and sink aerator with more efficient units. She recommended watering yard in the evening, no more often than once a week, and no more than one inch at a time – put out something like a tuna tin to measure how much. I don’t have a dishwasher, so there were no comments about that. She tried to convince me to get a rain barrel, especially for watering the big spruce, but the downspout already empties onto treed and grassy area, so I don’t consider it a priority. No change.

We also talked about things like food, waste, chemicals, yards, etc:

• Recycling: Co-op gets good marks for using Blue Planet (one of Green Calgary’s sponsors). No change.

• Composting: Helen and I share composters. Green Calgary will provide composters if you need them. We now have composting for the whole co-op.

• Food: She tried to convince me to shop more at farmers’ markets, natural food stores, etc., and to buy less packaged, prepared, processed stuff. The Sunnyside Market and Community Natural Foods are located close to the Co-op and Safeway stores where I usually shop, and I’ve started visiting them more often. I used to do more of that stuff, like making my own granola, but it seemed a lot of hassle for just one person. She gave me an information sheet about sustainable food choices that has some good suggestions. I have continued doing part of my shopping at Sunnyside Market, and I do a lot of cooking “from scratch” especially since the Covid restrictions.

• Household chemicals: This is probably the biggest single behavioral change for me. She went through the ingredients of my laundry and dish detergents and the liquid soap I’ve been using in the bathroom, and they were all full of stuff that is either bad for the user or bad for the water treatment system and downstream water users, or both. She convinced me to throw them all out immediately and provided me with non-toxic replacement products. She said Green Calgary used to collect the bad products during their visits but had to stop because the City ruled they would be “transporting hazardous goods” and would require special licenses. I gave them to JP to take to the toxic disposal at a fire station. I’ve been buying the replacements and they work fine. I’ve continued to use less-toxic household products as much as possible and to follow guidelines for safe disposal of things like batteries and fluorescent light bulbs.

• Yard chemicals: We get good marks for our pesticide-free policy. She was skeptical about some of the new non-toxic products like iron-based weed killer, but these have been approved under Ontario’s ban and should be safe to use. No change.

• Yard maintenance: She recommends three-inch grass height and leaving clippings to improve moisture retention and eliminate disposal need. The Grounds Committee has asked Curbside to increase lawn height (still not three inches, but at least two inches). However, they have been insistent about collecting the clippings. Grounds will have to continue discussing this with Curbside. It would be okay if the clippings were composted, but this will have to await large-scale municipal composting. If we were to consider a different contractor, Green Calgary recommends Pixie Gardens http://www.pixiegardens.ca/wp/ or Eco-Yards http://www.eco-yards.com/. The Grounds Committee continues to address these issues, and the Permaculture Pilot Project illustrates how we can further improve.

The visits passed very quickly. I found the presentations effective and persuasive without being too didactic. We should consider getting Green Calgary to do a presentation for the whole co-op when the weather warms up and/or when Covid restrictions ease. Their Community Waste program might also be relevant to us: https://www.greencalgary.org/green-homes-communities/community-waste-exploration 

New Member Welcome Letter from Grounds

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw on behalf of the Grounds Committee

Sunnyhill Grounds Committee Welcomes You 

How exciting that you are the newest member of our Co-op! To help new members settle in with the fewest complications possible, the SHC Grounds Committee has put together this brief introduction to all things Grounds. This information is meant to supplement the Grounds policies that are part of Sunnyhill’s documents, which you should have received when you moved in, so please also take the time to read those and refer to them for more detail. 

Taking Care of Your Yard 

You are responsible for caring for your yard, driveway, and any garden attached to your unit, including areas just outside your fence. The standards for yard maintenance are in the Grounds policies in the Co-op binder. Please note, you must speak with Grounds before making any significant changes to your yard. 

Grounds provides members with information to identify problem weeds so members can clear out these species yearly. The City can fine us for allowing invasive weeds on our property, so please be diligent. If you need assistance, Grounds would be happy to help. 

Taking Care of our Common Spaces 

• SHC has a contract for snow clearance and lawn care, which take care of our common areas and sidewalks. In the summer, please try to pick up children’s toys and other items around the common areas to make the lawn care easier for our contractors. • We contract an arborist to prune and care for trees in the common areas. We may ask members to water trees that are near their unit. Some of the Co-op trees require “deep root watering,” which needs a slow run of water through the area under the tree for 1-2 hours every week. 

• The playground is open to all, as are the picnic tables and benches scattered around the co-op. Take a wander through, introduce yourself to other members, and if you see a firepit happening in the common space, you are welcome to join! 

• The Food Forest, located along the public pathway east of 7th avenue, was created in 2019. It is in its infancy, and we ask everyone to be careful around the trees and plants in that area as they establish themselves. 

• Several times through the summer, the Grounds Committee hosts working bees so members can come together to take care of our shared spaces. Coming out to these is a great way to meet your neighbours and be an active member of our co-op. Watch the newsletter for dates. 

Water 

Water for Sunnyhill is paid for collectively by the Co-op. Some units have outdoor taps, others do not. Members need to share access to these taps, so please be aware your neighbours may need to use yours if you have one. And if you don’t have outdoor water, check in with your neighbour about access to theirs.

Recycling, Composting, Garbage 

• Sunnyhill, as a housing complex, has to contract our waste management. BluPlanet picks up all of our waste. We have 6 garbage enclosures, any of which can be used by members, and it is also members’ responsibility to keep them tidy. 

• We rely on members to sort their trash correctly. The list of what goes in each container is on the garbage enclosures. The Co-op faces additional charges for items placed incorrectly, including large items left outside bins. Recycling and Compost are picked up every Wednesday. Garbage is picked up every second Thursday. 

• If you have large items to dispose of, please hold onto them until for the Spring Cleanup. Every year we rent a giant dumpster where things such as furniture, mattresses, etc. can be disposed of. The exact date is announced in the Spring. 

The Shed 

You should have received a key for the shed when you got your unit key. You will find tools, mowers, whipper snippers, grass and clover seed, and other useful items in the shed. Please follow the rules posted just inside the door, especially about signing out items. All borrowed items should be returned by the end of the day. 

Pest Management 

As our buildings are aging, and we live near a naturalized area, we are prone to mice infestations. In the summer wasps build nests in eaves, under balcony roofs and decks, amongst other places. Please review the Pest Management Policy in your binder for advice. Pest management supplies are kept in the shed. 

Where To Get Help 

Trying to figure out what an invasive weed is? Concerned about managing the snow removal in your driveway? 

1. Talk to your neighbour about how you can share responsibilities 

2. Call or email the Grounds committee (see your phone list) 

3. Ask the SHC office coordinator to direct you to the best person for assistance. 

------------------------------------------------------------- 

Think you might like to join the Grounds Committee? Excellent Choice! No previous knowledge or skills are required. Call or email us and come check out a meeting to see what we do. 

shcgrounds @shaw.ca

Grounds Committee Update

Submitted by Yvonne Sabraw on behalf of the Grounds Committee

Grounds continues to meet monthly through the winter by Zoom. Our next one is Monday February 22nd, 6:00-7:30 and any member is welcome to check it out. Just contact us for the Zoom link. 

A few Highlights from what has been on our agenda:

Pest Management: We would still like to have a co-op member step forward as the official Pest Management coordinator, but in the meantime we are managing a few mouse infestation situations. Please be aware that there are mouse traps kept in the white cupboard in the co-op shed for members to use as needed. 

Garbage enclosures: We have had a member complaint about items being left inside and outside our garbage enclosures. There is also a lot of grumbling about garbage bins being filled with items like furniture that are not supposed to be disposed of in that way and non-recyclables being put into the recycling bins.  These are perennial concerns, and have been brought to members' attention in the past without our co-op coming to any enduring solution.The Spring dumpster foe large items appears to only be partially effective in dealing with the problem.  We have done some brainstorming about how to manage the issues, but we would like this to be a discussion for the Co-op generally, and then determine if there are practices, policies or procedures that we should put in place.   Once we have prepared a bit more we will bring this to a general meeting. In the meantime, please refrain from leaving things at things at the garbage enclosures!

New Member Welcome from Grounds: We have put together a Welcome letter to be given to new members at move-in, highlighting some of the grounds-related information that is not necessarily in policies and procedures, or that is but which we felt should be underlined.  Our Board liaison suggested that it might be good for all members to see this letter as there may be things of which even longer-term members are not aware. You can read it here, in the SHC Newsletter, and we will distribute a hard copy to members in the Spring.

Gardening Club: The mandate of the Grounds committee is quite extensive, from vetting and managing snow removal and grass cutting contracts to organizing the Spring dumpster to overseeing pest management, to looking at permaculture projects and on and on. The basic care of our Grounds, however, is something that is shared by all members, and frequently when people move into a co-op they see the maintenance of the common areas as an obvious area that the community would be working on together. Co-op Clean-up days are an example of individual members helping to care for our common spaces, but they are limited to specific days. There are many ongoing smaller projects through the summer that need to be undertaken, such as weeding flower beds, watering our Spruce trees, keeping playground gravel within the playground. We are looking at having a repository for the list of these projects and matching them with members who have said they don't necessarily want to be on the Grounds committee (and dealing with contracts and policy, etc.) but would like to be involved in the co-op in this practical way. Please send us an email if this speaks to you, and you would like us to keep you in the loop as we plan what this might look like.

Permaculture Potential #3: Permaculture and Climate Change

Submitted by Debbie Willis and the Grounds Committee

Welcome to Permaculture Potential! The Grounds Committee is excited to help educate co-op members (and ourselves!) about permacultures principles and techniques, with the eventual aim of proposing more permaculture projects to membership. This month, in honour of President Joe Biden rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, we will be discussing permaculture and its relationship to the climate crisis.

It's probably intuitive how permaculture—working with nature in order to grow food and regenerate natural systems—can be an important way to address climate change. Eating local food has long been a known as an effective way to lower your carbon footprint; our food forest at the co-op will be a way for all of us to enjoy local, healthy food that has not been transported by plane or truck.

Also, permaculture tends to include growing trees, shrubs, and other plants that will sequester carbon in the ground in the most natural, life-giving way—there is nothing wrong with carbon, per say, but there's something deeply wrong when we've released too much of it into the atmosphere.

But it's not simply trees that sequester carbon; it's the entire natural system, including the soil and mycelium. Agriculture monocrops do not sequester carbon the same way that complex polycultures do, in part because carbon cannot be effectively and naturally sequestered unless there is healthy soil.

 Soil is full of trillions of living microorganisms, and those beings do enormous work to sequester carbon and communicate with each other, and they don't like to be disturbed. Permaculture—which mostly relies on perennial plants and is often no-till/low-till and organic—allows us to produce food without much disturbance of the top soil. In contrast, industrial forms of agriculture tend to involve using pesticides—which kill microorganisms in the soil—and then attempting to replenish the soil through the addition, each year, of more and more fertilizers. These chemicals are generally fossil-fuels based, and they lead to soil depletion and, over the long term, the death and disappearance of topsoil. The loss of topsoil is a huge topic, as it has led to the collapse of whole civilizations, so preserving our topsoil is one of our most effective ways of addressing the linked crises of climate change and food insecurity.

Permaculture uses natural methods to increase the soil's capacity to capture carbon, such as compost, compost teas, mulch, fungi, worms, beneficial micro-organisms, and sustainably produced biochar. Permaculture also generally involves ground cover, which protects and nurtures the soil. Permaculture is always concerned with building and preserving soil, rather than tearing it apart and letting it blow or wash away.

I highly recommend Kiss the Ground, a documentary that is informative about regenerative agriculture's effect on soil health, and therefore on the planet. It can be found on Netflix.

And of course, there are many other ways in which permaculture can help solve the climate crisis, but these are far too numerous for a short article. Here are just a few, and there's more information at permacultureclimatechange.org:

• Water harvesting, retention and restoration of functional water systems allows for better management of watersheds and less waste (see our last article on permaculture and water management)

• Forest conservation, rewilding, and sustainable forestry and agriculture allows for healthier ecosystems and natural carbon capture

• Community-based economic models—incorporating strategies such as co-operatives, local currencies, gift economies, and horizontal economic networks—allow for citizen engagement instead of corporate monopoly

• Conservation, energy efficiency, re-use, recycling and full-cost accounting (taking more than just economics into account) decrease waste

• Conflict transformation, trauma counseling and personal and spiritual healing can allow for greater engagement with the natural world