12-05-2011 GA Minutes

Date: 12-05-2011
Time: 7:15pm-8:45pm
Location: The Sun Shoppe Café (540 E New Haven –aka 192- in Downtown Melbourne, FL)
Facilitator: Steve-THANK YOU!
Minute Takers: 1 (Mandy)-THANK YOU!
Moderators: 2 (Gary and Diana)-THANK YOU!
Attendance: 21

Introduction to the GA [7:15pm-7:41pm]:
(Review of the GA process -see hand out (occupymelbournefl.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/proposalform1.jpg), select minute takers and moderators)

General Announcements

• Occupy Teleconference Flyer handout (www.occupymelbournefl.org/OccupyTeleconferenceFlyer2.pdf) If we get three more people to sign-up we can get the group discount and add even more people at no extra cost. So if you’re curious and have $5, please sign-up and let’s learn something.
  
• Stay on topic and use hand signals appropriately, please!
  
• 99% stickers for the back windshield!
  
• Katherine, who moved from NY in July is involved in a group that was working on the National General Assembly. She brought a Hand out quoting from the website (www.the99declaration.org) and explaining that the week of July 4th 2012 is the planned date for National General Assembly for the 876 delegates elected March of 2012 representing 435 congressional districts. The groups raised enough money to rent a venue for the event ($8000) and are looking at locations to update us with as soon as they get that information. They are trying to get people involved and to run for the “Third Continental Congress” with a petition for a redress of grievances and solutions.
  
• A lot of things are happening on Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/the99declaration
  
• End Corporate Personhood and “Citizens united” Flyer: (occupymelbournefl.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=politics&thread=140) My apologies for not getting more information on who offered this and the short discussion that took place at this time. The Flyer outlines “[David] Cobb, an attorney and organizer for the Move to Amend coalition, [who] will help local residents understand the history behind the recent decision and how they can work to abolish "Corporate Personhood" and reestablish a government of, by, and for the people.”
  
• Occupations are asking individuals to correct local media’s when they offer stories that offer misconceptions and incorrect information to the public in social media and print media. If you can’t convince them, at least you’re offering people an alternative perspective.
  
• For example: Specific mention to a Florida Today article about baby boomers passing the torch. Read it here: (www.floridatoday.com/article/20111204/NEWS01/312040036/Baby-boomer-activists-pass-protest-torch-new-generation)
  

Local Occupy Updates:

• The Peoples Convention of Florida hosted at Senator Beth Johnson Park on Ivanhoe and Legion pl right next to I-4 will gather the Occupiers of Florida on Friday December 9th where they’ll host the first of three GA’s designed to organize our goals and demands for reform in our nation. The first GA is on the 9th at 7pm at City Hall (400 S Orange Ave, Orlando FL).
  
• For more info: occupymelbournefl.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=directaction&thread=133&page=1

Working Group Reports/Updates:
Direct Action:

• Facilitator Evanne offers: Still looking at doing a food drive at small locations to collect small non perishable items teamed up with some charities already started.
  
• We’re still looking for occupation sites and some of them are already occupied by homeless, therefore we wanted to help them rather than displace them by offering care packages. If we identify locations, we can leave these items for these individuals so that they can collect them without feeling the pressure of “charity”
  
• We've been given information about large tent encampments including families with children who come from the camps and then onto the bus. This is hard to verify for if these camps are discovered, DCF will take their children therefore these individuals don’t want to come forward to say they need help.
  
• If you’re interested in spending a few hours on your Saturday at a grocer soliciting some food items, e-mail the DA facilitator Evanne at occupymelbournefl+da@gmail.com
  
• Love it! Why can’t each of us just bring one thing to every meeting? (Yes we can absolutely do that!)
  
• Consider dumping our food with the sharing center and food drives that are already established so that the individuals who have these needs can go to these same places that are already established and available.
  
• One third of all the homeless children in America are in central Florida, for example.
  

Issues:

• Ron, introduced as Facilitator of the issues group and would like to remind everyone that the message board offers everything we’re working on at this time and will help further our progress in our goals. Often times Ron will research and offer additional comment as objectively as he can.
  
• Additionally, Dominick and the Political Facebook group are working on sending messages to our politicians via facebook on specific issues that affect the people. Dominick lays it out once a week for us via e-mail so we can copy and paste and make it personal. To address these issues as individuals. As always, we’re open to suggestions.

Materials:

• New sign 3ft by 3ft with new URL (www.occupymelbournefl.org) and “This is your world too – Get Involved!”

Media:

• Finished the intro brochure: www.occupymelbournefl.org/OMF_Brochure.pdf
  
• Ron offered to donate brochure paper for final print and asked to hold off on final print until Wednesday at least. Comments are welcome on this brochure in this thread: occupymelbournefl.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=mediateam&action=display&thread=63
  

Web:

• Centralized url up and running: www.occupymelbournefl.org
  

Old Business [7:41pm-7:45pm]
Old Proposals:An anonymous donation has given OMF the domain www.occupymelbournefl.org, Volunteers signed up to start facebooking our politicians on issues that affect The People, We started a thread to write Newt Gingrich for his insulting remark about occupiers needing to ‘get a job right after they take a shower’ and even agreed to add a new page to our site to include foreclosure facts and resources.

1. Tabled last meeting: “Provide financial assistance to have a volunteer go to an alt energy class so they can teach the rest of us how to go off grid.”
a. Withdrawn because discussion on the startup cost of doing it (going off grid) to someone’s house is like 40K and the individual who wrote the proposal wanted to get more information about the plausibility and practicality of setting up a house for alternative energy
b. Keeping it tabled, no additional information at this time

New Business [7:45pm-8:00pm]
Proposal: “We need introductory literature for Occupy Melbourne to offer at Peace Corner, GA’s and other events.”
Concerns: Media team already put one together: www.occupymelbournefl.org/OMF_Brochure.pdf

• Are we supposed to read this tiny font that gets smaller and smaller? (No, that’s a way of symbolizing how the list goes on and it won’t fit in a brochure)
  
• Can we add something to explain that? (Yes) Maybe “etc, etc, etc,”
  
• What is the purpose of this? (When we’re out on Peace Corner and someone is waiting at that light and wants more information we can offer this brochure. When we have new comers to the GA who just overheard and want to know more, we can offer them the brochure. We can even mail them to our friends and family or print our own address on it so visitors can mail it back to us to join in.)
  
• Can you put off printing a final version and post a copy on the forum so people can see and comment? (Absolutely, already up: occupymelbournefl.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=mediateam&action=display&thread=63)
  
• Can you include some note about our GA location/time so people who might download or pick one up can have a place to start and to meet us? (You got it!)
  

Consensus: PASSED- Media team will make suggested corrections and update thread. Adjustments will end after Wednesday night. After which the brochure will be considered finalized with all changes and offered up for first print to be taken to Peace Corner and then the Peoples Convention of Florida.

Proposal: “To have a discussion about the issues concerning the Peoples Convention of Florida”
Concerns:Let’s talk about what we want to bring to the table in Orlando. Like who is going to go? What are our issues? Are we going to carpool? Can we have donations for the Carpool? What days and who will go? Is there someone we can stay with who haven’t made arrangements already? Should we have a join effort via carpooling with Occupy Spacecoast.

• Isn’t there a working group that is answering these?
  
• Let’s have this discussion after the recess

Consensus: PASSED- We will address other proposals first, then recess and open discussion on these concerns.

Proposal: “I propose Occupy Melbourne and maybe with other occupy groups, have a booth and presence at the Healthy Living expo that is on Saturday Feb 25th to offer more opportunities to recruit new people.”
Concerns: submit.mynaturalawakenings.com/BREV/Expo/

• How much does it cost? ($175-425)
  
• Are we asking for donations, which would include tax issues and such, to fund a booth presence? (Maybe not though that was the second part. I just think we should have a presence, if everyone agrees can’t a work group come up with the details?)
  
• Can we amend it to say that we have a presence there that way if we can’t rent a booth, we can always go anyway with our brochures.

Consensus: PASSED-Occupy Melbourne Fl will have a presence at the Healthy Living Expo in February and the Direct Action team will help get the details and planning.

Proposal: “Part Two- We need a plan for funds to have a budget for things like this (the above proposal and previously passed proposal of showing ‘THRIVE’, ads in the paper, etc.”
Concerns:Let’s find the actual cost before we try to find new information
Consensus: TABLED: See additional information here: submit.mynaturalawakenings.com/BREV/Expo/ and feel free to discuss it here: occupymelbournefl.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=mats&thread=141

Recess [15 min]


New Business cont. [8:15pm-8:43pm]
Proposal: “To have a discussion about the issues concerning the Peoples Convention of Florida”
Amendments/ Concerns: Let’s talk about what we want to bring to the table in Orlando.

• Like who is going to go? Remmy and Mandy are going on Friday after Peace Corner, sleeping in their car or working on site Friday night, Saturday(night too) and Sunday… and have room for 2 more passengers on the ride up.
  
• Gary (Can fit 4 people aside from himself-Evanne will be one) will be going on Saturday and Dave (From Cocoa and Occupy Space Coast) will offer a ride back to Melbourne on Sunday.
  
• Are we going to carpool? Remmy and Mandy are leaving after 6pm and will have room for 2 more people.
  
• What days do we want to go? Friday’s plan is for Florida Occupy people to come, Saturday is planned to come up with proposals for items onto the list of goals and demands and Sunday is planned for finalization so on Monday they can make the first delivery.
  
• Is there someone we can stay with who hasn’t made arrangements already? Individuals can book a room at the Double Tree across the street from the park. They can also stay at the park –though no sleeping is allowed at the park or walkways- though there are additional locations outside of the park where free parking is available and some individuals can choose to sleep in their cars. (i.imgur.com/VJVBQ.jpg)
  
• Should we have a joint effort via carpooling with Occupy Space Coast.

What are our issues?

• Foreclosure- Restore Glass Stiegel; (This prevented investment banks from being the same as commercial banks to ensure that there was a balance)
  
• In www.the99Declaration.org , there was a suggestion to have Moratorium on the bills before so we could ask for another
  
• There are people who suffer because of Moratoriums. You have to be careful about unintended consequences.
  
• Give me one example of something that would be adverse… (We have people who have not paid their assessments in years for HOA or Mortgages, and those people cannot be kicked out as of yet because of current laws. There is the lien option but that costs the HOA and is essentially useless.)
  
• What do you want then? (We want wells Fargo to disposition this property. We’re not sure what’s going to happen to this person who has a free ride supported by Wells Fargo. There are hundreds of thousands of people in these situations and we can’t discount them.)
  
• Yes, but there are also families who were once able to afford the houses they have and now cannot because of the recession and bad job market and we still need to address this.
  
• Unemployment-Locally, the shutting down of the Space Center impacted thousands. (For every former space center employee currently unemployed there is two other unemployed persons which is really a lot of unemployment) Additionally, there have been reports that Orlando is the most unemployed city in the state.
  
• Homelessness- There are homeless families too afraid to ask for help because it could lead to having their kids taken away. Record numbers of homelessness.
  
• Debt (Student Loans)-This is a cascade effect so how do we want to handle this?
  
• Do we want to include specific corruption at the state level?
  
• Solar Panels for state and county buildings or at least get the gov buildings up to standards.
  
• Ask Occupy Orlando if the issues we are going to be discussing will be for the state specific or federal or all of the above…
  

Consensus: No additional vote needed but the information will be available through the thread which has been opened for this event: occupymelbournefl.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=directaction&thread=133&page=1

Conclusion [8:45pm]

• Thank the Host!
  
• Clean-up after ourselves.