Facilitation Team:
- Co-Moderators: Dallas & Bishop
- Stack: Tara
- Minutes: Carey
Bishop: Motions to jump ahead to special topic; the city’s request to remove the info area. Assembly agrees.
Kevin: Covered hand signals via rap
Special Topic
Read information David received from Michael McDonald requesting that we remove the tent and library stating that they are permanent structures
Clarifying Questions:
Is the issue that we were attempting to construct a new tent?
The supply tent has not been removed during pressure washing, may be the reason they are calling it a permanent structure
Who announced it?
Dave Cortez
What are the circumstances?
The city manager’s office was asked to bring anything to the General Assembly, they did not
What is considered a permanent structure?
The “tents” and “bookshelf”
Stack Opened:
Azura: Donate everything to Planet K, wait for city council to contact McDonnald’s office, and return
Collin: I can hold the books, we need to hold this spot for now
Jordan: Is it just Chief McDonnald?
We’ve been trying to contact Marc Ott, it is unclear
Jim: It sounds like this is not an official communication of any kind, we should do nothing for now
Duffy: Since the beginning we’ve cowed to authority, I don’t think we should continue down that path. I believe we should move to that one park, were we can be comfortable.
Parks have a 10:00 curfew
We’ve slept there a couple of times without issue
Tovo and Morrison want to lift the comping ban
Pops: I agree with Azura, Jim and Levi. Why don’t we fold the tent up and talk to city hall. We don’t need the lacky.
Claire: Jordan & I want in to city hall and requested to see Marc Ott, then requested to Michael McDonald, and were referred to someone who was unavailable, to see if I could get a written statement from them.
Sonny: I say we show them it’s not a permanent structure, by moving it five feet.
Make ‘em come and get it.
Steve: We don’t get CT’d and separated again. Level heads have got to prevail.
Pops: Don’t bathe and wear bad cologne
Just take it down.
Why can’t we just get on-board
Jordan: I see this as an attempt to de-legitimize the 24/7 occupation.
There is a such thing as a silent protest
I don’t think they’ll see it this way.
Amanda: We shouldn’t move until they give us something in writing, unless threats of arrests.
Johnathan: I wanted to remind everybody, that there isn’t going to be a day were we’re teargassed, because that isn’t how Austin is going to handle this. Death of 1000 cuts. A couple of times before there has been contention before about the GA supporting direct actions.
Proposals:
1. Claire: Move the tent 10 feet, and that is IT.
2. Duffy: Moving the tent isn’t going to do anything, we move to space more accommodating. Relocate.
3. Chicago: Impassioned speech, I want to run for Chief of Police, we tell the cops to take showers.
4. Amanda: For tonight, do nothing; unless they force us to
5. Pops: Let’s move the tent and make them give us something official (like Claire’s), go to federal court, and stall them with an injunction. We need a serious attorney.
6. David: Just move it during the power wash.
7. Azura: Donate the the tent back to planet K, get the tent prize/Dan Coi/party and keep new tent.
8. G: Get another tent, we need an info-tent. (similar to Azura)
Conducted a straw poll to decide which proposal we would discuss first
Straw Poll Results:
- Proposal 1: 21 votes
- Proposal 2: 15 votes
- Proposal 3: ???
- Proposal 4: 22 votes
- Proposal 5: 26 votes
- Proposal 6: 8 votes
- Proposal 7: 15 votes
- Proposal 8: 23 votes
Proposal 5:
Virginia – FA: Proposals #2, #7 and #8 can not be done tonight, combine the rest into one large proposal
Friendly Amendment accepted
CQ: What are we doing with the bookshelf? What about the info-table?
Same as the tent
POI: City hall security is asking us to move some stuff right now
MIC CHECK: Come get on stack and tell us to move our stuff
Jordan – POI: City hall security wants us to remove the extension cord that is being run
Cedric – POI: It’s already gone.
CQ: Would we fall back to the planet K plan as a contingency?
CQ: Do we have a volunteer to transport this stuff to planet K?
POI: Yes
Cedric – Concern: We’re saying we are going to move the tent on power washing nights. No one is here to help move it, who is going to do it?
Pops – FA: Hold GA on power-washing nights
Concern: This should be a separate proposal
FA: Remove power-washing stipulation
POI: This is needlessly alienating
Friendly Amendment accepted nullifying previous Friendly Amendment
Duffy – Concern: We’re just reacting to the city. We shouldn’t respond to them unless they address us in an appropriate manner
Jordan – Concern: This isn’t about whether or not the tent can be moved, they know it can be moved.
Kevin – Vibes check: I understand this is frustrating, we don’t really have a process for this and we’re just going with it. So lets all come back together and take a few deep breaths
Concern: We never know what time they’ll come to take down the tent. Will there be anyone around when they come?
Several people volunteering to stay and watch the camp
Cedric – Concern: We need to move. Constantly moving the tents back and forth constantly for power washings is slowly tearing them up. We’re fighting for crap land.
Concern: If we just move it 10 feet it’s just antagonizing
FA: Remove #1, demand formal request in writing from the city
Friendly Amendment Accepted
Final Proposal
We do nothing. If the city tells us the tent needs to come down we request a written statement. If the city forces us to we can take it down and store it at Planet K and possibly follow up with legal action.
Proposal Passed
POI: It is now after 9:00 pm so we will not have other Proposals and Report Backs
Quick Announcement
Jamie: Occupy Austin has been nominated in Firedoglake’s contest to win a tent. Please log on and vote for us tonight.
Meeting adjourned
Tags: General Assembly, minutes
