Minutes:Board Meeting Minutes 20131106

Special Board Meeting for Email Vote

The board held a special meeting from Nov 6 to Nov 9, 2013, for the purpose of voting on a motion via email. All seven board members provided emailed waivers of their right to receive at least one week advance notice of the special meeting. The motions follow this introductory paragraph. To make the motions less easily discoverable by internet search, the individuals' names have been replaced by their initials. The Motion to Revoke NW's Membership has failed by a vote of six "yes" to one "no" vote. Note that by the Standing Rules, a motion to revoke membership requires unanimous approval by the board.

Motion to Revoke NW’s Membership

Whereas i3 Detroit seeks to provide a welcoming environment free of hostility to all members, the board must act when a member exhibits a pattern of actions that harm our community. NW has made many positive contributions to the space, but those cannot outweigh the hostile environment he has contributed to creating.

1. The membership of NW is hereby revoked, effective immediately, because the board has determined that he has engaged in conduct materially and seriously prejudicial to the interests and purposes of the corporation. This was a pattern of repeated conduct that continued after he was informed that it was inappropriate.

a. Meeting one of the grounds for membership revocation in the Standing Rules: ”The member is a disruption about whom multiple members have complained.” Multiple members complained when he repeatedly took his dispute with Mario Corsetti over the bike and welding shops onto the member’s mailing list.

2. The minimum period of revocation shall be 30 days. If NW voluntarily terminated his membership after the passing of the Motion of Intent to Revoke and before the vote on the Motion to Revoke, the number of days after voluntary termination count as if they were days after revocation for the purpose of meeting the above 30 day minimum period.

3. The following additional conditions must be met, in the sole judgement of the board, for NW to be welcome to become a member again. The primary consideration of the board will be its responsibility to protect our community from the harmful behaviors that led to the revocation.

a. His words and actions as he responded to Motion of Intent to Revoke reflected our need for everyone at i3 Detroit to be respectful to one another and follow the rules, even in disagreement.

b. He removed his property from the space in a timely and considerate manner, reflecting the fact that we rely on both rules and consensus to make efficient use of a limited space. While his property storage violations are not grounds for revocation in this instance, his past behavior has shown a pattern of disregard for rules about storing property. E.g., large wooden couch components stored unsafely in the wood shop, and the same accompanied by sheets of wooden paneling in large project storage for weeks without a parking permit.

c. His presence on i3 Detroit’s social media as a non-member has reflected the need for everyone at i3 to be excellent to one another. For example, limiting negative communications to only those recipients who need to know about a specific problem and can help to resolve it, working to calm heated discussions rather than fanning the flames, responding to respectful questions without defensiveness, disengaging rather than continuing an online conflict that has become counter-productive.

d. His presence as a guest has demonstrated a consistent focus on positive contributions to the community and educational mission of i3 Detroit, as well as a proactive respect for the rules, including the rule that all guests are required to sign in with a host member.

4. If NW wishes to return to membership after his membership has been revoked, he may request in writing (to i3detroit-board@googlegroups.com) that the board review his status with regards to the conditions under which he is welcome to become a member again. This review may be requested no more than one time for each elected board, i.e., once per year.