Month: October 2013

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1. Please click here for the download of the September 9, 2013 minutes.
2. Please click here for the download of the Sept 23, 2013 minutes
3. Please click here for the download of the October 7, 2013 minutes
4. Please click here for the download of the October 21, 2013 minutes
5. Please click here for the download of the November 4, 2013 minutes
6. Please click here for the download of the November 18, 2013 minutes
7. Please click here for the download of the December 2, 2013 minutes
8. Please click here for the download of the December 16, 2013 minutes
9. Please click here for the download of the January 6, 2014 minutes
10. Please click here for the download of the January 20, 2014 minutes
11. Please click here for the download of the February 3, 2014 minutes
12. Please click here for the download of the February 17, 2014 minutes
13. Please click here for the download of the March 3, 2014 minutes

PRESENT: Alan, Vince, Blaine, Lisa, Neal, Patricia

AGENDA:

1. Discussion of possible TCT camp sites
2. Discussion on TPCCEH Coalition meeting
3. Report on New Web site
4. Bank account

POSSIBLE CHURCH LOCATION: Patricia and Neal reported on the meeting with the trustees at Bethlehem Lutheran Church (BL). Although not a member of BL, Elder Ronnie Warren, whom we met at the Coalition meeting in September, helped connect up TCT with BL as a possible site and got us an invitation to the trustees’ meeting on October 15. At that meeting, Neal gave a shortened form of the Power Point presentation he put together. The pastor explained that this was an introductory presentation only. The discussion of possibly hosting TCT will be held on Oct 29. Those present at the meeting responded positively to Neal’s presentation, including one individual who Pastor Nina Body felt was likely to be resistant. Before making their decision, the trustees want to talk to churches in Seattle who have acted as hosts to other tent cities. They also want clarification on liability issues, not only hold harmless agreements but how their insurance would view that agreement. Neal will get the contact information for Pastor Body.

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PRESENT: Alan, Neal, Patricia, Vince, Blaine

AGENDA:

1. Telephone
2. Business cards
3. PO Box
4. Credit union account
5. Fund raising
6. Tent host site search:
7. Website.
8. Planning for next meeting.

TELEPHONE: Neal used the money that TCT members donated at the last meeting to activate our cell phone with Virgin. There are 2 plans, a $40 unlimited plan and a $20 limited plan. Neal opted for the cheaper plan, which basically keeps the phone active.

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PRESENT: Alan, Neal, Lisa, Blaine, Patricia

AGENDA:

1. Web Site
2. Coalition report
3. Telephone
4. Business cards & letterhead
5. Web site
6. Bank account.
7. Funds
8. PO Box

Coalition Meeting: Patricia went to meeting of the Tacoma Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness. She gave a bit of feedback and what we in TCT are up to. She invited others to work with us. Ronnie Warren, a local clergyman, approached Patricia at end of meeting. He said he knew of several churches that could possibly be open to sponsoring us. He suggested Bethlehem Lutheran. There was discussion about this. The idea of being able to make a single combined request to set up an encampment, as opposed to having to approach a lot of agencies separately, went over well. A community psychologist, Al Ratcliffe, talked about TCT being a transition from hospital discharge into the community for folks with no place to go. He deals with people being discharged from hospitals who need a respite place to stay for a while until they get reintegrated into society, and he thought TCT might be able to help.

Telephone: Neal checked into getting us a Google phone number. The problem is that there are no local exchanges available, such as 253. Neal currently has 2 cell phones, one with Virgin. He said the Virgin one could be given to TCT. Costs would be about $40 a month. Patricia also has a Magic Jack that’s a few years old and needs reactivating if it is to be used. Neal will see what can be done with the Virgin phone and report back at the next meeting.

Business Cards and Letterhead: Alan showed the letterhead and business cards he designed. There was discussion and suggestions for improvement on the business cards. Alan will bring them in at our next meeting.

Web Site: We decided that Patricia and Neal will be admins website admins. Alan demonstrated how a website might look. He set up a mini-server on a thumbdrive and installed WordPress, doing some initial work. Alan will help set up the website and serve as a very temporary admin until Neal and Patricia are up to speed. We expect that should not take too long to accomplish. Alan reserved and registered a URL under the name www.tentcitytacoma.net in case we had difficulty with getting Mike to transfer www.tentcitytacoma.org to us. At the next meeting, Patricia will report on progress getting Mike to transfer the ownership of the domain.

Credit Union Account: We approved $22 to give to Neal so he can register a phone with Virginia phone company. Patricia will set up a You Caring campaign. She will hold card and check, and we can decide later on who else will be treasurers. We do not yet have a bank account.

Post Office Box: We discussed this briefly and will deal with it further at the next meeting.

Tent City Tacoma Minutes for Meeting on September 9, 2013

PRESENT: Alan, Patricia, John, Lisa, Emily.

AGENDA:

1. Business cards & letterhead
2. Coalition Thursday, and Colin will.
3. Neal on phone
4. Web Site
5. Bank Account

Business Cards & Letterhead: Alan showed mockups of a letterhead and business cards. Members made suggestions on improving the design and layout of the business card and letterhead. One suggestion was to change the word “address” in the letterhead to “mail stop” so no one would assume that TCT was located at Aubrey’s house. These minutes were printed on the revised letterhead.

Coalition Meeting: The next coalition meeting is Thursday morning (Sept 12, 2013). Blaine, Patricia, and Neal will attend. Goals for coalition meeting representing TCT—Report on progress toward revisions. Will try to set up where we interface with all committees at once. We can go to meetings of individual commissions when they have public meetings. Discussed further alliances.

Patricia & Others: Trying to figure out how to get TPCCEH (Tacoma Pierce County Coalition to End Homelessness) community coalition to work on our behalf, how do build better communication, connect with directors of various sub-organizations. Colin was going to raise issues to try to get more support for TCT. Most important thing for us is that TPCCEH sees TCT as definitely being a part of the coalition. Blaine and Patricia went to the last coalition meeting. Concerns are with the PD and dealing with those ineligible to stay at TCT.

Phone: Neal discussed the problems of setting up a Google phone number. He is checking into other possibilities. It would be good to have a phone at the tent city.

Web Site: We will ask Mike (TruthMerchant of Occupy Tacoma) to turn over the tentcitytacoma.org domain name to us, which he bought on our behalf some time ago. We offered to reimburse Mike for the costs. We would prefer it if he played no part in setting up the site or administering it. Neal and Patricia can administer the site. Alan and Patricia’s partner have both offered to help set it up. Alan does not plan on being a permanent TCT website admin after the site is up, but he is willing to help get it established and be a resource person.

Bank Account: We briefly discussed the necessity of having a credit union account. Alan knows how to set it up for a club, as he and Marilyn did this for Occupy Tacoma.