Sustained Momentum Gathering Meeting Minutes 3-09

Transition Town Motueka

Meeting 2009 Mar 4, Family Services Centre.

·         Apologies: Tara Forde, Greg Rzesniowiecki, Jack Santa Barbara

·         Present: Lynda Hannah, Karin Weber , Danuta and Duncan Glendinning, Ray Songtree, Ron Sharp, Stephanie and Fraser Walls, Lee Owen, Cheryl Lasseau, Brenda, Joanna Santa Barbara, Oliver Weber.

·         Update on Working Groups. Education Group held a public seminar on Affordable, Ecological Housing on Feb 25th and will hold a public seminar on Transition Technology on Mar 25. Energy Group hasn’ t met recently. Currency group is at a point of encouraging people to join it. www.letsnz.org.nz  MOSS has 35 members now.

·         Summary of Vision to Action meeting.  Education Group discussed congruent ideas of Bioregional Institute, Motueka University (learner-centred), WWOOFer education. Decided a coordinator is needed. This to be raised later in the meeting. Transport group  report  given, followed by interested discussion of carpooling.  Currency group is stalled on the issue of valuing the MOSS unit and hopes to receive advice in consultation  on this issue at the upcoming national conference on community currencies.

·         Meeting process review.   Decision: meetings to begin at 6.30, sharing a cup of tea and brief informal conversation and greeting of new people. The formal meeting will begin at 6.30pm, proceeding through the agenda in an orderly way, ensuring necessary decisions are made, and leaving more free-floating discussion to the end.

·         Joining MOSS. TTM can collect koha in MOSS, and pay for room rental from
Community House in MOSS. Agreed that we join MOSS as TTM. We may need to monitor incoming and outgoing MOSS and adjust accordingly.

·         Letter to TDC on retrofitting and on ‘pensioners’ cottages’. Two issues – (i) more energetic action by Council on ‘retrofitting’ (insulation, solar hot water, roof rainwater collection, passive solar heating) (ii) Administration of the ‘pensioners’ cottages’. The Nelson-Tasman Housing Trust could ‘leverage’ these to acquire more affordable housing, which is needed in Motueka. There was some  discussion of why this relates to TTM; suggested that equity and taking care of everyone in community is part of the values of TT.  Agreed that we should do this. (Run it by Keith Preston and David Ogilvie first).  Government Liaison group should act on this.

·         Next educational sessions: suggestions – water, PPt  Intro. Session; Tom Greco on community currency; preserving, bottling, vegetable gardening,, tools, alternative housing

·         Meeting with Rose Biss on development of West Motueka. Agreed that we should dialogue with Rose; time set is OK. Mar 12th, 12 noon. Joanna will check on place.

·         Transport to Wanganui  for Community Currencies Conference– Lynda, Joanna, Murray?, Carolyn. Oliver’s suggestion of a van hire company that gives lower rates to non-profit organisations.

·         National level TT – TTM is interested in this, and wishes to discuss it further.

·         Coordinator. Agreed that Joanna could proceed to look at possible funding sources for coordinator. We may need to be incorporated as a body to do this. We need someone to pursue this. Community House might act as an umbrella.

·         Other items: buying a scythe. Koanga Gardens.

Potato contest – no kids came, mainly elderly gardeners.

·         Energy audits of businesses. Carolyn Hughes  works on C-emissions reduction  in Nelson. There is a company in Nelson who does this job in Motueka.

·         Ask TDC if they have had an energy audit on their facilities.

·         Next meeting: April 15. Volunteer for facilitator? Place to be confirmed later.

Below is an excerpt from the TDC website on the planning project for Motueka. People are encouraged to read this in preparation for the meeting with Rose Biss on Mar 13th. Consider how TRansition Town ideas and values apply to this planning  in terms of transport, energy, people living near their places of work, education  and leisure, affordable housing incorporating ecological values, community gardens, edible plantings….

Note that there are public meetings on Mar 10 before our meeting. It could be very useful to attend one or both of these.