Yellow Springs City Council Meeting June 2013

Yellow Springs City Council Meeting June 2013

By: Julia Navaro

I attended my first ever Yellow Springs City Council meeting yesterday with Pat and Faith. In the front of the room sat the City Council, including the four folks who vote to pass or fail proposed amendments to the code. The rest of the room was filled with anyone who wanted to attend the meeting, which happened to be about 30 villagers. They were a fiery community sample who would share their opinions and influence the decisions of the council and also help shape the way I understand democratic decision-making that affects a large population of people.  

Once the meeting started, the roll was called, announcements were shared, and the floor was open for questions and comments. I was immediately struck by how influential the attendees are to these meetings, and how beneficial it would be to have as many people from as many backgrounds and perspectives as possible. Everyone who attends is welcome to walk up to the microphone and share their opinion about the issues being discussed before a change to the code is voted on. This is particularly important in a town with interests like low-energy living and self-sufficiency, which challenge the common ways of approaching things like design and home construction. And because of this interest in Yellow Springs, insightful opinions were shared—opinions that very much challenged and inspired the way I look at city and residential policies.  

The issue that stuck out the most to me was addressed by a young couple who came forward and shared their desire to live in a unique and diverse village such as Yellow Springs and their plans to build a low-energy Passive Home. But they have had struggles with the current policy to live in the 250-square-foot temporary home they are in until the Passive Home is built.  

Technically, the way they were living was not permitted due to a code about accessory building and structures only allowed on the side of or behind the building. This code was put in place to prevent homeowners from building garages in the front of their homes and to minimize confusion about postal addresses for firemen, police officers, and mailmen.  

Several villagers stood up to defend the young couple’s cause, including Pat and Faith. One villager stated that they “commend these young people for what they’re doing…many young people can’t afford large housing and the ability to build small housing would bring young adults into the village.” Another villager, in relation to ‘sustainable’ building practices, commented that “the code dictates that the homes are facing the street and set up against the street, which is restrictive and short-sighted. Those who are interested in sustainability might want the front of their home to face where the sun rises, or put it in the back of the lot so they aren’t so close to the street sounds.” Many other villagers agreed with these comments and applauded in favor of seeing this young couple being able to live as sustainably as possible. The amendment passed on a conditional basis. It would have been nice to see it pass on a permitted basis, but it was clear that there is still too much governmental red tape to cut through before that’s possible.  

I was encouraged by my experience because I saw how abundantly the villagers and council members care about the policies and the peoples’ well-being. There will be more opportunities to attend city council meetings and hash out the right way to approach these complex situations. I look forward to attending more council meetings in the future and hopefully bringing in other students and faculty from Antioch to attend as well. It’s clear that Antioch’s voice is both needed and influential at these meetings, especially as we seek to strengthen our connection with the town. I see it as an ideal platform for Antioch to understand the main issues being addressed in the village, and also a way for Antioch to share its goals and stance in relation to these issues.   

The Completion of Co-op, Part II

Julia Navaro, Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions | June 28, 2013

Well, it’s my last day working here at Community Solutions before I start school again in a week. We all spent lunch together at the Wind’s downtown and exchanged cards and gifts good-bye. It’s hard for me to say good-bye to people and an organization that have truly shaped me and influenced how I see the world. Yet, I know it’s not really the end of my time with them. I will be visiting the office to catch up and say hello. Hopefully I will come back and put in more work into the garden and see it through to its completion. I will likely continue attending energy board meetings and Community Solutions film screenings. No, it is certainly not the end of my time with Community Solutions; I’ll be coming around often even if it is just to say hello, catch up about classes and their film projects, and putter around in the garden.

My final month has included several projects. The procedures manual has been in constant work. I have been searching for Film Festivals and applying to the ones we qualify for. These last two weeks I have been training the next Office Manager, John, who will cover my position until a full time office manager starts working. It’s surprising how much fun we’ve had learning and teaching the ins and outs of the position. He has learned oh-so-quickly and I feel quite confident that the office will be well taken care of while Jeanna and I are gone. He has also offered to give the Procedures Manual a test run and has used it to help complete some of his tasks. With this, we have found areas that need work. Although this was a disappointment, I’m glad we ran across the missing pieces before I left. This past week, we have also met with some folks from Antioch to discuss how Community Solutions and Antioch could work together. This is exciting to me because both are so dear to my heart and are doing such valuable things. There is an awful lot of potential in that relationship. Lastly, Faith and I have been working in the garden every few days this month and Faith has been sharing her usual gardening wisdom with me while we work. We have put up trellises for the tomatoes, mulched, pruned plants, and planted potatoes, amongst some other things.

This co-op has been challenging for me because of the office setting. Yet the challenge has served as a valuable learning opportunity. The difficulty is in my resistance to working in an office, and having to face my undeveloped ‘office’ skills. To be completely honest, I have had to battle that side of me most days at work. Sitting in an office for several hours makes me antsy. Organizational skills and attention to details are far from my natural strengths. Yet I definitely see the value in offices and office work, and a lot of incredible work comes out of this office--so if I could chose an office to work in, I’m glad I was able to work in this one. But I still have those sides of me that are uncomfortable around an office and the tasks it entails, so I had to learn to get past this and let myself grow. With time, growth happened. It was good for me to look at my weaknesses in the face every day and force those weaker areas to develop. With trial and error and counsel from everyone working in the office, I began developing new ways of approaching the things that I naturally struggle with. I grew a lot this past quarter. I have developed more organizational skills through the tasks and office organization I was assigned. I have also become more time conscious and time efficient, thanks to Pat’s good advice. And I have become more comfortable in an office environment in general. Those are only a few examples of the many things I learned this quarter. And I was able to grow more because I was lucky enough to work with caring individuals who were gracious and helpful despite my inherent difficulties in an office setting. That made a huge difference.

I know I am leaving Community Solutions in an exciting place. They are at the brink of finishing the Passive House film. The Electric Vehicle film is well under way. The garden is in full bloom. There is an excellent new Office Manager in my place for the time being. And a relationship with Antioch is in development. Not only that, but the bright minds at work at Community Solutions are always at work creating powerful ideas and plans. It has been a blessing to be a part of their work for the time I have been there and to contribute to what they offer. I am excited to see what the organization will do next, as I am sure it will be a hopeful and creative step toward a solution to the climate change and inequity problems at work in the world. I don’t know how to thank you, Community Solutions, for the amazing opportunities you have provided me and the invaluable counsel you have made available to me. I hope to somehow give back all you have given me in the way I live my life, and applying what I have learned to the direction I choose to take.