Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Bulletin boards

[David L. Mandel (75407.2361]

We started out with a couple very inadequate BBs in the common house. They got
chaotic and crowded and therefore unuseful. After about the first year we put
together an ad hoc committee that met a couple times and then went into action.
One of the least controversial and least expensive of all our improvements. We
now have about eight boards of various sizes totaling at least 120 square feet
and divided into numerous categories of announcements.

@ A large calendar with the current and next month. Cooking teams put their
numbers on to reserve the day; birthdays are marked; special events are noted as
approved by the responsible people from the common house cluster (sort of a
megacommittee; we have four. The others are building, grounds and landscape;
administration; community life).

@ A medium-sized board that contains a fat clipboard of general meeting minutes
from the last year or so and posted agendas for the upcoming meeting.

@ Next to that, a dry mark/wipe off board on which cluster and committee
meetings are announced, usually a couple days in advance.

@ A fairly large board: Half is devoted to work schedules: The rotation for
weekly chore teams, individual task signup and checkoff for the current week's
team; notices regarding work parties; some dialogue about the system.The other
half of the board contains meal menus and signups for the next seven days; a
list of cook teams; a space for common house use requests; and any other
announcements from/feedback to the common house cluster.

@ Around the corner, a board of similar size with areas for announcements and
requests for feedback from the other three clusters. We aspire to conduct
discussions by BB on controversial community issues to pave the way for shorter
meetings.

@ On the large wall of the stairway up, a large, triangular board with labeled
areas for: Items for sale/wanted to purchase; lost and found; services
offered/needed; shared purchase proposals (groups of individuals, not the entire
community); announcements of group activities/outings; community events and
interesting announcements from other cohousing groups (That's where stuff from
cohousing-l gets posted sometimes; information for visitors; notes from recent
visitors and post cards from members' vacations.

@ A small BB dealing with teen activities, meetings and issues.

@ A smallish board for the Southside Park Neighborhood Association in which many
of us are active.

@ An extra board perched on the floor (when I checked today) with some kind of
survey on it.

@ A medium-sized board in the laundry room with space for political fliers and
general cultural events.

@ Outside the common house, at four places by doors and the mailboxes, are
small, "Short Notice Announcement" boards, meant for urgent items because they
attract attention most easily. These have a tendency to be abused by people who
want attention for their announcement, urgent or not, but we live with it.

@ Finally, back inside, there are a couple boards in the dining room with
temporary exhibits of kids' art, community photos or items related to a
particular event.

David Mandel, Southside Park, Sacramento