What are our values? The next round of property discernment

 RantWoman is again called to be faithful to her Light.

1. RantWoman why do you gotta write about this stuff all over your blog? RantWoman appreciates the Friend willing to have a conversation about the entire topic, but RantWoman needs more of a sense of shared discernment than any friend carrying the whole load. RantWoman has long experience with this Friend defining problems more narrowly than RantWoman can work with and RantWoman is really seeking paths to conversations with others. The basic conversation that sparked this reflection was something like "first we have to agree what our values are." RantWoman begs to differ. values are important and some degree of shared outlook also matters, but RantWoman would spend at least as much time thinking about work process for next steps as in detail wordsmithing of a values statement. 

There are going to be some circumstances the Meeting has no control over but where watchful observance which some Friends may be led to do anyway can add important value. And to RantWoman seeking the will of  God means being on the lookout for and open to possibilities not initially considered. Plus RantWoman just believes in the community building value of shared work, hopefully accompanied by FUN. To state RantWoman's own view, RantWoman values realism about many circumstances, financially sound decisionmaking, accumulation of information over time, openness about possibilities, engagement with the community around UFM, community building in the work. so the question is how to have a good conversation about values and what does accessibility mean in this discussion?

2. Okay, now the actual topic of this post. RantWoman is VERY glad to hear that UFM is again picking up the work of discernment related to property issues. Between COVID related economic upheavals and the fact that the Brooklyn Avenue Light Rail Station near Meeting is set to open in less than a year, RantWoman expects there is much to discern about. (RantWoman believes there is a link somewhere on this blog to a Google drive about previous efforts but RantWoman is not going to try to locate it tonight.) 

--What review of previous efforts would help restart community conversation.

--What are basic economic bottom lines  or what path would be helpful in understanding choices and scenarios?

--What might be different economic or activity profile scenarios related to different options

--What changes can Friends expect in flows of different travel modes, bus / train, bike, pedestrian, automobile around Meeting and what steps can Friends take to think more about this?

3. What worked well or did not work well in the previous round of committee work? RantWoman is perfectly well aware that there are some voices who are going to say "Well, RantWoman if you would just shut up and trust us everything would have been so much better. RantWoman can definitely take responsibility for communicating badly and could probably now go Oh OWWW about a number of old emails. All RantWoman can do now is acknowledge the Owws and try to do better next time. RantWoman is stuck on a further point: when work is assigned to a committee, it is still entirely reasonable to expect questions in Meeting for Business.

RantWoman thinks that Meeting has been grappling with the potential impacts of Light Rail since the early 2000's when an initial system map put a Light Rail off ramp right through UFM property. The scenario associated with that offramp proved unfeasible for many reasons but other aging building fluctuations in community energy issues continue to flow around the entire topic. Plus RantWoman has acquired a good bit of experience geeking out about different travel modes, the build environment, and continuous travel networks for the different modes.  RantWoman would have started the discernment process from a different place than it started but the initial series of discussions was very fruitful and interesting. RantWoman was disappointed and frustrated that after the initial work, everyone felt tired and did not want to continue. RantWoman wonders whether going forward Friends can anticipate both some ups and downs and some schedule or timeline points that may require timely action of different kinds. 

RantWoman also would aim to have a bigger committee but that would mean eldering multiple previous committee members about already being overloaded and maybe trying to wear too many hats at once. That of course would not instantly make for convivial relations among people RantWoman might be called to elder, but RantWoman can live with that possibility even if it is not preferable.

    RantWoman feels somewhat ignored about some suggestions she made early in the process. RantWoman expressed concern about one Friend trying to clerk three committees at once. The friend is very bright capable and motivated, but that would be a stretch for anyone. RantWoman also thought it would make sense just to have some small subcommittees working on some pieces of discernment and monitoring of ongoing developments. RantWoman is clear that there are some practical things like proposed changes in bus routes or pedestrian safety enhancements that just need monitoring with reports from time to time of anything that seems significant. RanttWoman knows of at least one other Friend with similar thoughts because RantWoman sees that Friend at some of the same meetings she goes to. One of RantWoman's community-building values is to draw on the gifts and leadings of individual Friends.

Here is one example of such monitoring, about a bus route that passes very near Meeting. 

The Latest on the RapidRide J Line

4. RantWoman almost did a face-plant recently during a phone conversation: "It's GOOD that we are putting work on disability on pause because we promise to take it up as we work on property issues." Really? Are disability accommodations, accessibility, disability justice, the practicalities of reasonable accommodations only all about physical accessibility? Maybe RantWoman was misunderstanding the comment and if this Friend is led elsewhere maybe what she meant is less important than people doing the work figuring out what accessibility means to them.

RantWoman appreciates much work the Friend who made the comment has invested in the report of the committee on disability. RantWoman is disappointed that interacting with some in the community about the topic has caused this Friend to run away screaming, though RantWoman sincerely wishes her well. In any case, RantWoman outlined some different aspects of accessibility that might apply for this committee. RantWoman forgot about accessible documents, a dimension the previous committee handled decently. RantWoman, for her part, has a continuing dialogue mainly with herself about every form of graphical images she encounters, plans, maps, charts about how much to fuss about not being able to see and what information to try to acquire some other way. That is not a problem RantWoman would expect any committee to solve definitively but it is a factor in how RantWoman interacts with such information.

RantWoman in language nerd mode notes that there are bunch of concepts in this paragraph that are not addressed at all in the Disabilities committee report even though they are very much about disability. RantWoman notes that point and will come back to it in another post.

5. RantWoman remembers recommending a change in the original property discernment committee charter. Now when RantWoman reviews the before and after versions of the charter, she can see how the importance of small changes in one paragraph might not seem consequential to some readers. All RantWoman can say: recently she was at a Meeting for Business for another meeting. The Business Meeting was seasoning a minute and two people in the Meeting had very strong and different views about a key point. The first month, the clerk recognized there was not unity and the two people with the most divergent views volunteered together to refine the draft before the next meeting. RantWoman thinks it is too early in the property discernment process to see whether RantWoman's suggestions will make a difference in the process of the committee but RantWoman is grateful they were included in the final version.

Property Discernment Committee Charter

RantWoman invites readers to consider these comments, rambling and not quite as tight as might be preferable to be a contribution of technical assistance about matters important to at least some people with disabilities and is happy to assist in further discernment related to the UFM property.