COMBUSTION CHAMBER MEETING
MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2016
FACILITATOR: TurtleBunnie
STACKINATOR: Pixie
SCRIBE: Adam
ATTENDEES: Samantha, Babbage, T-Rey, Susan, Prost, Izzi, TurtleBunnie, Pixie, Gwen, Adam, Henry, Decibel, Wrinn, Jerry, Bonobo
TOPICS: PETs and OTC Medications; Town Hall Planning
RESOLUTIONS AND ACTION ITEMS
MOTION: Recommend that the LLC add OTC meds to the “must bring” list in the Survival Guide. MOTION PASSES
MOTION: Recommend that City Planning encourage theme-camp leads to stock a first aid station including OTC meds in their camp. MOTION PASSES
LLC Update
- New AFs:
- Dotti stepping up from Art AF
- Stephy moves from City Planning AF to Art AF
- Mercedes stepping down into City Planning AF role
PETs and OTC Medications (Adam)
- Should PETs stock OTC medications? This question came up on the PETs mailing list, but there needs to be a community discussion about this if they’re going to stop stocking them. Participants should rely on themselves for their own foreseeable needs, and should be able to turn to their neighbors for the stuff they don’t have, but is there a line beyond which people should not be expected to provide for their own needs? Also, how much do we want to stand on principle, even if it makes someone’s burn suck as a result?
- We insist on bringing a first-aid kit. Everybody should be accountable for their experience. We should begin with theme-camp leads and educate them about having a first-aid station. If we do a better job on education, we should reduce reliance on PETs.
- We should cover our own needs, and it should not be the PETs’ responsibility. Most places won’t accept the liability of keeping OTC meds. Educate people on what they should have in their first-aid kit. This is mostly an operational thing that should be up to the PETs lead and LLC.
- Agrees this is an operational question. How many people are we giving OTC meds to at PETs? Is it newbie burners hitting PETs up? People should use PETs only in case of emergency.
- Clarifies that the initial discussion on the PETs list was not about PETs being a place of last resort, but simply whether they should stock OTC meds at all.
- Speaking as a participant, has never occurred to him to go PETs for OTC meds. If needed anything, would rely on self, campmates, or do without. Speaking as a Ranger, always carries a first-aid kit and has some first-aid knowledge.
- May be the only person in the room who has used OTC meds from PETs, when she was really sick, and no one around had what she needed. So it worked out for her, and in her case, timing was important, so it is beneficial that there was a place to go rather than asking around at other camps. Asks whether the impetus to discontinue OTC meds was due to over-reliance on them by participants, or the expense of replacing expired meds.
- It was about the expense and management overhead of replacing expired meds, keeping them at safe temperatures, etc.
- Responding to the question of whether this experienced but lazy burners or newbies using OTC meds at PETs. There are people who come to Flipside as newbies at the last minute and haven’t been reached by education efforts. These people can’t really be held to account. [Sidebar on the problem of meds being required to be in packets, discussion about whether that’s really true for PETs.] Rebuts a comment from Henry suggesting that individual PETs volunteers have first-aid packs, saying this sets a bad example and is an unreasonable expectation for volunteers. Anything that can’t be handled by the contents of a first aid kit would go straight to the ambulance, so if we don’t have first-aid kits, why have PETs?
- First year volunteering for PETs. Pulled 3 shifts, 18 hours. Gave out one dose of Immodium, treated cuts, gave out gatorade. A lot of what PET provides is assurance, that someone can look at your problem and know the right way to treat it. If the actual medication part were pared down, it would make PETs a lot easier to deal with organizationally.
- Supports the idea of PETs deciding not have meds, but playing devil’s advocate, says, it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
- Started out being in favor of the self-reliant approach, but is moderating that in the cours of this discussion. Newbies might not feel comfortable hitting up a neighboring theme camp or even know that they can. The Survival Guide says that PETs is for 24-hour first aid.
- How much do we spend on this?
- Not exactly clear, but has written checks for as much as $300.
- So is this a point of principle?
- No, it’s because the health inspector dinged PETs for having expired meds.
- If we shuffle the responsibility for stocking and keeping current from the PETs department to individual volunteers, we’re just kicking the liability can down the road. Jerry has also gotten OTC meds from PETs when a PET observed him breaking out in a rash while he was volunteering, so PETs having meds can help support other volunteers.
MOTION: Recommend that the LLC add OTC meds to the “must bring” list in the Survival Guide. MOTION PASSES
MOTION: Recommend that City Planning encourage theme-camp leads to stock a first aid station including OTC meds in their camp. MOTION PASSES
- We need to balance participant needs and volunteer needs. If a volunteer is finding it onerous to stock OTC meds, we need to consider that.
Stack closes 8:48 PM
Town Hall Planning (Henry)
- Set agenda; Identify speakers
- Henry volunteers to be producer
- We have a template agenda in the CC handbook
- Need to find an MC
- In the process of composing the next Flame. Are we soliciting volunteers for Parking? No, people park on their own out on the street.
- We have a new neighbor, and need to make sure they’re cool with us having a Saturday event
- Off-season events coordinator also helps wrangle volunteers.
- Our former one, Emily, has resigned from that position, but might be willing to help One Last Time. Will check with the 360 AF, Mer.
- Jerry is happy to talk at Town Hall about volunteering and leads selection.
- Do we want to have volunteers ensuring we don’t piss off neighbors by people parking in front of them? Also, the Warehouse may need some cleanup.
- It takes 6 people minimum to set up, and we’ll need at 2 people minimum as well to wrangle parking. It takes 6 people to close up.
- The Off-Season Events Coordinator has organized theme camps to take on those setup/teardown roles.
- Jerry is happy to create a signup page for Town Hall volunteering in the wiki. Also suggests we move the stage to the overhead doors, facing out.
- Suggests there would be a lot of distracting sounds.
- The neighbors might be open, and not want us to be projecting into the parking lot.
- There is stuff in the CC handbook we need to cover
- Are you expecting AFs to have booths in the fall?
- We’ve been doing that for the past couple years.
- [A great deal of conversation about how many shade structures the AFs need, if any, ensues]
- We need a sound engineer: Babbage volunteers himself and his equipment with backup from Bonobo and Decibel.
- Do we need a timekeeper? Tabled until next meeting.
- We need an MC: Jerry volunteers.
- Proposed agenda
- Welcome/pledge/LNT
- AAR update
- Theme presentations & voting
- Break
- Stickets: check in with Russ
- DaFT proposing: check in with Stephy
- Warehouse: check in with Mer
- CC update:
- Closing
- LNT reminder
- Community announcement
- Theme announcement
Stack closes 9:30 PM
CC Business
- The subcommittee on Flipside work experience guidelines met last Tuesday.
- The minutes for our last meeting were very long, and named names. Should we remove the names?
- We’ve been doing the giant pieces of paper for theme voting. It takes a long time to write out all the themes. Can we do something simpler?
- Bonobo: people are leaving shit lying around again. Is going to bug people to remove it.
NEXT MEETING: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2016
TOPICS: Flipside Volunteer System Requirements; Communicating Open Positions; Town Hall Walkthrough
FACILITATOR: Prost
STACK: Decibel
SCRIBE: TBD