Saturday, April 16, 2011

CAG Drafts Charter on behalf of the Operating Procedures Committee

Hello from CORD!



Please see the message below and the blog link concerning the proposed Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group Charter. Members of the public are welcome to comment on the draft charter and/or to attend the April 21* meeting to discuss the charter (see details* below) and the general CAG meeting on April 26 at 6:30 pm at Metrotech Center in downtown Brooklyn.

RSVPs to edelstein@psouth.net are requested as space may be limited.


As always, we welcome all of our readers' questions and comments. Be assured that your comments will be brought to the meetings.

Email comments to: cgcord@gmail.com





FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION....
and A SPECIAL MEETING INVITATION to tell us what you think …...

The Operating Procedures Committee of the Gowanus Canal Community Advisory Group (CAG) respectfully submits the attached CAG Charter draft for your approval

(Please see the draft in full at the CORD blog set up for longer documetns at http://www.cgcord.blogspot.com/)

We have crafted this charter with care and diligence. We hope you will recognize the strength of the basic structure, the thoughtful design of the overall framework and the breadth of our consideration.

The next step is yours. It is our hope that you can review our work and be ready to ratify it by the full CAG meeting on April 26. Yes, we know it is close, but please consider that while we have been working, the CAG committees have been hobbled by the absence of this charter. We are hoping that you will be ready and willing to consider its adoption at the coming meeting.

We are asking you to:


-- Scrutinize this document.
-- Present this to your assorted Memberships and/or Boards for their consideration, if necessary
-- If board/membership approval is a requirement of your organization, please advise us if anything about the timing suggested here would make it impossible to attempt a vote on April 26th.

While reviewing keep in mind:


-- The CAG is an advisory body only, a group that has no real authority. Therefore our greatest strengths will lie in our commitment to adhering to the principles we set for ourselves as a group and our ability to publicly express our wishes from a stance of great solidarity.


-- We opted for an' inclusive of all' policy with a variety of decision making tools including consensus based decisions to demonstrate that solidarity.

-- We opted for structure that put the emphasis on the CAG as a whole instead of a hierarchy.

-- and most importantly, we took great pains to produce a living document capable, willing and expectant of change -- complete with a mechanism built into it with that specific purpose in mind.

-- We had the good fortune and ability to obtain guidance and direction from our Facilitator's wealth of experience.

-- At the end of the day, this committee has built this charter based on the shared values of community, transparency, commitment and honesty; we hope you agree.


Respectfully yours, from the Operating Procedures Committee Members:

Craig Hammerman (Community Board 6)

Rita Miller (Carroll Gardens Coalition for Respectful Development)

Steven Miller (At-Large)

Maria Pagano (Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association)


*Join us at a Special Operating Procedures Committee Meeting especially for all of you. As noted above,

RSVPs to edelstein@psouth.net are requested as space may be limited.


When: Thursday, April 21st
Where: CB6 Conference Room
250 Baltic Street
Time: 6:15 PM

We will be there to discuss the charter, provide answers to your questions and listen to your input. We are striving mightily to have an approval ready Charter for you on April 26th.

Remember your questions sent to CORD at cgcord@gmail.com will be brought to the meetings!

CORD HISTORY:

With the "Protect Our Homes" petition, CORD was formed in May, 2007. This petition arose as an overwhelmingly negative response to the coming of the over-sized 360 Smith Street Development at the corner of Smith Street and Second Place (Aka Oliver House; aka 131 Second Place). This petition, which had well over three thousand signatures, led to a new zoning text amendment in summer of 2008.

To: Our Elected Officials, Community Leaders, The MTA:
(MAY, 2007)

We the undersigned Carroll Gardens homeowners and residents, are appalled by the "as of right" ruling which allows owners and developers to erect buildings in our neighborhood with no regard to the impact they will present to our quality of life and the value of our homes........

http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?crlgrdns