[Stargate] populace meetings

[Wendel Bordelon]

Greetings to all who receive these my humble thoughts on this the
tenth day of Christmas!

On 1/3/07, dietrich.strobelbart at yahoo.com
<dietrich.strobelbart at yahoo.com> wrote:
> HE Gwendolene McIver  ...
> I am relatively new here, maybe only two years in the Barony, but I don't remember
> "seeing" some of you at a populace meeting.  ...
> ...  If you want to vote on this, show up, volunteer, BE a part of the Barony.  ...

I agree with you if we can change the wording from "want to vote" to
"want to have a voice".   To effect the direction and operation of the
Barony you have to be involved.  The question is how to make sure that
the most people can be involved.  If people don't have a chance to be
involved then they lose touch and no longer feel a part of the group.
The populace meeting is one of the few places where we as a group
gather as a community.

> There has been some discussion at Populace meetings that if we moved the meetings
> to a location closer to the geographical center of the Barony, we might attract more
> people from that area.  It seems to me that the Beltway 8 -- I10 area is more into the
> Westgate area than Stargate anyway.  I would be happy to move the meetings out of
> Ryan's, but moving them clear over into Westgate would defeat the purpose of
> centralizing them in Stargate.

Actually, the geographical center of the Barony is about I-10 and
I-610.  The population center is more toward the I-10 and Beltway 8.
The wedge that is Westgate is roughly the southwest section between
I-10, Beltway 8, Hwy 59 and Hwy 6.  The meeting is currently on the
northwest edge of the Barony on the border with the another group that
is no longer related to the Barony.  Westgate is a canton of the
barony and is still a part of the barony unlike the Shire of Gate's
Edge.

Also, consider that the roads in Houston are designed to most
efficiently move people in and out of the center of town.  Getting
from one area on the rim to another on the rim is not so quick.  If
the meeting location is move to an area that takes advantage of the
roads design it would be easier for some that can not attend now to
attend in the future.

> ...  I don't believe the populace should be voting on this at all.  That is why we have
> officers, and a Baron and Baroness.

Yes, and it is the responsiblity of the Baron and Baroness and the
officers to ensure the continued good health and operation of the
Barony.  How are they to make good decisions if they do not poll the
populace?   The email lists and populace meetings are just two places
where they can gather information.   Ultimately it will be the
officers at an officers/business meeting that the decision will be
made.

--Francois