11.16.03
Roboto Monthly Meeting - Minutes for the 6/11/03 Meeting

(1) Introduction

(2) Old Business.

(3) New Business

Treasurer (Q)

- Balance: $1378.36
- Our liability insurance is due this month. As a result of our recent three-year review by the insurance company, the yearly amount of our insurance has skyrocketed from $365 to $1145. They finally figured out that we aren.t just an .art gallery.. So long to three years of really cheap insurance!
- The Metal G8 for the front door is finally nearing completion. Roboto will morph into invincible mode shortly

Facilities (Jim/Jen)

- Jim has received interest from several people on the decoration of Roboto front. Several of these persons are interested in new murals to be displayed at Roboto. They were asked to bring these ideas to the meeting on Sunday. Nobody showed up with ideas. These ideas will hopefully be forthcoming.
- We are trying to come up with some creative ideas for exhibits to replace the .Mr. Roboto Project: A Random Photographic History. currently on display. Any ideas should be brought to us promptly, as we would like to have something new in December.

Booking (Joseph)

- There will be a new booking/promoter email list up and running soon. If you.re interested in being on this new email list (you will receive emails from groups looking for shows), please email booking@therobotoproject.org
- Ian Ryan has asked to reserve January 4th, which is a Sunday. The show should bring a number of folks out, and Ian is a swell guy, so there were no opinions in opposition to giving him this date. This led to a discussion of the possibility of opening Sundays to the occasional matinee show. We will more-likely-than-not be allowing this option on a case-by-case basis.

PR/Secretary (Jeremy)

- The OnQ taping/interviews occurred last Saturday without a hitch. The segment will be airing on December 11th. Our sources (read: shecky) indicate that OnQ typically airs around 7:30.
- Renewals, renewals, RENEWALS! Please, once again, let us know if you are no longer interested in renewing your membership so Jeremy can place you in non-active status. If you wish to continue with your membership, renew today!

(4) Open Forum

- Deanna has volunteered to provide the layout for a new edition of Roboto Speaks reviewing the progress so far on the future of Roboto. If you are unfamiliar, Roboto has been discussing the possibility of moving once again. This time the sentiment is generally an interest in purchasing a larger building to provide for an expansion of the activities possible there. This edition of Roboto Speaks will have a comment sheet, and a drop box for ideas/comments will be available for your submissions at Roboto in the coming weeks.
- Joseph asked if he could reserve dates in the coming year for a free reading and music open mic. Yes Joe! See Joe Go!
- The show scheduled for November 15th in which questionable material was brought to the attention of the board was given the go-ahead. The show occurred without a hitch.

Roboto/1877 Discussion

- A meeting took place last Saturday with the Mayor of Wilkinsburg and Councilwoman Denise Edwards. While the mayor was unavailable (read: at a basketball game), several board members visited the exterior of a few spaces on Penn Avenue. There is a meeting scheduled to view the interior of these spaces on Monday November 17th.
- At the last Project 1877 meeting, a workshop was proposed for everyone interested in participating in this potential collaboration to attend. This workshop (or, series of workshops) will take place on December 7th at 12:00 noon at the Mr. Roboto Project. Several topics will be presented upon, including sustainability and legal issues in purchasing property. Among the speakers scheduled are Pat Clark and Tracy Jackson of Ground Zero/Flux, and hopefully a representative from the Brewhouse. IMPORTANT. We are asking that everyone who has ideas or proposals for this project bring them written down for display purposes. There will be time to read through everyone.s ideas before discussion occurs. So if you think this is all a horrible idea, write it down and let everyone know. If you have proposals for how it could work, bring them. If you have alternatives to the collaborative effort, please bring them.
- Joseph raised an objection to the current discourse surrounding these discussions. He said that the way in which many people are speaking about this is as though the collaboration is certain to happen. We would like to reiterate that no decisions, except to offer possibilities for a potential collaboration or opposition to this, have been made. Joe also posed a question to the process. He asked why Roboto doesn.t go ahead and focus upon purchasing a building for our own purposes, and later allow for other organizations to become part of the project. Although there were several responses, including the possible financial support by organizations like 1877 in purchasing a building, and the potential alienation of other organizations in this method, the question remained largely unanswered.
- Several issues were raised surrounding the dissemination of information surrounding these discussions. It was decided that the Roboto Speaks issue would serve the purpose of giving an overview of most of the discussions taking place via other mediums. Board members will also be addressing the issue at the upcoming events. While these efforts will be made, other comments were made regarding the ratio of complaints to the number of people attending meetings where discussions have occurred. Several people expressed the opinion that despite all of our attempts to make information available, some people will still feel excluded. Due to this, we encourage you to attend the monthly meetings, but especially the workshops on December 7th.