Winter is upon us

November

Yep. It's coming. Peterborough got about 20 cm of snow this past weekend, and it's stuck around for a few days. Like it or not, winter is upon us.

Kawartha Commons passed some important milestones this month. We held our first Annual General Meeting, at which the financial statements were approved, a new Mission Circle (as we call our board) was appointed, and our choice of auditor was approved.

We went straight into our monthly business meeting after adjourning the AGM, and we got lots done there too. We approved our annual budget, which was the culmination of much work by our many Circles (our name for committees) to map out their activities for what we expect to be a busy and productive year.

We also approved our Aims and Domains document, which is an essential element in running our affairs. As the name suggests, it maps out the areas of competency for each our our Circles and the scope each has for spending their budget.

It's doubly significant, as it represents the fourth and final step in implementing Sociocracy as KCC’s governance system. By adopting Sociocracy, we're following in the footsteps of many other cohousing communities in building and sustaining our community.

The meeting wrapped up with a report from Scott about the latest doings of the Site Circle. They have been closely monitoring the proceedings of the City of Peterborough's Planning Committee so that we can be well-prepared when our turn comes to apply for approvals for our preferred site.

But that's not all that's keeping us busy. We continue to socialize by Zoom, with our regular Coffee Chats and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner get-togethers. We also held an orientation this month for our Explorer members who want to learn more about becoming full-time members of KCC.

We're also trying something new this month. Christmas in 2020 will probably look a lot different, so we're holding a Discovery Event this coming Sunday to talk about our expectations for the holidays. We'll discuss the traditions that we'll uphold and those we'll have to forego, and explore new traditions that reflect the reality of the times. With so many creative and thoughtful people in our group, we're looking forward to sharing all sorts of innovative ideas.

Thinking about comunity

One thing we're starting to think about is what our community will look like, once we start building our homes. We've been doing a lot of research, and articles like this inspire us to build a neighbourhood that encourages strong bonds and supportive relationships.

Despite (or perhaps because of) this rampaging virus, we do continue to get many inquiries about our cohousing community. We encourage you to touch base if you want to find out more - contact us at info@kawarthacommons.ca, or visit our website.

Let's look after each other.