Minutes from 2-7 Lupercalia
Lupercalia Stallari Council meeting, 7 February 2015
Present: King, Queen (Vlad/Petranella), Prince, Princess(Tom/Sigrid), Seneschal, Eilis, KEM, Ansila, Laws Clerk, Chirurgeon,Webminister, Polaris, MoAS, Chronicler
Regrets: Exchequer
Opening remarks to council: Officers have not been using the list to respond to questions and votes as requested. This will need immediate attention to remedy. Business needs to be completed in a timely fashion outside of council in-person meetings. Officers who feel that they cannot respond in a fulsome and timely manner are asked to identify themselves and will be replaced. Requests should all now include a date for latest response, whether a vote is required or if a nil response is required.
Chirurgeon –the office remains in uncertainty as the BOD is not moving as swiftly as anticipated in creating a policy direction document.A recent missive by the BOD president was posted to the Chirurgeons’s list. A conference call will take place on February 23, 2015 to discuss the committee recommendations and thereafter publicize a decision. The proposal to eliminate the office of chirurgeon and use a modified version of the handbook as a guiding document is being weighed. Modifications to the handbook would include removing all references to warrants and make it an unofficial best practices document. A need remains for the tracking of marshal related injuries and a change of practice will need to be implemented depending on society level guidance.The concerns driving these possible changes relate to levels of liability present in the United States and takes no account of other jurisdictions.
It is suggested that the kingdom of Northshield implement an emergency management/preparedness document in place of a chirurgeon’s manual.This will include commons sense practices and civilian resources to secure appropriate care. Laws clerk indicates that there are protections for individuals providing emergency care in a reasonable manner to the best of their training in all states encompassed by NS. A risk analysis has been conducted at the society level. There is a risk either way but the risk is lessened by having a policy document that is well written.
Decision: a policy will be drafted and presented for discussion by the council. Document should include risk analysis. Margalit is working on this now. Policy cannot move beyond this stage until there is a decision at the society level. Direct all concerns and questions to Margalit via email.
KEM – Term is coming to an end shortly. Deadline for applications for a replacement is the end of February and all applications for review.
A notice will be posted advising that 2” mandrake tips are not legal at this upcoming Pennsic. They may be disallowed at the society level in the near future.
Webminister – email lists are being moved. Stallari and peers lists migrations are being managed by the webminister office to support continuity concerns. A new webhost has been secured and the email lists will be moved first and then in due course the website content will be migrated. At this time, there is no facility to maintain the Stallari archives. A separate file with historical data will be created. All other e-lists are the responsibility of the group moderators.
Outstanding decisions: deadline for webminister applicantsfollowing a discussion TRH.
Exchequer business in absentia – A review and vote on the budget is requested.
Other business: Kingdom pavilion. There is currently no coordinator. It is in need of repair and a plan for transportation, storage and accountability. The roof is at the end of its lifespan. The walls are 8ft which requires 8.5ft poles. The move from N19 to current Pennsic location has changed the land use/shelter needs. At present, checking it in and out is a challenge, as is the tracking and accountability. The pavilion is currently in Jaravellir and has not been returned to current storage arrangements. This type of resource in other kingdoms is overseen by a dedicated quartermaster. Further alternatives discussed. Votes: Keep as a kingdom asset? Nil. Dispose of the asset? All in favour. Sefa to investigate disposal/disbursement and provide an update. Trailer is privately owned and will be transferred appropriately.
Decision: budget approved? All in favour.
Polaris – Clerk of Precedence position has 5 applications currently. Deadline is March 1. A single document with all applications will be provided to council for discussion following the deadline.
Eilis (as Seneschal elect) – Regional seneschal applications. Central region seneschal position at time of meeting has no applicants.
MOAS – 3 applicants for SUN Chancellor. Applications have been sent to list for review. Discussion: feedback is believed to be a very important feature to effective training development. Quality and frequency of feedback is also important as a consideration.
Decision: vote: Gwen: 7 Ealdred: 1 Should a maximum term be introduced? This is done at the discretion of the major office and it is suggested that there be a 6 months overlap to facilitate changeover/deputy for last year. Also suggested to add a reporting requirement to the position.
Establishing a fixed date for Kingdom A&S? MOAS wants this. Comment: can other events offer to host this event? It is possible but not preferred. Further discussion required and final decision to move to e-list for a future vote.
Chronicler – March issue needs to contain the budget so it needs to be passed by Feb 10th. Budget approved and submitted for publication.
Currently 9 active chroniclers in the kingdom of which 5 are baronies and are required to fill this office. Chronicler requests that all kingdom officers encourage their deputies to supply local chroniclers with material to publish. It was observed that content that would previously have been published via local newsletters is being disseminated in other ways. Question: would a blog (either local or kingdom) meet the criteria for a newsletter? Discussion and investigation required at the chronicler level.
Seneschal – Fall Coronation bid: questions regarding rain site. Presence of group seneschal requested. Discussion of site concerns with stallari and representative. Suggested that the group re-bid with concern saddress and council questions answered in revised document. Toramassa will work with them to straighten out a re-bid with questions answered and supply to council in a timely manner.
Question – what is the current expected delivery date for the ‘how to bid a kingdom event’ support document? This document is based on materials and discussion arising from Officer’s Day. Seneschal advises that the document will be complete and posted to council e-list for comment by the end of February 2015. Outgoing SUN Chancellor has a similar ‘how to bid SUN’ document that may have relevant materials for inclusion.
It has been observed that Seneschal policies on housed on the kingdom website occur in more than one place and do no match across locations.
Decision: All officers need to consolidate and refine and ensure consistency.
Seneschal asked to post the ‘what is the Stallari council’ advisory document to the e-list for additional comment.
MoD – what changes to law need to be made? The exact language will come from ombudsman but if society law is made no consultation required, only publication. Laws issue of the Northwatch is needed anyway and will likely include these changes. Duke John BearKiller is this kingdom’s ombudsman and is providing material to move us ahead.
Fundraising concerns – Concerns about name and how money is handled were raised to seneschal. Using Northshield name normally requires permission. As this is neither official nor recognized at the kingdom level (for legal reasons), the use of the name in the Facebook group banner is not of concern at this time. How are funds managed? As this is a private volunteer,the organizer bears the legal responsibility for goods and funds until those funds are transferred to the exchequer.
Royal Highnesses – Crown entrants who hold office. Officers wishing to enter Crown must have an emergency deputy approved ahead of the tournament date. At this time both offices for which this is a concern have made arrangements for emergency deputies and those parties have been approved by the relevant society level officers.
Mayor positions and sub positions – The Princess’s Sleeve Tournament and wars need to have an agent responsible and these were suggested as lesser office positions. This will be a kingdom policy, not law. The Princess’s Sleeve Tournament will be subsumed into the Minister of Tournaments position. The Wars Mayor positions need to answer to a kingdom officer. As this includes discussions of funds disbursements, this discussion will take place via thee-list to allow exchequer input. Decision pending.
Royal Majesties – At present, drop-dead deputies for all greater offices do not currently need Stallari approval. In many cases, these deputies are being copied on all kingdom business and the council has no say in who is privy to sometimes sensitive information. Lesser-officer approvals level will be introduced. KEM observed that the lesser deputies do need to be approved by the society level officers (even if not by the kingdom). The Webminister goes through the email alias targets when there is a changeover. Teffan will provide a list of all recipients of email lists and modify as needed.
The Order of the White Scarf has solicited TRM for the closure of the order. TRM intend to close the order. What happens to the treaty thereafter? Any kingdom can drop out of the treaty at any time. Each Crown signatories are making decisions based on their local needs. A replacement grant-level award is underway. The current plan is to open the new order as the grant-level award for rapier pending the approval of the official name and badge. Is this a substantive change that requires publication? Council advises that it is. This will be published in the Northwatch March issue.