The Compact Although the original Coml?act was presented to the residents with • the sections in alphabetical order, for the purposes of this article, and for a sense of the problems and concerns which were being faced and resolved dur~ng Compact formation, we here group the seventeen sections into physical, social and political areas. Each section is followed by a brief rationale or elucidation. Physical Provisions (Project Structures, Properties, Logistics) Ownership Transfe~. The Institute·agrees to turn over all property to Corbett reside~ts, both individually (i'n the case of homes and lots) ~nd collectively.(in the case of the school, vacant land and other builµings) . Residents agree to accept ownership of all properties .on at-cost terms, inclu~ing sponsorship of rental homes as heeded. ·No funds accruing from sales of community-owned property will be individually distributed. They will remain community assets. The concept of "community asset" w.as not easily grasped; Corbett was a village of autonomous households. - . Owning Houses. It is assumed that everyone will buy thei; house. Exceptions will be made whe_n absolutely necessary to en-, sure that the project doesn't force present resid~nts to leave. The residents pledge to buy their ½omes when possible and to agree to rent increases if they do not buy, up to the limits of what is "affordabl~," if necessary. The decision ori how to spread costs of purchase and fix-up houses will be made by the community. Before anyone is asked to make a decision on buying, they will have all cost information available. • The qu·estion of the fine line between p;rsuasion and coercion on the rnqtter of purchasing homes led to a careful scrutiny of the words in this section, • Including Present Owners. We agree that present owners in Cor- - bett participating in the project be fully included in the project and , have some benefits to go along with the low-cost purchase of houses available to renters. The group finally determined that owner-rent~r specification was premature. The nature and extent of parity was left as an article of faith more than agreement. . • Reqewal Schedule. Once it is agreed upon, everyone agrees to • follow the schedule and timetable closely. Our agreement is that we will do as much as we can together in 1977, 1978 and 1979. The Institute staff wanted a provision for a clear end point to ensure that disengagement began well in advance, while Corbett framers wanted assurance that the Institute did not pull up stakes prematurely 1 • Rents. Residents promise to pay rents on time and to ac..:ept in~ creases to keep ur with .expenses during the project, including taxes, maintenance and insurance. We agree that non-payment of rent for a period of sixty days will result in legal steps and eviction. The Institute promises to turn over for community use all rental income not needed for paying the landlord bills, such as insurance and taxes. If costs demand a rent increase, the cost will be divided equally amm:ig all renters and added to the base rent price currently p~d. - This section proved easy to draft even with its clear statement of eviction. , • . Finances. The Institute pledges to get all possible and appropriate grailts for the project. It pledges to try to find funds to·cover its own time and direct expen~es-and to gain resident approval before spending any funds on its own costs which must be recovered through sale of houses and transfer of other property but with no - interest or profit of any kind to the Institute. • The residents agree to this understanding-paying the ~um for their h?uses and community'property that represents their "fair share" of all funds invested in the proj~ct which must be recovered. ·We also agr_ee to be careful in calling upon the Institute to do things we can do ourselves, since this will drive up costs. - , All participants in the Compact felt that financial arrangements should be businesslike. It-was noted that Corbett residents would be extremely wary of any approach that connoted a "giveaway," which woulq in fact question the Institute' s credibility. Social Provisions (Living and Interacting Together) Communicating. Both the Institute and residents .agree to tell the truth as we know it when talking or writing about project events. In rarticular' we will check OU~ rumors with the source before repeat1~g them.. . We all agree to try not to exaggerate and not to say things that hurt people. , . We also agree not to say things which are misleading because they are truthful but incomplete. We all agree to keep everyone fully informed of all steps takenand to provide information in advance when a ~ecision must be made. We agree to read information sent to us. The responsibility to read .information,is just as important as the responsibility to provide it. , • If something does bother any of us, we agree to air it either directly to those we think are responsible or publicly at the next village meeting. , Residents were concerned that gossip could divert the project from its mission. Institute staff was concerned that people might not make an effort to try to unders'tand information. The two different concerns were.merged into one 'concept-communication. • cont.
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