[Ailist] how best to negotiate with a council

[Mark Berns]

Kate,

Iis it possible the council doesn't fully appreciate the benefit of what the
centre houses? What would the future be for the community groups if they
were to lose access to the building? And what kinds of groups are they - do
they provide some kind of service to the community? 

If they do provide some support for the community, and they would find
themselves very challenged without the centre as their home, perhaps an AI
approach would be to envision a future where those groups have flourished
and they've had some very positive effects on the community. The flip side,
of course, would be to prepare an assessment of what it would cost the
community if those services are no longer available - and hopefully show
that the council's "investment" in not charging is offset by what the 35+
groups provide.

Good luck,

Mark

************************************************************
Mark Berns
Ready About LLC
New Directions for Organizations
25 Buckingham Place, Norwalk, CT 06851
Phone: 203-247-6369 | Fax: 240-363-4802
http://www.readyaboutllc.com


-----Original Message-----
From: ailist-bounces at lists.business.utah.edu
[mailto:ailist-bounces at lists.business.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Kate Start
Sent: Sunday, December 07, 2008 7:42 AM
To: ailist at lists.business.utah.edu
Subject: [Ailist] how best to negotiate with a council

Dear Ai-ers,
I am involved in our local community centre. The local council, who own the
building,  want to start charging us rent of £10000/year when to date we
have not paid anything.  They have stated that the agreement can only be for
10 years.
Our centre provides a meeting place for 35+ community groups who would not
be able to pay increased centre hire charges if we were to agree the high
rate.
We have a meeting next week with Councillors to discuss our position and how
best to move forward.
>From an AI viewpoint I think I should go in to the negotiations with' how
best can we ensure that the community centre is a sustainable viable
resource for the centre' and how can we best work together (council,
councillors and centre users) to ensure this.

Does anyone have any pearls of wisdom, great questions I can ask the
councillors, any tips?

What we would like out of negotiations would be a 'peppercorn rent for 25
years' or an asset transfer

best wishes
Kate Start
London
England
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