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Thanks to everyone who attended the 13th Dunes Council meeting!

Attendance

• Dunes Council
  • Present: AnvilFrost, CadrienK, DrLolzworth, nmjk, Obsidious_D, vK_InFaMy, WesGutt
  • Absent (IRL): MJFurman_16
• Visiting Council Members
  • Bear_ableCookie, Barrens 13 Scribe

Agenda

1. Meeting introduction, guidelines
2. Constitution Amendment
3. New Council
4. Flooding situation in the Grove
5. Westshire
6. DTF updates
   • DTF Guidelines and Code
7. Dwarven History Month UHC
   • More UHC?
   • Dwarven History Month festivities!
8. Dunes Banner voting
9. Upcoming events in February: sneak peek!
10. Entrepreneur of the Week (Info / Business Catalogue)
11. Welcoming new residents
12. Q&A

1. Meeting introduction, guidelines

Business as usual, for the most part.

2. Constitution Amendment

Last weekend, Dunians went to the polls to elect a new council and to vote on the first proposed amendment to our Constitution. That amendment received unanimous approval, and as of this Council meeting (12 votes in favour, 0 opposed), is now officially enacted. Every Council meeting from now on must confirm that the requirements listed in the First Amendment are met before it can proceed.

For this meeting, it is confirmed that the stated minimum number of Council and minimum number of eligible Dunian citizens are both met.

3. New Council

Speaking of Council, this is the first Council meeting of the newly elected 3rd Session of the 3rd Cycle of Dunian Councils! We offer our great thanks to the departing members of the 2nd Session Council, luiqid_salad and Zarishendu, and welcome the newly formed Council:

• nmjk, Council Chair
• CadrienK, Vice Chair
• MJFurman_16, Master of Diplomacy
• DrLolzworth, Master of Events
• AnvilFrost, General Council
• Obsidious_D, General Council
• vK_InFaMy, General Council
• WesGutt, General Council

We're pleased to have the opportunity to represent all of you!

4. Flooding situation in the Grove

Despite the massive flooding and flood damage in the Grove recently, the Grovians seem to have adapted well, and by all accounts are in high spirits. They are using it as a pivot for a stronger district, and have begun building many ships and ducks. Currently the Grove is ruled by an anarchic group of pirates, but it seems to be going reasonably well, all things considered.

That said, they are still requesting financial assistance, and ask that all donations be made at official donation stations. Full details are available here.

There is also a potential of a trade agreement being established between the Dunes and/or Barrens, and the Grove. We would be offering sand, perhaps in trade for glass. We will investigate that possibility.

5. Westshire

A brand new district sprang up literally overnight within the last week! There's a lot of talk going on in Dong Dank about political and economic ideologies, trade treaties, economic sanctions, etc. We opened the floor to hear thoughts from the Dunians.

• It's a bit strange but the people seem friendly
• The Westshire laws seem quite harsh, and at least one Dunian resident has been executed, for things such as wearing colour while visiting.
• The peasants may not actually have any control over the district and may instead be prisoners
• One Dunian's cousin says it's a good place to live, with laws built for equality
• It's hard to visit with those giant walls
• The Westshire leaders may be having difficulty working together

We strongly recommend that any person who visits Westshire makes sure to abide by all their laws while within their walls. The Dunes can come to the table in defense of a Dunian if needed, but we cannot simply bail you out if you break their laws.

A number of us wish to maintain neutrality with respect to Westshire. We only have one formal political agreement, an alliance with the Barrens. Too many agreements—or disagreements—can lead to very complicated interactions with other districts, and can get in the way of cooperation and collaboration on a realm-wide scale.

6. DTF updates

On Friday January 9, an announcement was made at a Barrens 13 Council Meeting that K54 is stepping down from both of his Council and DTF positions. We're sad to see him go, particularly after having DTF affiliation for so long in the Dunes. In light of the changes, Malvar_The_Great is acting head of the Dunes Desert Task Force until we formalize things internally. The Dunes DTF and Dunes Council will be working together in the days ahead.

In a previous Council meeting, DrLolzworth proposed a Desert Task Force code of ethics. Malvar_The_Great has continued work on something in that direction, and brought a draft of the Dunes Desert Task Force Guidelines and Code.

The Following are Instructions on how to behave as a DTF Officer in the Dunes.

Honor: As a DTF Officer you will honor the rights of the citizens of the Dunes. You are to protect and serve the people of the district. Failure to protect will result in punishment from the Higher Chiefs. DTF Officers will hold themselves responsible for Character and Honor.

Officer to Officer Relations: As an Officer you are responsible to look past prejudices towards others and treat both officers and citizens with equality and respect. The DTF is an organization that focuses on teamwork.

Intel: Intel of any ongoing crimes or of open investigations are not to be shared with anyone, unless they are a fellow Officer, or a Member of the Dunes Council. If they are a citizen, you must refrain from telling them critical information that may jeopardize the safety of an investigation or fellow officers in the line of duty. Failure to keep intel secured will result in serious punishment and jail time.

Chain of Command: There will always be one (Ambassador Officer -- may be changed). He/she is in charge of the police unit as a whole and is responsible for the actions of the Desert Task Force. The (Ambassador) can choose 2 deputies. These deputies are 2nd in command when the (Ambassador Officer) is away. Deputies must be chosen from the pool of current officers and must have served under the Dunes Branch. Deputies must communicate with one another in order to proceed with operations while the (Ambassador Officer) is away. Deputies have control over regular officers, but must act honorably. Deputies are subject to change if the (Ambassador Officer) believes a Deputy is not acting accordingly.

DTF Rules and Guidelines are subject to change. However it must be conducted in a legal fashion with the Dunes Council in order for it to formally apply to the DTF Officers of the district.

Malvar_The_Great also asked Dunians to contact him, or any other officer if there are any problems whatsoever.

One question came up as to whether the Dunes has a Desert Task Force headquarters. It does not currently, and this will be added to the ongoing DTF/Council discussions.

7. Dwarven History Month UHC

As part of Dwarven History Month, the first match of a UHC tournament was hosted by the Dwarven District! Despite some last minute mixed signals, our team performed admirably. Thanks for representing us, MrMine, Brayden1207, and WesGutt!

OTHER UHC EVENTS!

There was a lot of UHC interest in the qualifying matches leading up to the Dwarven UHC, which were hosted by DTm4tador (thank you!!), and DTm4tador has invited us to play UHC on his server regularly! I would like to host Dunian UHCs each 2nd week of the month. Watch the subreddit for more information!

We're also considering including UHC as a part of the upcoming Open House events for other districts, and there's ongoing interest in Barrens/Dunes UHC matches. For all of this and more, stay tuned!

Dwarven History Month continues!

There's still lots more going on as part of Dwarven History Month, so make sure you head over and check out the events our fellow Dwarven brethren/sistren are hosting, as they lead all of Dong Dank in getting back to our roots.

8. Dunes Banner Voting

As has been mentioned in previous Council meetings, the Dunes is looking for an official district banner, and is asking you to vote! Pick your top 3 on reddit, and the winner will be chosen on Friday!

9. Upcoming events in February: sneak peek!

We'd like to make the month of February an eventful time for the Dunes! In order to make this a reality, we will need participation from many citizens. If you are willing to consider drastic plot renovations (with reimbursement), talk to vK_InFaMy and DrLolzworth to see what opportunities are open!

10. Entrepreneur of the Week

This week's Entrepreneur of the Week is Emmia, owner of Emmia's Silk Shop in West Red 6, at x:420, z:570. She also wins a 7 gold bar award! Make sure to stop by and give her some business this week!

Want to know how you can be eligible for Entrepreneur of the Week?

• Information about Entrepreneur of the Week
• Dunes Business Catalogue

11. Welcoming new residents

As part of an initiative proposed by AnvilFrost, Council welcomes new residents each week! We'll do our very best to include every new Dunian resident at each meeting. If you see these folks around, make sure to welcome them!

• ret1ar1us (West Orange 5)
• cracker321, vargon (East Yellow 7)

12. Q&A

There were no questions this week!

Questions? Corrections?

Please let me know! And watch for the meeting/agenda post for next week's meeting, coming soon.