I propose to chair a Minn-stf convention called Decongestant that follows
the established fallcon format most recently used by METHOD Con 2.

Committee so far:

  Chair, pre-reg, treasury:  Matt Strait
  Programming:               Laura Krentz
  Hotel:                     Clay Harris and Hershey Harris
  Consuite:                  Patricia Zetulemen and Magenta Griffith
  Website:                   Joe Pregracke
  At-con registration:       Beth Friedman
  Badges:                    Bill Christ

Expected membership:

  70.

  This is a mildly conservative guess based on 77 at METHOD Con 2 and a
  gradually rising trend preceding that.

Hotel: 

  To be determined. We will look into the various hotels that we have
  had fallcons in the past, as well as the possibility of using part of
  the RadishTree.

Dates:

  To be determined based on hotel availability. We would prefer Oct
  14-16 since that misses most of the other fannish events in October.
  We may go back to our older tradition of September if October is
  full. We will try not to have Decongestant opposite other fannish
  conventions, but if we are boxed into this case (most likely with
  Arcana), we will offer admittance to members of the concurrent con and
  attempt to secure the reciprocal agreement.

Rates:

  Full adult membership, pre-reg: $40
  Full adult membership, at-the-door: $50
  Adult day rate: $30, any day
  Young people (13-20): $10
  Very young people (0-12): free

Expected income:

  Full adult, pre-reg:     $40 x 48
  Full adult, at-the-door: $50 x  5
  Adult day rate:          $30 x 10 
  Young people (13-20):    $10 x  5

  Total $2520

Expected expenses:

  Hotel: $1500
  Hospitality: $900
  Badges: $100
  Programming: $50
  Misc: $170

  Total: $2720

Estimated profit, therefore:

  -$200

Seed money:

  Pre-reg will close in time for Bill to make his badges, meaning at
  least three weeks ahead of the con. Depending on the hotel contract,
  this may or may not allow hotel expenses to be paid directly out of
  pre-reg income. Therefore, I may ask for seed money of $1000 once this
  is worked out.

Proposed external harassment policy:

  Please play nice. If you don't, we may take action, up to and
  including removing you from the con without a refund, and no one wants
  that.

  We expect that our membership already understands what playing nice 
  means. If you are not sure, ask a member of the con staff. We won't 
  attempt to precisely define "harassment", since this is subject 
  to rules-lawyering. Repeated unwelcome behaviors are likely to be 
  harassment.

  You are welcome to contact the con staff if you feel this policy is 
  being violated.

Proposed internal harassment policy:

  All staff members are empowered to tell members to cut it the heck out
  if, in their judgment, said warning would be appropriate and helpful.
  Warnings must be documented and communicated to the chair at the first
  convenient time. A second warning will include a specific statement
  that if it happens again, the person will be ejected. If this does
  not resolve the problem, the con chair will be rousted out of bed to
  decide what to do.

  This policy covers behaviors which do not constitute an immediate
  physical risk to our members or others. If such a risk arises,
  everyone is empowered to deal with it as they would outside of a con,
  e.g. by calling the police. (This is a statement of the obvious, and
  not properly a con policy.)

Proposed accessibility statement:

  Decongestant is a small con with minimal programming and minimal
  financial resources. Panels and other activities are expected to be
  reasonably accessible by virtue of being very small. With this in
  mind, if you anticipate needing accommodations in order to enjoy the
  con, please contact us and we will see what we can do.