Meraki Monday March 10, 2025 on Zoom

Meraki Tuesday March 11, 2025 on Zoom

Attendees: Shelagh (ingatherer), Erin (facilitator), Marion (timekeeper), Kari (vibe checker), Tasha (notetaker), Mellen, Jimmie, Eva, John, Kiara, Parks, Bart, Andrew, Katharine, Emily, Lori, Rebecca, Kellie, Blair, Lily, Nate, Julian, Carol, Brian, Leigha

Meeting format

• Choose roles (Ingatherer, Facilitator, Timekeeper, Vibe Checker, Note Taker)
• Ingathering
• Briefly review How We Roll
• Summarize previous meeting notes
• Gather new agenda items
• Set order and time for items
• Attend to agenda items
• Schedule future meeting(s)
• Evaluation
• Outgathering

Agenda

• Vision Quest Update - Shelagh
• Make PCD sets available for sale - Tasha
• Lighting - Kiara
• WIZ Update - Kari
• DJ Monitoring Speakers - John
• Retreat Committee Update - Marion
• Capacity Planning Ideas - Rebecca
• Recorded DJ sets - Mellen

1. Vision Quest Update - 5 min

Shelagh: We haven't made any progress, we had to cancel a meeting. 

Tasha: The goal is to have a member-wide vision quest meeting after the retreat. 

Shelagh: The vision quest is planned to answer questions about who do we want to be as a community and to look at what's not working now and how to address it with creative new solutions. This committee is designed to plan the Vision Quest.

Kellie: I would like to be on that committee. 

2. Make PCD sets available for sale - 5 min

Tasha: Someone wrote into PCD asking us to make the DJ sets available for sale. 

Mellen: I can share my sets and they're public. They are in Spotify. Not sure about other DJs. Probably we'd run into copyright issues. So I say we shouldn't do that. 

Parks: They can ask the DJ directly and many will give it to them. 

Lori: If it's a Spotify set, then artists do get money. 

Tasha: I'll follow up with the person who emailed and say we can't do that for copyright reasons but ask DJs and some will send the link.

Agreed: We will not offer DJ sets for sale for copyright reasons. 

3. Lighting - 5 min

Kiara: Fluorescent lighting is distracting to my dance and have heard the same from others. 

Bart: Would like to be on committee to look at lighting. 

Kari: Since we started opening the curtains behind DJ, the natural lighting is much better. When both walls are open, we get more natural light as well. In which case we won't need the lights.

Lori: At the last dance we in fact turned all the lights off. The back lights were on until part way through the dance because they were hard to work with. 

Rebecca: The goal is to keep the big wall open, but we need help with that from the temple and it was stuck this time. 

Mellen: One side is broken, so until they get it fixed, we will only have one open. It's our intent to open both sides of the back wall for all dances.

Kiara: Thank you to the Wiz!

Agreed: Keep lights off, use natural daylight with open curtains and open walls, as possible.

4. WIZ Update - 5 min

Kari: We have a new rug and it keeps the dirt off the floor. Ushering people downstairs has helped the traffic jam. Wiz is available for retreat, as needed. We've decided to stand up at the end of dance to let people see people's faces. Kari is the new contact for the temple, so if you have a question or need, contact me.

Shelagh: Thank you to the Wiz for standing up at the end. It really holds the circle.

Lori: People clapping at the end is not why we're standing up. Wondering if we could have one person stand and then ask the others to stand.

Kellie: I think it would be appropriate for the DJs to add that to what they do. I'd like the Wiz to stand up.

Erin: Can we have DJs introduce the Wiz as part of their script? 

Mellen/Parks: We will let the DJs know.

Agreed: DJs to add to their script introducing the Wiz.

5. DJ Monitoring Speakers - 10 min

John: Any feedback on the new monitor speaker from DJs?

Parks: It was nice, but I couldn't tell if it was equal to what was out on the floor. I was told my sound was too high. I had asked 2 people to let me know if it's too high. I like the monitor but it needs to be perfected. I try to pay attention to volume, but it's hard to do with everything else.

Kellie: I was able to go out into the space and then compare it to the monitor. It was kind of helpful. But the decibel meter is more helpful. It will always go over so impossible to cap at 85 decibels. It's not good to adjust the volume during a set. I think the monitor helps. Better to have another DJ offer feedback on volume rather than dancers. It's nice to be immersed in your own music as a DJ using the monitor. 

Mellen: When we set up the volume limit feedback system, it was designed to have DJs give the feedback. 

John: The monitor is helpful. Decibel meter is also helpful, DJ feedback is helpful. However, the current monitor setup is complicated.  

John: It's a good portable monitor so let's try to get it working for the DJs. Took it home to do repeatable set up. There's another one by Bose that's $600 that seems simpler. I'll try and set up this one to make it work, but it's hard. 

Shelagh: I hear the DJs saying this is helpful. Wondering about renting a new speaker instead of buying one. 

Nate: I have a friend who has a lot of speakers who is willing to donate to a nonprofit. The whole Cinamagic sound system!

Agreed: John will keep trying to simplify the monitoring speaker set up and will investigate free monitoring speaker.

6. Retreat Committee Update - 10 min

Marion: We've introduced a sliding scale to support accessibility, we've disconnected room selection from the price, and we are taking advantage of pledge Meraki gave for $2000 for the fall retreat that never happened. 

We are committed to paying for 5 meals, but we haven't committed to the number of meals to participants. We'd like to add lunch on Sunday which is an additional cost that we hadn't originally budgeted for. 

Nate: We priced things based on 5 meals, but we had already published that pricing so we didn't want to change it. 

John: I think we should eat it the difference and offer the 6th meal. 

Bart: I agree. Does retreat operate at a profit? 

Marion: We have been breaking even. Because we're doing a sliding scale for the first time, we're in the red because more people than anticipated signed up at the Supported level.

John: The goal is break even, but Meraki has offered to support scholarships in the past. 

Shelagh: The max deficit is only slightly bigger than the $2000 initially promised by $185. 

Nate: Also, this venue is more expensive than previous venues ($185 pp at Ferry Beach vs $255 at Oceanwood), which is why we originally asked for the $2000. 

John: Let's cap it at $5000.

Parks: So as not to set a precedent, let's cap it at 2500.

Approved: We will offer 6 meals at the retreat, and whatever deficit we have, Meraki pays for, capped at $2500.

Tasha: Just to note, we could potentially have up to 4 more scholarships if all 4 remaining slots ask for one. 

Blair: What is the scholarship that we end up giving? I think it should be a reduction rather than a full scholarship so people are still invested. 

Marion: I agree about having a budget for scholarships. It was a reduction last time. 

Lily: Last time there were 2 x $50 scholarships.

7. Recorded DJ Sets - 10 min

Mellen: We want to go back to weekly dances, but onboarding DJs takes time. What if we recorded sets as DJs played them to build a library and then started offering dances with recorded music? There's software that records sets onto flash drives that we could use that Pika and Deb suggested. It's only $150 to give it a try.

Erin: Would DJs be compensated for recorded sets?

Mellen: I would vote no.

Parks: I think the recorded sets need to be compensated. We need to run this by the DJs. Are there even DJs willing to do this? 

Eva: Has Meraki voted that we want recorded sets? Where are we as a community on this?

Katharine: Is there a way to become a new DJ because I am interested. 

John: I looked at the software and it could work with our system. The technology is easy. But someone has to manage the starting and stopping. 

Mellen: No we haven't taken this to the DJs yet. We need to have that discussion. 

Nate: Propose that we table the topic of whether to do it for another meeting and Mellen should check with the DJs. 

Kellie: I propose that I initiate a DJ meeting to talk about this possibility. We know there's interest from the community in becoming a DJ, but we haven't found a way to expedite the process. If there were compensation for DJs training DJs, that might speed up the process.

Marion: Dances with recorded sets is in our next conversation about capacity. 

Emily: Could we have a group DJ training meeting?

Mellen: Yes, that's what we've done in the past, but then it's an individual process. 

Kiara: Are all the DJs getting all the slots they want? 

Mellen: It's hard to fill the roster.  

Agreed: DJs will hold a meeting to talk about recorded sets. 

New Agenda Item: Consider compensating DJs to train new DJs to speed up the onboarding process.

8. Capacity Planning Ideas - 25 min

Rebecca: This is a weighty topic. We were tasked last time with coming up with some ideas around the ongoing issue of capacity at Temple Beth El. Each idea has pros and cons. We're growing rapidly, average of 100 - 120 people per dance.

Proposal: 

1. Cap attendance at 85 with an additional 10 slots for Wiz and others who help set up, so total of 95. 

2. Weekly dances, including recorded sets to fill in the additional weeks. 

3. We find software that lets you register for the dance 5 days before. 

4. Membership has an associated fee and required volunteer time. Only members can purchase a ticket, and each member can choose one additional person per dance.

Rollout in July or Sept. For this meeting, we hope to get approval for 2 new committees to investigate membership and registration. 

Eva: What is Temple Beth El capacity?

Rebecca: 200 for seating. We chose 95 because we're dancing for safety and not to inhibit the dance culture. Last week we had about 100 at closing circle plus 10%. 24 new waivers were signed at dance on Sunday. There were 17 new people!

Nate: We're considering Temple Beth El as our capacity. But it's not safe to dance there long term because of the cement floor. 

Eva: The capacity committee is talking about Temple Beth El. I didn't feel like 100 - 115 was too crowded.

Parks: I felt like the last dance was really crowded. How many people at the dance I DJ'd. 75 closing circle + 10%.

Lori: I acknowledge that the floor is an issue, but the contra dance people have been dancing there for years albeit with shoes. 

Brian: I appreciate that there is a capacity issue. And I also appreciate the energy that all the new faces have brought. It feels challenging to put up barriers when I would like it be more inclusive. It's a challenging issue.

Bart: I like the idea of going back to weekly dances and support paying the DJs for recorded dances. There are a lot more people and more dangerous as well. If there are more people coming, it's a good thing! If it's increasing, I want to support that!

Erin: Capacity discussion is around Temple Beth El. Vision committee is about how to allow for growth and other options. 

Kiara: I like the idea of starting capacity discussion. I'm enjoying moving into the new space and shifting how I dance. Getting the ideas in place around capacity is great, along with a  community discussion around how to move safely in the current space. 

Katharine: At Open Floor in CA, they do two dances on the same day with the same DJ. First dance is capped. The second dance is naturally smaller. 

Shelagh: I'm noticing that I'm contracting during this discussion. Looking at the different options, none of them feel good to me, and it probably means that I drift away from this community. Any choices we make will work for some and not for others. It's heartbreaking for me. 

Brian: If we start capping attendance, then I think the greeter needs to be a paid position as it becomes much more of a responsibility. Maybe one volunteer and one paid person. It no longer becomes a greeter position. It becomes more like a bouncer. 

Erin: Are we going to entertain two dances? Asking Kellie to bring it to the DJ meeting. I don't love the idea of adding competitiveness to buying tickets ahead of time.

Kellie: Yes, I will bring that to the DJ meeting as well. 

Andrew: A dance every Sunday may lower attendance. If you miss one dance, you wait a month to dance again. People might be more flexible if there were a dance every week. 

Parks: Having a dance every Sunday might have the opposite effect. I like the idea of two dances every Sunday. I entertain the idea of capping, but I don't like the idea of tickets. I don't like the idea of membership as it will kill the inclusivity of the community. Agree it's an issue. If you cap it at 100 that means people show up on time, which holds a better container. To say you have to become a member feels icky. 

Eva: We've only been at Temple Beth El for 6 dances. There are seasons to dance. What if we take 6 months and see what the numbers are after that. I hear the safety issues as well. I've heard what everyone has said about the community and inclusivity. 

Erin: We're seeing more people at One Dance as well. Wonder if closing the doors at 1:00 would help. 

Mellen: Seasonality is a thing. We'll dance at 10am in the summer. I like giving things time to settle.

Rebecca: It's a weighty topic. We need to keep talking. Mixed values of inclusion and exclusion and growth. Propose creating 2 committees to look at registration and membership. We want to be more nimble when it comes time to make a change.

Marion: Getting more data doesn't mean we're making any decisions. So no harm in creating committees. 

Eva: Let's ask Jeff not to include it in his email. 

Mellen: We've told him he can list the website but not the specific dance. We can ask him to stop (again). 

Blair: Nobody wants to interfere with this beautiful freeform thing we've created. But it's unrealistic to think it's going to get better. There's no slowing the growth. PCD is an outlier. All other ecstatic dances have pre-registration. To be a member should be a value, and we're not valuing it as much as we should. For me personally, it's too crowded. We have to do something. To me it makes sense to cap it. We can advertise well in advance so people aren't surprised. 

Rebecca: We need 5 for each committee. 

Registration: Marion, Lori, Bart, John, Emily, Rebecca

Membership: Mellen, Eva, Leigha, Blair Jimmie Kari

Nate: Noting that we didn't officially vote on forming the committees. 

Agreed: Capacity Committee to add consideration for closing the doors at 1:00 and holding two dances on a Sunday, not currently included in the proposal.

Agreed: DJs will discuss the possibility of holding two dances on the same day, one of them possibly a recorded set. 

Agreed: Two committees formed to look into registration and membership.

Next Meetings

Sunday April 6 after dance

Tues May 6 in person (location TBD)

Meraki Tuesday February 11, 2025 In Person

Meraki Tuesday Feb 11, 2025 In Person at Good Medicine Collective

Attendees: Deb (ingatherer), Shelagh (facilitator), Rebecca (timekeeper), Kari (vibe checker), Tasha (notetaker), Jimmie, Jamie, Marion, Lori, John, Mellen

Meeting format

• Choose roles (Ingatherer, Facilitator, Timekeeper, Vibe Checker, Note Taker)
• Ingathering
• Briefly review How We Roll
• Summarize previous meeting notes
• Gather new agenda items
• Set order and time for items
• Attend to agenda items
• Schedule future meeting(s)
• Evaluation
• Outgathering

Agenda

• Wiz Update - Kari 10 min
• Update on the New Space - Mellen 10 min
• Capacity Planning - Rebecca - 10 min
• Discussion of Email Reminders - Shelagh 10 min
• DJ Monitoring Speakers - John 5
• Retreat Committee Update - Marion 5 min
• Vision Quest Update - Deb 5 min

Wiz Update 

Kari: How is the new space working out? The bottleneck at entry, cloakroom, greeter table has been an issue. We're going to encourage people to use the lower level where the bathrooms are, for socializing, coats, boots, etc. We will also have a new entry mat at the door (thank you John). 

Mellen: Doors to the dance floor will be shut until 1:00 or until DJ says they're ready. That way, we encourage silence on the dance floor. 

Rebecca: We'll keep the doors closed with a sign that says silence on the floor. 

Tasha: Some people are concerned about the police at the door. Can we somehow let people know what that's all about?

Mellen: They're there for an earlier event so there's overlap. We will communicate that to dancers in some fashion.

John: Let's have both doors to the dance hall open since there's a bottleneck there as well.

Deb: Let's mention the security guards at the closing circle. 

Thank you from the rest of us!

Update on the New Space - Mellen

Mellen: They are very accommodating at Temple Beth El. Very nice and easy to work with. 

We can store the equipment there, so that's great. 

I am coordinating the dates for dances and would like to pass that along to someone on the Wiz. It also needs to be coordinated with Lori for the calendar. We can call this role Facility Liaison. 

Kari: We also now have a clock!

John: A confession: We haven't paid Temple Beth El yet. We need to get on a regular schedule. 

Mellen: We don't have to pay for snow day.

It feels like there's more to do, not sure why. The sound system has been a problem. And John hasn't always been there to support setup.

Kari: Can we coordinate with each DJ to make sure there's someone there to help set up sound equipment?

John: It would be good to do a setup with Brian or someone on the Wiz so at least one person knows how it's done. 

Mellen: We have a laminated card that describes how to set up sound system. 

Shelagh: It feels like this is a DJ thing. 

Deb: We will sort out it with all the DJs. It would be good to have a list of people who can support setup: John, Brian, Pika.

Mellen: The DJs should all take a picture of their setup, because it's some DJs bring their own equipment.

Shelagh: Can we take the temperature of how we all feel about the new space?

John: Great space with the exception of the traffic getting into the space. The opening to the other space feels a little strange. 

Shelagh: The space is boxy, dark, square. Backlit DJ. Sound was too high. The floor is uninviting. Overall, I don't like it enough such that I haven't been back. 

Tasha: Generally like it, DJs on the stage feel like they're too far away and backlit, yes. Agree the floor is uninviting. 

Rebecca: Appreciation that we have the space and there are still things to work out. 

Kari: The suggestions we talked about will help the flow of people.

Deb: Appreciate very much that we have it. And the open doors to sanctuary are strange, and the floor is too plastic and hard.

Jimmie: Grateful for the space, accepting it for what it is. Worried about the wall being open and some falling over. 

Mellen: Doesn't have the same feel as before, but I have come to peace with it. We can turn lights on for DJs on the stage. 

Lori: Like having the back wall open for natural light. Not completely settled in yet. 

Marion: Don't like the space. The floor pushes me away. Can't come on Sundays. Looking forward to using the downstairs space for socializing. And thank you that we have a place to dance.

Jamie: Struggle with the duality. Grateful for the space and haven't landed there. With the plastic and cement, I don't ground.

Capacity Planning

Rebecca: At Waldorf we were having 60 - 80 - 100. At Beth El, we've been getting 100 - 110 - 120. The numbers are growing and will continue to grow.

Were you comfortable with the number of people? 

Half aren't comfortable. Half are comfortable.

I propose that we reactivate the Capacity Committee that we started at the beginning of last year. We have a good solid beginning to address these questions. Questions to be addressed by the committee:

What is the maximum number of people that we feel is a good number?

At what point is it too many and what are we going to do about that?

When do you trigger that action plan? 

I propose six people: Jimmie, Blair, Rebecca, Leigha, and she could recruit someone who is somewhat new. 

We could come back to Meraki next time with a proposal, or at least more concrete ideas.  

Kari: I applaud this idea! 

Jimmie: Good to start this process now because it's only going to get bigger. 

Jamie: There's a conflict here. We are talking about restricting dance in some fashion, yet dance is what we all need right now! 

Rebecca: Competing values: giving to the community what we need AND offering freedom of movement and safety.

Marion: The question is how to make the dance inclusive AND sustainable. How do we use beginners mind?

Marion was nominated to be on the committee and accepted. Thank you Marion!

Deb: Whenever we've talked about a gymnasium, people have said yuk. I think we ought to reconsider a gymnasium. 

Mellen: We have looked at them and none of them worked out. Reike is not consistently available. 

Shelagh: It sounds like part of what capacity committee is taking on is looking at other spaces. But no, that should not be part of this new committee. 

Mellen: Anyone could revisit the spreadsheet if they want. 

Rebecca: So this committee will only be looking at the current space and how we decide how many is too many and what to do about that. 

Lori: We looked at Mackworth and decided no. Was that about the sound quality?

Deb: It wasn't so much about the sound. It was about the energetics of the space: a sick building, bad history, etc.

Kari: It was also about the bottleneck of getting on the island in the summer. 

Shelagh: We said we weren't going to look at new space and here we are talking about it. 

Tasha: Request that the Capacity Committee report back at next Meraki, even if there's not concrete proposal. 

Discussion of Email Reminders - Shelagh

Shelagh: Wondering about the guidelines on the email, especially chem free. Has there been an issue with that?  

Mellen: We have a lot of new people. We haven't emphasized it. One person had alcohol on their breath. We talk about it in closing circle but a lot of people leave. 

Shelagh: Seems like we're trying harder to be who we are, holding our values and culture and communicating it.

Rebecca: Also reinforcing silence at the beginning and no talking on the dance floor. 

DJ Monitor Speakers - John

John: DJ monitor speakers let DJ hear what it sounds like on the floor without going out on the floor. The current monitor speaker hasn't been working well. The DJs who use it have appreciated it. It does add to our task for set up. 

Lori: What about headphones? 

John: They're used for queuing the next song, not monitors. We never used the monitor at Waldorf because the DJ was on the dance floor.

Propose that we investigate buying a pair of monitor speakers. 

Mellen: Could we make them smaller than what we have?

John: I will come back with recommendation and request to approve purchase.

Retreat Committee Update - Marion

Marion: Retreat is April 25 - 27 at Oceanwood. Announcement will go out Feb 25. Registration opens March 5. 

Cost will be scaled, but not tied to rooms.

175 - Supported

255 - Covering

355 - Supporting

Rooms will be shared, with twin beds and bunk beds, but only using the bottom bunks with 2, 3 or up to 5 per room.

We also are holding an optional date for a fall retreat at Ferry Beach. We have to tell them yes or no the day after our spring retreat. The management there is new.

Oceanwood has fall dates available as well. 

Vision Quest Update - Deb 

Deb: We are planning a day-long retreat likely in May. We've had one round of planning so far. We want to make a high bar for attending, so only people who have been coming for a while. We're going to talk about things beyond just holding a dance. We will structure activities for people to engage in. Some questions to consider: What would it take to buy a building? What is our responsibility to our community if the world goes to hell? Do we want to be more like a church that takes care of its members? By the end of the day, we would have next steps. 

Shelagh: Some discussion is more practical. Some is more conceptual: What is working, what is our dream, do we still like our mission statement? We will engaging people in different forms such as writing, artwork, movement so we speak to the many different ways people process.

Deb: We will let people know the date of the Vision Quest by next Meraki, probably in May after the retreat. 

Next Meetings

Monday March 10 on Zoom

Sunday April 6 after dance

Annual Meeting Dec 15, 2024 (after Dance)

Annual Meeting Sunday Dec 15 after dance

Erin facilitated our annual meeting after dance at our new dance space, Temple Beth El in Portland.

Attendees: Erin, Lori, Deb, Kari, Mellen, Marion, Tim, Sunshine, Steve, Jason, Bart, Devin, Brian, Kelly, Alban, Jess, Kiara, Dev, Lily, Jimmy, Brandon, David, Tasha, Jamie, Ben, Cor, Nev, Emily, Rebecca, Blair, Shelagh

• In-gathering - Erin

• Where Can We Dance Committee

• Last year wound up our search for a new space to sublease after looking at 80+ spaces
  After we lost Waldorf, the committee kicked into gear and found a place to dance: Temple Beth El in Portland!

• NOTES:

• The doors must always remain locked. No arrivals after 1:45.
• The building is strictly kosher, so do not bring pork or fish into the building.
• The committee was honored with cards and a small gift in appreciation of their hard work.

• Summary of 2024 - Deb, President

• At the beginning of the year, we had a big overcrowding issue, which spurred some changes, such as not sending out email announcements, then we lost our space in October, and now we've found a new place to dance.
• DJ report - Deb
• DJ pay increase to $200 per dance
• 3 new DJs this year: Dena, Sandra, Keiko
• Greeters - Lily
• Much appreciation shown to Lily who coordinates greeters.
• Lily is happy to continue in this role, which she enjoys and hopes to encourages others to continue to greet.
• Finance Update – Jamie
• Report on financials included steadily increased income since pre-covid (fancy graphics presented)
• Our new space costs a little more ($150/dance) but we no longer pay for storage. 
• Each dance costs a little less than $400 to put on.
• We have about $18k in reserve. As a non-profit we've agreed to keep our balance above $7k.
• Thank you to John, who does the bookkeeping and accounting for PCD.
• Events Committee - Emily
• Brian, Tasha, Shelagh, Deb, Kiara are having a meeting on Jan 5 to start planning a PCD Vision Quest meeting for members to brainstorm where do we go from here. Nev, Jason, and Devin requested to join

• Wiz update – Kari

• The Wizengamot members currently are: Rebecca, Tim, Lori, Kari, Jimmie, Lily, Bryan, and Emily

• The Wiz is responsible for making dance happen (pre- and post-dance) and is available to answer questions during and after dance.

• The Wiz came up with a beautiful card that describes PCD dance guidelines.

• The Wiz came up with a process for helping address dancers' concerns around safety and discomfort when issues arise: RE-FLOW: Re-establishing Equilibrium For Lightening of Weight

• Community

• Meraki Meetings - Shelagh

• To include more people, we changed the times we meet: Mondays, Tuesdays, and Sundays after dance, alternating between in person and zoom.

• 2025 Retreats – Nev

• Planning underway for 2025 spring retreat April 25, 26, 27 at Ocean Wood retreat center in Ocean Park

• Fall retreat also being considered - tentative hold: October 24, 25, 26, 2025 at Ferry Beach

• Events committee formed in October, hosted two events: Halloween costumes and potluck, Friendsgiving

• More to come!

• PCD Vision Quest - Brian

• The committee is holding a meeting Jan 5 to begin planning for a larger brainstorming meeting where we talk about the future of PCD. 
• Planning committee includes Tasha, Brian, Shelagh, Deb, Kiara.
• Nev, Devin, Jason asked to join.

Officer Elections

• Thanks to outgoing officers/board – MC

• Deb Grant, President

• Jamie Schwellenbach, Treasurer

• Tasha Salvo, Secretary

• New Officer/Board elections

• Rebecca Booth, President

• Jamie Schwellenbach, Treasurer

• Tasha Salvo, Secretary

• Donning the Royal Regalia – Deb

• Current officers ceremonially transferred hats to new officers

• Out-gathering - Jamie

Meraki Monday Nov 18 on Zoom

Meraki Monday Nov 18 on Zoom

Attendees: Nate (facilitator), Rebecca (ingatherer), John (timekeeper), Tasha (notes), Lori (vibe checker), Mellen, Kari, Sunshine, Marion, Brian, Lily, Andrew, Erin, Shelagh, Emily

Meeting format

• Choose roles (Ingatherer, Facilitator, Timekeeper, Vibe Checker, Note Taker)
• Ingathering
• Briefly review How We Roll
• Summarize previous meeting notes
• Gather new agenda items
• Set order and time for items
• Attend to agenda items
• Schedule future meeting(s)
• Evaluation
• Outgathering

Agenda

• Where Can We Dance Committee - Kari, et al
• Annual Meeting - Tasha, et al
• Events Committee 
• Friendsgiving Nov 24 1 - 3 pm - Tasha
• New Years Eve?
• Retreat Committee - Marion
• Who should/can sign event contracts for PCD? Event coordinator or should we require an Officer to sign? - John
• Proposal: Short-Term Realignment Planning Meeting - Tasha, et al
• Revisit age policy - TABLED 
• Carpooling - Rebecca TABLED

Where Can We Dance - 20 min

Mellen: We have now looked at 83 places. We went back to places we'd eliminated before. 

Our best option is Temple Beth El in Portland, but it's not available on Sunday mornings during the school year. We can dance from 1:00 - 3:00 in the winter, and summer we can go back to mornings. Fee is reasonable $190. They're very chill. Don't need people there to monitor. They use it for contra dancing. Nice wood floor. 

Reiche Community Center gym is also available Sunday mornings, but it's a gym so not as nice a vibe. They also wants to work with us and no one else is vying for the time. 

We still need to follow up on another temple in South Portland, Mast Landing event space in Freeport, North Yarmouth Academy, Chevrus HS.

John: There are 2 possibilities in Brunswick.

Mellen: Committee felt it was too far.

Rebecca: We hope to get at least 2150 sf which is what we had at Waldorf.

Brian: We should consider opening up the time that we dance. It would be preferable to not  dancing at all. 

Mellen: We could decide tonight to go ahead with Temple Beth El as a trial and keep looking. 

Brian: I propose move forward with dance, regardless of whether it's a perfect place or time.

Mellen: Dec 1, Dec 15, and Dec 22 are currently scheduled with DJs.

Shelagh: 2150 sf is without the stage at Waldorf. I'm wondering what happened with Mackworth Island. We don't know why it didn't work. 

Mellen: DJs were unsatisfied with the sound. Another issue was access through the tollbooth in the summer season. Some people didn't like the vibe out there. And two people felt the building was sick. 

Andrew: What about later time slots at Temple Beth El? 

Mellen: There are a few holidays where we can do Sunday mornings. Summers we can go back to mornings, which is better for warm weather so people can be outside. 

Lori: We found that there are a lot of imperfect possibilities. I agree that trying out some of these sooner rather than later is good.

Mellen: Woodfords Club has no times that work at all.

Nate: What's more important: time or place? Temple Beth El vs Reiche. I propose that we try both location and we get more information about who comes.

Rebecca: Is parking an issue? 

Mellen: Parking is not an issue, there's street parking. 

Rebecca: It's also a busy a time of year so we can't judge how many people will come based on just December trial.

Brian: Would the story change about Mackworth Island given that we have nowhere to dance? 

Lori: What are the concessions we're willing to consider? Rather than doing an experiment, how about we put out a survey to the community?

Mellen: I think we need to try it and see how it feels and who comes. It's hard to find the ideal space. We are running out of places. 

Rebecca: I don't think we need a survey. We need to experience it to find out how it feels to dance at a different time. 

Kari: We're going to have to change some things if we want to keep our dance going. I want to get going and start at a place rather than doing a survey. 

Nate: We want to start dancing asap. We're willing to give a time change a try. Do we want to try both places or just Temple Beth El?

Mellen: We don't have the full information about Reiche yet. So I propose we start at Beth El in December and see if Reiche comes through.

Andrew: Do we want to consider later in the day say 4 - 6?

Rebecca: A lot of people are really winding down on Sunday afternoon so would prefer earlier. 

Mellen: We also have to see if we have DJs who are willing to dj in those new time slots. 

Nate: Let's give the committee discretion to decide on when and where rather than needing Meraki approval. 

Shelagh: I propose we try a few different times in Dec to try them out. 

Mellen: Let's set it up for Dec 1 from 2 - 4, Dec 15 from 1 - 3 plus Annual Meeting, then Dec 22 (or Dec 29) from 4 - 6. And this assumes we can get the DJs to agree to the new time slot. 

John: We can bring our own equipment right? 

Mellen: Yes.

Nate: So we have decided to schedule 3 dances in Dec and not stop looking for a more ideal space.

Tasha: YAY committee. Super excited!

Annual Meeting - 5 min

Tasha: The Annual Meeting planning committee (Tasha, Erin, Marion) met to talk about the format of the meeting. This was before we lost the space at Waldorf. So the events committee was considering where we might hold the meeting and whether to rent a space for a dance as well, but now that we have a space, we can go ahead with a dance and annual meeting at Temple Beth El. 

Mellen: Let's do the earlier time slot from 1 - 3 on Dec 15 and hold the annual meeting after. 

John: Let's just do snacks since we're doing 1 - 3, rather than a potluck.

Nate: If DJs can't do that time slot, then let's have the meeting before dance.

Tasha: The committee will buy snacks paid for by Meraki. 

Tasha: Just to point out that we didn't find anyone to take on the roles of secretary and treasurer. Tasha and Jamie will continue on. 

Erin: Let's put it out way earlier in January to get people thinking about it sooner in the year. 

Rebecca: We could propose a vice president. 

Mellen: You can appoint a VP during the year if you want. 

Action: Annual meeting to be held after Dec 15 dance (1 - 3) at Temple Beth El in Portland, so 3:30 - 4:30. Events committee is responsible for buying snacks. 

Action: Let's add board member participation to the agenda for a future Meraki meeting. 

Events Committee: Friendsgiving - 10 min

Tasha: Events Committee came up with the idea of a Friendsgiving to be held Sunday Nov 24 from 1 - 3 pm at Good Medicine. 

John: How much?

Tasha: $150

Rebecca: What if we gave the events committee a budget for the year to spend how they see fit?

Nate: Let's table it for now. 

Mellen: Who will send out the email on MailChimp?

Tasha: I can do it.

John: Is this a members only?

Emily: The original idea of events committee was to make the community more inclusive. 

Nate: I want to invite everyone.

Tasha: What about Temple Beth El?

Mellen: It's the week before Thanksgiving so I don't think space will be an issue.

Agreed: Events Committee will host Friendsgiving Sunday Nov 24 1 - 3 at Good Medicine.

Future discussion: Allocate budget for Events committee for future events. 

Events Committee: New Year's Eve - 5 min

Tasha: Let's not have it since we have 3 dances in Dec.

Shelagh: Could we consider having a dance on the 29th instead of Dec 22?

Mellen: We have DJs for the 3 dances in Dec but not for NYE or 29th, but I'll check. 

Nate: If we're dancing at Beth El, you can keep the equipment at my house.

John: We're planning on giving up on the rental at the storage place in Freeport. I'll keep it at home for now. I'll talk with Nate about it. 

Retreat Committee - 5 min

Marion: Retreat is set for April 25 - 27 at Ocean Wood in OOB. A Save the Date is coming out shortly and following up in the new year with registration.  We also have a hold on Ferry Beach for a fall retreat, and if we love Ocean Wood we will put a hold on a fall retreat there as well.

John: Should we authorize people on the committee to sign the contracts? Propose that whoever is leading the committee is empowered to read it, understand it, agree to it, and sign the contract. As opposed to a PCD officer. 

Marion: Everyone on the committee looked at the contract before it was signed. 

Agreed: Retreat committee is empowered to sign contracts with the caveat that at least 2 people read the contract before signing it.

Short-Term Realignment Meeting - 20 min

Tasha: Proposal is/was to have a short-term realignment meeting to consider how we move forward with dances given that none of the spaces we've considered meet our ideal criteria. Also, there's been a desire to open up the decision making around where we can dance to more people. However, given that we seem to have a place to dance in the short run and we've decided tonight to experiment with a different time, the short-term realignment has already happened, so the proposal is moot.

Shelagh: To give some context, this meeting came out of the long-term planning committee planning meeting. There's a committee (Tasha, Shelagh, Brian, Deb, Kiara) that's been talking informally over email to decide what that meeting might look like and when. Given the urgency of wanting to dance, we decided as a committee that we should redirect that energy to the shorter-term issue to ask what the priorities are in the community now, given that that we didn't have a place to dance. 

John: Let's schedule a long term planning meeting.

Rebecca: Let's settle into our new rhythm and have a long-term planning meeting in the new year. 

Brian: Let's begin the process and have meeting Dec 1. Why wait? We'll need lots of meeting and planning. Maybe even monthly. If there's a group of people that's willing to talk about it now, let's start. Let's start envisioning having our own space.

Shelagh: We haven't agreed on owning our space as our long-term plan. I'm in favor of waiting until Jan especially since we haven't even met in person as a committee. Also, there are people here who would want to be part of the long-term planning meeting who are probably pretty worn out with their efforts. 

Nate: There's no reason not to begin researching it. Until we research it, it's a pipe dream. Anyone can research what we want now to present at the long-term planning meeting.  

Brian: Let's get together sooner rather than later and start talking about it and make action items to follow up on. 

Shelagh: Let's meet as a planning committee for the long-term planning meeting as soon as possible. If anyone else is interested in joining that committee, contact Tasha.

Rebecca: So first we will come up with a plan for what the long-term planning meeting will look like. Then we will open it up to the wider community. 

Next Meeting

• Annual Meeting Sunday Dec 15 
• Tues January 14 In Person at Good Medicine