Meraki Meeting Notes for April 12 2022; Next Meetings: May 10, June 14

Meraki (Portland Community Dance steering committee) met on Tuesday, April 12 2022, 7-9PM on Zoom.

Attending: Martin S., John B. (notetaker), Kiara A., Rudy G (vibe checker), Andrew P, Shelagh R (Facilitator), Deb G, Blair F, Jason A

Greeter coordinator:

• Want to have community involvement with greeting
• As Tim hasn't been at dance recently, we need a new greeter coordinator
• Thanks to Lilly for greeting
• Is she willing to pivot to the greeter coordinator?
• Suggestion to attend to it soon
• Blair volunteers to be point person, will reach out to Kari and Lilly

Ketcha update:

• Since September is unavailable to us, can we maximize dances in August and October?
• Think of alternate dance locations - table for next time?
• Ask space people to check on doubling up dates in August & October
• Perhaps we could do another special event in September?
• Possibility: Ferry Beach? Kiara volunteer to organize; Rudy expressed interest in liasing with Ferry Beach as he and they are well-acquainted.

Kids at dance:

• A situation occurred last time, where a dancer brought a young child to dance, causing multiple side discussions about how to handle it. We told her our ground rules for kids in attendance, but was she was allowed to stay anyway.
• Some felt that she should have been asked to leave
• There are good reasons for us having that boundary - the Board is liable for any mishaps.
• How did this happen? There was ignorance of the "rule" in an initial contact.
• Symptomatic of the greeter system non entirely intact.
• In defense, we're getting our bearings back.
• It happened, and reinforces the need for clear messaging.
• Wiz requested to have a meeting, and possibly recruit new members before next Sunday dance.
• Deb to check in with Mellen about age prominently displayed in messaging.
• Blair will recruit new Wiz members
• More generally, when things like that come up, how do we handle it, communicate with each other? Communication and decision-making felt clunky.
• Before Covid, we had a system to identify people to talk to in case of an issue or concern: "talk to those people", but we haven't reinstated that.
• Conclusion: Reinstate at closing circle: These are the folks to talk to.
• Revisit next time with Wiz report

Can we Dance?

• Discussed possible change in mask requirement.
• Maine has one of the best vaccination rates, and hospitalization rates are way down. Infection rate not as important because of self-testing.
• Increases with new BA.2 subvariant, causing concern. People are getting sick again.
• Proposal: change policy: masks welcome, not required for indoor dancing. A few CWD members participated in an email thread that agreed with that proposal. (But the committee did not meet together as a group.)
• Discussion about being more intentional about relaxing requirements re both masks and vaccination.
• Concern for people with underlying health issues, etc.
• Concern about alienating people.
• Counter-proposal: hold the line as we are, request CWD to meet for next Meraki
• Ambivalence felt about how to proceed.
• Conclusion: As we didn't reach consensus, the status quo remains. Request that CWD committee meet, and we'll discuss more fully next time with CWD committee input/proposal.

DJ update:

• Situation with DJs is as "sludgy as ever"; doubtful we could sustain a weekly dance.
• Setup was glitchy last Sunday for a prerecorded set played on an iPad.
• DJs to meet and report at next Meraki.

Finances:

• Balance as of 3/29/22: $6721.99. Our balance continues to drop as total donations are not covering costs.
• Continue to highlight the need for support at greeting
• John to publish the 2022 Q1 Finance report soon.

Next meetings:

Tuesdays May 10 and June 14, 7-9PM on Zoom

Tentative agenda topics for May 10:

• Can We Dance update and proposal (Rudy delegate)
• Wiz report: recruiting effort, greeter coordination, "who to talk to", other items (Blair)
• September special event (Kiara, Rudy)
• Alternate location update? (Jason, Kari, Lori)
• DJ update (Mellen/Deb)
• Finances (John)

Meraki Meeting Notes for March 15 2022; Next meeting: April 12 2022

Present: John Boynton, Mellen D., Deb G, Jason A., Kari P., Parks Mc., Lori H.,Blair F., Rebecca B.

Dancer’s age: Unanimous decision- stick with our policy of no children (younger than 13) inside or out. Mellen will contact Marin to see if she is thinking about any occasional family events (outside) that we could promote.

Review of first indoor dance on March 13

Positives:

• Per Kari & Lori – smooth check in. No pushback on vax cards and masks.
• Thea (from Ketcha) is coming to the next dance
• Dancers were happy to be indoors together.
• Outdoor access is a plus (for good weather)
• Windows and views of outdoors were nice!
• Brightness and openness

Concerns:

• Outside greeter table: can it be indoors?
• Need gatekeepers to catch late comers and ask for vax proof- table indoors makes that easier. (Rebecca, Mellen & Kari are open to doing this—we should recruit more to help to spread out the responsibility). Idea- have a list of times for “gatekeeping” at the greeter table for sign ups – ½ hour or 15 minute commitment (not decided)
• Too much speaking on dance floor – need to remind dancers –
• Bring signs from Avant with “rules of the road” re: talking, safety etc. (Blair to do)
• Floor could be cleaner (though it was swept numerous times)
• Sound: it was muddy and echo-y. Possible solution- reorient speakers to bounce off side wall.
• 45 people counted and room felt quite full – concerns about future suitability as more dancers return.
• Understand need for masks (for now) but it was “distancing” not to see faces.
• Rebecca will contact Rudy about scheduling a Can We Dance committee meeting to discuss any changes to dance precautions.

Space discussion:

• General sense- settle in to Ketcha space for now, but continue to look for larger space based on various concerns expressed.
• Overall concern is that a minimum of $450 needs to be collected at each dance to cover expenses and the Ketcha space may not be large enough to allow enough dancers to bring in sufficient funds.

Agreed to:

• Continue to look for larger space.
• Jason is willing to informally look for space again, and to be the point person for any leads. Ketcha is 32’x64’, 2200 square feet.
• John provided a link to the spaces that had been previously vetted to assist in this.

Finance update:

John: there has been a steady decline in income during covid. Balance is around $7K and some annual bills come due in the spring- insurance, web host, corporate registration. Current income and expenses are not sustainable. Reminder to Meraki of importance in keeping a reasonable balance in case of challenges (such as covid). Corrective action needs to be taken if balance goes below 7K. John will provide a quarterly financial report (Jan-Mar) for the next meeting.

Brainstorming on need for financial support:

• Be explicit with dancers: state that minimum $450 needed to sustain dances (reality check)
• Remind dancers at closing circle
• Add text to weekly announcement
• Explore yearly membership opportunity – pay all at once?
• Make donation box more prominent
• Can PCD be the recipient of an estate (yes, but not for tax deduction)
• PCD is a 501 c4, (not a c3) and donations are not tax deductible, but anyone can make a gift to PCD.
• Could do a dance fundraiser if needed
• Have greeter(s) emphasize need for financial support

Greeters

• Many thanks to Lily for consistently greeting
• But continue volunteer greeters because it builds community and helps with the more involved intake process of vax cards etc.
• Emphasis on donations is needed

DJ’s

• Mellen & Deb will gather the DJs to discuss future availability now that dances are indoors.
• Mellen will contact Lisa (DJ for March 27) to update her on the indoor space.

Equipment Storage:

Still not resolved at Ketcha. Temporarily an informal equipment crew of John, Blair and Jason will work out storage between dances.

Items that arose for WIZ to handle:

• Kari will call a meeting of WIZ members.
• Location of greeter table inside
• Securing gatekeepers to watch for new dancers after greeter table closes
• Large sign needed on greeter table emphasizing vax proof
• Post signs Blair will bring to next dance.

Questions about return to weekly dances. Decision depends on:

• Suitable equipment storage
• Available DJs

Upcoming dance dates:

• Dates are set through August
• No Sept dates are open! Later discussion needed for how to handle – are there evening dates open that might work? Or alternate location.
• Kari and Thea will set definite dates through the winter for 2^nd and 4^th Sundays.

Next Meraki meetings:

Tuesday, April 12, 7 pm

Tuesday, May 10, 7 pm

Group was lukewarm on the idea of in-person Meraki meetings in the near future. Continue with zoom.

Submitted by:

Mellen Deschenes

Secretary, pro-tem