Special Meraki Meeting May 19 2025

Meraki met from 5:30 to 8:30 PM for a special meeting at Portland Community Squash with the question: Should PCD form a feasibility committee to consider leasing 1037 Forest Ave? See Committee to Explore Subleasing Space at 1037 Forest Ave for reference

Attending: Tasja, Kiara (Ingathering), Deb (Facilitator), Brian, Nate (Vibechecker), Mellen, Jason A, Jim Y, Lori, Kari, Jimmie P, Rebecca B, Carl, Blair, John (Notes), Nev, Shelagh

Tasja honors Barrett of PCS

Ingathering by Kiara

Meeting Purpose: How to form feasibility/exploratory committee for 1037 Forest Ave (new space) possibility.

Kiara: Step 1: Do we want to go beyond where we are now? (Beyond where we're continuously renting, or taking next step of leasing/purchasing)

Nate: Would we take on more? 

Jim: What is the ideal?

Lori: Brainstorm  

Deb 2 Categories: Requirements,

Deb consulted boyfriend Claude (AI assistant): 

Clarifying purpose of feasibility committee.

• Committee finances,
• organizational structure,
• timeline,
• space requirements,
• parking, etc.,
• risk/benefits.

Proposes discussion of committee structure, etc

Shelagh: We're looking at this upside down with respect to the visioning committee. Prerequisite is where do we want to be going?

Deb: is it aligned with our mission to form this committee when we haven't yet done the visioning part?

Jason: I know what you're saying and agree, but also: there is adequate reason to inquire into this. Do we have the will, capacity, etc?

Nate: Agree with Shelagh regarding PCD. If a separate entity which I strongly agree it should be, then PCD doesn't need a discussion. Separate entity needs to do all the legwork. Should be working in parallel.

Couple of hear, hears

Kiara: We fundamentally need PCD impetus/buy-in/initiative to say yes this is needed. 

Brian: Let's talk about how we're going to talk about it 

Jim: one thing that's consistent is the place to dance 

Kari: I thought we had covered that there's going to be a separate LLC or nonprofit

Tasja: 3 options: Sublease a space like 1037, sign a lease for a space ourselves, or purchase 

Discussions about how to organize, etc. (Details)

Deb: Do we need to examine all of the possibilities 

Nate: All that PCD has to care about is: if some org comes along and says here's a space, all PCD has to do is say yes or no.

Mellen: We need numbers

Brian: we need to discuss how we're going to discuss this

Nate: Vibe check

Deb: feasability tasked with exploring options:

• Renting (what we're doing now)
• Subleasing
• Leasing
• Purchase
  

Jason: We are on the topic of clarifying the purpose of a feasibility committee. Could such a committee have certain thresholds: how much we can afford, floor requirements. We need overall mission, criteria needs to be defined.

Deb: Right, that's why we're here

Nev: I'm hearing: is there energy for a feasibility committee?

Nate: Having a hard time with the question of whether PCD is interested in taking it on? If yes, feasibility committee makes sense. If no, feasibility becomes the purview if the separate entity.

Deb: Question before us is: There is an available space, can we go for it?

Kiara: Would really like to go back to: Are we open to more? The space feels like a possibility, but: is there energy behind exploring feasibility?

Shelagh: A proposal on the table was (at the last meeting): do we want to be a sublessor? Ensuing discussion, there were are lot of questions. What does it look like to do these other things: partner with another group, etc. Point of coming together here: Let's put together a feasibility committee so that we as an organization can discern.

Tasja: I have spreadsheets with scenarios that would love to share. Carl has looked at it. Dying to share it, but can't because we don't have a feasibility committee. Have contractor quotes. Numbers need to be factored into loan repayments, etc.

Rebecca: Purpose of this group is to form a committee to explore further, using what Tasja has in hand

Deb: No, we need to have point of comparison

Beck: In which case, we do need to go back to vision. This is a great idea, a single possible option. We need to explore this one possibility. Don't know what we're doing here if we're not creating a feasibility committee.

Mellen: Thought visioning committee was tasked with that. 

Answer: No, vision committee was formed to plan a member-wide visioning meeting probably now sometime in the fall.

(Break)

Brian: Part of feasibility was: could we sublease (rent) a more expensive space? And: still having a conversation about how we're going to do this.

Jason: What do we have in the bank (JB: roughly $20k). Do we need to start padding for future?

Nate: Coming back to separate organization, which needs to do the feasibility study.

John: We have an existing mission, and would have to expand that to take on space expansion; 2. The specific costs that Tasja is putting together is secondary to an organization that is willing to put in the effort and resources (capital, etc) to make it happen.

Nev: So many ideas, makes this hard. Might be helpful to break it up into chunks. How do we break it down? I've been a part of this with another group; it was similar, and they did it.

Jim: DNE made a greater entity that owns the camp and runs the business, but it's still all the same people.

Kiara: This is a tennis match. Doesn't have to be all known.

Deb asks for Shelagh's proposal. Discuss feasibility of a feasibility committee which explores options.

Nate is a no. See above.

Shelagh proposal: Assuming we are willing to create a feasibility, break into smaller groups and discuss what the feasibility committee would be tasked with?

Deb: Go into small groups? Stay in large group?

Carl: Genesis of how/why I got involved. Real estate background. Looked at space. Not going to do the temperature thing. I do have a nonprofit that's inactive with a board. Feasibility-wise: I know that it's really helpful to have something to focus on. Gives momentum; having the focus will help get energy and momentum that will help get successful real-estate project going. I'm not going to participate in committee work, but I'm happy to help from my expertise. Having looked at the space, I think it's worth pursuing for PCD. 

Temperature readings:

Great space to rent for a little more: Hell yeah!

Forest avenue space feasibility: Mixed up & down

Making a time and energy investment for something like Forest Avenue 2 years

Making a time and energy investment for something like Forest Avenue 5 years

Kari: always on the outlook for a new appropriate place

Nate: We've been beating our heads against new possibilities. We're not going to find a rental that meets our needs.

Shelagh: Let's identify the questions we need to explore

Kiara: Do we set aside 1037 for now?

Looking for a new rental?

Break

Shelagh: We're having trouble coalescing what it is we're doing. What is the information we need as an organization so we can make an informed discussion? What are the questions?

Tasja wants to do it as a group, Shelagh wants to do it in small groups.

Facilitator's call: We're going to take 15 minutes, meet in groups of 5 to generate the questions: These are the things we want to know regarding a future space?

Small group inputs/questions:

John:

Adequate parking?

Big enough square footage?

What are the realistic operating costs if buying or leasing?

Is it sustainable? (Our dances won't sustain a separate entity)

Nate wants strong boundaries. Inappropriate thing for PCD to consider.

Do we have adequate energy to pursue either this or a separate organization?

We would need either to create a separate organization, or evolve.

If an external organization, what is the relationship with PCD?

Current structure has yielded major instability. We're beggars.

Can we survive as the existing organization?

Would PCD consider changing its mission in order to take on space, etc.?

If PCD is struggling to rent, what can we do?

If a new organization, how to form it and the relationships to PCD?

Jason:

Is PCD willing to reexamine its mission statement?

What does PCD need for its organizational structures and how do they work? 501C3, LLC, etc

Capital investments, what percentage would we be willing to put forth?

What are minimum criterias of ideals sq foot, acoustics, etc

What are the other real world examples that PCD can draw from that already exist, DNE, Boulder, Good Medicine, Austin Ecstatic Dance, etc.

Raw numbers, financial questions

IS PCD willing to do more than 4 times, income? 

Deb: 

Appreciation of Tasha, Kiara, Mellen and their work, and see the list of questions already put forth at the end of the original proposal and at the top by Mellen 

How would a committee work that wouldn't burn people out

Brian: 

What is the maximum we would charge per dance?

Would we can we afford?

Would we consider changing structure of charge/pre-registration? Yearly fees

What is optimum space per dancer?

What is maximum number of people per dance?

Search committee consideration: Parking, price, storage, acoustics, range to consider?

How do we fundraise?

DJ availability/feasibility?

After consideration/leftovers ideas: 

What kind of fundraising can we develop?

Who can we partner with in the greater Portland dance committee?

How do we setup structures for donation/financing?

How can we forge checks successfully? LOL

What are our limiting factors?

Do we have the energy?

Where do we want to be and how do our options support this?

We need an exploration of what kind of loans might be available to finance?

Accessing grants and loans, etc

Who has the information that we need? (the other Karls, Barrett)

How to organize networking? business heads, real estate, philanthropy

Please see May 6 Meraki discussion questions for details on what is being considered.

Deb: organize questions: Maybe with AI

Then we start to answer questions via small group from Meraki

see google doc idea for list of questions, Everyone answering small list of questions

    Crowd sourcing answers

Blair: Raise cost of dance now? New Meraki proposal.

Kari: In for a worker bee committee

Rebecca: 

Needs to be a coalescing of a committee?

Watch party for next Meraki?

Tasja: 

Make a google doc to crowd source and answer the questions

How long each question is to answer? (Claude?)

Shelagh:

Things happening in parallel

Vision committee to help answer bigger questions

Synergy (Deb): Is there interest in pursuing more information on 1037? Getting information/confirmation of interest for Kiara and Tasja?

Jason: 

Thanking everyone for the effort

Starting the spark with effort

Kiara: This is a rare opportunity. parking, amount of space, up-to-date space, highly unusual situation

Jim shares amazing architectural drawings of the dance space at 1037 Forest Ave.

Closing round, adjourn

Meraki Tuesday May 6 In Person

Meraki Tuesday May 6 In Person at Good Medicine Collective

Attendees: Kari (ingatherer), Erin (facilitator), Marion (timekeeper), Deb (vibe checker), Nathaniel (notetaker) Mellen, Lily, Rebecca, Blair, Jimmie, Shelagh, Kiara, Tasja, Brian, Traca, Leigha, Emily, Devin, Marion, Jamie, Katherine, Andrew, Jim, Jon, Jason, Steve

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

• Dances 3x a Month - Kari - 1 min
• Agenda item for next meeting - Jason - 3 min
• Retreat Committee - Marion - 10 min
• Capacity - Rebecca - 3 min
• Proposal: Create a Committee to Explore Subleasing 1037 Forest Ave - Tasja & Kiara - 45 min

Dances 3x a Month - Kari

Kari: Will meet with Sadie from the Temple to discuss proposed dates tomorrow, May 7th.  Not yet confirmed for 3 dances per month starting in June. Kari will also ask about a fan in the space.

Agreed: Kari will report on the Temple's response at the next meeting.

Agenda Item for Next Meeting: PCD Sponsored Workshops

Jason: At the next Meraki, would like to discuss PCD sponsored workshops specifically aimed towards deepening and maintaining the values that we adhere to. As we grow things change, and this may be a proactive way to curate that culture. Discussion topics would include who the teachers would be and what the topics would be. Let's look at the ideas in the pamphlet and how we can hold workshops for those things, i.e. consent, safety, etc.

Agreed: PCD sponsored workshops and what they could look like will be discussed at the next Meraki.

Capacity - Rebecca

Rebecca: The capacity committee is subdivided into three committees: 1) Membership; 2) Pre-registration; 3) Attendance & Data Committee (ACDC).

Brian from ACDC: 102 headcount this past PCD. 70 at closing circle. We are also looking for a vibe check on what those numbers feel like in terms of crowding, etc. The committee is still thinking about how to collect subjective experience in association with those numbers.

Rebecca: We are also tracking income (cash & venmo) to get a general sense of budget, funds, and payment.

Rebecca & Brian: The plan is to track these data points consistently for six dances.

Brian: The counting stops at 1:45 when the greeting stops. Some more people may have shown up after that.

Agreed: The Capacity Committees will gather a headcount of those coming to PCD dances for 6 consecutive dances, i.e., the last dance and the next 5 in a row. They will count attendance at the door for 45 minutes to an hour while there is a greeter present. They will count attendance at the closing circle. They will devise a way to track subjective experience (i.e., felt crowded or not) from attendees and correlate that with the attendance numbers. They will track the income brought in at each dance.

Retreat Committee - Devin

Devin: Past retreat was great. A lot of good feedback from the survey that a lot of people were happy. Some offered ideas for improvement.

On the survey it was indicated that people had a slight preference for Ocean Wood versus Ferry Beach but it was a pretty evenly split.

Financially we did not use the full $2500 allotted, it was about $1600.

For the Fall retreat two date options (one from Ocean Wood and Ferry Beach). The deadline is this Friday, May 9th.

There was interest from the community for the Fall retreat. There is a lot of interest from the community to be on the fall retreat committee.

The current committee has a full playbook in writing to pass on to the next committee to help them set up the next retreat. At least one member will be available to the next committee for support.

The Retreat Committee would like approval from Meraki to have a Fall retreat.

The current committee will select the venue due to the nearing deadline. Community preference, cost, accessibility, and ease of working with the venues will be considered.

Fall retreat will be a break even retreat in terms of cost. The new committee will work out the details of the sliding scale. The costs for the next retreat will be higher because it is not going to be subsidized in the same way.

The two date options are Sept 25-27th for Ocean Wood, and Oct 26th-28th for Ferry Beach. Both are weekend dates.

It is likely Ferry Beach will be cheaper, and Ocean Wood has a slight preference from the community. Ferry Beach is heated. Dance floors are both the same size.

Show of hands from Meraki of preference of venue:

Ferry Beach: 10

Ocean Wood: 5

Abstention: 8

Approval to have a fall retreat. Unanimous.

Agreed: PCD will have a Fall Retreat. The current Retreat Committee will decide on the location, either Ferry Beach or Ocean Wood. This decision will be based on community preference, accessibility, cost, and historical experience working with each venue. The current committee will pass on a playbook on facilitating a retreat to the next committee. A current committee member will be available as a resource for the next committee. The next formation of the Retreat Committee will facilitate the Fall Retreat.

Proposal: Create a Committee to Explore Subleasing 1037 Forest Ave - Tasja & Kiara

Tasja: This will be a presentation about the Forest Ave space and will conclude with a vote on forming a committee to come up with a proposal to Meraki about subleasing the space on Forest.

Pros:

We will have a space that meets a lot of criteria in terms of location, parking, and large enough space for capacity needs.

About a 3rd of the space can be sublet to another entity that could cover a lot of the cost of the lease.

Without another entity it would not be a fiscally possible option.

It offers opportunities as to what PCD could offer beyond the Sunday dances.

Provides a home for PCD for the lease term.

It may be time, after 11 years, to step into the next phase of PCD which might look like having our own space.

Cons:

We have to build out the space to make it usable for our needs. It will cost a decent amount. It is also an opportunity to make the space what we want.

We also need someone to manage the space.

PCD will be a part of the space but not the only entity.

It will take a lot of work, support, enthusiasm, and involvement.

We also need a lot of financial support, labor support, creative support, etc.

The economy is also variable which makes this a risk.

PCD will have to commit to significantly more money than what we are paying now.

We would be locked in for a lease term.

Kiara: The space has a good feeling to it, an energetic opening.

For information, an established successful business on the lease is helpful for the broker.

Tasja: It's 10,000 sq ft. The price is more negotiable by taking the whole lease as opposed to half. Could probably get it for 10-12 dollars per square foot per year. That cost would start lower at the beginning of the term.

Kiara: The idea is that another non-profit is created to sublease the space and that PCD can commit to be a part of it. PCD could also sublease a part of it if they wish.

Andrew: Utility cost?

Tasja: PCD would not be paying the utilities. The lease entity would be considered.

Andrew: Ventilation?

Tasja: There is an HVAC system, windows, etc.

Jason: Committee tasked with looking at this place exclusively or also other places?

Tasja: Committee is specific to this location. Info gathered can be passed on if another location becomes a consideration.

Jason: We need to spell out the relationship between PCD and the other non-profit entity.

Tasja: Vision is that there are 4-5 anchor sublease tenets, of which PCD would be one, to meet the lease cost.

Kiara: The vision is that the non-profit leasing the space is based on providing movement and dance to the community.

Rebecca: Is PCD being asked to take on the lease for a portion of the space or for specific time slots?

Tasja: Specific time slots, and PCD would get first pick.

Devin: What is the timeframe for making a decision on whether or not to lease the space?

Kiara: The plan is to not move forward without PCD's commitment. We are in an info gathering phase right now.

Devin: Is there a desired timeframe to hear from PCD of whether or not they want to be involved?

Tasja: Desire is for a proposal to be put forth by the next Meraki.

Devin: Cost for Bethel, Waldorf, and other historic PCD spaces?

Jimmie: Bethel is $75 an hour for two hours. Waldorf is $100 an hour. Avant was $113.

Jimmie: $150 an hour for 3 hours (the potential cost for the Forest Ave space) seems like a lot, for both PCD and for other entities. Oddfellows is $75 to rent. Jason's is $50 an hour. Casco Bay is $50 for the first hour and $25 after that. $45 an hour for Good Medicine.

Kiara: It's a much larger square footage and it would have a sprung floor.  

Shiela: Sound? Acoustics?

Kiara: We would be looking into that.

Mellen: Are you creating a non-profit? What does the NP entity need in order to lease the space?

Tasja: A member of the community, Carl, has a non-profit that could potentially be used for this endeavor. Or we could create our own.

Tasja: There are spreadsheets breaking down some of the potential cost information for this lease that Tasja has created.

Tasja: The hope is some of the members of this community would also be willing to participate with the non-profit in some capacity.

Kiara: The committee's proposal is to sign an intent to participate in this project if it gets to the point that it is viable, NOT to sign a financial commitment immediately. "Yes we could see ourselves signing for this amount of money in this space if it comes to fruition." Nothing is binding by signing an intent.

Mellen: PCD should require a lot more information before it commits, before we even sign a letter of intent. What is the ask of PCD and the level of commitment?

Jason: In terms of other anchor tenants and office space renters, can they sublease or not? The more parties involved the more likely conflict between the entities might happen. It's hard to look at how it would work without knowing the other entities. Was the lower initial cost of the lease offered by the broker?

Tasja: Yes, our broker indicated that we could probably get that pricing.

Jason: How do we build out the space between a contractor, the city approval, and also volunteer labor?

Kiara: Depends on the project.

Jon: No one is committed to money until the NP has enough lessees to cover the rent?

Kiara: Yes. There are a lot of pieces, and we are inviting PCD into the formation phase if PCD wants to be a part of it.

Deb: A committee should endeavor in a feasibility study. It should also compare this option to buying something, etc.

Traca: Anyone else looking at the space? Time crunch?

Tasja: Not right now. The space has been available for a year plus.

Tasja: There is not an appropriate floor, but we are looking into it.

Devon: Would PCD be asked to front any of the money for the build?

Tasja: Potentially yes.

Devin: Does PCD end up eventually getting a discount on the rent once you start becoming flush and the rate doesn’t need to be as high?

Devin: Will the committee be gathering information from other comparative places that have lease spaces like Boulder, i.e., how they’ve handled it and how it’s gone, their lease price and rental prices for the Boulder dance, etc.?

Brian: Tracking our income and attendance per dance and over time will be important information for this research.

Rebecca: Who is on the committee?

Tasja: It's not formed yet.

Tasja: The amended proposal is to form a committee to make a feasibility study on behalf of PCD for subleasing or buying a space for PCD, considering 1037 Forest Ave as an option.

Jason: The committee should have people on it with some experience in these matters.

Agreed: A committee was not yet formed. This discussion will continue in-person either on May 19th if the Visioning Committee is willing to give up their time slot, or at the next Meraki on June 2nd.

Next Month's Agenda Items

PCD Sponsored Workshops

1037 Forest Ave Proposal Committee Formation

Next Meeting

Potential Special Meeting for the Forest Ave Proposal Committee on May 19th in place of Visioning Meeting. Confirmation TBD. 

Meraki on Monday June 2nd on Zoom (potentially in-person if we need to discuss the proposal further)

Meraki on Sunday June 22nd In Person after dance