Meraki Meeting Notes for February 21, 2023

 The Portland Community Dance Steering Committee (Meraki) met on February 21, 2023, from 7-9PM in person at Deb's place

Attending: Deb, Jason, Kari, John, Jimmie, Mellen, Shelagh, Rudy, Rebecca, Blair, Lily, Lori

Finances (John):

According to John’s flashy PCD income chart, after the protracted Covid valley, PCD’s coffers are steadily climbing to more comfortable levels. In part due to increased dancer participation (and payment); in part to the lower rental cost of Waldorf. It seems worthwhile to remind dancers to pay the admission fee (or portion thereof) at closing circles; Deb volunteered to do so at next opportunity. Rudy also game to do this as needed.

Decibel Level (Kari):

• PCD already has a decibel meter, and now it's functioning thanks to fresh batteries.
• Jason will learn use of same and facilitate its use during DJ setup and sound check.
• What is safe: 80 (Andrew)? 90 (Pika)? 70 (Rudy during meeting…according to the CDC, “Noise above 70 dB over a prolonged period of time may start to damage your hearing.") seems the safest. Rebecca to look into this further.
• DJs don’t like to hear about volume critique from dancers during dances; instead, they’d prefer feedback from their peers during dances.
• The above said, dancers always have the option to leave DJ feedback (of any nature) via the form on the PCD website.
• DJ committee will monitor for a few dances after which, if it seems necessary, share at closing circle if/why we’re reducing sound levels: hearing health!sss

Facebook Page and Group Administration (Rudy)

• Official FB page (public) more clearly reflects PCD branding (logo and banner image)
• Dance community FB Group (private): Rudy has been letting new people in by hand; this and general monitoring/moderating has proven very easy. For the moment, at least, it no longer seems necessary to re-name or alter in any other way.

Where Can We Dance? Update (Lori)

No movement yet on 317 Main in Yarmouth yet, so reiterating the following:

• The preference for access to RCA and XLR has been shared with 317; not having this access will seriously curtail DJ ability and may even necessitate using our own equipment;
• If we do need to resort to continuing to use our own equipment, will there indeed be enough storage space available to us?
• As soon as 317 has enough knowledge of their technical offerings, we (including John and/or Jason) should do a site visit to better understand and assess the setup being made available.

Meraki Meeting Format/Location

• Zooms are convenient
• Hybrid would be more work as well as require more equipment (Rudy vouches for Owl camera/system as viable after you get used to it)
• CONSENSUS: alternate between in-person (with roving hosts) and Zoom; keep an ear out for people who feel excluded from attending (because of) either format

May 5-7, 2023 PCD Dance Retreat pricing and registration logistics (Lily)

• Pricing all-inclusive, and dictated by accommodation: Quad ($170), Double ($210), Queen ($250)
• Buffer for PCD: $10 included in each registration.
• Email notification to all, with all information covered so that people can form their plan so that they’re prepared once registration goes live, since registration will be first-come, first-served.
• Committee to consider whether to offer any form of financial aid (scholarships? how many, for how much, decided by whom?) and therefore whether to also include an option in the registration process for people to give $ toward same. How will someone ask for aid?
• On the table for registration method: EventBrite, RSVPify, Google form. The former two have a cost per transaction; all snag a percentage of the price if paid via eFunds (PayPal, Stripe, et al).
• Cancellation/refund policy? Covid policy? Ask for gender? Ask for snoring/sleeping habit info for placing people in quads?
• Announce prices at next dance and take a straw pole for how many dancers might be interested in attending retreat.

DJs (Mellen & Deb)

• Cultivating a coherence in the direction of DJ methodology and music choice.
• Culling DJ list to winnow dead wood…if someone DJs 4 or more times a year, they get preference as well as greater voice in DJ issues.
• Already, there have been discussions within the active DJ body…
• sound levels (see decibels, above)
• music choice (Jason providing some reference to re-focus DJs to the original PCD intention of upholding/respecting/reflecting The Wave; a reminder that PCD is not intending to provide a Sunday morning rave, et al)

As an aside the subject of Family Dances came up:

Brian is interested in starting up a family dance. It was agreed that when Marin was organizing/facilitating this, it was in fact under the purview of PCD (i.e. on PCD website, covered by PCD insurance, utilizing PCD equipment)

Next meetings:

• March 21, Zoom
  
• April 11, in-person, location TBD

Meraki Meeting Notes for January 17, 2023

The Portland Community Dance Steering Committee (Meraki) met on January 17, 2023, from 7-9PM on Zoom

Attending: John B, Deb G, Lori H, Mellen D, Shelagh R, Lily N, Lindy O

Social Media Committee (John for Rudy):

• We've reviewed current social media vehicles for PCD
• Currently there are 5 vehicles for communication:
• PCD Membership eMails
• PCD official Face Book Page: Private Group for PCD Members only for PCD announcements
• PCD sponsored FaceBook Group: Private Group for folks with interest in PCD, dance and related activity. ~800+ members.  includes posts for non-PCD events that may be of interested (dance, music, art, theater, yoga) plus chat and videos.  Some commercial advertisements (yoga studio, theater)   Loosely curated.
• MaineDance Network: 1.5k members. not affiliated with PCD (so not really one of our 5 vehicles).  Lots of dance related advertising and announcements.  All kinds of dance, not just contact improv. We noticed some inappropriate non-dance posts.
• PCD Website.  PCD only announcements and info.  Tightly curated, no chat or comments.  Ability to leave feed back for DJs, make Paypal and Venmo contributions.
• In reviewing these five info venues, the committee determined that each meets a very specific need / audience, have value and should continue.  There may be some confusion between the FaceBook page and the FaceBook group. So Lori did some rebranding of the official FaceBook "Page" so the look and feel is consistent with the PCD official web page.  Rudy looking at the FaceBook "Group" to potentially put a bit more structure / curation around content and membership.
• Discussed renaming the FaceBook group to better differentiate it from the page
• Suggestions (Deb):
• Hold the intention about being part of the community. Should be local and part of the community.
• Add screening questions, e.g., "Why are you interested in joining this group?"

Spring 2023 Retreat (Lily):

• Proposal: Have a special requirement for retreat attendance to have danced with us at least 3 times (instead of the normal membership requirement of 5).
• After some discussion, the consensus was that this is a solution to a problem (low signup numbers) that we don't yet know exists.
• Tabled until low attendance appears to be an issue closer to the retreat date. We don't need to figure this out now.
• Jo E volunteered to put together some written materials / email copy for us to give retreat participants before they get to FB and/or at FB on arrival. Info on the dorms, grounds, dances, the whole shebang.
• Camping: campsites are $28 per night for a tent, $32 per night for a small RV.
• Update on Ferry Beach registration: the first person signing up for a room, whether it be quad or double, will have to pay for the entire room. That's problematic for us.
• Lori: we could manage room assignments with a spreadsheet.

Where can we dance (Lori)?

• Not much to report. 317 Main in Yarmouth is still the "apple of our eye", but we need patience because development of the space is slow.
• Discussed DJ hookup requirements. They can offer a USB connection, but that doesn't work for a number of our DJs, who would interface either with RCA or XLR analog inputs. Lori to take this info back to 317 Main.
• They still haven't come up with a rental price. They want to support community organizations like PCD, but can't afford to "give it away." They're working on a contract that will work for anyone who uses the space.
• The Christian School in South Portland is still on the table.
• We can continue to use MCWS until we find a preferable alternative.
• Discussion about the gritty floor situation: We could buy dry mops and either bring them with or label them and keep them in the auditorium broom closet
• When can we dance weekly? Discussion points:
• Equipment storage/haulage continues to be a limiting factor. If we have either on-site storage (better), or a killer house sound system (ideal), weekly dances are more possible.
• DJ juice is less of an issue now - we have 5 1/2 DJs for rotation, and are training new recruits.

Next meetings:

• Feb 21 in-person at Deb's (or Mellen's as backup)
• March 21, venue TBD

Meraki Meeting Notes for December 13, 2022

 Age Restriction & Associated Waiver Form Update (Kari)

• Proposal to restrict PCD dances to adults only (18 and older).
• Precipitated not only by the snafu during the 12.4.22 dance (synopsis: father arriving with 12-year-old daughter, not having found notification of age restriction via prior research on website and being miffed when this was spelled out; father subsequently submitted long email diatribe to which Mellen & Kari diplomatically responded).
• A number of PCD members have wished for this restriction for a long time, noting that (put simply) minors might not only have questions about what they encounter on the dance floor, but also that the presence of minors may inhibit full expression by adult participants.
• Concern about spatial and energetic awareness of minors.
• Mellen pointed out that the inclusion of minors was more in response to the opportunity to dance outdoors after Covid hit AND that space is already becoming a concern (again!) as we reestablish ourselves post-Covid.
• And it’s really always been an adult event.
• 18 is culturally/legally established as the cutoff for being an adult, so that cutoff feels non-arbitrary to society.
• Unanimous passage of proposal!
• Effective immediately.
• Greeter can inquire about age of new dancer if obviously necessary.
• Waiver to drop bottom two sections referring to minors; re-print with changes, but still use BLUE paper to keep continuity…will change color at the end of the requisite three-year lifetime of the collected signatures.

Where Can We Dance? Update (Lori)

• Mellen, Kari, and Lori visited the Christian School in SoPo and view it as a contender (storage, amenities, kindness and cooperation of contact person), with the caveat that the dance space (gym) is rather boomy. Pricing TBD. Available January forward.
• Looking forward to visiting the other strong contender, 317 Main Street in Yarmouth (storage, TBD plug-and-play hookup to 317 sound system, sprung dance floor, purpose-built, aligning with 317’s desire to create community). Pricing TBD. Not available until mid-February or possibly into March if there are snags on their end (the dance hall is part of an extension of their existing facility and is presently under construction). [Visit Wednesday following Meraki revealed square footage: 2061.]
• Option to try out one/other/both locations prior to signing a contract; WCWD committee entrusted with deciding upon any such activity.

May 5 - 7, 2023 PCD Dance Retreat at Ferry Beach in Saco (Lily)

• Contract has been ironed out, signed, and provided to all committee members so that the facility's requirements are known by all.
• Lily is in contact with Kathy and will convene the committee in January to continue planning:
• Marion K.
• Sandra (?)
• Joe E.
• Shelagh R.
• Krista O.
• Rudy G. & Kari P. (available for consulting)
• 4 DJs have already voiced interest, thereby covering the 4 dances!
• 25-person minimum; maximum?
• If people can begin signing up sooner rather than later, we’ll have a better idea of numbers and therefore whether or not or when to make membership requirement changes to encourage more signups.
• John will get proof of insurance to Lily pronto for Kathy.

Facebook Group Administration and Group Membership Approvals, et al (Rudy)

• Rudy has taken the bait and is taking this quagmire on.
• Clarification: Page is official PCD business and is completely open for viewing, but only PCD admins can post; for the purpose of announcing dances, cancellations, and policies as needed. Group, however, is only accessible via acceptance into the group; it is possible for anyone in the group to post and is meant as a place for building (dance) community.
• Committee of Rudy, Mellen, John, and Lori will figure out how to better define the above and then better visually and verbally communicate the same.
• Determine any rules of engagement for Group admission.
• Can the Group be a clearinghouse for dancing in Maine?!? Rename Group to something like “Portland Dance Hub”?

Membership Requirement (Lily)

• Would it be helpful for the 5-dance requirement for PCD membership be lowered since we’re only dancing twice a month presently and the retreat is on the not-too-distant horizon?
• Suggested: 3 dances.
• Change would make the retreat available to more dancers.
• What is the retreat capacity?
• Note that annual meeting must be attended by 10% of the membership in order to make quorum; keep this in mind as we grow membership, but membership can be winnowed of dead wood.
• Are 3 dances enough to grant benefits of membership: access to Meraki meetings and therefore decision-making, access to retreats, ability to serve as an officer?
• Do retreats have to be members only?
• Lingering concerns by some present: there is a group understanding, a holding of space around touch, boundaries, consent, power dynamics, body and gender issues. 

• Table for now.

Next Meraki Meetings

January 17 - possibly @Deb G.’s, weather permitting; otherwise, on Zoom

February 21

Annual Membership Meeting Notes - November 20 2022

Portland Community Dance held its Annual Membership Meeting on Sunday November 20, 2022, from 1-2:15 PM at Ketcha Outdoors, Scarborough ME

Participants:

With over 13 members, we met our quorum requirement of 10% of our 132 current members. (Sorry, I didn't get an exact count - 20 to 25 people?)

Agenda:

• Ingathering - Rudy
• Icebreaker - Deb
• How we Roll - John
• Summary of 2022 - Mellen
• Finance - John
• Wiz update - Kari
• Greeter Coordinator - Lily
• Future Dance Space - Lori
• 2023 Retreat - Shelagh
• Thank outgoing officers/board - Mellen
• New Officer/Board selections - Deb
• Kari Pritchard, President
• Lori Harley, Treasurer (continuing)
• John Boynton, Secretary (continuing)
• Crowning Cermony - Deb
• Out-gathering - Rudy

Meeting:

Ingathering

Rudy offered music

Icebreaker

Deb facilitated icebreaker exercises.

How We Roll

John summarized the How we Roll document.

Summary of 2022

Mellen gave highlights of 2022.

Finance 

John interpretively danced a gradual decline in our account balance, and presented a discussion of our costs and income. PCD finances should improve with robust attendance we've seen in the last few dances.

Wiz Update

Kari summarized activities of the Wizengamot (Operations Committee), whose current members are: Blair, Jimmie and Kari, Lori, Lily, Sunshine, and Tim. The biggest logistics lift continues to be equipment cartage, storage, and setup/teardown.

Greeter Coordinator

Lily has graciously offered to serve as Greeter Coordinator. We passed around a signup sheet for a "Let me know how I can help" list of names for anyone who would like to assist with any of the various PCD needs.

Space

Lori summarized our current space search for a new venue in 2023, and reported that Ketcha Outdoors might be available to us through the winter and spring months. Maine Coast Waldorf School is a regular possibility if a better option doesn't surface. There's a spreadsheet of our research; anyone with ideas of possible venues, please contact Lori.

Social Media Correspondent

Deb mentioned our need for a Social Media coordinator / correspondent to take charge of our Facebook page and group.

Spring 2023 Retreat

We have a signed contract and have paid a deposit to Ferry Beach Retreat Center for a spring retreat for PCD members, planned for May 5-7 2023. If anyone wants to contribute to organizing the retreat, please talk to Shelagh.

Thank You to Outgoing Officers

We thanked outgoing officers Mellen, Lori, and John, for their service to PCD.

Officer / board elections

We elected the following officers and board members:

• Kari Pritchard, President
• John Boynton, Secretary (continuing)
• Lori Harley, Treasurer (continuing)

Officer positions take effect immediately.

Future Meetings

We scheduled future Meraki meetings for December 13 and January 17 on Zoom and at Deb's place, respectively. More details by email to the membership.

Outgathering/adjourn

Rudy performed a brief reprise of the ingathering music.

Meeting was adjourned at 2:15 PM.

Annual Membership Meeting Sunday November 20; November 15 Meraki Meeting Notes

Participating: Kari (Facilitating), Lori, Shelagh, John, Rudy, Deb, Mellen, Lindy

Spring Retreat update (Rudy)

• The contract with Ferry Beach is signed and ready to go.
• Dates: May 5-7 2023
• Next steps:
• Send deposit check (John)
• Hand the contract over to the retreat committee to begin planning
• Firm up committee membership
• Develop a list of tasks and a timeline (committee)
• Publish a "Save the Dates" announcement (Mellen)
• Deb to write up a handout ("if I get my act together") to post at dance

New Dance Venue (Lori)

• Barring a miracle, we won't have a new facility (other than Waldorf) for January.
• Lori and others are pursuing many leads, which we discussed.
• Next steps:
  
• Continue reaching out to facilities on the spreadsheet
• Reach out to Portland Public Schools and Portland Rec. Dept. to see what facilities might be available.

Annual Meeting (Mellen)

• We'll set up tables in the room next to the dance hall for the post-dance potluck
• We discussed agenda items
• Next steps:
  
• Add potluck and meeting summary to next dance announcement (Mellen)
• Publish meeting announcement details with agenda to the membership Friday-ish (John)

Facebook Group Administration and Group Membership Approvals (Deb):

• It's not clear who all has responsibility for vetting new membership requests to the group, and what the criteria are for accepting or rejecting.
• We do have some automatic approvals, if the person is in the Portland area and has one or more friends in the group
• Beyond that, it's not clear.
• Nor do we have published guidelines for group posts and conduct.
• No one present at the meeting was keen to take on responsibility for the Facebook group administration.
• We discussed a response by one group member to a dance announcement post, that we decided to leave be.
• We need a Social Media secretary/coordinator to take on the responsibility for our Facebook and possible future other social media presences. (Right now, Facebook is it.)

Meet in Person (John)?

• We discussed the possibility of meeting in person at future Meraki meetings, and there were mixed feelings. The convenience of Zoom makes it easier to attend meetings, but the possibility of meeting in person, especially after such a long time meeting on Zoom, is appealing.
• Deb volunteered to host the January meeting at her home; we'll see how that goes.

Closing Business

• Next meeting dates after the Annual Membership Meeting: December 13, January 17
• We spent about 15 minutes in meeting evaluation

October 11 Meraki Notes; Next Meraki November 15; Annual Membership Meeting November 20

Participating: Kari, Jimmie, John (Notes), Rudy, Deb (Facilitating), Jason, Mellen

Spring Retreat update (Rudy)

• Rudy created a deck of slides that he shared with the group.
• Dates: May 5-7
• We'll be sharing with another group, but will attempt to get exclusive use of breakout rooms.
• Housing:
• Dorms insulated but not heated, heat rises from below
• Heated cabins available, price chart on web site
• Food: limited menu, nutritious, vegan option available
• Next steps:

1. Wrestle contract to reflect what's in the slides (Rudy)
2. A lot of logistics
• They did agree to do registration
• We need an active committee - Rudy wants not to be involved in organizing

Masking (Jason)

• Idea in Jason's mind: at some point we need to drop the masks
• It's not about protecting each other; we're making our own choices
• We had a round-robin of each member present sharing their feelings, which were mixed.
• Proposal:
• Make masking optional
• Revert to masking if surging, following Maine and U.S. CDC guidance
• If not feeling well, don't come to dance
• Discuss at the annual meeting
  
• Proposal was adopted by consensus

New Dance Venue (Lori)

• Lori shared the spreadsheet she's keeping on prospective venues with input from members.
• Cory at Maine Coast Waldorf School showed us a closet we *might* be able to use. She's using the slow drip process to encourage consideration of its use by PCD.
• We discussed the various places
• Put in the meeting notes: Be in touch with Lori and/or Mellen about possible spaces
• We can always dance at Maine Coast Waldorf School

Annual Meeting (Mellen)

• Kari volunteers for President; John and Lori to continue as Secretary and Treasurer.
• Rudy offered the possibility of serving as Vice President, but we didn't have any scope for such a role.
• Mellen will continue as Correspondence Secretary to monitor gmail account
• John to send bylaws link to Mellen and Deb
• We have the hall for the extra hour (until 2:30)
• John to publish a Save the date message. Potluck (bring your own meal kit), indoors, done before 2:30
• John to send Mellen last year's AM agenda
• Mellen and Kari comprise the Meeting Committee

Agenda for next time (November 15):

• Meet in person?
• Retreat status/progress
• Where can we dance status/progress
• Annual Meeting planning
• PCD Facebook group: how do we decide not to admit a person who requests to join? (Deb)

September 13 Meraki Meeting Notes; Next Meetings: Oct 11, Nov 15

 Present at meeting: John, Shelagh, Rudy, Lori, Mellen, Kari, Marion, Lily, Deb

2023 Retreat (Shelagh) 

Shelagh, Rudy, Krista, Julie, and Lily considering three venues: Ferry Beach, Pilgrim Lodge, and Wavus. Short story: If Wavus does not respond in another week or so, PCD will book Ferry Beach.

Ferry Beach (Rudy): A known entity, responsive, and more affordable

• Rowland Hall (same building as before) has been upgraded with heat downstairs (but heat may rise to 2nd floor!); floor re-finished
• April 14/15/16 (off-season…all to ourselves)*
• $500 down payment
• The food off-season is "healthy and clean,” but very limited in scope
• They do have a registrar, but it may be better for PCD to arrange registration for better service/efficiency.

*After Meraki, 9.21.22, Rudy learned of a May (4/) 5/6/7 cancellation open to us, with the only caveat that there will be a small group there at that time using a side room in Roland Hall…with the following details:

Ferry Beach total Cost per person for retreat.

Dorm style Rm* (2 Nights): $40-160** 
Food*** (6 meals): $90 
Membership: $30…with alternative of PCD paying for a group membership

DJ Costs: TBD

=================

Total: $160-$280 (not including DJ costs)

Minimum #: 25

$80 pre-recorded/$175 live per dance, usually with 4 dances

* There are a limited # of rooms available in heated cabins  hose are more expensive.  Details and links with pricing provided in previous eMail below.

** Majority of rooms have 2 bunk beds (4 beds).  Cost for 2 nights is $160, regardless of number of people  o sharing a room lowers individual cost.

*** Includes vegetarian option: vegetarian meal plan must be requested at registration.  To avoid food waste, vegetarian option only available to those who register for it.

Pilgrim Lodge (Lily): Too pricey

• desirable location on Lake Cobbosseecontee in West Gardiner
• Dock & boats, but req. lifeguard for swimming ($100 per 2-hour block)
• dates available before Jun/Jul/Aug
• capacity: 65 or fewer
• 10K for three days, plus food…so, estimate for 40 attendees: $250/pp for lodging = $150/pp for food = $400/pp…ouch!
• sound system
• (new-ish) large barn with a beautiful wooden floor

Wavus (Shelagh): Unresponsive

• previous retreats there before educational-group requirement; that appears to have been lifted and all/any groups are acceptable for retreats now
• very desirable location on Damariscotta Lake
• docks, swimming, bunk rooms, camping
• as yet unresponsive to communications

Search for 2023 dance venue (Lori)

• gathering any additional considerations for new venues
• neighbors/neighborhood regarding sound if openable windows
• parking/access
• bare feet
• type of floor
• Sunday morning!
• Lori will update Google doc spreadsheet and invite people to contribute info they collect
• new/old venue ideas
• Westbrook Community Center (Kari)…Sunday morning gym full of basketball; dance studio space small and without any windows
• Maplewood (Deb)
• Odd Fellows @ Woodfords (Deb)
• Masonic Lodge (Deb)
• Woodford’s Club (Lori)…Shelagh dances there Thu nights; no noise issues, as dance hall is on the parking lot side, with the closest neighbor being the funeral home.
• UNE Westbrook Campus (?)
• St. Brigid’s on Steven’s Ave (?)
• Christian School in S. Portland (Mellen)
• Breakwater School (Mellen)
• Grange Halls, e.g. Highland Lake (?)
• Longfellow School (?)…in the midst of renovation, so not good timing!
• synagogues!

Annual Membership Meeting (Mellen)

• Zoom again, or do live, after a dance? The latter would most likely guarantee more attendance!
• Meraki agreed on allocating 1 hour following the Nov. 20 dance for an in-person meeting!
• Mellen to contact Ketcha to schedule that extra time (1:30  :30) and find out what if any additional fee; as soon as that is verified, a Save the Date email can be sent out to community.
• Suggestions about the inclusion of food:
• potluck, with BYOF if special diet
• BYOF/bagged lunch
• consider masking policy if indoors since there will likely be eating; if outdoors in the pavilion, get permission/help to unroll the walls if chilly

Recruitment for Officers and Board of Directors (Mellen)

• Search committee for recruiting officers is the current roster of officers, so Mellen, John, and Lori
• Deb submits herself as option for President.
• Shelagh suggests making an announcement to the PCD community re: a call for nominations/volunteers for officers. 

Meraki Meetings

• John will open Zoom meeting 10 minutes early so that socializing can happen before meeting
• Future dates: October 11, November 15
• In Oct & Nov, revisit masking policy