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

 

Meraki Sunday April 6 After Dance

Meraki Sunday April 6, 2025 After Dance 

Attendees: Parks (ingatherer), Deb (facilitator), Lily (timekeeper), Kari (vibe checker), Tasha (notetaker), Deb, Parks, Nathaniel, Kari, Jimmie, Jules, Traca, Nate, Andrew, Sunshine, Lily, Steve, Jenn, Bart, Rebecca, Adrianna, Ben

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

• Recommendation for Dancing at Temple Beth El - Nate 5 min
• Capacity Committee Recommendations - Rebecca 15 min
• DJ Monitoring Speakers - Tasha for John 5 min
• DJ Update - Deb 20 min  
• Retreat Committee Update - Tasha 5 min
• Shadowing Secretary Position - Tasha 5 min

Recommendation - Nate

Nate: We should recommend people wear shoes, it's a cement floor so there's zero give. It's bad for your body.

Bart: We shouldn't recommend it because the tradeoff of dancing with bare feet might outweigh.

Jason: I wouldn't make it a recommendation but rather a suggestion. Has anyone asked Temple Beth el about putting in a sprung floor?

Kari: Yes and it could be discussed.

Rebecca: They should be indoor only shoes. 

Deb: Let's make an announcement at closing circle and put it in our next email to let people know it's a cement floor and suggest wearing indoor shoes. I'll ask Mellen to add it to the email. 

Steve: If people are experiencing bad effects, it might be from that. 

Brian: Ill make an announcement at next dance and a couple after that.

Agreed: Make announcement at closing circle for the next couple dances and include in next dance announcement email letting people know it's a cement floor and we suggest wearing indoor shoes to protect your body from injury.

Capacity Committee - Rebecca

Rebecca: Our document last month was a bit of a Pandora's box. I hope it will yield some creative ideas of how to address capacity while acknowledging the tension between allowing for growth in our community while holding a container that reflects our values. There was a lot of feedback, so our plan moving forward is:

Wiz is going to monitor attendance over the next few months. 

Membership and Registration committees will continue to meet and present their ideas over the next couple months. If you want to join, talk to Jimmie or Rebecca.

We leave it up to the DJs to decide on how many dances they can accommodate.

Advertising, no more outside advertising, website and word-of-mouth, and PCD emails.

We put it in the Wiz's domain to determine when or whether to stop admitting people to dance after a certain time. We currently stop monitoring the greeter table at 1:45. Since the door is locked, people can't get in unless someone happens to be in the lobby. 

Bart: I have concerns about limiting attendance. We shouldn't be discouraging dance. I have concerns about removing PCD from Jeff's email. If safety is an issue, we should discuss it specifically. 

Nathaniel: What are the main concerns around capacity?

Rebecca: Some people feel it's too crowded for freeform expression. Also how do we create a container when people arrive late and leave early before closing circle. 

Deb: We've been cultivating a PCD culture for ten years. After covid, we grew back much bigger than we were before, so there's been change in culture. 

Parks: To be clear, we're not making a decision about capacity today.

Rebecca: Correct. We're exploring options so we're prepared, keeping in mind culture and capacity.

Brian: The methodology for monitoring capacity sounds awesome. I'm also interested in talking to people after dance about their subjective experience of capacity to correlate with the numbers. 

Rebecca: We usually add 10% to the numbers at closing circle, but today we probably lost 20% before circle. Maybe we form another subcommittee to take the temperature of the experience. How do we collect data about what people's experience is?

Brian: The question about culture has to to with consent and all the stuff that was published in the small flyer.

Jen: I've been coming for 7 years and definitely feel that there's many more people and sometimes it feels overwhelming. What do we know about other dance and how they handle it?

Steve: One Dance is starting to face similar issues of capacity.

Kari: From way back, we experienced a dance that felt sacred. A whole new group of people are coming that feels more like going out to a club to dance. There's a broader scope of people now.

Jason: We did a survey in the past. I would say do that asap. Curious to know what the contingency plan is and what is the threshold so we're prepared. Once this is identified, please share with Meraki.

Parks: There are differing opinions about the change of culture, so it's definitely a discussion. 

Agreed: Wiz will monitor attendance and report back to Meraki. Brian will form a committee that gets some data on people's subjective experience of dance to correlate with the numbers. Capacity Committee will keep discussing recommendations and report back to Meraki with a plan over next couple months. 

DJ Monitoring Speakers - Tasha for John

John purchased a set of purpose-specific monitor cables. I am working with DJs to use the existing portable speaker. I hope to transfer knowledge to setup crew members. I wanted to write up a short procedure, but so far was stymied by how to troubleshoot and account for corner cases.

Jason: The monitoring speaker works great. Recommend making a short video that can be shared. 

DJ Meeting - Deb

Deb: DJs had a great meeting where we discussed a variety of things:

Cohesion. What are our values as DJs? Following a 5Rhythm wave structure. Holding a container. Being onsite vs recorded sets. Honoring artists who made the music. Managing closing circle well. DJ training process. 

Recorded sets. Across the board we had low enthusiasm for playing recorded sets. PCD culture is holding a container with live music. 

Because people want to dance more often, we determined that we can commit to holding one more dance a month starting in June. 

Kari: Thank you for coming together and deciding to make this happen.

Rebecca: It's better to have you live. 

Nate: At first I though recorded sets would be fine, but hearing your reflection as DJs makes me agree that having live sets is way better.

Lily: I want to acknowledge that you're doing that for us is a gift for your community.

Nathaniel: What are the obstacles to more dances?

Deb: It's been quite difficult to bring on new DJs. Partially it's because of our standards. It's common to spend a lot of time training DJs and then they disappear. Last year we had 3 our of 5 who we trained. Our next round of discussion is about how to train the DJs without draining the existing DJs.

Jason: While there are best practices, it's still hard to train DJs while also allowing for creative expression.

Brian: Dena my spouse is a DJ and yes, it's a lot of work. As for training, it takes a lot of time to listen to a set and giving feedback.

Adrianna: Have you discussed small group training?

Deb: Yes, and also it's hard to express how much work it is and what the standards are. We want to encourage people to become DJs but we also don't want to invest in training them if they're not committed. 

Bart: DJs are consistently good. Appreciate that there's consistency. Compensation should be as much as possible. How much money can we give DJs to keep it going? Maybe we could announce after dance who is interested in DJing.

Tasha: What about the idea that was presented last time about compensating DJs for their time in training new DJs?

Deb: One idea is that trainees should pay to participate in their training so they're actually invested.

Adrianna: I love that idea!

Kari: It's a partnership between DJs and dancers, and we're so lucky that we can create a balance.

Also want to note that June 22 we start dancing in the morning 10 - 12.

Brian: I like the idea of investing in training to incentivize commitment. And you get your money back over time. (???)

Jen: I would love to be a DJ! 

Traca: It becomes a virtuous cycle. Love incentivizing the DJs.

Jules: Thank you for your efforts.

Steven: DJs are the axel in the wheel of this community.

Jason: We have to be creative in how we incentivize.

Deb: We will write something up that shares our values and share with members.

Agreed: Our awesome PCD DJs will offer 3 dances a month starting in June. They will continue to discuss how to bring on more DJs in a way that's sustainable and incentivizes DJs to participate and new DJs to remain committed. 

Retreat Committee - Tasha

Tasha: Retreat is full. Some people on the waitlist have been added because some dropped out. 

Some people didn't get emails announcing the retreat. We looked into some of the issues and determined that some people weren't in fact members. Others it's unclear what happened.

Jen: Didn't get email about retreat.

Jimmie: The membership committee recommends that we should start from scratch for membership. And potentially tie membership to some level of volunteerism so that being a member has some value and responsibility associated with it. 

Nathanial: PCD doesn't actually track the five times dancing to become a member?

Deb: No, it's honor system.

Jason: We should have a timestamp on when a member joins so we can track. 

Tasha: I will talk to John about why people aren't getting emails.

Shadowing Secretary - Tasha

Tasha: I'd like someone to consider shadowing the job of secretary in upcoming months when I might be away a lot.

Nathaniel: I'm willing to do it!

Tasha: Much appreciation!!! 

Next Month's Agenda Items

Jason: Potentially having four speakers.

Deb: Lighting decision during dance

Brian: Data collection around dancers' experience

Membership Committee: How to identify active members

Next Meetings

Tues May 6 in person Kari and Jimmie's

Mon Jun 2 zoom

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