Spokescouncil Meetings

2026-04-11- Communiy Check-in


Agenda 

Meeting Highlights

New Action Items 

find contact info for old ESL class teachers
build structure for determining discretionary fund allocations
build process for accessing DF
lease review- do we have backyard access?
Gavin- pass gym orientation manual for use as template for admin committees/ WG to build out SOP + orientation materials 

2025-12-11 Spokescouncil Meeting

Spokescouncil Meeting - Date: 12-11-2025

Agenda 

agenda wishlist: https://cryptpad.fr/sheet/#/2/sheet/edit/i7YbsaTtZ5WBf9FYDY3WrVBx/

6:30-9 pm

Agenda 


Detailed Meeting Notes

 

2025-11-13 Spokescouncil Meeting

Spokescouncil Meeting - Date: 11-13-2025

6:30-9 pm

Agenda 

Meeting Highlights

Attendance

<spoke name + delegate: name + note-taker: name> , <spoke name + delegate: name + note-taker: name>,  ...

New Action Items 

Uncompleted/ In progress Action Items from Prior Meetings

Proposals Discussed

Passed
Did not pass
Withdrawals

Proposals We Didn't Get To Discuss (will flow forward to next agenda)

Detailed Meeting Notes

2025-10-11 Spokescouncil Meeting temp alt layout

Spokescouncil Meeting - Date: 10-11-2025

Agenda

Intro / Roles / Process / TODO Reportbacks / Branding Update (45 min)

Break (5 min)

Admin Comittee Updates / Working Group Updates (45 min)

Break (5 min)

Discussion (26 min)

discussion session (20 min)

Fin!

Meeting Minutes here:

2025-10-11 Spokescouncil Meeting

Spokescouncil Meeting - Date: 10-11-2025

Agenda

Intro / Roles / Process / TODO Reportbacks / Branding Update (45 min)

Break (5 min)

Admin Comittee Updates / Working Group Updates (45 min)

Break (5 min)

Discussion (26 min)

discussion session (20 min)

Fin!

Detailed Meeting Notes Here:

INTRO / ROLES / PROCESS / REPORTBACKS / BRANDING

Introductions (names/pronouns/affiliations) (5 min)


Admin Committee Updates / Working Group Updates (45 min)


Discussion (26 min)

discussion session (20 min)
ACTION ITEMS:
LP During one of emergency meetings I proposed a questions section: sop ppl can empty their minds in a free way?? Seems like it’s already happened ??? But space for ppl to say what their questions are? 

Emergency council meeting notes

Emergency council meeting notes

07-06-2025, 8:30-10:30 @ 585 Woodward

585 Collective Transition Meeting - Date: 07-06-2025 @ 585 Woodward

Agenda 

Goal

The goal of this collective meeting is to amend and then ratify the transition plan so that the collective as a whole can move forwards. After that, we will discuss putting the transition plan into practice.

Agenda

Sunday, July 6th 8:30pm at 585 Woodward

(rachel is taking notes)

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW THE LINKED DOCUMENTS IN ADVANCE

Goal


The goal of this collective meeting is to amend and then ratify the transition plan so that the collective as a whole can move forwards. After that, we will discuss putting the transition plan into practice.

 

Notes

Proposal for Collective Stewardship of 585 Space

CLARIFICATIONS AND EXPANSIONS TO 585 SPACE TRANSITION PROPOSAL

 

Emergency council meeting notes

06-22-2025 "Leadership and Accountability" Breakout Group Meeting

Spokescouncil Meeting - Date: 06-22-2025

6.22.25 Leadership & Accountability Meeting

AGENDA:
1. Names & cute weekend

Tomorrow: 

Page wants to know what the steering element is of the structure “spokes council”

UPDATE: Briar: “Admin Collective” > steps away from any language we’ve used in the past, highlights “collective” nature; highlights un-sexy necessity of important admin work, without being called “leader” or anything like that 

- Brooklyn “Leader-ful” rather than “Leader-less” > distinct from being “in charge” without making decision > all this shit needs to be done, anyone can do it, but you gotta commit to doing it

- Being on ‘directorship” > there would be areal split on decisions > ie calendar access > taking away things without real reasons only breeds resentment > invisible power defaulting to what Matt wanted because we weren’t able to come to an agreement >> so if half of directorship disagrees >>> what DO WE DO? 

= a void in That process > exhaustion

= sometimes you simply need to make a decision

“Admin collective” > you have specific tasks, 9 people doing 9 specific things, (Odd number so no ties) > feedback, digesting decisions > spokes council to have feedback “tickets” to give anonymous feedback

——————————————————————————————————

Meeting with Dino:

Fiscal sponsorship: Tyler EVLoves is a organization that gives us the meals for food pantry

- 5 yrs relationship

Lease as relates to leadership / structural stuff: LIABILITY

How to create structures that integrate with “admin collective” & “spokes council”

CLEANING PROPOSALS

Arrangement with the landlord: we pay Marciela for monthly cleaning and trash maintenance; full cleaning of the space doesn’t happen enough; confusion; 

PROPOSE: WE START A DOCUMENT CLARIFYING WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT: NOTES ARE DISCUSSION ,BUT WE NEED CLEAR DOCUMENT FOR TOMORROW’S MEETING: INCLUDE TWO WHEELED BIKE WITH CAVEATS, CHARTER, EMERGENCY IDEAS >> REFERENCE DOCUMENT WE CAN START AND STUFF > ASH WILL MAKE THIS DOCUMENT

Last items / follow up discussions:

admin collective_spokescouncil-01.jpg

Emergency council meeting notes

06-23-2025 6:30-9 pm @ MayDay Space

Spokescouncil Meeting - Date: 06-23-2025

Spokescouncil Strategy Meeting 3 (aka what to do about the future of the space)

Agenda

Roles (5 min)
  1. Facilitator (Ash + Katelyn)
  2. Timer (Dora)
  3. Stack (Caroline)
  4. Note taker (paul)
  5. Whiteboarder (none)
Names/Pronouns (5 min)
Updates from Johnny about Lease + Short Q/A (10 min)
Document Template walkthrough (5 min)
Proposal section breakout groups (5 min)
Proposal writing time! (30 min)
Break (5 min)
Proposals presentations (50 min)

we go section by section together

Follow up plan/action items (10 min)

Detailed Meeting Notes

Intro & agenda review

Updates from johnny

breakout groups

groups are working on editing sections of this transition doc to be presented to the directorship

group red
group green
group purple

point of clarification: at the last meeting it was decided that we would continue to operate at 585 woodward as an organization independant from Woodbine.

Reviewing the document

Transitional governance

We decided this section was confusing and dropped it. wasn't clear the difference between emergency counsel and the admin/spokes groups.

Agreements w/ landlord
Basement
kitchen
governance model

are these structures temporary or not?

are the individual admins reviewed every 6 months or is the entire admin structure going to be reviewed in 6 months?

clarification that each admin committes are committees-- groups of people, but have a point person that rotates every 6 months.

finance & fiscal sponsorship

Next Action Items

Emergency council meeting notes

06-18-2025 7-9 pm at MayDay Space

Spokescouncil Meeting - Date: 06-18-2025

Spokescouncil Strategy Meeting 2 (aka what to do about the future of the space)

Agenda 

Names/Pronouns (5 min)
Roles (5 min)
Review of "Options" (5 min)
Review of Monday meeting (10 min)
Brief Updates and Open Questions (10 min)
Breakout group research huddle (35 min)
Break (5 min)
Breakout group reportbacks (15 min)
Plan for Monday June 23 Meeting + Proposal Teams (10 min)
Action Items + Bottomliners (5 min)

Meeting Highlights

Roles (5 min)

Review of "Options" (5 min)

Review of Monday meeting (10 min) (Dora)

Brief Updates and Open Questions (10 min)

Breakout group research huddle (35 min)

LEADERSHIP AND ACCOUNTABILITY group notes: Relationship btw spokes council and leadership roles

Note: Property taxes for 585 lease : $8000/yr in taxes: Department of Finances

Question: Is landlord paying for major repairs ??

 discuss pain points from the past to help inform going forward: WHAT HASN’T BEEN WORKING (not blame person but like more generally what dynamics don’t work > with intent to address/avoid a structural concern)

- UNCLEAR overlap / delineation between leadership roles vs responsibility roles : ie busted things : ppl who are in roles of leadership vs roles of responsibility for pragmatic needs

- daily needs need to delineated more clearly

Leaseholder stuff: mostly dependent on SATURDAY discussion

Break (5 min)

Breakout group reportbacks (15 min)

WAIT: why am I talking:

LEGAL: 

- PATREON & With Friends: their terms of service require that that change of services provided be announced

- NYS law: we do have to report to our donors that we are changing the structure of the organizing;

Leadership / accountability:

QUESTION: what is the point of third space / option 3: the vast majority of people want to stay with 585, have a collective body that pairs with leadership; 

- 3rd space is useful to understand value of staying at 585 

Plan for Monday June 23 Meeting + Proposal Teams (10 min)

- write proposals prior to meeting to finalize one by the end of the meeting

Action Items + Bottomliners (5 min)

Emergency council meeting notes

06-16-2025, 7-9 pm at May Day Space

Spokescouncil Meeting - Date: 06-16-2025

Spokescouncil Strategy Meeting 1 (aka what to do about the future of the space)

Agenda

Introductions: name, pronouns (5 min)
Volunteer for roles (5 min)
Refresher on meeting gestures and protocols: jazz hands, stack, "WAIT" (5 min)
Review of the "options" and Open container for processing the news together: fears, hopes (20 min)
Updates (5 min)
Whiteboard session to ideate (30 min)
Break (5 min)
Task Team formation, volunteer groups (20 min)
Katelyn's document + q/a (10 min) 
Special signal chat for these meetings and updates? (5 min)
Action Item Roundup + bottomliners (10 min)

Meeting Highlights

Space 585 Spokescouncil Meeting \#2 Notes Spokescouncil Strategy Meeting 1: What to do about the Future of the Space

Facilitator- Ash
Time Keeper- Briar
Stack- Andrew
Notetaker- Shea
Whiteboard maven - Nina

Review of Options

1- Lease takeover of Space 585 by a new group. Woodbine entity moves to a new space. Working groups remaining at Space 585 would collaborate with lease holders to form democratically run space. ~3 mos rent available to working groups to fund the space during the transition.
2- Current leaseholders remain on the lease, directorship is expanded. Things remain largely the same.
3- Woodbine retains control of Space 585, working groups receive seed money (~3 mos rent) to move mutual aid/ working groups operations to a new space.

Feelings Processing

The group expressed excitement over the opportunity to form a democratically run space, as well as conviction that the mutual aid and community building are vital to the neighborhood. We acknowledged how much those in the 585 working groups care about the space and the community, and how important food pantry and Sunday dinners are to the well-being of many who receive these services.
Many in the group are anxious as well, due to the short timeline, vagueness of the agreement, and lack of cohesion around the vision for the new space/ management structure. Some wondered whether the funds allocated to space repairs and management (electricity etc) would still be available in the event of a split. - A clarification was given that the end of June deadline is for a statement of intent, and that submitting the Collective Stewardship Commitment prepared by Katelyn and signed by the group to the leaseholders would fulfill this deadline.

Update from Johnny- LL is ok with Johnny and Hunter remaining on the lease without Matt. LL is wary of adding new names to the lease, and any new names added can expect a full background and credit check before being added.

Fundraising Update:
CSA- Natalie: it is not a certainty that CSA will remain operating out of Space 585. CSA contributes ~$16k/ yr to the space, which while helpful, “wouldn’t save the space.” That being said, CSA has logistical needs to consider that are already being met by the 585 Space.
Patreon- Dora: If the planning group decides to take control of the 585 lease, Patreon funds for 3 mos would be split between Space 585 and the new Woodbine space. Donors would be informed of the split and a new Patreon formed for Space 585. Once the new Patreon is running, donors would be able to choose which space receives their donations. Other current revenue streams: gym, pantry grants, co-working.

Whiteboard Time- Pros and Cons Options 1-3

Option 1

Con: our group has skills that are underdeveloped in this area, and historically there is a low level of engagement by stakeholders- are there enough of us willing to take this on?
We will need to restructure our relationships with each other and the space.

Pro: Immediate pursuit of the deadline and high levels of group interest indicate this is the most favorable option- group consensus.

Pro: gym, food pantry, and CSA are already well entrenched and operating out of 585. They may not have the desire or capability to relocate.

Pro: we can always revisit option 3 (starting new space) either as we grow or as challenges arise at 585.

Option 2

Q: Is there a role for the spokescouncil here?
A: Possibly, but seems to hinge on which of the current leaseholders remains on the lease and how open they would be to collaborating with the spokescouncil.

Pro: If we are unable to reach group consensus around Options 1 or 3, we can always revisit in the future.

Con: runway funds are most likely not indefinitely available

Con: Many comrades who formerly worked in mutual aid groups have stepped away from Woodbine due to conflict arising from the current structure. They may return if we reach consensus on Option 1 or 3, but will not be interested in Option 2. Several in the working group agreed with this statement and expressed similar feelings.

Option 3

Pro: Funding for new space could open new opportunities for the group.
Con: This is the least clear path forward.

Brainstorm

Q: What do we want to do?
Q: What structure do we need to create to accomplish this?

Briar- allows us to have a voice. There are few democratically run spaces in NYC. Learning these processes will enable us to make more democratic decisions in this group and in our wider communities.

Andrew- the mutual aid and working groups are all community focused, that’s what brings us together.
Usman- our goal should be to center the community
Lippy- create paths to social and communal skills building, development of principles of operation in a shared space
Nina- prompted the group to define “community” for ourselves- which community? Social, geographical, ideological? Who are we centering?

Possible Collaborations

Break out into Groups
Alternative Spaces
Legal Support
Patreon
Collaborations
Leadership Accountability
Leaseholders + Relationship
Incorporation?

Groups created Signal chats to communicate and collaborate between meetings

Katelyn presents Stewardship doc- meant to be a statement of intent. Group should feel free to review and revise as needed.
Andy reiterated that the only option with a deadline attached to it is Option 1, Stewardship doc with group signatures meets the requirement of the deadline.
Ash clarified that MOLU are representatives onboarded to a Signal chat who coordinate the spaces everyday operations.

Group voted to start the 585 Emergency Council signal chat.
Group voted to have another Spokescouncil Meeting 6/23 @ 7p location TBD.

Action Items
Groups work on your respective research projects.
Need volunteers for 6/23 meeting facilitator, time keeper, stack, and note taker.

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

Spokescouncil / Internal GA Planning Meeting- 04/04/2026

 

Meeting Highlights

Attendance

<Shannon, LP, Paul, Shea>, 

New Action Items 

 

Detailed Meeting Notes

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

12-2-25 Spokescouncil Planning Meeting

Agenda 

6:30-8:30 pm

check ins (5 min)

Roles: fac, notes, timer (5 min)

Review action Items from spokes meeting (10 min)

Spokescouncil meeting overhead tasks (20 min):

Steering/strategy discussion Part 1 (30 min) :

Break (5 min)

Steering/strategy discussion Part 2 (30 min) :

How can we share the labor of this group more fairly? Task assigner working? People are not volunteering for offline work... (10 min)

Discuss and vote on proposal: https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/spokescouncil-proposals/page/proposal-to-change-spokescouncil-meeting-dates (10 min)

action item roundup (5 min)

------------------------------------------------------------

Notes: 

Last meeting action Items- completed:

Spokescouncil meeting overhead tasks (20 min):

Steering/strategy discussion Part 1 (30 min) :

Steering/strategy discussion Part 2 (30 min) :

Action Item Round Up:

Assigned- 

Unassigned- 

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

11-4-2025 Spokescouncil Planning meeting

Agenda

2 hrs

5:30-7:30 pm

Quick Checkins (5 min)

Roles: fac, notes, timer (5 min)

Review action Items from spokes meeting

Spokescouncil meeting overhead tasks (30 min):


Steering/strategy discussion (1 hr):

Break (5 min)

Steering/strategy discussion continued (1 hr):

Action item roundup (5 min)

Notes

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

Spokescouncil Planning Meeting - Date: 11-02-2025

Spokescouncil Planning Meeting - Date: 11-02-2025

Agenda

Quick Checkins (5 min)

Roles: fac, notes, timer (5 min)

Review action Items from spokes meeting

Spokescouncil meeting overhead tasks (30 min):

Steering/strategy discussion (1 hr):

Break (5 min)

Steering/strategy discussion continued (1 hr):

Action item roundup (5 min)

Detailed Meeting Notes

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

2025-10-07 Spokescouncil Planning WG Meeting

follow up from last meeting
- tutoring didn't clean the bathroom-- quinn doesn't have signal and likely has no idea about this proposal. whatever. it's the spokes planning group's week to clean it.
- there has been no progress made on the in-person calendar. we should bug the writer's group about it ahead of the meeting on sat
- we committed to putting a sign up about who is in each admin committee

spokes planning meeting notes

action items
- create explainer materials for spokes & admin committee
- create stack indicator
- hand out name tags at beginning of meeting
- bug the writer workshop group about calendar
- make the sign for the admin (https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/rc-tech-comms/page/rc-admin-committee-chart-alt)
- post agenda to announcements chat
- nudge delegates to rotate in delegate chat







Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

2025-09-02 Spokescouncil Planning WG Meeting

Spokescouncil Planning WG Meeting - Date: 09-02-2025

Agenda 

Notes

Attendance

-shannon, vanessa, ash, paul, katelyn, ewa, caroline, briar

Feedback overheard

Review next spokescouncil meeting agenda - finalize 

-how to handle proposals :

we need to update documentation 

6 month - Nov - general assembly to get feedback

proposal workshop/mentoring: checklist, as our WG announcement

cofac - katelyn, looking for co-fac at next meeting

role for our group: proposal round up, make ppl know they can reach out to one of us if they send something a little late, aggregating proposals and sending them out

culture point: ppl always post to the delegates chat when they write a proposal 

open call to help shannon with developing general assembly @ signal in agenda

Proposal Votes:

Bathroom Proposal https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/spokescouncil-proposals/page/proposal-for-bathroom-cleaning-rotation

RC Community Announcements Chat https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/spokescouncil-proposals/page/rc-community-announcements-chat

RC Coordination Chat https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/spokescouncil-proposals/page/rc-coordination-chat

FA's

Physical RC Community Calendar https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/spokescouncil-proposals/page/physical-rc-community-calendar - we didn't get enough time to vote on this 

Action items (need ppl to sign up):

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

2025-08-09 Spokescouncil planning WG notes from spokescouncil meeting

Questions on spokescouncil terminology:

General admin committee feedback to consider: 

Feedback on spokescouncil planning charter 

Announcements:

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

Spokescouncil Planning Meeting 08-05-2025 6 pm

Spokescouncil Planning Meeting - Date: 08-05-2025

Agenda

Detailed Meeting Notes

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

Spokescounsil Planning Meeting 02-06-2025 6pm

Reminder: Process shape for discussing proposals

Proposal Process for Spokes Planning Meetings adapted from “Consensus”(keep close to 33 min total):

Agenda

Notes

Attending: Frankie, Briar, Ash, Paul, LP, Natalie, Maria

Reminder: Process for discussing proposals

Roles: 

Proposal Review/Voting:

outreach (10mins) No Friendly Ammendments (FA), Vote outcome: pass

style of consensus (10mins) 

how to post agenda items (10mins) 

how to prioritize agenda items (15mins)

quorum (5mins)

how roles get decided (5mins)

how meeting dates are decided (2mins)

how long are the meetings (3mins)

how spokes communicate outside of meetings (10mins)

sitdown with directors (10mins)

first spokes council agenda (15mins)

Action item roundup:

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

Spokescouncil Planning Meeting 01-15-2025 6pm

Action items

Notes Summary

Agenda

Section notes

BREAK TIME! (8 min)

Cleaning propsals

agenda for first spokescounsil meeting (20 min)

follow up on outreach

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

Spokescouncil Planning Meeting 12-13-2024

Results of this meeting: 

 We made the following decisions:

  - The proposal contains no opinion on how Spokes decide on a Spokesperson

Agenda

Vibe check (5min - 7:05)

What version of you are we getting this evening?

Previous meeting action item check-in (10 - 7:15)

-  Ella demarcate reproduction vs. project working groups (in Ella's summary of WGs)   - group map added to Briar's "who is a spoke" proposal

Goals/Levelsetting (10)

Proposal review and discussion, 11 proposals (75 - 8:30)

        

  1. Prioritize proposals via dot vote     * How to decide who gets a Spoke     * How to make proposals (meta!)     * How to vote on them     * How WGs should select spokespeople     * Spokescouncil goals      * Woodbine points of unity     * How often should the spokescounil meet? Bi weekly? Monthly?     * How to approach accountability via spokes (one idea: include spokes reps in notes to track which WGs are at meetings as part of accounatbility system, key  holder access idea)     * Cleaning project (what would the cleaning project be?)     * Agenda of 1st spokes meeting + how it'll be run     * Strategy for approaching WGs to get Spokes, craft the messaging     * Spokescouncil Signal group proposal (how it will be used, who can be in it, norms/protcols, conflict culture, admin access)     * Spokes/Fishbowl explainer with a decision making flow chart explainer and fist to five explainer (could be one explainer doc we hand out)     * Who from the spokescouncilcouncil should attend the 1st spokes meeting? And how should they participate?     * Research debrief meeting proposal     * +1 proposal*

  2. Discuss prioritized proposals

  3. (15 mins) how to edit proposals and agree on them so we don't have to have another meeting. via chat?

New proposal ideas before 1st meeting (10)

Timeline and procedure to edit proposals and get votes from ppl not present (10)

Action item roundup (10)

First spokescouncil meeting date (5)

    New proposal ideas before 1st meeting (10)

Notes

what are we trying to get done today?

     these are the necessary decisions we have to make in order to move forward:     

  1. who are the spokes?
  2. how are proposals made?
  3. how do things get voted on?     

do we want to have another meeting before the spokes meeting?

    

proposal review

    

Proposal Group 1: who gets a spoke? (10 min)

Briar's proposal

Frankie's proposal

concerns about key access

how do we change how the spokescouncil works once we start it?

the initial groups can be decided via Frankie's criteria, but further groups would require an explicit proposal?      we're starting from a place where we don't fully understand who has key access and what is going on in the space     

TODO: look at which groups would be included and excluded with the current criteria

    

frankie's revision

voting on frankie's revision vs changing it to also require the council voting in new groups

Proposal Group 2: How to make a proposal

    

LP's proposal

should also include who (person or group?) is creating the proposal, and the date it was submitted     

having a template for this is a useful thing: https://basement.woodbine.nyc/spokes-proposal-template     

blocking concern on using this template is that it should stress who will be bottom-lining the proposal (it could be everyone) because we already have a lot of problems with accountability.   

 a concern is that this addition will allow a group to "voluntell" someone else to do some labor.     

adding a strong recommendation that any proposal that asks for labor from a particular person or group be written in consultation with them     

Violet's proposal

how to announce a proposal  1. hang proposal physically in the space  2. post on website  3. send to all groups via groupchats

should we ammend this to include advanced notice (1 week?)? no.

[discussion about how to get it to the spokescoucil in the first place for dissemination, but we can figure that out later]     

TODO: use the new proposal template for the new proposals above in the New proposal ideas before 1st meeting (10) section 

using input from the chat for quorum?

     should we be getting input from people who aren't here in person when we're making decisions?      the decisions we've made aren't long-lasting and are easy to change so maybe we can just go with it this time and use the new system going forward.

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

Spokescounsil Planning Meeting 11-20-2024

2 hours

Action Items for next meeting

Summary

Action item check ins from last meeting (10 min)

What are our goals as a spokescouncil? doc to make sure we keep an eye on our goals? (20 min)

Who is the spokescouncil? (20 min)

What is the chat for? chat protcol and conflict culture (15 min)

Proposal: To add someone to the chat:

  1. establish that they are involved with woodbine AND
    • they care about the future of woodbine AND
    • they are interested in a spokescouncil existing
    • OR indicate another clear reason why they make sense to be added to the chat
  2. THEN indicate in the chat that you want to add the person
  3. THEN wait to get a cosign/vet from another member of the chat (can be an emoji thumb up)
  4. THEN add the person to the chat

How do we make decisions together? consensus protocol and culture. This can be a work in progress but we need something to begin with (10 min)

Proposal: proposals are presented at the spokescouncil meeting. spokes bring the proposal to working groups, working groups discuss and decide, then spokes come to council, fist to five on the proposal (based on their WG opinion). We do consensus minus 2 (if everyone but 2 spokes agrees, the proposal goes through)

What can be a first project for us to tackle as spokes? cleaning project example (Ella) (10 min)

Ella’s Explainer overview (5 min)

Plan for the spokescouncil council to meet with outside groups and have a research debrief meeting (this feels like a separate meeting than can happen alongside actual spokescouncil meetings or be part of a spokescouncil meeting) (5 min)

When is our first real spokescouncil meeting going to happen? Do we feel ready? (5 min)

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

Spokescouncil Planning Meeting 10-28-2024

present

spokecouncil def

history/why are we doing this right now?

spain and other models

Reach out to Noisebridge/Mitch Altman

general discussion

action items

Spokescouncil planning meeting notes

Spokescouncil Planning Meeting 09-29-2024

Brief Intros (name, pronouns, working group) (Attendance redacted as this is a publicly viewable doc without discussed norms around privacy)

Why are we here today?

Operations update/Woodbine overall updates:

Finance

Fundraising: events, co-working

We also all have a share in helping keep the space open by creatively finding ways to raise funds, spread the word to friends and family to donate, etc. Enlist new fundraising committee for fall subscriber campaign and related events Bake Sale - coming up soon. Very successful fund-raising effort every year. Could we sell merch or table there? Holiday Market - Dec. 15 at Banatul Folklore Club. Opportunity to raise money for the space, and to create connections with other orgs and individuals in the neighborhood. CSA Tabling - at least 200 ppl come thru every week (or every other week in Winter) to pick up CSA. Natalie estimates 20% are WB regulars, vast majority are not. Great opportunity to table about particular projects from 10 to noon with population of Ridgewood that is not generally involved with Woodbine Social activity / creative discussion idea: What brings us to woodbine specifically? We could be doing what we do in other spaces. Why do we do them at woodbine? What does woodbine offer that other spaces don't have? What is special about working on projects at woodbine? Experimenting with autonomy, non-capitalist organization in a capitalist environment Making use of non-Capitalist resources - gym, yoga, kitchen,... Transcending insularity of Woodbine’s origins A ‘filter’ for acquaintances – meeting strangers who share enough of an affinity to potentially become closer friends/comrades in arms Introduce the Spokescouncil model structure, function, delegates etc. Spoke represents interests of the group, agenda is shared in advance, spoke/delegate relays information usually (doesn't make decisions for the group unless already given that green light by the group), talk about specific issues that affect working groups, discuss solutions, attempt to gain consensus although perfect consensus may not be achieved, can experiment with consent/stand aside/block method. Multiple meetings like this may need to happen for a big issue to come to an acceptable decision fishbowl format v spokes only model Fishbowl format definition: everyone is invited to attend meetings, but only the working group representative(s) speak in the meetings Reasons voiced in favor of fishbowl format: makes process transparent, enables wider participation tho without pressure for everyone to participate, limiting speaking to representatives adds guardrails to meeting time and need for organization, open meetings allow successive representatives to be trained up for the role Reasons voiced against fishbowl: having an open meeting where only certain people are allowed to speak could be “weird” Town hall v spokescouncil v working group assembly “fast-cheap-good: pick 2” in regards to meeting size large assemblies for generating and sharing ideas, but small groups of involved committed energetic people more efficient for addresssing needs How could a spokescouncil work at woodbine? Could be a way for working groups to voice their concerns more effectively to one another, share resources, get help, build stronger inter-group relationships, foster a deeper connection as a community What would count as a spoke? only groups that organize within themselves (like gym)? uses of the space that are consumed or not ‘organized’ in the same way (like yoga, meditation, screenings)? Everything that goes on in the space? Only the most committed users of the space? What are some examples of spokes councils you have been part of? What was good about it? What difficulties did it bring? What is the function of a spokescouncil at woodbine? What do people think a spokescouncil can do for woodbine? What are the concerns people have about being part of a spokescouncil? Are they confused by the model? What questions do they have? What would it take from each of us as individuals to have a healthy, functioning spokescouncil? General vibe check: most people at this meeting are in favor of moving ahead with a spokes council - others are uncertain. What next? Convene small group to plan and organize spokes council Action items: Spokescounil planning chat - Ash is bottomlining, people volunteered to join and will add more folks who couldn't be at the assembly 4

Physical welcome board + calendar - ella, LP already on this, added more folks to the planning chat Calendar of events Deficit / thermometer How the space functions/what we are about/what we do How to get involved and pitch into the reproduction of the physical space Many languages Make kids craft a monthly event - need someone to consistently bottomline for this to happen, Lindsay was interested but didn’t say they would bottomline translations of physical flyers into spanish, polish, arabic, etc. and handing them out Way to get more long standing neighborhood community in the space Woodbine pamphlet - Violet wanted to bottomline this How the space functions/what we are about/what we do How to get involved and pitch into the reproduction of the physical space Many languages Electrical mapping project part 2: - Violet, need more electrical minded folks to help Fundraiser committee - Matt, need more folks to join this chat Working group fundraising - LP made this suggestion, need folks to brainstorm how this could work Can insert fundraising into more working group projects , internalize how they upkeep the space Recurring space supplies order/pickup process: - Maria is already working on this, finance meeting happened to discuss further Grant writers - Alex will share with the writers group to find people Space care task list document and “task tzar” (remind people to do their space cleaning /care tasks) - ella can be tzar but can’t be doing the chores always, Theodora can make the spreadsheet, can consult Aven for how they do it at the gym Programming to bring in more people who are long standing locals and don’t find easily accessible - we all should be thinking about this Kids crafts Local market event similar to what Trans pecos did to bring in folks who are street vendors and other locals, and do other things in the immediate area. Need people who speak spanish to facilitate Collab on an event with the Coptic Church Asylum seeker programming: Quiet hang out hours for asylum seeker guys during days when nothing is happening at the space or use those times to have craft days or movies in french etc. Generally inviting asylum seeker guys to movies, backgammon, dinners etc. if that feels right for them and they can decide if they want to be there or not Free store part 2? Deficit blurb to add to emails, working group chats, instagram - aven is writing one for the gym, can maybe use broadly CSA tabling - opportunity for working groups to fundraise for their expenses, woodbine overhead, and other fundraising - Natalie and Ash are discussing Working Group zines - caterina’s suggestion, we need more people working on this 9/29/24 Agenda for Working Group Assembly, 1-3 pm - 2 hrs Roles: Note taker Timer Stack taker Agenda Wrangler snacks Silly warm up game (toss ball around the room or other ideas) (5 min) Brief Intros (name, pronouns, working group) (5 min) Why are we here today? (5 min) Working group assembly: what is this? Why are we having one? Working group assembly is to get everyone in a working group together to give updates, meet irl, discuss ideas together Introduce agenda outline and roles Operations update/Woodbine overall updates: (20 min) Keeping space clean (10 min) Intro Locations chat and committee Needs: compost, garbage Rat update Electrics update Emphasize the importance, we each have a share in keeping the space clean and well functioning as much as we have a share in enjoying what the space provides for our organizing and community. Who does the dishes in the rev? We do. Ask for people to imagine future projects (i.e electrical mapping) and report them back to someone in locations (ask locations people to raise hands) > this is something we can devote more group brainstorm time to in an actual spokescouncil meeting Finance (5 min) Lease Founding sources Deficit - We operate at a deficit:Spring 2024 Finances - Monthly Deficit: -$1107 Fundraising: events, co-working (5 min)
We also all have a share in helping keep the space open by creatively finding ways to raise funds, spread the word to friends and family to donate, etc. Enlist new fundraising committee for fall subscriber campaign and related events Social activity / creative discussion idea: (10 min) Breakout into small groups: What brings us to woodbine specifically? We could be doing what we do in other spaces. Why do we do them at woodbine? What does woodbine offer that other spaces don't have? What is special about working on projects at woodbine? Report back (5 min) Brief working group updates (2 min each- one person per working group - 30 min total) Working groups: csa, pantry, ff, garden, dinners, research group, screenings, reading group, basement, mushrooms, kids tutoring, gym, library, film, calendar/blurbs, more? Brief Updates Do you need help with a project? How can people plug in to what you are doing? Short break (5 min) Introduce the Spokescouncil model: (1 hour, 15 min) structure, function, delegates etc. (5 min) Spoke represents interests of the group, agenda is shared in advance, spoke/delegate relays information usually (doesn't make decisions for the group unless already given that green light by the group), talk about specific issues that affect working groups, discuss solutions, attempt to gain consensus although perfect consensus may not be achieved, can experiment with consent/stand aside/block method. Multiple meetings like this may need to happen for a big issue to come to an acceptable decision real life examples? fishbowl format v spokes only model Town hall v spokescouncil v working group assembly How could a spokescouncil work at woodbine? Could be a way for working groups to voice their concerns more effectively to one another, share resources, get help, build stronger inter-group relationships, foster a deeper connection as a community Talk about the spokescouncil model in breakout groups of about 5-8 people or so. (20 min) Someone takes notes on the responses. Prepare flyers or big sheet of paper to list these questions. Give groups a big paper and markers to write on. What are some examples of spokes councils you have been part of? What was good about it? What difficulties did it bring? What is the function of a spokescouncil at woodbine? What do people think a spokescouncil can do for woodbine? What are the concerns people have about being part of a spokescouncil? Are they confused by the model? What questions do they have? What would it take from each of us as individuals to have a healthy, functioning spokescouncil? Groups Reportback (30 min, divide time depending on group size but could be like 6 groups, 5 min each) Do people report back by group? Or does someone write the groups thoughts, crumpled up in the middle of the room and someone reads them out loud? Freely Discuss the spokescouncil as a big group - take stack (20 min) Report back: Someone reads back the notes from breakout groups or each breakout group reports back. Big group open discussion What do we do with this spokescouncil discussion? Come back with a proposal? Ask people to prepare for the first one? Empty buffer time (10 min) Invite people to ginnys for a post meeting drink?

2025-09-11 Spokescouncil Meeting

Spokescouncil Meeting - Date: 09-11-2025

Agenda 

BREAK 


Meeting Minutes here: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uRCwmsMLSKQvtCgotdWQ33KrEA1J3_29CijDcZx7klA/edit?usp=sharing 

Attendance & Roles

Finance

Facilities

Tech & Communications

Fundraising

Programming & Rentals

Proposals Passed

Other Discussions

✅ Action Items

Finance

Facilities

Tech & Communications

Fundraising

Programming & Rentals

General

2025-08-09 Spokesocuncil Meeting

Spokescouncil Meeting - Date: 08-09-2025, 3-5 pm

Agenda 

start time 3:15

Announcements

Upcoming Events

- ⚡Tuesday August 12 : Electrician will be making repairs at RC  
    
- ❌Friday August 15: Whole of RC is rented out from 7am to 7pm. But this shouldn’t disrupt gym or meditation\!  
    
- 💾Friday August 15 to Sunday August 17: [Hackers on Planet Earth (HOPE) Conference](https://schedule.hope.net/hope16) @ St. John’s University. Tech Collective (fka Basement) will be tabling there\! They have conference tickets to offer you if you want ‘em  
    
- ⚒️Tuesday August 19 – Abatement is happening in the basement at RC\! It shouldn’t disrupt anything going on upstairs.  
    
- 🤠Wednesday August 27, doors 6:30pm:  Queer line dancing @ RC followed by a screening of Brokeback Mountain. Season opener for a 6-month series of queer film screenings\!  
    
- ❌Sunday August 31: Whole of RC is rented out morning til 3pm.   
    
- ⛑️Thursday September 4 6:30pm to 7:30pm: Narcan overdose prevention training @ RC, offered by the city. They’ll have free kits for 50-70 people. Spread the word\! Free for all to attend.  
    
- ***☸️Thursday September 11, evening time TBA: RC Spokescouncil meeting***  
    
- 🎉Saturday September 20 5pm to 11pm: Opening Party for Ridgewood Commons @ RC. Working Groups tabling, talent show, raffle, and more\!

Seeking Help

- 🥳The Ridgewood Commons opening party needs YOU\! To help, you can: volunteer to help set up/tear down, offer to donate a raffle prize, put yourself in for the talent show.

- 🚗RC Food Pantry is seeking people **with** **cars** who are interested in helping shuttle food from various donation sites to RC. And seeking people **free on Tuesday or Sunday evenings** to help sort through donated food.  
    
- 📦RC Facilities committee is seeking help with the ongoing task of cleaning up and organizing the basement\! Contact Vanessa if you want to KonMari all that stuff.  
    
- 🧘Arie (our dear yoga instructor) is seeking other new-ish yoga instructors to cover classes or join in on the class schedule on a regular basis.  
    
- 📲RC Tech & Comms Committee wants to know how YOU communicate (with your Working Group, with other Working Groups, with the broader community), so they can better support you. Keep an eye out for surveys and requests to chat from them.  
    
- 🤝RC has several new Admin Committees (like Programming, Finance, Fundraising, etc.) that need more members to help the space run\! The only requirement to be on a committee is that you’re involved with at least one RC Working Group.  
    
- ☸️If you’re curious about how the Spokescouncil meeting came together and you want to help plan/run the next one, please join the Spokescouncil Planning Working Group

PSAs

- 📅If you cancel an event at RC, please let Programming Committee know, so they can offer the space to other groups / rentals. Especially right now, since cash is tight and rentals bring in $$$  
    
- 💸To help with RC’s cash flow, we can all:  
  - Be on the lookout for people/events who want to rent out the space  
  - Think about how we can individually contribute to RC (can you throw in a few bucks a month, perhaps?)  
      
- 🫑Natalie from CSA wants Working Groups to know that you can table every Saturday when the CSA pickup happens. They have folks in and out picking up their veggies. It’s a great time to promote your WG, do fundraising, etc.  
    
- 📶The wifi network and password have been **changed**\! Next time you’re in the space, look for posted signs for the new details.  
    
- 🗑️The trash for RC goes out on Monday and Thursday nights\! If you’re using the space on one of those nights, please help out with trash\! Contact the Facilities Committee to learn what to do.

Meeting Highlights

Attendance

Kaitlyn Notetaker spokes planning, Eva relational skills group, briar spokes planning, Julianna Gym, Iris Facilities, Jacob Writing Group, Shelby timekeeper stack, Natalie Sunday dinner, Eddie Sunday dinner, Johnny Rentals, LJ Gym, Calvin Finance, gigi Food Pantry, Shea Food Pantry, Jonathan Tech Collective, Daniel Tech Collective, Arie Yoga, Paul Tech and Comms, Ash Facilitator, Frankie meta notetaker

New Action Items 

Uncompleted/ In progress Action Items from Prior Meetings

Charters Discussed

Passed
Did not pass

None

Withdrawals

Proposals We Didn't Get To Discuss (will flow forward to next agenda)

None

Detailed Meeting Notes

- Explanation of the “Two Wheel” organizing structure of RC (5 min)  
  - [Diagram](https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/spokescouncil-documentation/page/two-wheel-model-of-self-governance)  
  - What’s the difference between a Working Group (WG)  and an Admin Committee (AC)?  
    - WGs have a project. For ACs, Ridgewood Commons *is* the project.  
    - ACs are empowered to make day to day decisions to keep the space running.   
    - WGs are empowered to make decisions that further their projects  
    - AC members should also be involved with at least one WG (that is, no one is *only* administering the space)  
  - How are WGs and ACs accountable to the Spokescouncil?  
    - Spokescouncil ratifies charters of WGs and ACs. If charters are changed or new WGs are formed, their charters will need to be (re) ratified by the Spokescouncil.  
    - If AC members aren’t fulfilling their responsibilities, the Spokescouncil can delegate the responsibility to someone else.  
    - At Spokescouncil meetings, ACs will share what decisions were made over the past month, and what’s decisions are upcoming in the next month.  
- How voting on charters will work today (10 min)  
  - Why not just use the “normal” [proposal voting process](http://Trash?%20When%20does%20the%20trash%20go%20out?%20The%20only%20thing%20I%20see%20is%20on%20the%20pantry.%20We%20are%20“responsible”%20on%20M/W%20about%20it.)?  
    - Under that process, each proposal gets 30 minutes of discussion. We have 16 charters to ratify. That’ll be way too slow\!  
  - So what are we doing instead?  
    - If there are no blocking concerns with a charter, we’ll ratify it.  
    - We can make non-blocking Friendly Amendments (FAs) to charters. WGs and ACs can decide whether to incorporate these changes after today.  
  - But what’s a “blocking concern”?  
    - A blocking concern, or “block”, means that no amount of friendly amendments is going to make your WG feel like this charter/proposal is a good idea. A block is a serious thing to do. You’ll need to justify it.  
  - And what is a “Friendly Amendment”?  
    - A Friendly Amendment (FA) is a recommended change to a proposal or charter *that isn’t mandatory*. If you won’t sign off on a charter or proposal unless your suggested change is made, that means you have a **blocking concern.**  
  - What does it mean for the Spokescouncil to ratify a charter?  
    - For WGs and ACs, the charter is the agreement that allows them to conduct tasks in the space.   
    - Ratification means that going forward, the committee or WG can do their thing in/related to the space, and that they’re accountable to the Spokescouncil for what they said they’d do in their charter.  
- Discussion of Charters  
  - ***Friendly Amendments (FAs) that apply to all charters***  
    - For all Working Group (WG) charters: Please add something to the “Responsibilities” section that says something like, “we commit to working with the Fundraising Committee to find ways to support RC”. You need not include a specific dollar amount.  
    - For all Admin Committee (AC) charters: Please add something to the “Responsibilities” section something like: “On the day before each Spokescouncil meeting, we’ll report out on the executive actions we’ve taken in the past month and the decisions we expect to make in the coming month/”  
    - If charters will be public, put terms in bold that are specific to RC. (inside jargon, like “Distro” or “Coached Sessions”)  
  - Admin Committees (ACs)  
    1. Comms & Tech  
       - Friendly Amendment (FA): Please add some more information to your charter about how online credential sharing will work. Are y’all responsible for handling that?  
    2. Finance  
       - FA: Please make clear how the group will coordinate w/ the Fundraising Committee  
       - FA: Please add something about creating “discretionary budgets” for ACs and WGs to use. Dollar amounts on a regular basis that the group can use without prior approval, as long as they retain receipts.  
    3. Fundraising & Grants  
       - FA: Please make clear how the group will coordinate w/ the Finance Committee  
    4. Rentals ✅ No Friendly Amendments  
    5. Facilities  
       - FA: Add a Responsibility to manage restocking of consumables and medical supplies. (This doesn’t necessarily mean Facilities always does the restocking themselves, but at least makes sure it’s happening.)   
       - FA: Add Responsibility for coordinating waste management  
       - FA: Add a responsibility to keep the space safe  
       - FA: Add a responsibility to keep the space clean  
       - FA: Add something to the charter about offering skills training to other RC members so they can participate meaningfully in the Facilities committee / help maintain the space as well  
       - FA: Please clarify whether any members of the Facilities committee get paid. Is it all volunteer?  
       - FA: Please clarify what happens if the work that needs to be done goes beyond the skills of the people in the committee? Who decides about hiring someone? Does that entail working with the Finance committee?  
       - FA: In the current charter, there’s a sentence that says something like “no improvement will be made without a proposal being submitted and approved by groups”. This seems unrealistic for some decisions that must be made quickly (i.e. between Spokes meetings). Can you adjust the language to indicate how you’ll make decisions and inform WGs about them when that’s the case?  
    6. ~~Relational skills~~ (withdrawn, not ratified)  
       - This AC intends to be a group of people doing relational skills and conflict support work in organizing spaces.They are interested in questions like “What do we have to agree on vs. not agree on?”  
       - They have decided we should spend more time as RC working together before we attempt to formalize conflict resolution / relational skills as a working group.  
    7. Programming  
       - FA: Please add that it’s the responsibility of the Programming Committee to manage the calendar(s) for the space (public, private)  
  * Working Groups (WGs)  
    1. Food Pantry  
       - FA: Be more clear about what it means to “manage trash” in Food Pantry charter.  
    2. Gym  
       - FA (from self): Gym offers to increase committed monthly contribution to the space (to $600).  
       - FA (from Finance): Consider instead removing the specific dollar amount, since we don’t want to have to re-ratify the charter just to change the amount.   
    3. Readgewood Tutoring  
       - FA: Add a Responsibility about how each tutor needs to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the space, since they’re working with kids  
    4. Spokescouncil Planning  
       - FA: Be more specific about who constitutes a “RC member” (by “RC member”, we just mean working group members, right?)  
    5. Dinner  
       - FA: Please specify how trash and compost are handled and where it gets placed at the end of Sunday dinner  
    6. Technical collective (fka Basement) ✅ No Friendly Amendments  
    7. Tuesday Reading Group ✅ No Friendly Amendments  
    8. Writing Group  
       - FA: Please specify what time of day the group uses the space  
    9. Yoga & Meditation ✅No Friendly Amendments  
- Closing Announcements / Remarks  
  * ***Next Spokescouncil meeting is Thursday Sept 11 2025***  
  * Bring new proposals to the next Spokes meeting  
    1. Perhaps, your group can make a cleaning proposal. We have a template for this\!  
  * Talk to today’s facilitators if you want to help with the next Spokes meeting  
  * ***Delegates: Please go get yourself added to the delegates signal chat***  
    * There is now a signal chat that includes all of the Spokescouncil delegates that WGs and ACs sent to the meeting. That’s a great place for discussion of proposals, and disseminating information between WGs. Talk to your WG/AC’s delegate to learn more\!

Open discussion / Q& A

- Q: Why is Spokescouncil Planning a Working Group, not an Admin Committee?  
  * We didn’t get to cover this one in the meeting :(   
- Q: When will future spokescouncil meetings be?  
  * A: They will be monthly. They’ll alternate between Saturday afternoons and Thursday evenings.  
- Q: Will Spokescouncil meetings conflict with Writing Group?  
  * A: Nope\! Vanessa (Programming) has checked the schedule. There are no conflicts for the rest of 2025\.  
- A lot of people have  asked for clarity around the difference between the Tech Collective (WG) and the Comms & Tech committee (AC) We’re going to work on making sure that there isn’t so much overlap in the charters between “Tech” and “Tech Collective”. Also, “people who happen to use the basement” and “people interested in tech education” are two groups of people active in the space, and we’re still sorting out to what extent we’ll do any of these roles.   
- Q: There’s a gap between the space’s current expenses and the current inflow of cash, right? What’s the gap? And what can we do about this as WGs and as individuals?  
  * A: We (Finance and Fundraising) are estimating a $2k per month deficit. However, until RC has a bank account (which we’re supposed to be getting next week), we can’t accept donations.Once we have a bank account, we can offer for former Woodbine donors to shift their donations to RC. After that, we’ll know better what the deficit is.   
  * A: We can encourage individuals to give $ each month. Working groups can work with Fundraising to figure out other ways to fundraise. If a WG wants to contribute $ to the space, that’s great.  
- Q: If we want to donate money now (before RC has a bank account), what should we do?  
  * A: There’s not much you can do other than contribute cash to the “deadname jar” in the space until we have a bank account.  
- Finance is working on a survey to pass around to working groups to get a good idea of the numbers and where they’re coming from. What’s everyone’s spend? Then they can get a better picture of what’s going on and how to help.  
- Q: What if we’re a WG and we want to use the RC Instagram, mailing list, etc. How do we work with Comms & Tech committee on this?  
  * A: We haven’t figured this out yet. Stay tuned. Tech and Comms committee welcomes volunteers who want to work on this stuff to join the committee\!  
- Q: There was a Friendly Amendment to the Facilities charter about “skill shares”. Can you clarify that?  
  * The idea behind that is the Facilities committee represents people with a set of skills that not everyone has. But if more people had those skills, more people would be able to help reproduce the space. So the ask is for skillshare to help sustain the space.  
- Q: What’s the current status of the RC events calendar?  
  * A: Right now, we have a duplicated version of the Woodbine calendar, with RC specific events added. Anyone in any Admin Committee can have credentials to the private calendar. Johnny can give those creds now. We’re in a liminal state right now, since we aren’t publicly advertising the transition to “Ridgewood Commons” yet. Eventually, there will be a separate, public events calendar.  
- Q: What’s the deal with the trash? Who handles what and when?  
  * A: Trash needs to go out to the curb on Mondays and Thursdays. Gym Collective, Yoga, and Writing WG participants help with this. Food Pantry helps gather and arrange trash on Monday and Wednesday mornings.

2025-06-14 Spokescouncil Kickoff

Agenda

Greeting

When folks arrive, they should be received by greeters who will: set up a big circle of chairs, say hi and ask what working group people are in, people can sit anywhere. Set up music, bring snacks, finish proposal board decor. light ice breaker? 

Start at 3:15 pm
Small group activity: Why are you here? (10 mins)

All attendees form small groups of 4, ideally with people they don't know. In small groups, attendees:

There is no "report out" after the small groups chat.

I'd expect that the small group discussion would take about 6 minutes, and that directing people into and out of small groups would take about 4 minutes.

Introducing the Spokespeople/Coming Together (5 mins)

Spokespeople from the various Spokes simply go around and state their name, pronouns, and which Spoke/Working Group they represent.

Explanation: How will this meeting work? (10 mins)

A spokescouncil is an organizational structure resembling a spoked wheel. It’s designed to allow for connection and decision making to be distributed non-hierarchically across large groups of people. Each group is represented by a rotating speaking delegate and a silent note-taker who agree to bring the will, interests, and needs of their working group to spokescouncil meetings. They also agree to communicate important information and decisions to their working groups after meetings.

Establishing a spokescouncil will be an evolving, experimental process. We may not get it right the first time, and that’s part of the point! Even this document is an ever-evolving work in progress.

A “fish bowl” format is a type of spokescouncil structure that allows all group members who are not delegates and note-takers to observe the meeting and perhaps pass notes and/or other materials to their delegate. The point of the fishbowl is to allow everyone to learn how these meetings work and develop trust with each other. The delegates are the only people allowed to speak during the meeting! This is a measure to keep meetings efficient because we will have a lot to cover and hopefully a lot of people participating. The note-taker is responsible for taking notes on the meeting and discussion and passing this information along to the rest of the working group. It’s important to note that the delegate does not make decisions for the working group! The delegate can speak for the working group but can only vote on proposals as the working group has decided prior to the meeting and cannot make any decisions for the group that was not already decided upon previously. This is the format we’ll be experimenting with for the first meeting.

Facilitators explain the agenda of the meeting, and who will play what roles in the meeting:

Agenda:

Facilitators explain useful hand signals:

-Facilitator intros the agenda

Directorship Speaks! (30mins)

-Andy talks (10 min)  

-Ash (5 min): This news is really exciting but also a little scary. This presents some big opportunities for us co-creating a space together and shape it collectively from the ground up. It's up to folks in working groups to ask themselves how they may want to be apart of this future. If you are interested and imagine you have capacity to help brainstorm ideas and take on tasks and roles, there will be a follow up meeting after this one at Ginnys for anyone with the stamina to keep going and then a more formal meeting on Monday at 7 pm and another on Wed at 7 pm. We have to move fast to get this going by the end of June but we can do it! A lot of wheels are turning already and we just need to keep the momentum going together.

We will announce the follow up meetings in the spokescouncil announcements chat as well. Please share this information with your fellow working group members who couldn't make it today!

- q/a from community (15 min)

Explanation: How did this meeting come to be? (10 mins)

Share information about how and why the Spokescouncil has formed, addressing the questions (briar):

Break (5 mins)
Explanation: How to make a proposal (8 mins)
Mock proposal (10 min)
Closing: Summary + Next Steps (7 mins)

Facilitators summarize decision(s) or action items for next meeting.

Facilitators shout out what attendees can expect to happen next, for instance:

Q/A if there is time is leftover (15 min)

Meeting Highlights

Attendance

<spoke name + delegate: name + note-taker: name> , <spoke name + delegate: name + note-taker: name>, ...

New Action Items

Uncompleted/ In progress Action Items from Prior Meetings

Proposals Discussed

Passed
Did not pass
Withdrawals

Proposals We Didn't Get To Discuss (will flow forward to next agenda)

Detailed Meeting Notes

2026-06-13 Spokescouncil Meeting - Jawn

Agenda - prep, review, propose, announce

Preparations

Review

Proposals

Announcements

Meeting Notes

> Copied from this google doc on Jun 13, 2026

AGENDA


Attendance:

What is the role of spokes now?

REPORT BACKS:

REVIEW

What can we do to get more engagement? What purpose does the spokescouncil play?

WHO IS DOING THE NEXT SPOKESCOUNCIL MEETING???



Action Items:


2026-07-30 Spokes Council Meeting Point of Unity Discussion

Spokescouncil Meeting - Date: 07-30-2026

Agenda 

Meeting Highlights

Attendance

shelby, myf, shea, lp, micro, paul, charlie, julie, cole, jackie, iris

New Action Items 

Detailed Meeting Notes

iris: let's look at a few examples of points of unity

we don't want to define everything in the negative, we should positively state
our beliefs/positions.

st paul points of unity
early 2000s WTO coalition of activist in st paul / Minneapolis area

points of unity give us a way to agree on what we're going to do in an abstract way: like "we hate patriarchy/capitalism", "our solidarity will be "

anti racist action 
https://antiracistaction.org/points-of-unity/

myf: what do we actually want to get out of this?

iris: we can either draft a proposal today or put together a committee to kick the can down the road.

lp: we can also come up with variations that take into account what objections we expect people to have

myf: i was trying to get us a table at HOPE and couldn't come up with a one-liner for what this place is. woodbine's tagline was "an experimental hub for autonomy", should we reuse some of that

paul: don't let that be a blocker for dealing with HOPE, we can come up with something in the meantime

lp: i never liked the autonomy talk, I think the language on the programming flyer on the bathroom makes a lot more sense

iris: i want a sign to point to when explaining that certain types of behavior are not allowed. there's a risk that this will become an entirely apolitical space otherwise.

myf: is this doc about what is not allowed or what our aspirations are

iris: both. like a place that's welcoming to marginalized people will disallow certain behavior. it might feel obvious to us but as the RC population grows we'll have to deal with that stuff.

let's read the attempt from a year ago aloud together.

lp: maybe taking a look at the draft basement points of unity could be informative. it's a doc more about behavior and expectations around space usage.

iris: should we take a bathroom break and then a 1-2-4-all

all discussion:

micro: i liked charlie's "DIT": do-it-together, in the spirit of DIY but collective-- iris: if you wanna go fast go alone, if you wanna go far go together

myf: iris said the next step is accountability. iris: we are "leaderful rather than leaderless"

lp: I like slogans rather than explanations."understand what you take, appreciate what is given" etc

iris: the zapatistas do this. micro: we can adapt but it's good to incorporate stuff specific to a spaces needs.

safer space, not a safe space. there's no membership list here, this is still NYC

lp: we could maybe start with a doc that has clear, pragmatic sections like "leadership, facilities etc"

[i missed a lot of notes from the group discussion and then kinda stopped taking notes at 8:30]

charlie: what if spokes meetings were before dinner or something.

shea: that's when we have the admin meetings