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
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Role call (5 min)
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Role assignments (5 min)
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facilitator - Katelyn
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meeting notes
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stack
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timer
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Spokescouncil process (15 min)
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- Spokescouncil Overview Slides
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quick review from SP WG (e.g. how voting works, etc) + only voting delegate votes but all members of WGs present can contribute to discussion (5 mins)
- RC made up of working group s who use the space and daily operations maintained by admin committees
- Admin groups report back to spokes councils during meetings, are accountable to those working groups
- Proposals are proposed by either working groups or admin groups, open for friendly amendments and then voted on using a fist to five system
- As of right now, admin groups don't vote, only working groups do.
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reminder that this is an experiment! we need ideas and hands to shape this collective process of self-governance
- Write down your questions as we go, we will have discussion at the end
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Q&A/ Feedback about Spokescouncil process (OPEN TO ALL IN ATTENDANCE 10 mins; strict stack :)
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Passed Proposal Check-in (5 min), ask bottom liners to do a very short reportback:
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Political Education Charter
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Library proposal update
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*Tabled proposal check-in: comms needs a bottomliner
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Admin committee updates -
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Report on what was done this month, challenges faced, upcoming plans/needs, and any requests for support or approval. (25 mins; 5 min each)
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General announcement: admin committees need more help!
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Legal/ Liability
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Finance
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Fundraising
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Facilities
- LP's presentation: front of house cleaning station and bathroom storage hutch (4 min)
- Group report back
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Programming and rentals (shea)
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Disaster preparedness reportback (5 min)
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Woodbine Closeout (comments + brief discussion 10 min)
- gym money moved to open collective
- woodbine still hasn't announced split on IG. we dont need to come to any resolution. this is a placeholder to follow up and see what has happened and how people are feeling about this.
- discussion:
- WB/RC contract and agreement documents. are they stored somewhere we can see them? can we get access?
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BREAK (10 min)
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Proposal voting and friendly amendments
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(30 min) (https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/spokescouncil-proposals/chapter/pending-proposals - First, ask if there are any Blocks and any FA's. If not and no discussion feels necessary, move on to next proposal
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Working group announcements (10 min)
- pantry: sunday distro day, need volunteers
- programming/rentals: NYE party, need volunteers
- planning group: do people want remote meetings? (poll to come later after special announcements, think about it) + we need you!
- finance: recurring donations update
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Special announcements (5 min):
- free store on sat,
- You don't need a proposal to start a fundraiser, please start one!
- bake sale on sunday! 11 am - 3pm, people cant drop off 9:30-10:30. we need bakers!
- general assembly, call for help planning
- Festivus (fuck jerry seinfeld) airing of grievances + feats of strength TBD
- free store on sat,
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Open discussion/ feedback/ Q&A (OPEN TO ALL IN ATTENDANCE; ideally 10 min)
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Remote Meeting Poll + brief discussion (10 min)
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Action item review (5 min)
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Closing remarks (1 min)
Detailed Meeting Notes
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Role call (5 min)
- Working Groups not present: Dinner, Tutoring
- Admin committees not present: Legal/ Liability
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Role assignments (5 min)
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facilitator - Katelyn
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meeting notes- Shea
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stack- Iris/ Katelyn
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timer- Iris/ Ash
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Spokescouncil process (15 min)
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working groups work IN the space
- admin committees work ON the space
- point of process- are three working groups/ voting parties at a meeting enough to establish quorum?
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Q&A/ Feedback about Spokescouncil process (OPEN TO ALL IN ATTENDANCE 10 mins; strict stack :)
- Is a list of admin committee point people available?
- in admin committee chat description- needs to be accessible to wider community
- clarification- point person is meant to "hold it down"/ keep things from falling through cracks in the committee but labor is meant to be shared by all committee members
- Is a list of admin committee point people available?
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Passed Proposal Check-in (5 min), ask bottom liners to do a very short reportback:
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Political Education Charter- no update/ progress here
- spokescouncil planning to review possible FAs tied to charter
- need more folks to participate
- open call for speaker suggestions
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Library proposal update- next actions:
- will announce when clearing the area
- speaking with tutoring to establish what is tutoring materials
- will clear out remainder and submit proposal for new use of space
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*Tabled proposal check-in- comms charter
- comms needs a bottomliner- Does anyone have capacity to take this on?
- need someone to take lead w social media + newsletter
- current instagram point person: Vanessa
- Kohlman tapped to take over- active in gym
- lack of cohesion in outward comms- this group would address
- point of process: how to join admin committees?
- opinion: admin committees should be fairly open, we need people to help!
- suggestion: break out meeting to discuss further- we can't keep pushing this off
- comms is much more than just socials
- interface w media
- inter-group communications- currently a lack of transparency around what's going on unless you're in multiple groups
- comms is much more than just socials
- Needs:
- point person for charter
- process development for insta, newsletter, media
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Admin committee updates -store here
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Report on what was done this month, challenges faced, upcoming plans/needs, and any requests for support or approval. (25 mins; 5 min each)
-
General announcement: admin committees need more help!
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Legal/ Liability
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Dino received rent check!
- Insurance renewing this month ~$5k
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Finance
- Natalie is transitioning out, finance meeting to ensure gap in duty coverage is filled
- Gavin working hard to organize finances, breakdown:
- $2705/mo in recurring donations- down ~$100 from last month
- we need more coworkers + recurring donations!
- $4400 rent/ $6k after utilities
- operating on deficit of $3k/mo
- Discussion:
- Frustration w lack of transparency around $$- still don't have the full picture
- fundraising is burning people out, we will start seeing diminishing returns
- Q: Who is putting on fundraisers?
- A: Currently being handled by fundraising committee but working groups are encouraged to organize their own fundraisers!
- Other contributors: Food Pantry applies for grants; Iris + Mike organizing show/ fundraiser @ Purgatory; Shea/ Paul/ Ollie working with ILC on NYE fund-rager
- $2705/mo in recurring donations- down ~$100 from last month
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Fundraising
- holiday market brought in $3400 after expenses- yay!
- Bakesale coming up 12/14 11-3p
- call for bakers and day of volunteers!
- fundraising needs help- call for new committee members
- Vanessa leaving fundraising after 12/14 bakesale
- Shelby leaving fundraising after Feb chili cookoff
- call for working groups to do their own fundraising- get creative!
- chili cookoff in Feb is the last fundraiser on the books
- call for people to design and pass out flyers for events
- Discussion:
- is fundraising really a sustainable way to bridge the deficit?
- disseminate to WGs- we need to pay rent to keep the space open + provide programming
- Q: should we more aggressive about WG members contributing $$/ labor?
- A: this historically has not been our stance, we do need to stress the importance of financial contributions from WGs tho
- call for bakers and day of volunteers!
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Facilities
- LP's presentation: front of house cleaning station and bathroom storage hutch (4 min)
- Group report back
- please give feedback on the castille soaps currently in use around the space- sourced by facilities- clean ingredients, small business, cheaper than amazon
- if you'd like to be involved in setting up the proposed cleaning stations please reach out to Lippy
- working on a distribution system for admin labor- need admin committee members to play w it
- buildig relationship with a coop cloud to strenthen our digital and physical community ties
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Programming and rentals (shea)
- planning NYE fund-rager with ILC- volunteers needed
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Disaster preparedness reportback (5 min)
-
Woodbine Closeout (comments + brief discussion 10 min)
- gym money moved to open collective
- woodbine still hasn't announced split on IG. we dont need to come to any resolution. this is a placeholder to follow up and see what has happened and how people are feeling about this.
- discussion:
- WB/RC contract and agreement documents. are they stored somewhere we can see them? can we get access?
-
BREAK (10 min)
-
Proposal voting and friendly amendments
-
(30 min) (https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/spokescouncil-proposals/chapter/pending-proposals - First, ask if there are any Blocks and any FA's. If not and no discussion feels necessary, move on to next proposal
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Proposal to Change Spokescouncil Meeting Dates
- FA- Spokesplanning: in the event that the new regular meeting cadence conflicts with a holiday, the spokescouncil planning working group is empowered to use best judgement in selecting a new meeting day that does not conflict with regularly scheduled programming or rental bookings
- proposal passed with friendly amendment
- next spokecouncil date: January 10, 2026
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Working group announcements (10 min)
- pantry: moving forward with sunday distro day, first day of service 12/21
- need volunteers to sign up for sorting on Saturday and distro on Sunday- regular AND new volunteers
- reviving old distro sign up to make sure this is properly supported
- programming/rentals: NYE fund-rager, need volunteers for set-up, party maintenance roles, and next day clean up
- planning group: do people want remote meetings? (poll to come later after special announcements, think about it)
- we need more participants! Come help us think critically about spokescouncil structure, non-heirachichal governance, and how best to empower working groups
- we need more participants! Come help us think critically about spokescouncil structure, non-heirachichal governance, and how best to empower working groups
- Gym: non-gym members have been using the gym without signing up for an intro training- this is an insurance liability!
- reminder to all community members to adhere to gym usage guidelines
- Tech collective: 1/9 coding skill share: Hack the Planet
- working to restructure basement after contractors finish
- pantry: moving forward with sunday distro day, first day of service 12/21
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Special announcements (5 min):
- free store on sat,
- You don't need a proposal to start a fundraiser, please start one!
- bake sale on sunday! 11 am - 3pm, people can drop off 9:30-10:30. we need bakers and day of volunteers!
- general assembly, call for help planning
- Festivus (fuck jerry seinfeld) airing of grievances + feats of strength TBD
- Basement update: contractors work is safe but shoddy
- right side of basement may also be at risk
- Additional problem areas:
- no basement ceiling
- continued flooding
- backflow issues in kitchen and bathroom
- Dino not open to doing more work
- what are our rights as tenants?
- what are our rights as tenants?
- free store on sat,
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Open discussion/ feedback/ Q&A (OPEN TO ALL IN ATTENDANCE; ideally 10 min)
- decision to revisit remote meeting poll
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Remote Meeting Poll + brief discussion (10 min)
- Q: Do we open Spokescouncil meetings up to remote attendance?
- suggestion: poll individual WG chats
- concern that old WB patterns are repeating
- remote participants tend to be more disengaged, distracted
- emphasis on being present remotely
- remote participants tend to be more disengaged, distracted
- remote meetings could help integrate participation, attendance is falling
- helpful in winter with travel/ weather/ seasonal fatigue considerations
- we should try it, emphasize this is an experiment to ease the strain of participating in winter months
- concern that remote participants will have trouble hearing live mtg attendees, suggestion that meetings move fully remote for experiment
- point of process: if stack and facilitation are enforced there shouldn't be cross talk
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Action item review (5 min)
- Political education working group needs help: suggestions for speakers and events: where is there email or signal to get in contact?
- possible meeting recurring topic: "weird stuff" to ID and remove random items from space
- Comms Admin Committee needs a bottom liner + a charter
- Clarification on how people can send flyers to be posted to Instagram
- How to deal with the media (journalists etc)
- Clarification and documentation needed for how to join admin committees
- Orientation Day to invite new people in and show them how the space runs (maybe in the spring?)
- Can screenings become a real working group?
- Legal/Liability need to give updates at meetings. they have been absent for many meetings in a row.
- Finance admin committee:
- ppl want to see deeper updates at meetings. Maybe every 3 months deep dive?
- what is in our savings account?
- Fundraising:
- Donation drive for the holidays
- call for more fundraisers started by anyone
- personal donations
- need help with physical flyering
- Jan 25 show at purgatory (iris)
- help with finding grants!
- Sunday dinner used as community announcements and onboarding opportunity (paul)
- tenants rights lawyer to consult for flooding in basement and ceiling repairs (shea)
- need user testers for digital infrastructure, talk to paul
- Spokescouncil planning action items:
- needs a clear process for requesting admin updates and proposal updates prior to meetings and someone to do that task every cycle
- why isn't dinner coming to spokes meetings?
- admin form feedback: keep it simpler, keep it to 2 min long update if possible. max 5 min
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Closing remarks (1 min)
- Thank you for coming, please help reset and clean dishes :)