# 2025-12-11 Spokescouncil Meeting ## Spokescouncil Meeting - Date: 12-11-2025 ### Agenda agenda wishlist: [https://cryptpad.fr/sheet/#/2/sheet/edit/i7YbsaTtZ5WBf9FYDY3WrVBx/](https://cryptpad.fr/sheet/#/2/sheet/edit/i7YbsaTtZ5WBf9FYDY3WrVBx/) 6:30-9 pm ### Agenda - ##### **Role call (5 min)** - ##### **Role assignments (5 min)** - facilitator - Katelyn - meeting notes - stack - timer - #### **Spokescouncil process (15 min)** - - [Spokescouncil Overview Slides](https://cryptpad.bolha.tools/slide/#/2/slide/edit/lcG2u79JxegWjzFesswyGnyb/present/) - 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](https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/group-charters) - 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](https://www.civiccanopy.org/fist-to-five/) - As of right now, admin groups don't vote, only working groups do. - 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 - Q&A/ Feedback about Spokescouncil process (OPEN TO ALL IN ATTENDANCE **10 mins;** strict stack :) - #### **Passed Proposal Check-in (5 min),** ask bottom liners to do a very short reportback: - - Political Education Charter - Library proposal update - \*Tabled proposal check-in: comms needs a bottomliner - #### **Admin committee updates -** - 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! - **Legal/ Liability** - **Finance** - **Fundraising** - **Facilities** - LP's presentation: front of house cleaning station and bathroom storage hutch (4 min) - [Group report back](https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/rc-facilities-homepage/page/2025-12-11-spokescouncil-facilites-report) - [**Tech and comms**](https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/rc-tech-admin/page/2025-12-11-spokescouncil-meeting-update) - **Programming and rentals** (shea) - ##### **Disaster preparedness reportback (5 min)** - [report back dock here](https://pad.riseup.net/p/tkDHZxTWuB5gsl8mzYrg-keep) - ##### **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](https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/spokescouncil-proposals/page/proposal-to-change-spokescouncil-meeting-dates) - First, ask if there are any Blocks and any FA's. If not and no discussion feels necessary, move on to next proposal - #### **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 - #### **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 - ##### **Open discussion/ feedback/ Q&A** (OPEN TO ALL IN ATTENDANCE; ideally **10 min)** - ##### **Remote Meeting Poll + brief discussion (10 min)** - ##### **Action item review (5 min)** - #### **Closing remarks (1 min)** ### ### Detailed Meeting Notes - ##### **Role call (5 min)** - Working Groups not present: Dinner, Tutoring - Admin committees not present: Legal/ Liability - ##### **Role assignments (5 min)** - facilitator - Katelyn - meeting notes- Shea - stack- Iris/ Katelyn - timer- Iris/ Ash - #### **Spokescouncil process (15 min)** - [Spokescouncil Overview Slides](https://cryptpad.bolha.tools/slide/#/2/slide/edit/lcG2u79JxegWjzFesswyGnyb/present/) - [admin committee and WG charters](https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/group-charters) - 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? - 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 - - #### **Passed Proposal Check-in (5 min),** ask bottom liners to do a very short reportback: - - 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 - 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 - \*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 - pls share their signal handle - 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 - Needs: - point person for charter - process development for insta, newsletter, media - **Admin committee updates -[store here](https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/rc-facilities-homepage/chapter/spokes-council-report-backs)** - 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! - **Legal/ Liability** - Dino received rent check! - Insurance renewing this month ~$5k - **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 $$- still don't have the full picture - fundraising is burning people out, we will start seeing diminishing returns - Q: Who is putting on fundraisers? - A: Currently being handled by fundraising committee but **working groups are encouraged to organize their own fundraisers!** - Other contributors: Food Pantry applies for grants; Iris + Mike organizing show/ fundraiser @ Purgatory; Shea/ Paul/ Ollie working with ILC on NYE fund-rager - **Fundraising** - holiday market brought in $3400 after expenses- yay! - Bakesale coming up 12/14 11-3p - **call for bakers and day of volunteers!** - fundraising needs help- call for new committee members - Vanessa leaving fundraising after 12/14 bakesale - Shelby leaving fundraising after Feb chili cookoff - call for working groups to do their own fundraising- get creative! - chili cookoff in Feb is the last fundraiser on the books - call for people to design and pass out flyers for events - Discussion: - is fundraising really a sustainable way to bridge the deficit? - disseminate to WGs- we need to pay rent to keep the space open + provide programming - Q: should we more aggressive about WG members contributing $$/ labor? - A: this historically has not been our stance, we do need to stress the importance of financial contributions from WGs tho - **Facilities** - LP's presentation: front of house cleaning station and bathroom storage hutch (4 min) - [Group report back](https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/rc-facilities-homepage/page/2025-12-11-spokescouncil-facilites-report) - 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 - [**Tech and comms**](https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/rc-tech-admin/page/2025-12-11-spokescouncil-meeting-update) - 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 - **Programming and rentals** (shea) - planning NYE fund-rager with ILC- volunteers needed - ##### **Disaster preparedness reportback (5 min)** - [report back dock here](https://pad.riseup.net/p/tkDHZxTWuB5gsl8mzYrg-keep) - ##### **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](https://wiki.commons.nyc/books/spokescouncil-proposals/page/proposal-to-change-spokescouncil-meeting-dates) - First, ask if there are any Blocks and any FA's. If not and no discussion feels necessary, move on to next proposal - ##### 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 - #### **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 - 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 - #### **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? - ##### **Open discussion/ feedback/ Q&A** (OPEN TO ALL IN ATTENDANCE; ideally **10 min)** - decision to revisit remote meeting poll - ##### **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 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 - ##### **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 - #### **Closing remarks (1 min)** - **Thank you for coming, please help reset and clean dishes :)**