GPMN Coordinating Committee meeting

Saturday, April 8 

Pierre Bottineau Library, NE Minneapolis

1:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Present: Holle Brian, Tom Dunnwald, Cam Gordon, Seth Kuhl-Stennes, Adam Schneider. Roger Kittleson attended briefly to observe and introduce himself.

No online participants

1) Agenda approved with modifications.

2) Seth appointed facilitator.

3) March 11 minutes approved with modifications.

4) Consideration of party leadership / executive roles and responsibilities — discussion and approval

A) Co-Vice Chair

Adam nominated Cam for co-chair. Passed by consensus. Seth’s terms out in July as 5CD rep, may not run for reelection, so we will be looking for another chair at 

B) Finance chair

The CC is looking for people to fill the roles of treasurer and/or finance chair. Becki Smith is currently acting treasurer but would like to step down. Becki, Darnell and Seth are signers for our account at Highland Bank. Sam Pree-Gonzalez has expressed interest in helping with finances. Tom will contact her and confirm.

C) Communications chair

Cam moved to make Adam Communications chair, with the charge of reinvigorating the GPMN’s social media presence. Passed by consensus.

5) Finance report

Treasurer’s reports for the last 14 months are linked to these minutes. April_2023__Treasurer's_Report.xls

In summary: Our ongoing expenses are rent for the office at 4200 Cedar, which is $150 a month; and for National Builder web and database services, which is $148 a month; and bank fees, which are $45-60 a month. The GPMN no longer uses or pays for G-Suite. Monthly donations are currently at $288. Ending cash balance for March 2023 was $1,826.05.

There is also a separate account at Highland Bank for GP tax checkoff funds that has $2,011.93. These funds are not available to us as we are no longer a minor party.

We owe Dave Bicking $600 for rent.

It was suggested that we switch to Northeast Bank as a cheaper and more community-based institution. Tom and Sam will look into this.

If we change banks, we need to contact all our monthly sustainers about the move and encourage them to continue and maybe increase their donations. We may keep both bank accounts until we’ve transferred the monthly donors to the new one. It was agreed that any fundraising campaigns should wait until we have a new bank.

Seth moved to pay Dave Bicking for three months rent ($450). Passed by consensus.

6) Communication, online and data resources and access update

A) GPMN website

Seth and Adam are administrators. Holle will be added as a limited-access admin. Adam and Seth are continuing to work to update the site. We agreed to remove the comments section from the contact page.

B) Twitter

We can’t get access to our Twitter account, because it’s linked to an old mngreens.org email which is no longer active. We are not sure who has been using it in the past. The account has over 3,000 followers and it would be good to retain it if we can. The account is at GreenPartyofMN@mngreens.

C) Wikipedia

Needs to be updated. Adam will work on this.

D) Facebook

Cam is still trying to reach Trahern and/or Brandon to get the account transferred. Adam can post on the Facebook page via Instagram as a temporary fix.

E) Instagram

The official Instagram account is “greenpartyminnesota”. There are some other old accounts that are not in use. 

7) Annual Meeting planning and timeline — discussion and approval

A) Surveys to members and allies

Cam and Adam submitted their survey drafts to the CC for review. CC members have until April 15 to comment. If there are no comments or concerns by then, Cam and Adam may circulate the surveys to contacts in the GPMN database, both individuals and organizations. This should be done no later than April 25. Priority will be given to survey responses from Minnesota residents. 

B) “Visioning” meetings

After survey responses have been collected, the CC will host four meetings where we will solicit input from members and allies about the direction of the GPMN. Two of these will be in person, two via zoom. Seth offered to use the 5CD GP’s zoom account for the longer meetings. The visioning meetings for GP members will be held on Wednesday, May 17 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. (online); and Saturday, May 20 from 10-11:20 a.m. (in person, location tba). The meetings for allies will be held Wednesday, June 7 from 6:00-7:30 (online); and Saturday, June 10 from 10-11:30 p.m. (in person, location tba).

C) Bylaws and Constitution

The CC has been charged with reviewing the Bylaws and Constitution to see if they can be changed to better accommodate our reduced capacity, and submit proposals for changes, if any, at the 2023 Annual Meeting. Holle and Seth will start this process and bring recommendations to the May 8 CC meeting.

D) Annual Meeting date

It was decided that the Annual Meeting would be held on Saturday, July 15 from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., location tba.

8) Future Coordinating Committee meetings and dates — discussion and approval.

May

• Saturday, May 6, 11:00am - 1:00pm CC meeting, East lake Library Conference Room, 2727 E Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55406
• Wednesday, May 17, 6-7:30pm - hold member’s vision and goals online meeting
• Saturday, May 20, 10:00-11:30 am - hold member’s visioning in-person meeting, Doty Board Room, Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, MN 55401

June

• Saturday, June 3, 11:00am - 1:00pm CC meeting, East lake Library Conference Room, 2727 E Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55406

• Wednesday, June 7, 6-7:30 - Allie’s online focus group
• Saturday, June 10, 10-11:30am - allies and supporters in-person focus group, Highland Park Library Community Room, 978 Ford Pkwy, St Paul, MN 55116

July

•Saturday, July 8, CC meeting   

•Saturday, July 15, 11:00 am – 1:30 pm Annual Membership meeting 

9) New business, comments and meeting evaluation - tabled.