[Stargate] populace meetings

[Charlene Charette]

Some comments on the proposed changing of locations for populace 
meetings....

It sounds as though there is a general agreement that populace needs to 
be moved because Ryan's is no longer working for everyone.  I think the 
first question is:  what is the goal in moving populace?  Are you only 
trying to accommodate those currently coming to the meetings or are you 
trying to attract new attendees?  Are more people not coming because of 
the location, because the meetings are not perceived to be a valuable 
use of their time, because it's a bad night, some combination of 
factors, etc., etc.?  Do you even want or need more people to attend? 
Personally, I don't go to Ryan's because it takes 1.5 hours for me to 
get there and what I get out of the meetings just isn't worth the trip.

Once you know the goal, the next question is:  what part of town do you 
want to move to?  In 1997 François did a population map of the barony 
and at that time the population center of the group was at I-10 and BW8. 
  I asked him to update the map and we discovered that the population 
center has shifted to I-10 and Hwy 6.  The 290 area is at the extreme 
northern boundary of the barony and isn't a convenient travel for the 
majority of members.  (These numbers include all classes of paid 
members; we don't have the data to account for those who play, but 
aren't paid members.)

That said, there is a feeling among some that a more 
geographically-centered, as opposed to a population-centered, location 
might be desirable.  Over the last few years I've proposed several 
possible locations for populace, but the suggestions were never received 
favorably.  I agree with Annes that we don't necessarily need to find a 
free site, if we have the money we should use it; however, each of these 
suggestions is free.

St. Luke's United Methodist - Westheimer @ Edloe
Yes, I know...the Galleria area.  The Embroiders' Guild of America 
chapter I belong to has meetings here once a month and it really isn't 
that bad to get there.  I can take one of two different routes and be 
there in about 40 mins.  You can get there easily from Westheimer, 59, 
610, and the Westpark Tollway.  They have lots of rooms available for 
free to non-profits.  Plenty of parking.  The rooms are nice and have 
plenty of lighting.  Food can be brought in.  I don't know if the rules 
have changed, but when the EGA moved here the church required a 3-month 
probation period after which the group could set up in advance to meet 
every month.  They are not subject to closing on Federal holidays. 
Meetings can go to 9pm, but they don't seem to mind when we go a little 
later.

Central Market - Westheimer @ Wesleyan
Same location issue as above.  The EGA chapter has a monthly stitch-in 
here.  They have a large, well-lit community room upstairs.  Plenty of 
parking.  Not subject to Federal holiday closings.  For the benefit of 
those not familiar with the store -- they have a variety of ready-to-eat 
items you can purchase from restaurant quality dishes to sandwiches. 
The have microwaves for heating things up with tables downstairs for 
eating on site.  You could also bring it upstairs to the meeting.  I 
don't know how they work the scheduling.  The person in charge of the 
stitch-ins announced at our November meeting that we were all set for 
every month in 2007, so it appears you can guarantee the room consistently.

Tracy Gee - Richmond & BW8
This is a community center.  The site is free, but they require a $100 
damage deposit to be on file.  François and I used to go to balloon club 
meetings there.  They close at 9pm.  Food can be brought in.  I don't 
know if they have any availability; they did several months ago when I 
last checked.  The only bug-a-boo is you can't exchange funds on site. 
I believe this is so groups don't do fund raisers or sell t-shirts and 
such on site.  I don't know if this applies to giving checks to members 
for expense reimbursement.  Easy enough to check and if that is the 
case, it's just a matter of walking out the door and handing the checks 
over off-site.  If they have the availability, you can set up on their 
calendar for the year.  We would still have the Federal holiday problem 
here.

There are a variety of restaurants near each of these sites should be 
decide to go out for dinner after the meeting.

And a quick response to a comment from (I believe) Vasilisa:

> The only library that is open late 
> is the Collier on Pinemont.

Not quite true.  All the *regional* branches are open late.  However, 
none of the regional branches is very convenient for our purposes, we 
have had scheduling problems at Houston library branches in the past, 
and we would still have the Federal holiday closing problem.

The regional branches are:

Collier - Pinemont (near 290 & Bingle)
Henington-Alief - Kirkwood, between Bellaire & Beechnut
Park Place - 45S & 610 (?)
Scenic Woods - far Northeast
(http://www.houstonlibrary.org/branches/index.html)


--Perronnelle


-- 
Withdrawing in disgust is not the same as apathy.


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