Allen,
The San Francisco LP meets every month in the back room of a pizza parlor. We are not exposed to the wind and rain, nor do we have to pay for the space.
Now the space in question is obviously not large enough for our state convention delegate meetings, but it is large enough for, say, the state ExCom to meet. Typically the state ExCom has paid hundreds of dollars for a meeting room in a hotel rather than look for such a place. In fact, when they have had specific offers of free indoor venues, they have turned them down. Yes, I do call that extravagant.
The question is, are the members who prefer to meet in fancier locations willing to pay the costs for meeting in those locations themselves, or do they want to keep passing the costs along to the membership in one form or another? If they're going to pay for it themselves, I don't care if they want to meet in the Four Seasons. They can arrive by limo and private jet and pack the floor with fatcats, fine with me.
Your concern about there not being time to sign up for the $9 floor fee is legitimate. However, if the state follows its bylaws as it ought to, there won't be a floor fee, so you won't have to worry about the deadline.
Yours in liberty,
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