Milwaukee Makerspace Board of Directors Meeting - 6 p.m. August 17, 2023
Introduction
Tim calls this meeting to order to 6:02pm
Attendance
BOD
All present except Jon.
It wasn't clear who Jon proxied his vote to so we won't include it.
Guests
Jeff M
Kathy Luglio
Gary Hollander
Tim Erdmann
Tony W
Tom Gralewicz
Dan J
Maya Looney
Sindie Ho
Previous Minutes
Current Financial Projections
Large newer purchases - forklift battery
Members have levelled out a little bit but the bank account continues to grow
Tony mentioned adding data about rentals and sq ft to help with QuickBooks port. Dan J is working on that. Wonders if we can answer the question, what is the top 5 things we spend money on right now? Geoff didn't have the answer on hand but mentioned we could add a report for that when we move to QB
Agenda items
Held over from last meeting:
Tim acknowledges we failed to vote on the expansion of the laser lab. It required a vote because it was a significant change to an area size. Also suggests we should add clarity by keeping the votes page (Voting Record) up to date. This would be an added secretarial duty.
Added today: Tim calls a vote to expand the laser lab, reorg the vacuum forming area, move the hack rack, and resin printers as per Anna's presentation. Geoff seconds. All present except for Anna vote yes. Anna abstains.
Hannah would like to call a motion to impart a one week suspension for AC for the sleeping or the perception of sleeping at the space. Sarah seconds. Hannah, Tim, Sarah, Anna, Callie vote yes. Geoff abstains and Jon abstains due to not being present.
Consulting lawyer update - Limited to 20 min - Tim's understanding - AC arrived around 2am and stayed in car with windows boarded up motionless. Geoff noted the vehicle was parked in such a way that no one could get out. Knocked on window and no response. Geoff went into building and looked at footage to determine what happened. AC stayed until 6:30am. We sought legal council to determine how to proceed from MU Law. Their recommendation is that we should enforce the same suspension we enforce in other situations.
D&O Insurance Update - Conversation ongoing to figure out our policy and what is covers. Geoff will be out of town for 3 weeks so Dan J offered to help. Dan L asked if trainers who accidentally injure people are covered by Makerspace insurance. The answer is yes, as long as they are not accepting compensation for training.
Ending Lenox floor space rental - Update on contacting affected members - Geoff followed up with individual still renting space at Lenox and we have not received a clear response from him yet. Geoff will also print out the notice and put in the user's area.
New business:
Rules for Fridge/Freezer - Geoff would like there to be rules on how long something can be in the fridge/freezer, what can go in there. Tim knows those rules exist already and will look for them before we agree to change anything. When we find them we can post on the fridge.
Opening up Vault 12 Pass Through - Tim: is that vault empty? Yes. Is facilities on board? Yes. Do we want to hold off on doing anything when the space is actually needed? Sarah thinks the cut-through is needed now, and it creates better flow. It will also contain the sandblaster. Tim would like it taped out on the ground. Tom G confirms it's not a load bearing wall. We also confirmed the cost to this is less than 500. We will look at it after the meeting.
Assisting the Screen Printing Area - They already have 2 vault spaces they'd like to convert to use including a wet room. We should expect a proposal from screen-printing coming to the BOD in the future. Hapto will reach out to members to see if anyone wants to be a trainer on the vinyl cutter adjacent to the screen-printing area.
Re-affirmation of what it means to be excellent, or how to be welcoming (but not too welcoming) in a community space. Tim: We don't have a good way for members to report harassment. We'd like to improve that. We could use a group separate from the BOD or authority to report issues to. This should be a call to make a committee to solve this problem. Dan L wants to commend Hapto on starting the Steel Tiger Lilies. Tony would like to add that the people involved in the conflict generally are discouraged from talking and they should have a safe place to do that safely. Gary thinks our bylaws and structure are too small for our organization. We also offer conflicting perspectives often (community vs space). His advice is to ask for an ad-hoc committee that is charged with solving this problem by a certain date. Describe the size, their charge, the date the committee would be asked to propose a solution to the BOD. He suggests we appoint some members and asks for other members to volunteer. General agreement amongst most present this is needed.
Changing member meetings (cadence and flow) - Couple of suggestions, we go down to 1 public/member/social meeting and 1 BOD meeting a month. New members get to participate in socialization aspect too. Member discussion: Dan J thinks trying something new would be cool. He and Geoff both suggested sign ups should happen at SID. He also suggests having a social period after meeting before the tour. Maya suggests a prompting question or activity to encourage membership interaction. Dan L suggests we do tours before the meeting so people don't have to wait around. Gary thinks it doesn't look great to new members when people don't volunteer to give tours. Jeff used to have a good method for sign ups and tours where you sign up for slots and it's planned in advance. Tim will think this over and give options to the BOD. Would also like to ask someone to volunteer to run a potluck for members. Dan J would like to volunteer to run Egg Drop. Kathy L suggested using the online auction as a community building event. Tony suggests making smaller tour sizes.
Maker Faire! - Do we want to do maker faire this year? Anna volunteers. Hapto will ask membership for volunteers to help.
Re-rewriting the anti-harassment policy - Should be shifted to committee
Punishment Escalation - We don't have an official policy on this.
Tim calls a motion to conclude the meeting at 8:03pm. Geoff seconds. All present vote yes.
Action Items
Geoff will print out notice about rental space ending and put it in the space in question at Lenox
Tim will find current rules about fridge. Anna offered to engrave it to put on fridge.
Hapto will notify membership we intend to vote on removing a vault as rentable storage at Lenox in order to create a doorway for better flow.
Callie will take the charge to start an ad-hoc call for Membership Committee of Conflict & Harassment with Gary
Maya & Anna - Set up schedule of tour volunteers and sign ups on calendar. We will link playbook.
Dan J will give tour training at SID