Board Meeting Agenda for August 15, 2013
Meeting Time: 7pm
Location: Lenox
5 minute time limit per highest-level bullet point.
All members are welcome to attend, and non-board members can join the conversation when invited.
Legal/Financial:
Treasurer's Report
…
Policies and Procedures:
Check on progress of Space Projects
Ed's CNC Router
Joe's CNC Plasma Cutter (stalled?)
Kevin's HMMMMM
Guy's Electric Car/Saab
Deal with lack of storage space issue
Check for lockers and shelves claimed by former members and empty them out
Get rid of the lathes! (Joe to buy?)
Policy on kids/minors/infants
Minors are not allowed in the woodshop, metal shop, and welding areas.
Minors must be accompanied by an adult member.
during classes or events, the instructor/sponsor of the event can decide how kid-friendly the event is and allow/disallow supervised minors to participate at their discretion
Rules-based vs. Values-based Community
…
New equipment/donations:
Stuff from Bucketworks
Dust Collection
Reimbursement request
Expansion, further development
Re-organization of the Electronics Lab by Josh Zimmerman
Budget/Funding request
…
Events:
Meeting tentatively scheduled for Friday, 8/30 with Betty Brinn Children's Museum
Lots of topics
Partnerships, cross promotion
Corporate membership?
Maker classes for kids (presented at 8/13 Tuesday Mtg)
Maker Fest participation
Long term ideas, strategic plans
…
Upcoming Board Elections
Date?
Nomination Procedures, etc.
Any topics from members who are present
NOTES
Policies and Procedures
7:07 PM (9 mins) - Check on progress of Space Projects
Ed's CNC Router
Ed was present and said he is making progress
Ed estimated around 1 month of work remains
The group will consider moving it into the Wood Shop when it is done
Group will review progress again next Board Meeting
Joe's CNC Plasma Cutter
Joe was present and said he needs more space to work around it; too cramped in between other rental spaces
No set deadline at the moment
Group agreed it could be moved into the West Room along side Ed's project
Group will review progress again next Board Meeting
Kevin's HMMMMM
Kevin updated the Board via email
Hinge has been repaired and a new amplifier was acquired
No set deadline at the moment
Group will review progress again next Board Meeting
Guy's Electric Car/Saab
Guy was present and said that he needs help finishing the project
The group suggested he reach out to members on the forums and Electric Car Club message board
The Board asked about possibly moving his car out into an alley parking spot, but the roof needs repair before that could happen
That would also take up one parking spot
Guy agreed to come up with a plan within one week of this meeting
Group will review progress again next Board Meeting
7:16 PM (13 mins) - Deal with lack of storage space
Check for lockers and shelves claimed by former members and empty them out
Get rid of the lathes
MattW notified everyone that MikeB will come pick them up soon
If they are not out by the end of September 2013, we will remove them
7:29 PM (19 mins) - Policy on kids/minors/infants
The last policy discussion ended with the following proposal:
Minors are not allowed in the woodshop, metal shop, and welding areas.
Minors must be accompanied by an adult member.
During classes or events, the instructor/sponsor of the event can decide how kid-friendly the event is and allow/disallow supervised minors to participate at their discretion
MattW, AdamC and others expressed concern over having to censor themselves or babysit other peoples children; especially infants or young children
The group debated various scenarios and policy suggestions
It was noted that every member is responsible for knowing, abiding by, and enforcing Makerspace policies and rules
Ultimately the concensus was for the following:
Children younger than 10 years old are not allowed in the woodshop, metal shop, and welding areas.
Children younger than 10 years old must be accompanied by an adult member.
During classes or events, the instructor/sponsor of the event can decide how kid-friendly the event is and allow/disallow supervised minors to participate at their discretion
7:48 PM (< 1 min.) - Rules-based vs. Values-based Community
Not discussed at this time
7:48 PM (19 mins) - New equipment/donations:
Tom Gondek may have a UV exposure lamp to bring in soon, will likely be used in screenprinting
Stuff from Bucketworks acknowledged, shelves and chairs already in use
Dust Collection
JasonH indicated that the dust collector he has provided is on indefinite loan
It is not intended to become Makerspace property
Reimbursement request for $200 approved by Board Members present, Brant to provide receipts
Expansion or additions will depend on the system's performance in the next few weeks
Re-organization of the Electronics Lab by Josh Zimmerman
JoshZ sent the Board a proposal to clean up the Electronics Lab including new shelving and bins for the component racks
Motivation for this project came from touring Detroit's i3 Hackerspace and also to improve room aesthetics
The Board and members who were present had mixed feelings on the topic
Some people applauded the effort and the completeness of the proposal
Others felt attention could be paid to other areas of the building first and that the current set up was adequate
TomGz, MattW, and others indicated that we may be able to find members willing to donate shelving and bins rather than purchase new
The Board did not deny nor grant any funding at this time, but will continue reviewing the proposal
8:07 PM (16 mins) - Events:
Meeting with folks from Betty Brinn Children's Museum
It was noted that the tentative meeting set for 8/30 will be rescheduled
Brant and JasonG spoke about the meetings and discussions we've had so far
Topics so far:
At least two of their staff are interested in becoming members
Partnerships, cross promotion of both our groups
Corporate membership
Board to discuss what we are interested in asking for/giving
Possibly reciprocal i.e. reduced/free admission for Makerspace members
Rates and access to space yet to be determined by Board
Maker classes for kids (presented at 8/13 Tuesday Mtg)
BBCM asked for members willing to give classes at the museum
Calendar and dates forthcoming
Events would occur at the museum, not Makerspace
Spring 2013 gallery exhibit being planned
Several 4'x4'x3/4“ and 6'x4'x3/4” wall spaces to be decorated/exhibited
Artwork/projects/etc. must fit behind plexiglas, 3/4“ clearance
MakerFest participation
MakerFest will be mentioned in an upcoming newsletter
BBCM Spin Art booth planned
Their Board/leaders are offering organizational mentorship, advice, help with strategic planning
5-year plans and missions/goals statements discussed briefly
JasonG noted that this might be better to persue after Board elections
Perhaps offer them an honorary Board position?
8:23 PM (1 min.) - Upcoming Board Elections
Pete asked that we determine the date for Board Elections and announce it soon
Nominations should begin by mid-September
8:24 PM (14 mins) Treasurer's Report
JasonG presented the latest finanical info to the group
Our revenue per member has decreased steadily
Our current membership count is 116
The group has six months of expenses saved as of today
It was noted that the checking account should never be allowed to fall below this balance
JasonG indicated that he spoke with his accountant and as long as we keep the “supplies” donation boxes separate from other monies, there should not be a tax concern
It was agreed that DavidB can collect these monies and collections for projects and repairs by members, separate from Makerspace funds
Supplies and donation boxes should be clearly labeled to ensure donors are not misled
8:38 PM (6 mins) - Topics from members who are present
ChrisH proposed a Voice-Over-IP phone system for the building
Features would include intercom, paging, and phone service if desired
ChrisH agreed to put a proposal together with costs for equipment, cabling, network gear, and shipping of the phones from his reseller
It is not clear if the reseller is interested in a tax receipt, but Chris will ask
MattN spoke about the Rhino/Grasshopper software available via Robots in Architecture
Online forums have led him to believe this membership and software may not have a great deal of support or training
The membership is $480/year and he is hoping to collect donations from members
He said he would like to convince their group to give us a free or reduced membership
MattN said he would be a primary user/point of contact
8:44 PM (total duration 1 hour, 37 mins) End of meeting
Space Allocations:
- Ed's router is making progress, about a month or two left to go.
- Joe's plasma cutter has stalled, wants to move it to a more better space. No end date in sight.
- HMMMMMM. Delayed decision, progress wanted.
- Guy's Saab. Progress isn't happening.
- Mike B's Lathe's. Mike says he'll get them out by the end of the month.
- Plan to purge the hack rack **tonight! Lets fill the dumpster.
Kids Policy
- kids 10 and over can go anywhere in the space if they are supervised.
Board will reimburse the $200 spent so far on dust collection system
Betty Brinn Children's Museum. We are working with them. They asked for a Corporate Membership. We aren't sure what that is. Relationship is evolving. Possible organizational advisors.
Treasury: We netted about 6Gs in the last 3 mo. We have a 6 month cash runway!!! 30G's in the bank.