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.

1. Legal/Financial:
   1. Monthly Treasurer's Report
   2. Any insurance topics to discuss?
   3. …
2. Policies and Procedures:
   1. Suspended Memberships & Abandoned Storage
   2. Rentable floor space in East Room (inquires from Chip, Charlene, RickB, etc.)
   3. Discussion on consolidating membership level(s).
   4. Collaboration opportunities with Betty Brinn Children's Museum
   5. …
3. Check on progress of Building Topics/Projects:
   1. Dust collection system status?
   2. Laser cutter exhaust upgrade
   3. Updates on Phone/PA System for space (Chris H.)
   4. Snow removal options (do it ourselves, pay someone in the neighborhood, a third thing?)
   5. Other projects?
   6. …
4. Check on progress of Member Projects:
   1. Darkroom (Rosie, JasonG, etc.)
   2. Ed's CNC Router
   3. Joe's CNC Plasma Cutter
   4. Kevin's HMMMMMM
   5. JasonH/ShaneT's Hop Drop Rig (coming in before New Years to get ready)
   6. …
5. New equipment/donations:
   1. …
6. Events:
   1. Holiday Make-A-Thon with Bucketworks on Black Friday. Here! Also, TV crew on Wed at 9am.
   2. …
7. Any topics from members who are present

1. Pete was not able to attend, he gave his proxy vote to ChrisH.
2. Legal/Financial (7:00-7:19, 19 minutes)
   1. A monthly Treasurer's Report was not yet ready, but will be soon
      1. 131 active members at this time
      2. Tony is working on updating/rewriting the member software
      3. Finances being moved into QuickBooks to help produce/track balances faster and more accurately
      4. It was noted that this is not accrual accounting per se, but memberships paid several months out are counted as a liability against the books. (See Tony if you have any questions.)
      5. Tony has already updated the access control software so it displays your expiration date! (This is awesome!) It still needs some tweaking as it adds 7 days to your expiration for some reason.
      6. Tony requested help entering data into QuickBooks once it's ready. Tom and Brant volunteered.
      7. The group agreed that a goal of keeping $30K in savings was reasonable. We currently have $20K in savings and the rest in checking. $30K is equivalent to 6 months of operation with our current expenses.
      8. Tony will review and determine an amount to put into savings each month.
      9. Long term financial goals for Makerspace of Milwaukee, Inc. (MoMI) were briefly discussed. One idea that was mentioned (only mentioned, not put to a vote or formally proposed) was that MoMI consider purchasing some shares in the building itself as there may be available tax benefits.
      10. It was also mentioned (only mentioned, not put to a vote or formally proposed) that if MoMI ever desired, it could be possible to purchase the building entirely from Milwaukee Makerspace Investor's Group LLC (MMIG, the landlord, group that owns the building, etc.) There are other implications/pros/cons that would need to be evaluated if that were ever to be formally considered.
   2. We had a conference call with our insurance agent last week:
      1. Our liability policy basically covers property damage and bodily injury
      2. We were advised to buy supplemental coverage for specific events in the future, i.e. things that are outside of the scope of our regular activities and could pose greater risks
      3. It was mentioned that those who receive compensation for teaching classes/demos are likely not covered by our policy and should consider getting their own professional liability insurance
      4. The key to this is compensation. Those who volunteer to teach/demo are more likely to be covered.
   3. Tony asked if anyone wanted a Square account to handle debit/credit sales when signing up members, but no one else was interested. It was also mentioned that it may be better to only have Tony and Brant be responsible for those, to keep things simple.
3. Policies and Procedures (7:19-7:55, 36 mins)
   1. Suspended Memberships & Abandoned Storage
      1. This topic had been discussed on the Board of Director's private mailing list starting 10/26/13, but had not been completely resolved.
      2. Tony suggested the following policy be added to our Member Handbook, etc.
         1. “Items belonging to a former member should be removed from the space before the first of the month after they become a member in suspension or terminate their membership. After that date, any items belonging to a former member may be disposed of at the discretion of the Board. This policy does not apply to items that have been leased to MoMi.”
         2. The group voted unanimously to enact this policy.
   2. Rentable floor space in East Room (inquires from Chip, Charlene, RickB, etc.)
      1. Several members have asked about renting floor space recently.
      2. Previous resolutions and discussions have focused on making floor space available to people with “cool projects” to work on.
      3. Matt, Tom, and Brant discussed their concerns about rental space being used for personal “dead” storage rather than active projects.
      4. Tom suggested that the Board's “published attitude” indicate that we want to rent space for projects, not dead storage. Brant, Matt, and others agreed.
      5. The group briefly discussed a “vetting process” for renting space to members. Asking them questions about what the space will be used for, what will be stored in it, how much space is needed, and how long the project will take. This would be similar to the process currently in place for “group projects” that are under recurring review.
      6. The group also discussed (but did not vote or decide on) the possibility of setting a limit on floor space available to rent.
      7. After the meeting Tom and Brant measured the width necessary in front of the pallet racks to properly and safely maneuver the forklift. It was about 11 feet from the front of the racks. This is slightly over the distance that the yellow-tape marks the aisle. No further action taken at this time.
   3. Discussion on consolidating membership level(s)
      1. The Board unanimously agreed that consolidating membership levels and making membership more affordable was a long term goal for the group.
      2. More information is needed regarding finances, projections, and membership before moving forward.
      3. This topic will be reviewed again in the future.
   4. Collaboration opportunities with Betty Brinn Children's Museum
      1. Brant briefed the other members on topics and ideas that had been discussed so far.
      2. The Board mostly agreed to let individual members pursue projects and events with BBCM.
      3. BBCM members have requested a second meeting to continue collaboration discussions. Brant has reached out to interested individuals to arrange a date/time to meet.
4. Check on progress of Building Topics/Projects:
   1. Dust collection system status
      1. DONE!
   2. Laser cutter exhaust upgrade
      1. In progress, this Sunday
      2. See Tom for details
   3. Updates on Phone/PA System for space (Chris H.)
      1. Phones arrived, being set up starting tonight!
   4. Snow removal options (do it ourselves, pay someone in the neighborhood, a third thing?)
      1. The question was raised: Who plows McDonald's parking lot nearby? Perhaps get a quote from them.
      2. It was noted that DeboraLynn worked with the McDonald's Manager regarding Makerfest and perhaps should could help us contact them. Brant said he would follow up.
   5. Other projects?
      1. Tom recently found a great deal on 48 cases of paper towels at an liquidation auction.
      2. He bought several cases and would like to sell them to Makerspace.
      3. They are 800 foot long rolls of brown paper towels, we currently use 500 foot. We'll need to check that they fit in our dispensers.
      4. He said he could store them at his building in Oak Creek if necessary.
      5. The Board voted to approve the purchase of these paper towels for $540.
5. Check on progress of Member Projects:
   1. Darkroom (Rosie, JasonG, etc.)
      1. Tom and others indicated that Rosie said Vault #15 might be unnecessarily large for what they need.
         1. Brant reminded the Board that DeboraLynn is looking for a larger vault and considered using Vault #1 instead for the Darkroom.
         2. The revolving door may not fit well if it were installed at Vault #1 and it may protrude too far out into the corridor. A curtain or possibly a dead bolt inside may be sufficient. More discussion is needed.
      2. Portable/rolling sinks with buckets for fresh water and waste were discussed for use in the pottery area and Darkroom.
         1. This would allow us to proceed with those areas without waiting for plumbing to be installed.
         2. We could also see how active these areas become and upgrade to hard piped plumbing later
   2. Ed's CNC Router
      1. Progress is being made
      2. The Board renewed the project space for another 3 months at Tom's suggestion
   3. Joe's CNC Plasma Cutter
      1. Similarly, progress is being made
      2. The Board renewed the project space for another 3 months at Tom's suggestion
   4. Kevin's HMMMMMM
      1. Progress noted, but since Kevin offered to begin paying rent and the project is not ready for use, the Board agreed to ask him to pay for his rental space.
      2. The area was measured after the meeting by Brant. It is approximately 10'x5' or 50 square feet.
   5. JasonH/ShaneT's Hop Drop Rig (coming in before New Years to get ready)
      1. Already arrived
      2. The area was not measured because it is not clear how much space will be needed around it.
      3. Board will discuss floor area and how many months it will be here with JasonH soon. It will likely be gone after the First of the Year.
6. New equipment/donations (8:06, 1 min)
   1. DanJ brought in a cast iron cone mandrill for the casting/forging area. No one objected.
7. Events (8:07, 1 min)
   1. Holiday Make-A-Thon with Bucketworks on Black Friday. Here! Also, TV crew on Wed at 9am.
8. Any topics from members who are present (8:07-8:10, 3 mins)
   1. EricB presented his work on the Raspberry Pi “Traveling Mascot” project
      1. He reported several obstacles he's been unable to overcome.
      2. He's asked for help from the group via the mailing lists, but not many responses.
      3. Since the Raspberry Pi was a prize in a contest, Eric was unsure how to proceed.
      4. He asked if he was allowed to give up and the Board agreed that was reasonable.
      5. The Board did ask that he make one final blog post about his work to date.
   2. TomG said that he has reviewed the local ordinances and gas vehicles cannot not be stored in our building, unless they are drained of fuel.
      1. Gasoline and other flammable items should be stored in approved containers and placed in the yellow flammable storage cabinet in the Wash Sink Room.
      2. Working on vehicles to change tires, fix headlights, etc. is reasonable as long as they don't take up space for an extended period of time.