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boardmeetingagenda:2016-07-21

Milwaukee Makerspace Board of Directors Meeting - July 21, 2016

Held at the Milwaukee Makerspace craft lab

Attendees

Present
  • Lance Lamont
  • Adrian Volden
  • Keith McMillan
  • Harvey Matyas
  • Carl Stevens
  • Dan Jonke
Absent
  • DL Swanson
Guests
  • Larry
  • Steffanie
  • Tom Gr
  • Brandt
  • Shane

Minutes

Meeting was called to order at 7:00 by Lance.

Review and approval of the Minutes of the previous meeting

The meeting minutes from the previous meeting were approved.

Reports of Boards and Standing Committees

Treasurers Report

  • Membership stable from July (still all-time high) at 255
  • $56,000 on hand
  • $45,000 estimated 6 month operating reserve
  • Committed area fund donations: $ 4,307.02
  • Net income for June $5,900
  • YTD cash flow - still down due to building purchase

Space Equipment Inventory

  • Previous status
    • DL has barcode software, Harvey has offered to help inventory
  • Harvey has started inventory
  • Board discussed and decided that anything that needs checkout would be included in the inventory - Harvey to revise email to the area champions

New Equipment/Donations

  • New donations from previous Kuka owner
    • Previous status
      • Adrian to contact Gerry and get more details on items, or visit and determine what we can use
    • Adrian has been in contact with Gerry
    • Gerry will donate the pendant, but only if we accept the donations he wants to make
    • Adrian will try to go and look and see what this would involve

Building Maintenance/Issues

  • Dumpster Pad needs repair
    • Previous status
      • Lance suggests we make the current spot into a parking space
      • DL trying to set up a time to have Advance come out and move the dumpster
      • Tom suggests we determine if we can add additional parking spots
      • Tom and DL suggest the ramp and bollards be looked at when this is done
      • Tom will get some quotes on having the concrete done
    • Tom is working on getting quotes - they are on the order of $20,000, which would be blacktop for the entire parking lot.
    • Harvey is going to try to have the dumpster moved next Tuesday when they come to get the bin
  • Welding wall and power drops
    • Keith will create a design and share with the board for a recognition plaque for Tri-Star Recycling who contributed the metal studs
    • Power drops installed for welding and machine shop
    • Wall is pending input from Marc

Reports of Special (Select) Committees

Space Projects Update

4x8 CNC Plasma Cutter

  • Current target for completion is End of August
  • Previous status
    • Steve and Marc making progress, need slats from one of the metal shops in town, or to cut their own
  • Steve has been busy but will return to working on this - no further update

Kuka

  • Previous status
    • Previous owner wants the pendant, and possibly a board from the cabinet back if we dispose of the Kuka.
    • update 7-21-16
    • Jake is using the Kuka until August for his project
    • Jake is paying $10/month for the space.
    • Vishal has adequate space for his Maker Faire project, and it's nearing completion too

Poster design contest

  • Previous status The board approved a competition to create a new poster for the space, with a cash prize of $25 - Lance to lead
  • No update
  • Carl now to write up the rules and send them to the board for review

Wood shop dust collection

  • Previous status
    • Steve Pilon is working on a plan and will be sending it to the board, estimating less than $2,000
  • UPDATE: Steve and Brant coordinating on getting discount materials for the system
    • Quote 1: $3,715 before tax/freight
    • Quote 2: $3,550 before tax/freight
  • Dust particle counter - Brant
    • Unit assembled and tested OK
    • Will fabricate an enclosure for it and start taking readings every few days
  • Lance will add a question to the membership in the member survey to authorize the spending on the dust collection system

Unfinished Business

Property tax exemption

  • Previous Status
    • Tom Gr. provided the forms to the board
    • Dan and Keith to review the forms and provide feedback to Tom
    • Dan and Tom suggest perhaps having the lawyer review, after the board reviews
  • Keith provided feedback to Tom
  • Tom trying to get ahold of the CPA and then will follow up with the lawyer

Utility rates

  • Previous Status
    • Ongoing sales tax exemption secured
    • Lance to pursue getting past sales tax back from State of WI

New camera system

  • Previous Status
    • All cable drops in place EXCEPT
      • Two to the meeting room
      • One to the craft lab
      • One to outside Door 1
    • DL to put up the signs letting people know they are on camera
  • Keith ran four drops to the meeting room
  • Signs are up

911 service at the 'space

  • Previous status
    • 911 phone is now mounted at the front desk
    • Keith has all additional the phones from Shane
    • Adrian will be bringing in more of the boxes for mounting phones during space improvement day
    • Still a space improvement project
    • Lance to follow up with police and see if we can register the phones as being at the space address
  • Bag full of cell phones is now in the wiring closet
  • Carl to follow up with the police on whether the phones can be registered to the space

Willy's Boat

  • Previous status
    • The board will continue to request updates and monitor the progress
    • DL spoke with Willy and he hopes to be done in July
  • Lance spoke with Willy and he believes he is two months behind
  • Project continues to be live

Situation about membership of Jay Carver

  • Previous status
    • DL will provide a draft communication for the board to review
  • Board discussed and decided no further action on this topic unless Jay surfaces again

Changes to space rental policy w.r.t. late payments

  • Previous status
    • DL will send out the draft of the new policy for review before next meeting
  • DL was absent - no draft was sent
  • DL has a report that shows “vacant” storage spaces
  • Dan will write up a draft of the policy

Changes to code of conduct / bylaws w.r.t. illegal activities

  • Previous status
    • Keith stated there seemed to be evenly divided opinion on whether the board or the membership should do this. The easiest solution would be to not revise the bylaws, but allow the board to immediately suspend a member if there was reasonable suspicion of illegal activities. Keith also proposed that violence or threats of violence also be cause for immediate suspension.
    • Keith provided a draft revised the code of conduct to the board for review
    • Online vote to be held on the revisions to the code of conduct
  • Inter-meeting update - Vote held - code of conduct revised

Member Survey

  • Previous status
    • Lance will coordinate a new member survey

Signs & Awnings Outside

  • Previous status
    • Tom Gr and DL checking into ordinances and requirements for awnings and signage
  • Tom has proposed some awnings
  • Tom and Carl to work on the application to the city including a drawing
  • Tom and Carl to put this in front of the membership since the cost is close to $1000.

Improvements to Entryways & Meeting area

  • Previous status
    • Tom Gr provided some new chairs for the meeting areas
    • Deferred until Carl is available next meeting
  • Couch to be painted
  • Carl to propose further changes

Update Web Site

  • Previous status
    • Deferred until Carl is available
  • Carl to work further on this

Bylaw Revisions

  • Appoint Co-treasurer(s) from outside BOD
    • Previous status
      • Keith proposed an amendment to the bylaws to allow named board members to appoint support committees, subject to a veto by a majority of the board
      • Board discussed how to do a special meeting to discuss several bylaw changes - targeting 7/12 for the initial discussion of revisions, followed by a vote from 7/19 thru 7/26
      • Revisions to bylaws to account for family membership
        • Tabled for a meeting specifically on bylaws
      • Revisions to bylaws to allow hardship suspension of membership
        • Tabled for a meeting specifically on bylaws
    • Bylaws revisions under discussion - vote scheduled to start 7/26
    • Adrian will follow up with Vishal on the voting system

Craft Lab II: Trade Craft!

  • Previous status
    • The board discussed possibly making a larger area comprised of some of the smaller current areas.
    • DL suggested maybe not allowing more than one shelf for a single member, or making the top shelves available for this
    • Daleks moved from the East room
    • Hal organized the screen printing area
    • Powerwheels have taken over the spot in the East room vacated by the Daleks, until July, when Maker Faire gets it
  • Powerwheels is actively using the area
  • Lance has pointed out that Powerwheels is overspilling their area regularly, and the board needs to help police this a bit
  • Board to look at this again in September/October

Area champions listing

  • Previous status
  • Intra-meeting - single page created areachampions and included in both areas page and front page

End of Year Filings

  • Tom Gr asks for end-of-year balances for the accountant - Dan to provide
  • Dan provided information
  • Tom has been unable to get a hold of the CPA
  • Dan and Tom to work on filling in the forms, Adrian to help if required

Long-term Budgeting

  • Adrian suggested we should be setting aside a budget for large building expenditures
  • No update
  • Board discussed how to operationally do this, agreed we need to determine what costs to forecast

Maker Faire

  • Last Status
    • Adrian to send out an email to the membership asking if someone would champion an open house at the space on Saturday of Maker Faire
    • Adrian to send out a survey to determine if we are going to fund Maker Faire, and at what level
    • Vishal sine wave
      • He will need 2 weeks of clear space to finish the project, when will Jake's Kuka be moved?
      • He can start working on it anytime after July 10. - see items earlier on the Kuka
  • Vishal needs less space than originally thought - see previous item
  • Board discussed Pete Prodoehl's request for space - there is some room available he can use - Adrian to follow up with Pete
  • Lance has asked Amy if she would host an after-party and she is tentatively interested

Member Free Storage Space

  • Previous Status
    • Inventory done by DL, needs to sync with Dan on some people who she can't reconcile
    • There are open spaces, DL to update with “EMPTY” stickers and send an email
    • Board to re-evaluate storage space at next meeting
  • DL labeled empty spaces
  • Board discussed the shortage of storage spaces
    • Some space in the vault hallway has been freed up
    • Some space in the East room seems to be inefficiently used
    • Tom Gr to follow up with Rudy on racking that may be available
    • The board voted to authorize Tom spending up to $250 on pallet racking or shelving

Vault Activity (or lack thereof)

  • Lance mentions that some vaults don't seem to have any activity, and there seems to be very low turnover. Perhaps we should find a way to inquire if they are being used.
  • The board agreed Lance should put notes under the door of the vaults and ask for “are you using this vault”?
  • No update

New Business

Vault Storage

  • Can a member on the vault storage list “pass up” a vault and stay in the same position on the list? For instance, if they really want a large vault and a small vault comes available, can they let the next person on the list take the small one, but stay at the top of the list?
  • The board discussed and agreed we will deal with this when it actually occurs

Camera in front of Matt's locker

The board discussed Matt's complaint that the camera seems to be in front of his locker regularly. Adrian will follow up with Matt.

Good of the Space

  • Calendars are a challenge, only board members can update the GCal, the groups aren't well suited to signing up for classes, not everyone has access to update the Wiki (or the knowledge about how to do so)
    • DL mentions Wild Apricot might work for events for this
    • Carl is digging into the Google APIs and we might be able to automate posting to the calendar
  • Keith will look in to this
  • Carl asked who the area champion is for Maker Faire, since it can get donations
    • Board discussed this could go towards space-involved items
    • Donated funding is very limited (on the order of a few hundred dollars) and this would probably be consumed by getting a truck to carry projects to/from the Faire
  • Space Improvement Day - Adrian will help DL with coordination

Announcements

  • Adrian is resigning as area champion for metal shop - Larry has volunteered to take the spot

Close

The meeting was adjourned at 8:43

boardmeetingagenda/2016-07-21.txt · Last modified: 2016/07/22 14:23 by raster