Held at the Milwaukee Makerspace craft lab

• Marcin P
• Pete P
• Mat M
• Tim C
• Kathy H

• Dan J

• Adrian V
• Bill R
• Tony W
• Karren P
• Felicia W
• Marcus

• Meeting called to order by Tim at 19:04

• Previous meeting minutes were Approved

• Find the current treasurer report here.

• Previous status
  • Kathy to ask Area Champions to update the Wiki with equipment in their area(s).
• Update
  • No good progress made.

• Previous status
  • Back hallway door near vaults needs a push bar installed.
• Update
  • Focus on Energy Credit for LED bulbs still needs to be submitted
  • Material Cost for Lawn Care & Landscaping at MMS This was requested at one of the board meetings.
    • Fertilizer & herbicides 5 x per year, Total = $68.75
    • Seed (for over seeding 2x per year), Total = $25
    • Non-selective Herbicide 5 x per year, Total = $15.85 (for along curb and crack in sidewalk and parking area)
    • BOD votes to approve a budget of $300, all in favor

• No Special Committees for this meeting.

• Previous status
  • Found the original letter, must wait to re-apply next year with better evidence.
  • Tom G. will contact our lawyer and try again.
• Update
  • Tim to get law students from Marquette to help Pro-bono

• Previous status
  • Budgeted $250 for new cameras (Alley x2, Metal Shop, Finishing Area)
• Update
  • Adrian ordered the cameras

• Previous Status
  • 3D printers moved
  • Racking is partially set up in vault hallway, David D. and Joe B. will take on completion of the project. Kathy H. wants it completed by the end of SID March 24, 2018.
• Update
  • Racking is complete, GD storage needs to be moved
  • Kathy will propose an area with tables for gaming and display area for Bay View Gallery Night (if we take part)
  • SID will have an item to improve lighting in hallway
  • Tom is looking into getting a 2nd heater or furnace booster
  • Members should rub popsicle sticks really fast to stay warm

• Previous Status
  • Focus on CPR and first aid training
  • Members may be interested in bringing up the AED issue again
• Update
  • Pete will research AED purchase options

• Previous Status
  • Empowering area champions
  • Newsletter was sent
  • No making on SID between noon and 5pm
• Update
  • Another newsletter will be sent

• Last Status
  • Board discussed member behavior accountability.
  • Reinforce to members about unauthorized activities at the space.
  • BOD has been trying to remind members about rules, etc.
  • Keep reminding Champions they should not sign tickets for other Areas (only for their own)
  • Still need to update the new ticket/permit PDFs and delete the old ticket/permit PDFs
• Update
  • Kathy needs help converting documents into PDF
  • Pete will update wiki documents

• Last Status
  • See survey for responses
  • Having the truck one day earlier would be nice
  • Propose to send an email to members about the yearly Maker Faire Milwaukee funding commitment
  • We should announce and then wait one week to allow members to respond
• Update
  • New survey sent, will check in a week

• Last Status
  • Board will investigate how to add custom fields into Wild Apricot
  • https://help.wildapricot.com/display/DOC/Customizing+database+fields
  • Dan added new fields
• Update
  • Pete will mention it in the newsletter
  • Done, remove the topic

• Last Status
  • Need to promote members who have had a positive impact on the makerspace
  • Certain member(s) are using it as personal storage and are lapsed
  • Empower facilities director to enforce current storage rules
  • Update the emails for lapsed accounts to include warning about losing storage
  • Kathy H is proposing that vaults have an acceptance criterion and members must submit an application
  • No update or decision, will discuss when Kathy is available
• Update
  • Pete will edit the new member video
  • Marcin will draft a proposal for acceptance criterion

• Last Status
  • Kathy Cannistra sent an email on February 15th proposing that we start considering how the paint room could be expanded. Air quality in the east room can be compromised when big items or large quantities of items can't fit in the paint room. This was extremely noticeable the month before Christmas when a lot stuff was being made and coated with solvent-based products. I propose we start considering how the paint room could be expanded in the near future for both easier painting and fiberglass work.
  • Brant's email: https://groups.google.com/d/topic/membersonly-milwaukeemakerspace/yNIaiytG-40/discussion
  • Steve's proposal: https://groups.google.com/d/topic/membersonly-milwaukeemakerspace/rtSK7XT-PmY/discussion
  • BOD asked Steve for a proposal including a budget and endorsement from Brant area champion
• Update
  • Steve needs to talk to Brant about his proposal

• Last Status
  • BOD discussed a proposal form that members would fill out when making any requests for the BOD
  • BOD will move forward exploring use of the form
• Update
  • Mat will work with Kyle on moving the form to the MMS Google Drive

• Anodizing proposal
  • Kathy Cannistra sent an email on February 15th proposing to put the anodizing station in the vault hallways in the area where to grill currently is. Venting options would be out the door, through a new wall hole or tubed through to the paint room fan.
  • To be discussed at next BOD meeting (in May)

• Elections
  • How to handle special elections when BOD member leaves position for another?
  • How to handle a tie?
  • To be discussed at next BOD meeting (in May)

• Suggested Membership Changes
  • Dillan Laughlin https://groups.google.com/d/msg/bod-milwaukeemakerspace/Xzmmv6yVY9E/yBA-iESQAQAJ
  • BEGIN
  • I have a few suggestions regarding membership and dues payments that I think would help with the overall operation of the space, particularly as our membership grows. The main idea is to move towards auto-renew/auto-pay memberships as the standard for all *new* members. The purpose of these suggestions is to reduce the amount of time that volunteers (e.g. Treasurer and Operations Director) need to spend each month following up on lapsed memberships, missed payments, and storage issues. These suggestions also help to align income and expense cash flows, making it easier for the board to make financial decisions based on stable cash flows.
  • My recommendations are:
    • 1. Unpublish existing monthly membership options that do not include auto-renewal/auto-payment. The pre-existing options will still exist in Wild Apricot admin portal, but they will no longer be a member-selectable option.
    • 2. Grandfather existing membership options. This will prevent existing members from complaining about changes impacting them.
    • 3. Members changing their membership type (individual ↔ family) or adding a paid storage space must be on an auto-renewal/auto-payment option.
    • 4. Monthly-billed members that lapse must shift to an auto-renewal/auto-payment membership when they rejoin, if Wild Apricot supports this workflow.
    • 5. Members can cancel their membership at any time, effective at the end of their current month. Any storage may be reclaimed and reassigned by the Operations Director at the beginning of the next month.
  • The Bay View Neighborhood Association uses Wild Apricot as well and I’m doing a similar transition to auto-renew/auto-pay membership accounts to make things a little easier to manage for our volunteer-run organization.
  • Alternatives might include:
    • Not grandfathering monthly-billed memberships. The vast majority of members would be switched to auto-renewal/auto-payment memberships.
    • Members that don’t want to use a auto-renewal/auto-payment membership could pre-pay their membership and storage dues on a yearly or quarterly basis. Payment could be due *X number of days before* the end of their current cycle. If a member lapses without a board-member approved waiver for extenuating circumstances, any storage may be reclaimed and reassigned by the Operations Director once their pre-paid term has ended.
  • Things to consider while thinking about theses suggestions:
    • On average, how much time is spent each month on resolving payment issues?
    • On average, how much time is spent each month on reconciling storage with current member status?
    • How frequently do we gain new members that lapse within their first year of membership? How often do they occupy storage space while lapsed?
    • What percentage of members are currently on an auto-renew/auto-pay membership vs. not?
    • Why do some current members not use auto-renew/auto-pay memberships?
  • Thank you for your consideration. I’d be happy to field any questions you might have.
  • END
  • To be discussed on May 16

• Wildapricot Signups
  • Signups take a long time
  • Marcin to research auto-provisioning for new membership

• Nothing

• Meeting was adjourned at 20:01