Quartz 5

2013-8-15

8 min read

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. Treasurer’s Report

    2. …

  2. Policies and Procedures:

    1. Check on progress of Space Projects

      1. Ed’s CNC Router

      2. Joe’s CNC Plasma Cutter (stalled?)

      3. Kevin’s HMMMMM

      4. Guy’s Electric Car/Saab

    2. Deal with lack of storage space issue

      1. Check for lockers and shelves claimed by former members and empty them out

      2. Get rid of the lathes! (Joe to buy?)

    3. Policy on kids/minors/infants

      1. Minors are not allowed in the woodshop, metal shop, and welding areas.

      2. Minors must be accompanied by an adult member.

      3. 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

    4. Rules-based vs. Values-based Community

    5. …

  3. New equipment/donations:

    1. Stuff from Bucketworks

    2. Dust Collection

      1. Reimbursement request

      2. Expansion, further development

    3. Re-organization of the Electronics Lab by Josh Zimmerman

      1. Budget/Funding request

    4. …

  4. Events:

    1. Meeting tentatively scheduled for Friday, 8/30 with Betty Brinn Children’s Museum

      1. Lots of topics

      2. Partnerships, cross promotion

      3. Corporate membership?

      4. Maker classes for kids (presented at 8/13 Tuesday Mtg)

      5. Maker Fest participation

      6. Long term ideas, strategic plans

    2. …

  5. Upcoming Board Elections

    1. Date?

    2. Nomination Procedures, etc.

  6. Any topics from members who are present

NOTES

  1. Policies and Procedures

    1. 7:07 PM (9 mins) - Check on progress of Space Projects

      1. Ed’s CNC Router

        1. Ed was present and said he is making progress

        2. Ed estimated around 1 month of work remains

        3. The group will consider moving it into the Wood Shop when it is done

        4. Group will review progress again next Board Meeting

      2. Joe’s CNC Plasma Cutter

        1. Joe was present and said he needs more space to work around it; too cramped in between other rental spaces

        2. No set deadline at the moment

        3. Group agreed it could be moved into the West Room along side Ed’s project

        4. Group will review progress again next Board Meeting

      3. Kevin’s HMMMMM

        1. Kevin updated the Board via email

        2. Hinge has been repaired and a new amplifier was acquired

        3. No set deadline at the moment

        4. Group will review progress again next Board Meeting

      4. Guy’s Electric Car/Saab

        1. Guy was present and said that he needs help finishing the project

        2. The group suggested he reach out to members on the forums and Electric Car Club message board

        3. The Board asked about possibly moving his car out into an alley parking spot, but the roof needs repair before that could happen

        4. That would also take up one parking spot

        5. Guy agreed to come up with a plan within one week of this meeting

        6. Group will review progress again next Board Meeting

    2. 7:16 PM (13 mins) - Deal with lack of storage space

      1. Check for lockers and shelves claimed by former members and empty them out

      2. Get rid of the lathes

        1. MattW notified everyone that MikeB will come pick them up soon

        2. If they are not out by the end of September 2013, we will remove them

    3. 7:29 PM (19 mins) - Policy on kids/minors/infants

      1. The last policy discussion ended with the following proposal:

        1. Minors are not allowed in the woodshop, metal shop, and welding areas.

        2. Minors must be accompanied by an adult member.

        3. 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

      2. MattW, AdamC and others expressed concern over having to censor themselves or babysit other peoples children; especially infants or young children

      3. The group debated various scenarios and policy suggestions

      4. It was noted that every member is responsible for knowing, abiding by, and enforcing Makerspace policies and rules

      5. Ultimately the concensus was for the following:

        1. Children younger than 10 years old are not allowed in the woodshop, metal shop, and welding areas.
        2. Children younger than 10 years old must be accompanied by an adult member.
        3. 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

    4. 7:48 PM (< 1 min.) - Rules-based vs. Values-based Community

      1. Not discussed at this time

  2. 7:48 PM (19 mins) - New equipment/donations:

    1. Tom Gondek may have a UV exposure lamp to bring in soon, will likely be used in screenprinting

    2. Stuff from Bucketworks acknowledged, shelves and chairs already in use

    3. Dust Collection

      1. JasonH indicated that the dust collector he has provided is on indefinite loan

      2. It is not intended to become Makerspace property

      3. Reimbursement request for $200 approved by Board Members present, Brant to provide receipts

      4. Expansion or additions will depend on the system’s performance in the next few weeks

    4. Re-organization of the Electronics Lab by Josh Zimmerman

      1. JoshZ sent the Board a proposal to clean up the Electronics Lab including new shelving and bins for the component racks

      2. Motivation for this project came from touring Detroit’s i3 Hackerspace and also to improve room aesthetics

      3. The Board and members who were present had mixed feelings on the topic

      4. Some people applauded the effort and the completeness of the proposal

      5. Others felt attention could be paid to other areas of the building first and that the current set up was adequate

      6. TomGz, MattW, and others indicated that we may be able to find members willing to donate shelving and bins rather than purchase new

      7. The Board did not deny nor grant any funding at this time, but will continue reviewing the proposal

  3. 8:07 PM (16 mins) - Events:

    1. Meeting with folks from Betty Brinn Children’s Museum

      1. It was noted that the tentative meeting set for 8/30 will be rescheduled

      2. Brant and JasonG spoke about the meetings and discussions we’ve had so far

      3. Topics so far:

        1. At least two of their staff are interested in becoming members

        2. Partnerships, cross promotion of both our groups

        3. Corporate membership

          1. Board to discuss what we are interested in asking for/giving

          2. Possibly reciprocal i.e. reduced/free admission for Makerspace members

          3. Rates and access to space yet to be determined by Board

        4. Maker classes for kids (presented at 8/13 Tuesday Mtg)

          1. BBCM asked for members willing to give classes at the museum

          2. Calendar and dates forthcoming

          3. Events would occur at the museum, not Makerspace

        5. Spring 2013 gallery exhibit being planned

          1. Several 4’x4’x3/4“ and 6’x4’x3/4” wall spaces to be decorated/exhibited

          2. Artwork/projects/etc. must fit behind plexiglas, 3/4“ clearance

        6. MakerFest participation

          1. MakerFest will be mentioned in an upcoming newsletter

          2. BBCM Spin Art booth planned

        7. Their Board/leaders are offering organizational mentorship, advice, help with strategic planning

          1. 5-year plans and missions/goals statements discussed briefly

          2. JasonG noted that this might be better to persue after Board elections

          3. Perhaps offer them an honorary Board position?

  4. 8:23 PM (1 min.) - Upcoming Board Elections

    1. Pete asked that we determine the date for Board Elections and announce it soon

    2. Nominations should begin by mid-September

  5. 8:24 PM (14 mins) Treasurer’s Report

    1. JasonG presented the latest finanical info to the group

    2. Our revenue per member has decreased steadily

    3. Our current membership count is 116

    4. The group has six months of expenses saved as of today

    5. It was noted that the checking account should never be allowed to fall below this balance

    6. 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

    7. It was agreed that DavidB can collect these monies and collections for projects and repairs by members, separate from Makerspace funds

    8. Supplies and donation boxes should be clearly labeled to ensure donors are not misled

  6. 8:38 PM (6 mins) - Topics from members who are present

    1. ChrisH proposed a Voice-Over-IP phone system for the building

      1. Features would include intercom, paging, and phone service if desired

      2. ChrisH agreed to put a proposal together with costs for equipment, cabling, network gear, and shipping of the phones from his reseller

      3. It is not clear if the reseller is interested in a tax receipt, but Chris will ask

    2. MattN spoke about the Rhino/Grasshopper software available via Robots in Architecture

      1. Online forums have led him to believe this membership and software may not have a great deal of support or training

      2. The membership is $480/year and he is hoping to collect donations from members

      3. He said he would like to convince their group to give us a free or reduced membership

      4. MattN said he would be a primary user/point of contact

  7. 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.

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