# Area515 Legal Documents These pages contain legal information such as our Articles of Incorporation, Code of Conduct, and Meeting Minutes. ## Mission Statement {% content-ref url="/pages/-Mj\_\_YqHcI-n0fDx0tnh" %} [Mission Statement](/mission-statement) {% endcontent-ref %} ## Legal Documents {% content-ref url="/pages/-Mj\_ZoVrYx4-C4WDXNxW" %} [Articles of Incorporation](/legal-documents/articles-of-incorporation) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Mj\_\_Dnmj3iDKz40pOSw" %} [Bylaws](/legal-documents/bylaws) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Mj\_\_3I1Uf2db-\_us1Ay" %} [Code of Conduct](/legal-documents/code-of-conduct) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/FsmhYbmcbY3CrYYZcYCo" %} [Investment Policy](/legal-documents/investment-policy) {% endcontent-ref %} ## Meeting Minutes {% content-ref url="/pages/-MlXBB07ONEfsxa19kZu" %} [Meeting Minutes](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes) {% endcontent-ref %} # Mission Statement Area515 - Des Moines Maker Space seeks to create and sustain an environment that promotes the creative use of technology for the benefit of art, science and culture. To this end the Corporation shall: 1. Establish and maintain a physical space within the Des Moines Metro Area that fosters creative technological exploration and invention. 2. Support a nurturing community of makers devoted to extending Des Moines Maker Space's purpose through education and collaboration. 3. Empower Des Moines Maker Space's members to create, experiment and invent interesting and novel ways of using technology. 4. Encourage and support the sharing of research, experiments and knowledge with our community and the world. 5. Actively engage with the community of Central Iowa on issues aligned with Des Moines Maker Space’s purpose. # Articles of Incorporation Pursuant to Iowa Code Section 504.202, the undersigned corporation adopts the following Articles of Incorporation: ## ARTICLE I - Name The corporation shall be known as Des Moines Maker Space ## ARTICLE II - Corporate Existence and Duration The date on which the corporate existence shall begin is the date that this document is filed at the office of the Iowa Secretary of State. This corporation shall have perpetual duration. ## ARTICLE III - Purpose The corporation is organized and shall be operated exclusively for charitable, educational, and scientific purposes, including, for such purposes, the making of distribution to organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or the corresponding provision of any future United States Internal Revenue Law). The corporation shall have unlimited power and authority to engage in any and all lawful activities that may be reasonably necessary or convenient for the accomplishment of any of its purposes, and to exercise all power and authority now or subsequently conferred upon nonprofit corporations under the laws of the State of Iowa. ## ARTICLE IV - Registered Office and Agent The address of the initial registered office of the corporation is 640 E Euclid Ave, Des Moines, IA 50313 and the name of its initial registered agent at such address is Barry Von Ahsen ## ARTICLE V - Board of Directors The business and affairs of the corporation shall be managed under the direction of its Board of Directors, and the number of Directors may be varied from time to time as set forth in the Bylaws. ## ARTICLE VI - Membership The corporation shall have members. Membership and voting rights shall be such as described in the Bylaws. ## ARTICLE VII - Bylaws The corporation shall adopt suitable Bylaws which shall contain any provisions for the regulation and management of the affairs of the corporation non inconsistent with the law. The power to alter, amend, repeal, or adopt new Bylaws is reserved to the members of the corporation. ## ARTICLE VIII - Dissolution In the event that a movement to dissolve the organization passes, assets may be liquidized to pay off any debt the organization may have accrued. Any remaining assets of the organization must be donated to an IRS 501(c)(3) compliant charitable, educational, or scientific endeavor as determined by the Board. ## ARTICLE IX - Liability Directors, officers, employees, and members of the corporation and their private properties shall not be liable in any manor for corporate debts, obligations, undertakings, or liabilities. No director, officer, employee or member shall be personally liable for any claims based upon an act or omission of such person, performed in the reasonable discharge of his lawful corporate duties. ## ARTICLE X - Restrictions on Earnings and Other Prohibited Activities No part of the earnings of the corporation shall inure to the benefit of, or be distributable to its members, directors, officers or other private persons, except that the corporation shall be authorized and empowered to pay reasonable compensation for services rendered and to make payments and distributions in furtherance of the purposes set forth in Article III hereof. No substantial part of the activities of the corporation shall be the carrying on of propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and the corporation shall not participate in, or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office. ## ARTICLE XI - Incorporator The name and address of the incorporator are: Barry Von Ahsen, 640 E Euclid Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50313 ## ARTICLE XII - Initial Directors The name and address of the initial directors are: Barry Von Ahsen, 640 E Euclid Ave, Des Moines, IA, 50313 FILED IOWA SECRETARY OF STATE DATED this 17 day of August 2011 Barry Von Ahsen # Bylaws ## Current Bylaws (7/12/2026) ## Article 1 - NAME AND PURPOSE ### Section 1 - Name The name of the organization shall be Des Moines Maker Space, henceforth referred to as DSM Makerspace. It shall be a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization incorporated under the laws of the state of Iowa with all regulations enumerated in Chapter 504 Revised Iowa Nonprofit Corporation Act not otherwise enumerated below. ### Section 2 - Purpose DSM Makerspace is organized for the purpose of providing a space in Des Moines for artistic, technical, and educational pursuits. The purpose of this corporation is: to provide a location and tools for people to pursue projects; to facilitate the productive exchange of ideas; and to engage in community outreach. ## Article 2 - MEMBERSHIP ### Section 1 - Types of membership There shall be three classes of membership; full member, supporting member, and corporate member. Only human persons may apply for or be considered a full member, supporting member. Only registered business entities, corporations, or not-for-profits recognized by the State of Iowa or the IRS may apply for or be considered a corporate member. ### Section 2 - Definition of full membership #### Sub-Section 1 - Eligibility All founders shall be considered immediately eligible for full membership. A founding member shall be defined as any person who attended a meeting and pays the full membership dues before the designated cut-off date. Once space has been secured, the board will declare a cut-off date or "Grand Opening". For a person to become a full member after the cut-off date, they a) must be a supporting member for at least six months and gain a full member to nominate them for full membership. Or b) may be a supporting member for less than 6 months, but must have three supporting members to nominate them for full membership. Once nominated, their membership will be put to a vote of the other full members, where a simple majority of full members at the next membership meeting is required to pass. #### Sub-Section 2 - Privileges Full members enjoy the following privileges: Twenty-four hour access to all areas of the space; Eligibility to vote; Eligibility to downgrade their membership at any time; and All privileges enjoyed by supporting members. A full member may downgrade their membership to supporting member or cancel their membership at any time, while retaining the right to become a full member again at any time without the six month wait or vote from the other full members. Full Members have the privilege to use the space for functions (parties, meetings, presentations, etc.), provided that: The full member planning the function is responsible for all clean-up and any damage that may occur. If damage is assessed, Membership privileges for the responsible full member can be suspended by a simple majority vote of the board until reparations determined by the board have been made. The full member cannot prohibit any other member from attending the function. Except where the event involves alcoholic beverages, therefore no members under 21 will be allowed to attend without a parent or guardian present. The full member notifies the board of his/her intentions and date of function at least 14 days in advance. Priority will be granted to community events followed by a first come/first serve basis. #### Sub-Section 3 - Responsibilities Full members must fulfill the following responsibilities: A full member must pay the monthly fee for full members as voted on by the full members; All responsibilities imposed on supporting members except the supporting member fee; and When a full member's eligibility expires he or she must forfeit their access to the space and all property of DSM Makerspace to a board member. ### Section 3 - Definition of supporting membership #### Sub-Section 1 - Eligibility Any person who wishes to become a supporting member may do so at any time by fulfilling the responsibilities outlined. #### Sub-Section 2 - Privileges Supporting members enjoy the following privileges: Twenty-four hour access to the public portion of the space; Use without supervision of tools and facilities for which the member has been trained or approved; and Use of all areas of the space when a full member is present. #### Sub-Section 3 - Responsibilities Supporting members must fulfill the following responsibilities: A supporting member must pay the monthly fee for supporting members as voted on by the full members; A supporting member must contribute to the community regularly; When a supporting member's eligibility has expired or they wish to resign, they must forfeit their access to the space and all property of DSM Makerspace to a board member. ### Section 4 - Definition of corporate membership #### Sub-Section 1 - Eligibility Any business, corporation, or non-for-profit entity recognized by either the State of Iowa or the IRS is eligible to become a corporate member. Individuals are not eligible for corporate membership. Corporate membership requires an annual commitment and is not available on a monthly basis. A formal contract will be drawn up between the space and the corporation outlining the arrangement between the corporation and DSM Makerspace #### Sub-Section 2 - Privileges Corporate members receive the following privileges: A fixed number of restricted supporting memberships, to be negotiated with the board and tied directly to the corporate member's monthly dues. Such supporting memberships shall be granted all privileges normally associatedwith a supporting membership. Notably, a supporting member is restricted from voting and from serving on the board. Individuals admitted under a corporate-sponsored supporting membership may, at the discretion and majority vote of the board, be banned from the premises. In this event, their membership will be transferred back to the sponsoring corporation. Eligibility to vote. Regardless of the number of sponsored supporting members, a corporate member will only be eligible for a single vote. This vote must be cast either by the representative of the corporation who signed the corporate membership agreement, or by a proxy representative recommended in writing by said representative of the corporation. #### Sub-Section 3 - Responsibilities A corporate member must fulfill the following responsibilities: A corporate member must pay an annual fee as negotiated by the board. All supporting memberships sponsored by the corporate membership must fulfill the responsibilities of a supporting member except for the supporting member fee. Distribution of access tokens to the building, collecting waivers and providing copies to the board will be maintained by the corporation, not DSM Makerspace ### Section 5 - Fees and other obligations Fees for full and supporting members shall be set by a vote of the full members at the yearly meeting by a simple majority. The full members may also choose to set a fixed monetary value for work performed for DSM Makerspace, and to define tasks and duties which qualify. Work performed under those headings can be used to offset member fees. Requests to offset member fees with work can be made in private to the board, with arrangements to be kept private. Even if a member performs enough work, they will never be reimbursed beyond the waiving of their membership fee. Fees and other obligations and responsibilities can be waived or reduced for a member by majority vote of the officers at the member's request, for a period of time to be determined by the board. Fees for corporate members will be based at or within a reasonable percentage of the full membership fee set by the members, and the number of restricted supporting memberships desired by the corporation. ### Section 6 - Resignation and termination Any member may resign their membership at any time by submitting a notice to the Secretary and fulfilling the responsibilities outlined in the definition of their membership level. A member may be terminated by a majority vote of the board of directors. If the member has paid dues in advance there will be no refunds and any extra dues will be handled as a donation to the space. ## Article 3 - MEETINGS ### Section 1 - Regular meetings A regular meeting shall be held in the first month of each quarter. The Secretary will approve and post an agenda for the meeting no less then twenty-four hours before the beginning of the meeting. Any issues which members wish to have discussed and voted upon at the meeting must be submitted in writing to the Secretary no less then forty-eight hours before the meeting. ### Section 2 - Annual meetings A meeting shall be held once a year during the month of October to elect officers, receive reports on the activities of DSM Makerspace over the past year, and vote on the direction of DSM Makerspace for the coming year. Reports will be given by the President and Treasurer regarding the state of the corporation. Any issues which members wish to have discussed and voted upon at the meeting must be submitted in writing to the Secretary no less then forty-eight hours before the meeting. ### Section 3 - Special meetings A petition presented to all voting members and approved by one half (1/2) of voting members may call a special meeting. Such a petition must include the date, time, place and agenda of the special meeting. Notification of the result of the petition shall be presented to all members prior to the meeting. ### Section 4 - Quorum At least half of full members present at a regular or annual meeting shall constitute a quorum. ### Section 5 - Voting All non-election issues to be voted on during a meeting shall be passed by a simple majority of members present who have voting rights on the given issue. If there is more than one option being considered for a given issue, then runoff votes will be held until a majority is reached. Any full member who is not considered delinquent in their responsibilities by the Treasurer or Secretary is eligible for voting. ### Section 6 - Proxy Voting Proxy voting is allowed by an e-mail to the official mailing list or a request in writing to allow another member voting ability. ### Section 7 - Notice Notice will be posted by the secretary on the official website and sent to the official mailing list. Notice and proposed agenda for any member meeting will be made available at least 14 calendar days before the meeting. ## Article 4 - BOARD OF DIRECTORS ### Section 1 - Role The role of the board shall be to oversee the day to day operation of DSM Makerspace, organize committees and directors, and run the annual and regular meetings of members. The board shall have the power to spend money in ways pre-approved in a budget approved by the full and supporting members. The board shall have the power to speak, and appoint a representative to speak, on behalf of the organization to all external bodies and persons. ### Section 2 - Terms Officers and directors shall serve in one year terms. ### Section 3 - Board size The size of the board shall consist of the defined officers, plus a number of directors defined by the members. Effort will be made to keep the size of the board an odd number to reduce the risk of tie votes. ### Section 4 - Meetings The board shall generally meet once a month, barring exceptional emergencies, at a time determined by the board. Board meetings shall be open to the public, but the board has the option to close portions of the meetings to discuss sensitive issues. ### Section 5 - Elections Nominations for officers and directors shall be open for no less than fourteen days prior to elections. Nominations can be made to any board member by any full or supporting member. Officers shall be elected or re-elected at the annual meeting by a simple majority of all current full members. Directors with specific responsibilities will be elected in the same way as officers. Director positions without specific responsibilities will be pooled and elected as a group. If a vote does not result in a simple majority for a single person the person with the least number of votes will be eliminated and a revote will immediately be called. ### Section 6 - Eligibility Any full member is eligible to serve on the board or in any officer position. ### Section 7 - Compensation No officer or director will be compensated for their service to DSM Makerspace, insurance may be provided to cover activity related to their duties to DSM Makerspace. ### Section 8 - Officers #### Sub-Section 1 - President The President shall convene and preside over meetings of the board, regular, and annual meetings. #### Sub-Section 2 - Vice President The Vice President shall be responsible for fulfilling the responsibilities of any vacant board position, as well as presiding over meetings when the President is unable. #### Sub-Section 3 - Secretary The Secretary shall keep public records of meetings and actions taken by the board and voting members and assure that required corporate records are maintained. #### Sub-Section 4 - Treasurer The treasurer shall be responsible for collecting membership fees, keeping a public record of the organization's finances, and releasing funds when required for organization expenses. The treasurer shall publish policies regarding how money can be appropriated and the processes for doing so. The treasurer shall keep the financial information available to members with minimal notice; the only exception is that any member financial information remains anonymous. ### Section 9 - Directors There shall be as many directors as the members decide are necessary, the directors shall be tasked with specific areas of responsibility and will be given the authority to fulfill those responsibilities. To make the board an odd number there is the possibility for directors without specific responsibilities. ### Section 10 - Vacancies When a vacancy exists on the board mid-term, elections shall be held at the next regular meeting. ### Section 11 - Resignation and termination Any member of the board may resign at any time by submitting a resignation in writing to the Secretary, President, or Vice President. A member of the board may be terminated by a three-fourths vote of the board, or a two-thirds vote of the full members. ### Section 12 - Titles Any board member, officer or director has the right to change their title for the duration of their term. Once a new title has been adopted, it will be used to address that position for the duration of that term. ### Section 13 – Conflict of interests Any board member, officer or director that has a conflict of interest with a vote may voluntarily withdraw. ## Article 5 - BYLAWS ### Section 1 - Amendments These bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds majority at any regular or annual meeting. Amendments may only be proposed by full members and must be announced at least 10 business days before the meeting. ### Section 2 - Integrity Should any of the provisions of these Bylaws be held unenforceable or invalid for any reason, the remaining provisions of these Bylaws shall be unaffected by such a holding. ## Article 6 - COMMITTEES ### Section 1 - Committees The board of directors may, by a majority vote of its members, designate a committee consisting of at least one board member as a sitting chairperson, and may delegate to such committee the powers and authority of the board in the management of the business and affairs of the corporation, to the extent permitted, and, except as may otherwise be provided, by provisions of law. By a majority vote of its members, the board may at any time revoke or modify any or all of the committee authority so delegated, increase or decrease but not below two (2) the number of the members of the committee, and fill vacancies on the committee from the members. ### Section 2 - Meetings and Action of Committees Meetings and action of committees shall be governed by, noticed, held, and taken in accordance with the provisions of these bylaws concerning meetings of the board of directors, with such changes in the context of such bylaw provisions as are necessary to substitute the committee and its members for the board of directors and its members, except that the time for regular and special meetings of committees may be fixed by resolution of the board of directors or by the committee. The board of directors may also adopt rules and regulations pertaining to the conduct of meetings of committees to the extent that such rules and regulations are not inconsistent with the provisions of these bylaws. The committee shall keep regular minutes of its proceedings, cause them to be filed with the corporate records, and report the same to the board from time to time as the board may require. *** ## Original Bylaws
Article 1 - NAME AND PURPOSE ### Section 1 - Name The name of the organization shall be Des Moines Maker Space, henceforth referred to as DSM Makerspace. It shall be a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization incorporated under the laws of the state of Iowa with all regulations enumerated in Chapter 504 Revised Iowa Nonprofit Corporation Act not otherwise enumerated below. ### Section 2 - Purpose DSM Makerspace is organized for the purpose of providing a space in Des Moines for artistic, technical, and educational pursuits. The purpose of this corporation is: * to provide a location and tools for people to pursue projects; * to facilitate the productive exchange of ideas; and * to engage in community outreach.
Article 2 - MEMBERSHIP ### Section 1 - Types of membership There shall be three classes of membership; full member, supporting member, and corporate member. Only human persons may apply for or be considered a full member, supporting member. Only registered business entities, corporations, or not-for-profits recognized by the State of Iowa or the IRS may apply for or be considered a corporate member. ### Section 2 - Definition of full membership #### Sub-Section 1 - Eligibility All founders shall be considered immediately eligible for full membership. A founding member shall be defined as any person who attended a meeting and pays the full membership dues before the designated cut-off date. Once space has been secured, the board will declare a cut-off date or "Grand Opening". For a person to become a full member after the cut-off date, they a) must be a supporting member for at least six months and gain a full member to nominate them for full membership. Or b) may be a supporting member for less than 6 months, but must have three supporting members to nominate them for full membership. Once nominated, their membership will be put to a vote of the other full members, where a simple majority of full members at the next membership meeting is required to pass. #### Sub-Section 2 - Privileges Full members enjoy the following privileges: * Twenty-four hour access to all areas of the space; * Eligibility to vote; * Eligibility to downgrade their membership at any time; and * All privileges enjoyed by supporting members. * A full member may downgrade their membership to supporting member or cancel their membership at any time, while retaining the right to become a full member again at any time without the six month wait or vote from the other full members. * Full Members have the privilege to use the space for functions (parties, meetings, presentations, etc.), provided that: * The full member planning the function is responsible for all clean-up and any damage that may occur. If damage is assessed, Membership privileges for the responsible full member can be suspended by a simple majority vote of the board until reparations determined by the board have been made. * The full member cannot prohibit any other member from attending the function. Except where the event involves alcoholic beverages, therefore no members under 21 will be allowed to attend without a parent or guardian present. * The full member notifies the board of his/her intentions and date of function at least 14 days in advance. * Priority will be granted to community events followed by a first come/first serve basis. #### Sub-Section 3 - Responsibilities Full members must fulfill the following responsibilities: * A full member must pay the monthly fee for full members as voted on by the full members; * All responsibilities imposed on supporting members except the supporting member fee; and * When a full member's eligibility expires he or she must forfeit their access to the space and all property of DSM Makerspace to the Security Chief a board member. ### Section 3 - Definition of supporting membership #### Sub-Section 1 - Eligibility Any community member person who wishes to become a supporting member may do so at any time by fulfilling the responsibilities outlined. #### Sub-Section 2 - Privileges Supporting members enjoy the following privileges: * Twenty-four hour access to the public portion of the space; * Use without supervision of tools and facilities for which the member has been trained or approved; and * Use of all areas of the space when a full member is present. #### Sub-Section 3 - Responsibilities Supporting members must fulfill the following responsibilities: * A supporting member must pay the monthly fee for supporting members as voted on by the full members; * A supporting member must contribute to the community regularly; * When a supporting member's eligibility has expired or they wish to resign, they must forfeit their access to the space and all property of DSM Makerspace to the Security Chief a board member. A community member is any person who expresses to the Secretary in writing their wish to become a member. ### Section 4 - Definition of corporate membership #### Sub-Section 1 - Eligibility Any business, corporation, or non-for-profit entity recognized by either the State of Iowa or the IRS is eligible to become a corporate member. Individuals are not eligible for corporate membership. Corporate membership requires an annual commitment and is not available on a monthly basis. A formal contract will be drawn up between the space and the corporation outlining the arrangement between the corporation and DSM Makerspace #### Sub-Section 2 - Privileges Corporate members receive the following privileges: * A fixed number of restricted supporting memberships, to be negotiated with the board and tied directly to the corporate member's monthly dues. * Such supporting memberships shall be granted all privileges normally associatedwith a supporting membership. Notably, a supporting member is restricted from voting and from serving on the board. * Individuals admitted under a corporate-sponsored supporting membership may, at the discretion and majority vote of the board, be banned from the premises. In this event, their membership will be transferred back to the sponsoring corporation. * Eligibility to vote. Regardless of the number of sponsored supporting members, a corporate member will only be eligible for a single vote. This vote must be cast either by the representative of the corporation who signed the corporate membership agreement, or by a proxy representative recommended in writing by said representative of the corporation. #### Sub-Section 3 - Responsibilities A corporate member must fulfill the following responsibilities: * A corporate member must pay an annual fee as negotiated by the board. * All supporting memberships sponsored by the corporate membership must fulfill the responsibilities of a supporting member except for the supporting member fee. * Distribution of access tokens to the building, collecting waivers and providing copies to the board will be maintained by the corporation, not DSM Makerspace ### Section 5 - Fees and other obligations Fees for full and supporting members shall be set by a vote of the full members at the yearly meeting by a simple majority. The full members may also choose to set a fixed monetary value for work performed for DSM Makerspace, and to define tasks and duties which qualify. Work performed under those headings can be used to offset member fees. Requests to offset member fees with work can be made in private to the board, with arrangements to be kept private. Even if a member performs enough work, they will never be reimbursed beyond the waiving of their membership fee. Fees and other obligations and responsibilities can be waived or reduced for a member by majority vote of the officers at the member's request, for a period of time to be determined by the board. Fees for corporate members will be based at or within a reasonable percentage of the full membership fee set by the members, and the number of restricted supporting memberships desired by the corporation. ### Section 6 - Resignation and termination Any member may resign their membership at any time by submitting a notice to the Secretary and fulfilling the responsibilities outlined in the definition of their membership level. A member may be terminated by a majority vote of the board of directors. If the member has paid dues in advance there will be no refunds and any extra dues will be handled as a donation to the space.
Article 3 - MEETINGS ### Section 1 - Regular meetings A regular meeting shall be held in the first month of each quarter. The Secretary will approve and post an agenda for the meeting no less then twenty-four hours before the beginning of the meeting. Any issues which members wish to have discussed and voted upon at the meeting must be submitted in writing to the Secretary no less then forty-eight hours before the meeting. ### Section 2 - Annual meetings A meeting shall be held once a year during the month of September October to elect officers, receive reports on the activities of DSM Makerspace over the past year, and vote on the direction of DSM Makerspace for the coming year. Reports will be given by the President and Treasurer regarding the state of the corporation. Any issues which members wish to have discussed and voted upon at the meeting must be submitted in writing to the Secretary no less then forty-eight hours before the meeting. ### Section 3 - Special meetings A petition presented to all voting members and approved by one half (1/2) of voting members may call a special meeting. Such a petition must include the date, time, place and agenda of the special meeting. Notification of the result of the petition shall be presented to all members prior to the meeting. ### Section 4 - Quorum At least half of full members present at a regular or annual meeting shall constitute a quorum. ### Section 5 - Voting All non-election issues to be voted on during a meeting shall be passed by a simple majority of members present who have voting rights on the given issue. If there is more than one option being considered for a given issue, then runoff votes will be held until a majority is reached. Any full member who is not considered delinquent in their responsibilities by the Treasurer or Secretary is eligible for voting. ### Section 6 - Proxy Voting Proxy voting is allowed by an e-mail to the official mailing list or a request in writing to allow another member voting ability. ### Section 7 - Notice Notice will be posted by the secretary on the official website and sent to the official mailing list. Notice and proposed agenda for any member meeting will be made available at least 14 calendar days before the meeting.
Article 4 - BOARD OF DIRECTORS ### Section 1 - Role The role of the board shall be to oversee the day to day operation of DSM Makerspace, organize committees and directors, and run the annual and regular meetings of members. The board shall have the power to spend money in ways pre-approved in a budget approved by the full and supporting members. The board shall have the power to speak, and appoint a representative to speak, on behalf of the organization to all external bodies and persons. ### Section 2 - Terms Officers and directors shall serve in one year terms. ### Section 3 - Board size The size of the board shall consist of the defined officers, plus a number of directors defined by the members. Effort will be made to keep the size of the board an odd number to reduce the risk of tie votes. ### Section 4 - Meetings The board shall meet once a month generally meet once a month, barring exceptional emergencies, at a time determined by the board. Board meetings shall be closed to the public, but the board has the option to invite participants as needed. Board meetings shall be open to the public, but the board has the option to close portions of the meetings to discuss sensitive issues. ### Section 5 - Elections Nominations for officers and directors shall be open for no less than fourteen days prior to elections. Nominations can be made to any board member by any full or supporting member. Officers shall be elected or re-elected at the annual meeting by a simple majority of all current full members. Directors with specific responsibilities will be elected in the same way as officers. Director positions without specific responsibilities will be pooled and elected as a group. If a vote does not result in a simple majority for a single person the person with the least number of votes will be eliminated and a revote will immediately be called. ### Section 6 - Eligibility Any full member is eligible to serve on the board or in any officer position. ### Section 7 - Compensation No officer or director will be compensated for their service to DSM Makerspace, insurance may be provided to cover activity related to their duties to DSM Makerspace. ### Section 8 - Officers #### Sub-Section 1 - President The President shall convene and preside over meetings of the board, regular, and annual meetings. #### Sub-Section 2 - Vice President The Vice President shall be responsible for fulfilling the responsibilities of any vacant board position, as well as presiding over meetings when the President is unable. #### Sub-Section 3 - Secretary The Secretary shall keep public records of meetings and actions taken by the board and voting members and assure that required corporate records are maintained. #### Sub-Section 4 - Treasurer The treasurer shall be responsible for collecting membership fees, keeping a public record of the organization's finances, and releasing funds when required for organization expenses. The treasurer shall publish policies regarding how money can be appropriated and the processes for doing so. The treasurer shall keep the financial information available to members with minimal notice; the only exception is that any member financial information remains anonymous. #### Sub-Section 5 – Security Chief The Security Chief shall be responsible for providing and recalling access to the spaces when required, as well as the general security of DSM Makerspace property. #### Sub-Section 6 – Facilities Architect The facilities architect shall be responsible for planning new construction, organizing/streamlining existing spaces, and making and maintaining relations with landlords. ### Section 9 - Directors There shall be as many directors as the members decide are necessary, the directors shall be tasked with specific areas of responsibility and will be given the authority to fulfill those responsibilities. To make the board an odd number there is the possibility for directors without specific responsibilities. ### Section 10 - Vacancies When a vacancy exists on the board mid-term, elections shall be held at the next regular meeting. ### Section 11 - Resignation and termination Any member of the board may resign at any time by submitting a resignation in writing to the Secretary, President, or Vice President. A member of the board may be terminated by a three-fourths vote of the board, or a two-thirds vote of the full members. ### Section 12 - Titles Any board member, officer or director has the right to change their title for the duration of their term. Once a new title has been adopted, it will be used to address that position for the duration of that term. ### Section 13 – Conflict of interests Any board member, officer or director that has a conflict of interest with a vote may voluntarily withdraw.
Article 5 - BYLAWS ### Section 1 - Amendments These bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds majority at any regular or annual meeting. Amendments may only be proposed by full members and must be announced at least 10 business days before the meeting. ### Section 2 - Integrity Should any of the provisions of these Bylaws be held unenforceable or invalid for any reason, the remaining provisions of these Bylaws shall be unaffected by such a holding.
## Amendment I - COMMITTEES
The following entries have been added as Article 6 - COMMITTEES. ### Section 1 - Committees The board of directors may, by a majority vote of its members, designate a committee consisting of at least one board member as a sitting chairperson, and may delegate to such committee the powers and authority of the board in the management of the business and affairs of the corporation, to the extent permitted, and, except as may otherwise be provided, by provisions of law. By a majority vote of its members, the board may at any time revoke or modify any or all of the committee authority so delegated, increase or decrease but not below two (2) the number of the members of the committee, and fill vacancies on the committee from the members. ### Section 2 - Meetings and Action of Committees Meetings and action of committees shall be governed by, noticed, held, and taken in accordance with the provisions of these bylaws concerning meetings of the board of directors, with such changes in the context of such bylaw provisions as are necessary to substitute the committee and its members for the board of directors and its members, except that the time for regular and special meetings of committees may be fixed by resolution of the board of directors or by the committee. The board of directors may also adopt rules and regulations pertaining to the conduct of meetings of committees to the extent that such rules and regulations are not inconsistent with the provisions of these bylaws. The committee shall keep regular minutes of its proceedings, cause them to be filed with the corporate records, and report the same to the board from time to time as the board may require.
## Amendment II
The following paragraphs have been eliminated. ### Article 2 A community member is any person who expresses to the Secretary in writing their wish to become a member. ### Article 4 Section 8 #### Sub-Section 5 – Security Chief The Security Chief shall be responsible for providing and recalling access to the spaces when required, as well as the general security of DSM Makerspace property. #### Sub-Section 6 – Facilities Architect The facilities architect shall be responsible for planning new construction, organizing/streamlining existing spaces, and making and maintaining relations with landlords.
## Amendment III
The following entries have been modified. ### Article 2 Section 3 Subsection 1 – Eligibility Changed the words "Any community member" to "any person". ### Article 2 Section 2 Subsection 3 – Responsibilities Changed the words "to the Security Chief" to "to a board member". ### Article 2 Section 3 Subsection 3 – Responsibilities Changed the words "to the Security Chief" to "to a board member". ### Article 4 Section 4 – Meetings Changed the words "shall meet once a month" to "shall generally meet once a month, barring exceptional emergencies". ### Article 3 Section 2 - Annual meetings Changed "September" to "October". ### Article 4 Section 4 – Meetings Changed the words "Board meetings shall be closed to the public, but the board has the option to invite participants as needed." to "Board meetings shall be open to the public, but the board has the option to close portions of the meetings to discuss sensitive issues."
# Code of Conduct 1. All guests and members must follow the Code of Conduct on the premises, online, and at Des Moines Maker Space events. 2. Treat everyone and everything with respect. This includes following the anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies. 3. All equipment and tools carry some inherent amount of risk, and members are expected to be trained and take every care to use them safely.A. You must complete the training from a Tool Steward or Trainer for any tool marked with the Training Required Logo before use.B. Never leave a tool running unattended, unless explicitly stated it’s okay to do so by the Tool Steward or Trainer.C. You must do your best to minimize the risk to yourself and others when using tools and equipment. Inappropriate use of equipment is unacceptable.D. Never attempt to bypass, disable, or subvert any safety interlocks or lock outs.E. A Tool Steward or Trainer can revoke your right to use the equipment if they determine you are using it in an inappropriate or unsafe manner.F. You can reach the tool stewards at 4. No alterations, repairs, or removal of any tool, equipment, or parts may be made without the knowledge and express permission by a Tool Steward. 5. No alterations, repairs, or removal of any part of the building structure or utilities may be made by any member without the knowledge and express permission of the board. 6. Tools and equipment are expected to stay on the premises so that other members may use them. Removing tools/resources from the space, even temporarily, without express permission from the Board of Directors is theft. 7. You are expected to clean up after yourself and put away all tools and equipment. Members who habitually fail to do this will be considered in violation of the Code of Conduct. 8. It is the responsibility of each member to help enforce the Code of Conduct. If someone is violating the Code of Conduct politely explain to them why their behavior is not acceptable. Egregious violations should be reported to a Board Member. You can make a report to a Board Member at any time in person at the space or through any means of contact they have actively made available to Members. You can reach the entire board by emailing or attending a board meeting.A. When taking a personal report, the Board of Directors will make sure you are safe and cannot be overheard. Once safe, we'll ask you to tell us about what happened. This can be upsetting, but we'll handle it as respectfully as possible, and you can bring someone to support you. You won't be asked to confront anyone and we won't tell anyone who you are.B. In some cases, you may not be informed of the final resolution of the investigation into a complaint. 9. A Des Moines Maker Space Board Member may enact an immediate temporary suspension of a Member from the premises, online systems, or sponsored events if the member presents a threat to health or safety, engages in illegal or threatening behavior, disturbs the peace, is forcibly removed from the premises by law enforcement, or other behavior that violates any part of this code of conduct or presents a risk to the organization or other Members. The duration temporary suspension will last until the sooner of * the next scheduled Board Meeting, or * a special Board meeting addressing the incident where a majority of Board Members are able to be in attendance in person or via voice communication. A. The suspended Member and the Board of Directors must be informed in writing as soon as possible.B. The suspended Member may be allowed to remove their property from the Maker Space under the supervision of two Members, including at least one Board Member, but may not use any tools or equipment while their suspension is being reviewed.C. Upon reviewing reasonably complete details of the incident and believing a temporary suspension to be in error, the Board of Directors may opt to rescind the temporary suspension by resolution.D. Reported violations of the Code of Conduct will be reviewed by the Board of Directors. After reviewing reasonably complete details of the incident, the board may respond via resolution. Possible Board resolutions include, but are not limited to * Written warning * Suspension * Expulsion ## Guests 1. Members are responsible for their Guests, including their actions and their safety. 2. Guests are encouraged to become Members. 3. Guests are not allowed to use tools and equipment, except as part of a scheduled class/workshop. ## Non-Discrimination Policy Des Moines Maker Space does not promote or discriminate against any person, population group, or organization with regard to categories protected by applicable United States law. These include, but are not limited to race, color, religion, sex, gender expression, physical appearance, language, education background, national origin, age, disability, and veteran status. ## Anti-Harassment Policy Harassment is prohibited and will not be tolerated. Any person who feels they have been the victim of harassment should ask the harasser to cease the behavior, if they feel safe doing so. Members or guests asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. Harassment includes, but is not limited to, the following 1. Offensive comments related to race, religion, gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, or physical appearance. 2. Gratuitous sexual or obscene images or behavior. 3. Unwelcome physical contact or sexual attention without consent or after a request to stop. 4. Threats or incitement of violence towards any individual, including encouraging a person to engage in self-harm. 5. Deliberate intimidation by words, gestures, body language, or menacing behavior. 6. Stalking. 7. Harassing photography or recording, including logging online activity for harassment purposes. 8. Continued one-on-one contact or communication after requests to cease. 9. Deliberate "outing" of a sensitive aspect of a person’s identity without their consent. 10. Deliberate misgendering. This includes deadnaming or persistently using a pronoun that does not correctly reflect a person's gender identity. 11. We are all here to make things and learn. Collaboration is important. 12. When you break something, own up to it. Tell the Tool Stewards as soon as possible so they can get it fixed and back in service. Don't make someone feel bad for breaking things, help them understand what went wrong. 13. Mark any tool you know or even suspect is not operating correctly “Out of Order” and report to Tool Stewards immediately. Do not hesitate on this. You will not be punished for marking a tool out of order in good faith. We’d rather come in to find a tool you thought was broken isn’t than not know about one that is broken and have someone get hurt. 14. Clean, Maintain, Organize, Improve. Always leave the space as clean as or better than you found it. 15. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Answer them kindly; eventually you'll have to ask for help too. 16. Don’t be afraid to ask people to stop what they’re doing if you think it is unsafe and encourage them to find a better way or ask a Tool Steward for help. If someone asks you to stop what you are doing, assume it is primarily because they care about your safety. Safety first, safety always. Take care of each other. 17. Keep your personal possessions in your designated storage area. 18. If your project must be left out of your storage area while in-progress, mark it with your name, a way to contact you, and if/when it can be moved. Be prepared to store it or take it home if you can’t work on it for a while. 19. Let the appropriate Tool Steward know if we are out of or running low on a consumable. 20. Replace any consumables you use a lot of or donate money to cover the cost of replacing it. 21. Please report any missing or lost personal property immediately. # Investment Policy Investment Policy adopted by the Board of Directors on August 3, 2022. **DES MOINES MAKER SPACE** Investment Policy Date of Board Resolution: August 3, 2022 ## Purpose This policy establishes investment objectives, policies, guidelines and eligible securities related to all assets held by DES MOINES MAKER SPACE, primarily for investment purposes (‘organizational funds”). In doing so the policy: • clarifies the delegation of duties and responsibilities concerning the management of organizational funds. • identifies the criteria against which the investment performance of the organization’s investments will be measured. • communicates the objectives to the Board, staff, investment managers, brokers, donors and funding sources that may have involvement. • confirms policies and procedures relative to the expenditure of organizational funds. • serves as a review document to guide the ongoing oversight of the management of the organizations’ investments. ## Delegation of Responsibilities The Board of Directors has a direct oversight role regarding all decisions that impact DES MOINES MAKER SPACE’s organizational funds. The Board has delegated supervisory responsibility for the management of our organizational funds to the Investment Committee. Specific responsibilities of the various bodies and individuals responsible for the management of our organizational funds are set forth below: ### Responsibilities of the Board The Board shall ensure that its fiduciary responsibilities concerning the proper management of DES MOINES MAKER SPACE’s organizational funds are fulfilled through appropriate investment structure, internal and external management, and portfolio performance consistent with all policies and procedures. Based on the advice and recommendations of the Investment Committee, the Board shall: • select, appoint and remove members of the Committee. • approve investment policies and objectives that reflect the long-term investment-risk orientation of the endowment. ### Responsibilities of the Investment Committee Members of the Investment Committee are not held accountable for less than desirable outcomes, rather for adherence to procedural prudence, or the process by which decisions are made in respect to assets. In consideration of the foregoing, the Committee is responsible for the development, recommendation, implementation and maintenance of all policies relative to DES MOINES MAKER SPACE’s organizational funds an shall: • develop and/or propose policy recommendations to the Board with regard to the management of all organizational funds. • recommend long-term and short-term investment policies and objectives for our organizational funds, including the study and selection of asset classes, determining asset allocation ranges, and setting performance objectives. • determine that organizational funds are prudently and effectively managed with the assistance of management and any necessary investment consultants and/or other outside professionals, if any. • monitor and evaluate the performance of all those responsible for the management of organizational funds. • recommend the retention and/or dismissal of investment consultants and/or other outside professionals. • receive and review reports from management, investment consultants and/or other outside professionals, if any. • periodically meet with management, investment consultants and/or other outside professionals management, investment consultants and/or other outside professionals. • convene regularly to evaluate whether this policy, investment activities, risk management controls and processes continue to be consistent with meeting the goals and objectives set for the management of organizational funds. ### Responsibilities of Management Management shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration and implementation of policies established by the Board and/or the Investment Committee concerning the management of organizational funds. Management shall also be the primary liaison between any investment consultants and/or other outside professionals that may be retained to assist in the management of such funds. Specifically, management shall: • oversee the day-to-day operational investment activities of all organizational funds subject to policies established by the Board and/or the Investment Committee. • contract with any necessary outside service providers, such as: investment consultants, investment managers, banks, and/or trust companies and/or any other necessary outside professionals. • ensure that the service providers adhere to the terms and conditions of their contracts; have no material conflicts of interests with the interests of DES MOINES MAKER SPACE; and, performance monitoring systems are sufficient to provide the Investment Committee with timely, accurate and useful information. • regularly meet with any outside service providers to evaluate and assess compliance with investment guidelines, performance, outlook and investment strategies; monitor asset allocation and rebalance assets, as directed by the Investment Committee and in accordance with approved asset allocation policies, among asset classes and investment styles; and, tend to all other matters deemed to be consistent with due diligence with respect to prudent management of organizational funds. • comply with official accounting and auditing guidelines regarding due diligence and ongoing monitoring of investments, especially alternative investments. Prepare and issue periodic status reports to the Board and the Investment Committee. ## Investment Considerations In accordance with DES MOINES MAKER SPACE’s understanding of the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA), the Investment Committee must consider the purposes of both DES MOINES MAKER SPACE and our assets in managing and investing organizational funds. All individuals responsible for managing and investing DES MOINES MAKER SPACE’s organizational funds must do so in good faith and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances. In making any decision relative to the expenditure of organizational funds, each of the following factors must be considered, and properly documented, in the minutes or other records of the applicable decision-making body: 1. general economic conditions; 2. possible effect of inflation or deflation; 3. expected tax consequences, if any, of investment decisions or strategies; 4. the role that each investment or course of action plays within the overall investment portfolio of the fund; 5. expected total return from the income and appreciation of investments; 6. other resources of the organization; 7. the needs of the organization and the fund to make distributions and preserve capital; and, 8. an asset’s special relationship or special value, if any, to the organization’s purposes. ## Guidelines for Investing The investment goal of the total return fund is to achieve a total return (income and appreciation) of 5% after inflation, over a full market cycle (3-5 years). The following guidelines apply to the three main investment asset classes: ### Money Market Funds: **Allowable range: Minimum 0%; Maximum 50% of total assets** A quality money market fund will be utilized for the liquidity needs of the portfolio whose objective is to seek as high a current income as is consistent with liquidity and stability of principal. The fund will invest in “money market” instruments with remaining maturities of one year or less, that have been rated by at least one nationally recognized rating agency in the highest category for short-term debt securities. If non-rated, the securities must be of comparable quality. ### Fixed Income: **Allowable Range- Minimum 0%; Maximum 50% of total assets** Bond investments will consist solely of taxable, fixed income securities that have an investment- grade rating (BBB or higher by Standard & Poor’s and Baa or higher by Moody’s) that possess a liquid secondary market. If the average credit quality rating disagrees among the two rating agencies, then use the lower of the two as a guideline. The maximum maturity of the fixed income portfolio will be 30 years. Prohibited securities include: private placements, derivatives (other than floating-rate coupon bonds), margined transactions and foreign denominated bonds. ## Performance Measurements Standards The benchmarks to be used in evaluating the performance of the main asset class will be: • Fixed Income: Lehman Brothers Government/Corporate Index- Goal: exceed the average annual return of the index over a full market cycle (3-5 years). It will be the responsibility of the Investment Committee of the Board of Directors to regularly review the performance of the investment account and investment policy guidelines, and report to the Board of Directors at least quarterly with updates and recommendations as needed. ## Expenditure Considerations The Board of Directors and the Investment Committee are responsible for the establishment of a balanced reserve fund spending policy to: a) ensure that over the medium-to-long term, sufficient investment return shall be retained to preserve and grow its economic value as a first priority; and, b) to provide funds for the annual operating budget in an amount which is not subject to large fluctuations from year-to-year to the extent possible. ### Expenditure of Organizational Funds All decisions relative to the expenditure of organizational funds must assess the uses, benefits, purposes and duration for which the institutional fund was established, and, if relevant, consider the factors: 1. the duration and preservation of the organizational fund; 2. purposes of DES MOINES MAKER SPACE and the fund; 3. general economic conditions; 4. possible effect of inflation or deflation; 5. expected total return from income and appreciation of investments; 6. other organizational resources; 7. all applicable investment policies; and 8. where appropriate, alternatives to spending from the organizational fund and the possible effects of those alternatives. For each decision to appropriate organizational funds for expenditure, an appropriate contemporaneous record should be kept and maintained describing the nature and extent of the consideration that the appropriate body gave to each of the stipulated factors. ## Donor Restrictions In all instances, donor intent shall be respected when decisions are rendered concerning the investment or expenditure of donor restricted funds. If a donor, in the gift instrument, has directed that appreciation not be spent, DES MOINES MAKER SPACE shall comply with that directive and consider it when making decisions regarding the management and investment of the fund. Any attempt to lift restrictions on any fund shall be conducted in full compliance with the law. # Meeting Minutes ## 2026 {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/l0kEUypzlseumDTgjM6O" %} [July 2026 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/july-2026-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/nabNuDqcfd5vApxdY4hJ" %} [July 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/july-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/2yhPcWpuX21PxshtCvo3" %} [June 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/june-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/vfkINOmXDYrCZJygeOsc" %} [May 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/may-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/m7vrWSIgYNDLvfTDRsXq" %} [April 2026 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/april-2026-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/gMwYuYVGsBypAtjcMUSm" %} [April 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/april-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/m80BNlG2Zf94SfKczrbA" %} [March 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/march-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/Eg22wOTXUW8PotFapdzO" %} [February 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/february-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/8Edq1PWvR4rhqNWC1N1x" %} [January 2026 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/january-2026-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/ROHty6N3AxN3AMdKrb3T" %} [January 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/january-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} ## 2025 {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/vINu81sqfz5Kta4lFU7v" %} [December 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/december-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/pffrYvQYgUANNhj0DprU" %} [November 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/november-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/6nO9VBPJMDgissygWM6f" %} [October 2025 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/october-2025-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/vZelLiT0nPafsxz8TGx9" %} [October 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/october-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/1Cz3LlCIEBu3Q7uRsUwx" %} [September 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/september-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/ewlO4xBQCwqxe0MCcCvz" %} [August 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/august-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/xSiaPr8T6y5Jr77Liqk5" %} [July 2025 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/july-2025-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/J2wtX82o6NrqPtU2WWbG" %} [July 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/july-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/AVSBKW0Z1tu7tVGNhLnx" %} [June 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/june-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/5cIzQqijHI8gb0iZTaOd" %} [May 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/may-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/sDPlT0f4WYo3Xai3wfxT" %} [April 2025 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/april-2025-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/AT0XixbADoNHUAiNjbxy" %} [April 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/april-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/5X7M2vs9fjpEB4IQwKKY" %} [March 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/march-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/DGYV1699PeTtbZEjC1hv" %} [February 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/february-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/wXkU2TKN9myKdXFVaIeC" %} [January 2025 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/january-2025-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/X6l4v6PAHw9QvVN1wx7z" %} [January 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/january-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} ## 2024 {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/pbRslm7p6bydeLW4nLWP" %} [December 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/december-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/VgqK0kAPh9fgmzBDu4Ui" %} [November 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/november-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/nqNwiLwoAD5CQQ0y3S1r" %} [October 2024 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/october-2024-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/ZaGE6rGjH9bM3WeUqLAa" %} [October 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/october-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/eAFZareR2WxjM4OXJjlH" %} [September 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/september-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/cosWn6a0dzyBVaf8JUqd" %} [August 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/august-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/oJrLLhlc5Dl0cISb1PWp" %} [July 2024 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/july-2024-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/6jXRjNOzCFurDTEtftxF" %} [July 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/july-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/ef5GdJbpYMQ6wGT3oeeF" %} [June 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/june-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/KgKE732f8k3m0fcHYFr2" %} [May 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/may-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/yqBOc0UjpLqQnEyuv0nN" %} [April 2024 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/april-2024-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/cxc3DDbf7Q9Trw6uyPLb" %} [April 2024 - Tool Stewards & Trainers Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/april-2024-tool-stewards-and-trainers-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/yWTJSAw6bXDhx0AXaqHe" %} [April 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/april-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/Jc4qxl5fPOm3IFJS59m4" %} [March - CEC Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/march-cec-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/6RBCUIf9P9OENWwuXbMK" %} [March 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/march-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/hwJQqprmnNo3kciVQTyS" %} [February 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/february-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/yfOg5kdZAYA6PMl7Fyox" %} [January 2024 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/january-2024-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/qlvqo2yhrhg5W67Wv3tE" %} [January 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/january-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} ## 2023 {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/NdvxzcD8sUwYW3BHRGxY" %} [December 2023 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/december-2023-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/WrKRqyFaYS1B1KbyOGmR" %} [November 2023 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/november-2023-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/4HJOf8AjlGAvFGMmHp3z" %} [October 2023 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/october-2023-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/9zOfNxEn5IehbNspqcDZ" %} [October 2023 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/october-2023-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/PLpKL1b8AyImShrGEGJF" %} [September 2023 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/september-2023-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/EUKxbglvOvEQYWDZo8KI" %} [August 2023 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/august-2023-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/3Qwwt5m0RBL9oxUnFSJq" %} [August 2023 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/august-2023-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/z3T3gwvGaMVIdRT9Tasy" %} [July 2023 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/july-2023-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/d9jzRFuv6YaSiNRICWVk" %} [June 2023 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/june-2023-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/3xESpjFY1hIhiuD0Bo0Q" %} [May 2023 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/may-2023-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/yH9XS9xCo8AkED3Vxmws" %} [April 2023 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/april-2023-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/G8PxjJ9NEGgcpwMfa9Re" %} [April 2023 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/april-2023-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/k0ZXXYuM0vQrdQNbIJUi" %} [March 2023 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/march-2023-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/pJu5Ac4LSDpgoOhiCbMQ" %} [February 2023 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/february-2023-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/bJzdvPCYd4Q1JyPvl2fp" %} [January 2023 - CEC Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/january-2023-cec-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/UTutaeuhP9xV9bCGfbxE" %} [January 2023 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2023/january-2023-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} ## 2022 {% content-ref url="/pages/xXXmc80kNse6sM1xZh7a" %} [December 2022 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/december-2022-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/7QwiLJuPbWhdWw4ccOs8" %} [November 2022 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/november-2022-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/YX48zFFgKzmoD13KVIRx" %} [October 2022 - CEC Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/october-2022-cec-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/kkrGIiqq894rrbyQRjPy" %} [October 2022 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/october-2022-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/41qSYFN58N8jlFxLVaIs" %} [October 2022 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/october-2022-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/PYwW0lXltKdxyCIJLsyN" %} [September 2022 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/september-2022-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/f95wbLhsZGGRatH8B0En" %} [August 2022 - CEC Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/august-2022-cec-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/JcK6M2ekU4Q08VgUI50s" %} [August 2022 - Investment Committee Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/august-2022-investment-committee-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/DYeCss2gYOcwWNmrMuFb" %} [August 2022 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/august-2022-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/EQF4pcfWcJF3maUEfeOK" %} [July 2022 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/july-2022-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/4cHdd56z4HSy7jo3sJHr" %} [July 2022 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/july-2022-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/gpJrkQi4TaQiOIorTr5k" %} [June 2022 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/june-2022-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/58pujDlTwqfocFxTTAhi" %} [May 2022 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/may-2022-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/pvPsZO9ZKLd3IummXpeG" %} [April 2022 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/april-2022-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/2hWk9WlMVKdWe4zCsOqs" %} [April 2022 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/april-2022-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/xlVbaJD0QjN7DlUT6VGb" %} [March 2022 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/march-2022-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/lxv24sk5vBASfPQALnWS" %} [February 2022 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/february-2022-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/Iez9xP376q4XwgzlKsgR" %} [January 2022 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/january-2022-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/9jzKufBuMowhuGUXCFcT" %} [January 2022 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/january-2022-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} ## [2021](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2021) {% content-ref url="/pages/cqwc1jCEOd422VjIMdrj" %} [December 2021 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2021/december-2021-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/G2CWuljxBT02mODsdqW7" %} [November 2021 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2021/november-2021-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/jBOVTp6L1W7LIFvS6Wmz" %} [October 2021 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2021/october-2021-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/nsRcPlBtLsvU7QCO9gWZ" %} [October 2021 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2021/october-2021-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/989xcPOWTKIYzeMf8sgk" %} [April 2021 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2021/april-2021-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Mj\_\_xS-ie381PdW0yGH" %} [March 2021 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2021/march-2021-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Mj\_a8XNdb\_SzMlxNr0N" %} [February 2021 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2021/february-2021-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Mj\_aKYrXJSzb6xjugMK" %} [January 2021 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2021/january-2021-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Mj\_aQSj74GXUhJPspZO" %} [January 2021 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2021/january-2021-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} ## [2020](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020) {% content-ref url="/pages/-MlXCNELk\_F1VNNefQBm" %} [December 2020 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/december-2020-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/ALT4sUhwfhKhuJXFf9HB" %} [November 2020 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/november-2020-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/smhnlckslm3Twt11hepv" %} [October 2020 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/october-2020-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/TpQnr18oYthPFlJDlvAL" %} [October 2020 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/october-2020-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/Cv4yVA3Jwls4gjENBJll" %} [September 2020 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/september-2020-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/AzCxBiERe2tQKhLxtff1" %} [August 2020 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/august-2020-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/7E6zsQHqgpkF8JWYzdjy" %} [July 2020 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/july-2020-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/7ko4Et8evJpWRpm61imA" %} [July 2020 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/july-2020-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/q44yZwbrFkPHbl0r6d5K" %} [June 2020 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/june-2020-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/JXap99WIhLjAHxYJ546I" %} [May 2020 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/may-2020-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/J6UMWlByarlCyieEheWo" %} [April 2020 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/april-2020-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/8UaenUwB7EwUou2lJ9r5" %} [April 2020 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/april-2020-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/RBfm5OX4iCQI3WEkwCUx" %} [March 2020 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/march-2020-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/lVrztPtUj0YA1Wqag0SA" %} [February 2020 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/february-2020-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/1FTdUMTC5E5QbtJEC05v" %} [January 2020 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/january-2020-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/IBQug2b4J1Ia8wz4FpE3" %} [January 2020 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/january-2020-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} ## [2019](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019) {% content-ref url="/pages/7osi7Q6q0kO8B5F5VO0b" %} [December 2019 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/december-2019-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/HXtkWrKo8WsrCEpDtiqZ" %} [November 2019 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/november-2019-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/HSGZYzVnMGhpNSoqtmR9" %} [October 2019 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/october-2019-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/0YrsmPKgNRl5j9HDDVZk" %} [October 2019 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/october-2019-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/O5vlwdTHD257oQ5cx0N9" %} [September 2019 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/september-2019-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/A3XaKgfoZG1fEF46YDTq" %} [August 2019 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/august-2019-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/5pU14TsXEYfRyoKbFOzi" %} [July 2019 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/july-2019-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/UA7iiHflWxR3UbpuAlPR" %} [July 2019 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/july-2019-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/x99hrR4uc4ym9v2D5c1l" %} [June 2019 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/june-2019-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/dJaVEHKKg9YEVLsCofw8" %} [May 2019 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/may-2019-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/e1Rjpd90V2ZknrU28P72" %} [May 2019 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/may-2019-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/WPobJjb8zDzSkjuhqCNe" %} [April 2019 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/april-2019-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/SonJznpcYMD4P3rceWLm" %} [March 2019 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/march-2019-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/ZVIeVCwQfEzckIpkz1z4" %} [February 2019 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/february-2019-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/76ho3RyeMQcMUUWpa7HA" %} [January 2019 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/january-2019-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/SnImpIoA912diaBtljlv" %} [January 2019 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2019/january-2019-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} ## [2018](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018) {% content-ref url="/pages/mCZVE0xeVm7OuHcdPq7P" %} [December 2018 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/december-2018-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/BXw9WhZQrVMyVRjHTVzK" %} [November 2018 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/november-2018-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/NmHovrJ9IpenGomP0UU3" %} [October 2018 - Informal Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/october-2018-informal-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/1CpMWF0PWtkRzobWH5mV" %} [October 2018 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/october-2018-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/N94a0eIDGeRm6WcCHYJI" %} [October 2018 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/october-2018-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/fC5Q7vL0WkfIpIxtGUXa" %} [September 2018 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/september-2018-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/FbUD5GhbFjOYGPUDhNjx" %} [August 2018 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/august-2018-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/U2288raEcDao6nOBkVpD" %} [July 2018 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/july-2018-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/3apuOJqQNU7sDnTPxu6i" %} [July 2018 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/july-2018-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/trIVLDTiZlIJ1dCzGauO" %} [June 2018 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/june-2018-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/21bNsTzVtL4Hu0heFguL" %} [May 2018 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/may-2018-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/TWvwywWh0JhmeJfnHKkJ" %} [April 2018 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/april-2018-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/hrtriIzzLHXh6gdtSNVA" %} [April 2018 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/april-2018-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/FQuP95pzHM5iUWWHRLdI" %} [March 2018 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/march-2018-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/LHOBH89r1yJtoTwPKcOi" %} [February 2018 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/february-2018-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/wfjGNQe5q08G9WhyXSZj" %} [January 2018 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/january-2018-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/ZRyiom6Q1xOfiyM4E9HL" %} [January 2018 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2018/january-2018-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} ## [2017](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2017) {% content-ref url="/pages/Q6Sy4fywC3SVssjzAoua" %} [December 2017 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2017/december-2017-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/m2f1r8sBO87jt1EnPyqk" %} [November 2017 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2017/november-2017-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/rSwOnJYjWGtNkexhngcR" %} [October 2017 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2017/october-2017-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/XdYVyS8XgHMduDnnN1J2" %} [October 2017 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2017/october-2017-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/GF9GAGEqpJUoznXcHKGP" %} [March 2017 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2017/march-2017-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/9WBkwVZ2iqeMqAkQcVDx" %} [February 2017 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2017/february-2017-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} ## [2016](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016) {% content-ref url="/pages/GH97CKJeQKL0qARMNbOa" %} [December 2016 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/december-2016-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/OGVYc5hUyuXazCWs6r7Y" %} [November 2016 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/november-2016-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/MfhFJDdTIfw8bynyDsEl" %} [October 2016 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/october-2016-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/wYfuiv2rdfKvpr9MAehu" %} [September 2016 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/september-2016-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/BRQv2ljSP6bBumUoK5M1" %} [September 2016 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/september-2016-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/UtXgPYVdTX1Mpji9BmiK" %} [August 2016 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/august-2016-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/SbQnzcWbm1Qkj7Z9xCu5" %} [July 2016 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/july-2016-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/nyBWde7BYlYoyIJxxs07" %} [July 2016 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/july-2016-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/O8Cpd5svKvEwqvAmHc3W" %} [June 2016 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/june-2016-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/JQMp0cjxv6QVuZVvY7Ej" %} [May 2016 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/may-2016-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/jHwBSdfXl2wjvEN9EvnH" %} [April 2016 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/april-2016-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/M97EhWMVUCoh6FyP7djA" %} [February 2016 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/february-2016-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/V5t2814llyNClhccWb5f" %} [February 2016 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/february-2016-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/4yXTYuPLz7BskuisEhkn" %} [January 2016 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2016/january-2016-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} ## [2015](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2015) {% content-ref url="/pages/SnnDojMPNZbqBYIJPvud" %} [December 2015 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2015/december-2015-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/bPjqAMT5apCNrjUVMqSE" %} [November 2015 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2015/november-2015-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/JEQne4VUhef9H6HiQcyk" %} [October 2015 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2015/october-2015-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/aeDQNXmpRZya8kJTQKqP" %} [September 2015 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2015/september-2015-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/BS5C99GByh9E67tRltpK" %} [August 2015 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2015/august-2015-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/cIaEQp6yiDFOdbR1vrtJ" %} [May 2015 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2015/may-2015-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/QowpDZDxXl3QyUkTVqPS" %} [January 2015 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2015/january-2015-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} # 2026 {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/l0kEUypzlseumDTgjM6O" %} [July 2026 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/july-2026-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/nabNuDqcfd5vApxdY4hJ" %} [July 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/july-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/2yhPcWpuX21PxshtCvo3" %} [June 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/june-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/vfkINOmXDYrCZJygeOsc" %} [May 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/may-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/m7vrWSIgYNDLvfTDRsXq" %} [April 2026 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/april-2026-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/gMwYuYVGsBypAtjcMUSm" %} [April 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/april-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/m80BNlG2Zf94SfKczrbA" %} [March 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/march-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/Eg22wOTXUW8PotFapdzO" %} [February 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/february-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/8Edq1PWvR4rhqNWC1N1x" %} [January 2026 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/january-2026-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/ROHty6N3AxN3AMdKrb3T" %} [January 2026 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/january-2026-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} # July 2026 - Member Meeting July 18, 2026 - Member Meeting **July 18, 2026 - Member Meeting** **Total Number of Members: 87** **Total Number of Full Members: 20** **Total Number of Full Members Present Including Proxy Votes: 11** **Quorum was reached** **Board of Directors Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Matt** * **Director: John** ### Note: This meeting also served as the Board Meeting for the month of August. ### Financials * Meg has semi-resigned her position as Treasurer. John will be stepping into her role in the interim. ### Tool Area Updates * 3D Printers - The Prusa Mark 3 has been updated to a Core1. We also have a Prusa index, which can print from 4 different nozzles containing 4 different filaments. The index is on load from Jake, with the option to purchase it from him. * Wood Shop - To start with, kudos to the Wood Shop Stewards. This is the hardest area of the space to Steward.\ The shop was rearranged to help improve the flow. Unclaimed materials were cleaned out. \ Brian plans to introduce butcher paper, or some similar spoiler-surface so less glue gets on the tables. * Laser Area - We're occasionally having trouble with the breaker tripping, but otherwise new laser is running great. * Metal Shop - Doing well; nothing to report. * Metal Lathe - Since Caroline left, this needs a new Steward. A few people have offered to help. * Auto Shop - The Steward is annoyed because 2 people recently failed to clean up after themselves. * Electronics Area - Matt has taken over as Steward of this, and the Battery Tab Welder. Brad has volunteered to be a trainer for the Battery Tab Welder. * Stained Glass Area - Connor added a tent for glass grinding. * Auto Shop - The air hose stopped winding up, so Dave replaced the whole assembly. We'll keep the old hose in case we want to reuse it. ### Space Updates * It was emphasized that members should communicate via the proper channels. We have Slack, email, and the Google Group. * Members are discouraged from leaving notes on things. * A number of recent broken items weren't communicated. For example, someone drilled holes all over one of the tables in the Wood Shop. * It was also emphasized that all members should clean up after themselves, though it was also acknowledged that in this meeting that was preaching to the choir. * We've had a number of members leave our organization without taking their stuff with them. The idea of making an official policy on this was discussed. * The board continues to kick around the idea of hiring an electrician. John and Brian mentioned they knew a few people who they could ask. * It was emphasized that members should never feel ashamed to ask if they don't remember something. * The idea of doing a run of t-shirts with our logo was suggested. The idea of an on-demand option through our website was also floated. * Don and Dave have been working on IT stuff. They're adding some servers which may or may not have been dropped on the ground, also upgrading and adding more security cameras. * Don requested a complete list of all Tool Stewards and their areas. ### Cleaning Notes * The latest Space Clean Up Night had a good turn out, relatively speaking. * Some members have tried cleaning the Wood Shop using air compressors. The Wood Stewards want all to know that this is frowned upon. * It was remarked that emptying trash cans is one of the easiest cleaning jobs to do, and yet is seemingly done the least. * As a general note, the gate in the courtyard opens outward, not inward. ### Charles "Ward" Mellerup Donations * Late last year, member Ward passed away. Ward's sister went through his belongings and offered the makerspace what tools and materials he still had in his house. Among the bigger items we received were... * Bench Top Metal Mill * Metal Bandsaw * Drill Press * 2 metal carts ### Vote to Upgrade Supporting Members to Full > Vote to promote Zach B from Supporting to Full Member\ > Yes: 11\ > No: 0\ > Result: Passed ### Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities * Des Moines Concours d'Elegance car show - We're looking for volunteers to help staff a table. We'll be situated near the Des Moines Sculpture Garden, more details will be relayed when we have them. * Riverbend Block Party (aka. Near Northside Neighbors National Night Out event at Evelyn K Davis Park on August 4, from 5:30-7:30 pm) - We've been getting 1 or 2 people from this neighborhood visiting every month. ### Down 1 Board Member * Board of Directors member Chris moved away in April. Since then the board has continued functioning with 6 members. This is in line with our Bylaws which specify some specific positions, but do not specify the number of directors at-large. * Since Meg is bowing out of her position as Treasurer, there will be 2 positions to fill in the next member meeting's elections. ### Next Member Meeting * October 17th, 3-5pm ### Meeting Adjourned * "Don's only 13 minutes late."\ Don: "I thought you'd wait until 15." * Heard during the discussion on the new grinding tent in the Stained Glass Area: "Don't walk barefoot in that room." * Heard during the vote to promote Zach to Full membership:\ "How do you want us to vote?"\ "Vote your conscience." # July 2026 - Board Meeting 07/08/2026 - Area 515 Board Meeting **07/08/2026 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Matt** * **Director: John** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from the June board meeting\ > Yes: 5\ > No: 0\ > Result: Passed ### Financials * We paid Darron the $3k we owed him for the SawStop table saw. * Dave and Jake have a number of receipts to submit for reimbursement. ### Current Members: 85 ### Space Updates * John needs permissions to be able to edit our Bylaws text on the website. * Next weekend, Matt will be implementing his upgraded door system. It will record when keys are used, in addition to opening the door for them. * Thanks to Dave, we have a very large screen TV was donated to us by Whites Construction. Dave and John mounted it on the wall beneath the projector screen. * The Prusa Core1 upgrade has arrived, but still requires assembly. * The most recent power bills have been more than in the past. This was chalked up to increased use of the new laser. A few possible tweaks to the laser were briefly discussed. * Ward's small MIG welder isn't powerful enough to justify keeping it, so it will be given away for a donation. * Board elections will be held in about 3 months. Nobody indicated that they planned to step down. * Some emails to \[board] have wound up in some members' Spam folders. Board members should periodically check their spam folders for missed messages. * We need to order more paper towels. * Alternative password keeper were briefly discussed. * Stud Finders were somehow discussed as well. > Motion to renew memberships for Eli, Josh and Gavin - the boys in the rocket club we are helping to sponsor - for another year at no cost. > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Upcoming Events We're Attending * Des Moines Concours d'Elegance car show * We need to check if we'll have access to power to run a 3D printer. * Apparently there will be a sort of pine wood derby race track for lego cars there. Dave will ask if it's compatible with actual pinewood derby cars too. * Matt is experimenting with 3D printed 10mm sockets that have our logo on them. Brad is working on using the laser to print our logo on actual 10mm sockets. Our goal is to create enough that we can give them away at the car show. * Near Northside Neighbors National Night Out event at Evelyn K Davis Park on August 4, from 5:30-7:30 pm * We've been invited to this, but haven't said yes yet. John will email the organizer asking for more information. ### IT Space Work Day * Dave is planning to organize one. Among the things that need to be worked on are the security cameras, particularly in the Auto and Metal Shop. ### Meeting Adjourned * "We get so many spams from people doing spammy things." * During a discussion about selling some of our lesser used tools... "You get to take the mouse poop with you." # June 2026 - Board Meeting 06/10/2026 - Area 515 Board Meeting **06/10/2026 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: John** * **Director: Matt** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** Note: This meeting was held 1 week later than normal. ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes of the May board meeting > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Dave has recent bank statement. * Soon John will be helping out Meg with more of the Treasury duties, although they haven't started the transition yet. * We gave Jerry our rent checks for June and July * The member who swapped out the empty welding gas tank for a new one got reimbursed. * Jake will submit receipts for Prusa Upgrade reimbursement. > Vote to reimburse Brad $518 for the cost of hiring a moving company to move Ward's mill from his basement to the Metal Shop > > Yes: 4\ > Abstain: 1\ > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Current Members: 87 * The next member meeting on July 18 from 3-5pm was added to the official calendar. ### Door Key Update * The door was experiencing problems adding new member keys. Matt eventually found that Google updated its Sheets API, and was able to make a fix for the system. ### Charles "Ward" Mellerup Donations * We acquired many items from Ward's estate, thanks to the generosity of his sister. Among the bigger additions were: * Enco Metal Mill - reimbursing the cost of moving this was approved by the board * Drill Press - It is missing some parts but Dave and Jake believe they can find replacements online. * Metal Band Saw - Brad tried this out but ran into trouble. Dave will investigate further. * Welder ### Space Updates * Brian B will be able to train people in the Wood Shop again starting June 21. There's a bit of a back log of people wanting to be trained, but that should clear up soon. * One member had to be reprimanded for trying to weld galvanized steel, and for leaving laundry machine parts lying around. * Wood Shop Stewards are planning to get rid of the large steel shelves on the North wall and replace them with brackets like those on the West wall. * Despite attempts to contact him, Charlie has not been in touch with us about what to do with all of the wood he left here. The wood was not allowed to be stored where he left it, and he hasn't been a member for over a year. Therefore the Wood Shop Stewards will help disperse/dispose of it. * The makerspace reserved a booth at the Des Moines Car Show, Sept 13th 10am-4pm. The event typically has about 22,000 attendees. * Matt proposed 3D printing complementary 10mm sockets that we could hand out to people. Unfortunately, after testing it was found that the printed sockets can withstand exactly 0 pounds of torque. Brad proposed buying metal sockets in bulk and using the new laser to engrave our logo on them. He will work on that in the coming months. * A ham radio club expressed interest in meeting at the space, unfortunately their meeting times conflict with Open House night. Dave said he would see if they could move their meeting to a Wednesday. * The idea of holding a soldering class for the ham radio group was proposed. We could make QRP radios. * On June 11th a new group called the Firmware Fellowship - a successor to the hardware meetups of the past - will hold their first meeting. The group will be run by Matt and Bailey. * A new member donated a nice oscilloscope and power supply to the Electronics area. * A new Steward has been found for the Tab Welder! After Caroline's departure, Matt has generously stepped into the role. In addition to creating a training regimen, he also added a metal trashcan of sand in case of battery accidents, and a special board for prepping 18650 lithium cells for welding. * Towards the end of the summer we need to write a report to Prairie Meadows on what all we've done with their grant money. John put a reminder in Slack so we remember to get that done. ### Empty Board Member Position * Since Chris has resigned his position on the board, we discussed what to do moving forward. * Brad agreed to send out a message to members notifying them of Chris's departure. * Our Bylaws don't specify the number of board members, so it would be possible to wait until the Fall election to replace Chris. * In reviewing the Bylaws on our website, it was discovered that we need to reinstate some changes we made to them.\ Long Explanation: Our bylaws were originally written in a wiki on our old website. When changes were voted on and approved, the relevant text in the Bylaws was changed to strikethrough, and the new text added to the end of the document. Many years ago, our wiki stopped working, and the document was transferred to gitbook. Unfortunately, the strikethrough formatting did not transfer and now the changes we made are hard to see. Bottom line: John volunteered to go into the bylaws and reinstate the strikethrough formatting so the Bylaws read correctly. * We realized we also need to ask Chris what to do with his stuff that's still here. ### Meeting Adjourned * "The Bylaws don't say we need an odd number of members."\ "Well, we definitely are odd." * Concerning reimbursement for the Prusa upgrade...\ "Approved."\ "Uh, we already approved it, but I appreciate the double approval." * Talking about putting the laser water chiller on a different circuit...\ "Is there an extension cord that can be controlled by one circuit but plugs into another?"\ "That's how you blow things up." # May 2026 - Board Meeting 05/13/2026 - Area 515 Board Meeting **05/13/2026 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Matt** * **Director: John** **Absent:** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Director: Chris** Note: This meeting was held 1 week later than normal due to scheduling conflicts. ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes of the April board meeting > > Yes: 4 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * We still have money. * Meg will start transferring her Treasurer knowledge to John sometime after May 15th so that John can start picking up Treasury Secretary duties. ### Current Members: 81 * John notified the SHR person approved last month. ### Board of Directors Vacancy * Board of Directors member Chris unexpectedly moved away last month. There is now an open seat on the board. After some discussion, the board decided that we would... * Notify members of the vacancy * Hold a special election at the next member meeting in July. * Note: Per our bylaws, whoever wants to run for that seat needs to do so at least 14 days prior to our meeting. ### Space Updates * The air hose in the Auto Shop still needs to be fixed. * The dumpster situation in the court yard has been sorted out. * Matt got access to edit the tools section of the website. * We received an email stating that our .org domain will increase in price by $0.70. We currently have 2 domain names * desmoinesmaker.space * area515dsm.org * We checked, and the domains are on auto-renew through NameSilo. ### Charles "Ward" Mellerup Donations * Late last year, member Ward passed away. Ward's sister has been going through his belongings and offered the makerspace what tools and materials he had in his house. We will need to go to Ward's house and carry them to the space. Brad offered to send an email and organize a time for people to come and help out. ### Wood Storage Clean Out * At the next Space Work Night they're considering cleaning out the stored wood in the Wood Shop. A majority of the stored wood seems to belong to member Charlie, but Charlie isn't paying his dues right now and he hasn't responded to emails. * Chris, the former board member who moved away also has some of his wood here. He said he'll be coming back for it. Brian also offered to buy some of it from him. * Matt suggested simply removing the storage brackets on the west wall. * Jake has also talked about a collapsible wood rack he found. * Cleaners will try to email anyone with their name on the wood being stored. ### BeagleBone Black Boards * We got into a discussion about the numerous BeagleBone Black boards that are in those drawers. Matt has spent a lot of time trying to get them useable but has had virtually no luck. The problem is that the boards can be made to boot Linux from a chip, but then there's virtually no memory leftover to do anything useful. * To get them to load Linux from a chip you first have to cut the resistor on Pin 93. * Brad remembers that the boards originally came from John Deere. They were ordered for a thing but then the thing changed. They were no longer needed and so they were all donated to us. * Matt tried contacting Texas Instruments to figure out what was going on with the boards, and the vibe he got from them was, like, "Stop asking questions." ### Meeting Adjourned * Did you know: Area 515 first filed with the state of Iowa on August 17, 2011. * Apparently, game-wise, "Table Thumb" serves the same purpose as "Nose Goes." The Secretary did not know this, to his detriment. # April 2026 - Member Meeting April 18, 2026 - Member Meeting **April 18, 2026 - Member Meeting** **Total Number of Members: 80** **Total Number of Full Members: 23** **Total Number of Full Members Attending Including Proxy Votes: 8** Quorum was not reached. **:(** **Board of Directors Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: John** * **Director: Matt** ### Financials * Our Treasurer is planning to step down later this year. John has stepped up to help her out in the meantime. ### Tool Area Updates * Laser Stewards' official statement: "Pew pew pew!!!" * Metal Shop - someone broke the vice. (The Secretary whistled innocently when this was mentioned.) * 3D Printing - Stewards are waiting on a new index to assemble the next Prusa Core1 * Wood Shop - Stewards have come in to find it dirty pretty regularly. Also Brian requested access to the space's security system; he also needs to be added to the Tools channel on Slack, and the Tools email list. * Auto Shop - An increasing number of sockets have gone missing. Don't put tools in your pockets! * Textiles - The loom and knitting machine are gone. They were given away in a raffle. ### Electrical Discussion * A new member has proposed setting up servers to do AI stuff in the Server Room / Kitchenette. Everything in that room is currently on 1 circuit. At least 1 more circuit would need to be added if this were to happen. Dave spoke with Jerry; he has no electrician he can recommend to come give a quote. * If we hire an electrician, we would also want them to trace and label all the currently existing circuits. Many suspect we have entirely unused breakers in our panels. ### Space Updates * Kudos to board member Matt who has been very good at adding photos of new members to the Current Members sheet. * On Saturday, April 25th, Dave and Matt will staff a table for Area 515 at Ham Fest. A gathering of ham radio users. * Dave is planning to volunteer to do Ham radio stuff for the Market to Market race on May 9 * It would be nice to get a better projector for the classroom. The one we have is a little dim. * Jerry, our landlord, says he is mostly retired now. He still has guys working on projects in his shop though, and his son or grandson may take over the business. We should check if Jerry owns the building or is leasing it. If we were able to take possession/the lease for the whole building we'd definitely want to sublease Jerry's section. * The Nest thermometer isn't working. Jake will bring a new one. * Dave brought in some extra servers he wants to use to beef up the security camera system. He also wants to explore other security camera systems. He plans to eventually use the 3 servers to create a virtual machine to run the security software. * Matt has figured out how to make the front door pull key numbers from shopify. Next we need to figure out a way to store the Current Members list in shopify so we can stop using Google sheets entirely. ### Vote to Upgrade Supporting Members to Full * We didn't have quorum so this was not an option. :( ### Next Member Meeting * Scheduled for July 18, 3-5pm ### Meeting Adjourned * Technically we never had quorum to adjourn so the meeting more just, kind of... ended? * The loom was sent off to a farm where it can run around outside and frolic with other looms. * "Who's actually in charge here?"\ "Not it!" * "Would you want to become a Full member?"\ "No. And that's not changing today 'cause you don't have quorum!" # April 2026 - Board Meeting 04/01/2026 - Area 515 Board Meeting **04/01/2026 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: John** * **Director: Matt** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Director: Chris** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes of both the February and March board meetings. > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Company that donated $1k wanted a receipt. We filled one out and sent it. They contacted us with something that needed to be changed, we made the corrections and sent it again. * We should contact the rocket competition kids and see if there's anything we can do for them this year. * Meg deposited the CD that we had trouble cashing out, back in our bank account. * We're still unclear whether or not we paid Darren for the SawStop table saw. We need to check on that with Treasurer. ### Current Members: 81 * Number of Full Members: 23 * Some old members still have their stuff here and say they're planning to join back up. ### Space Updates > SHR request was received by board. After some discussion, voted to offer person 50% discount for 6 months. > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * A member asked if the "Cancel" membership button online is broken, but other members have used it successfully and it's part of Shopify's code, not something we coded. > 3D Printing Stewards asked for another Prusa Core1 upgrade kit for $650 from general funds. > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * Jake is planning to bring in a color indexed changer for one of the Prusa Core1 3D printers. * The winder for the air hose in the Auto Shop has broken. The board discussed possible options including: * replacing the winding device * running metal pipe from the air compressor over to the Metal Shop * getting a longer air hose that would reach to the Metal Shop without having to add additional hose (which is what the Metal Shop does now.) * The dumpster outside in the courtyard seems to be slowly moving closer to our driveway every time it's emptied. Dave is planning to paint a box on the ground around it so the garbage men return it to the right spot. * Someone asked if they could use the aluminum scraps in the courtyard. The knife guys say they're going to use it. (Note from the future: All the aluminum scraps got stolen one night when the gate was left open.) * Keycards for new members are now stored in a slick 3D printed box, rather than the old cardboard one. * Matt, one of our directors, still needs access to edit the tools portion of our website. ### Electrician Discussion * One member is still talking about installing a computer lab of sorts ([see March](https://legal.desmoinesmaker.space/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2026/march-2026-board-meeting#jacob-community-home-lab)). While nothing has been definitively decided on that yet, the first step will be hiring an electrician to come out and give us a quote for installing a larger circuit for the kitchenette/server room. * Dave still needs to Jerry to make sure he'd be okay with this. * The main electrical panel is in the Laser room. It doesn't have room for any more circuits so new ones would need to be added from the sub panel in the Wood Shop. * There's no call for more circuits to the Wood Shop * The new laser has been having some trouble flipping breakers. It's now on it's own dedicated 20amp circuit - well, we think it is. Tracing exactly where all of the circuits go is another thing we want an electrician to do. * Handy tip: with an Apple watch camera tied to your phone, you can set the camera up in a room and then flip the breakers until you see the lights in that room go off. ### Meeting Adjourned * Rush is having a reunion tour this summer! The fact that this came up tells you something about the average age of the board of directors. * Fun Fact: According to an actual lawyer, field sobriety tests are *designed* to be failed. # March 2026 - Board Meeting 03/04/2026 - Area 515 Board Meeting 03/04/2026 - Area 515 Board Meeting ### Review of Votes by Email in Past Month * No votes by email ### Vote to approve minutes for February * Do not have notes yet ### Financials Update * Previous member reimbursement complete * 150-200 bucks reimbursement OK for Matt to go through other emails that identify payments taken after cancellation email * Shopify Bob Wiggins double paying, John reached out hasn't heard back ### Membership Update * Tom H – looking for new account * 80, 22 full ### Space Updates * Thermostat / heating – Jake to bring thermostat * Jeff working on sink in limbo, Dave following up * First aid kit, eyewash * 2 eyewash bottles * First aid kit, bandaids and antiseptic * Jake to order ### Jacob Community Home Lab * Community Home Lab * Access to servers, cloud stack instance, resource budget per user * GPUs on demand, members can use as they want * Host private services, have a VPN, their own messaging, website whatever * GPU can do AI training, inference, run models – more of a cloud * Challenges * Determine cost to run 240v to run circuit for max load, potentially 2 circuits * 120v 30amp circuit? Jake – maybe 2 15amp circuits * Electrician quote * Verify with Jerry OK to have the electrician do it * How to finance the cost of the install * Questions * Is there a way to limit network bandwidth? Jacob: Should be small packets of text * If there was video streaming? Jacob: Could set limits to CPUs, time, ram, and network usage * Equipment? Has extra rack, 4 xenion 28 core, 8173 M, Rizen epic 7702 64 core – 1 is a blade server, the GPU own dedicated thing, GPUs 300W max = 300 x 8, around 3000W max * Device to track usage? KW type unit on the plug? Or a unit on the breaker box power monitoring device * How to measure success of project? Up to us, keep in mind loom wasn't used for years, no marketing budget * Steward responsible: not doing anything bad? Part of the code of conduct, Jacob: Ways to monitor, do what can w/ tools available – would be able to have monitoring to watch for that – no piracy, wouldn't allocate the storage * Make stuff available for us to see? Jacob: Admin access – admin account for access read-only user, one of the board members * Equipment bring in / on loan, how would you like to do it if you leave? Jacob: On loan – knows a guy that runs a nonprofit for enterprise servers, has a way to move data, would try to keep running then through that contact and a steward would step up * Dave has some servers, too big for current rack, maybe a rack exchange * Discord? We have slack * Action ITEMS * Quote on power installation from electrician, 120v 2x 20amp circuit * John estimate: 3000W is 120-190 per month approx * If get an in for 10 for the install, maybe that's enough and also would be nice to just have the dedicated power * Approval from Jerry * How pay for it, once we get quote * Example, if cost $3,000 Jacob can just pay for it – he cannot he said he's a college student (: – or we can do an in for $10 people can donate to pitch in and raise money that way – if get to threshold then board maybe pitch in from general funds * Discussion after Jacob left: * Bathroom exhaust fan * No crypto * No continual workload * Tool fee – setup when he joins * He would join and become a steward, and bring on someone to be an assistant steward # February 2026 - Board Meeting 02/04/2026 - Area 515 Board Meeting **02/04/2026 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Matt** * **Director: John** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Director: Chris** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes of the January board meeting\ > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Meg will reach out if she needs help with tax stuff before May 15 * We realized we still need to pay Darren for the SawStop * Considered asking Meg to give checks to John to fill out since we will need them by end of April. This will be fine since Brad is the only check signer. ### Membership Update: 78 ### Space Updates > Vote to make Brian B a CNC Steward > > Yes: 5 > > Result: Passed > Vote to make Brian B a Wood Shop Steward > > Yes: 5 > > Result: Passed ### Space Updates * Oh yeah, we already started this. * Jeff started working on the leaking sink in the left bathroom. There's also something wrong with the drain. Unfortunately Jeff got sick so the repair may be awhile. * We have a functional Prusa Core1 3D printer! #### New Laser Update * Brad is working on aligning the laser to try and maximize the power output. When a raster test is performed, the result isn't as good as the example raster test that came with the machine. Brad is trying to improve this. * Although we have lasers, alas, we still lack friggin' sharks. * Lia will take home the old working Full Spectrum laser. ### Vacuum Chamber & Air Compressors * A member was asking about vacuum chambers. Brad discussed his experiences building and using one. It seemed best at making resin penetrate inside the wood. It would also get bubbles out of the resin, but not necessarily all of them. * We can get a 5 gallon metal vacuum container (essentially a large pot) without the vacuum pump for about $90, and then use the vacuum pump connected to the plastic vacuum former. * The relative merits of vacuum chambers vs pressure pots were then discussed. * The discussion then turned to air compressors, and it was mentioned that there are now tiny bike tire inflators. * Youtube videos were also viewed of people using fire to seat semi tires in their rims. * Somewhere in the above discussion it was also mentioned that Vevor, a Chinese company, is opening its first US store. It will be something like a Home Depot. ### Meeting Adjourned * "If you need a plumber, don't call the poop wizard. He's weird." # January 2026 - Member Meeting January 24, 2026 - Member Meeting **January 24, 2026 - Member Meeting** **Total Number of Members: 75** **Total Number of Full Members: 21** **Total Number of Full Members Attending Including Proxy Votes: 14** Quorum required 11 Full members, and so was reached **Board of Directors Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Matt** * **Director: John** ### Financials Update {% file src="/files/lOaqGEMsYwclB3dTqkSn" %} * Above is the budget submitted for 2026. Originally $17,179.71 was planned for Tool Purchases, after some discussion this was changed to $5,000. > Vote to approve the budget for 2026, amending the Tool Purchase to $5,000 > > Yes: 14 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * Meg let us know that she's really got her hands full. Members should be aware that she may not run for Treasurer again in October. That being said, John has agreed to help her out in the meantime. ### Membership Update: 75 * The email notifying members about lapsed memberships had the wrong domain names. That's been fixed. * We've had good Open House attendance lately. ### Tool Area Updates * Several tool areas are looking to add new trainers or stewards. The Wood Shop in particular seems to burn out trainers fast. #### Lasers * The new Boss 155 Watt laser arrived. Brad did a lot of work to get it up and running, helped by Lia, Bailey and Jake. * Matt is working on a lock box to store the key for the new laser. The lock box will use RFID to only open for members who are listed as trained. It is, in effect, a lock out / tag out system. * The old storage shelves that were under the Full Spectrum laser will be donated to the Stained Glass area. * The old Full Spectrum laser has been sold and will be leaving soon. #### 3D Printing * A new Prusa Core1 was purchased and will be assembled by the Stewards next weekend. #### Stained Glass * The stained glass area bench is partially finished. * Connor (the Stained Glass Steward) still needs to be added to the Tools email list. #### Textiles/Leather * The full size loom will be donated to the DSM Weavers and Spinners Guild. Bailey, Ward, and Chris got it working years ago. * There is a Toyota Knitting Machine that is still free to anyone willing to also take the books that came with it. * Jason is planning to help some scouting groups with leather classes. #### Wood Shop * We are purchasing the SawStop from Darren; we're also making some upgrades to it. * The CNC router lift was proving to be too much trouble. The Stewards are looking for a new router fence for an all-manual router table set up. * Clamps are back on the scroll saw. #### Metal Shop * Steward Carlin has rejoined and will be available to help with training on part time basis. #### Auto Shop * Jerry, our landlord, will have his VW on the lift next week. #### CNC * The CNC Stewards would like it officially noted that there are no updates for the CNC area and that therefore this section of the notes should be left blank and not filled with a whole bunch of words. ### Space Work Night Incentives Discussion * Space Work Nights are held once a month, few members attend. We've had the best attendance when we threaten to throw away members' stuff that's left out. * Members of the board have started discussing possible incentives to get more people to come, including: waiving a tool fee or taking money off dues for the next month. * One reservation that was mentioned about this idea: if the members who pay the regular membership fee will start expecting the place to be clean for them *because* they're paying full price. * It was noted that members who complain about the lack of cleanliness often are the ones who don't show up to help. ### Member Communication Discussion - Google Group vs Slack * The Google Group has recently seen an increase in spam posting, and a decrease in use overall. The idea of switching entirely over to Slack for member communication was buoyed up for discussion. * For important announcements the board of directors has started directly emailing members en masse, using a list. * Pros and Cons the Google Group: * There's about 400 people on the Google Group, only about 70 of whom are actually members. * Google hasn't really been bothered to update its Google Groups system. If anything they're kind of killing it through neglect. * Matt has actually started doing a lot of work moderating the posts to prevent spam. He's been weeding out posts that are selling things and banning users that try to post spam. * Pros and Cons of Slack: * Of the 16 people present at this member meeting, only 7 said they use Slack. * There are 89 members on Slack, we're not sure how many are still members of the space. * At least one member voiced support for increase use of Slack. * We may need to offer extra help to members who aren't as comfortable with technology. * The idea of requiring members to request training through Slack was floated. It would ensure that new members join. * Overall, most members present leaned towards increase use of Slack. The space should do more to promote its use, perhaps including making a video for less technical people on how to use it. ### Miscellaneous * Speaking of social media, Dave recently posted a photo of his new Retro-Commodore computer on Facebook and we got a lot more followers. * It was suggested that we link our Shopify account to our social media. * Dave will be holding an 8-bit computer event. * Clarification: Any computer with less than 16 bits is welcome. this includes 4 bit computers. * Bailey and Jason will hold a Game Night on Valentine's Day, Saturday, Feb. 14 ### Vote to Upgrade Supporting Members to Full > Vote to upgrade Brian B from Supporting Member to Full > > Yes: 15 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Next Member Meeting * Scheduled for Saturday April 18th 3-5pm ### Meeting Adjourned * "Anything else before we do \[everybody's] favorite part and adjourn?" # January 2026 - Board Meeting 01/07/2026 - Board Meeting **01/07/2026 - Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Chris** * **Director: John** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Director: Matt** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve the minutes from the December board meeting > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Our money market account made $14 in interest in one month * Our treasurer is having another kid!!! Meg has had a lot on her plate and mentioned that if someone else would be interested in taking over the role of Treasurer she would be fine with that. John said he would be willing to help her out. The announcement was also added to the member meeting agenda later in the month. * Matt requested more access to view financial info ### Membership Update: 84 * Several people asked to cancel their membership but then were automatically charged anyway. Brad said he would handle refunding them. * 10 people showed up for the previous night's open house ### New Laser Progress Report * Brad upgraded the exhaust system and installed the necessary piping. He is also attempting to quiet the exhaust fan by encasing it in a box which is covered inside and out with a thin layer of butyl rubber. He has also spent time on the phone with Boss Laser Tech Support and discovered that one of the laser's power supplies was bad. Boss sent us a replacement. They accidentally sent us the wrong one. Then they sent the appropriate unit, and Jake installed it. He also fixed the fittings on the air supply and installed a water separator. Bottom line: It's not fully functional yet, but it's getting there. * Matt is also making a lock out/tag out system for the laser. The laser requires a key. Matt is making a lock-box with an RFID reader that will open for any member who has been trained. * John reminded everyone that at the end of the year we will have to write up a narrative for Prairie Meadows talking about how we used their grant. ### Snow Day 2025 * We held this but ironically, due to snow, only 12 attended. ### Space Updates * Namesilo emailed us a special offer for renewing our domain name, unfortunately the deal ended before we could jump on it. * It was noted that we need to make sure namesilo has multiple contact emails for us, unlike the last time where only 1 email account received the warnings. ### Clean Up Night Incentives Discussion * Clean Up Nights are not attended as well as we'd like them to be. Several ideas were floated to incentivize members to come: * Take $25 off the first month of new members who attend Space Clean Up Night. * Set up a gift card online and give the code to anybody who attends Clean Up Night. This would benefit any member who attends, not just new members. * Do a $10 discount for members who show up * Waive a Tool Fee for anyone who shows up * Waiving a Tool Fee seemed to have the broadest support at the end of the discussion. * Discussing this was added to the member meeting agenda. * It was also remembered that we were going to setup a white board with cleaning jobs on it so people could mark the cleaning they do outside of Clean Up Night. ### Space Updates * In the above incentives discussion it was estimated that, counting the money we spend on maintenance, we probably need about 75 members to financially break even. * If we don't account for maintenance spending, we only need 57 members to break even. * Brad floated the idea of putting up TVs in some of the shops (like the Wood Shop) that constantly display the names of members who have paid their tool fee. It would be a way of reminding members that they need to pay and publicizing who hasn't. * The 3D Stewards discussed the new multifilament technology from Prusa. > Vote to spend $750 of general funds to buy a Prusa Core1 from Jake > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * We *still* need to pay Darren for his SawStop. * Matt spent a bunch of time cleaning up the Area515dsm Inbox. ### Meeting Adjourned * "I've met some of the most eclectic people I've ever known here." - Chris * Case in point: Jake has a very impressive collection of super nice pens and mechanical pencils. * Seriously, the Secretary was skeptical of these, but he tried one and it was *super* nice. # 2025 {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/vINu81sqfz5Kta4lFU7v" %} [December 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/december-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/pffrYvQYgUANNhj0DprU" %} [November 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/november-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/6nO9VBPJMDgissygWM6f" %} [October 2025 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/october-2025-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/vZelLiT0nPafsxz8TGx9" %} [October 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/october-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/1Cz3LlCIEBu3Q7uRsUwx" %} [September 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/september-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/ewlO4xBQCwqxe0MCcCvz" %} [August 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/august-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/J2wtX82o6NrqPtU2WWbG" %} [July 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/july-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/AVSBKW0Z1tu7tVGNhLnx" %} [June 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/june-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/5cIzQqijHI8gb0iZTaOd" %} [May 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/may-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/sDPlT0f4WYo3Xai3wfxT" %} [April 2025 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/april-2025-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/AT0XixbADoNHUAiNjbxy" %} [April 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/april-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/5X7M2vs9fjpEB4IQwKKY" %} [March 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/march-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/DGYV1699PeTtbZEjC1hv" %} [February 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/february-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/wXkU2TKN9myKdXFVaIeC" %} [January 2025 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/january-2025-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/X6l4v6PAHw9QvVN1wx7z" %} [January 2025 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/january-2025-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} # December 2025 - Board Meeting 12/03/2025 - Board Meeting **12/03/2025 - Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Matt (remote)** * **Director: John** **Absent:** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Director: Chris** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve the minutes of the November board meeting > > Yes: 4 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * We discovered that we were late paying insurance. Fortunately Meg was able to resolve the issue and our policy was reinstated with no lapse in coverage. * The board will ask Meg to prepare a year end report for the next quarterly meeting. * Matt requested the ability to view all the space's financial transactions. ### Membership Update: 79 * We recently added 2 new members * Brad has yet to make the new website send welcome letters to new members. He should also look back at the new members and see who has received their welcome letter and who has not. John volunteered to update the welcome letter template with new information (like our new website url). ### New Laser Arrived! * Our new Boss HP-2440 laser and accoutrements arrived! Brad is working on the new external vent ducting that's required. The old lasers used 4" diameter ducts, the new one uses 6". * Brad (who is one of the Laser Stewards, in addition to being the brilliant, sophisticated and charming Secretary) made sure that the rest of the board is comfortable selling the old laser and all its accoutrements. Everyone was fine with this. * There is also an even older K-40 clone laser someone donated to the space years ago that should either be sold or given away. * Brad suggested putting in a door between the laser room and the Wood Shop. The garage door is generally supposed to be off limits as a passageway, but there are plenty of members who use it anyway, and Brad doesn't like that the ones who follow the rules end up having to walk so much further. * The door from the hallway to the Wood Shop should probably be fixed first. It's not closing on its own anymore. ### Snow Day * Scheduled for December 6th, from 1 - 5pm, Brad is leading the event. * The plan is to use the new laser to make customized ornaments for guests. Guests can then paint/decorate their ornaments however they want. In addition, there will be free hot chocolate, free sugar cookies (plus cookie decorating), and other members available to give tours of the space. * So far nobody has expressed interest in the event through Meetup, but 25 people have on Facebook. Typically we can expect maybe 10% of those people to actually attend. * Dave suggested moving the ornament painting to the Wood Shop from the classroom. Brad agreed. * Other ideas for things to offer guests: turning on the video game machine in the classroom, and setting up the Linux station to play games. * Tom Hanks' brother does most of his voice over work, like when they have to replace cuss words for broadcast TV. While not strictly relevant to the above topic, the Secretary found this interesting enough to include. ### Space Updates * Maggie's Rumble Room, a nearby eating and drinking establishment, is holding a Pinewood Derby on December 21st. At the beginning of the meeting, board members reminisced about their own childhood derby experiences. John recalled using a postal scale to measure his car's weight. Dave remembered melting down lead for his car. The lead came from really old antique typing. * Matt suggested holding a pinewood derby at the makerspace, but with no rules and no weight limit. * Belt Sander racing is an actual thing. People soup them up by putting chainsaw motors in them. * For a good time, cheese-wheel chasing apparently makes for entertaining videos. * We may need to redo the google calendar, there have been problems using it with the new domain. * One of the chairs in the classroom is missing a bolt. Matt and Dave are looking for a replacement. * The google group has seen an uptick in the number of people posting just to sell stuff. The board would like to avoid the group becoming a bunch of classified ads. ### January Member Meeting * The board decided the next meeting will be on January 24th, 2026 from 3-5pm. * We kind of forgot to schedule this at the last member meeting. ### Meeting Adjourned * "If you need to make it idiot proof, I'm a big idiot so I can help with testing." * When he worked as a software developer, the least helpful bug report Dave ever received went like this: "Ran program, got bug" # November 2025 - Board Meeting 11/05/2025 - Board Meeting **11/05/2025 - Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Chris** * **Director: Matt** * **Director: John** **Absent:** * **President: Dave** * **Treasurer: Meg** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting and September Notes Revision > Vote to approve the minutes of the October board meeting and the revision to the September board meeting notes (The Secretary forgot to include the vote to approve the minutes from *that* meeting's notes.) > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Thanks to Meg, we cashed out the CD per the vote taken the previous month (October). ### Current Members: 83 * It was noted that two new members signed up on the new website and got keys but they haven't been seen since. * So far only 1 member has a recurring membership through the new website. ### Shopify Website Discussions * Brad expressed frustration with many of the limitations he's found in trying to create additional functionality on the website. He has made it so that members can view their Tool Fee payments and see when they are due for renewal, but the Shopify website doesn't provide ways for members to provide information about themselves. For example, members cannot enter a preferred name nor upload photos of their faces. * Brad and John agreed to work together to make the website send new members the welcome email, something the website has not been doing so far. * The idea of only offering recurring monthly subscriptions (not the single month option) was mentioned. * Shopify costs us $105 per month. * Zapier costs us about $600 per year. * It was noted that in PayPal payments made through the website, PayPal extracts a fee for the payment, but Shopify does not. In other words, for every membership payment, either Shopify or PayPal extracts a small percentage, but not both. * Right now we have two systems for member tracking. There is the original PayPal and Google Sheets system, and now Shopify tracks members that have signed up using its service. In the long run, our goal is to transition such that Shopify tracks of all our members. In the short term, we discussed possiblities for how the two systems could talk to each other. * Shopify has the ability to interface with Google Sheets, but only by adding a new line to the bottom of an existing sheet. No ability to read from the sheets has yet been found. * Matt mentioned we could use App Scripts in Google Sheets to work with data that Shopify adds to it. * Jake suggested we could create automation to check for canceled PayPal subscriptions that then updates Shopify. * Brad floated an idea for how the door could start interfacing with Shopify. * Seal is the app we use in Shopify for recurring subscriptions. There may be a way for migrating Google Sheet data to Seal from PayPal. Apparently the Seal system is easier to work with than Shopify. * Ultimately, it was agreed that Brad and John would start a discussion of what things we want the website to do and how we can get there. ### New Domain Email Addresses * Fortunately, from a fortuitous find, we were able to log back into our old Google Workspace account and set it up to handle the email addresses to use our new domain. All the old emails addresses, such as "tools," will now work again as long as their domain names are changed to "@desmoinesmaker.space" ### Space Updates > Vote to purchase the SawStop table saw for $3,000 from general funds > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * Brad wrote some blog posts for the new website. He was unsure whether or not we can include members' company names in the posts and made a note to ask Meg what the limits are on this. * Krieg declined to use our shop to photograph their tools. They were unhappy we weren't willing to move the Lead CNC. * The new door system to track access is ready to go thanks to Matt. He's been too nervous about breaking stuff to implement it. ### Meeting Adjourned * Board Member 1: "He keeps talking about this "high score." I'm afraid to ask him about it now."\ Board Member 2: "I'm working on being the world leader in unread emails. Whenever I get a pop up I always put my email in there."\ Board Member 3: "You're the reason every advertising company thinks that spam works." # October 2025 - Member Meeting October 18, 2025 - Member Meeting **October 18, 2025 - Member Meeting** **Total Number of Members: 84** **Total Number of Full Members: 23** **Total Number of Full Members Attending Including Proxy Votes: 13** Quorum required 12 Full Members, and so was reached **Board of Directors Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: John** * **Director: Matt** * **Director: Chris** ### Financials Update * We have a net positive income for this year * We cashed out a CD that we had. ([See note from previous board meeting](https://legal.desmoinesmaker.space/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/october-2025-board-meeting#financials)) * Our rent is currently $1950 per month. Utilities are about $400 ### Membership Fees Discussion * Per Bylaws: Fees for full and supporting members shall be set by a vote of the full members at the yearly meeting by a simple majority. ([Link](https://legal.area515.org/legal-documents/bylaws#section-5-fees-and-other-obligations)) * No one raised any comment about the current rate so no vote was taken. ### State of the Space * Lately we've been trending towards short term members. Individuals who sign up for a month, do their project and then leave. * We launched a new website after we lost our old domain name. The new website is through Shopify and has the url [desmoinesmaker.space](https://desmoinesmaker.space). We also purchased the domain [area515dsm.org](https://area515dsm.org), currently this url forwards to the other one. * It was suggested we use the wayback machine on the Internet Archive to recover some of the data from our previous site. John in fact had already done this. * John has been working to set up new email addresses with our new domain name. Emails under our old domain were handled by Google Workspace. We're trying to set the new ones up through this as well but Google has been difficult to work with. * We've placed the order for the new laser with BOSS. Now we're waiting on shipping information. ### Tool Areas * We don't know when the new laser will ship, 2 to 6 weeks was the estimate. * It was noted that the Electronics Stewards are not as available for training as some members would like. * Lia X was added as an additional Laser Steward to Bailey and Brad. * Isaiah, one of our Wood Shop Stewards, has left. The remaining Stewards are Jake and Chris. Chris is considering people he might ask to join. * The idea of offering classes for making little gift items in the Wood Shop was discussed. ### Charles "Ward" Mellerup * Everyone was notified that Ward passed away recently. His sister notified us of his passing. * In accordance with his wishes there will be no services for Ward. * It was noted that we should clean out Ward's cubby and ask his sister what she would like done with his belongings. ### Vote to Promote Supporting Members to Full Members * One member requested to be considered for Full membership, but since that member was not present nothing came of this. Election for 2025-2026 Board of Directors * Nominations:\ President - Dave\ Vice President - Jake\ Treasurer - Meg\ Secretary - Brad * Nomination for general director positions:\ John W\ Matt A\ Chris K > Because there was only one nomination for each board position, the slate of candidates were voted on a yes/no basis. > > Yes: 13 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Miscellaneous * Holding a Board Game Night over at the Rook Room was proposed. Many members expressed interest in attending. * Dave and Matt attended the monthly first Friday open house at MainFrame Studios. They reported that the place was packed. Several years ago we had sent MainFrame a proposal that their members could join our makerspace at a reduced rate. We never did hear back from them about that. It may be time to reach out again and see if they're interested. * Derek is offering members a knife making class. It's a great opportunity to learn about the knife making process first hand from a professional. * Discussion about offering other classes ensued. The reason more aren't offered is because we have a difficult time getting people willing to teach them. It is still hoped that Connor S will teach a stained glass class some day. * Dave and John have renewed interest in erecting the ham radio tower at the space. They're also interested in a new "Meshtastic" device. Chris mentioned he has access to an auger. * Brad requested that members send photos of their projects. He would like to put them up on our new website. * Brad also demonstrated the new "Member Dashboard" functionality he's building on the new website. Members can log in and view what Tool Fees they have and have not paid. * The topic of Space Work Nights was raised. There are only a handful of people who regularly attend - a big thank you to them! * We're starting a new clean up night the first Tuesday of every month, during the Open House. * To all members: if you clean something, please mark it on the laminated sheet hanging on the wall. We want to create a culture where everyone knows how important cleaning is. ### Meeting Adjourned * Most of our access to Google Workspace (the service we used to handle emails with our old domain name) used email addresses that also had our old domain name. Without access to those emails, we couldn't access Google Workspace. John had been communicating with Google to try and regain access, but Google wanted evidence that John was really part of our group. One member suggested, "You could change your last name to makerspace." # October 2025 - Board Meeting 10/01/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting **10/01/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg (remote)** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: John** * **Director: Matt** **Absent:** * **Director: Chris** ### Votes By Email Since Previous Meeting * On Saturday, September 6th, our $500 bid on sedo.com to regain ownership of the Area515.org domain name expired. No other bids were submitted. Our bid was not accepted; we never heard from the buyer; our bid just simply expired. Board members then discussed how to proceed on the Board Slack channel. Three main options were discussed: * bidding $500 a second time * bidding $500 a second time & including a message about negotiating (Explanation: On sedo.com, the only way to send a message to a seller is to include the message in a bid) * getting a new domain name right away * A formal vote was not officially called, but agreement coalesced around bidding $500 again and including a comment to the seller that this would be our final offer. The second bid was submitted along with the message "Nobody else wants this site. We will not bid again." * One week later, September 13th, our second bid expired as well. Once again there was no communication from the seller. So we decided to purchase two new domain names: * desmoinesmaker.space * area515dsm.org * John had previously tested Shopify to see if we could use it to create a new website and process member payments. John moved some of the data that had been on our old website to this new Shopify website, and pointed the desmoinesmaker.space url to it. The area515dsm.org domain name was made to point to the desmoinesmaker.space site. ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve the minutes of the September board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * The new BOSS laser HP-2440 was purchased this evening. Included in the purchase were the following: * Vue kit * 155w laser tube * 155w power supply * water chiller * air compressor * air filter/water separator * oxygen regulator * LightBurn PRO software * PiBurn V Roller Rotary * 1 extra focusing lens * 3 spare 1" mirrors * 2 year warranty * freight insurance * The space has a CD that matures October 16. It would renew with a very low interest rate. > Vote to cash out the CD instead of renewing it. > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed (Meg said she would get this done.) * Derek gave us $50 from the knife making class he had with Matt. * The Pop Money Box still needs to be re-hung by the refrigerator. * A 3rd party contacted us about setting up a vending machine in the space. In the end, they felt that we didn't get enough traffic to justify installing a machine. ### New Website Through Shopify * The site has not yet been made live. * Our new website is created using Shopify. John was able to connect our regular checking account to the website so that we can start accepting payments through it. We were also forced to create a new checking account w Shopify itself, that account gets 2.71% interest. We may need to manually transfer money from our Shopify checking account to our regular checking account. * Shopify also charges us a regular monthly fee. * John has yet to find a good PayPal integration with Shopify. He also has not figured out how to get PayPal Express turned on. Shopify doesn't seem to be playing as nicely with PayPal as when the system was first explored. * Some benefits of the new Shopify website: * Tool Fees wil be simpler as they are listed as products on the website. * Gift Cards will be easy to implement * We have more control over SHR payments. For instance, we could implement them with coupon codes now. * We can do POS (Point Of Sale) through Shopify. This would allow us to accept payments on the spot. * Once the Shopify website goes live, we can have new members sign up through that. Previous members can continue to pay through PayPal. * When new members sign up through the website they have to create a user account. We can manually create accounts for previous members if we choose to. * Setting up "merch" on the site was discussed, but as a "further down the road" project. * Using Shopify to track active badges was discussed. Whether it could or not was unknown. * It was asked what was needed before the Shopify website could go live. The answer was essentially: nothing is needed, it's just not very good yet. * All our old domain's email addresses were handled using Google Workspace. A new workspace will need to be created to handle the new domain's emails. Items in the accompanying Google Drive will need to be moved to the new Google Drive. We will need to make sure the new Google Workspace doesn't break any of our Zapier automations. * John is hopeful that we could start doing liability waiver and code of conduct signing via the website. * There is also some integration for coursework that might help us to record tool trainings. The idea presented was that after a member is trained on a machine in person, they would receive a link to a one page training course which they could fill out and which would then record the training. * It was suggested that once the new Google Workspace is established, we could schedule a day where all of us could get together to work on improving the website. ### Current Members: 85 * Matt made a Miro chart of all the cubbys. * Matt sent an email to the owners of the 4 oldest cubbys, asking them to please come reclaim their stuff. He told them, with the support of the board of directors, that he would throw away any unclaimed items. In the end he got cold feet about throwing anything away, so we'll box the stuff up and store it somewhere out of the way. * There was some grumbling that one member is using 3 cubbys and may have more stuff in the textiles room. * There has been no progress on the idea of the Wood Shop storing extra tools in an offsite storage area. ### Space Updates * The Space Work Night last Thursday was very sparsely attended. It has about 4 people. * The idea of a hiring a cleaning service was briefly discussed. We've never gotten a quote from anyone on how much they would charge, but if we go that route a two-tiered membership would be seriously considered. * Some of the board members expressed interest in attening the Mainframe Studios first Friday from 5-8pm. Mainframe Studios theme for next year is "STEAM" (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math - a term often used in education). Several years ago we sent them a proposal that their members could join at a reduced rate, but we never heard back from them. > Motion to order $50 worth of new Area 515 business cards with our new website on them. > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * The possibility of mounting the space's ham radio antenna was brought up. * There was also discussion of hanging a meshtastic device from a balloon. ### Meeting Adjourned * From a discussion about mailing large amounts of letters at the post office: "When I have to do a big mail thing, I just walk past the line because I'm an a\*\*\*\*\*\*, put them on the counter, say "They're all stamped" and leave." # September 2025 - Board Meeting 09/03/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting **09/03/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg (remote)** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Matt (remote)** * **Director: Chris** * **Director: John** ### Vote to Approve Minutes of Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes of the August board meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * There are some checks that need to be signed. * Our PO Box will be renewed soon, we need to make sure our payment info is up to date with USPS (see next heading). * Dave obtained a new PO Box key and brought over our mail. * One of the letters we received concerned a class action lawsuit. We think it was legit so we didn't throw it away. ### Domain Name Area515.org * The big news recently was that we forgot to update the payment info needed to renew our domain name (area515.org). Here was the order of events as we've subsequently pieced them together: * The domain was registered through namesilo. It was set to autorenew, however our payment info changed. On July 25th it expired. * Namesilo emailed us many times, but they used an email account that isn't checked regularly. * After it expired, Namesilo gave us a one month grace period which expired on August 25th. * After that, Namesilo held an auction for the domain name. The winner of the bid apparently paid $116. We do not know who the winner is, therefore the Secretary shall henceforth refer to them as "Jerkface." * Jerkface took the domain name, parked some skeevy advertising on it, then listed it on the domain auction site sedo.com with a minimum bid of $500. On the Saturday before this meeting, we offered a bid of $500 but have not heard back from Jerkface. * It was asked what we should do if our $500 bid is not accepted. The general response was along the lines of, 'Meh, it would be a chance to rebrand.' ### Current Members: 86 * The new member who needed retraining, mentioned in last month's minutes, chose to no longer be a member. ### New Laser Steward > Vote to approve Lia X as an official Laser Steward, based on recommendation from current Laser Stewards, Brad and Bailey. > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### New Laser Purchase with Prairie Meadows Grant * We received $10k from the Prairie Meadows grant. Members pledged $3950 towards the new laser. The board voted to match up to $5,000 in new laser donations at their February 2025 board meeting. Consequently we have enough money to purchase the new BOSS HP-2440 laser. * Because the Secretary is anal retentive, a vote was taken to purchase the laser and whatever accessories the Laser Stewards decide we need. > Vote to approve purchase of BOSS HP-2440 laser and whatever accessories the Laser Stewards decide we need. > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * We will probably have to remove the wall between the Laser room and the Wood Shop in order to get the new laser in there. * We'll coordinate delivery with Jerry. We'll need to use his loading dock. * It was suggested the Laser Stewards talk with Derek as he may be a good candidate to teach the small business class that was on our Prairie Meadows grant application. ### Snow Day 2025 * Holding an event like this again was part of our Prairie Meadows grant application. Brad agreed to spearhead the effort, Meg volunteered to help as well. * Scheduled for Dec 6th, 1-5pm ### Space Updates * The deadbolt in the door to the courtyard has been found unlocked recently. The door has a lock, but both the lock and the deadbolt should be engaged. If anyone notices this happening they should let Dave know. * It was asked why an RFID reader wasn't installed on the courtyard door. This is because Jerry's employees use that door every day and we don't want to get in their way. * Matt is still working on the new RFID door system, one that will record the times each key is used. It isn't installed yet, but Matt is going over the schematics of the current door system in preparation. * Darron let us know that he'll be taking his Saw Stop table saw home soon. The Wood Shop Stewards said they would look into replacement possibilities. We can also discuss it further at the October 18th member meeting. * Dave brought in 2 new servers to augment our security camera system. * Some day we should replace the rest of our fluorescent tubes with LED ones. Our LED supply can be found next to the cabinet in the Wood Shop. ### Meeting Adjourned * When discussing how we can make the door to allow the new laser through: "Between the sawzall, angle grinders, propane torch, and sledge hammer we can get it in the door." * When discussing alternative domain names:\ " We could get area515.sucks, it's only $100 for the first year"\ "I want to be Area 516 because it's one better."\ "maker.space is only $5000 for the first year"\ "Let's not do this again." * Context lost to history...\ Person 1: "It looks a little unsafe."\ Person 2: (Considers for a second) "There are more unsafe things." # August 2025 - Board Meeting 08/06/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting **08/06/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: John** * **Director: Matt** * **Director: Chris** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve the minutes of the July board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Meg renewed our certification with Benevity. ### Current Members: 84 * A recent new member caused some shop problems, used someone else's stuff, and used some tools without training. This member will need to be reoriented to the way the space works before they can use it again. ### Prairie Meadows Grant
* **We got it!!!!!!!!!!!** We received a $10,000 grant from Prairie Meadows for a new laser system!!! * John sent them our acceptance email. The unit is now listed at $14,297 which is about $1k less than the quote we submitted with our grant proposal. Chris volunteered to ask for an updated quote. * It was suggested that we look at 3rd party options for the rotary unit. All agreed we want to get the best base unit available. ### Space Updates * Isaiah got a bunch of Wood Shop tools functional again! * Matt was talking with Iowa Wild. To be a non-profit sponsor we would have to sell a minimum of 25 tickets. Each ticket sells for $20, and we would get $5 back per ticket. Board members were intrigued by the possibility, but not confident we could sell enough tickets. * In looking at all the storage cubes (aka "cubbys") many are claimed by people who are no longer members. Matt offered to draft an email to send to anybody whose cube is suspect. * At the recent member meeting it was decided that Space Work Nights should try moving to Tuesdays at 6pm. Dave said he would send out a notice about this. * One bathroom was marked Out of Order due to a possible leak. * The key to our PO Box is still missing, but a replacement only costs $6-7. * Jake brought in a new computer. We can use it to replace one of the janky ones. * Don fixed the bagless vacuum. Someone used it to vacuum up nails and tacks, plus part of it wasn't sealing. * There was a misunderstanding about the 3D printers' static IP addresses: They were made static awhile ago, then John messed with them, and now they're still static but have lower numbers. ### Classes * Member interest in classes was raised at the recent member meeting. Possibilities were discussed here. * Jason will be doing a leather belt making class for 4H. * Derek wants to do a knife making class for the general membership. The class would have a cost, and the possibility of some of the cost going back to the space was discussed. * Brad said he would talk with Connor, our Stained Glass Steward who previously talked about holding a class. * Matt volunteered to do a Soldering Class. He was very frustrated when zero people showed up the last time it was offered. This time it was suggested that we charge people for the class up front, rather than at the door. In the past we've done this through Meetup.com ### Door Access Record Update * Matt has a test copy working, but wanted to get board's okay before implementing it. The board said okay. He'll hook up the new test copy, but leave the old setup intact in case we need to revert to it. ### Krieg Tool Shoot * Krieg expressed interest in using our Wood Shop to photograph some of their products (a "tool shoot"). Matt met with them and gave them a tour. * Krieg is interested, but they want to move some things around, like the CNC. They also said they would move everything back again. Board members were okay with this. * The shoot could last for 12 hours, so the Wood Shop will be closed until they are done. We told them it would have to be on a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. * They also asked if they could park a van in the courtyard. The board didn't think anyone would have a problem with that as long as our neighbors to the West can still get in and out. * Matt suggested we could make them 2 keys that are only active for a day. The board thought this sounded fine. * Krieg said they would pay us a location fee, but did not say how much (nor did we ask). * They complimented us, saying no one else in town has a shop like ours, particularly for depth-of-field shots. ### Wood Shop Purchase * Jake would like to some new items for the Wood Shop, cost would be about $1500. > Vote to approve spending about $1500 on folding A-frame, a regular router lift, and more DeWalt batteries for the Wood Shop, to come out of General Funds. > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Meeting Adjourned * General Life Advice: "Remember, a bolt can't be stuck if it's liquid." * When it was mentioned that there's no cold water running to the sink in the South bathroom: "Guys!!!... I swear I ***do*** wash my hands, okay!??... Guys???... I swear!!!" * Overheard from a discussion about working with a computer program: "It told me it lied to me. And that made me feel better about using it." # July 2025 - Member Meeting July 19, 2025 - Member Meeting **July 19, 2025 - Member Meeting** **Total Number of Full Members Attending (including proxy votes): 13** **Quorum required 12 Full members and was reached.** **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Secretary: Brad * Director: Matt * Director: John ### Financials * We need to find the login info to renew our Benevity eligibility. ### Current Members: 85 * The board has started emailing members directly on important items like Space Work Nights. Fewer people seem to respond to posts on the Google group or Slack nowadays. * Attendance at the last Space Work Night was better than the last few months. * Kudos to member Caleb who spent a bunch of time taking down spider webs in the Wood Shop! * Tool Stewards should still submit ideas for projects that Space Work Nights can help with. * To help with cleaning, Jake is working on a public whiteboard members can use to track their individual cleaning contributions. * Matt is also working on updating the door so it logs all the keys that are used. The plan is to compare the key log to the cleaning log so we know who isn't pulling their weight. * We can also use this to help with marketing since we can track how much the space is used. ### Ideas to Increase Member Engagement * Some people have felt that there's been less of this lately, so the floor was opened to ideas that could increase it. * The idea of a CNC Workshop day was suggested. Apparently a lot of members are interested in using it but find it too intimidating. Holding a class on how to use it might generate more involvement. * The last few times the space has held classes for the general public they haven't been well attended. For instance, zero people came for the last soldering class, and before the pandemic turnout for that was great. * The idea of moving Space Work Nights to start an hour before Open House was suggested. Several members expressed support for this. * Some members have difficulty getting their work done on Open House nights as it is, since they often stop what they are doing to chat with potential new members. * Jason said he plans to do a leather class for a group of 4H girls. * The idea of a rocket building class was suggested. Perhaps the kids' rocket club could teach it. * It was also suggested that a message be sent to all our members asking if any of them would be open to teaching a class. * Brad recently visited a new establishment called the Rook Room. He floated the idea of the space doing a " game night" there, and perhaps we could hold a Dice Tower making class at our place. Several members expressed support for this as well. * Des Moines is setting up an indoor business incubator and invited us to collaborate. * John requested more members send photos of their projects to him so he can post them on social media. ### Miscellaneous Updates * Still no word yet from Prairie Meadows regarding our new laser grant. ### Vote to Upgrade Supporting Members to Full * No members requested upgrading ### Next Member Meeting * Oct 18th, 3:00pm ### Meeting Adjourned * Let the record show that when the vote to adjourn was called, Don voted "no," but he was outvoted. * The Secretary finds it kind of amazing that "nowadays" is actually a word. # July 2025 - Board Meeting 07/09/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting **07/09/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Chris** * **Director: John** * **Director: Matt** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve the minutes of the June board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Current Members: 86 * It was found that a member was storing wood and sand paper on the roof above the textiles room. It was in the way when someone went to perform maintenance on the HVAC system. After extensive discussion, the board decided to contact the member and remind them that the policy is: members can only store things in their cubbys or Steward designated areas. * Since the member is out of town for several weeks, Matt and Brad volunteered to get the member's things down from the roof. * There was discussion about a Steward and member interaction. * There was general frustration about member communication. Overall there seems to be less traffic to the Google group, and few members respond to Slack posts. ### Cleaning and Space Work Nights * Attendance at Space Work Nights has plummeted. Many of the regular attendees are getting burned out and no longer come. * It would help if Tool Stewards would suggest projects people could do on Work Nights. * Wood Shop Stewards in particular are getting burned out by the amount of cleaning they do. * One of the Wood Shop Stewards proposed drastically reducing the number of tools available in the Wood Shop by setting up an off-site storage unit, where a lot of the less-used tools can be kept. In order to use those tools, members would then have to specifically request them ahead of time, and then Stewards would bring them and take them out again. * If this plan goes into effect, it was suggested that we could try to strike a deal with the storage unit to get a discount for member's also renting spaces. * Another Wood Shop proposal is to steeply increase the Wood Shop tool fee. Right now the Wood Shop fee isn't even close to covering maintenance costs. This fee could also be reduced based on how much individual members help to clean. * After much discussion, the board decided that we should start tracking which members actually use the space and when. Until now, the door lock checks for valid keys, but has not recorded what keys are used and when. This was for privacy concerns. Now the board feels it would be good to record what keys are being used to open the door and when. In this way we can see who is actually using the space and in the future can compare the list to people doing the cleaning. The record of key uses would only be available to members of the Board of Directors. Matt agreed to work on altering the door lock's programming to accomplish this. * Jake suggested we hang an expanded volunteer time checklist. Something that lists individual tasks, and includes a place for names and the date the person performed them. In this way, we can compare the list of members who are using the space and the people helping to clean, then contact members who aren't pulling their weight. * It was also noted that we should emphasize cleaning in the tour script and more in the Orientation email. * Amidst the discussion on cleaning, the idea of badge access was floated. That is, to make some tools require the member's key in order to work. * The difficulty with this is how to make sure a tool stays on and doesn't stop prematurely. * There are reportedly lots of documents and some source code to make this work in the Nation of Makers (a national makerspace association) online library. The problem has always been that membership to that is expensive, and no board members have been willing to take the time to research it. * A simpler alternative has also been proposed: use a lock out tag out system on the bigger tools. Tags (or keys) could be stored in a lock box, and members use their keys to access the tags and gain access to the tool.\ Matt expressed interest in this, but decided to focus first on making the door record key uses. ### SHR Renewal > Vote to renew a member's SHR at 50% of the normal member fee. > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Space Updates * Wes dropped off the brake for the Metal Shop he was offering * Someone requested to use our space for a gathering of coworkers. He will bring all the supplies, only the physical space is needed. Matt volunteered to contact him and, if he approves, to be the member attending the event. * We still need to pay Janell $1000 to reimburse her for the rocket club expenses. * Brad agreed to set up an account on BlackBaud - a charitable donation site thingy. * We need to find who has the password to our Benevity account so we can renew our eligibility on the site. * Dave lost the key to our PO box, but he'll figure out how to get a replacement key. ### Meeting Adjourned * Did you know: Only about 30% of recipients read a mass email. # June 2025 - Board Meeting 06/04/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting **06/04/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Matt** * **Director: Chris** * **Director: John** **Absent:** * **Vice President: Jake** ### Review of Votes Conducted by Email in Past Month * On May 9th, the board received an email from Janell Pittman saying that her son's team is competing in the American Rocketry Challenge and that they've made it to the national competition in Washington D.C. The team was originally sponsored by Friends of Johnston ELP, and had secured a $1,000 corporate donation. This corporate donation payment had to go to a non-profit or school, but unfortunately the Friends of Johnston ELP was not comfortable with the transaction. Consequently, Janell Pittman was asking if we would be willing to sponsor the kids' rocket team so then we could receive the corporate donation, and use it to fund the kids' travels to Washington D.C. and possible future rocketeering. Since the rocket team was under a time crunch, the motion was voted on by email instead of waiting until the next board meeting. > Motion: That the space fund $2,650 towards the team for the 2026 competition, $1,000 in cash and 3 one year memberships (Effectively a 100% SHR since they are in 7th grade). Additionally, we act as the team sponsor for next year (they have to be affiliated with a Non-Profit to compete) and include this as a project in our next Prairie Meadows Community Grant. > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * The Secretary wanted it noted that John did all the work communicating and coordinating with Mrs. Pittman. * Channel 13 interviewed the kids at the maker space. * Ultimately, the kids took 64th out of all the 1,001 teams in the competition. They also did it all by themselves, with no grown-ups, cell phones, or pre-made kits. * We received the kids' corporate donation. The kids haven't picked up their membership yet. ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve the minutes of the May board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Current Members: 90 * One member discovered he'd been double paying every month. We refunded him all the overage. ### Financials * We received two PayPal donations for our old 3D printers. That money should go to whatever fund was used to buy the new Prusas. * Back in April, Brad verbally agreed with Jerry to raise our rent by $150 per month. ([See April minutes](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2025/april-2025-board-meeting)) The rent check for June included the additional money, but Brad was instructed to get the increased rent prive in writing from Jerry. (Note from the future: Jerry complied, no problem.) ### Space Updates * Isaiah is installing the new helical head on the 15" planer. * Dave purchased a Harbor Freight press brake (Note: This is not the finger break that the past "In for $10" was raising money for.) * One of our members offered to donate a larger brake, Dave is going to talk with him about it. * We need to order some routine supplies, particularly toilet paper, white trash bags and paper towels. Jake normally handles that but since he's gone, Meg said she would take care of it. * It was also noted that we have an abundance of large black trash bags. We should check if those are on auto order, and if so take it off. * The bag-less vacuum is still broken. What some board members found frustrating is that a note saying it's broken was taped on it and it was left in the classroom. Instead, the discoverer should have emailed the Tools group or at least posted a message on the google group. It was generally decided that we should try to repair the darn thing ourselves. * Chris kindly offered to donate a vacuum of his to the space. John asked if he could bring it to the next Open House. * The Wood Shop Stewards expressed frustration with members not following all the rules. Brad offered to hang up more of his "Oh S%\*#" posters to encourage more Tool Steward communication. * All agreed on the need to do more orientation training with new members. It would be optimal to do it during Space Work Nights. * Brad also offered to work on a New Member Orientation Video. ### Robot Combat Cage * Matt is interested in constructing a robot combat cage at the maker space. His first item of business will be asking Jerry if he could use a 4' x 4' space of the courtyard. Meeting Adjourned * "Did we figure out what was wrong with the vacuum?"\ "I just hid it for the interview." * "... Then I don't have to touch your keyboard. This way we'll both be happier." - Context of this quote has been lost to history. # May 2025 - Board Meeting 05/07/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting **05/07/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Chris** * **Director: John** * **Director: Matt** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve the minutes of the April board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Membership Update: 89 * Both Isaiah and Jake recently gave tours to people. ### Financials * Our gas bill will be going up $0.17 per unit. * Our water useage has gone down over time, perhaps because the leaky toilet got fixed. ### Space Updates * Vacuum Former Steward > Vote to designate Brad F as a Steward for the Vacuum Former > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed (Note, Brad abstained from the vote because A. it concerned him, and B. he was pretty sure it was going to pass anyway.) * The new helical cutter for the Wood Shop planer has arrived. Now it just needs to be installed. ### Meeting Adjourned * "We do still have members, right?"\ "Well, things are still breaking so..." * Person 1: "Has anyone done anything that we need to do a disciplinary action?"\ Person 2: "Not that you know of... just don't check the cameras."\ Person 3: "There's other cameras too, make sure you turn those off. I can show you where they are." # April 2025 - Member Meeting April 26, 2025 - Member Meeting **April 26, 2025 - Member Meeting** **Total Number of Full Members Attending (including proxy votes): 14** **Quorum required 14 Full members and was reached.** **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Secretary: Brad * Director: John ### Financials * Our monthly rent is going up by $150 due to rising property tax. Jerry will work out exactly how much we owe later, for now the increase is $150. * Brad provided an update on the Laser "In for $10" drive. Almost $3k has been pledged, about half of which has already been collected. It was noted that donations can be returned if the "In for $10" fails. ### Current Members: 86 * John and Dave attended and set up a table at Hamfest, a ham radio gathering held at the fair grounds. John said they talked to about 3 dozen interested people. ### Tool Area Updates * Auto Shop - Has a new transmission jack and screw jack * Metal Shop - Enco Mill is now working, needs some lubrication * Vacuum Former - This is now working! * Laser Area - A new tube was just installed * Thanks to Chris, there is now a work bench in the Electronics room specifically for stained glass work. He also mounted the wire rack on the wall so it is up and out of the way. * Jason will soon be taking home his various Wood Shop equipment soon. * There is a knitting machine still up for grabs for the low, low price of just-take-it-home! * One of the new members is using the sewing machines for cosplay stuff! * 3D Printing - There are 3 Prusas up and running, plus a delta style machine almost up and running. All have WiFi access to status, and models can be sent to them to print from anywhere on the premises. ### Miscellaneous Updates * It was asked if we're still looking to move to a new location. The answer is no. At one time our landlord seemed to indicate that he was going to want our portion of the building back for his business, but he has since stopped talking about that at all. * We received sad news. Jay Byers unexpectedly passed away. ([Link to obituary](https://www.ilesfuneralhomes.com/obituary/Jay-Byers/Des-Moines-Iowa/1893349)) He was a former president of Simpson College, member of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, and a big supporter of the maker space. He had even held one of the partnership's meetings in our present location. * The most recent Space Clean Up Night was attended by a "small but mighty" group of volunteers. New members are always encouraged to attend these. ### Vote to Upgrade Supporting Members to Full * No members requested upgrading ### Next Member Meeting * July 19th, 3:00pm ### Meeting Adjourned * "I don't know if it's fixed, but it's different" 666666 # April 2025 - Board Meeting 04/02/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting 04/02/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg (remote)** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Matt** * **Director: Chris** * **Director: John** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve the minutes of the March board meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Membership Update: 86 ### Disciplinary Deliberation * The board extensively discussed the best way to respond to an incident. Although the details are redacted here, the topic heading remains because the Secretary is always antsy, angling for alliteration. ### Financials * Jerry's property taxes are going up, as a result he will be asking us to pay more in rent. For the time being, he is asking us to pay $150 more per month. Later he'll do the math and work out exactly how much more we owe. We already gave him rent checks for April and May, so he is fine with us paying more in the June rent check. * As of this meeting, Meg had yet to file our taxes but it's on her to do list. * Jake has 2 reimbursement requests, Brad has one coming as well. * Meg got 2 more checks from Benevity paying for volunteer hours. John created a log in with Benevity and set up direct deposit so we won't have to bother with checks anymore. Emails were also sent to Brad and Meg for them to create Benevity system log ins too. ### New Laser "In for $10" Campaign * Brad F is leading the campaign. Our goal is $5k, with a stretch goal of another $1k if we get the Prairie Meadows grant. * To date, almost $3k has been pledged. About half of that has already been collected. Of the pledges that not been yet been filled, some are holding off because they're corporate matching funds and are non-refundable. * Some members have contributed using the Black Box. Meg will help us figure out from whom and how much. ### Space Updates * The Metal Mill has been used for its first project! * Dave tried to get the Harbor Freight finger break for a previous In for $10 but they were out of stock. * The Vacuum Former should become functional about 30 minutes after this meeting. (Note from the future: it became functional the next day after Brad realized his wiring mistake.) * Matt is working on updating the Rostock 3D printer. He got a new screen for it. * John is working on printing 3D swag for the upcoming Woodworkers talk and tour. * The ASME tour went well, and were a pretty cool group of people. * The 3D Printing Stewards were commended for the great job they did cleaning up and reorganizing their room. * Jake is getting close to finishing the Milo Millennium Mill he is building. * The Wood Shop now has 2 band saws and the new drum sander running. ### Meeting Adjourned * On learning to use the Metal Mill under Caroline's tutelage: "You plug it in, go like this and go like this, and then Caroline says "NO! NOT LIKE THAT!" - Dave * "That's the goal... shame you into compliance." - the context of this quote has been lost to history but the Secretary still finds it funny * "I have a system in the Auto Shop. I pile the new stuff on top of the other stuff." - Dave # March 2025 - Board Meeting 03/05/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting **03/05/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave (remote)** * **Vice President: Jake (remote)** * **Secretary: Brad (remote)** * **Director: John (remote)** * **Director: Matt (remote)** * **Director: Chris (remote)** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** Note: Meeting was held remotely due to a snow storm. ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve the minutes of the February board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Matt's check for volunteering was deposited. * John created an admin account with, and setup direct deposit from, the organization which handles payments for volunteer hours. Although the direct deposit may not be available in time for the next 2 checks. ### Membership Update: 85

Number of Members over Time

* Brad made a graph of membership count over time using the member number given in the minutes of every board meeting. An inflection point occurs in January 2024, when dues were increased from $40 to $50. ([Here is a link to the Oct. 2023 member meeting where this was decided.](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2020/october-2020-member-meeting)) We are still operating in the black, even though we have fewer members. * Chris reached out to several Facebook groups asking if they would publicize our Open Houses. * On March 18th at 6pm, we'll host a special tour for a local chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). * Matt is working on a presentation to the local Wood Workers Club, which will be given on May 16th, 6-7pm. He'll be talking about ways to integrate 3D printing into wood working. * Chris asked to become involved as well. * We'll probably print some 3D swag to give away at the meeting, perhaps center finders. ### Space Updates * Jake's new metal CNC mill is getting close to completion. He has all the components. * Unsurprisingly, Brad already requested training on it. * Chris will bring a new drum sander that Jake purchased, to the space. * The Wood Shop requests $1k for a helical head jointer for the 15" Jet planar. The Wood Stewards also discussed selling the Rikon jointer. > Request to purchase a helical head for the Jet planar for about $1k from general funds. > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * Vacuum Former Update: Brad finished making the lid, has purchased a plug for it, and is in communication with Jason about the wiring. * The newly purchased 3D printers are getting a lot of use. * The Enco mill (the Bridgeport-like mill purchased from Ryan) is now up and running! Caroline is training Dave on how to use it. * Auto Shop is getting a new transmission jack and 2 pull jacks. They're going to throw away the old floor transmission jack. * We received a second, smaller surface plate that has threaded inserts in it. Apparently the inserts make it not worth keeping so it may be sold. * Carlin collected his anvil and took one of the metal table bases from the courtyard as asked. There are still a few tables left in the courtyard to deal with. * Jake mentioned doing a slight remodel of the 3D Printing room. * We won't know if we got the Prairie Meadows grant until late summer. * Dave is in contact with a person who holds a Repair Day, they requested a video meeting. * A woman from the City of Des Moines Economic Development Office came and got a tour. She kindly offered to write about us in her newsletter. ### Meeting Adjourned * "I propose we use Wing Dings" - Dave, after a brief discussion about using serif vs non-serif fonts to record meeting minutes. * At one point Jake's connection to the remote meeting was dropped and he had to log back on.\ "Jake is on AOL dial up. His Mom accidentally picked up the phone." - Dave\ "I'm running out of CD's!" - Jake * "If I shove an unfinished project under something else then it doesn't count." - said during a discussion about clean desks. # February 2025 - Board Meeting 02/05/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting **02/05/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave (remote)** * **Vice President: Jake (remote)** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: John** * **Director: Matt (remote)** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Director: Chris** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve the minutes of the January board meeting > > Yes: 4 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed > > Note: Not everyone was in the meeting when this vote happened, but we still had enough for quorum. ### Refiling with State of Iowa * Jake took care of this. Chris' name was accidentally spelled wrong, but there's no way to correct it online. * Interestingly, only non-profits require the names and addresses of everyone on the board. ### Current Members: 85 * We had over 10 people at our last Open House. Most people have found our space through Google search. Apparently our ranking in the search engine changed for the better somehow. * The new 3D printers have been super popular. ### Laser Grant Application * Big thank yous to (in no particular order) Chris, Isaiah, John, Bailey and Brad for working on this Prairie Meadows grant application. * Among the items still to do for the application, we need a direct quote from the company. Isaiah already reached out and is waiting to hear back. * We had looked at applying to Bravo for a grant. Jake spoke with them and discovered we're not the kind of organization they're looking to fund. * In order to show Prairie Meadows that we're serious about this application, it was decided that the space would match private donations up to $5,000. That is as much as we usually allocate for buying new tools over a whole year. So far $2,140 has been pledged in private donations. > Vote to match up to $5,000 in new laser donations from the general fund > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * The next steps are to finish and submit the application, and keep asking members for donations. * If the space ever got an audit done on its finances, we would be eligible to apply for much larger grants. However, since those cost around $5k, we decided to focus on writing better grants first. ### Game Night! * Friday, Feb. 14 at 6:30pm * Much fun and merriment will be had by all. ### Space Updates * The state of Iowa is getting rid of some of the PPE supplies that it stocked up on during the pandemic, and offered it free to nonprofits. Brad applied and picked up... * 600 N95 masks * 200 Splash goggles * 500+ full body protective suits\* * 80 polyester nylon gowns \*Technically, the boxes are labeled "Proetective Siuts" * After the meeting Brad stored and labeled the boxes and sent a notice out to all members that the PPE was free to anyone who wanted to use it. * There was some discussion about whether we wanted to attend the next Mini Maker Faire at the Science Center in August. We attended in years past but never found it effective at generating new members. Nobody expressed interest in leading the effort to attend this year. * Discussion then turned to when Dave went to a full Maker Faire in Kansas City. It was held at Union Station and was easily 10x the area of the Science Center's mini one. ### Meeting Adjourned * Let the record show: Dave purchased the surface grinder all by himself from DMACC for $1. * While setting up the Google Meet call, Dave accidentally created an audio feedback loop momentarily. "Now you can hear me an infinite number of times!" - Dave * During the vote to match up to $5k in donations, Matt was attending remotely and was muted, so he voted by typing which lead to the following conversation...\ Brad: "Matt, you're voting 'L'?"\ Dave: "I think that's a one."\ Brad: "Wait, I get it. it's a capital 'I' as in 'aye'."\ Everyone: "Ooh." * The above would probably be funnier if rendered in a serif font. #### Financials # January 2025 - Member Meeting January 25, 2025 - Member Meeting **January 25, 2025 - Member Meeting** **Total Number of Full Members Attending (including proxy votes): 14** Quorum required 12 Full Members, and so was reached **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Secretary: Brad * Director: John * Director: Chris ### Financials * We're running in the black. We have enough in reserve to pay our bills for the next 2.5 years even if all our members disappeared. * The Investment Committee hasn't met so won't be changing anything. ### Current Members: 84 * 3 more were added last Tuesday * Typically Open Houses have been seeing between 1 and 5 visitors per night. One exceptional night had 12. * Recently newer members seem to be more likely to participate, but don't stay as long as members used to. * Space Clean Up Nights are still struggling to have enough people. ### Tool Area Updates #### 3D Printing * 2 new Prusas were purchased this month. They're almost twice as fast and come with easier-to-change nozzles. Prints can now be started from any local computer, not just the slicer in the 3D Printing room. The older Prusas will be sold. * Prusa introduced an enclosed Core model this month. The Stewards will look at it but probably wouldn't buy it for another 6 months. #### Lasers * Stewards are working on new Prairie Meadows grant application for a newer, better laser. * Stewards planning to purchase new laser tube soon. #### Metal Shop * The rotary phase converter is now working! * Therefore the metal mill runs, but isn't ready for member use. * The surface grinder now also runs. #### Wood Shop * Stewards Chris and Isaiah keep fighting the good fight to keep it clean and well maintained. #### Stained Glass Area * A member made a frame for a stained glass work bench to go in the Electronics room. Unfortunately, that person is no longer a member and the bench isn't finished. Chris said he'd help get that finished. Bailey said she'd give him the dimensions. #### Auto Shop * Will get busy starting in February, so if you want time on the lift better contact Dave soon. #### CNC * Jake is building a Milomill using some of our old, leftover CNC parts. His plan is to use it to build a second Milomill specifically for the space. Milomill is an open source machine for cutting soft metals. #### Textiles * There's a knitting machine for sale for the low, low price of: you have to take all the books that go with it. (translation: it's free) ### Vote to Upgrade Supporting Members to Full * No members requested upgrading ### Miscellaneous * Space Work Nights are the third Thursday of every month. A year ago some suggested creating a Sunday night shift as well, for the people who can't make it on weeknights. That Sunday shift is still in need of someone to organize it. * There is an old K40 laser sitting in the classroom. It was donated to us several years ago. A member has first right of refusal on purchasing it. It will be sold eventually. ### Next Member Meeting * April 26th, 3pm ### Meeting Adjourned * Old Joke: Why does a town never have just one lawyer?\ Answer: Because he or she would starve. * "Can you fit an F150 in the Auto Shop?"\ "Depends on how much you like your \[side] mirrors." # January 2025 - Board Meeting 01/01/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting **01/01/2025 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg (remote)** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: John** * **Director: Chris (remote)** * **Director: Matt** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve the minutes of the December board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Meg had some difficulties accessing our bank account as the bank still had a previous member's phone number as contact information. Brad said he would help with that. * Once Meg has access again she'll email us a year end account. ### Current Members: 76 * Our total member population has been shrinking * We need about 70 members to stay in the black, so we have enough members to continue for now. * We've had a number of transient members using the Auto Shop lately. ### Space Updates * Jake proposed a number of things we could do to make the space look "less haggard." * Sell the current Prusa 3D printers and purchase new ones (4S model) * Get a Core1 printer which is designed with an enclosure * Get the Jet planar running in the Wood Shop * Get the CNC router table working again * Finish the metal mill * Purchase a bigger, better laser. Either apply for a grant or purchase something ourselves in the $5k range * Jake is building a Milomill, a small open source CNC machine specifically for soft metals. It will use some of our old CNC parts that aren't currently in use. * Brad got the go ahead to put improved OpenBuilds end stops on the Piranha to make it less janky. * Matt will be going to a Des Moines Woodworkers Club meeting in May. * In the Wood Shop, Chris has plans to use the band saw that's on loan from Charlie. One band saw will have a large blade for rough cuts, the other a small blade for fine cuts. * Chris will also email Jason about taking his planer home. #### Sandblasting Cabinet & Air Compressor * A member proposed a number of upgrades for the sandblasting cabinet. The board decided to leave it up to the Metal Stewards for how to proceed. * This sparked a discussion of our current air compressor. We have been planning to run metal pipe from the air compressor (in the Auto Shop) over to the sand blasting cabinet (in the Metal Shop) for a number of years. * The next step in that project is a plan detailing how much pipe we need to buy and exactly what fittings we're going to need. * It was also suggested that we could move the existing air compressor into the Metal Shop, reuse the tank but replace everything else. A new 5 hp Ingersol Rand motor would be about $1400 plus several hundred more in accessories. ### New Laser Grant Application * Last year we applied for, but did not get, a grant from Prairie Meadows for a new laser. We received notice that Prairie Meadows is accepting new grant applications until 2/28. * We definitely want to apply again. To that end, Isaiah's mother has a lot of experience writing grants and Isaiah agreed to ask her how we could improve our application. * Most grant organizations look favorably on grants where other people and organizations are contributing too, so we discussed possible ways to raise more money for a new laser. * Another maker space raised money for new equipment by finding companies willing to pay for the service that equipment would provide. In other words, we could find companies willing to pay for their stuff to be laser-ed on our machines, and members would have to be willing to put in the time. It was noted that we would need to check on the tax implications of this. * One of our members, Deb, played a large part writing our grant application last year. Brad said he would reach out to her to see if she was willing to help again this year. * Ultimately, it was agreed that Brad would take point on the new grant application, and both John and Chris agreed to help as well. ### 3D Printer Purchases > Vote to purchase 2 new Prusa Mk4s printers (which each run $730 plus tax and fees) and sell our 2 existing Prusas and the Ender. (The Revo printer will stay.) > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Miscellaneous * Jake offered to help Meg update Tool Fees * One member apparently paid both the Tool Fee and a Yearly Membership fee together using the "Donations" button on the website because his information didn't autopopulate on the Current Members sheet. * The space needs to file its biennial report with the state of Iowa to maintain its nonprofit status. * The idea of giving Ward his own parking space on the grass was discussed, given his walking difficulties. * Brad told the story of how his mother passed away. ### Meeting Adjourned * Did you know? Apparently there is more than 1 replica KITT car in the city of Des Moines! The Secretary is frustrated at his failure to ever spot one. # 2024 {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/pbRslm7p6bydeLW4nLWP" %} [December 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/december-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/VgqK0kAPh9fgmzBDu4Ui" %} [November 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/november-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/ZaGE6rGjH9bM3WeUqLAa" %} [October 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/october-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/eAFZareR2WxjM4OXJjlH" %} [September 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/september-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/cosWn6a0dzyBVaf8JUqd" %} [August 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/august-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/oJrLLhlc5Dl0cISb1PWp" %} [July 2024 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/july-2024-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/6jXRjNOzCFurDTEtftxF" %} [July 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/july-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/ef5GdJbpYMQ6wGT3oeeF" %} [June 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/june-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/KgKE732f8k3m0fcHYFr2" %} [May 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/may-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/yqBOc0UjpLqQnEyuv0nN" %} [April 2024 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/april-2024-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/cxc3DDbf7Q9Trw6uyPLb" %} [April 2024 - Tool Stewards & Trainers Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/april-2024-tool-stewards-and-trainers-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/yWTJSAw6bXDhx0AXaqHe" %} [April 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/april-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/Jc4qxl5fPOm3IFJS59m4" %} [March - CEC Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/march-cec-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/6RBCUIf9P9OENWwuXbMK" %} [March 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/march-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/hwJQqprmnNo3kciVQTyS" %} [February 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/february-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/yfOg5kdZAYA6PMl7Fyox" %} [January 2024 - Member Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/january-2024-member-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/spaces/-Mj\_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9/pages/qlvqo2yhrhg5W67Wv3tE" %} [January 2024 - Board Meeting](/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/january-2024-board-meeting) {% endcontent-ref %} # December 2024 - Board Meeting 12/11/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting **12/11/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Matt** * **Director: John** * **Director: Chris** **Absent:** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve the minutes of the November board meeting > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * We got a check from the Blackbaud fund for someone who volunteered ### Current Members: 80 * Matt visited Hammerspace in Kansas City. It's run by one guy who also runs a business out of it. It's a pretty well established space. * Its owner once tried to issue badges to members who could use the welder, but he found it made people overconfident and stopped doing that. * Apparently the owner also has a paint booth of we would want it, Matt didn't actually see it. * The owner doesn't do any marketing, mostly he attends comic conventions and people find out about it that way. A lot of people who attend these conventions like to cosplay, and makerspaces are perfect for making costumes. * The owner uses color-coded aprons. Some board members felt this was a little too hierarchical for their taste. * Discussion then turned to paint booths. * For us to have an actual paint booth we would need a license. There are rules about what you can and cannot do. * For instance, only certain kinds of fans are approved for paint booths. The wrong kinds can emit sparks that can make some paint fumes explode-y. * Discussion then moved to other makerspaces. * Every space seems to evolve differently. * The Waterloo makerspace (Cedar Valley Makers) recently moved in to a larger location. * Brad mentioned visiting the Nashville makerspace, and that they have all their MSDS sheets available. * The Peoria space is similar to ours, but they have less room so all of their stuff is on rolling carts. * Xerocraft, the makerspace in Tucson, AZ had specific times that members could use the space. As of 2016, when Brad left, they hadn't figured out how they were going to give keys to members. * Discussion turned to marketing our own makerspace * In the past we've discussed attending the Valley Junction Farmer's Market * Our biggest problem attending any events has always been the staffing. Not a lot of members want to sit in a booth for hours on end. * John long ago filled a crate with things with which we can display at booths. * The idea of also bringing our new soldering stations was discussed. * We used to attend the Science Museum's Mini-Maker Faire. * Brad set up a 3D scanner where kids could get themselves scanned, and then come in to the space and 3D print themselves. Only 1 kid contacted us about getting their print, and they never picked it up. * John went around talking with other booths at the faire, none of them were interested in the makerspace. They all already had their own tools. * John and Brad began working on a video that could show people how sign up works and what they can expect. * John found out that the downtown library has an audio booth, which we could use to record voice over for the video. ### Space Updates * A new member joined using a credit card on PayPal but didn't autopopulate in the Member List. Brad said he would investigate. * We'll need to submit our biennial report to the state in 2025. Jake is our registered agent for that. * Brad broke and then mostly fixed the Piranha CNC. * The board discussed some of the beautiful stuff Chris made on the Lead CNC. * We'll cancel the Open Houses on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. * Prairie Meadows is accepting grant applications again. Brad told Isaiah he would send him everything from last year's grant application. * The Wood Shop needs a new cutter head for the Jet 15" planer. They're considering upgrading to a helical one. They may sell the Rikon Jointer/Planer. Nothing was decided. * Some members may be taking home some of our consumable items. * For instance, a box of nitrile gloves that Dave brought in and which was still ¾ full disappeared. * A box of blue shop towels disappeared suspiciously fast. ### Meeting Adjourned * Wood Shop Steward #1 (in discussing grant applications) "I'll ask my Mom."\ Wood Shop Steward #2: "Your Mom likes me better." * From a discussion in which someone came to talk with the Wood Shop Stewards...\ Wood Shop Steward #1: "I think he was kind of intimidated by how much work we were doing."\ Wood Shop Steward #2: "None?" # November 2024 - Board Meeting 11/06/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting **11/06/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg (remote)** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Chris** * **Director: Matt (remote)** * **Director: John** ### Welcome New Board Members * Chris and Matt were welcomed by the previous board members. It was noted that their emails need to be added to the email list. ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve the minutes of the October board meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Meg looked into the missing checks from the Science Center and emailed them asking for more information. * Brad put the wrong Financials document in the October Member Meeting notes. ### Current Members: 78 * Brad emailed members asking for them to submit passport-like photos of themselves to be added to the Current Members database. He also put the request on the Google Group and Slack. As of meeting time, 12 members have responded so far. * It was decided that whichever board member makes a key for a new member, that board member should also take the new member's picture. * John said he would add the request for a photo to the welcome letter new members receive. * Open House attendance has been low lately * It was speculated that we should try advertising for new members. We're not hurting financially, but on a Number of Members vs Time graph the slope of the line would be negative. * A new member purchased a key for himself and a minor, then bought a third key for the member's spouse to be able to also supervise the minor while at the space. After some discussion, Dave said he would talk to the new members and let them know that, except for some areas, 1 adult key is sufficient to supervise the minor. As long as the minor wasn't using one of those areas, they didn't need to purchase a second adult key. ### Space Updates * Matt A went to a meeting of the DSM woodworkers. There was talk of collaborating with them but there's nothing to report so far. * The Rotary Phase Converter is "mostly together" per Dave, although it still needs some bigger gauge wiring. * Dave has some stuff to order for the Auto Shop. He also still needs to order the finger break for the Metal Shop. * The chop saw in the Wood Shop is working again. * The Wood Shop Stewards started issuing parking tickets to people storing wood where they shouldn't be. This was highly successful and there is now more space available. * Dave made progress on his arcade stand in the classroom. * Ward knows someone who writes grants. Brad agreed to send him all the info from our previous grant application to give to this person. The possibility of approaching the head of Greenleaf asking for help in grant writing was also mentioned. * There was some question as to whether the newly elected board of directors starts meeting immediately (that is, the first Wednesday of the month after elections - aka. *this* meeting) or at the start of next year. John did some research and found that, yes, the newly elected board has always started meeting right after the elections. (In other words, this meeting was done correctly.) ### Meeting Adjourned * The context of the following quotation is lost to time, but darned if the Secretary isn't including it anyway...\ "Brad's better than us" - Jake\ "You can put that in the notes" - Dave * "I had two people look over my work and say, 'Huh, I guess that'll work." * "Congratulations! You're not on the board anymore!" - Facetiously said to a member of the previous board who forgot about the election and sent an email apologizing for missing this meeting. # October 2024 - Member Meeting October 26, 2024 - Member Meeting **Area 515 - Member Meeting Minutes - October 26, 2024** Call to order 3:05 pm Note: Many thanks to John W for taking notes as the Secretary was unavailable. **Attending full members and proxies: 17** Quorum required 12 Full members, and so was reached
### Financial * Overall Financial Health: Dave read report from meg (see email) {% file src="/files/E0zQhuVEiVF5L5izLwhR" %} * Investment Committee: Nothing new to report ### Membership fees discussion * Per Bylaws: Fees for full and supporting members shall be set by a vote of the full members at the yearly meeting by a simple majority. ([Link](https://legal.area515.org/legal-documents/bylaws#section-5-fees-and-other-obligations)) > Vote to continue at current rate > > Yes: 16 > > No: 0 > > Absent: 1 > > Result: No change to membership rate ### Discussion RE tool fees * Discussed changing to monthly with a subscription option * Lots of agreement that monthly would be better than annual * Discussed some areas needing to raise fees, I.e. woodshop ### State of the Space * Membership: 79 total * 24 full ### Discussion * Nov 14th, Maker of things in Iowa event. We should present at. * Present at DMWA in March * Farmers Market * Need members to engage with the spaces social media * If members post something, then they are @ area515 and we will repost ### Tool Areas * Woodshop * Trying to keep up with repairs * Very high usage this year * Need to keep things clean going into the holiday season * Need to report broken or missing tools ASAP * Parking tickets went out this week * Please remove longer term projects to person storage * Lasers * Are stable * Did not get the recent grant * Looking for more grants to get a 100W * Electronics * Glass station is in progress * Thanks for printing the new bins * Textiles * New bench is finished * Knitting machine is for sale * Missing some parts * Sold As Is * Make any offer * Comes with lots of books as well * Bobbin winder also for sale * Is working and is $200 firm * Metalshop * Is there * Wants to add a metal dust collector * RFC is ready to be tested * SFC could be donated on 10/28 * 3D printer * Things are working * New HEPA filter * Autoshop * New safety tools on order * Tell David to move his cars out whenever * CNC * LEAD back up and running * Took lots of hands to get it going. ### Vote to promote Supporting members to Full members * None requested at this time ### Election for 2024-2025 Board of Directors * Nominations: President - Dave Vice President - Jake Treasurer - Meg Secretary - Brad
Nomination for general Director Positions: Chris Krohn John Whiteman Matt Amue > As there was one nomination for every position, the whole slate of nominees was voted on a yes/no basis. > > Yes: 17 > > No: 0 > > Result: All candidates are now members of the 2024-2025 Board of Directors ### Housekeeping * Work nights * Promote to the new members * Classes * Felting, Bailey to contact instructor * Belts, Jason to lead maybe next year * Game night * This fall * Iowans of Things * Partnership event * HAM Radio class / group * Renewed interests after Helena and what happened in SC * If you’ve never used one before you need to practise before trying it in an emergency * Member Competitions: * Chair making? ### Miscellaneous * Upgrading and adding more cameras to Security System; maybe upgrading the PC for them also * Next meeting is January 25th at 3 PM. ### Meeting Adjourned Adjourned at 3:37pm “I has 5 proxies, I have a lot of power, I change my title to El Presidente” - Dave # October 2024 - Board Meeting 10/02/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting **10/02/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: John** * **Director: Carlin (remote)** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Director: Jason** ### Approval of Minutes from 2 Previous Meetings > Vote to approve the minutes of the August and September meetings. > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 ### Financials * The cost of our insurance went up $250 * Our landlord has told us our rent will be increasing due to increasing property taxes ### Current Members: 84 * Brad still needs to request photos from members to add to the Current Members sheet. ### Space Updates * Recently had a visitor from DSM woodworkers who was interested in collaborating * Matt will demo 3D printers and woodworking for him * He was very impressed by Matt's couplers * We might have a special Open House for DSM woodworkers sometime this winter or spring. * Lead CNC is very close to being ready for members to use again. * Don wants help running the cable for the additional security cameras * Dave and Don and maybe Jake also need to determine what to request to upgrade the security server * Planning to move the camera currently behind the wood storage rack to the hallway ### Items for Member Meeting * Jason is working to select the music he'll play when he gets to leave the board so he is definitely not running for reelection. * Carlin said he'd only run if there's a need * After asking if they wanted to trade jobs, Dave and Jake decided to run for reelection in their current positions, and promptly nominated each other. * John and the CEC will hold a social get-together, Fall-themed popcorn and candybar thing at 2pm, the hour before the member meeting. ### Meeting Adjourned * At the outset of the meeting, Brad was so hopped up on Mountain Dew that he spilled it all over the table. * In discussing how Carlin, in addition to being a full time knife maker, has 2 small kids to take care of... "You're busier than insert-your-colorful-metaphor-here" * When Brad attends a meeting remotely he wears a pair of noise muffling headphones. The result is that he only hears the meeting, but the microphone picks up his kids' activities... "It sounded like all holy hell was going on and you were sitting there like it was nothing." - Dave\ "Yes, those were the good old days." - Brad # September 2024 - Board Meeting 09/04/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting **09/04/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Treasurer: Meg (remote)** * **Secretary: Brad (remote)** * **Director: John** * **Director: Jason** **Absent:** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Director: Carlin** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting * The Secretary was ashamed as he did not type up the notes from the August meeting yet. He will rectify this by the next meeting. ### Financials * The member who had surgery as[ noted in the May board meeting notes](https://legal.area515.org/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/may-2024-board-meeting#membership-update-97) still is not able to use the space so his/her recurring membership will be canceled, presumably until he has recuperated. * We received a $10 donation for electronics * Steward Chris needs to be reimbursed for a Wood Shop expense he submitted. * One member may have paid for the same time period twice. One of the board members will talk with him to see if this was the case or if he was paying ahead. ### Current Members: 90 * Open House attendance has been light lately * A couple weeks ago a person stopped by who plans to open an indoor mini golf course ### Space Updates * Members continue breaking things in the Wood Shop, one was even a new guy. * Due to tools disappearing, about half of the drawers in the Auto Shop tool chest will soon be under combination lock. Dave (Auto Shop Steward) will be in charge of disseminating the combination. * Laser computer is fully up and running! Thanks largely to John and Don! * The Lead CNC is almost back up and running. Retraining videos are ### Security Camera Discussion * We have 7 cameras available to add to the Security System. Three of them are already destined for the following areas... * CNC * courtyard * back hallway * One of the Wood Shop cameras also needs to be repositioned as it is currently behind the Wood Storage rack. * When the new cameras are added we'll need to add more storage to the security computer. Dave and Don will discuss what is needed. ### Next Member Meeting and Elections * The next member meeting is on 10/26 at 3pm. Elections for the 2024-2025 Board of Directors will be held so everyone should start thinking about whether they want to run again or not. The Secretary will start a nominations thread in the Google group. Jason said he will start selecting his walk off music. ### Meeting Adjourned * The drawer in the Auto Shop Dave has decided not to lock up is known as the "Drawer of Random Allen Wrenches" # August 2024 - Board Meeting 08/14/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Treasurer: Meg (remotely)** * **Secretary: Brad (remotely)** * **Director: John** * **Director: Carlin (remotely)** * **Director: Jason (remotely - in pirate attire)** **Absent:** * **Vice President: Jake** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from July board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * The Science Center said it was missing a check. The Treasurer said she would pull check stubs to see if one matches what the Science Center is looking for. * Jake pulled money from the lock box that is now used for pop payments. The cash was too thick to put in the Treasurer's lock box, so in the future Jake will try transferring a little bit at a time. * Since we switched to using a lockbox for pop money (instead of the plastic pitcher we used to use) money is no longer disappearing from the fund! * Benevity wants us to recertify. The Treasurer said she'd get that done. We need Benevity certification to apply for a lot of grants. ### Current Members: 89 * 3 new members signed up last night! ### New Wood Shop Steward > Vote to approve Chris Krohn as a Wood Shop Steward > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Approved ### Space Updates * The board received a complaint about a member who distracted someone else while the other person was using a dangerous power tool. Dave had a discussion with this member. * Kudos were given to the Wood Shop Stewards for the new arrangement of the shop. * New members were sent email invitations to the next Space Work Night. * The new laser computer is now up and running! Many thanks to John W for making that happen! * There are 2 general purpose laptops in the classroom's red toolbox now. One of them may be commandeered for the vinyl cutter. * Dave mentioned he might be able to get another batch of Windows 11 capabale PCs for the space. * Under the auspices of the CEC, John proposed holding a social event facilitated with pizza for the October member meeting. It was decided more would likely attend if it was before the meeting. * Such an event would cost money. The CEC was given a [one-time $250 budget when it was created](https://legal.area515.org/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2022/august-2022-board-meeting#community-engagement-committee-proposal). The board decided to make this the CEC's annual budget. > Vote to give the CEC an annual budget of $250 > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * Although only 4 people showed up for Dave's short-notice paper airplane making shindig, there was still at least 1 paper airplane stuck in the ceiling at the time of this meeting so the Secretary declared it a success. * General reminder that Board elections would be held at the next member meeting, so all members should consider whether or not they want to run again. ### Classes * Connor is working on a stained glass making glass * Matt A did a soldering class a couple weeks ago. * Brad pointed out that technically the word "education" appears no where in our [mission statement](https://legal.area515.org/mission-statement). Therefore holding classes is not one of our obligations, although he expressed support for the endeavor. ### Meeting Adjourned * After the motion to adjourn was announced... \ "All those in favor say, Arrrrrr" - Dave # July 2024 - Member Meeting July 13, 2024 - Member Meeting **Total Number of Full Members Attending (including proxy votes): 23** Quorum required 12 Full Members, and so was reached **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake (by proxy) * Secretary: Brad * Director: Jason * Director: John (by proxy) * Director: Carlin (by proxy) Note: Many thanks to Matt A for taking notes as the Secretary was unavailable. ### Discussion * 3:03 PM call to order, made quorum * Board meeting Megan financials, looking good – 2300 surplus this year * Jason: Dollar menu joke * Dave: Tools & projects – auto shop, screw jacks, replace missing stuff * Board discussed budget and approved it * Projects * Rotary phase converter, power cables needed, close – allow use of mill and surface grinder * Jason fixed exhaust fan * CNC Router, software issues vcarve – profiles messy and vcarve 12 can solve, Jake looking into it and talking to support, Jake sending tool database to vcarve for them to upload * Stewards? * Toyota knitting machine, not getting used, get rid of it – talk to Bailey * Jason: New table for leather working or fabric for textiles * Prairie Meadows grant didn't receive * Ward: Grant writer? I know one * CEC (Community Engagement Committee) * Coverage going good, usually Matt, Dave, Ward, John on Tuesdays * Open houses running every week * Traveling artists stopped by * New members * Jeff Skallicky * Connor Sullivan * Voted in, unanimous * Don't dump battery acid * Reminders * If you don't know where something belongs, throw it away * Reminder to email if stuff is broken * Don't throw tools away, if broken email tools * Paint pens – can be used by tool area to paint pen their tools to claim their tools, on the paint pens, will work on a color code * If you see unsafe tool usage, regulate * Clean up days * Usually 3rd Thursday 630 PM * City of Des Moines, SCRUB battery clean up for free, if you're a resident 9/21 MEGA scrub * dsm.city * Bondurant or Grimes – might have to pay, schedule have to look up * Hangin' out the passenger side * Woodchuck, names: * Headin' for the hole * Des Moines Darryl * Bob * Tongue biter * Target practice * Nigel: 80w laser buy? * Bailey: Get w/ Brad ### Meeting Adjourned # July 2024 - Board Meeting 07/10/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting **07/10/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Jason** * **Director: John** * **Director: Carlin** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from June board meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Current Members: 89 ### Member Discipline * The board had a conversation around how best to respond to a member who has violated the Code of Conduct enough times that it rises to the level of the Board of Directors. * The board decided to... * disable the member's key until the member has a face to face conversation with one or more members of the board. * If there are any more complaints made against the member, including complaints about not cleaning up, their membership will be terminated. * The member will be informed of all of this in writing via email. * (Note from the future: On July 14 the member informed us they have a seasonal work schedule and are rarely in Des Moines right now. They will contact the board to set up a meeting when they return. As of August 14th the member has not contacted anyone.) ### SHR Renewal * A member's SHR needed renewal. > Vote to renew member's SHR for another 6 months > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Space Updates * The springs which automatically close the door to the Wood Shop broke. Jason is planning to get replacements and fix. * Dave did some more work on the Rotary Phase Converter. It needs a pigtail to plug in to the wall. Jason says it also needs thicker wire. He plans to put it next to the bench where the lathe tools are in the Metal Shop. * Jason also decided to destroy the Metal Shop's exhaust fan by accident. He had already repaired it by the time of this meeting. * Jason finished the new cutting table for the Textiles Room and it looks great! * There is a new-to-us drum sander in the Wood Shop. Jason is still looking for parts for the old one. * Jason also plans to bring a 12" disc sander back in. * A member stopped by recently to show off a table he made that will be in the state fair! * The Secretary still needs to send an email to all members asking them to send in a photo of themselves to attach to the Current Members spreadsheet. * We did not get the Prairie Meadows grant for a new laser. John replied to them with a nice thank you letter. * A conversation about grant writing developed. * We received the 2 computer monitors whose purchase was previously approved. ### Financials * We're in the black by $2200 for the year! * Still need to reimburse Jason * We have a new member who pays by check, so expiration will have to be manually updated. ### Meeting Adjourned * "You could probably drug them to be normal." - Speculative hypothesis concerning the Secretary's children. * Conversation snippets without context: * "You had me at, "Rocket Paper Airplane" * "It'll either work or it'll go up in smoke, right?" # June 2024 - Board Meeting 06/05/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting **06/05/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Jason** * **Vice President: Jake (by proxy)** * **Director: Carlin (by proxy)** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from May board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * We got a check for $150 for one of our member's volunteer time. ### Current Members: 94 * We've had a fairly steady influx of new members. New members have been told to attend space Work Nights. ### Vacuum Cleaner Decision * We need a new vacuum. We narrowed it down to 3 options: * An Orek * A Hoover commercial bagless model * a Kenmore * It was decided that we should buy the Hoover. Even though one of the other models might be easier to clean, nobody changes the bags. * Thanks to John for researching our options and persisting with this project. ### Computer Upgrades * Dave obtained some Windows 11 capable computers ([See Space Updates in last month's notes](https://legal.area515.org/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/may-2024-board-meeting#space-updates)) but they need monitors, RAM and storage. The cost of what's needed was estimated to be $340. > Vote to spend $340 of general funds to purchase monitors, RAM and storage for the new computers. > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Shopify Update * John presented the results of playing around with Shopify. It looks like it will do what we need in terms of memberships, subscriptions, and tool fees. Tool Fees can probably be implemented in their current form, instead of restructuring them to be monthly. * In the Shopify system we could have 3 types of customers: * Members * People who are thinking about becoming members * Everyone else * It's the middle group we would probably want to focus on more. * Their website does optimize for mobile. This is good because we have a lot of people complain about Google Groups and it's lack of a way to post on mobile. * A quick webpage was demonstrated. It's different from our current layout but that's maybe a good thing. * The demo Sign Up page looks more like ecommerce, but that's what Shopify is geared toward. The top section of the page has filters and the bottom section is payment. * Shopify plugins can't be customized much, unless you write the plugin yourself. * The demo calendar page is still difficult in mobile. Solutions for that range from $5 - $15 per month. * We need good pictures of people using the space and smiling to add to the site. Brad said he would send a link to John of photos that have already been taken. * John will let Jake talk about possibilities regarding member-only website sections and automation * The Shopify demo page is live but password protected. The automation email is the primary email account, others accounts are linked through Google. * Shopify would cost about $100 per month, plus another $5 per month for a subscription plugin. * We've been talking about revamping the Tool Fees, if we switch to Shopify it would be a good time to do that. * Note: Some people have requested that our website show about how many people are currently using it. Nobody on the Board was enthusiastic about the idea. ### Meeting Adjourned * "All in favor of adjourning go like this" - President * Did You Know: If a Google sheet is set to 'anyone with link can view' and someone is looking at the sheet who you do not know, that person's name will show up as "Anonymous \[Animal Name]". * Did You Also Know: "Anonymous Cormorant" is what I'm going to call my all-kazoo Daft Punk cover band. # May 2024 - Board Meeting 05/01/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting **05/01/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg (remotely)** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: John** * **Director: Carlin (remotely)** * **Director: Jason** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from April Board meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Meg got all caught up on all our financials, including the Tool Funds. * We got a $50 check for the volunteer hours one of our members put in. We also still have a $500 check from a month or two ago that was similarly contributed because of volunteer hours. * When we get our bank statements through snail mail, Dave and Brad were never quite sure what to do with them. For the record, Meg does keep them. So we will continue giving them to her. * Jake spent a couple hundred dollars on office supplies for the space. * Dave requested we add paper plates to the next purchase. ### Member SHR Renewal * All agreed that this member takes care of the space more than he/she uses it. > Vote to renew member's SHR at current rate for another 6 months > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Membership Update: 97 * The member who had surgery still isn't ready to return to the space, his membership is suspended so this will be the third month his auto-payment will be refunded. * It was remarked that several people are on the Current Members list who haven't gotten their key yet. * Jake mentioned that he found a scat blast cabinet for a good deal online. Carlin replied "Oh man, that's perfect!" Jake will forward him the link. ### Purchases * Jake assembled a list of electrical items that need to be purchased for the rotary phase converter that will cost around $500 > Vote to spend $500 of general funds on needed electrical items for the rotary phase converter > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * Dave did an In for $10 for a finger press. It didn't get half the cost funded by members, but it was still brought to the Board for funding. (Note: As can any other "In for $10" that doesn't reach its funding target.) > Vote to spend up to $500 of general funds for a finger press > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * Derek expressed interest in a metal table mill at the recent Stewards Meeting. The Board needs a proposal for a specific model before it can approve anything. * Wood Shop Stewards briefly discussed purchasing helical heads for the jointer and planer, but ultimately decided not to at this time. ### Wood Shop Steward Assistance * Two members, Jeff H and Jeff S, have requested permission from the Wood Shop Stewards to make adjustments on machines in the Wood Shop. * The Stewards agreed that these 2 members are allowed to do so provided they contact the Stewards before hand about all the adjustments they wish to make. * These 2 members are not Stewards, so it was re-iterated that they are not approved to purchase anything with space funds. ### Space Updates * Jake mentioned that he found a scat blast cabinet for a good deal online. Carlin replied "Oh man, that's perfect!" Jake will forward him the link. * Dave acquired 2 new-to-us computers that are Windows 11 capable. He also got some HP15 laptops with touchscreens that are also Windows 11 capable. * Brad requested one of the computers become the new laser computer. * John suggested keeping one of the laptops in the classroom. * Sitting in one of the drawers in the classroom are 3 extremely old Macbooks that some previous members donated to the space and were refurbishing for resale. They are now so old that they would need SSDs to make them even passably useful, so it was decided to put them on the hack rack. * Really old supercomputers were discussed because one was seen for sale on govdeals. ### Shopify * Jake started looking into this as a new member management solution. * Their non-profit plan would cost $100 per month, about double our monthly Zapier fee * The nature of the software allows for monthly payments, but doesn't have an off-the-shelf way to pay yearly Tool Fees. Possible ways around this were discussed, including the possibility of making the Tool Fees monthly. * Some different ways that Shopify could keep track of training were discussed. * Among the benefits of Shopify... * docusign integration and document management * member log in system with controlled access to different things * can make discounts and custom discount codes * would replace a large portion of our website as it has custom domains, plus blog posts would appear in Google search * would give marketing information like eyeball views * can take donations * has point of sale ability * allows purchase of gift cards (many noted this has been a bit of a pain lately) > Vote to spend the money to sign up for 3 months in order to look into this further\ > Yes: 6 (Carlin's remote connection had terminated by this point) > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Member Orientation & Space Work Nights * Dave would like all new members to go through an orientation. Orientations would take place twice a month - during each of the space work nights. New members wouldn't get their key until completing the orientation and space work night. * Concern was expressed that this could be a barrier to new members signing up. * Dave said he would come up with a more formal outline of what he has in mind and then bring it back up. * It was noted that someone is needed to run the Sunday night clean ups. This someone need not be a Board member or Tool Steward. ### ID Pictures * Photos of new members will start being stored in the Current Members sheet. * Dave demonstrated a way to do it. Photos will be taken and stored in Google Drive. Then in Google Drive, copy the link to the file, then in the Current Members sheet, paste the link into the appropriate column. Then when the mouse hovers over the link, the picture will come up in a small window. * Having the door keep a log of who enters and when was discussed too. * The idea of creating a wall with everybody's name and picture on it was floated. It would be an opportunity for community building, but some of our privacy-focused members would probably be against it. * Brad volunteered to send an email to all our current members asking them for a photo of themselves for the Google Drive. ### Meeting Adjourned * "You don't get 2 votes if you're here and you log in online." - said after Jake accidentally dialed in to the meeting remotely while being there in person. * Did you know: if purchasing helical heads for jointers or planers, the Wood Stewards recommend getting Byrd or Shelix brands. # April 2024 - Member Meeting April 6, 2024 - Member Meeting **Total Number of Full Members Attending (including proxy votes): 13** Quorum required 12 Full Members, and so was reached **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Secretary: Brad * Director: Jason * Director: John * Director: Carlin (by proxy) ### Financials * We are in good financial health. Membership has been steady. * There have been no changes to our investments or our investment policy. #### 2024 Budget for calendar fiscal year {% file src="/files/DkpEwfs2rNL3CGSCsxIb" %} * This budget was compiled based on round numbers from 2023, except that it accounts for the membership increase. > Vote to approve the proposed 2024 Budget > > Yes: 12 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed #### Tool Fees Discussion * This was discussed extensively at the Tool Stewards & Trainers meeting and the main points were brought up again. ([Here is a link to the notes from that discussion](https://legal.area515.org/meeting-minutes/meeting-minutes/2024/april-2024-tool-stewards-and-trainers-meeting#tool-fee-discussion)) Members were informed that a committee was set up to work on the problem. * It was reiterated that the Tools sheet needs to be used by all Stewards and Trainers for tracking trainings and payments. * There was an email sent out to all members outlining what they've been trained on and what Tool Fees they have paid. Of the approx 160 emails sent out, 15 people responded to correct their listed trainings, and 5 people paid Tool Fees as a result. ### Discussions * It was suggested that we attend more events like craft fairs and farmers markets. The Valley Junction farmer's market was suggested, as was the Des Moines Arts Fair. The CEC would be in charge of this, but they need at least 10 volunteers to guarantee coverage for the events. * The CEC would also like to create some merch, like t-shirts. * Offering items through a print-on-demand website was suggested. * One of the members also suggested either a "hat press" or a "heat press" as a good, inexpensive option. (Unfortunately the Secretary had trouble reading his own handwriting at this suggetion.) * Another member said he would like to do silk screening * Jason also brought out the rest of our drinking glasses with our logo on them and gave them out to whoever wanted them. * On April 24, one of our members will be leading a preschool workshop called "make your own instrument" * The idea of participating in a cardboard boat regatta was mentioned. * Dave and John also met with the leader of the Greenleaf Group. The nonprofit organization that purchased the Whittier Building (once this organization's home). They are making it into a community center. They have some useable outdoor space and were very enthusiastic about finding ways to collaborate with us. ### State of the Space Wood Shop - The new & improved dust collector is working well. Their new planer, was working. The other stand up wood rack will soon be moved outside to the courtyard. Electronics - The Electronics room will soon be adding an inspection surface plate and a dedicated area for stained glass work. Lasers - Lefty is working. (Righty's life was tragically cut short when one of the Laser Stewards shorted out the power while changing the laser tube) CNC - The Lead CNC has been down for repairs and improvements since December 2023. The machine is slowly moving towards being ready for use again. Jake and Caroline have done a lot of work on it. Metal Shop - The Stewards did some rearranging. It's now more open and functional. Textiles/Leather - They have a new leather sewing machine. Jason, Derek and Carlin can train on it. Pretty soon a lot of the yarn in the room will get thrown out. ### Vote to Upgrade Supporting Members to Full > Vote to promote Matt A from Supporting to Full Member > > Yes: 12 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Further Discussions * Space Work Nights have been poorly attended. Since not everyone is available Thursday evenings, a second monthly Space Work Day has been established on the third Sunday of each month. The next one is April 28th at 6:00pm. Unfortunately, no one has volunteered to run it yet. * The idea of a required orientation for new members was brought up again. New members are now heavily encouraged to attend the first available Space Cleanup Night. * The idea of making attendance mandatory was raised, but not universally agreed upon. * "You can't hold people accountable for what it's not clear that they're accountable for." - Jason * A few last reminders were made to all members * The expectation is that every member spend their last 10 minutes cleaning up after themselves plus doing 1 thing off the chores list. * We do have security cameras to check who made messes. * Don't touch tools you haven't been trained on * Use the QR codes to ask questions * For Wood Shop users: If something isn't working right, try vacuuming the 5-10 gallons of saw dust off first. ### Next Member Meeting July 13, 3-5pm ### Meeting Adjourned * During a discussion about which sort of events we want to attend... \ "Our core group is adults, not children." - Person 1 \ "At least age-wise" - Person 2 * During a discussion on how to motivate members on a Space Cleanup Night...\ "If the vacuum doesn't come on, the doors don't unlock!!"\ "Uh! Can we vote on this?" # April 2024 - Tool Stewards & Trainers Meeting 04/06/2021 - Tools Stewards & Trainers Meeting **04/06/2021 - Tools Stewards & Trainers Meeting** **Attending:** * **Dave (Auto & Metal Shop)** * **Jake (Wood Shop, CNC, 3D Printers)** * **Bailey (Electronics, Lasers, Vinyl Cutter, Textiles)** * **John (3D Printers)** * **Matt (3D Printers)** * **Brad (CNC, Lasers, Vinyl Cutter)** * **Carlin (Metal Shop, Wood Shop, Leather)** * **Derek (Metal Shop)** * **Jason (Wood Shop, Textiles, Leather)** * **Caroline (3D Printers, Electronics, CNC, Metal Shop)** * **Conor (Stained Glass)** **Absent:** * **Isaiah (Wood Shop)** * **Ryan (Metal Shop)** ### Recent History * The meeting began by recapping recent developments: * A budget for 2024 has been made and will be voted on at the Member Meeting (happening immediately after this meeting). It plans for each tool area spending $500, and also sets aside funds for a large tool buy. * Wood Shop has been getting new tools, most notably the new dust collector. * We applied for a Prairie Meadows grant for a new laser. * We've been spending money to upgrade the Lead CNC. * John and Dave met with the Greenleaf group, that occupy the Whittier school building. This makerspace's first location. The head of Greenleaf works with people writing grants. ### Ideas for Things to Spend Money On * A "Mill Drill," a table top drill similar to a metal mill, but smaller. Support for this idea was neither gung ho nor against it. Some attendees wanted to make sure the large mill we already have become operational before pursuing this. * Upgrades to the sand blaster cabinet in the Metal Shop. Derek already purchased a new gravity gun for it. Carlin wants to make it into a bottom fed system rather than siphon fed. * A Metal Dust collector of some kind. The Metal Shop has some shop vacs, but they can't keep up with the metal dust that's generated, especially by the belt grinder. Jake said he has a small dust collector they can use. * Get the air compressor a run over to the Metal Shop. This idea has been talked about since we moved into this building. After some discussion, all agreed we should make this happen. First we should identify everything we need - Carlin has some supplies and Jerry has some pipe - then pick a weekend to do it, rent a scissor lift for that weekend, and do it. The run will have to be assembled in the rafters. * Derek found a DIY muffler build that could quiet the air compressor. * Note: All of the above ideas were discussed. Except for the air compressor run, nothing was decided for certain. ### Area Comments and Large Tool Buy Suggestions From Individuals * Dave (Auto Shop) * Large Tool Buy Suggestion: screw jack stands and a taller transmission jack (would be about $300) * Bailey (Electronics, Textiles) * Part of the Electronics room is being converted for Stained Glass use. Connor will be the Steward; member Ben will build the furniture for in there. * About 2 years ago a member started fixing the automated knitting machine but then disappeared. Bailey is ready to sell it. * Caroline (CNC/Metal Shop) * Would like to get a replacement for the SpectraLight. There's a better machine; it's good for aluminum and would reuse parts from the old Lead CNC machine. Jake then said that he intends to make this new machine himself and then let the space use it. * Brad (Lasers) * Plan for the Laser area is first to upgrade to a 100W CO2, then to a fiber laser machine. Carlin recommended the fiber laser be a 50W JWT MOPA. * Also plans to convert the current defunct right-hand laser to use LightBurn, then eventually all machines will use the same software. * Jason (Vacuum Former) * He will not finish the vacuum former. Other people have volunteered to help. At one point Cody was working on it. * Caroline (3D Printers) * The latest iteration of the MMU (Multi Material Unit - allows for printing in different colors/materials) is working well. John is using it every week. * She sees no major expenses or purchases needed in the near future. The Voron machine is finished and enclosed. The Prusa machines are working well. * The space still has an old 3D printer of Reg's that's been abandoned. The group decided the 3D Printing Stewards can get rid of it however they see fit. * Jason (Leather) * He still has 1 bench left to build for the Textiles room. Carlin found some leather working tools he'll bring in. * Jake (Wood Shop) * The new dust collector is certainly an improvement over the old model. * The planer needs to be releveled but its future is not decided. * Remarkably, after the recent large purge of stored lumber in the Wood Shop, not one person has given feedback on it. ### More Discussion Topics * When Stewards & Trainers *train* people we should emphasize *cleaning up*. * All Stewards and Trainers should have access to the Tools spreadsheet where all the training is recorded. * Once Dave and John finish setting up the Synology drive (which will allow members to share files between computers) it will also be set up to give Stewards some private storage space. * There is some shelving and table tops available for any Stewards who want to use them. * A long long time ago, the Board approved getting stuff for more metal tables. We have the metal to make the legs, but still need to purchase metal for the table top. * Jake is looking at more parts we need to get for the Rotary Phase Converter. Jason said we don't need to get the Power Quality Meter. * The CEC offered to help add more QR codes around the space for more information. * Brad offered to make signage for any areas that want it. Carlin offered to provide some materials for that. * Dave mentioned that many areas still haven't made a number for the large classroom wall clock. ### Storage Discussion * Storage by members and Stewards will be decided by each individual area. ### Tool Fee Discussion * Brad has heard other Stewards floating the idea of raising the Wood Shop fee to $100. He, instead, floated the idea of getting rid of the tool fees altogether. Here were his main arguments: * Tool Fees are not being tracked well. The automation to connect the PayPal payments to the Tools sheet broke months ago and hasn't been fixed. (Although there is some Google Apps Script automation to update the Tools sheet based on recorded PayPal payments.) * There is no penalty for not paying Tool Fees and a majority of members don't pay them. * If the Wood Shop fee went up to $100, it would only be penalizing the members who **do** follow the rules. * To Brad, a $100 tool fee feels like we, as a space, are catering to middle and upper income levels instead of all of society. * Jake pointed out that even at $100 a year the Wood Shop is still be an incredible bargain. The Wood Shop has many thousands of dollars in equipment. * It was also pointed out that just as we have Starving Hacker Rates (SHRs), members should be able to apply for SHRs on the tool fees. * In the ensuing discussion, all agreed that the process is broken. * It was argued that even though we have a process in place for tracking tool fees, since people aren't implementing it, it doesn't work. * Carlin suggested the idea of a Heavier Use Fee, in which people pay more if they use the area more. * It was pointed out that someone who knows how to use the Wood Shop equipment well could spend two months in there and **still** cause less wear and tear on the tools than a newcomer does in 1 day. * To wrap up the discussion, it was decided to * Create a committee to work on the problem (see below) * Brad will continue sending out emails containing what members have been trained on and what tool fees they've paid. * Access control to the Wood Shop should be the highest priority. * It was mentioned than the Wood Shop has taken on a new Steward named Isaiah. ### Creation of the Committee to Work On A Better Tool Fee Solution (CWOABTF) * Brad and Carlin volunteered for this. * It will probably use a different acronym than in this section heading. ### Meeting Adjourned * "If it smells like chicken, you're holding the soldering iron the wrong way." - Jason * "All I can do is hand you the match" - Jason, tongue in cheek, describing his frustration constantly maintaining tools in the Wood Shop # April 2024 - Board Meeting 04/03/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting **04/03/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Secretary: Brad (via Google Meet)** * **Director: Jason** * **Director: John** * **Director: Carlin (via Google Meet)** **Absent:** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg** ### Votes by Email Since Previous Board Meeting * None ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from March Board meeting > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Meg filed our taxes for 2023 ### Current Members: 95 * We continue getting between 5-15 people for each Open House. 6 people came last night, 2 of whom signed up. ### Space Updates * The new dust collector for the Wood Shop was installed and is mostly functional. No plans to replace the piping any time soon. * No further work has been done on the Rotary Phase Converter for the Metal Shop. Some more items need to be purchased to get it working. * This upcoming Saturday (4/6/24) there will be... * Metal Shop meeting in the morning * Stained Glass Window meeting at noon * All Tool Stewards and Trainers meeting at 1:30pm * Member meeting at 3:00pm ### New Wood Shop Steward * Jake and Jason decided to add Isaiah as a Wood Shop Steward. The Secretary floated the idea that since Stewards are allowed to spend money from their respective tool funds, the Board should have some say in who becomes a Tool Steward. The Board subsequently decided to vote to make Isaiah a Tool Steward. * Members from both the Wood Shop and Metal Shops argued that they have a tradition of always unanimously agreeing to Tool Fund purchases. It was pointed out that this isn't true for all areas. > Vote to make Isaiah P a Wood Shop Steward > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Tool Fee Discussion * The 2024 Budget presented at the last board meeting set aside $500 for each Tool Fund to spend. If each tool area has money already set aside for it in the budget, the Secretary wondered if Tool Fees should be dropped altogether for the following reasons: * Tool Fees are not being tracked well. The automation to connect the PayPal payments to the Tools sheet broke months ago and hasn't been fixed. (Although there is some Google Apps Script automation to update the Tools sheet based on recorded PayPal payments.) * Not everyone is paying their Tool Fees and Tool Stewards don't chase after people who don't pay them. * There has been some discussion of the Wood Shop raising its fee to $100. The Secretary feels like this would only be penalizing the members who follow the rules. * Carlin suggested what he called a Constant Use Fee, as an alternative to the Tool Use fee. That is, a member pays a fixed amount, say $75, if that member uses an area in the space for more than, say 10 hours a week. * The common difficulty with the options we discussed is how to enforce them. * It was decided that this topic should be added to the agenda for both the Tool Steward and Member Meetings. ### Space Updates * One of our members got a hard time from a Merck employee for parking in our section of the courtyard area. It was on a Saturday and Merck wasn't sure who the employee was. It should be noted that we can only park in the little grassy area in the NW of the courtyard, or in the concrete section in front of our garage door. * The board briefly discussed an SHR email that was sent out and which one of the board members had misunderstood. All was as it should be in the end. ### Meeting Adjourned * Carlin was experiencing some lag in the Google Meet and at times had to communicate by holding up fingers. Around the second or third time he had to do this, Jason remarked, "I was expecting a different finger that time." * The last time I typed up meeting notes, I tried to save them and stupid GitBook here deleted the whole thing. When I went to save these notes, the same thing happened again. Not that I'm bitter. (Narrator: "He is.") # March - CEC Meeting Attendees: Dave, Cody, John
Notes: * Tabling at farmers markets * Valley Junction * Ankey * Highland Park * Downtown * Start smaller beta test * Young Makers Day * @ Cody’s wife’s work * 4/10/24 * Cardboard forts * Merch * Online store - Cafe press * Members order themselves * Space may carry some inventory * Screenprint event * Group build on a Sat * Premade screens * Greenleaf * At old boy and girls club schoolhouse * Meet to discuss potential collaboration * QR codes on shop machines * Links to wiki * Wiki has safety and how to info * Workday event? # March 2024 - Board Meeting 03/06/2024 – Area 515 Board Meeting **03/06/2024 – Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg (by phone)** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Carlin (by phone)** * **Director: Jason** * **Director: John** ### Votes by Email Since Previous Board Meeting * None ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes of February Board meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * We received $500 in matching funds from Wells Fargo thanks to one of our members employed there. * Jake went through our past Amazon purchases and itemized them. ### 2024 Budget * Our Treasurer presented a budget for 2024. Round numbers were used in many categories. The budget doesn’t assume any member increase. Among the changes the board made to the initial draft after some discussion: * Each Tool Fund receives $500 instead of the initial $250 * $6k was set aside for a large tool buy * The budget gives a net $10k at the end of the year. The board agreed this is good since it helps increase our nest egg for when we do move. * When the board moved to vote on the amended budget the Secretary reminded them that the bylaws require budgets to be voted on by the members. This will be added to the agenda for the upcoming member meeting. > Vote to approve the amended 2024 budget > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed {% file src="/files/b2dbSu6VxWW2Hy8PhgUY" %} Board approved, but not yet voted on by members. {% endfile %} ### Current Members: 98 * Major thanks go to John and member Debbie for filling out a Prairie Meadows grant application for a new laser! Results should be announced sometime in June. * Membership numbers have not dropped since the rate was increased. Most other maker spaces we know of charge much higher fees, by comparison we’re still a bargain. * Treasurer refunded one month to a member who is having surgery and a possible long recovery. * We were contacted about a possible new location in Grimes. The traffic there isn’t great. Dave said he would ask for a ballpark rent estimate. * John also noted that a 6k sq ft location at Dixon and Guthrie has dropped its price. * CEC still hasn’t distributed the survey of where members live. ### Space Updates * One of our members passed away. The Member Meeting and Steward Meeting will be moved to accommodate a memorial service for him. See below for new date. * Among the supplies we need to order are more Simple Green Concentrate and toilet cleaner. * Dave will help set up the Synergy drive we purchased. In addition to shared file storage, it will also help manage computer accounts. * The Left Hand Laser is working! The Laser computer is not. * The Secretary noted that we can sell a K40 laser someone donated to us several years ago. Brad tested it; it’s working. Brad said he would work with Carlin to sell it. * The Wood Shop got a major clean up. * Jake is still waiting for the new dust collector to go on sale. * The Lead CNC is still down. The space’s copy of Vcarve needs to be updated so members can install the new makerspace version on their home computers. Jake made Caroline and Brad software controllers. * Derek will look into parts for the Metal Shop’s sandblaster to make it work again. Carlin wants to make some modifications to it and will discuss it with the other Metal Stewards. * Dave wants tools for the Auto Shop. (For what it’s worth, the Secretary believes this statement can *always* be held to be true, regardless of the state of the Auto Shop.) * Two members volunteered to be Wood Shop Stewards * It was noted that we haven’t used the Trello board for a really long time. * The “In for $10” for the metal brake press is not dead. Dave needs to go figure out how much has been donated so far so he can proceed with it. ### Member Meeting & Steward Meeting Date Change * These will now be held on Saturday, April 6th. ### Meeting Adjourned * Did you know? Carlin’s laser makes cartoon-like noises.

Carlin’s laser makes cartoon-like noises.

* On the topic of software updates in general… “I like the new vulnerabilities better than the old vulnerabilities.” * “PEW! PEW! PEW!” – Brad, eruditely explaining that the left hand laser is now functional. # February 2024 - Board Meeting 02/07/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting **02/07/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: John** * **Director: Carlin** **Absent:** * **Director: Jason (Jason gave his proxy vote to Brad.)** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes of January Board meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Discussion of New Member Tracking Platform * We received some junk mail from Shopify. Jake mentioned it might be a good platform for tracking members and member training and said he would look into it. * Squarespace was mentioned, but it's more of an ecommerce site. Also, we've mostly all but given up on salesforce given its steep learning curve. ### Financials Update * The annual Zapier charge went through. * Meg reimbursed Jake and Dave. * Per our requirement as a nonprofit organization, Meg created a written financial Statement of Activity for 2023. We still need to write a budget and get it approved by the members. {% file src="/files/vacSofttxGNNXYYtt3I0" %} * Brad requested that the Tool Fees be updated. * Almost all of the Tool Fee payments are through PayPal, and PayPal history is difficult to go through because there are a lot of transactions and what they are isn't well labeled. Jake and Meg discussed ways to improve that going forward. * However, there is Zapier automation that detect a PayPal Tool Fee payments and records them on the "PayPal Records" tab of the Tools sheet. * Brad also requested that when updating the Tool Fees, that the actual money received be listed, rather than the listed fee. PayPal takes a small percentage of payments, so when $20 are paid for a tool, only $19.11 or so goes into the space's bank account. * Meg found that for the past 2 years, Tools Fees have brought in about $1300 - $1500 per year. ### Possible New Location Update * Darron's boss's property, which we were considering as a new location, will go on the market in the next day or two and will probably rent quickly. * After some extensive spreadsheet calculations, we found that we would probably need about 145-150 members in order to break even at that location. * Ultimately, most members of the board decided it would be better to spend more money on new tools than a new location. * Even though our landlord is no longer actively wanting us to move, he's highly unlikely to rent us any more space. * After discussing the idea of renting storage space to members, our Treasurer said that we'd probably have to pay taxes on that income. It might also be problematic to our nonprofit status. ### Storage Policy Discussion * Jake mentioned that when he gives tours, he has a hard time explaining all the stuff that's being stored outside of cubbys. He'd like a consistent storage policy for the Wood and Metal Shops. * Examples: One member of the Metal Shop has a whole rolling bench to himself. Another member is using a whole shelf under one of the tables in the Wood Shop for his own projects. * Dave's expectation has been that Stewards can use spaces for storage, and that all members' things must be in their cubbys. Anything outside of that Stewards decide on a case by case basis. * Carlin advocated giving preferential treatment to members who are here full time (or almost full time). * It was also mentioned that the Board should be able to review all personal storage space. * Dave said this should be something the Wood and Metal Shop Stewards should discuss further, and the next Steward meeting would be a great time for that. ### Tool Steward Meeting * The Tool Steward Meeting will be at 2:00pm on April 13th. One hour before the member meeting. ### Space Updates * Chris said he doesn't want the rest of the table tops and desk frames like what's in the 3D Printing room. We can do what we want with those. * Derek will start offering knife making classes soon. * Brad made a plea for more signage & labeling at the space. For instance, a couple years ago all the tools stored in the classroom were marked with red tape, to indicate they're classroom tools. However, nobody knew this who wasn't already involved in it because no sign or label was ever created to indicate the red tape's purpose. It was decided that labeling things should go on the Steward meeting agenda, and Brad calmed the heck down again. ### GoPro Stewards * It was decided that Brad and Dave will be the Stewards for the GoPro. ### Leather Sewing Machine "In for $10" * Jason and Carlin have been managing this. They've raised about $600 for the $1200 total. Carlin has a specific brand that he wants. > Vote to use general funds to cover the rest of the cost of the new leather sewing machine (estimated around $1200) > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Tool Training and Fees Member Email * Brad created a mail merge script that can send each member a list of what tool fees they've paid and what they've been trained on. The board was okay with him going ahead on this provided he do a test email first. * In other news, Brad also finally found where the late-payment emails are coming from. They're created by a Google Apps Script in the Current Members sheet. The script runs once a night. * Brad also created a script that takes each tool on the Tools page, and lists all the members who've been trained on it underneath. It also runs nightly, and the output is on the "Tools - Output for Stewards" tab of the Tools sheet. ### Current Members: 97 * Every once in a while Jake will take old members (old = expired for more than a year) off the Current Members sheet and puts them on the "Old Members" tab. ### Member Suggestion of Booth for Craft Fairs, Etc. * One member suggested we create a team of people willing to sit at table at craft fairs and things like that. The CEC already keeps a tote box of stuff ready to show off. * Carlin suggested that we focus on farmers markets rather than craft fairs because farmers markets are better attended. If do this, we should try for the Valley Junction farmers market. The downtown one has a long waiting list. * The big question mark about this idea was whether the table would be used for selling members' stuff or promoting the space itself. ### Miscellaneous * I've typed up so many meeting notes now that I can spell "miscellaneous" correctly on the first try. That's weird. When I say the word "weird" in my mind, it feels like the i should come before the e. Deep Thoughts, by Secretary. * Brad added a menu link on our website to our YouTube page. It mostly contains how-to videos that Jason has made. * Brad floated the idea of a page on the website that could link to members' online shops. Meg pointed out that it would tricky because we can't be seen to endorse any of them. Our lack-of-endorsement would have to be explicitly stated. * Any projects that appear on social media sites should be credited to the member who made them, **not** credited to the space itself. * John volunteered to create a form that would allow members to write blog posts about themselves. It was mentioned that Derek is very gifted in online communication. * Brad suggested that we start taking photos of new members. Dave extended this saying we should start a formalized new member initiation process. Ultimately it was decided this should go on the Steward Meeting agenda. * Jake is waiting for a sale to purchase the new dust collector that the board already approved the funds for. * Dave expressed a preference for upright, bag-less vacuums. ### Meeting Adjourned * "You underestimate my ability to break spreadsheets" - Dave, after discussing the new spreadsheet scripts. * "Sitting by yourself at weird tables... sounds like just our thing!" # January 2024 - Member Meeting January 20, 2024 - Member Meeting **January 20, 2024 - Member Meeting** **Total Number of Full Members Attending (including proxy votes): 16** Quorum required 12 Full Members, and so was reached **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Secretary: Brad * Director: Jason * Director: John * Director: Carlin (by proxy) ### Financials * Tool Fees have been "horrible." Few members have paid them. Our tools have been getting nicer over the years, so upkeep expenses have increased as well. The Wood Shop Stewards have said their Tool Fee in particular may need to be doubled or more in the future. * Jake and Meg met to hold an Investment Committee meeting and decided not to change anything. ### Membership Rate Increase * Brad was able to implement the increase for about 2/3rds of members by raising their subscription fees within PayPal. For these members, PayPal sent out emails notifying them of the increase. * The other 1/3rd of members will have to cancel their PayPal subscriptions and sign back up again through the website. Brad sent out an email to each of them explaining how to do this, and will be following up on them in the coming weeks. * Many thanks to John and Caroline for helping to get the new PayPal membership button up and running on our website. Thanks also to Jake for updating the Zapier automation that tracks membership payments. ### State of the Space * The Community Engagement Committee (CEC) lost one of its founding members who moved to England. Anyone interested in joining should start hanging out with the other CEC members Tuesday nights. The CEC has largely taken over Open House duties, plus it's a really fun group of people to hang out with. * Board Game Night will be held: Feb. 16 - 6:30pm. Bring anyone you want, also bring snacks and any board games you like to play. You might also bring a chair in case we run out here at the space. * We've given more tours during Open House this month than usual. We've also had a higher number of visitors sign up to become new members. We're still not actively promoting ourselves. Most people who visit have heard of us by word of mouth. ### Possible New Location * One of our members has a boss looking for a new tenant in his industrial building. Some board members toured it and found it could be quite suitable for our needs. * The possible new location is about 12,000 ft². In comparison our current location is about 5.5 ft². * In order to cover the cost of the new location, we would need around 140-150 members. A percent increase close to the same percent increase that was needed to support previous moves (and which was accomplished). * We could also pay the rent by cordoning off sections for storage and renting them to members. We could cordon off 20' x 20' areas, 10' x 10' areas, or even 5' x 5' areas. If we charged around $1 per square foot that would be roughly on par with what other rental units cost. * Questions came up regarding who would be put in charge of the storage rentals and how evictions would work. It might be difficult to find a volunteer willing to manage them. * It was wondered if managing the rental space would be enough work to justify hiring someone full time. * Many members agreed that if the space keeps growing a paid employee will need to be hired eventually. * A vote on whether or not to keep pursuing this new location was mentioned, but was never seconded. Most members seemed supportive of looking into it further. * The desire to have someone around to write grants was expressed. It was again pointed out that grant writing tends to be a full time job. ### Space Work Nights * Typically the 3rd Thursday evening of every month is a Space Work Day where members come in, clean up, and do space-related projects. Historically, only a handful of the same people come in. Last year, Dave started sending personalized invites to new members asking them to attend. That started out working quite well, but subsequent Work days have been less and less well attended. * Members were reminded that there are clean-up to-do lists on the wall, so members can contribute any day of the month. * The idea of new members taking an Orientation class before getting their key was brought up. * The Board of Directors has also received emails offering janitorial services. Pricing those services was mentioned as a possibility, but that cost would be transferred on to members. * Garbage cans in particular were pointed out for often overflowing, when anybody can empty them in the courtyard dumpsters. * Some members come but don't participate in Space Work days, working on their own projects instead, much to the frustration of those participating in the Space Work Day. * One member, Isaiah, was singled out for **praise** since he put down his own project and helped out during a Work Night he inadvertently attended. * Additional signage to encourage cleaning was suggested, but it was also pointed out that after a few viewings, signs tend to get ignored completely. * Many members said they'd be more available to help during weekends. * It was eventually decided that Space Work Days would start happening twice a month. One on the third Thursday evening, and the second on a Sunday evening yet to be determined. The space would also shut down to all member projects during those times. ### Tool Area Updates * General reminder: Safety is everyone's responsibility! #### Wood Shop * Board approved $3k to upgrade the dust collection system * A new planer was purchased, it's almost ready for member use. * The drum sander, which belongs to Jake, will probably never be available to members again. It needs over $600 in repairs from member abuse. #### CNC * The new spindle and VFD for the Lead has arrived, the VFD is waiting on Jason to set up. Caroline made a new spindle holder. #### Metal Shop * A rotary phase converter to power the bridgeport-like mill and surface grinder was purchased. It is waiting on Jason to finish setting up. * Jason got the exhaust fan up and running again. It's runs on low speed only and should be turned off when nobody is there. #### Auto Shop * After accusing everybody and their mother of stealing a particular ratchet, the Steward embarrassingly found it in his own possession. (And fessed up to it, much to his credit.) #### Textiles * There's an "In for $10" to purchase a new leather sewing machine. It could use more donors. #### Electronics * Bailey, one of the Electronics Stewards, is planning to rearrange the Electronics room to make it more useful for stained glass window makers. #### 3D Printers * Two additional trainers have been added: John and Matt * Another Prusa has been purchased. * The Voron machine should be working shortly. * The newest Prusa MMU isn't ready for member training yet. #### Laser Cutters * Only one Full Spectrum machine is working. * Stewards are looking into purchasing a 100 watt laser. #### Vinyl Cutter * Got a couple more members trained! #### Vacuum Former * This is still waiting on Jason to complete. ### Miscellaneous * Jason brought in a collapsible photo booth. It needs a Steward to look after it. * On Feb 1st the Wood Shop will be throwing out wood! * **All wood** needs to be labeled and taken home. * Unclaimed lumber will go in a large green box out back. This will be announced before hand. * There are some wood slabs left by former members that can be claimed by people now. * Reminder: Nothing should stick out of storage cubbys. * Someone mistakenly thought they were trained on the TIG welder and then damaged it. * The board approved and purchased a Synology unit for file sharing between space computers. It should be up and running soon. * The space's GoPro was lost until this meeting, when a member said they had it. ### Next Member Meeting * Will be held on Saturday, April 13th at 3:00pm ### Meeting Adjourned * "It's not Jenga." - in reference to the way items are stacked in overflowing trash cans. * "Start the bonfire!" - tongue in cheek reference to the anticipated Wood Shop cleaning # January 2024 - Board Meeting 01/03/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting **01/03/2024 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Carlin** * **Director: Jason** * **Director: John** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes of December Board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Space Updates * The new spindle for the Lead CNC came in today. The VFD for it should come tomorrow. * The control board for the right-hand laser has shorted out. We are down to just 1 working laser. * Brad took a look at Jerry's 100W laser. It is compatible with LightBurn software. It has no name brand on it, Jason mentioned there are some companies that buy lasers like that simply for the frame. * We now have non-profit status with Slack. In so doing they restored all our past conversations and it will store all our future conversations going forward. * There was a discussion concerning the consequences for a member who broke the Lead CNC, and then a more general discussion about how to deal with people who violate the rules. The idea of a 3 strikes kind of system was mentioned although nothing was decided. * A member was using the long wooden table in the Metals Shop to cure resin. Metal Shop Stewards agreed that was not acceptable. The idea of getting rid of that table was brought up, but it's proved very handy for the knife makers. * The Spectralite CNC metal mill is waiting on the large metal mill to become operational so Caroline can make some parts for it. * Dave mentioned planning an all Tool Steward meeting. * The value of holding an Orientation class for new members was generally agreed upon by all board members but no definite plans were created. * Not all new members seem to be signing up for our Google group, so there was some discussion of finding a new way to disseminate information. * We are having trouble creating a VenMo account for the space since they require a phone number that isn't already tied to them. The idea of purchasing a phone whose number forwards to Google voicemail was floated. Jake said he would look into it. * Doing Snow Day in January was brought up, but nobody volunteered to spearhead it so that will have to wait for next season. * Previously the board voted via email to purchase a Synology 224 Nas storage device. It will be a networked file storage drive that also has some improved security features for our computer systems. John and Dave will work on installing it. ### Membership Rate Increase * After some investigation, Brad believes he found a way to raise members' subscription fees without everybody having to cancel their memberships and sign up again. (Note from the future: This was successful for about 2/3rds of the membership.) * The rest of the subscription prices were calculated by the board, as follows: * One person, monthly - $50 * One person, yearly - $550 * Two person family, monthly - $75 * Two person family, yearly - $825 * Three person family, monthly - $100 * Three person family, yearly - $1,100 * Brad volunteered to work on implementing the price increase. ### 3D Printing Fund Going Negative * The 3D Printing area wants a new Prusa that's $380. Right now there's only about $260 in the 3D Printing fund. Jake requested the board vote to allow the fund to go negative. > Vote to allow the 3D Printing Fund to go negative and reimburse Jake $380 for the new Prusa > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Current Members: 102 * The most recent Open House was very busy. ### Possible New Location * Darin, one of our members, has a boss looking for a new tenant for his building. It's a wide open warehouse space that's about 12,000 square feet. Rent would be about $5500 per month. The space is laid out such that we could readily segment out areas to rent out as storage space. Jake suggested renting out 20' x 20' areas for $500 per month. This would help cover monthly rent. There is more room for parking in front, and more room outside in back of the building. * Some of the board members are going to tour the space tomorrow at 1pm. * Our landlord's plans may have also changed. He has said he's in no rush for us to leave. ### New Wood Shop Dust Collector * The Wood Shop Stewards have been considering upgrading the dust collector for months. Jake and Jason have priced out new equipment and would like to pull the trigger on purchasing it. * The pipes will have to be replaced as well because at their size even if we pull more vacuum through them, the increased air friction will cancel it out. > Vote to spend $3,000 of General Funds money to purchase new Dust Collector and piping. > > Yes : 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Miscellaneous * Carlin needs to know how much money has been collected for his "In for $10" for the new leather sewing machine. * Dave said he will resume the "In for $10" for the press brake. * The space's vacuum cleaner doesn't work very well and a new one should be purchased. John expressed a preference for a bag-less model with a permanent belt and crevice tool. Commercial vacuums start in the $600-700 range. John said he would investigate options and bring them back to the board. * Jason volunteered to be in charge of the Valentine's Day Board Game Night ### Classes * General consensus that the space should be offering more classes. * Several members have expressed a desire for a stained glass window making class. One of the members who works with stained glass also expressed an interest in teaching it. * Carlin said he is willing to teach people welding classes. There was some discussion about whether to charge for this. * Jason expressed interest in doing another sharpening class. ### Meeting Adjourned * In a discussion about a board member resistant to altering their habits. \ Person 1 "It's change and that's scary... just ask my dog."\ Person 2: (Gesturing to the board member) "Yeah, but he almost never\ poops on the carpet." # 2023 # December 2023 - Board Meeting 12/06/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting **12/06/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: John** * **Director: Jason** * **Director: Carlin (by phone)** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes of November Board Meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Space Updates * Jake is now a CNC Steward. Brad is now a Laser Steward (he was previously a Trainer). * Jake used the $1k previously approved by the board plus $200 from the Wood Shop fund to purchase a new planer. Jason and Jake (the Wood Shop Stewards) will get it up and running so members can be trained on it. (Vote to approve $1k for planer: ) * Board Members voted by email to approve the purchase, from General Funds, of a $1100 Rotary Phase Converter that will be used to power the metal mill and metal surface grinder. Jake found a great Black Friday deal on the machine and had to act on it before the sale ended. * The spindle on the LeadCNC stopped working (see below) and a new spindle needs to be purchased. Jake and Caroline asked the board to approve funding for a new spindle and VFD (Variable Frequency Drive). The spindle is about $695, the VFD for it is about $300, so they're asking $1250 for the whole thing. The new spindle will be beefier and sturdier, to match the beefy upgraded rail system that the Lead CNC uses. It will also be computer controlled and run from 6,000 - 24,000 rpm. Jason will also design a safety circuit for the new spindle, since he sets up VFDs for a living. > Vote to spend $1250 from General Funds for a new Lead CNC spindle and VFD > > Yes: 5 (Carlin's phone connection dropped) > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * Dave and Jason did some more work on the Vacuum Former. We now have all the parts for it. * The power supply on the right hand laser went kaput. (In technical terms, it "let the magic smoke out.") The Stewards will converse about whether to purchase a new one. * The CEC sent out their State of the Space survey to members via the Google group. They received a total of 13 responses. * John volunteered to work on applying for official non-profit status from Slack. This would open an array of new features to us. * The Electronics Steward plans to rearrange the Electronics room to accommodate stained glass work. Several new members have been using the room for that and it might be something we can grow. ### Membership Update: 97 * Unfortunately one of the CEC members will be moving out of the continent. John noted that the CEC could use some more members. ### CNC Abuse * The member who broke the Lead CNC spindle, and who then broke one of the end stops after being told to leave the machine alone, has been suspended from using the machine for 3 months by the CNC Stewards. ### Membership Rate Increase * At the most recent member meeting, members voted to raise the monthly and annual rates. () How to implement the change was discussed. * Brad volunteered to write a notification about the change for the Google group. * At the time of the last increase, PayPal subscribers had to be cancelled and then sign up again. Members had to do this themselves. There was a reminder at the first Member meeting that took place after the rate increase. Then at the second Member meeting everyone was told the rate increase would be enforced. ### Miscellaneous * There was some discussion of reviving Snow Day at the space. It was an annual December event for several years until stopped by Covid. The idea of holding it in January was kicked around, maybe on MLK day. * The last Member meeting was really well attended. Having food with it seemed to really help. (Thanks to Alex P for providing it.) * Since Dave started sending out personal invitations to Space Clean Up Days they have been much better attended. Unfortunately, no new members showed up at the most recent one. ### Meeting Adjourned * (paraphrased) "This guy wanted me to make him a ghost dectector and I really didn't want to." "You should just ghost him." * Regarding the fact that only 13 members responded to the State of the Space Survey, Jason responded... "My opinion really counts a lot! I like this!" * Regarding the new array of soldering iron stations on display in the Electronics Room... "They look all organized and s^\*%, which doesn't really fit the rest of the space." # November 2023 - Board Meeting 11/01/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting **11/01/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg (remotely)** * **Secretary: Brad (remotely)** * **Director: John** * **Director: Jason** **Absent:** * **Director: Carlin** **Note: Carlin gave his vote to Dave by proxy.** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes of October Board Meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### SHR Renewal A member requested their SHR be renewed, after discussion it was voted on. > Vote to renew member's SHR > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * The set price of $0.50 per pop can no longer covers the cost of each pop. It was decided that prices would not be raised until after there was a way to pay with PayPal or VenMo. * The Investment Committee needs to meet again. It consists of Jake, Ryan and Meg. Jake and Meg agreed to set a date for the next IC meeting once this board meeting concluded. * During the Building Committee discussion (the contents of which are separated out below) the conversation came to the topic of what kind of new space we can afford. Our current accommodations are an excellent value; rent will cost much more anywhere else we go. In order to know how much we can afford every month, we need to have a better overview of our monthly and annual budget. The biggest question mark regarding that, is tool spending and upkeep. * In the past, we've never had a year of net loss. * As an organization, we're really not in a place to look at buying a location so renting is our only option. * Meg volunteered to run a few scenarios and see what kind of financial numbers are yielded. However, it was pointed out that our membership numbers will likely change following the rate increase at the beginning of 2024. We should wait and see how many members we lose before running scenarios. ### Tool Area Financials * The importance of having a budget for each of the tool areas was discussed. The budget should be based on the cost of both consumables and maintenace in each area and how many members regularly use each area. * A Tool Steward meeting was proposed, the nearest time it could be scheduled is in January. ### Plan to Implement Membership Dues Increase * Jake and Meg will work together to update the membership fees on PayPal and the links to purchase memberships on our website. * Brad will write to notify all members of the coming price increase. ### Building Committee * Jason volunteered to join the building committee * Some possible leads on new locations were discussed but nothing definitive. * Typically we pay our rent 1 month in advance. Some discussion of our rent payment procedures came up. * Although our landlord has suggested nothing of the kind, it was discussed what we would do if forced to move into a smaller location. At present, we don't use our space very efficiently. We could find ways to consolidate it into a smaller footprint. * It was said, "broken equipment is worse than no equipment." * It was also suggested we might get more members if we have a bigger, better laser cutter. ### CEC * Christine Clark, business coach, will have her third and final presentation on November 11. ### Current Members: 102 * The plastic vacuum former should probably get finished one of these decades. From time to time, a person has taken up the cause and finished significant portions of it. All it needs now is a primary power cord, some tweaks for safety, and appropriate warning stickers. Jason has said he will practice running it for awhile before training any members. It will run off a 50 amp 220V line. * The Full Spectrum lasers, which were non-functional, have been upgraded to functional! Major thanks to member Jeff S who found a work around to the print driver problem. No material progress has been made finding a new laser. * CEC members John and Kevin normally give the tours during Open House nights. They will be gone the week after Thanksgiving so other members will need to fill in. * The November Space Work Day was moved into early December since it fell so close to Thanksgiving. Dave will keep sending personal invites to people since it has been so successful boosting attendance. * The space received an email from a touring Upholstery person wanting to give classes. John said he would try contacting her. ### Meeting Adjourned * "Brad really has a way with words." "4 letter ones particularly." * Board member 1: "I'm not a moron!" Board member 2 \*looks straight at the Secretary\*: "Be sure to put "moron" in quotes." # October 2023 - Member Meeting October 21, 2023 - Member Meeting **October 21, 2023 - Member Meeting** **Total Number of Full Members Attending (including proxy votes): 15** Quorum required 13 Full Members, and so was reached **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Secretary: Brad * Director: Ryan * Voted by Proxy: Tom & Carlin ### Financial Update * We are financially healthy, and operating in the black. * Net income for the year: $2,900 * We've spent * $3k on a metal mill * $500 for Zapier automation * $550 for front sign * Monthly expenses * Rent: $1650 * Utilities: \~$500 * Quickbooks: $30 * The amount in our savings was also discussed. * We're still paying for meetup.com. Open House events are listed on that site, but we don't use it for much else. Eventbrite.com was mentioned, but that's gotten much more expensive than it used to be. * The space will be getting a VenMo account. It will allow members to pay for small things like sodas and laser plywood, maybe Tool fees. It will not be used for membership payments as that would require too much work on the automation. * The space will also be getting QR codes that will also help members pay for things like sodas and laser plywood. There will be codes for VenMo and codes for PayPal. ### Investment Committee Report * They report that they "should meet again soon." * Some money was moved into a bond. * Although there are many high yield accounts available to people, they aren't available to businesses. * They will look into CD rates. ### Moving Possibilities * The Board formed a Building Committee to scope out possible new locations for us to move to. * There is no date by which we need to leave our present location, but our landlord had told us he would like his space back. * We have a sweetheart deal on our rent. Even the cheapest locations we're looking at will cost at least twice per square foot. * One facility was looked at already. It would take a lot of work. If any members know of a place that might work please notify the Board of Directors. * The Board is also looking at options for how to expand. Right now we are an independent organization. We could potentially partner with someone else but that always comes with much greater restrictions on how we can use the space. * We've talked among ourselves about collaborating with colleges. Ideally we could maintain a set of tools for the colleges and also open them for other facilities to use as well. * The CEC will be sending a Member Survey to try to help identify a location that's central to our members. * The board has talked about raising money by writing grants, but grant writing is it's own full time job. * It was said that the way our space works would be very difficult to maintain if we double our membership, volunteer Stewards would be overtaxed. * It was felt that in the past, when the group was smaller, a greater percentage of members were willing to help with the day to day running of the space. Nowadays that percentage seems to be smaller. Members who aren't willing to help to run the space were referred to as "customers". * Establishing a greater variety of membership tiers was discussed. The idea being that members who participate in day to day operations might be charged less. ### Membership Fee Discussion & Vote * If we move anywhere, we can pretty much count on doubling the membership fee even to afford the same size space. * Jason suggested charging fees for Storage Cubes. $10/month for the first cube and $100/month for each additional cube. * Since the membership fee hasn't increased since 2016, it was argued that the membership fee should increase if only because of inflation. * When last the rates were raised, there were members who had forgotten they were paying at all and choose to discontinue their membership, although there were not many of them. * Because the space is looking at moving, it was decided that the membership fees would have to be raised anyway, so we might as well raise them now by a reasonable amount. > Vote to increase membership fees to $50 per month, yearly fees to $550, effective January 1, 2024. Note: all yearly memberships will be raised when they renew. (Note: Tool fees are unaffected by this.) > > Yes: 12 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * Members were reminded that a Starving Hacker Rate is available to anyone facing financial hardship. ### State of the Space * 101 members * New members say they learn of the space by word of mouth, sometimes it's 3 or 4 times removed from the original source. It was suggested that we promote ourselves more. * The idea of posting on school bulletin boards was suggested, although students aren't a large portion of our membership. Posting a flyer at Hobby Haven was also suggested. * Space Work Nights have become a bigger success. It used to be that only 1 or 2 members regularly attended. Recently Dave started sending personal invitations to members to attend and last time about 12 people attended. ### CEC Report * We know new members are learning of the space from word of mouth because CEC members have started tracking the tours given at Open Houses. Not tracking any personal information, but tracking how many tours are given, how many people eventually sign up, etc. * CEC members are also giving most of the tours. There are laminated little cards with talking points for anyone who wants to give a tour. There's also a QR code leading to a description of how to join. * A membership survey will soon be coming to all members. The goal is to find what areas of the city are most central to members, in the hopes of looking in those areas for potential new locations. The survey data will be collected anonymously. * A member usage survey will be sent out soon as well. * There will be another social event in the first quarter of next year, perhaps a game night. * CEC now has access to the space's Facebook page. Dave took some pics of people working and they'll be posted so peope know we're still going. * Just as a reminder, any Full member can hold events at the space. The Board just asks that an appropriate day and time be coordinated with others. * It was acknowledged that since the pandemic, our community outreach and education has been lacking. ### Tool Area Updates #### Wood Shop * Tools seem to be breaking faster than the Stewards can fix them. * The board approved money for a stand alone planer since the current jointer/planer combo frequently gets knocked out of alignment. * Wood Shop area has been consistently cleaner. * Eventually the Stewards want to upgrade the dust collector. The piping will need to be upgraded eventually too. * A system to easily check the dust level in the dust collector was requested. #### Lasers * Our lasers need upgrading. Stewards are planning to get a new, beefier CO2 laser first, and eventually a fiber or diode laser. #### Vinyl Cutter * Working fine; no news to report. #### 3D Printers * Jake loaned parts to make the newest Multi Material Unit (MMU) for the Prusas. Caroline is testing the system to see whether or not the space should purchase one for itself. So far it works better than the old MMU. Permanently establishing the new MMU would take up a lot of space in the 3D Printing room. #### Electronics * The Steward is planning to clean up the room, throwing away a lot of stuff in the process. * Kudos were given to Brad for designing and building a new generation of soldering iron boxes. * The Steward was also thinking about moving the Vinyl Cutter into the electronics room. #### Textiles * Carlin will help start an "In for $10" for a new leather sewing machine. Right now the space has Carlin's machine, and he wants to take it home. * The textiles room will be cleaned up as well. #### Metal Shop * The metal mill we purchased needs a special power adapter in order to run. We need to get that before it can be operational. * Ryan brought in a big crate of metal tubing. Anyone can purchase his tubing by the foot for whatever they want to do. * A fancy-shmancy dust cover has been made for the Surface Grinder. #### Auto Shop * Is always busier during the winter so please notify Dave in advance if you want to use it. * Please also notify Dave if you find anything missing. #### CNCs * Working fine; no news to report. ### Vote to Upgrade Supporting Members to Full * No requests were made for this. ### Election for Board of Directors **Nominations:** * President: Dave Champion * Vice President: Jake Leister * Treasurer: Meg Krajicek * Secretary: Brad Freese * Director: Carlin Al-Andas * Director: John Whiteman * Director: Jason Bentley * Director: Derek Vermeland **Results:** Ballots were cast on sheets of paper, in 2 parts. Part 1: Since the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary positions were all running unopposed, Full members voted 'yes' or 'no' to the whole group. Part 2: Since 4 people were running for 3 general director slots, Full members wrote the names of their top 3 choices for the positions. The 2023-2024 Board of Directors will consist of * President: Dave Champion * Vice President: Jake Leister * Treasurer: Meg Krajicek * Secretary: Brad Freese * Director: John Whiteman * Director: Jason Bentley * Director: Carlin Al-Andas (Note: Directors listed in no particular order.) ### Next Member Meeting * Will be held on Saturday January 20th at 3:00pm. ### Meeting Adjourned * "We do more Bob's Rules than actual Robert's Rules" - President, referring to how meetings are conducted * Did you know? - Because it is very difficult to get parallel columns to look parallel, ancient Greek columns are actually slightly wider in the center to help appear more parallel. * Did you also know? - Very deep sea divers coming in from a job need to spend 30 days in a decompression chamber, during which time they will undergo 60 decompression cycles to gradually readjust their bodies to surface air pressure. * Ryan, speaking about what he'll do now that he's no longer on the Board of Directors: "I'll still help out." "Yes you will! We'll drag you down here again!" - John W # October 2023 - Board Meeting 10/04/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting **10/04/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Tom (remotely)** * **Director: Ryan** * **Director: Carlin** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes of September Board Meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials #### VenMo * Since we're already registered on PayPal as a non-profit, we can easily set up a VenMo account as well. With VenMo, fees are tacked on to payments to businesses, but not to people. Jake said he would work with Meg to set it up. It would be used for minor payments around the space. (Things like paying for sodas or laser plywood.) VenMo will NOT be used for membership payments. Too much automation would have to be changed. #### QR Codes * The Secretary confessed that he hadn't looked into this yet. Jake did and said creating QR codes for payments shouldn't be too hard. ### Building Committee Update * Jake talked with a commercial realtor who essentially told him, "good luck." * The lowest rental rate Jake could find was about $6/square foot for a 7,000 sq ft space. It was a triple net lease (NNN) which would require us to pay a lot more recurring expenses, such as building insurance (which we don't have). Essentially we'd be responsible for everything, including snow removal. * The big question is if we were to buy at commercial rates, how much would we need to raise membership rates. We don't have an answer to this yet. #### Discussion on Purchasing instead of Renting New Location * It was mentioned that as a 501c3 we would be exempt from property tax if we purchase a place. * Tom talked to a friend who works at Iowa State Bank. That person indicated they'd be willing to finance us if we want to buy a location. * To buy even a "bad building" would be at least $400,000 dollars. Far in excess of anything we could do out of pocket. * If we own a building, there are a lot of additional recurring costs we'd have to take on, only one of which is upkeep on the building itself. We would also need to have at least 1 full time employee. #### Further Discussions * Jake floated the idea of splitting the makerspace into a Technical side and Manufacturing side. As is, the makerspace is a whole lot of different things, everything from computer hardware to metal working to textiles and sewing machines. People who are thinking about donating money or trying to form a partnership with us would be unlikely to see our wide repertoire as an asset. Most people are looking to donate to more specific causes or areas of development. By splitting the space into Technical and Manufacturing pieces we'd be focusing more on the areas that attract donations and funding. * A gentleman from NE Nebraska visited recently. He's part of "NE Ihub", a new makerspace opening in that area. Their space is being formed by a number of different community groups. They already have 2 employees and funding! That also comes with some strict limitations - there are limited open hours and they have to have a staff member present at all times. * Ryan will be get a tour of the Center for Industrial Research & Service in Ames. Apparently they're free to ISU students and open until 1am! Ryan plans to ask them where they get their money from. Apparently they had never heard of us, so maybe we can start getting referrals from them! * In the past the space considered partnering with DMAC as a source of funding, however DMAC wanted almost complete control of the space and wanted to implement a lot of restrictions. We, as a space, weren't okay with that. * Dave suggested we call up DMAC, Drake, Grandview, and various art organizations like Barnum to suggest partnering with them. * Drake has some makerspace-like facilities, however to use one of the various areas you have to be in a grad program for that area. * In order to avoid restrictions, Jake suggested we could sell partnerships as a spinoff of our site. * Dave believes that in order to grow we probably need to partner with larger institutions. One idea might be to get these places to consolidate their makerspaces into ours. * On the subject of raising more money by writing grants, grant writing is itself a full time job. Big non-profits have whole teams of people whose only job is fundraising. * We are, or at least were, on the radar of the Greater Des Moines Partnership (GDMP). Their focus is making Des Moines more attractive to development. One of their metrics is where is Des Moines falls on those lists of "Top 10 Places to Live" and the like. A lot of those lists have started including makerspaces as part of their metric. The idea is that a makerspace helps retain professionals, start-ups can rent space from it, and is a space to build tech education groups. Thus we have been on GDMP's radar, although they would like us to be more of a space for start ups. We used to have a contact at the GDMP, but he has since moved on. * Speaking of being a space for start-ups. Maple Ventures is a local start-up space for software companies. We could provide/become an ecosystem for hardware start-ups. * Dave said he would make a list of groups to talk to and start reaching out to representatives to see what they say. Our pitch to donors right now is that we explain what's in it for the community. ### Membership Update: 99 * A spouse of one of our members joined! * The above item seemed kind of sad by itself, so I added an exclamation point and this additional bullet point. ### Space Updates * Ward has a lead on an inexpensive (possibly free) rotary phase converter to power the metal mill. It's a friend from his tractor group. If we get our pick, a 3 hp VFD would be great. * Laser Stewards have talked about what sort of new lasers to get, nothing beyond that. * The sander in the Wood Shop is still broken. The Stewards aren't exactly sure what's wrong. They're thinking about getting a larger planer and selling off the jointer/planar combo. > Vote to approve spending $1000 for a 15" planer if the opportunity arises. > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * The CEC is covering the cost of food at the upcoming member meeting. They'll save the receipts for reimbursement. * Jake talked with an organization called "By Degrees." They asked if we would be willing to sponsor some selected high school seniors who might want to use the space over the summer. The organization has members at schools in the area and can identify students who would be a good fit. The board reiterated that any person needs to be at least 18 years old to use the space by themselves. The board was enthusiastic about the idea. * Dave spoke with someone from Merrill middle school who was interested in doing a class or classes like we did with the girl scouts. The difficulty is that we're not exactly kid friendly. ### Meeting Adjourned * "Hear ye, Hear ye or Whatever" - the President's call to order # September 2023 - Board Meeting 09/06/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting **09/06/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Carlin** * **Director: Ryan** **Absent:** * **Director: Tom** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve Minutes of August Board Meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials/Moving Update * We need to estimate how much money we would need to move. Most commercial real estate costs more than we're currently paying so we need to estimate how much we can spend if we push for growth. We should make projections based on * different numbers of members * different dues amounts * changes to insurance. * adding monthly internet cost * Jake looked at a 7,300 square foot space that might be suitable for us (See Franklin Space, below). Our current area is about 5,000 square feet, and it was felt that 10,000 square feet might be too much. * John mentioned finding a place in Ankeney, that's 4 times the cost of our current facility. Board members generally agreed on a desire to stay within Des Moines, or at least a location central to the metro area. * Our current rent is $1650 per month, which is about $4 per square foot. We don't pay for internet here or for insurance on the building. * In commercial real estate, pricing is all based on square footage. Most available locations are either 5 - 10k square feet, or above 30k square feet, there's not much in between. * It was noted that there are some vacant buildings near our present location, but they don't have much parking. * Troy asked about adding a kitchen space to our repertoire. The board didn't think that would be a good fit. The fridge, microwave and sinks like we currently have are sufficient. * Ways to generate more money were discussed. They boiled down to... * Charging money and giving more classes * Selling stuff that we make here * In looking at how other maker spaces raise funds, many of them... * have more members * have company sponsorship (see below) * charge tool use fees by the hour * Area 515 has long resisted partnering with a company because of the loss of independence that would create. Area 515 has always prided itself on being totally member-controlled. * Holding a craft fair was suggested as a way to raise money, but Carlin, who routinely sells his wares at craft fairs, didn't think it would work well. At a successful show, he can earn about $100 for every 1,000 people that come through. We would be unlikely to get anywhere near that number of attendees for a show. * Our previous artist in residence program was also mentioned in response to this idea. It concluded each year with a craft fair, the last of which very very few people attended. * The idea of establishing a VenMo account for the space was brought up. The biggest difficulty would be establishing the automation necessary to support it. * Prior to using Zapier for automation, Wild Apricot was looked into as a member management solution. It included integration with different payment systems. We might look into this again. * Ryan asked about good, easy fundraising apps or programs that we could use to make more money. All lamented the loss of Amazon smile as a revenue generator because it was easy, required minimal work from the space, and gave us actual money. * The space is part of Benevity, which processes workplace giving. (Note from the future: our Benevity membership lapsed on October 3rd and needs to be renewed) * The trouble with most fundraising systems is that they require a lot more work on our end. We have the capability to receive donations right now, we just don't advertise it much. * When it comes to donations, our "story" just isn't big enough to show macro results. * Meg said she'd look into finding the list of grants that a previous board of directors had compiled. #### Franklin Space * It's a little less "warehouse-y" than our current location. The ceiling in particular is lower than most warehouse space, making it easier to reach. * It consists of 3 big spaces/rooms. * It already has 3 phase power, and 24 volt outlets * Owners have not named a starting price * Owners are willing to put some money towards renovation. The bathrooms in particular need to be renovated/constructed. * Located close to Faustino's Tacos * It used to be a health club, of which Ward was a member! ### Laser Upgrades * The Full Spectrum lasers are becoming increasingly difficult to use. Full Spectrum uses proprietary hardware so we are forced to use their proprietary Retina Engrave (RE) software. (Other programs like LightBurn are not compatible.) That RE software is no longer supported. In particular, their print driver (which is responsible for loading vector graphics into Retina Engrave) is producing increasingly buggy results. In June of this year, a full 20" x 12" sheet of soldering station parts could be loaded into RE. When the same sheet was tried in August, only a small percentage of the vectors were loaded into RE. The Laser Stewards have spent many hours trying to solve the problem, including but not limited to uninstalling and reinstalling various combinations of RE and Inkscape. No solution has been found. (Note from the future: The RE print driver was written for Windows Vista or Windows 7. Brad tried installing all the RE software on an older computer that still runs Windows 7, but the same problems occured.) * TLDR: Our lasers don't go pew correctly anymore. We need new ones or to upgrade what we have. * Upgrade option: LightBurn is the standard consumer software for running lasers, but it is not compatible with the proprietary hardware on our lasers. One option would be to replace our lasers' control hardware with something that is compatible with LightBurn. The recommended new control hardware costs around $400-$500. About as much as each laser is worth. In addition, we would have to pay around $150 for the LightBurn software itself. * Jake offered the Xpro V5 controller that came from the Lead CNC. (It was removed and replaced from the Lead CNC because it's second Y axis motor controller wasn't working.) Since the lasers only have 1 Y axis motor, it might work. (Note from the future: Caroline was less than enthusiastic about trying to adapt the Xpro to the laser since the XPro is specifically made for CNC machines. Both the Lead CNC and the lasers are technically "CNC machines", but the detailed functionality is different enough that making it function might not be worth the time it would take to make it work. * Per Carlin, the cost of a new 50 watt laser is around $6500 right now. A 100 watt machine is around $8500. A 100 watt laser is around $3000. He's heard good things about the OMG brand of lasers from reviews on Facebook. He's also heard good things about the Epilog laser brand (although they're very expensive), but bad things about all other American brands. * What kind of new machines to shop for and what features it should have were briefly discussed, but it was quickly realized the discussion should involve Bailey, the other Laser Steward. * No other Tool areas have asked for money lately, although the Metal Shop does need to purchase some power supplies. ### Current Members: 96 * Derek needs to be added to the Tools email list * New members have had a difficult time scheduling Wood Shop training due to how busy the Wood Stewards are, and in some cases, how burnt out they are. * Carlin floated the idea of a Metal Shop Training Day, but that's up to the Metal Stewards, not a Board decision. * Carlin would also like to a new leather sewing machine for the space. He said he would start an "In for $10." * There is still an "In for $10" button on our website that should be used for all "In for $10" donations, no matter what project they are designated for. * We don't have a clear policy about what to do with "In for $10" money for projects that don't work out. Should we return the money? Declare the money to be donations? * The idea of creating individual buttons for individual projects was floated. It was difficult to create the one button we already have on the website. ### CEC Updates * Our booth at the Mini Maker Faire saw 125 people. * It was a mixed blessing that we were located right next to the Lego group. * About 12 parents expressed interest in the space though. * Membership Survey * John got some feedback on the survey from the Board. * The survey is designed to be a tool to assess the state of the space and the membership. It will help us assess what tools are being used, and help with 5 to 10 year planning. * The survey asks membership for some demographic data. The goal being to find out what demographics we are serving well, and what we aren't. * The google forms are anonymous so responses can't be tracked back to individual members. * The CEC would like to release the survey by October. ### Space Updates * The next member meeting will be on October 21, at 3:00pm. There will be a BBQ afterwards for everybody. * Tom and Ryan have decided not to run for re-election to the Board. * John W has already announced that he will be running. * For a few days, member Darron's scissor lift was here. We helped adapt it to run on rechargeable lithium batteries, and used it to run some network cables through the ceiling. Unfortunately we did not get the compressed air pipes installed, or reinstall the ventilation fan in the Metal Shop. * Don will be renting a carpet cleaner for his house and offered to rent it for an extra day to clean the space's carpets. The board said that would be fine. ### Meeting Adjourned * When a bake sale was suggested as a way to raise money: "We're not a bunch of cute kids." "Speak for yourself!" * "Send it to me if you want the idea to die on its feet." - Carlin * Upon realizing that the clock in the classroom stopped moving: "The clock is doing a Mitch McConnell right now." # August 2023 - Member Meeting August 26, 2023 - Member Meeting **August 26, 2023 - Member Meeting** **Total Number of Full Members Attending: 10 + 3 remotely present + 2 proxy votes** Quorum was reached **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake (remotely) * Secretary: Brad * Director: Ryan * Director: Carlin ### CEC Report * There will be 2 more events with Christine Clark, Sept. 9 and Nov. 11 * Planning to have a community board game night in the next 2 months * The Des Moines Mini Maker Faire will be on Sept 4 from 9am-4pm. The CEC is still looking for volunteers to help staff our booth. We'll be handing out stuff and have activities for the kids. (It's a tumblewings paper airplane - folded piece of paper that floats above a board when you walk with it) * A BBQ/social get-together night was brought up. Alex P volunteered to run this at the next member meeting. (See also Next Member Meeting in this document) * Data has been collected regarding Open House attendees. By the next member meeting the CEC hopes to pull some trends. * About 4 visitors to the average Open House * About a 10-15% of those become members * To aid the search for a new location, the CEC will also do a member address survey ### Tool Area Updates * Jerry allowed Merck (the company on the other side of the courtyard) to pave our side of the courtyward so the dumpsters could be moved up against our building. Sometimes the Merck van will block access to our space by accident. If this happens just ask them to move it; they're super friendly. Dave is thinking about painting yellow lines to help avoid this. * Wood Shop Stewards report that their stuff feels like it's breaking faster than it can be fixed. * Both table saws are up and running again * One of the band saws needs a new blade, and the other needs realigning. * Something is wrong with Jake's drum sander and Stewards aren't sure if it can be fixed. * The lasers need some work. The control software, specifically the print driver, is getting increasingly buggy. A more thorough update will be presented at the next member meeting. * The TIG is getting used * The Metal Lathe is getting "the crap" used out of it * Brad designed and is assembling new soldering iron holders. ### Space Cleanup News * Dave has started sending personal invitations to different members to come to Clean Up days. Attendance has increased significantly. * At the last Clean Up, wood sheet goods were taken care of. Labeled items were put on a cart, and unlabeled items were tossed out. * **Reminder: Always store your stuff in the designated area with your name on it. Un-named items may be thrown out at any time.** * Additional Reminder: Please do at least 1 chore from the chore list each time you're here. The chore list is posted on the wall by the door. #### Parking Tickets * If someone's stuff is left out somewhere, any member can fill out a Parking Ticket slip for that stuff. Some members didn't know they were available so their use was explained. ### Financials * Our treasurer has been "a little side tracked" dealing with the birth of her first child so updates are limited. * Originally the $0.50 we charge for soda would both cover the cost of the soda and pay for various small consumables around the space. Now, the 50 cents doesn't even cover the cost of the soda itself. The price will need to increase if we are going to continue offering sodas. * 12 packs of soda run close to $9 now, which is 75 cents per can. * Setting up a PayPal QR code to pay for sodas was suggested. Brad said he would look into that. * When a new batch of sodas come, the Mountain Dew lasts a few days while the Diet Mountain Dew will last for weeks. About the same amount of Diet and regular is ordered, the regular is far more popular. It was requested that we increase the ratio of regular Mountain Dew to Diet. * Based on our buying habits, we drink **a lot** of regular Mountain Dew. * Some members suggested buying more generic brands, but the idea wasn't popular. The fridge can quickly fill up with stuff that isn't drunk. ### Investment Committee Report * iBonds are still making more money than our bank account * The Committee also reported that it needs to meet up again. ### Discussion of a Change to the Bylaws * This was inadvertantly left on the agenda from the last meeting by the Secretary and didn't really happen. I mean, it's being reported here since it was technically mentioned during the meeting so technically I guess it did happen. However, no discussion of Bylaw changes actually took place, so like, it didn't happen. But in the meeting the Secretary still had to explain why it was on the agenda so it kind of happened... You know what? Nevermind. ### Vote to Upgrade Supporting Members to Full * Troy M requested becoming a Full member. He has been in good standing since he joined in April 2022. He was nominated by multiple Full members. > Vote to promote Troy M to Full Member > > Yes: 12 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Next Member Meeting * Will be October 21 at 3:00pm * Alex P volunteered to be point person for organizing a BBQ social event for members after the meeting. * Board elections will be held at the next meeting. Directors Ryan and Tom will be stepping down so there will be at least 2 openings. There are 7 position on the Board of Directors, but any number of people can run for election. ### Meeting Adjourned * When Troy asked to be promoted to Full membership someone responded "I'll vote for you! Hell, I'll vote for you twice!" * Wood Shop Steward Words of Wisdom: "Any time you're doing clean up in the Wood Shop people show up because they're afraid their stuff will get thrown." # August 2023 - Board Meeting 08/02/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting **08/02/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg (by phone)** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Carlin (joined late)** **Absent:** * **Director: Ryan** * **Director: Tom** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve Minutes of July Board Meeting > > Yes: 4 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### A New Maker was Born!! * Meg (our Treasurer) had her baby!!! Welcome to the world, Mila Krajicek!!! ### Security Cameras * Dave bought 2 or 3 new security cameras and hasn't been reimbursed. He plans to buy another two. * One of the new cameras will be in the hallway, and one for outside. * A pan/zoom/tilt model was tried but didn't work well because it lacked infrared. * Don requested that it be officially documented that the board gave him approval to throw away all the analog security cameras. (See note in Meeting Adjourned section.) ### Space Updates * Dave will help Jerry install a new Verizon router. He bought a network switch that will help. (Note: Jerry shares his internet connection with the space.) * There was a water leak in the bathroom labeled "Private" that has now been resolved. (See also "Did You Know?" in Meeting Adjourned section.) * The Facilities Committee hasn't official met but are looking at various new locations via email. A building just across the street to the East was discussed. It's too large as is and would need to be divided up, plus a ramp added for an Auto Shop. * The CEC is working on a Google survey to see where members live in order to help find areas of town to look in. * After discussing, the board recommends the survey be sent to all members of the Google Group rather than just current members. * Carlin will probably take his leather sewing machine home. New ones are expensive and if members complain we can run an "In for $10" ### Current Members: 89 * There've been some requests for non-consecutive membership months. ### Discussion Regarding Problematic Members * Members will be referred to as Member 1 and Member 2 * Member 1 has a history of leaving messes (and Board members have had multiple conversations with Member 1 about this) and recently, was the last one to leave but left the lights and fans on and the doors wide open. * Member 2 flagrantly and repeatedly violated Metal Shop safety rules, and after multiple conversations with Board members, continued flagrantly violating said rules. It was reluctantly decided to revoke Member 2's membership. Since Member 2 had just recently paid for a full year, the Board decided to refund the rest of his payment. ### Clean Up Nights * In the past only a handful of the same people routinely show up for this. Dave is taking steps to get more members involved by sending personal invites. This most recent Clean Up Night was a big success, attended by 8-10 people, so efforts to promote it will continue. * It was noted that during Clean Up Night, some members came in and worked, and thus prevented some areas from being cleaned. Ways to mitigate this in the future were discussed. * It was questioned if Tool Stewards should be required to be present when their areas are being cleaned. As a Wood Shop Steward, Jake pointed out that he takes care of the Wood Shop the rest of the time. He has no interest in also coming for Clean Up night. * The idea of incentivising Clean Up Nights was mentioned. * Offering a free month of memberships was brought up, but since it would be difficult to implement it might create more problems than it would solve. Plus since we are considering moving locations, voluntarily reducing our income now might be imprudent. * John suggested offering to feed people who show up to Clean Up Night. This got a very positive response. * Another idea to incentivize Clean Up Night was showing members how much it would cost to have the space professionally cleaned and how much membership fees would have to go up. ### Miscellaneous * The job of recruiting more Tool Stewards falls on the existing Stewards. * The CEC procured us a booth at the Science Center's Mini Maker Faire this year. They're putting together a sort of all-purpose event kit that can be taken to whatever events we show up at. The goal is for this kit to be small enough to fit in the trunk of a car. * It was discussed what other kinds of shows Area 515 should have a presence in. Apart from the Mini Maker Faire, ideas included Hamfest and the DIY Fair that was held a couple years ago. * Dave will replace the electric cord on the MIG welder restoring it to usability. ### Meeting Adjourned * On discussing what would happen if the board thought that Don had stolen our analog security cameras: "Hmmm. Don stole this. Should we send him a 'thank you' letter?" * Did you know? The "Private" sign on one of the bathroom doors was actually an inside joke from the previous building tenants. One of their guys spent so much time in that bathroom they called it his office, and the private sign was affixed. * On discussing various things in the space we could throw away: "We can turn the microwave into something dangerous so we should keep that" * On discussing the need to assemble an auto ramp if we moved into a new building: "I've watched a lot of Dukes of Hazzard episodes. I know all about ramps." # July 2023 - Board Meeting 07/12/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting **07/12/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Ryan** * **Director: Tom (remotely)** * **Director: Carlin (remotely)** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to Approve Minutes of June Board Meetings > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### SHR Request * A member requested a Starving Hacker Rate, after discussion the board voted > Vote to Approve Starving Hacker Rate for Member > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Current Members: 92 * Had some more potential members at last Open House * After the Board took disciplinary action against a member for repeated, unsafe use of the Metal Shop. Said member went to our landlord and asked to use our auto lift. * It was suggested that Troy become a Trainer or Steward in the Wood Shop. The matter was referred to the Wood Shop Tool Stewards. ### Building Committee * Ryan talked briefly with a broker but the broker said they would need a lot more details about what we're looking for. * Jake mentioned there's a building just to the east of our present location that's been available for awhile. It has bay doors and lots of square footage. * The Building Committee has been doing things remotely and hasn't assembled an official meeting yet. ### Space Updates * Christine Clark would like to hold 3 more meetings at the space. Her first was attended by 10 people, 2 of whom were not members. * John, or the CEC, said he would work on promoting the future meetings. * Ms. Clark did not make any money from the previous meeting. The idea of offering her a free month of two of rent was suggested. * Brad created an utterly brilliant, and inspiring redesign of the soldering stations. The Secretary is not biased about this at all. * MIG welder needs some repairs, including a new liner and fan. The incorrect tip size was used. * Both the Lead CNC and the Metal Lathe are operational. * Right now, only Caroline, Ward and Brad are trained to use the Metal Lathe * Jake has been buying pop for us. Thank you, Jake! * Brad, Carlin and Ryan are working to fix the water cooler on the right hand laser. * Don is working on the security cameras. ### Meeting Adjourned * Did you know? Nitrogen gas in tires is a scam. To only fill your tire with nitrogen gas, you need to valves: one for nitrogen intake, and the other to purge the non-nitrogen gas already inside. Earth's air is [78% Nitrogen](#user-content-fn-1)[^1] (Citation: ). Adding pure Nitrogen to the tires doesn't change the percentage in the tire very much. * Did you know? It's difficult to put effective AM radios inside electric vehicles because of all the shielding it requires around the car's electric parts. [^1]: # June 2023 - Board Meeting 06/14/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting **06/14/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Director: Ryan * Director: Tom * Director: Carlin **Absent:** * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary: Brad Note: In Secretary's absence, a big thank you to Jake for taking meeting notes. ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting * All approved previous meeting notes ### Financials No financial update ### Membership Update: 93 * Update tools sheet and automated validation email was in both sheets. * A member has been having issues in the Metal Shop. Multiple people sent the member messages about cleaning up after themselves. The member told Carlin they would start cleaning up more. Then the member left the area even more dirty than before. The member has been flippant in their responses and there is some concern the member has been intoxicated. Carlin will talk to our landlord about the issues. In the meantime, this member is banned from the Metal Shop and from drinking on the premises. A refund will be offered. ### Space Updates * Lights have been updated above metal shop thanks to Jerry’s guys for putting them up for us * Christie wants to do more regular workshops. Carlin will be supporting member to support event. The board supports this as long as the calendar is checked. * Cnc and lathe are nearly back up * New vacuums for woodshop * Need to confirm outdoor space rental changes * Need to look for more space if possible * Talk to Jeff again * Also start looking for places to possibly buy * Metal shop needs some more consumables * Dave and Don updating some of the security cameras. ### Meeting Adjourned # May 2023 - Board Meeting May 2023 - Board Meeting It was decided that since all pertinent matters were discussed at the member meeting. The board members' attendance of the member meeting would count as the board meeting for May. # April 2023 - Member Meeting April 30, 2023 - Member Meeting **04/30/2023 - Area 515 Member Meeting** **Total Number of Full Members Attending: 12 present + 4 remotely present + 1 proxy** Quorum was reached **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary: Brad * Director: Tom P * Director: Ryan R ### Preamble * Our Treasurer is having a child! Thankfully she will remain our treasurer though. ### Current Members: 93 * We haven't been under 90 for many months, were at 103 members at one point, may be getting to the point where an all volunteer staff is difficult to maintain. ### Community Engagement Committee (CEC) * They are working to shift our decision making, as a group, to a more quantitative basis. * One step in that process is collecting data on our members (data, aka. metrics). They are planning to send out surveys to find what members value about the space. They want everyone to feel heard. * It was mentioned that there have been member surveys conducted in the past, although not a lot was gleaned from them. * They plan to start tracking Open House visitors, to find out how many come and about what percentage become members. * They made business cards for Area 515 that anybody can hand out to anyone who's interested. * The CEC currently consists of John, Kevin, Frank, and Carlin, but they would love to have more members. * Along with Don, a monitor was set up in the classroom to display upcoming event information. The display runs a Google deck slide show, which the board and all Tool Stewards have access to update. ### Space Updates * Ryan coordinated and brought to the space a huge donation of nice office chairs from Meta (formerly Facebook). He also distributed some to other non-profits in the area. Many thanks to Ryan for this wonderful act of chair-ity! * The Secretary tried that joke several times in person and no one laughed. Nevertheless, he maintains that it's funny so it's going in the notes. * Two of our old chairs will have permanent homes in the Wood Shop. The rest are all available for anyone who wants to take them home. * A Facilities Committee was formed, so far consisting of Dave and Tom (though more members are welcome). Their goal is to improve the current space, and also to scout possible new locations. We don't need to move right now, but we will not have any more room to expand at our current location. * 6 new lights for the Wood and Auto Shops have been ordered. They're very bright LED tubes that fit in the current fixtures once the ballast is removed. The removed fluorescent tubes that still work will be swapped out for dead tubes in the other fixtures. * To install the new lights a scissors lift would be optimal. We have a member with a scissors lift, although that lift has been unavailable for awhile. The possibility of renting a lift was also discussed, seeing as how we have a lot of projects that can use it. * Security cameras will be added to the Auto Area. * The board has been working to clarify qualifications for Family Memberships. There are some gray areas around families vs residing in the same household. #### General Messages to Members * Don't let the HVAC get overloaded on hot days over the summer. The drain pan clogs really easily, probably due to dust. Note: The blue filter in the ceiling outside the bathrooms is virtually *never* the problem with the AC, so don't bother changing it. * Remember to turn lights off when leaving a room. * Nothing should be stored inside the green tape area. That interferes with the ability for cars to get to the auto lift. #### Security Cameras * We will be adding another outdoor camera. Planning to get more cameras generally. #### Wood Shop * Jason bought a new band saw for light work. The heavy duty one will be kept as well. #### Laser Area * The left laser is currently stronger than the right. #### Big Plastic Vacuum Former * Per Jason, we/he needs to schedule a day or two to finish it. Cody was working on it but he's away on paternity leave right now. #### 3D Printers * An Ender 3s1 was donated. Caroline got it up and running. #### Electronics * Brad offered to create portable soldering iron stations. He'll either recreate the old design or embark on a new one. #### Textiles & Leather * Bailey got a warping board for the loom. * The Textiles room needs another table which Jason is planning to make. #### Auto Shop * Having trouble with tools disappearing. * Dave has somehow acquired 4 3/8ths inch ratchets over time * Dave will talk with our landlord about lift maintenance. #### Metal Shop * We acquired a manual metal mill! * Carlin finished taking most of his own tools home. * We need to clean the steel storage in the courtyard. Then we can do more blacksmithing stuff. * Ryan is brining some of his spare metal in for members to purchase by the foot. * Note: No metal should be stored over by the breaker panel! ### Financials * We have been operating in the black. * Investment Committee Update: They sort of forgot to meet. * We have money in an iBond at 4.63% * Considering a different money market account. ### Bylaw Changes Discussion * Per the Bylaws, members fees should be set every year by a member vote. We haven't been following that. * It was decided that we should become compliant with the Bylaws rather than voting to formally change the Bylaws. * The Secretary assured everyone that he would chew out the Secretary for not putting it on the previous 4th quarter meeting agendas. ### Vote to Upgrade Supporting Members to Full * Kevin F requested becoming a Full member. He has been a member for over 11 months and is on the CEC. He was nominated by multiple Full members. > Vote to promote Kevin F to Full member > > Yes: 16 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Updates * On May 6, 3-5 pm, life coach Christine Clark will hold a talk called "Obtaining Excellence" about learning new skills. Event is free and open to public. * We, as a maker space, need to work on scheduling classes. Nobody showed up at our last soldering class. * A raspberry pi or arduino class was discussed. * Ways to advertise future classes were discussed, including Meetup and putting up fliers. * The TIG welder is available for members who want to be trained on it. See Dave C. * A new member is trying to restart the Robotics Night discussion group. * The idea of putting a video tour of the maker space up on our website was discussed. * Some of our areas need more Trainers and/or Stewards. Jason in particular isn't planning to do any more Wood Shop trainings this year due to his work schedule. ### Meeting Adjourned * "It feels weird that we don't have anyone remoting in." Jake: "Okay, I'll go outside." * Regarding the as-yet-unfinished large Plastic Vacuum Former: "Hey! Maybe we can have a 10 year anniversary where we start it up!" # April 2023 - Board Meeting 4/5/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting for April **4/5/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting for April** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg (remotely)** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Carlin (remotely)** * **Director: Tom** * **Director: Ryan** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes of March Meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Our money is currently divided between 4 "buckets," one of which is a CD. The CD used to have a good rate, but doesn't anymore. Ryan said he would look for a new place with a better rate for that money. * The Investment Committee realized it needs to schedule another meeting. * It was asked how much money the space should keep readily accessable for emergencies. The board generally agreed around $10k, given that we go through around $3k per month. * For the year to date we are operating in the black by about $1k. * Dave started an "In for $10" for a new brake press. Treasurer said she would look into how much money we've received already. * Ward needs to be reimbursed for a purchase. #### Tool Area Fees and Budgets * Most Tool fees don't actually cover the operating costs of their tools. Ways to deal with this were discussed. There's no desire to raise the fees right now. * Part of the trouble is that tool fee payments aren't closely tracked, so there's no way to hold people accountable who aren't paying them. * It might be nice if we could track how much time a member spends on a machine and charge them accordingly. Although this would be more useful on some machines than others. For example, it might work well for the lasers which have a consumable (the laser tube) that wears out directly with use. With the CNC on the other hand, the cost of wear and tear on the machine per hour would have to be calculated in order to make tracking member time useful. (Members provide their own consumables (bits) for the CNC machine.) * The different areas and their Tool Stewards should have more defined expectations. More specifically, Tool Stewards should start putting together a yearly budget proposal for their area, then we'd better understand what it takes to be sustainable. #### Reimbursements Discussion * A long time ago in a not-at-all far away land, Bailey and Jason first purchased a batch of very nice Baltic Birch plywood, cut it into 20" x 12" segments that were perfect for the laser cutters, and left them for members to use. Members payed for the cost of the wood on the honor system. Fast forward to two years ago, Brad followed the tradition, but also put up a sign telling members how much money they needed to donate to cover the cost of each plywood panel. Once all those plywood sheets were gone, the laser cashbox was opened. The money in the box was only about half the cost of the plywood. * There was a brief discussion about whether or not Brad should be reimbursed for what he spent on the plywood, but it was quickly decided he should be. * Similarly, Jake purchased some new ceramic blocks and guides, it was similarly decided that he should be reimbursed for those purchases. ### Current Members: 98 * Full Members: 27 * One person who signed up needed to be refunded what they had paid, everyone agreed that it should be done. #### Discussion Concerning Family Memberships * Family Membership Discounts are not defined in our Bylaws. Recently a group of friends had asked for a family discount. The Board did not feel that they qualified, but it brought up the need for the Board to further clarify the category. * The discount is applicable to: * members who are in the same family * members who are romantically involved with each other whether or not they live under the same roof * members who do live under the same roof even if not romantically involved. * One director expressed support for extending Family Membership Discounts to members who are all working on the same project, although another member was of the opinion that this should constitute a corporate membership, rather than family. The possibility of changing title of "Family Membership Discount" to "Group Membership Discount" was also floated. * Unless it becomes a problem, we take people at their word concerning Family Membership Discounts. No proof of eligibility is required. * During this discussion it was also pointed out that we haven't always followed our Bylaws appropriately. Specifically, the Bylaws say members should vote on the membership fee every year and we haven't done that. All members agreed that we need to read through the Bylaws again and make sure we follow them. ### Member Meeting * Scheduled for April 30, 2023 at 5pm ### Space Updates * Brad broke another tool. One of the starting capacitors blew on the metal lathe while he was using it. It happened as a result of old age, not user error. * The Lead CNC is still offline for upgrades. The control board isn't working yet, although the company it was purchased from is being very helpful. * Carlin is moving all of his equipment home, including the vacuum former in the Laser Area. * Dave has used our new TIG welder so we know it works. * A storage cabinet was purchased for the Metal Shop. Caroline has started putting stuff in it. * Caroline got a donated 3D printer running. * The power adapter for the computer in the 3D Printing Area is unreliable. In the short term we need a new power adapter; in the long run a faster computer would be desirable. * A cache of round metal stock was offered to us by a person in Indianola. The status of who might bring it to the space and when was unknown. * We need to finally finish the space's vacuum former in the Laser Area. Finishing our vacuum former was jovially compared to the horizon. "More of a concept than an actual thing." * Don C and some members of the CEC created a digital slide show that plays on the TV screen in the classroom. It shows photos and can advertise upcoming events. All the board members and Tool Stewards have access to change it. * The CEC did not have a formal meeting last quarter, but there is a guest lecturer coming soon and we're hoping for a good turn out. ### Meeting Adjourned * What follows are some examples of the high tech, cutting edge communication between board and remote members that we can only enjoy thanks to the amazing, modern age of live streaming technology. * "Carlin????? Are you there???" * "Did... did he just use sign language at us?" "That was a thumb, wasn't it." # March 2023 - Board Meeting 3/1/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting for March **3/1/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting for March** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Ryan** * **Director: Carlin** **Absent:** * **Director: Tom** ### Preamble * We have all the stuff we need to upgrade the Lead CNC! Woohoo!! * Our Treasurer is having a baby! And so is the wife of one of our directors! ### Approval of Minutes from Previous 2 Meetings > Vote to Approve Minutes of January and February Board Meetings > > Yes: 7 (Tom voted by email) > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * It was decided that reimbursements for the Metal Lathe should come from the Metal Shop. Brad was reimbursed for a lathe plate. * We received a $1,000 check from Wells Fargo matching funds charity so a big thank you to someone for contributing to us. * After the meeting Brad will go through the cash in the Laser Area lock box. ### Soda Purchases * Board verbally agreed that Jake's screenshot of his soda expenses was sufficient to reimburse him. * We went through soda, particularly Mountain Dew, really fast. We'd go through $2,500 per year at the current rate. * The plan is to order every 2 weeks. * Our price of 50 cents per can lets us just barely break even. For instance, right now Coca Cola is just over 50 cents per can. ### Current Members: 96 * We were temporarily at 100 members. * Currently 28 Full members * One member wrote a check for over the amount of a year membership. Initially we thought he overpaid but now believe he was covering a back payment. * A member again requested adding friends to a Family level membership. The board reaffirmed its position that Family memberships are only for families. If a group of friends want a reduced membership they can apply for a Starving Hacker Rate. ### Helping Our Treasurer * In light of our Treasurer's pregnancy, other board members agreed to take over certain tasks during her maternity leave. * Jake agreed to handle Amazon purchases. * Brad agreed to do PayPal reimbursements, cash checks, and sign and deliver rent checks. ### Automation * Jake will fix automation for the Tool Fees. * When making keys for new members, board members need to remember to copy info from the Current Members sheet to the Tools sheet, so that the automation can record their tool fee payments. ### Iowa SoS Biennial Report * We thought we had filled this out last year, but Barry, a former member of the space, received an email from the state requesting it be refiled. (The report needs to be filed every 2 years.) Barry took our info and filed the report again, as he has every 2 years in the past. The Board decided to update the state's contact so Barry doesn't have to do it any more. Jake volunteered to take over the duty of filling it out. ### Facilities Committee * Dave proposed creating a committee for larger building projects and making long term plans for if we decide to move. * Dave said he's willing to be on it. * Carlin said he'd help too. * Tom wasn't there so everyone decided he should be on it as well. (Plus Tom has already expressed interest in finding a new building.) > Vote to establish the Facilities Committee initially consisting of Dave, Carlin and Tom > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Metal Table Tops for Metal Shop * We have metal for the frames. We need table tops about 2' x 4', 1/4" to 3/16" thick. Carlin will get quotes. Plan is to make one 36" tall and another maybe 30" tall. ### Shipping Container * They seem to be coming down in price. We would like to find one with minimal damage that's 40' - 50' for less than $1,000. We would put it in the courtyard and use it for member storage. ### IT Admin Committee * We already have an informal IT committee that's really just an email list of certain members. It's called BOFH (Bastard Operators From Hell) and consists of Dave, Don, Jeff O, Ray, and Nabil. Dave added Ken R, Caroline and Jake to the list. * Dave suggested it would be good to have an official committee that can come up with a better IT infrastructure plan. * Among some of the current IT complaints: a new computer is needed for 3D printing, and there is a file server to share files among the space computers that has been down for months > Vote to officially establish IT Committee > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### VFD (Variable Frequency Drive) Conversation * The new milling machine has special power requirements. A static inverter was considered, but there are reports that it can cause premature motor failures. * Ryan offered a Rotary Phase Converter, but he said it's old and still wouldn't be as good as a VFD * A VFD was agreed to be the best option, the downside is it could cost between $400 and $700 ### 3D Room * Thank you to Jake for putting new tables and shelves in the 3D Printing room. Chris had donated the stuff from John Deere. * A Endr 3S-1 was donated to us ### Space Updates * Matt is making good progress on his van. * Some board members will try to talk Jerry into perhaps allowing us to house and use his plasma table. * Dave will start an In for $10 for a 20 ton press break kit. It was mentioned a finger break might be more useful, but it cost $329. * Note: The hydraulic press we have works. (The Secretary was wondering about this.) * New Cabinet for Metal Shop - A good one was found at Harbor Freight for $379. It was already approved as part of the past Big Tool Buy so no new approval is needed. The idea of mounting a swing away vice on it was discussed, as well as using it to store mill, vice, tooling, collets, etc. * Jake talked about maybe doing another Lead CNC upgrade in the Fall. He'd like to replace the stepper motors with servos (they'd provide 4 to 8 times the torque), isolate the spindle and get it computer controlled (get something like a 1.4 kilowatt spindle). With the leftover parts Jake talked about making a C-beam mill. * Our neighbors have been found to throw away some good tools. * Dave talked with Jerry about doing maintenance on the auto left. * Dave made a list of all our charter members and found that quite a few of them are still members. * A non-member named Christine Clark would like to hold a meet and greet at the space. She does life coaching for artists and creative people. Carlin said he'd host/facilitate the event. ### Meeting Adjourned * The Secretary was relieved to find out there's no audio with the security cameras. Consequently he will no longer keep his voice down when he's alone at the space singing along with his music. * Board Member 1: "I have pregnancy brain." Board Member 2: "I have that and I'm not pregnant." Board Member 3: "I have something called Dumb Brain." # February 2023 - Board Meeting 1/29/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting for February **1/29/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting for February** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Tom** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Director: Ryan** * **Director: Carlin** Note: Since the regularly scheduled Board Meeting was only 3 days away, and a majority of the Board Members were present at the Member Meeting, it was decided to hold the official February Board Meeting right after the Member Meeting on 1/29/2023. ### **Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting** * The Secretary forgot to send a link to the January minutes for the board to review. Consequently this was deferred to the next board meeting. ### Financials * Tom has scanned all his receipts for making the front sign. He sent a copy to Meg and Dave, and will send again to the whole board. * Brad, one of the Laser Stewards, had been waiting to open the cash lock box in the laser room with the Treasurer. It was noted that he could open it in the presence of another Board member for the same accountability. ### Current Members: 98 * Recently added the wife of a long time member. * A group of friends asked to join on a family membership plan but were told that tier is meant for families. ### How to Proceed with Mill Purchase from Ryan * We will ask Ryan how he wants to be paid, but check is the most likely route. * We will transfer from money from savings to checking in preparation. * It was noted that nobody at the member meeting reacted negatively to the mill being purchased from a member of the Board of Directors. ### SHR Renewal * A member's SHR required renewing for another 6 months. No discussion was needed before voting to renew it > Vote to renew member's SHR for another 6 months > > Yes: 4 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Upgrades to Wood Shop Dust Collector * The Wood Shop Stewards have expressed the need for upgrades to the space's Dust Collector. All agreed on the need for this. Jake estimates the cost at about $500, and Jason may have time to work on it soon, so a vote was taken to spend the money from general funds. > Vote to spend $500 upgrading the Wood Shop Dust Collector > > Yes: 4 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Meeting Adjourned # January 2023 - CEC Meeting January 12, 2023 - Community Engagement Committee ## Area 515 Makerspace - Community Engagement Committee Meeting ### Meeting Agenda - 01/12/2023 * Announcement/Committee Direction - Cody * Working with the Y - Possible opportunities in Summer 2023 * New Year, New Space - How do we get more participation? * Game Night at the Space - Planning * Merch - Open Discussion * Space Classes * Open Forum ### YMCA Collaboration Cody is expecting and will need to take a step back from the committee and the space. Jason B. connected Cody with Wesley at the YMCA who runs an after school program focused on STEM. Possible collaboration of bringing them to the space and running a class/workshop this summer for about 15 people. * Wesley has connected Cody with the Boys and Girls Club. * ### New Year, New Space * Cody to send reminders this week * ¼ sheets to pass out at the space RE upcoming events * Cody to pick up sandwich tray, chips, cookies, drinks from Costco * 7 members currently signed up * First priority will be moving wood storage * Confirm with Jason RE other priorities ### Game Night * Bailey and Jason to host * John to create meetup event (public no cap) * Could split nights if too many people signup * John to bring snacks and drinks ### Merch * Open call to members to get new designs * Make a competition out of it. Members vote for best designs * Must be rated E for everyone * Kevin to setup google surveys * Selected designers get one free * Stickers * Tshirts * Local print shop vs. online print shop * Initial local, move to standing print on demand eventually * Discuss options with Daniel Johnson * Funding via an in for $10? ### More classes at the space * Resin Dice Class * Intro to Soldering * Intro to Arduino ### Open Forum * Kevin to work on “new member” booklet * Kevin to work up a “census” to gather metrics on member demographics * Who are we, What do we make, How do we make it * What events do you want the space to hold? * Will help shape strategic plan for engagement ### Quote of the night: *Low snarling growing in intensity followed by slobbering and chomping* - Molly (Kevin’s dog) # January 2023 - Board Meeting 1/11/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting **1/11/2023 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Carlin** * **Director: Ryan** * **Director: Tom** **Absent:** * **Treasurer: Meg** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to Approve Minutes of December Meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Carlin submitted receipts for reimbursement via email. He's requesting payment via PayPal. Brad said he would take care of that. * Tom said he would scan and email his receipts for the front sign for reimbursement. ### Current Members: 99 * The prospect of having a 100th member reignited the idea of giving them a free toaster when they join. ([See google group discussion here.](https://groups.google.com/g/dsmhackerspace/c/9sWzwLRMx5c)) Discussion naturally progressed to alternative ideas, such as making a toaster that makes an image of Bob Ross on the toast. * Discussion then continued to the ElectroBOOM guy on YouTube and why he doesn't wear proper eye protection. Most members generally felt that he should. * A member recently paid by check and emailed the board, as is appropriate. It was discussed that the check should be collected from the lockbox. * A member who inappropriately used the Metal Shop was also discussed. ### Space Updates #### Heat Teat Oven * The new heat treat oven arrived early. Carlin initially had some trouble with it, but the company has great phone support and now it's working really well. Jake also made a heavy duty extension cord for it. * The Metal Shop currently has two 50 amp circuits. The plan is to take one of those 50 amp circuits and add two 20 amp outlets to it. One to power the surface grinder, the other to power the heat treat oven. * Jake had a suggestion to prevent people slamming the heat treat oven door. * The oven came with a $75 gift certificate to US Knife Makers which Carlin plans to use to buy quench plates for stainless steel. He plans to raise the rest of the money for it from space members. #### Other Space Updates * Caroline said she found a rotary CNC machine that requires "a lot of work." It needs an electronics upgrade (and we have an extra controller), it's already on a cart and has a tool turret. (Ryan noted he has 3 of these.) * The right hand laser will soon need a new laser tube. It's to the point where it's not reliably cutting through 1/8" plywood. * The idea of purchasing a new laser was discussed. Jake said most of the lasers he's seen on the market have either been junk or gone really fast. In general, it's better for the space to have single purpose lasers rather than multi-purpose ones which are easier to break. * Ryan is donating some gauges to the space. * Our landlord doesn't seem to be using his plasma CNC machine very much. We'd love to have access/use of that. Perhaps we can talk Jerry into putting that where the wood storage is now, just to the east of the garage door. (The wood storage is getting moved at the next space work day.) * Jake suggested we take a poll of what kind of sodas people like, and then maybe do a recurring Hy-Vee delivery of those sodas. All agreed that regular Mountain Dew is quite popular and that the various Mountain Dew varieties are just awful. * It was noted that the Tool Fee payment automation needs some fixing. Extra columns were added to the Tools spreadsheet which means payments are being recorded in some incorrect columns. ### Meeting Adjourned * All agreed that 5 star reviews on Amazon that say things like, "This is awesome! They shipped it to me!!!" are less than helpful. * After the President projected his screen overhead and opened his (single) browser window: "Hey! Don't make fun of my tabs! You can still see the icons so it's not too many yet." * Questions were asked concerning the design of the Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) ordered a few months ago. "Your warranty is void if you push these 2 buttons together, and the buttons are on the outside." "Plus, when you do that there's no wire connecting to one of the switches." * A sign was proposed for the Metal Shop. It would say "Carlin is" and next to it would be hooks that you could hang smaller signs on that would say "happy" or "angry" or "confused" etc., with pictures of his face on them. # 2022 # December 2022 - Board Meeting 12/7/2022 - Area 515 Board Meeting **12/7/2022 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Secretary: Brad * Director: Tom * Director: Carlin * Director: Ryan **Absent:** * Treasurer: Meg ### Preamble * Phase converter showed up! Ryan will put it in Caroline’s cubby for installation. * Metal Stewards agreed to make Derek Vermeland an official Metal Shop Trainer. ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to Approve Minutes of November Meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Meg’s not here. * Carlin would like to know how much money he has left to pay off the Ameribrade sander. ### Current Members: 91 * Might even be 92 * Open Houses have been going great, CEC has been helping out a lot. ### Space Updates * CEC held Snow Day last Saturday. Was successful if not highly attended. When asked, one of the attendees cited Meetup as how they found it. * Board members spoke very highly of the CEC members John, Cody and Kevin. John in particular was noted for his laser cutter presentations to children who attended Snow Day. To quote one board member, “John is a heck of an asset.” ### Things Jake Will Look At * BitDefender was proposed as a new password keeper. Jake said he’d look into it. * We need to upgrade our status in Slack to non-profit status. Our full trial ended after 30 days, upgrading would give us more features. Jake said he’d look into it. * New members still need to be automatically added to the Tools sheet in order to track Tool Fee payments. New members aren’t automatically added right now because the Current Members tends to get a lot of double entries for people. The double entries are manually resolved eventually, but automatically populating the Tools sheet would make twice as much manual work. One idea is to copy members to the Tools sheet only when they get a key. In effect, copying the info after double entries have been resolved. Jake said he’d look into it. * CEC requested login info for Zapier. Jake said that he’d prefer to personally build the functionality to make Zapier copy posts onto multiple social media platforms, but also that he was not against giving the CEC the login. Jake didn’t exactly say he’d look into this, but it’s close enough for inclusion here. ### Plywood Order for Laser * The lasers need more nice plywood, so Brad plans to post on the forum. Other members expressed interest in a group purchase. It was suggested that in so doing, Brad remind members that they shouldn’t store their wood purchases at the space. ### Outdoor Shipping Container for Storage * At one time the board considered purchasing a shipping container and putting it in the courtyard for member storage. At that time containers could be obtained for about $1k, now good containers cost about $3k. Carlin said he would keep asking his friends to check prices. * How we could partition such a container for member storage was discussed, as well as the idea of charging a small fee for its use. * Discussion of the general economic outlook ensued. Ryan mentioned that he had reached out to Facebook recently by email but hadn’t heard anything back. A discussion of rich, eccentric people ensued, followed by stories heard about Prince. ### Space Updates * Dave will finish TIG welder setup this evening. * Tom knows someone wanting to get rid of whiteboards. * New member Nathan is planning to restart robotics night * Recently a gentleman from Wells Fargo talked with John about fundraising and Wells Fargo’s donation matching program. ### Jake’s Proposals #### Jake's Proposal 1 * We’re reaching some limitations on the Lead CNC due to its frequent use. The V wheels are becoming problematic since they all need to be tightened evenly. Also, the small amount of Z axis travel severely limits what kinds and how much spoiler board can be installed. * Jake and Caroline found a kit for around $750 + tax that would replace the V wheels and acme screws with linear rails and ball screws. It would also increase the Z axis travel. #### Jake's Proposal 2 * Open Builds launched a 32 bit controller. Jake already purchased one during a Black Friday sale. Jake proposed putting in on the Spectralight since this new controller has more inputs which the Spectralight can use. * If put on the Lead CNC, the new controller could automatically make sure the X axis is perpendicular to the Y axis (aka. "tramming" the Y axis) * The value of getting a second controller for the Lead was then discussed. > Vote to Purchase 2 of the new Open Builds 32 bit controllers, and the Lead CNC upgrade kit for about $1250 + tax > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Carlin’s Proposal * Carlin would like to purchase an electric heat treat oven and a buffer for the Metal Shop. Currently the knife makers are using a propane powered heat treat oven that Carlin built. It takes a lot of work to make the oven keep the proper temperature. * The model Carlin is looking at is an electric Paragon 24” with touch screen that costs about $2500 with shipping. It requires a 220V outlet, the same as his grinder. * Importantly, the board was told that yes, you can cook pizzas in it. The value of using it to cook gingerbread then cut it out in the laser was briefly discussed. * After some discussion it was decided that the buffer Carlin wanted will be purchased using Metal Shop funds. ### Ryan’s Proposal * Ryan and his family are looking to move to a new house and he plans to pare down some of his possessions. * In particular he is offering to sell his manual mill to the makerspace for $3k. It’s a manual, full sized, endco, Bridgeport style, has a digital readout down to 2/10ths of an inch. The x axis is servo controlled. He also has many different collets, two mill vices, sets of drill chucks. It also has a rotary fixture. * We would still need to purchase end mills and stuff to run it. * Another board member pointed out that for $3k, if we decide we don’t want it, we can likely resell the mill for the same price and not be out any money. * The importance of having a robust lockout method was discussed. * In order to avoid impropriety, it was proposed that the board send a knowledgeable, neutral third party (better known as Caroline) to inspect the mill and advise the board on the mill’s condition and asking price. Ryan welcomed this plan and the board will go forward with it. * It was also suggested that all members vote on the purchase of Ryan’s mill in order to further avoid impropriety, but nothing was decided. ### Proposals Conversation Main Points * The Metal Shop has already grown to be one of our most regularly used facilities. * The board has already spent $4k on equipment to make knives in the Metal Shop. * Carlin is planning to hold knife making classes here at the maker space indefinitely. Ultimately, we want those people to be able to sign up to the makerspace and continue practicing what they’ve learned. * Therefore, we’re probably going to need to get a heat treat oven eventually. It’s just a question of when we decide to do it. * Heat Ovens don’t loose their value over time so the money we invest in it can be recouped later. > Vote to purchase Carlin’s recommended heat treat oven > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * In the short run, the easiest lockout system would be to create a locker that opens for designated members’ keycards ### Misceallenous * Carlin has 8 more knife making classes scheduled in the next few months. * Some rooms need security cameras, but the existing ones adequately cover the Metal Shop. Carlin mentioned he’s getting better at using the Security System too. * The Midwest Knife Makers Guild wants to hold a meeting here late next year. ### Meeting Adjourned * Jake: "I got a proposal." Carlin: "I got one too." Ryan: "Yeah, me too." Tom: "I need another beer." * "So, if we get a mill, who's going to hold Ward down?" * Did you know: Civilian aircraft can't have ejector seats. Also, there's a MIG aircraft at the Ankeny airport that's being restored. * Proposed slogan for the Metaverse: "It's really lonely in here!" # November 2022 - Board Meeting 11/2/2022 - Area 515 Board Meeting **11/2/2022 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg- remotely * Director: Ryan * Director: Tom- remotely * Director: Carlin **Absent:** * Secretary: Brad ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from the September board meeting > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * We should be now caught up with reimbursements that had gotten behind ### Membership Update: 86 ### CEC/Events * Notes were sent to brad to post * Upcoming events need dates added for soldering and snow day * Dave will work to create sign up for soldering class * Need to share events on social media * Carlin's Wife has volunteered to help redo the snow day fliers ### Space Updates * Printer needs a new toner cartridge * TIG welder still need to be looked over more but seems to have most parts * Carlin noted the walkway had been blocked a number of times * Stack of tool boxes and supplies blocking the metal shop entrance * Need to work on how to keep the space neater in general * Phase converter was shipped for metal shop * Need to reorder bulbs/get from Menards ### **Hammer - In** * Successful event with around 20 people, 500 dollars was donated to the space from the guild ### Meeting Adjourned # October 2022 - CEC Meeting October 18, 2022 - Community Engagement Committee ## Area 515 Makerspace - Community Engagement Committee ### Meeting Meeting Agenda - 10/18/2022 * Bridge Building Event Recap - Kevin * Snow Day (early December) * How to Solder class w/ David 11/12 @ 10AM * Member Spotlight * Fall/Winter Opportunities from Science Center - Cody * Space Reset Day Planning * Game night - John * Trello Cleanup ### Meeting notes: #### Event recap, plan to hold again with modifications #### Snow Day: Tentatively 12/3/22 * Stations: * Paper snowflakes, in classroom * Laser cut designs, in laser room * Resin cast snowflakes, in woodshop * 3D printers, in printing room * Paint projects, in woodshop or craft room * Need member volunteers to supervise stations * Drinks and snack provided * Cookies, pop, hot coco? #### How to Solder - Dave to led, needs 1-2 volunteers to help day of * Cody to do call to action for volunteers for this and Snow Day * Confirm with Dave that students have signed up #### Member spotlight * Cody to send out survey asking for volunteers to be spotlighted * Kevin to hold the interviews and do the write ups #### Fall/Winter Science Center Opportunities * Mena at DMSC has requested we do something similar to what we did this summer * Cody to share options, members to review times for possible availability * Potential to work with DMSC in 2023 #### Space Reset Day * Waiting for info from tool stewards * Metalshop rework was successful * If no special projects, may just deep clean an area #### Game Night * Look for dates in Q1 23 * Purely social * Drinks and snacks provided * CEC to led pods in table top and party games #### Trello cleanup * Need to confirm merch vendors #### Quote of the night “Lasers are magic” ## # October 2022 - Board Meeting 10/5/2022 - Area 515 Board Meeting **10/5/2022 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary: Brad * Director: Ryan * Director: Tom * Director: Carlin - remotely **Absent:** ### Preamble * It was noted that in the future the board could hold their first official meeting immediately after the member meeting to be more efficient. * An official welcome was extended to all the new board members. A lyric from "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who was quoted here. ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from the September board meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Our annual insurance bill was paid online, but it was decided to review our coverage. * Our coverage was discussed and it was decided to leave it unchanged. * It was decided that we should take pictures of everything we have in the space for insurance purposes. * Investment Policy - Some members pointed out some changes that need to be made to the policy * One section references a Lehman Index - this should probably be updated to something else * The option of equities was removed, so in one section where it says 3 options, only 2 are presented. * Meg said she would look at the problems and find a solution the board can vote on at the next meeting. ### Membership Update: 81 ### CEC * The CEC postponed last night's meeting. * A CEC email listserv was created, although as of this meeting only members of the list could use it. * Slack has a non-profit version that gives access to its pro features. * They held their bridge building activity before the member meeting. Attendance looked sparse, but there were many who excitedly helped eat their snacks. (\*Secretary makes innocent whistling sounds here.\*) ### Space Updates * A vice-president email address should be created for Jake (and future holders of the office). * The annual cost of a PO Box is now $176. A few years ago it was only $80-something. * Nobody is using Trello so reviewing it will be left off future agendas until further notice. In its place here is a list of some big space projects that need to be done. * Vent fan for the Metal Shop needs to be fixed * Handle for the front door needs to be replaced. Note: At this point in the meeting, Jake got up, inspected the door and the replacement handle, and started working on the project while continuing to participate in the meeting. Many thanks to him because he completed it by the end of the meeting! * Soldering class will probably be held in November, Dave will look at his schedule. #### Metal Shop * Ryan bought the phase converter to run the surface grinder (or whatever else it may be needed for) * The TIG welder has started arriving. We currently have the gun and hoses. When Chris delivers the rest, we will send him a check for a Prusa as the board previously voted to do. #### Snow Day * There was interest in holding a Snow Day again, like we did pre-pandemic. * December 3rd, from 2-6pm was the decided date and time. #### Hammer - In * This event is scheduled for October 22. * A space clean up will be held on Tuesday, October 11. The Metal Shop stewards discussed options for this. * The event will mostly use the Metal Shop area, although it may also use the Textiles area for leather stuff. Dave said he will open the autoshop for the event too. * The Secretary wants some cred for not labeling this section "Hammer Time." ### Meeting Adjourned * While discussing our insurance coverage, the possibility of burning the entire building down was mentioned. "Why did you all look at me?" - Carlin * "It corners like a pregnant cow on ice." - Description of the steering on an old sports car. * Did You Know: You too can install a Volkswagen beetle engine in a Porsche 356 with very little modification! # October 2022 - Member Meeting October 2, 2022 - Member Meeting **10/2/2022 - Area 515 Member Meeting** **Total Number of Full Members Attending: 10 present + 6 proxies** Quorum was reached (12 Full Members were required) **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Secretary: Brad * Director: Ryan R * Director: Tom P ### State of the Space * Currently at 80 members * We're operating in the black every month. The break even point is estimated to be about 55 members and we're well above that. * We've maintained member numbers despite the lack of any real active recruiting. #### Autoshop * Some new tools have been added, like a right angle die grinder and discs. #### Metal Shop * The metal lathe is now working and ready for members to be trained on it * We have a new belt grinder to replace the one Carlin will be taking home. * The entire area needs to be rearranged. Once that's done, the surface grinder can get up and running as well. Ryan R found a good phase converter for it for around $85. * Part of the TIG welder arrived today! * Tom P got new blades for the drop saw. * The Metal Shop Exhaust Fan needs a new motor. No one is sure when anybody will have the time to deal with that. * The blasting cabinet needs a few more things in order to become operational. * A decision should be made for what to do with the Spectralite mill. #### Wood Shop * The Stewards have been super busy lately. * Mainly the area needs cleaning and reorganizing. * One of the Stewards mentioned how nice it would be if users didn't break the tools so often. #### Laser Area * Left hand laser stopped working a few days ago. Stewards are looking into it. * There seems to have been lots of high volume laser use lately. The Stewards are concerned about wear on the lasers. * The Laser room may need to be rearranged. There's no insulation between the north wall and the exterior garage door. Consequently, water often collects on the ground and soaks into the carpet next to the north wall, making anything put there develop mold. The table that now sits there should either be moved, or put on something that won't matter if it gets wet. #### Textiles / Leather Area * The Stewards would like to politely request that people stop putting crap in that room that doesn't belong there. * Both Jason and Carlin are able to train on the heavy duty leather sewing machine. * Jason is planning to build an additional table for the room. #### Electronics Area * It's been getting a lot of use lately. #### Classes * The Board of Directors and the CEC plan to hold a soldering class in the near future. First, a class-set of soldering irons needs to be (re)assembled. #### 3D Printing Area * Caroline had finished fabricating metal parts for the Delta printer upgrade. * Jake brought his Voran to the space. It needs some repairs but when functional, will provide a larger build volume compared to the Prusas. * Both Prusas continue to function well. #### CNC * The travel distance on the Lead CNC was corrected recently. Prior to that when the computer moved the spindle in the X or Y axis, the distance it traveled in reality was slightly less than the distance the computer thought it traveled. * The Piranha needs new end stops but then will be available for members to train on it. #### Miscellaneous * The Board of Directors (with the CEC) plan to hold a soldering class in the near future. First, a class-set of soldering irons needs to be (re)assembled. * We have new carpet in the classroom and laser room! * A big "thank you!" was given to all the Tool Stewards for all their dedication and hard work. * Work Nights continue to be held monthly. All members are encouraged to come and help clean so Tool Stewards can focus on more productive items. * The bathrooms before the meeting looked great! Kudos to whoever cleaned them! (It was probably Kevin W - thank you, Kevin!) ### Community Engagement Committee (CEC) * On August 3, 2022 the Board of Directors voted to formally create the Community Engagement Committee (which is a lot to type so the Secretary intends to abbreviate it as much as possible). * The CEC was formed with initial members: Carlin (their liason with the Board of Directors), John W, Cody H, Kevin F, and Frank W. * They'll be working on quarterly events. Some of which will be focused on members, and others will be focused on non-members and potential future members. Events may be held at the space, or elsewhere. * Part of their focus is on expanding the collegiality, or social aspect, of the makerspace. Hopefully they'll get more people to become engaged in the day to day activities of the space as well. * The CEC will also start running our social media platforms. ### Slack * One of the CEC's first creations was setting up Slack for use by the makerspace. * Thanks go to Cody H for setting it up on our server! * Slack is a messaging app that organizes communications into dedicated spaces it calls "channels." Right now our setup has very few channels, but more can be made as the need arises. Slack is intended for more real-time communication than often occurs in our google group. * Important note: The google group will continue to be the area where official communications are posted. Slack is not replacing the google group. * Jake will work on automation allowing google group posts to appear on Slack as well. * Slack communications only last for 90 days and is not searchable by google. The benefit of keeping our communications searchable was discussed (as happens with the google group) was discussed, as were possible ways to archive our Slack chats, but nothing was decided on. ### Financials * The Board approved an Investment Policy, and an Investment Committee was created and staffed by Ryan Renze, Jake Leister, and Meg Krajicek. * The Investment Committee decided to invest $10k in government i bonds which have 9.62% interest for the first 6 months, and our Treasurer (Meg) executed the decision. We will need to keep that money in there for at least a year to avoid penalty but that shouldn't be a difficulty. * As was previously stated, the space is operating in the black every month. ### Vote to Promote Supporting Members to Full * Tom Rendon was nominated to become a Full member and met all the qualifications. > Vote to promote Tom Rendon to Full member > > Yes: 10 + 2 proxy > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * Alex Patch requested to become a Full member. He had not been a member for 6 months, but was nominated by 3 members (thus fulfilling the Bylaw requirements) > Vote to promote Alex Patch to Full member > > Yes: 10 + 2 proxy > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Election for Board of Directors **Nominations:** * President - Dave Champion * Vice President - Jake Leister * Treasurer - Meg Krajicek * Secretary - Brad Freese * Director - Ryan Renze * Director - John Whiteman * Director - Carlin Al-Andas * Director - Tom Pesek **Results:** Ballots were cast on sheets of paper, in 2 parts. Part 1: Since the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary positions were all running unopposed, Full members voted 'yes' or 'no' to the whole group. Part 2: Since 4 people were running for 3 general director slots, Full members wrote the names of their top 3 choices for the positions. The 2023 Board of Directors will consist of * President - Dave Champion * Vice President - Jake Leister * Treasurer - Meg Bannister * Secretary - Brad Freese * Director - Ryan Renze * Director - Carlin Al-Andas * Director - Tom Pesek ### Meeting Adjourned * When the Secretary started discussing financial information before it was scheduled, the President helpfully reminded him, "It's your agenda. You can't go yet." * After more fully appreciating the kind of people that he had thrown his lot in with by becoming a Full member, Alex P remarked to himself, "What a great decision!" This statement may or may not have broken the Secretary's sarcasm-meter. # September 2022 - Board Meeting 9/7/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting **9/7/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Secretary: Brad (remotely) * Director: Carlin * Director: Ryan **Absent:** * Secretary: Meg * Director: Tom **Also Attending:** * Member: Cody H * Member: Troy M ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from the August board meeting > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * $1500 was paid for the new carpet in the classroom and laser room (This was submitted via email due to Treasurer's absence.) * The Investment Committee met and the notes from the meeting have been posted online. Meg is looking into getting everything arranged that the committee decided. ### Next Member Meeting * Now scheduled for Saturday, October 1st at 4:00pm * After some discussion, the CEC's plan to hold a bridge building competition before the meeting was agreed upon. The bridge building, community building competition will start at 2:00pm the day of the member meeting. ### Trello Review * This was skipped because the only the CEC has really been updating it. ### SHR Renewal * Nobody felt the need to discuss this. One director praised this member for their contributions to the space. > Vote to renew this member's Starving Hacker Rate at $0 per month for 6 months > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Space Updates * In the Metal Shop, the blasting cabinet needs a dryer, and a modification to the drop tube to prevent jamming. The line of compressed air from the auto shop reaches just fine and does not need altering. However, before the the blasting cabinet can be used, the Metal Shop first needs to fix the exhaust fan. * Jason recently pulled the exhaust fan apart and oiled it. He indicated it could be repaired but didn't have time to reassemble or execute the repairs. When Jason could effect repairs is unknown. (In looking back through emails after the meeting, the exhaust fan stopped working sometime in June.) * It was speculated that the exhaust fan broke down because members didn't know to also open the door when it was running. * Dave suggested attaching an arduino with a temperature sensor to the exhaust fan in order to protect it from overheating in the future. * The idea of purchasing a new exhaust fan was briefly discussed as well, several directors said they would look into it. * The lock on the front door needs to get replaced. We still have the lock that Dave bought, but modifications need to be made to the door to get it to fit (aka. drill some holes). Jake mentioned having a jig that might work for the purpose and said he would check. * TIG Welder - No update on this. * Front Sign - This is currently waiting on Brad to dial in appropriate settings for the plexiglass to be milled on the CNC. ### Community Engagement Committee (CEC) * Unfortunately the initial write up of the CEC's minutes disappeared from Trello before the Secretary went to post them online. Some of the committee members have back up copies so the minutes will be reconstructed. In the future they plan to use Google docs. * The CEC considered making a prize for the bridge-building activity. The idea of a $10 gift card was brought up. * Carlin knows a guy who makes t-shirts. The CEC would like to do an "In for $10" to raise money and buy a bulk order of shirts with the space's logo on them. In for $10 participants would get their shirt for $10, and extras could be sold for $15. * The CEC would like to make Area 515 stickers. Brad made a bunch of stickers using the vinyl cutter, but it was a complete pain in the patootie. Each sticker took at least 20 minutes of work. * The board gets lots of spam emails from a company called StickerYou. They made our training stickers. They were mentioned as a possibility by an apparently masochistic board member. * Carlin said he also knows a guy who makes stickers. * Ultimately the CEC will look into it. * Cody has survey that he would like to send out to all the members. He plans to start posting member spotlights online and would like to gather info from members. He plans to make new blog posts on our website once a month. * Dave created a CEC mailing group * The Science Center gave Cody and John positive feedback on their interaction with the girls science summer class. They said they're excited to work with them more in the future. * A method of sharing social media passwords with the CEC was briefly discussed, but it was decided that the board would simply retain all the login information, and Jake would create automation to post new content to the various social media sites. #### CEC - Space Work Day / Space Reset Day * After some discussion, the CEC was given the go ahead to plan a Space Work Day or Space Reset Day. They'll schedule and promote an event where members are encouraged to come in and help out with a project that's decided in advance in conjunction with the Tool Stewards. The event might include a barbeque or something similar. * It was noted that Space Work days are held each month and were intended to be similar to this, however typically only a core group of 4 or 5 people show up and end up spending all their time just on cleaning. #### CEC - Maker Kits * The CEC brought up the idea of introducing "Maker Kits." Some sort of kit that would have materials and that you could put together using the tools at the space. We could do wood kits of some kind or maybe 3D printer kits. * It was brought up that the space has offered kits in the past, but only a very few were ever sold. In response, the CEC pointed out they have the bandwidth to promote the kits as well. * One director pointed out the difficulty with making kits would be the economics of it. If things like pre-cut wood pieces were ordered, the organization would have to sell the kits and make their return on investment before ordering different parts for a different kit. * The idea of a kits webpage was brought up. It would be a page on our website with all the plans needed to create different things. This way no money would have to be invested in materials. * If the CEC decides to offer these kits in conjunction with a class, it was strongly recommended that they make people pay for the kits when they sign up. Past experience has shown that if the space waits to charge people at the door, most people don't show up. * Another idea was that the CEC could work in conjunction with the Tool Stewards to come up with training kits. Kits that would be useful for members when they're being trained on a tool. This would have the added benefit of getting more tool documentation posted online. * One director took issue with the word "training" as they felt that Tools Stewards don't so much "train" as "offer an experience." * The board emphasized its wish that the CEC get involved in holding more classes at the space. We've had a lot of success holding a learn to solder class. Dave would still be willing to lead it, but if there are more than say 5 people he'd want help with it. It was also suggested that the max class size be 8 people. #### CEC - Separate Discussion Area * The CEC would like to set up a new online discussion area or forum, something like Slack or Discord. Something that would provide more real-time, informal communication. * The board quickly decided the new area couldn't be an official way to communicate with members since not all members would join. Although it was later pointed out that automation could be set up to copy official communications into the new area. * Dave expressed a preference for Slack instead of Discord. * (It should be noted that Dave also expressed a preference for BBS instead of Discord or Slack so there's a very real chance that he's *old*.) * Some discussion took place of public vs private channels in Slack. * Ultimately the CEC got the go ahead to set up Slack for the space ### Miscellaneous * The space recieved an email from Best Buy. They're planning to set up a Teen Tech Center in Des Moines and are looking to partner with local organizations. Currently the nearest Teen Tech Center is in Minneapolis. * At one time the space set up a partnership with Krieg to host some classes. Ultimately the Krieg classes became so successful they moved to a new location. * A long time ago the board approved an offer to Mainframe studios that would let their members sign up with us at a reduced rate. We never heard back from them. * Although the Secretary never heard it discussed at the meeting. The Current Member count stands at 84. ### Metal Shop Direction * One of the directors expressed frustration that there are a lot of items in the Metal Shop that aren't being used. Several people are now regularly using the Metal Shop for knife making, and this director wanted to get rid of anything that's not used for knife making purposes. * In particular, the Spectralight CNC mill was highlighted as an inefficient use of space. It hasn't worked for years, despite Caroline's work on it and Ryan's purchases of new parts. But it takes up a whole table of space in the Metal Shop where space is already at a premium. Ultimately it belongs to Ryan R. * It was generally agreed that the Metal Shop needs to be reorganized. And it was suggested that a date be set for reorganization. * After some consultation about specs, it was decided that the Metal Shop would purchase a 1 horsepower buffer unit (not from Harbor Freight). #### Metal Shop - Heat Treat Oven * Carlin expressed frustration with the lack of a heat treat oven. We have a grinder, but no heat treat oven. * Jake said that the original plan had been that we would get the new grinder, and then we'd ask Facebook for a grant later in the year to cover both a new (electric) heat treat oven and a benchtop metal mill. We have a good use case for those items that we could bring to Facebook. If the Facebook grant didn't come through, we planned to purchase the approximately $250 in materials it would take for Carlin to build a new gas-powered heat treat oven. * Carlin lamented that he may have underestimated the cost of materials, and that his time now is much more restricted than when this plan was made. #### Metal Shop - Security Concerns * Carlin estimates that around $2,000 worth of his personally-owned raw materials have gone missing from the Metal Shop. The security camera system hasn't been very helpful because videos segments are short and difficult to search through. He would like to get a lock box at the space to store his stuff. He also plans to setup a baby video monitor to guard his stuff in the meantime. * The Metal Shop's band saw has been going through blades like crazy and although the Stewards have suspicions about who is mistreating it. They haven't been able to be sure. The inconvenience of the security cameras was mentioned in connection with this. * Dave said he would work on the security camera settings to make it record longer videos and thus be easier to search. ### Meeting Adjourned * "Oh S#^%! I'm a robot! I can't create this!" - Dave, when setting up the new CEC email list * "Do we have a TikTok account?" - Cody "Can anybody dance?" - Dave # August 2022 - CEC Meeting 8/16/2022 - Community Engagement Committee Meeting ## Area 515 Makerspace - Community Engagement Committee ### Meeting Meeting Agenda - 08/16/2022 * Welcome Carlin A. as Board Liaison * Recap of Board Meeting from John W. * Set a SMART goal for the committee in general. * Discuss if we want to participate in the Mini Maker Faire: * * Theme is Make: Pretend “Highlighting ways that makers can create a world, setting, or feeling that is not real or make believe” * Event is on September 5th (Labor Day) from 9AM - 4PM * Application due by August 30 for priority spacing * Plan an event for the Annual Member Meeting in October. * Goal is to try and get as many members as possible to attend, think of ways to increase exposure and interest. * Area 515 Merch * Open Discussion and Action Items ### Meeting notes: Board Meeting: primary discussion focuses on social events and community educational events. Want to focus on membership community building. Mini Maker Faire: it is too soon to try and we will work with DMSC to be involved next year. Ideas: Talk about having booth at farmers markets Space Reset workday - Carlin proposed we have a day where we work with tool stewards to accomplish workday tasks as a space that normally couldn’t be accomplished in a single work day. Discussed hosting Space Classes that generate income that the space could be known for. Merch sales, selling at cost to spread brand awareness with an in for $10 seed funding Discussed hosting social event at annual member meeting Discussed use of Trello for event and project planning # August 2022 - Investment Committee Meeting 8/4/2022 - Investment Committee Meeting Area 515 Des Moines Maker Space Investment Committee of the Board of Directors August 4, 2022 Meeting Agenda * Establish a regular meeting time for the newly formed investment committee * Discuss responsibilities of the investment committee per the investment policy * Discuss current investment objectives and purchase of I Bonds Area 515 Des Moines Maker Space Investment Committee of the Board of Directors August 4, 2022 Meeting Minutes Meeting held via Zoom August 4, 2022 at 4 PM In attendance: Ryan Renze, Jake Leister, Meg Krajicek Absent: None Ryan Renze, Jake Leister and Meg Krajicek were appointed by the Board of Directors of Area 515 Des Moines Maker Space at a regular Board meeting on August 3, 2022. Meeting was called to order at 4 PM. Meeting agenda items and related discussion: * Establish a regular meeting time for the newly formed investment committee * The investment committee will meet at 6:15 PM on the first Wednesday of the first month of each quarter. * It was proposed that we meet at 6:30 to allow Brad to get to 6:30 meeting by 6:40 and we decided on 6:15 PM. * Want to verify with by-laws that we can meet quarterly vs monthly. Meg will check. * Discuss responsibilities of the investment committee per the investment policy * The committee reviewed the responsibilities of the committee as outlined per the investment policy. * Discuss current investment objectives and purchase of I Bonds * Ryan Renze proposed purchase of Government Series I Bonds. * The committee discussed risks and rewards of Government Series I Bonds. All believe these are a favorable investment in line with objectives outlined in the investment policy. * The committee approved purchase of $10,000 of I Bonds with all members in attendance in favor of this proposal. * Treasurer Meg will facilitate purchase. Meeting adjourned at 4:10 PM. # August 2022 - Board Meeting 8/3/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting **8/3/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary: Brad (remotely) * Director: Ryan * Director: Tom * Director: Carlin (remotely) **Also Attending:** * Member: John Whiteman ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from the July board meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials #### Investment Policy * One member of the board, Jake, had read it and also given feedback on it. * Reluctantly, several board members admitted that although they did have the opportunity, they had not read through the Investment policy document yet, so a brief review was given. > Vote to accept the Investment Policy > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * The investment policy requires the creation of an Investment subcommittee. > Vote to create the Investment Committee with board members Meg, Ryan and Jake as members. > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * The Investment Committee will convene and then make an official proposal. The notes from their meetings will be posted online. ### Current Members: 86 * Membership has been holding steady lately. ### Space Updates * No TIG update yet. * We still need to solve the front door handle problem. * The AC has been dripping a lot of late. The AC cools the rooms that are not in the big shop area and it is undersized for the volume it handles. Additionally, the rooms are not well sealed from the larger shop area which makes the AC work even harder. Some ideas were batted around... * We could install a window AC unit between the classroom and the shop area. Downside of that is that the shop would get even hotter. * We could put a mini-split unit that connects to the outdoors through the window in the laser room. A number of members mentioned how well these units work. * Ultimately Dave said he would have a chat with our landlord about possible options. * Jake was working on some grant applications for the space. One was a $100k grant through Polk County. We seemed to be a good fit for the county's goals, but we didn't get it submitted before the deadline. The next due date is the end of the next year so we will try again. * The Wood Shop dust collection system needs to be improved and Jake discussed some options with the board. When the current dust collection system was made there were fewer Wood Shop users and the capacity was adequate. The number of users has since expanded greatly. Part of the decision is whether to try and upgrade the home brew system that we have, or to purchase an already built solution. The largest cost in the system is the motor. A good one can cost $3,500. The good news is that they tend to maintain their value over time. Several board members said that they would rather spend more money on a bigger system that would meet our needs longer, rather than spending less money to get a system that is just adequate. * Jake is considering taking the broken drill press to a local shop he found for diagnosis. Acme could repair the drill, but their employees aren't expert repair people. * The Ameribrade tool for the Metal Shop will be arriving on Tuesday. * Carlin is busy enough with classes that he hopes to have the new Metal Shop tools paid off by the end of the year. * Interesting Note: The name Davin Jones appears on some of our financial accounts and documents (like for instance our PayPal account). Davin Jones was the name of the space's first treasurer. ### Community Engagement Committee Proposal * John Whiteman submitted a written proposal for the Community Engagement committee. At the meeting he spoke about what he and the other potential members had in mind. * The written proposal was not intended to be a comprehensive or finalized vision for the committee. Rather the committee would be a collaborative process with the board of directors and the space's members. * John gave us a little background on himself. He is or has been an active participant in all of the organizations he gets involved with. His skills include logistics, planning and project management. * The committee would have 2 main objectives. In no particular order they are: 1. Increasing the value of membership for already existing members of the space 2. Reaching out to non-members to increase awareness of the space in the hopes they might one day become members. * Some board members felt the committee's objectives needed more refining. The idea of them scheduling events was liked by everyone. * It was requested that taking charge of our social media accounts be one of the committee's objectives. Some board members offered to help automate the process of cross posting from one platform to another. * Carlin offered to be the board liaison to the committee as required by the bylaws. He wanted all to know that if the majority of the committee had something to bring to the board, that he would bring it even if he didn't personally support it. * John said he would like the committee to help divide up the logistics of events, for example dividing up event promotion and social media promotion. * It was agreed that things like maintenance and cleaning would not be within the purview of this committee. * It was proposed that the committee should regularly host at least 2 events per quarter. One event being targeted towards existing members, and the other targeted towards people who aren't members. > Vote to create the Community Engagement Committee with the initial members Carlin Al-Andas, John Whiteman, Cody Henry, Kevin Fusselman and Frank Waterman. > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * A budget for the committee was then discussed. $250 was proposed as a starting budget to fund the committee for the rest of this year. Next year that number can be adjusted up or down. * The idea of having money raised from classes go to the Community Engagement Committee fund was discussed (minus the money from Carlin's classes). > Vote to provide the Community Engagement Committee a budget of $250 for the remainder of this year. > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * John asked for clarification on when a decision should be sent to the board vs when the committee should make the decision itself. It was decided that the committee should submit a report every month to the board of directors for them to review and discuss. Members of the board also mentioned that most of their meetings are open to the membership, and that the committee members are welcome to attend if they wish. * It was decided that an area515.org email list should be created for the members of the Community Engagement Committee. * John also requested access to the Trello board. ### Next Member Meeting Date * It was decided to be held on October 22, 2022, from 4-6pm * The Community Engagement Committee (CEC) pitched the idea of holding a team building activity with snack that day. ### Meeting Adjourned * Secretary: "Sorry I'm late. Thanks for waiting!" * Director: "We would've started without you if anyone had been willing to take notes." * Something about "fish on a stick" was discussed as well, but the Secretary is grateful that the remote meeting's audio wasn't able to pick up most of the details. # July 2022 - Member Meeting July 30, 2022 - Member Meeting **7/30/2022 - Area 515 Member Meeting** **Total Number of Full Members Attending: 9 + 4 by proxy** Quorum was reached (12 Full Members were required) **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary: Brad * Director: Carlin This meeting took place with some members in person and others attending via Google Meet. ### State of the Space * Current Member count: 84 * This number has fluctuated in recent months. We were in the low 90s, then went down to the 70s for awhile and now we've come back up. #### Red Bull Tournament * Our participation in the Red Bull tournament got us some notice. Some new members first noticed us there. * We need to obtain pics and video from the event so we can make a blog post on our website about it * Everyone involved felt it was a lot of fun and provided great camraderie. #### Tool Additions * We have a sawstop table saw now * We have a morticing machine * Wood Shop will probably start an "In for $10" soon to raise funds for upgraded dust collection. Plan is to enlarge pipes from the tablesaw to 6" and improve the efficiency of our dust cyclone. * More electrical work is planned in the Wood Shop. We are currently planning that a member will let us borrow a lift and that the electrician will use it to reach the ceiling, thus saving us the money of renting the lift ourselves. * In the Metal Shop Carlin will be moving his knife production home. The space is investing in tools to replace or offset the ones he will be taking home. * The board agreed to a deal to acquire a TIG welder. The next step is for the owner to physically transport the TIG welder to us. * The Auto shop has acquired a number of new users. Two of whom are either professional mechanics or professionally knowledgeable. * We have had some difficulty with a truck being parked in the courtyard so as to block entrance to our lift. That seems to have been resolved for now. * Both lasers are back up and running. * 3D Printing expects to have the TAZ up and running again soon. * In the CNC area, the Piranha is now working again. We have 2 working CNC machines. * Dave purchased a new knob for our front door but the mounting screw holes don't align with the pre-existing holes on the door. * When we are able to borrow the aforementioned lift we will also put up a security camera outside. * The board approved purchase of a new carpet for the classroom and piano rooms. Meg now needs to call the place and schedule installation. ### Financials * We're operating in the black and have been for a long time. * Our money is currently divided between 3 locations. I bonds currently have a 9.6% interest rate for 6 months (then they get revalued). This large percentage rate is based mainly on inflation. The i bonds have a 30 year term. We can pull the money out early for a penalty. Max amount is $10k * Before the space invests that kind of money, it should have an Investment Policy to set limits on how the space invests. The Treasurer came up with an Investment Policy, and ran it by several colleagues and Jake on the board. The policy was sent to the board of directors but not to the members at large. Therefore the policy was not voted on by the members. Instead, it was proposed that the members vote to give the board the ability to approve an investment policy. Rather than vote on this right away, the meeting moved to the next agenda item and then back to it. ### Vote to Promote Supporting Members to Full * Cody Henry was nominated to become a Full member, and has been a member of the space for over 6 months. * John Whiteman and Derek Vermeland have not been members for 6 months, but were each nominated by 3 Full members. * All 3 members were voted on at once. > Vote to promote Cody Henry, John Whiteman, and Derek Vermeland to Full members. > > Yes: 6 + 4 by proxy > > Abstain: 3 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Back to Financials > Vote to give the Board of Directors the right to set an investment policy on behalf of the members. > > Yes: 11 + 4 by proxy > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Sub Committee Formation Discussion * Several members wanted to form a committee. It has been referred to as the "Science Center Volunteer Committee" and the "Welcoming Committee." Regardless of the time all agreed that they had gotten off on the wrong foot because our bylaws require that all committees have a member of the board on them and this group did not. * The members who wanted to form this committee spoke with members to explain what they want the committee to be about. * In summary, they were/are looking for community engagement. * They want to do things to bring members of the space together. * Cody and John already agreed to help teach a class at the Science Center, and the committee would like to do more kinds of community outreach like this. * The recent Red Bull event was cited as inspiration for the committee's formation. * The committee would be self-funded. They do not plan to get money from the Board. * They would also like to get a core group of people to clean. They mentioned getting people to "own" certain overlooked parts of the space. * Everybody at the meeting appreciated the energy and enthusiasm of the members who wanted to form this committee. A number of other views were discussed as well. * Some members of the board felt the scope of the committee as described was too broad, and should be narrowed down. * Some members of the board expressed concern that if space funds start being used for projects involving other organizations, that it would be to the detriment of the space. The organization Habitat for Humanity was specifically mentioned in this context. * Some members of the board would like to see more focus on training and educating more members of the space to be caretakers of it. * A compromise was proposed wherein the committee would host one inside-the-space event for every event it hosts outside the space. * The members wishing to form this subcommittee were asked to officially write up a summary of what they want the committee's scope to be. It will be discussed further at the next Board of Directors meeting. * Ultimately there was a lot of passionate discussion from many people about this topic. ### Classes * The President put out a call to all members to think of a topic that they might teach a class about at the space. The more hand-on it can be the better. We would like to start holding more classes at the space, the way we did pre-pandemic. * The President will purchase materials to teach soldering classes again. This class was reguarly held at the space pre-pandemic and it's time we started holding it again. ### Meeting Adjourned * "The green tea popcorn tastes as good as it sounds." - referring to a snack that a member left at the space # July 2022 - Board Meeting 7/6/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting **7/6/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Director: Tom (by phone) * Director: Ryan * Director: Carlin **Absent:** * Secretary: Brad **Secretary's Note:** Big thanks go to our Treasurer, Meg for keeping such great meeting notes! ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from the June board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * The Treasurer put together an I bonds summary for the member meeting, as well as a draft Investment Policy. * There was a request to turn off the PayPal friends & family button on the website so that people don't pay through that instead of paying through the official membership subscription button. The membership automation can't track membership payments unless they are officially designated as such. ### Current Members: 81 * 2 more expiring shortly * One person recently signed up as a member but couldn't make it to the space so asked to convert fee into a donation. * There was a discussion of membership cancellation vs suspension. When cancelled, memerships simply run out, if suspended the remaining time is prorated upon their return. * Jake is still working to automate adding new members to the Tools spreadsheet. ### Space Updates * Our subscription to meetup.com auto-renewed. The board was okay with this. * The board discussed doing more classes at the space now that the pandemic is easing up. At this point Carlin is the only one teaching classes. * The Red Bull team did their thing! The team members thought the event went well and they even generated some interest for the space. The next step will be to create a shared album where everyone can upload their photos / video. * TIG welder - The board previously approved the purchase of a new Prusa for Chris in exchange for his TIG welder. There has been no response from Chris yet. * The front door handle needs to be changed. In the interest of fire safety, anyone should be able to use the handle to get out the door. * There was an internet outage the night of this meeting. The door wasn't working so one of the board members unlocked it with a physical key. We will also get a new door knob for the Wood Shop exterior door and notify Jerry. ### Metal Shop Update * Carlin is planning to move his commercial knife production to another site sometime in August and consequently will be taking his tools with him. He would like the space to purchase a grinder and heat treat oven to replace the ones he'll be taking. This way Carlin can continue teaching classes here at the space. He recommended 2 specific models to purchase. * Note from the future: The board debated how to handle this request, and a decision was made, by email. > Vote to approve funding a new ameribrade grinder package for the space of which 1/2 will be funded from the general fund and the remaining will be paid to the general fund with a 30% class fee from carlins classes. Once the remaining amount is paid we will reduce the fee back to the previous 20% and the funds will go to the metal fund. We will also ask carlin to build a propane heat treat oven from the current metals fund. > > Yes: 4 > > Abstain: 2 > > No Email Response: 1 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Meeting Adjourned # June 2022 - Board Meeting 6/1/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting **6/1/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary: Brad (remotely) * Director: Ryan **Absent:** * Director: Carlin * Director: Tom ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from May board meeting > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * We received a new debit card. Meg will update our Amazon account. * Jason needs to be reimbursed for some Wood Shop purchases. * Dave paid for the air compressor that was in the Metal Shop (that money should go towards Metal Shop fund) * Wood Shop recently spent $550 on a new tablesaw. > Vote for the $550 for the tablesaw to come out of general funds rather than the Wood Shop fund. > > Yes: 5 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * VCarve yearly license is about to renew for $104. It is currently on Jake's card. For the time being Jake will apply for reimbursement, but in the future that should be moved to the space's card. #### iBond * If we choose to get an I bond we should first adopt an Investment Strategy * After discussing how much money to put in, $10k was generally agreed upon. * Ultimately it was decided that this should be up to the whole group. Therefore Meg will try to have details in time for the next Member Meeting at the end of July. Where it can be voted on and implemented if approved. ### Current Members: High 80s * The new membership automation doesn't remove members names from the Current Members spreadsheet, so the simple count of listed names no longer gives an accurate result. At this time there were 93 members in the sheet. At least 3 of whom had expired. After looking through the whole list membership was estimated as listed above. * One couple emailed to suspend their memberships. The Secretary said he would take care of that. ### Space Updates * We currently have 3 boxes full of paper towels and plenty of bleach cleaner so we're going to cut back on the Amazon subscription for those. * Ham Radio meet ups have been moved to the last Wednesday of the month. The last one was pretty successful. The Secretary even made his first transmission! \* * No movement in obtaining the TIG welder from Chris. We haven't given him the check yet either. Dave said he will email him. * Jake cleaned up the Wood Shop. * We haven't heard anything yet from Meg's carpet guy. She emailed him again this afternoon. Hopefully they can come out sometime in the next month. They estimate it would take 1 guy 2 days to do the job. * Brad took the donated laser home to get it working and eventually sell it. * Dave donated a gas powered weed eater to the space. #### Red Bull Team * They've started building the frame. Dave will be going to the Des Moines Bicycle Collective for parts. * We're the first team on the list of contestants! (...because they're listed in alphabetical order) * Some teams submitted these nice CAD files of their entries, we submitted a very nice sketch. * Nice, professional-looking white lab coats with space's logo were made specially for the team. * Cody is working on the 3D printer part of the racer. ### Trello Review * The Piranha is functional. Next step is making Vcarve have the right settings to output Gcode for it. * The Electronics Area stewards are Ray and Bailey * Dave had to reassemble a portable soldering iron for a project. None were readily available. * In the Metal Shop, we won't be able to run the TIG at full power. Full power for it is 60 amps, we'll run it at half power until we get electrical work done. * Eventually we plan to have an electrician come in for a number of projects. Right now we are waiting for one of our members to lend us his scissors lift so we can safely access the ceiling. Planned projects include: * moving some light switches * add some ceiling drops for power * putting a 60 amp circuit in the Metal Shop * While the Wood Shop drill press is out of action, Jason has lent us 2 older drill presses. One for the Wood Shop and one for the Metal Shop. * In the Wood Shop, the new jointer needs sharpening. The pros and cons of getting straight knives vs. getting a replacement helical head were discussed. * Members can now get training on the SawStop table saw. Eventually stewards plan to have only 1 table saw available. * Tables with electrical cords under them no longer are able to move. This way cords don't get run over. * The Wood Shop is now arranged such that someone could put a 4' x 8' sheet of plywood in the Lead CNC if desired. * Jake constructed 2 new carts for wood storage. * Jason is working on a plan to upgrade the dust collector. * Stewards are also working on a power feeder for the little proteus bandsaw * Caroline will be taking a CNC class soon so hopefully she can fabricate the Rostock 3D printer parts that she needs. * Dave is planning to hold an "In for $10" drive for a hydraulic brake press. ### Meeting Adjourned * "Motion to buy Dave a new motorcycle or jet ski!" "Rescinded, new motion to buy Dave one of those drone things that people can fly around in!" "That might make it in the minutes so be careful" - heard after laughter subsided. (Secretary's note for the humor-impaired: These motions were completely in jest. No vote was actually attempted, much less taken.) * \*The Secretary's first successful ham radio transmission was broadcast to the President who was located all the way on the other side of the table. Still, he is quite proud of this achievement and would like to thank his elmer, Dave. * Said over Google Meet: "I turned off my camera so you don't have to look up my nose." Heard in background: "Maybe we should get \[name redacted] a nose hair trimmer!" Also heard in background: "a gas-powered one!" # May 2022 - Board Meeting 5/4/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting **5/4/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary: Brad (remotely) * Director: Carlin * Director: Tom * Director: Ryan **Absent:** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from April board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed (Note: Carlin was in Metal Shop at this point.) ### Financials * So far this year we areabout $1700 in the black. We've only made 1 major purchase so far. * At the last member meeting the idea of putting some of our savings into an iBond was discussed, a type of bond that's designed to adjust for inflation and may yield around 9.62%. Our treasurer has not researched how to do this yet. * NFT jokes were told. (Yes, this sentence was redundant.) ### Current Membership: 89 * One member had a question regarding what minors can do at the space. The board pointed out that according to our Code of Conduct non-members are not allowed to use tools at the space. (Note from the future: the member later clarified his question asking if a 14 year old could become a member. In response, our bylaws state that any member under 18 must have an adult with them while using the space.) * Regarding membership payment automation, Jake has made a few minor fixes. Specifically there was a family issue which revealed itself on Bill Carlson's membership. * The automation is sending test-welcome emails when new members join. The test emails are only sent to the board, not the new member. They are generated whenever a membership payment comes in from an unrecognized PayPal address. Since expired members are moved to a different Google sheet, returning members aren't recognized and therefore they get the same welcome letter as new members. Language needs to be added to the Welcome letter to inform returning members that they need to contact the Board to have someone restore their expired account. The same needs to be done for any member changing their PayPal account. For the time being, Brad will continue sending the new member welcome emails. * Our PayPal system was set up a while ago to send invoices to some specific members every month. Since those people are no longer members Jake volunteered to go into PayPal and stop them. ### Front Door * Members had discussed how often they arrive to find the front door unlocked. It was assumed that not everybody was closing the door enough to latch it when they left. * On April 26th, Carlin and Brad were talking in the classroom when at 12 noon they heard the front door click. Carlin walked over to the door and found that he could pull it open without pressing the green button. (To Brad and Carlin, the door appeared latched when the click occurred so they assumed the door unlocked itself. Subsequent attempts to reproduce the problem didn't work, so it is possible the door was simply not latched before the click occurred.) Brad emailed the board, and a group of people including Caroline, Ray and Dave examined the code that runs the door. It was then updated such that the latch solenoid no longer activates when the door updates its list of acceptable keys. (aka. There's no "click" when the door updates.) * Jason has an idea for something we could use for a new front door handle. We need one that can always open from the inside, but remained locked from the outside. ### TIG Welder Proposal * Chris wants a new Prusa printer in exchange for his TIG welder, bottle, and (maybe) cart. The TIG is a barely used Lincoln, AC/DC with foot pedal. It can weld aluminum and uses up to 60amps. * The board agreed that it was a reasonable deal and decided we would give Chris a check for the cost of the Prusa. In the meantime we'll talk with Jason about whether any of our current electric circuits in the Metal Shop can support the TIG. (See what I did there?) ### Miscellaneous * Frank has offered to commandeer a medical kit cabinet from atop the textiles room, fill it with gear and put it in the Metal Shop. * The carpet guy Meg knows measured the classroom and laser rooms and will give us a formal estimate to replace the carpet, should be something like $1500 max. He left us a sample of the new carpet and all agreed it was better quality and backing than what we have. It was mentioned that some time in the next 3-4 weeks might be good since we'll need people to help move everything out of the rooms when they're recarpeted. ### Trello Items #### Vacuum Former * Little progress on this #### Lasers * No change to FS lasers * Somebody donated an old laser to us despite knowing we would likely resell it. It's a 40W, with a much smaller bed than our FS lasers. It was purchased off eBay about 7 years ago and worked the last time it was used. Brad is planning to see if it works, then we can sell it. #### Auto Shop * Dave will purchase the large, unused air compressor in the autoshop. * Dave also planning to rearrange the space at some point. #### Metal Shop * Carlin sold the Atlas lathe for $250. * Carlin also gave us $100 in proceeds from a class. * No progress has been made repairing the drill press rack. The idea of getting a secondary drill press was briefly dicussed, but a better solution would be some kind of mill. * The new metal lathe is waiting on Caroline to fine tune it. It also needs to find a permanent location and be leveled. * Stewards are planning a big rearrange sometime in June or July. #### Textiles * Some people have been trained on Carlin's Tippman Boss leather sewing machine. #### Wood Shop * Jake has the new jointer together, it still needs tuning. * To power the new SawStop an outlet will be changed to use an extension cord. Eventually the cord will be moved to drop from above. Cord will use twist lock plug. * Jake talked to Darron concerning his lift, it is still in Kansas City. * An "In for $10" was discussed to buy a press brake for our hydraulic press. * An "In for $10" to purchase an actual cyclone in our dust collector was mentioned as well. * The tubing size in the dust collector needs to be larger. * The Wood Shop drill press requires repairing. #### CNC * The Piranha needs a PC to run OpenBuilds Controller. Tom brought in a computer for the purpose but its power supply was unreliable. Several members brought in power supplies for the cause. Ultimately, Brad opted to use a different computer that Dave brought in since it had much less ventilation that could be clogged with Wood Shop dust. (Besides, Tom's old computer looks waaaay too cool to sit unseen in some dark corner.) * Brad is also working on a place to put the PC once it's ready. #### 3D Printing * Caroline took the MMU off-line again for general member useage. ### Meeting Adjourned * Said during the Financials discussion... "We'll just mint NFTs of Brad doing different things and sell them on the interwebs." "Yeah, there are plenty of suckers." * Said in reference to the quality of something ... "It's not Harbor Freight!" response: "Do we know how to handle that in here?" * "Wires can work as fuses as well." - said in a discussion about a fuse box. * Also: "When the fuse box is glowing red that's a bad sign." - Tom # April 2022 - Member Meeting April 30, 2022 - Member Meeting **4/30/2022 - Area 515 Member Meeting** **Total Number of Full Members Attending: 10 + 2 proxies** Quorum was reached (12 Full Members were required) **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Director: Tom * Director: Ryan Secretary's Note: Big thank you to Meghan for taking notes at this meeting! ### State of the Space #### Wood Shop and Metal Shop * Discussion of safety and misused tools in Wood Shop area. * Discussed electrical availablity and outlet ratings; Jason has new breakers and wire for future upgrades * Member Darron R will donate use of a scissor lift for electrical projects but he is currently working out of town * Next Wood Shop class will be in June * The new Prusa 3D printer is here. Jake took his back home. * Discussed creating boxes for organizing the electronics drawers * The Metal Shop discussed an In for $10 to buy a finger break for the hydraulic press. It would be about $325 for the kit. * Metal Shop is looking for steel barrels to clean up aluminum castings outside. * A lean-to for the Metals Shop was discussed, as well as adding more rock to the courtyard for safety. ### Financials * We're operating in the black. ### Space Updates * Megan is meeting with a commercial floorer this week to get a quote for new carpet in the classroom and possibly laser room. The floorer has remnant to donate. * Jake discussed membership payment automation * Some specific issues arose with a couple old members. They should be ironed out once those members cancel auto payments and restart new ones. * Jake discussed how tool fee payments are also automatically updating on the Tools spreadsheet. * There are some issues with this automation to iron out as well. * The idea of sending periodic emails to members letting them know what Tool Fees they've paid was floated. * Since our payment automation has been accomplished using Zapier. We no longer have any reason to pursue SalesForce in our workflow. We don't need it for fundraising campaigns or tracking former members, etc. * The idea of a newsletter was raised. Nobody was interested in writing it. * Recently had a bug arise in the door lock system. Caroline and Ray fixed it quickly. * The idea of replacing our door locks was raised. We've had trouble with people leaving the back door (by the garage) unlocked. The idea of giving Jerry's employees keys was also suggested. * Tool Stewards should all be using Trello boards now. The Trello boards are reviewed at every board meeting. * Code of Conduct - All in attendance have signed it. * The Red Bull Soapbox Derby will be on 6/18. The Area 515 team is pursing leads on materials for their racer. * Per Jason (who is running it) our most liked photos on Instagram were... 1. A photo of Frank looking lost in the shop with sunshine around him 2. A barrel full of sawdust * The 3D printing meetup wants to change its location on our calendar. * The next quarterly meeting is scheduled for Saturday, July 30 at 2pm. * Tom donated a new computer for the CNC Piranha * A proposal to invest in I Bonds was raised. Megan volunteered to look at our Bylaws and write a potential investment policy that would cover government bonds. She'll also look at rates before the next board meeting. ### Meeting Adjourned # April 2022 - Board Meeting 4/6/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting **4/6/2022 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary : Brad * Director: Tom * Director: Ryan (by phone) * Director: Carlin **Absent:** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from March board meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Automation Updates * System continues to work very well. * Brad requested that he be added to the automation system's email notifications. * Jake has adjusted around 15 members' PayPal email addresses in the Current Members sheet to make sure they work correctly. * If the automation searches through the Current Members list and doesn't find the email address it's looking for, then it will add the name to the list. ### Current Membership: 87 * One member recently paid dues and lift fee simultaneously. Error was dealt with. * Brad agreed to look into PayPal reports that list all non-Current Member and Tool payments * Carlin has a computer. ### Automation Discussion Continued * Jakes asked what more we want from our automation system. What else do we want it to do? * Many non-profit directories are used for fundraising. None of the board members felt like we need to do that. * In the near-term, we would like to create a quarterly email that will go out to all Current Members. In that email each member can see ... * tools they've been trained on * tool fees they're current on * when their tool fees expire * In the longer-term, we want to make sure people have paid the fees for the tools they're using, eventually setting up a lock out / tag out system. * The possibility of having all Tool Fees begin and end on the same day of the year was discussed. Largely it was agreed that it would be convenient for book-keeping, but practically it would be a huge hassle to prorate the fees that aren't paid on that date. ### Trello Review #### Laser Area * Left laser still has a small bed area where it can't cut through. Brad has considered changing the mirrors and then refocusing the laser to try and solve the problem. He just hasn't had time for it yet. * Brad agreed to make a sign for the garage door reminding people not to use it to access the Wood Shop. #### Vacuum Former * Making progress #### Electronics Area * Will discuss putting in a new table with Bailey #### Metal Shop * Roll Cage materials will be leaving soon * Will set up VFD * Ryan is ready for Caroline to finish adjusting the new metal lathe. She is officially a trainer for it, and can soon begin training people. * Still need to buy a new rack for the drill press * Ryan's Spectralight CNC metal mill was discussed. * It has been taking up space in the Metal Shop for well over a year with no sign of being completed any time soon. * Caroline did not want it moved over by the Piranha CNC. * It can only mill soft metals. * It was generally agreed upon that if the Spectralight isn't working in 6 months (by beginning of October) then it should be taken home. If it is working by then and it's been used, then we should keep it. * Jake discussed building a new CNC metal mill altogether. #### Wood Shop * Jason is working on setting up a new planer and jointer. * A Sawstop table saw has been loaned and Jake is working on hooking up power to it. * No policy has been established regarding what to do if the sawstop is triggered. #### CNC * Brad is still working to get the Piranaha CNC functional again. * In response one of his fellow directors helpfully opined "Dammit, Brad!" * Jake put a beg board near the Piranha. #### 3D Printing Area * The new Prusa is up and running, Jake took his home. * Due to a Prusa error, we got an extra print bed too! * The area was recently cleaned, it's cleaner now than before. * Caroline is continuing to work on the Rostock. #### Auto Shop * Dave plans to change from one big table to 2 smaller benches * The lift is probably due for inspection. Dave will talk with our landlord about this. * We now have a bearing press kit. ### Carpeting vs Vacuum * The carpet in the Laser room and, to a lesser extent, in the classroom, is frequently binding up the roller in our Oreck standup vacuum. (In a previous email one astute individual noted that our carpet was the vacuum's "greatest nemesis.") * The possibility of replacing the carpet was discussed. The idea of using carpet squares was mentioned, and it was pointed out that the squares in the classroom haven't caused the vacuum to bind so far. Brad suggested getting a shop vac for the laser room. * The classroom measures approximately 20 ' x 25' * Ultimately, Meg said she knew some people and could ask if they would provide a discount to a non-profit. * It was requested, and many agreed, that if the option were available we would prefer the carpet with the little roads printed on it for Hot Wheels cars. ### Miscellaneous * More people need to make numbers for the wall clock in the classroom * Discussion ensued concerning whether a clock is always right twice a day if it is merely slow instead of stopped. ### Science Center Volunteer Committee * On the Google group some members discussed the possibility of setting up a committee to organize volunteers for the Science Center. * Board members generally couldn't see a reason why we would do this. The Science Center already has people who are paid to be volunteer coordinators. * (Note from the future: The board thought they were being asked to set up this committee and declined. Instead, member Cody H was just asking for the board's blessing to create the committee. In response he was told that if wanted to do this he is free to do so.) * Discussion ensued about former collaborations we have done with the Science Center. For an exhibit on maker spaces, Area 515 created an entire stop-motion animation station. Those who worked on it were upset that no credit was given to them when it was displayed. * From that starting point, the discussion morphed into the topics of cave art, and human nature, before finally ending on the innovative concept of a "pee-on-floor" sensor that, once activated, can lock the bathroom door until said pee is cleaned up. ### Red Bull Entry * Our 3D printer design was approved, but we were told we can't have electrical components. * The core team consists of John and Dave, but many others have volunteered to help. * The frame will be built from old bikes * We need more corrugated plastic, the kind find in campaign signs. ### Meeting Adjourned * Prior to the meeting, the board was updated on Ryan's efforts to unclog certain drains in his house using a sewer camera. The board learned that yes, in fact, there is an entire youtube channel dedicated to sewer cameras. Ryan summed up his opinions on the it thusly, "They were about as good as I'd expected they'd be." * After adjourning, the discussion careened into bidets. * "I did overly think that people would not be dumb." - Jake, said in discussion of certain Wood Shop tool set ups * "You must be less than this high to use this auto lift." - Proposed sign to make if the auto lift's maximum height declines. * (Context lost to history) Person 1: "I'm never doing that again!" Person 2: "That solves that problem." # March 2022 - Board Meeting 3/2/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting **3/2/2022 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary: Brad * Director: Carlin * Director: Tom * Director: Ryan **Absent:** * Vice President: Jake ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from February board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Old Business * The front sign needs to use the CNC. Tom is working on that. * No updates on a TIG welder * A potluck special gathering would be a neat thing to do in late April/ early May ### Financials * We have money ### Current Membership: 85 * A new member will be in to pick up his key. It's in an envelope in the electronics room. * Ryan added a new member ### Red Bull Soap Box Derby * Officials came and spoke to members at the space. A number of members expressed interest in participating, including our President. Rules are only 2 people to a car. The plan is to make our entry a giant 3D printer, perhaps using spray foam for the extruder. ### Membership Automation * Have been testing it for awhile. It's time to make it go live. ### Space Updates * The forge has been placed outside in the courtyard * A buyer has been lined up for the old lathe. Some other stuff will be listed to sell as well. * Metal Shop stewards want to rearrange the metal shop going forward. * Carlin is working to get a shipping container to go in the courtyard for use as an all-purpose area. * There's some wood in the courtyard that needs to be thrown away. * Compressed air available needs to become available in the Metal Shop. The compressor is in the auto area. We need to measure so pipes can be put in to route the air. Our landlord has plenty of pipe for the job. Previously one of our members spoke of bringing in a scissors lift that could reach the ceiling. Ryan said he would reach out and see if that offer is still available. * Jason has not yet set a new date for electrical work. (The old date fell through due to snow.) ### Trello Review * Tool Stewards will be encouraged to use Trello to keep track of their areas. The Trello board can then be reviewed at each board meeting to check for progress/ways to assist. * Each area has its own column in Trello. Items in each column can be dragged to "Done" once they are completed. ### Notable Trello Items * Laser cutters now have static IPs * Progress again being made on vacuum former * An extra table for the Electronics room was discussed. Dave said he will ask Caroline about moving one. * We have the necessary equipment to run the Metal Surface Grinder, but the machine first needs a final location. (See note about rearranging Metal Shop above.) * Metal Shop drill press got even more broker. * The status of the Spectrelight is unclear. It needs to be finished, but only Caroline knows if any more parts are needed to finish it. It's been sitting on a desk in the Metal Shop for 2 years. * Metal Shop wants to swap out wood tables for metal ones. * Metal Shop has been getting progressively cleaner over a time span of years. * Getting the Piranha CNC working is Brad's currenty priority. * A new Prusa for the 3D Printing Area is in transit. Should arrive in 6-8 weeks. * The fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine was discussed at this point. * Dave is planning to rearrange the Auto Shop work bench. * The auto lift needs to be inspected soon. * An "In for $10" was started by Brad for a 3D scanner. Not enough funds were raised so Brad refunded the donations. ### **Important Discussions** * There was a Coca Cola plant in Germany before WWII broke out. Once the war started, the plant switched to making a drink called "Fanta." Once the war was over, it started making Coca Cola again, but the Germans got mad so Fanta came back. * Crystal Pepsi was very popular in Russia. In 1989 the USSR negotianted a deal with Pepsi that would have made Pepsi into the 6th largest navy in the world, at least on paper. The deal included 17 submarines, a frigate, a destroyer, and several oil tankers. * After doing further research after the board meeting. It's unclear whether or not the deal went through. Some sources say the USSR collapsed before the deal was closed. One article stated that the American government was unhappy that Pepsi amassed such a fleet, to which the Pepsi CEO responded "We're disarming the Soviet Union faster than you are." * The results of shooting various computer equipment with various firearms was examined. It was generally agreed that the most satisfying results are obtained by using the largest caliber ammunition fired at the slowest speed. * The Board watched the original "Turbo Encabulator" video. Followed by various "How a transmission works" memes. (See below)![](https://2715950138-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-Mj_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9%2Fuploads%2FqL7FBZcNSavHiRtDcCko%2FHow%20an%20Automatic%20Tranmission%20Works%20-%20meme.jpg?alt=media\&token=4734efc1-814e-43c4-8eab-0c100ed96dc0) * It was established that a "Swedish Nut Lathe" is the same thing as an adjustable wrench. * Conversations about zombies come up surprisingly often in knife making circles. Generally it is agreed that ability to maintain your distance is a key skill in avoiding blood born pathogens. * Subsequently, Amazon's offerings for zombie weapons and various wrench & hammer combinations were reviewed. ### Meeting Adjourned * It was decided that Jake voted "Nay" to this. * "Precision just means using a smaller hammer." * Employees at a company were all given little envelope openers of appreciation and told "It's impossible to cut yourself." To which Tom replied "Don't tell that to a group of engineers." * "I think I see a pattern here." - In reference to the totally amazing and completely coincidental fact that Brad seems to be around every time the CNC goes down. * The story of a former coworker was recounted. "This member, we'll call him Brad for fun..." the word "Brad" became synonymous with things being broken, as in "Oh no! My bike is all Braded up!" after crashing it. # February 2022 - Board Meeting 2/2/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting **2/2/2022 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary: Brad * Director: Carlin * Director: Tom * Director: Ryan **Absent:** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from January board meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Zapier Member Payment Automation * Automation to process both membership and tool fee payments has been running for about the past month. It's had 100 successful interactions, and only 2 failed interactions. The 2 failures were related to extremely old PayPal accounts that had unknown end points. (Note: The Secretary's account is one of them.) * Since some accounts renew annually, we will look for those accounts that are older than the Secretary's, as these are the ones most likely to fail. * Going forward the Secretary will get an email if someone's membership expires. Secretary will keep moving expired members off the Current Members list. (Note from the future: The Secretary didn't receive any of these notification emails. Did I misunderstand this?) * This automation doesn't solve the problem of people who pay in cash. Brad will make a QR code to put on the cashbox so that anyone paying in cash can easily notify the board of the payment. The board briefly discussed not accepting cash anymore, but this was rejected. * When Tool Fees come in, the automation first looks at what the expiration date is for that member's fee. If it hasn't expired yet, the automation will advance the date by 1 year. If the fee has already expired, the automation will set the expiration date to be 1 year from the current date. * It should also be noted that when the automation updates family memberships, it looks at the email on the PayPal account, and searches the Current Members list for the first email address that matches the PayPal account. It updates that membership, and then searches for the next one, and so on until the payment is gone. (Put another way, if there are 3 members on a family plan, and a payment is made for a 2 person plan, the automation will not error. It will only update the first two entries it finds and not the third.) * The system will send notification emails if the following events occur * Member Payments from anyone not in Current Members (ie. brand new members) * Tool Fee payments from family memberships, that way a human can decide exactly which membership to assign the tool payment to. * Tool Fee payments from anyone not already in the Tools sheet. * The system is not set up to handle Starving Hacker Rates. Therefore, in the future SHRs will simply be set to expire in 6 months. When it comes time to renew, the board can go back and check that the member made all the required payments, rather than having someone check for them every month. * Jake and Brad will continue working on this. ### Trello Board * Discussion took place over whether or not the board and Tool Stewards should use Trello, which is essentially an online board for organizing tasks. * The downside is that a number of people would have to learn to use a new system, and a Tool Steward meeting would need to be called to get everyone on the same page. * The benefits would include: we would be much more efficient and could communicate better. It could help when creating the meeting agenda each month. Tasks could be reviewed monthly to make sure projects stay on track. It even has a smart phone app. * Ryan and Caroline have already been successfully using Trello to manage the Metal Shop. ### Financials * Meg filed our tax return already. ### Tool Updates * Chris has reiterated that he will bring his TIG welder to the space, although he hasn't specified what his terms are. * Carlin has offered to bring in his saddle sewing machine. However it is fickle and easily damaged. He asks that if he brings it in for members to use, that the space be willing to pay for repairs to it. * We acquired a sand blasting cabinet. * We will sell the sprayer and air compressor that we acquired as they aren't big enough to run continually. * We acquired a large ultrasonic washer in the Auto Shop. * We should be able to run compressed air pipes to the Metal Shop for little to no cost. ### NOMCON * The board members' view on this can still be summarized by the following meme ![The board members' views on their ability to go through the resources that NOMCOM offers.](https://2715950138-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-Mj_WVG-mW46cc-Ojom9%2Fuploads%2Fd2FZTvJSq2S5KutwGTWC%2FAintNobodyGotTimeForThat.jpg?alt=media\&token=603068b8-2fbd-4408-9dda-1da10cbdba83) ### Space Updates * Carlin was approached about the space hosting the "Iowa Hammer In." It would occur on a single day in October, 9am - 4pm, and consist of about 50-75 people. Attendees would divide up into classes. We could possibly sell food and drink. A lot of well known metal working teachers would attend. Area 515 members would still need to pay to attend. Most likely date is October 22. The board expressed approval for this. ### Great Des Moines Restaurants that Serve Asian Cuisine * There's one on College and 2nd that has really really good food. They probably have the best General Tso chicken and rice. * Oishi, which is Japenese for delicious, was also mentioned. * There's also this ramen place that just sort of pops-up around the city that's a great too. ### Tool Funds Reset * Since many of the Tool Funds are negative as of the last reckoning, and some discussion about possible missing payments in some funds, Jake proposed that all Tool Funds simply be reset to $200. > Vote to reset all Tool Funds under $200 to $200 > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed. ### Additional Space Updates * Jake proposed creating a quarterly email that could be sent to all members. The email would list what Tools they're certified on, and what Tool Fees they've paid. The board agreed this would be a great idea. * The 3D Printing area is seeing more useage. Jake would like his Prusa back, but the space could use a second printer so... > Motion to purchase a new Prusa 3D Printer > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed * There is also a Delta printer sitting by the front door that needs to be returned to Reg. Ray knows Reg but doesn't have the time to take it to him. * Caroline is almost done upgrading a different Delta 3D printer. Many of its parts have been replaced with metal parts. Currently she's waiting for a guy at DMACC to finish machining the new bed. * The Metal Shop still needs to buy metal to finish building more welding tables. * Jake wanted to build a new shelf system for the Piranha, Carlin volunteered to help with that. The CNC Stewards have yet to be consulted though. * One board member expressed opposition to using Keepass. Other board members expressed approval for it and no alternatives were proposed. * Dave will post on the google group to drum up interest in the Red Bull Soap Box Derby. ### Meeting Adjourned * "Hear ye, Hear ye... don't quote me on that." - President upon starting the meeting. * After a brief discussion of what we would do with our soapbox derby car after the event... "You should make a decision after its built and you see what it looks like." # January 2022 - Member Meeting January 2022 - Member Meeting **1/29/2022 - Area 515 Member Meeting** **Total Number of Full Members Attending: 14 + 2 by proxy** Quorum was reached (12 Full Members were required) **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Secretary: Brad * Director: Ryan * Director: Tom (by proxy) **Absent:** * Treasurer: Meg * Director: Carlin **Secretary's Note: In light of COVID-19 this meeting took place both in person and via Google Meet.** ### Introductions * Given the large number of new faces, everyone introduced themselves to the group. ### State of the Space #### Financial * We're on solid footing. We've been operating in the black, even if you exclude the large donations we received last year. #### Current Membership: 78 #### New Tool Updates * We traded a mini lathe for a medium sandblasting cabinet. * Autoshop got an ultrasonic cleaner large enough to put a carburetor in. People will need training to use it. * We successfully accomplished two "In for $10"'s recently. * Curtains for the 3D Printing room * Setting up the CNC Router Lift * Jason is working to set up a new jointer/planar in the Wood Shop * QR Codes have been posted throughout the space. If you follow the link, they prepare an email to the Tool Stewards you can use to inform them of any accidents, mishaps, or relevant information. ### Update on Additional Space from Landlord * This has been tabled indefinitely. Jerry's business is expanding and if anything he needs more space. * We need to be more efficient with the space we have. The maker space in Peoria was mentioned as a model for this. It has slightly fewer tools but a lot less square footage. * It was emphasized that wood for future projects should not be stored at the space. Only wood to be used in a *current* project should be there. It was also mentioned that members have been better about this the last 6 months. * One member said that some storage rental companies are willing to let non-profits use some of their facilities for free. None of the board members expressed interest in pursuing this. ### Clean Up After Yourself * ...and always put your tools away when you're done. * The space is run entirely by volunteers, including the Tool Stewards, so nobody is paid to clean up. #### Treat Tools Respectfully * When using tools, members are encouraged to have some "mechanical sympathy" and listen to how the tool sounds. If it sounds wrong, you're probably doing something wrong. * Jason summarized this nicely when he said "99% of what we have here doesn't require strength, apart from the autoshop." ### Code of Conduct * The Secretary is currently collecting signatures from all members. Emails have been sent to members allowing them to sign using Adobe Acrobat. Physical copies have also been provided in the classroom to those who want to sign in person. * Currently, just under half of members have signed it. * Everyone needs to make sure they've signed the waiver too. ### Red Bull Soap Box * Red Bull is sponsoring a soap box derby here in Des Moines. It's meant for adults. They want teams of 5, and unique entries are highly encouraged. * One of the first group projects at Area 515 was a tuk tuk goose chase, which proved to be a wonderful bonding excercise. * The space's entry for the Powerwheels Racing Contest in Kansas City was also discussed. It could do 40 mph in a straight line and had a propane torch for the tail pipe. The rules for the race were significantly altered after our entry. ### Vote to Promote Supporting Members to Full * None at this time. ### Miscellaneous * The President specifically acknowledged Caroline, Jake, Jason and Carlin for the numerous improvements they've made to the space. * New members were highly encouraged to start checking the Google Groups page since that's our main method of disseminating info and asking questions. * The electronics room could use more 3D printed drawer dividers if members would be willing to make them. * Bill let everyone know that he found a new indoor RC racing track in Merle Hay Mall called Wolfram RC. They sell entry kits for $225. The track is for smaller cars but if no one is racing you can use their track for free. ### Meeting Adjourned * "It was a lot of fun and nobody got hurt." - summation of the space's experience with the Kansas City Powerwheels Racing Contest. # January 2022 - Board Meeting 1/5/2022 Area 515 Board Meeting **1/5/2022 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary: Brad * Director: Ryan * Director: Tom **Absent:** * Director: Carlin **Also present:** * Jason B ### FRC Club Presentation Local FRC (aka. FIRST Robotics Competition) team presented their excellent robot designs and talked about how they came up with them. ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from December board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Financials * Treasurer updated accounts for all the tool areas, more on that below. * We are operating in the black even when excluding major donations. * The Concrete Pad in the courtyard is a 'go' once again. The money for it will come from the general fund. #### Sales * There is still some stuff in the Metal Shop that we are going to sell. * Kiln sale went to the general fund. * In reviewing the updated Tool funds it was noticed that money from Carlin's classes was missing. * The fund for the Lasers also seemed to be missing some items. The Secretary said he would search for income that was missing. ### Automation for Member Payments * Jake successfully got Zapier to automatically update membership payments. He says we can expand it to do what we need. It has native integration with Google Sheets. Unfortunately, the free trial period ended so we need to purchase a subscription. * For $250/month we get 750 tasks, which would be just about enough to cover membership payments * For $600/year we get access to more tasks * Asking Zapier for more free trial time was considered, but those experienced with the company said the answer would almost certainly be no. > Vote to purchase Zapier for $600 per year > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Miscellaneous * Jason will give Brad the email password for the Wood Shop to put in the KeePass file. * Right now our Facebook page is kind of sparse. * Although Jason's Instagram posts are supposed to also post to our Facebook page, Jason is experiencing some weird issues with this. ### Current Members: 80 ### NOMCOM Membership Proposal * NOMCOM stands for Nation Of Makers Conference. It's an organization established during the Obama administration to support maker organizations all over the country. In addition to the conference, they massive amount of information stored online about things that have worked in other maker spaces. This info is only accessible with a membership. * Last year Jason bought a membership for himself and attended the conference online. He proposed that the board purchase a NOMCOM membership for the space. * Memberships are $600/year, although there is reduced pricing for hardships. * Among the things in its online database are Open Source Software systems, and mailing lists that cover topics we're interested in like door control. * The possibility of setting up a new email specifically for NOMCOM communications was suggested. * Tom expressed particular interest in seeing if NOMCOM has any data about ROI (Return On Investment) for maker spaces. * After much discussion, it was decided that we shouldn't join until somebody had the time to make use of the membership. Nobody had the time to explore it right now, so the topic would be brought up again at the next board meeting. ### Member Meeting * Jan 29, 3pm was the decided date and time. * Jason will hold a Wood Shop training class that day at 1pm, and a New Member Intro class at 2pm. ### Space Updates * Jason will spearhead work on electrical wiring at the space on Jan 15th. There will be a lot to do so volunteers to help are welcome. ### End of Meeting * Said to a new member trying to exit the building: "We're not gonna' show you how to open the door. You'll have to figure that out for yourself." ### # 2021 # December 2021 - Board Meeting 12/1/2021 Area 515 Board Meeting **12/1/2021 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Secretary: Brad * Director: Tom * Director: Ryan * Director: Carlin **Absent:** * Treasurer: Meg ## Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to approve minutes from November board meeting > > Yes: 6 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ## Old Business * The face shield appreciation party has been scrapped. It was suggested we do some kind of chilli cook off event instead. ## Financials * Since the treasurer was absent, no new financial information was reported. The board decided that this was okay provided the treasurer isn't currently in the Bahamas somewhere spending all our money. ## Current Members: 77 * Congratulations to Carlin on the birth of his new child! ## Payment Automation Discussion * At present, members' expiration dates are updated manually. Note that the word *manually* comes from the latin word *manuall,* which means: *"all the work is done by one guy."* * All agree that the system needs to be more automated. Extensive discussion took place about ways this could be done. Some of the results included: * Brad said he would set up a free account using Wild Apricot to explore its possibilities. * Jake said he would experiment with using Zapier to have PayPal payments directly update our member database * Carlin offered to talk with other small business owners to ask what software they use to keep track of membership * Dave knows a person who is very interested in door security and can ask him for help upgrading our front door RFID system if we decide to use a new system * Brad offered to contact his old makerspace in Tucson to ask what system they use. ## Space Updates * Jake brought some lights intended to go over the new metal lathe, but they can be used wherever. * Tom showed us the progress on the front sign. The metal has been cut, the next step is to CNC the clear plastic sheet that's positioned in front of the metal. * Request was made for another security camera pointed out into the courtyard. Carlin would like to store some items in the courtyard but wants some security first. We will talk with the landlord about replacing a courtyard window with a metal sheet that the camera could mount to. * New ways to utilize the courtyard area were also discussed. Specifically getting a regular, metal shipping container and storing it beside the building. Carlin knows someone who paid $350 for the container, and only $500 for delivery. * We now have a nice metal rack in the courtyard for metal storage. * The merit of using SMART goals for future space projects was discussed. This would provide more focus and accountability. SMART being an acronym for: * Specific * Measureable * Achieveable * Relevant * Time bound * A member did epoxy in the laser room. This left a horrible (and toxic) smell, and the importance of keeping projects like that outside was discussed. ## End of Meeting * Just before voting to approve the November meeting minutes: "I'm sure they look good, I'm just pulling them up now." * paraphrased: "I'm pretty sure the name Rage Against the Machine was inspired by a printer." # November 2021 - Board Meeting 11/3/2021 - Area 515 Board Meeting **11/3/2021 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary: Brad * Director: Ryan * Director: Tom * Director: Carlin **Absent:** **Also attending:** * Jason B ## Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting ``` Vote to approve minutes from October board meeting Yes:7 No: 0 Result: Passed ``` ## Old Business * The rest of the money from face shield donations has been successfully donated to Primary Health Care Iowa \[()] * Anti Terrorism thing for insurance has been signed * It would be fun to revive board game night * No updates on any of the following: * Code of Conduct signing (Although it was suggested we look into Docusign for this) * Appreciation party for Face Shield team ## Welcome New Board Member * Someone will help Carlin get set up with our shared documents in DropBox and Google drive ## Financials * Our insurance was paid for * Meg had to go to USPS in person to pay for our PO Box. For some reason the person there acted annoyed about it. * Meg completed the re-certification for Benevity * Adding an additional check signer was discussed. Currently only Brad is able to sign checks. Jake volunteered to do it. Meg will forward her contact at West Bank to Brad. * No change to CD, it renewed for another 12 months. ### Pop Fund * It was suggested that we could find cheaper places to buy our soda. Only a few people tend to refill the pop supply. * Funding works on the honor system, using the cup of money on top of the fridge. As an organization we're growing large enough that that system might need to change. We could insist that pop receipts are reimbursed through PayPal rather than taking from the jar. * The pop that disappears regularly is the Mt. Dew and Cokes. It was generally agreed that, except for the original, all the flavors of Mt. Dew are awful! * Fareway and Dollar General are good places to purchase pop cheaply. * A new lockbox for the pop money was found. ## Membership Update: 79 * 4 "young folks" got tours yesterday ## Space Updates * The front door is working, but the exterior box portion had standing water in it and needed to be replaced. * Carlin will schedule a blacksmith hammer in for sometime next year. (The Secretary is udderly confused about what this means, but he wrote it down, so now it's officially in the notes.) * Ryan brought in a large bag of plastic storage bags * The possibility of getting a rotary phase converter was discussed. * Chris J has said he will bring in his TIG welder but this hasn't happened yet. * Progress is being made getting the new metal lathe ready for member use. 1 gear is now useable, there are 2 more to be cleaned out ### SalesForce & Membership Automation * Since memberships are no longer being updated automatically, some members are complaining about being late payment emails. The late payment emails are sent automatically about a day after a membership expires. In many cases the memberships were advanced within hours of when the late email was sent, but the members themselves have no way to know this. The Secretary said he would work more on Salesforce and getting automation up and running again. * It was also decided that the late payment email automation should be stopped. ### Front Sign Progress * Tom has all the parts for the sign cut out and ready to assemble this upcoming Sunday. Carlin volunteered to help him out. Once the sign is assembled and hung outside, a hole through the mortar will be drilled and the wiring to the sign will be run. The sign will use 12V LED lights so the PSU will be indoors. * Once the wire is run, an additional security camera will be placed outdoors. ### Wood Shop * Stewards are putting up more signs to remind members to take their wood home. * Stewards also planning to move shelves over by the bandsaw, and moving the cubicles there somewhere else ### Income from Tool Sales Carlin sold... * the Atlas lathe for $150 * the smaller lathe for $400 * the kiln and kiln shelving for $400 * will be selling the CNC router fence next ## End of Meeting (Paraphrased) "Huh, the post office was upset that you brought them a letter about needing to pay for the PO Box? I thought letters were kind of their thing." - Tom # October 2021 - Board Meeting **10/6/2021 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary: Brad * Director: Jason * Director: Ryan * Director: Tom **Absent:** ## Old Business * Still need to pay for the PO Box. Somehow the USPS didn't get our payment yet * Secretary still needs to send all members a copy of the Code of Conduct, and it should include a check mark to indicate members received and read through it. We don't need members to sign the document electronically. * No movement on party for Face Shield team * Still need to donate the rest of the money from Face Shield donations to Primary Health Care Iowa as was already approved. ## Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting ``` Vote to approve minutes from September board meeting. In Favor: 6 Opposed: 0 Result: PASSED. ``` ## Financial Update * Our insurance will be paid online * PO Box was already paid for automatically. Treasurer will follow up on why payment not received * Jason needs reimbursing ## Membership Update: 78 * It's normal for membership to go down in the Fall * Last night's Open House had a few guests * Some people were in touch with some of the guys at the Ames makerspace. It was said that they have a small space in someone's attic where they hang out. Considering they used to be in a basement they've literally moved up in the world. ## Space Updates * We sold the air compressor for about $100 * We acquired a new metal lathe. Carlin picked it up. * The Wood Shop has a new jointer ### New Computer Parts * Colin donated 2 newer HP computers and a monitor that needs a power supply. One of the computers may go to upgrading the security cameras. * Dave intends to resurrect the Raspberry Pi workstation * Caroline requested some new parts for the classroom computers. After some discussion an agreement was voted on. ``` Vote to approve purchase of 2 hard drive mounting bracket kits and 2 solid state drives. In Favor: 7 Opposed: 0 Result: PASSED. ``` ### Concrete Pad Proposal * After some discussion, the agreed upon plan was to build a concrete pad that won't break after the first winter. Liberty Concrete was contacted and they said they could deliver enough concrete for a 10' x 8' x 4' volume for $232. We would have to provide the man power to pour the concrete. Liberty Concrete can only schedule 2 days in advance. The interested parties said they would follow up with a plan to make it happen. ### Automating Member Payments * Since the Secretary is the one manually updating memberships, the Secretary needs to get off his duff and meet with both Caroline and Carissa about setting up PayPal with SalesForce. Once they have a proposal it can be brought to the board. ### Community Interest in Tech Startup Space * There is renewed community interest in making a Tech startup maker space. Unlike previous discussions, this one might have money behind it. In the past the Des Moines Partnership has wanted to be in charge of whatever maker space they get involved with. We here at Area 515 have always been fiercely independent, and so a partnership with us hasn't worked out. * Maple Ventures is a local organization that works to grow startups that already have 50-100 employees. The renewed interest is in making an organization that works to grow startups that have around 1-50 employees * Several buildings have been proposed for the new startup space: on Gray's Landing there are two 20-30k sqft buildings that are empty. Currently they're slated for demolition. * It should be noted that our landlord, Jerry's business is growing enough that it may need more space soon. This means we won't be able to rent any additional space from him. He has said that he won't kick us out though. ### Miscellaneous * Some members have blocked doors, space around doors needs to be kept clear. * Caroline fixed one of the 3D printers * Caroline is also testing the Prusa Multi Material Upgrade (MMU) for member readiness. ## End of Meeting * "Brad, you'll have to ask the Secretary to see the previous minutes." - President * "We'll know the pod people have taken over Brad if there's no jokes." - President referring to meeting minutes * "The duct tape worked!" - Tom, noting that the Secretary's screaming children could not be heard over Google Meet. * In discussing how our fellow maker space to the North is moving up in the world... "Didn't they already move down \[from an attic to a basement]?" "They could be on a hill." # October 2021 - Member Meeting **10/16/2021 - Area 515 Member Meeting** **Total Number of Members Attending: 15** **Total Number of Full Members Attending: 15 + 1 by proxy** Quorum was reached (13 Full Members were required) **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Secretary: Brad\*\* * Director: Ryan * Director: Tom * Treasurer: Meg * Director: Jason **Absent:** * Vice President: Jake * **Currently 80 members** * Currently 25 Full members * 15 Full members in attendance + 1 proxy vote therefore quorum was reached **Secretary's Note: In light of COVID-19 this meeting took place both in person and via Google Meet.** \*\*The Secretary was not able to join the meeting until 40 minutes past the start. Meeting minutes were punctiliously recorded by Caroline L. ## State of the Space * Not on fire * New concrete pad poured behind the space by Carlin for forging! * New Lathe in the metal shop. Needs some work and repairs. * New, more powerful planer in the wood shop. * New jointer in the woodshop. Needs some work until it’s ready for use. * Progress made on new furniture for textiles. Shelves are built and installed, workbenches are being built. * New 3D printing trainer, Cody H. * Prusa MMU is re-enabled and nearly ready for training. * Caroline’s Rostock is ready to use for general printing. * Most of the parts have been acquired for the Rostock V4 upgrade. * Vinyl cutter up and running + new training video for it! * Collin C. will be a new trainer for the Auto Shop * No extra space for the foreseeable future :( * Please return tools to where you found them when you leave the makerspace for the day. * Please clean up if things need to be cleaned. We have no dedicated custodians, we rely on members to keep things tidy. ## Vote to promote supporting members to full None at this time ## 2021 Board Elections ### Nominations * President - David Champion * Vice President - Jake Leister * Treasurer - Meg Bannister * Secretary - Brad Freese * Director 1 - Ryan Renze * Director 2 - Carlin Al-Andas * Director 3 - Tom Pesek * Director 4 - Frank Waterman ### Results Ballots were cast on sheets of paper. A ‘yes’ or ‘no’ was written for the uncontested positions, and then 3 names for the three director positions. Vote were counted and the 2022 Board of Directors will consist of * President - David Champion * Vice President - Jake Leister * Treasurer - Meg Bannister * Secretary - Brad Freese * Director - Ryan Renze * Director - Carlin Al-Andas * Director - Tom Pesek ## Miscellaneous * The space has a HAM radio tower that’s been waiting to be installed. If anyone has interest in helping please contact Dave * Woodshop is looking to add on a new trainer * Blackfeather\* wants more hot dogs and a better bed (\*Jason and Bailey’s dog) * Vacuum Former update: all parts except the primary power cord have been purchased. All that’s left is to do the wiring. * Some computers, especially in the classroom, will be updated with better hardware in the near future. Please be patient * General tip: always run ideas past an area’s Tool Stewards before you do something for an area ## Meeting Adjourned * “SO LONG, SUCKAS!!!!” - former director Jason’s words of encouragement to the incoming board of directors. # April 2021 - Board Meeting 4/7/2021 - Area 515 Board Meeting **4/7/2021 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * **President: Dave** * **Vice President: Jake** * **Treasurer: Meg** * **Secretary: Brad** * **Director: Ryan** * **Director: Tom** * **Director: Ryan** ### Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting > Vote to Approve Minutes of March Meeting > > Yes: 7 > > No: 0 > > Result: Passed ### Old Business * The security camera system is working. The laser room camera is hard to aim but very stable. * No leaks in the roof have been seen. * No response from artist place to our proposal ### Financials * Treasurer will for money from Carlin's knife classes * Treasurer will write up receipt for ISU Prism team ### Current Members: 81 * Open House attendance has been good. ### Big Tool Buy * Not much has changed, we're still shopping * We have plenty of scrap metal for welding table bases. Dave said he will place an order for metal table top material. * Carlin is getting some nickel rod to repair the forge. ### Concrete Pad * Carlin knows someone willing to pour concrete for just the cost of the materials. He will try to plan a work day. * Making the pad bigger was discussed so more people can fit into classes * Metal Shop Stewards discussed how to increase their communication. The possibility of a Metal Shop email list was raised. ### Members Meeting * Members need to start signing the CoC. Brad will try fitting it all onto one side of paper (Note from the future: He barely fit the whole thing onto a front and back.) Then a pile of COC's to sign will be printed up for the upcoming Member meeting. * The possibility of making all members resign the Damage Waiver was raised. * Members should be asked for their phone numbers at the meeting too. ### Space Updates * One member was suspended for making a mess in the autoshop and for using other people's materials. * A red vice of Carlin's has gone missing. * Ryan sent a request to Facebook for help getting us set up with SalesForce. Facebook said the request was published internally. * Facebook offered us some heavy duty shelving as well. * Dave would like to make an A frame rack for storing metal outside in the courtyard. * We got a couple new chairs for the classroom, and got rid of some older ones. * Jason might start some member classes in May. He'd particularly like to do some "Deep Dives" into some of the tools, with particular emphasis on cleaning. * Discussion was held about people not putting tools back and about misusing needle nose pliers. * More people should make numbers for the big clock in the classroom. ### Meeting Adjourned * "The minutes were fine, the seconds not so great." - Tom # March 2021 - Board Meeting **3/3/2021 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Secretary: Brad * Director: Jason * Director: Ryan * Director: Tom **Absent:** * Treasurer: Meg ## Old Business * Security System Updates: System is no longer crashing. Dave may switch system to a bigger computer soon * Hole-in-wall for electricity to outdoor sign: Agreed hole should be made on a work day after all the ice has melted. In addition to electricity for outdoor sign and overhead light, an outdoor security camera will run through the hole. Might be good to make another hole for a laser exhaust on that day (Secretary's Note: 3rd laser cutter was removed a few weeks after this meeting.) * Roof Leak - no news * New space from Jerry probably won't be available any time soon * No idea if ISU team still needs membership receipt, will ask Meg * No idea if money from knife making classes has hit our accounts, will ask Meg * No movement on Salesforce ## Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting ``` Vote to approve minutes from February board meeting. In Favor: 6 Opposed: 0 Result: PASSED. ``` ### Membership Update: 77 * A lot of people attended the most recent Open House. ## State of the Space ### Big Tool Buy * Carlin was quoted $1800 on a TIG welder. That's full retail price so stewards will keep shopping. * Metal Shop needs to figure out what we're doing for metal table bases and tops * It was decided that a new laser tube will come from the donations we were given from making face shields * Still to purchase in Big Tool Buy: * TIG welder * Metals tool box * metal sheets to make metal tables for Metal Shop * Textiles room update materials ### Donations from Face Shields * We have about $700 in donations from when we were making Face Shields last year. At the time our website said that any extra money would go towards fighting COVID and/or a worthy medical cause. The Secretary suggested Primary Health Care Iowa \[()] as a worthy medical cause that would also help in the fight against COVID. * It was agreed that this money should first be used to purchase a new laser tube, since the lasers were extensively used in the face shield making process, and the rest of the money donated to Primary Health Care Iowa. * This topic spawned a great conversation about medical pricing. ### Artist Membership / Collaboration Agreement * No response from Mainframe Studios yet, others not yet contacted ### Digital Waiver Archive * Jake will send a link to where he put all the files so we can add new member waivers to it ### Code of Conduct * We should do an email asking members to digitally sign our Code of Conduct since physical signatures from everyone would be hard to obtain. ## April Member Meeting * Will be held on April 17, 2-4pm ## End of Meeting * "I wouldn't want her job. You wouldn't want me doing her job." "It's a win-win!" - random conversation fragment * "I would like the notes to reflect that you were late." - President referring to Secretary * "This is where you steal things" - The context of this quote is lost to history because the Secretary can't read his own scribbles here. # February 2021 - Board Meeting **2/3/2021 - Area 515 Board Meeting** **Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Treasurer: Meg * Secretary: Brad * Director: Jason * Director: Ryan * Director: Tom **Absent:** **Also Attending:** **Secretary's Note: Some members were present via Google Hangout.** ## Old Business * All liability waivers have been digitized. Some have been copied to a shared drive. * Security System Updates: Sec system reinstalled on computer and now more stable. Still working out some storage bugs. Will be getting 2 more cameras, one in the metal shop needs to be mounted. * Need to schedule time to run wires through wall to outside. Hole will be used by front sign and security system so need to coordinate * We have new WiFi access points, need to be configured * Roof Leak - no news * New space from Jerry probably won't be available any time soon ## Approval of Minutes from Previous Meeting ``` Vote to approve minutes from January board meeting. In Favor: 6 Opposed: 1 - because why not! Result: PASSED. ``` ## Financials * Few reimbursements to do * Meg will check if proceeds from Carlin's knife making classes have reached the space. Jake said he saw Carlin send it. All that money will go towards the Metal Shop. ### Membership Update: 75 * ISU team needs a receipt for their membership ## Space Updates * Ray is receptive to reclaiming his Shark Tooth laser cutter. * We got new tables and chairs * Front Door RFID reader had some trouble and wasn't updating from Current Members list. Ray and Caroline worked on it and discovered it was a problem with a new version of the one of the libraries in the program. Problem was resolved. * Dave will bring in a laminator machine for members to use ### Big Tool Buy * On February 16,2021 the board voted by email to specify that we'll spend about $10,000 on the Large Tool Buy: ``` Vote to approve spending about $10,000 on the Big Tool Buy. In Favor: 4 No Response: 3 'Result: PASSED. ``` * Tool buy is under way. We've purchased: * miter saw table * 4 tables * CNC table and CNC machine * stuff for 3D printer room * some stuff from CNC fund * Still to purchase: * TIG welder * Metals tool box * Textiles room update materials * metal sheets to make metal tables for Metal Shop * we need a new laser tube ### Artist Membership / Collaboration Agreement * The potential agreement was discussed and edited. Afterwards it was put to a vote. ``` Vote to offer agreement as is to local artist collectives. In Favor: 7 Opposed: 0 Result: PASSED. ``` ## End of Meeting * Regarding password recovery plans: "If you have 2 you have 1, and if you have 1 you have none." # January 2021 - Member Meeting **1/23/2021 - Area 515 Member Meeting** **Total Number of Members Attending: 12** **Total Number of Full Members Attending: 12 + 1 by proxy** Quorum was reached (13 Full Members were required) **Board of Directors Attending:** * President: Dave * Vice President: Jake * Secretary: Brad * Director: Ryan * Director: Tom **Absent:** * Treasurer: Meg * Director: Jason * **Currently 80 members** * Currently 25 Full members **Secretary's Note: In light of COVID-19 this meeting took place both in person and via Google Meet.** ## State of the Space * Not burned down yet! (Recently acquired fireproof cabinet should help continue this not-burning-down streak.) * We've reached 80 members! New members have not cited any single source of learning about us * Metal Shop got new DeWalt portaband saw, and parts needed to repair metal Atlas lathe * Jake has made a number of Wood Shop improvements, including: new chopsaw bench, rearranged tables, ordered new 4' x 4' CNC router from OpenBuilds * Shun has organized the Electronics room and will start selling our surplus tools and materials * Jake procured 4 new tables with castors and that fold up for storage. * Security Camera System is improving quite a bit. Thanks to Dave and Don for working on it. More cameras have been ordered, including 2 for outside. Those will probably be mounted when the exterior sign is mounted. * Jason & Bailey are making major improvements to the Textiles room, part of the Big Tools Buy * The big postal desk currently in the Textiles room is up for sale if anyone is interested. It's made of wood and weighs a couple hundred pounds. * We will be updating our WiFi access point in the next month or so. Current machine will reach end of life in March. Jake has a newer model the space can use. * We have not yet acquired extra space to rent from our landlord. ## Financials * We are operating in the black. In 2020 made net profit of about $7500, including donations. * Board of Directors passed a budget. ## Large Tool Buy * Some stuff has already been purchased, some stuff we're still shopping for. ## Membership Collaboration Proposal * Mainframe Studios contacted us. Dave has written up a proposal to be voted on at the next board meeting. * Intend to extend the proposal to Barnum Factory as well, and possibly other artist studios as well. ## Clean Up Your Stuff * Put tools back where they belong! * If something isn't in use or in your cube, take it home. * The area by wood storage shelves is fast becoming a mess. That storage pallet rack will soon be moving to the north wall. It is meant for short term wood storage only - not long term. Members should try to limit themselves to using only 50-100 board feet of space at a time. * One of the members expressed interest in finding additional off site storage space. Dave mentioned that the price of storage space has more than doubled in the past year. Eventually it was decided the dicussion should be continued online in the forum. ## Vote to Move Members from Supporting to Full * Nobody asked to be promoted. ## Miscellaneous * One of the FS lasers needs a new tube. * Sharktooth laser needs to be recalibrated and its computer requires a new hard drive * One member has 4 computers with parallel ports he'd be willing to donate * Nobody has actually complained about the Sharktooth not working for the past year. Bailey will talk with Ray about if he wants to take it back. * Machines have started getting QR code stickers which link to instructions and manuals on how to use them. ## End of Meeting * "Hi Dad! Hi Dad! Hi Dad!" - The Secretary's 6 year old son. --- [Next Page](/llms-full.txt/1)