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
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?"
Last updated
Was this helpful?