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?"