Board of Directors Meeting 20141116

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This meeting will be held in Modified SRC3 format.

Time, location

16:00, Dallas Makerspace

Prior minutes

Board_of_Directors_Meeting_20141012#Minutes Board_of_Directors_Meeting_20141106#Minutes

Officer/Committee reports

  • 3d Fabrication Committee - Lisa Selk
  • Amateur Radio Committee - Benjamin Groves
    • Amateur Radio Committee meeting will be held Saturday November 15th at 10:30am
      • Agenda is to talk about where we are at and make plans going forward
  • Aerospace Committee - Romeo Espana
  • Automotive Committee - Brandon Green
    • Had first meeting, planning several events and classes
    • Bought some supplies to keep area clean (oil absorbent, drip pans)
    • Posted large rules sign in an attempt to prevent any undesired habits from forming by people using auto area
  • Blacksmith Committee - John Haskins
  • Bio Committee - Andrew Floyd
  • Civic Hacking - Stephen Wylie
  • Classroom Committee - Gus Reiter
  • Creative Arts Committee - Haley Moore
  • Electronics Robotics Committee - Daniel Jackson
  • Financial Committee - Paul Brown
  • Foundry Committee - John Kuhlenschmidt
    • Test fire the Kiln - Nathan plan on fire Greenware the thanksgiving weekend.
    • Working on having a class Dec 13 clay
    • Also lining up a class on glass beading on Jan10
  • Laser Committee - William Petefish
  • Machine Shop Committee - Bryan Gangwere
  • Operations and Facilities Committee - Andrew LeCody
  • Photography Lab (Darkroom Committee) - Steve Reeves
  • Public Relations Committee - Steve Blanchard
    • Etsy Dallas Jingle Bash was a success and got the word out to a bunch of people, Anticipate Large Turnout for Thursday Open house.
  • Workshop Committee - Alex Rhodes
    • We are getting more members to teach classes now that we a broader tool set.
    • We continue to have an average of 9 - 10 people for Wood Shop 101
    • We Have a group build project scheduled for Dec. 6th. It will be a true woodworking style workbench with and end vice and dog holes.
    • New Jointer has been delivered and currently waiting on electrical.
    • Have purchased some sharpening tools for chisels and planes.
  • VECTOR Committee - Nic Schell
    • Established 1st and 3rd Thursdays as Restoration & Development nights. First event was 11/6 and brought in three non-members.
    • 1st class (backglass repair) was held 11/13 with good attendance from members & non-members.
    • Promoted DMS at Houston Arcade Expo. Walter Day of Twin Galaxies was impressed with our membership numbers.
    • At some point in the future consider the creation of a DMS-owned (and branded) semi-transparent pinball machine as a promotional tool and learning platform.
    • Haley Moore completed a customized Operation-style electronic board game.
    • Will discuss ways to promote DMS at Texas Pinball Festival 2015. Big opportunity to reach thousands of people & new members inexpensively.
    • Barlords tabletop game under co-development with Houston team.
    • Stalled/completed projects (Joust, Seawitch, Surf Side) will be moved offsite this month to make room for active/new projects.

Consent Agenda

Newly proposed agenda items appear in the consent agenda. Any member present at the meeting may pull an item out of the consent agenda for discussion, at which point it goes under "New Business". If nobody objects to the solutions presented by the consent agenda, everything in the consent agenda passes by consensus. Items that have more than one proposed solution should be moved to the "New Business" section.

Any member may edit this wiki page and place an item on the agenda. However, discussion of agenda items should be done via the forums. The cut-off time for addition to or revision of the consent agenda's items is 48 hours prior to the meeting. Please note, agenda items (Consent, New, or Old) that request spending $250 or more must include a section on "Relevance to our tax exempt purpose".

Replace broken electronics equipment (Daniel Jackson)

Problem: Some tools in the electronics room are now broken due to age or misuse

Solution: Approve spending for an LC meter, Function Generator, 500VA Dual Ganged Variac and Rigol 1054Z Oscilloscope

Alternate LC meter link :http://www.tequipment.net/InstekLCR816.html?v=7388 Robert Davidson mentioned a strong preference for Benchtop tools over handheld tools. Second LC meter provided for comparison purposes. Variac is cheaper as single 1000VA link:http://www.alltronics.com/cgi-bin/item/28N051/66/Variac-1000VA--Isolated As a fuse limited unit, hopefully it will survive better than the old one. Rigol link:http://www.rigolna.com/products/digital-oscilloscopes/ds1000Z/ds1054z/


Relevance to our tax exempt purpose: These electronics tools allow us to conduct classes on their use and allow members to build projects that require these tools.

Add 2 cameras to electronics room (Daniel Jackson)

Problem: The one camera in the electronics room can't cover all of the benches

Solution: Approve spending for two additional cameras to adequately cover the electronics lab

Relevance to our tax exempt purpose: This will allow us to coach members on the clean table policy as well as proper use of the equipment.

Appoint Lisa Selk As Procurement Officer (Paul Brown)

Problem: Lisa Selk is very active as a volunteer and often finds herself in a situation where she needs to purchase items for DMS. Currently, this requires getting a procurement officer to make the purchase or getting a reimbursement check. I want to make it easier for Lisa to make necessary purchases for DMS.

Solution: Appoint Lisa Selk as a procurement officer.

Note: The duties of a procurement officer:

  • Procurement officers perform "due diligence" before making a purchase.
  • They act as a gatekeeper by ensuring purchases have been directed by the Board of Directors, or ensure committee approval if the funds were directed to be spent by a committee.
  • Procurement officers are approved to spent funds with prior authorization from the board.
  • They also ensure receipts are kept and given to whoever is doing the bookkeeping.

Officer terms end when the next board is appointed, the position is resigned, or the officer is dismissed by the board of directors.

Notice of Resignation As Treasurer (Paul Brown)

I would like to thank Dallas Makerspace for allowing me to serve as Treasurer. It has been a great learning opportunity. However, I am finding it difficult to balance work, life, and my responsibilities at DMS. As of 11/7/2014, my plans are to resign as Treasurer at the end of the year and delegate my responsibilities.

Problem: Paul Brown wishes to notify the board the he does not intend to continue as Treasurer beyond the end of the year.

Solution: Accept Paul's notice of resignation and begin to seek out someone else to fill the position of Treasurer.

Post a set of core rules for the Dallas Makerspace (Benjamin Groves)

Problem: At the new space there have been a number of violations to the DMS rules, often with the offending party unaware that they are in fact breaking a rule.

Solution: The best way to stem these infractions is to communicate the rules clearly to all persons entering the Dallas Makerspace. I propose a sign of "DMS House Rules" of clear intent to be placed in the front entry room, opposite the entry door. The rules defined below are existing rules to clearly state acceptable and unacceptable behavior of any person (member or non-member) at the Dallas Makerspace.

Dallas Makerspace House Rules

  • Safety is Priority One within the Dallas Makerspace
  • The Dallas Makerspace is a law abiding organization - Do not break the law on these premises
  • All persons entering the Dallas Makerspace must have fully completed and filed a waiver
  • Any non DMS member entering the space must remain in the presence of a DMS member
  • Any person under the age of 16 years of age must stay in the presence of their legal guardian
  • Tools / resources must stay on the Dallas Makerspace premises - Theft is not tolerated
  • Maintain a clean work area - Clean up after yourself and any side messes you create
  • Respect RFID badge and tool control systems - Do not attempt to bypass or circumvent these measures
  • Be aware that the workshop contains potentially hazardous tools and the above rules apply doubly so within that area
  • With the exception of open classes and events, Dallas Makerspace is not open to the public - It is up to the membership to ensure our site is safe and secure for all members
  • Dallas Makerspace reserves the right to eject persons who are engaging in unsafe behavior or are not in compliance with the above rules
  • Dallas Makerspace has no employees, our membership is also our volunteer base to keep things running - Your participation is appreciated
  • Please report unsafe or unexcellent behavior to [email protected]

Purchase Two New 3D Printers from PolyPrinter (Lisa Selk)

Problem: Our membership has doubled in the past year, which is AWESOME! As a result of our rapid growth and the extreme popularity of the 3D printers, we now face a severe workload issue. We very often have a queue to print during evening hours. It's common for members to wait all night for a turn. Many more simply give up and go home frustrated, disappointed, and empty-handed. This is especially an issue from Thursday evening thru Sunday. Recently the printers were running around the clock for several days straight.

There are less expensive solutions, such as building our own 3D printers; however, since members, committees, and Dallas Makerspace as a whole rely so heavily on the reliability and availability of our 3D printers, it is in our best interest at this time to purchase systems that have proven to be well built, well maintained, and well supported by PolyPrinter.


Solution: To keep up with the high demand for time on the 3D printers, and better enable us to offer hands-on classes, the 3D Fabrication Committee is requesting two additional 3D printers be purchased. We have discussed and voted on this in an open forum (https://talk.dallasmakerspace.org/t/closed-poll-lets-talk-about-buying-new-3d-printers); and, have determined that purchasing one 229 PolyPrinter and one 508 PolyPrinter would offer the best benefit for Dallas Makerspace at this time.

Cost: Ed K, owner of PolyPrinter, has provided the following quote:

The PolyPrinter 229 will be $2395 net (after discounts).
The PolyPrinter 508 will be $3995 net (after discounts).

$4495 PP508
$ -500 Beta discount.
$ 240 warranty extension to 1 yr
$ 480 On-site service 1yr
$ -720 Makerspace discount
$3995 Net Total

$2395 PP229
$ 175 warranty extension to 1 yr
$ 360 On-site service 1yr
$ -535 Makerspace discount
$2395 Net Total

Reasoning: The 3D Printers are one of the biggest draws for new members. We need to be able to keep up with the demand of the printers and 3D Fabrication resources - which we currently are not able to do.

  • We are asking for the purchase of one 229 PolyPrinter (like the two we have now) to help alleviate some of the wait time. It will also help during the times that one of the printers is taken away from the site (for PR purposes, maintenance, upgrades and occassional repair).
  • We are asking for the purchase of one 508 PolyPrinter (aka: "double-wide") which would also help alleviate some of the wait time; but, would also have the following additional benefits:
    • Ability for members and students to print 'in bulk'.
      • Example 1: Print parts to build another 3D printer
      • Example 2: Print multiple copies of a high demand item or time sensitive need (for a member, committee, etc...)
      • Example 3: Ability to offer a class on 3D modeling, and allow each student to have their model begin printing at the end of the class (Such as a basic class to model luggage tags. Each student could create their 'tag', then all the 'tags' could be printed at one time to allow the students the opportunity to see their model be printed).
    • Ability for members to print much larger items for cosplay, tools, etc. This is especially relevant given the large community of cosplayers within our membership.

Relevance to our tax exempt purpose: Purchasing these printers will allow us to offer access to our resources within a more reasonable time, allowing more members the opportunity to use the 3D printers to learn (and teach) new skills, and to finish their projects in a timely manner. It will also help enhance our abilities to offer more robust classes in the 3D fabrication process from beginning to end.

New Business

Make modifications to lighting (Steve Adams)

Problem1: There is no safety lighting in woodshop or metal shop. Consequently, members traveling from the office areas through woodshop will turn on lights to safely travel to warehouse. This adds to the electric bill by increasing the tendency to leave lights on.

Problem2: The membership has consistently failed to turn off lights in the space. This is unnecessarily driving up expenses. Motion sensor controllers should be installed throughout the space to compensate. Depending on the equipment purchased, this may require running additional ground or neutral wires. If this is a project the space commits to, then there should be a task force created, and a max budget set for purchasing materials and rental of a scissors lift.

Rules Violation

A formal complaint will be heard regarding unaccompanied minors. The complaint is that this particular member has on multiple occasions left their child unattended, sometimes even in the workshop. The member in question has been notified of this complaint and has been requested to appear at the meeting. The complainant's suggested action is to bar them from bringing their child to the space, duration unspecified. Per our rules on dispute resolution, the Board of Directors will hear both sides of the complaint and then determine a course of action.

2 Post Lift for Auto

Problem: Automotive committee cannot meet its goal of helping facilitate education of car mechanics and operating relevant classes and projects effectively when everyone is required to crawl on ground under vehicles held up by temporary jack stands.

Solution: Give auto committee authorization to purchase and install a lift (expense to be covered by auto committee and donations specifically for this tool). Installing a 2 post lift will make any car work safer and quicker, and make classes and projects much more effective.

Further information and discussion about plans and lift model

Funding for DMS's 240sx race car (Auto)

Problem: DMS Racing's project car will need some safety and reliability improvements before the next 24 hours of lemons event.

Solution: Allocate $1,500 to the Automotive Committee to spend only on direct improvements to the car.

Estimates: A rough estimate on how that money would be used on the car would include:

  • 150 low profile seat slider
  • 200 rewire fuel pump and install dedicated switch panel with fuel pressure gauge and push button start
  • 100 wide angle rear view mirror
  • 100 replace all fluids (engine, trans, diff, brake, clutch)
  • 250 funds to replace any worn out/damaged engine components
  • 150 decorations (plastidip, vinyl, accessories)
  • 200 replace shocks
  • 100 replace fuel gauge(currently doesn't work)
  • 100 install front brake ducts
  • 100 replace motor mounts
  • 150 replace timing chain if needed
  • 150 racing brake pads and turn rotors
  • 120 wheel dollies for rolling car around shop


Reasoning: The race car has so far been the most successful large group project ever undertaken by DMS. All entrance fees and drivers fees for the upcoming event will be covered by those competing in the event, this requested money will only be spent on the car itself, and since the car belongs to DMS investing in its future seems wise.

Relevance to our tax exempt purpose: These funds will directly enable organizing build days / classes around installing the parts, educating members on various car related activities, even when not in a formal class setting completing projects which teach members new skills is very educational.

Lease Parts Washer (Bryan Gangwere)

Problem: With the resumption of automotive related activities, as well as projects in the machine shop, it's becoming necessary to be able to clean and degrease parts and equipment at Dallas Makerspace. There is currently no place to do that. There are relatively inexpensive solutions from vendors ranging from Harbor Freight to Grainger, but they all have the following features in common:

  • They are not effective unless they are solvent based (e.g. Mineral Spirits)
  • They require a lengthy soaking of parts, often overnight
  • They are open to the atmosphere, subjecting those in the vicinity to odors, and creating a mess
  • Solvent/solution must be maintained, and used solvent must be disposed of, by the user

Solution: Allocate $350/Month for a minimum of 1 year for an environmentally friendly, enclosed, maintained Torrent parts washer (http://partsmastertorrent.com/). This has the benefits of:

  • Being extremely quick, negating the need for lengthy delays in projects and the resulting clutter and obstacles associated with those delays
  • Being enclosed, negating any odors and containing the solution and dirt/grease within the machine, as well as minimizing the user's exposure to the solution
  • Being maintained by an third party (Torrent)

Relevance to our tax exempt purpose: This parts washer will allow automotive maintenance classes to be held in reasonable time frames, as well as further the ability of members to use DMS to complete projects. It will also help to keep the timeframe on member projects short, allowing more members to tackle their own projects. And it will allow non automotive related projects, such as rebuilding the South Bend lathe, to be completed with a minimum of mess.

Replenish DMS Tshirts (pearce dunlap)

Problem: The Membership wants more shirts! The screen printing fund doesn't quite have enough to buy the number of shirts required to fill that request.

Solution: Screen Printing has $186 in its fund, the size run requested is $534.22 so screen printing would need ~$349 allocated to it if the fund was used first. 55/493 members responded to the poll asking about sizing - https://talk.dallasmakerspace.org/t/poll-new-t-shirt-run-sizes-needed/275?u=pearcedunlap so using those numbers times three I have put together a cart ( http://jiffy.sh/1ud8GSt ) that will cover our torsos until we decide to make more or design a new tee.

Relevance to our tax exempt purpose: These tees would be used to host classes on how to screen print using the press at the space, while restocking the spaces printed tees.

    • If possible Screen printing would need to restock on various inks and tools and could use ~$100 to do so.

Allocate A Rolling budget for Workshop

Problem: Equipment in the Workshop requires maintenance and upkeep. Also, some consumables need to be replenished and some tools replaced.

Solution: Allocate a $300 one time bonus and a $400 a month to the Workshop committee to buy things like filters, sandpaper, replacement parts, Replacement broken tools. What I am saying is that Workshop would have $700 to spend between now and December 16th. If the $700 is not spent the budget is automatically reset to $400 and shall not accrue above $400. Any extra money will have to be asked for by Workshop chair going forward. Between the last major meeting and this one $308.87 has been spent on replacement tools, parts and consumables (see link below). People still have complaints that we are currently missing screw drivers or the ones we have are broken. We don't have basic measuring and reference items, like engineering squares or straight edges. We currently don't a way to test angles to make sure the table saw is true. Sand paper is also running low for drum sander and Belt sander.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FZ-byRnmgi30-q5WkOuqJUNfEYBV0j1yzV1SWUVZ1qw/edit?usp=sharing


Relevance to tax exempt status: Helps keeps tools in working order for classes and use by members.

Approve Purchase of Ikea table top for workshop

Problem: Last meeting Workshop was given the rights to use extra Ikea table top, but has since been used by another area in the space. Would seek approval to purchase another one for original purpose.

Solution: Allocate the purchase of Ikea Butcher block counter top to complete original table that is scheduled to be worked on December 6th. Currently $169.

Funds for Group projects and space improvements

Problem: We currently have some tools that could use better enclosures or set ups. The router table currently has no place to put router bits, and other pieces. They currently sit on the table it self. Also we have some perforated aluminum that was donated and would be great for a down draft table.

Solution: $250 will cover the cost to make the down draft table and the router table enclosure. These will be group builds for space members and will also be a learning experience.


Relevance to tax exempt status Expand knowledge of the members and work together to solve some issues while improving the space.

Tables for laptops in the Lecture Hall (Gus Reiter)

Problem: It has come to my attention that people tend to bring laptops to the Lecture Hall, and that people also tend to bring in tables in to put their laptops on.

Solution: Let's consider purchasing several folding training tables:

matrix students total (with shipping)
3x3 18 597.15
3x4 24 779.57
4x4: 32 1022.37

Relevance to our tax exempt purpose: Providing additional tables for classroom usage directly benefits our ability to educate the public, as it increases the usability of our classrooms.

Welding Supplies / AirGas Change (Ed Kim)

Problem: Our current spending on Oxygen and acetylene is currently at $56.11/ mo for the 3 tanks. It has been decided that the DMS does not wish to take charge in these gases at this point in time.

Solution: If we turn these three tanks in and replace them with the 100% argon as requested, our spending will come out to $58.03, increasing our bill by $1.92/mo

In addition, it has been requested that we obtain quality regulators to reduce the chances of a mistakes or accidents, Airgas quoted me $110 per regulator. It includes the regulator and a 10 ft hose per kit.

In addition, there is a $9.42 hazmat handling charge which i believe is also delivery and pickup. However, it was unable to be determined if it is a one time charge for pickup and delivery or if it is charged twice.

Overall sum comes out to $238.84 for the 2 regulators and hazmat transportation (in the case of the hazmat being charged for pickup and delivery).

Allocate $750 John Webb donation to auto committee

Old Business

Minutes

Dallas Makerspace Board of Directors Meeting notes : November 16th, 2014

In attendance:
- Andrew Falgout
- Benjamin Groves
- Andrew LeCody
- Pearce Dunlap
- Robert Davidson

Meeting called to order at 4:13pm


*** Prior Minutes ***
Prior minutes pass


*** Officer / Committee Reports ***
Committee News:
- Financial ToDo - Discussion with Paul Brown about migration of Treasurer duties after board meeting
- Ops ToDo - Contact landlord about drainage backups, can be a major problem if pipes freeze
- Ops ToDo - Compose a sign for paying into the snack fund (as funds are depleting)


*** Consent Agenda ***
Passed by unianimous consent:
- Appoint Lisa Selk As Procurement Officer (Paul Brown)
- Notice of Resignation As Treasurer (Paul Brown)


*** NEW BUSINESS ***
Make modifications to lighting (Steve Adams)
- Item Dropped
- Unanimous Agreement by the Board

2 Post Lift for Auto (Brandon Green)
- Pass as written
- Proposed by Andrew LeCody, Seconded by Andrew Falgout
  - Passed by unanimous vote from the board

Funding for DMS's 240sx race car (Auto)
- "Lemons Car" will be back at the space, starting in December
  - Automotive Committee will allow this project as a second car in the Automotive Area
- Allocate $500 in funding for this month for Automotive for the purpose of working on the Lemons Car
  - Expecting future requests for funding
- Proposed by Andrew LeCody, Seconded by Benjamin Groves
  - Passed by unanimous vote from the board

Lease Parts Washer (Bryan Gangwere)
- Holding on topic till next month
  - Unanimous Agreement by the Board

Replenish DMS Tshirts (Pearce Dunlap)
- Proposed as written by Pearce Dunlap, Seconded by Robert Davidson
  - Passed by unanimous vote from the board

Allocate A Rolling budget for Workshop (Alex Rhodes)
- Propose recurring monthly allocation of $300 for Workshop upkeep
- Proposed as written by Robert Davidson, Seconded by Andrew Falgout
  - Passed with 4 votes for, one against

Rules Violation
- ToDo : Offline conversation to clarify or adjust the Dallas Makerspace rules involving minors
- Resolution of this conflict is asking of Alyssa to be vigilant in the minding of Tommy
- Considering issue resolved
  - Unanimous Agreement by the Board

Approve Purchase of Ikea table top for workshop (Alex Rhodes)
- Proposed as written by Robert Davidson, Seconded by Pearce Dunlap
  - Passed by unanimous vote from the board

Funds for Group projects and space improvements (Alex Rhodes)
- Tabled
  - Unanimous Agreement by the Board

Tables for laptops in the Lecture Hall (Gus Reiter)
- Purchase denied, advise Classroom Comittee to purchase with their existing funds
- Tabled
  - Unanimous Agreement by the Board

Welding Supplies / AirGas Change (Ed Kim)
- Authorize General Fund spending of up to $150 monthly to AirGas for welding gas
- Authorize purchase of two regulators
- Proposed as written by Andrew LeCody, Seconded by Robert Davidson
  - Passed by unanimous vote from the board

Allocate $750 funds from General Funds to Automotive Committee (Brandon Green)
- Proposed as written by Robert Davidson, Seconded by Andrew LeCody
  - Passed with 3 votes, 2 abstained


*** PULLED COMMITTEE ITEMS ***
Replace broken electronics equipment (Daniel Jackson)
- Authorize $400 to Electronics Committee for purchase of replacement and upgraded equipment
- Proposed as written by Robert Davidson, Seconded by Benjamin Groves (OH SNAP!)
  - Passed by unanimous vote from the board

Add 2 cameras to electronics room (Daniel Jackson)
- We will work with existing cameras
- Tabled
  - Unanimous Agreement by the Board

Post a set of core rules for the Dallas Makerspace (Benjamin Groves)
- The concept of the DMS House Rules will go forward and be published in lobby upon board agreement
- There are suggestions of edits the signage text
  - Members who wish to offer criticisms please submit suggestion to [email protected]
- Tabled
  - Unanimous Agreement by the Board

Purchase Two New 3D Printers from PolyPrinter (Lisa Selk)
- Authorize 3D Fabrication $2400 for the purchase of a PP229 PolyPrinter
- Proposed by Robert Davidson, Seconded by Benjamin Groves
  - Passed with 3 votes, 1 against, 1 abstained


Next Board Meeting Scheduled on December 14th at 4:00pm

Meeting adjourned at 7:00pm
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