Board of Directors Meeting 20170929

This meeting will be held in Modified SRC3 format.

Time, location

20170929 19:00 Dallas Makerspace Interactive Classroom

YouTube Link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A17pSQWiRLY

Prior minutes

https://dallasmakerspace.org/wiki/Board_of_Directors_Meeting_20170825#Minutes

Financial Statement

Balances as of 09/29/2017 4:00pm

Checking        $330,682.04
Savings         $ 79,540.32
Total           $410,222.36

Proposed Spending

4.1  $2,600 Replace Ceiling Tiles in Common Room (Stan Simmons)
4.2  $1,400 Replace Light Bulbs in Committee Areas and Workshop (Luke Strickland)
5.1  $2,672 Funding for the November LeMons Race (Chuck Graf)
5.4  $1,200 Funding the Purchase of a Annealing Machine for Hatcher's (Nick Sainz and Hatcher's Committee)
5.5  $6,000 Replacement Automotive Tool Cabinet
5.6  $3,500 Replacement Automotive Parts Washer (TLAR)
5.7  $1,200 Allocate funds to perform estimates needed to complete feasibility study (Brian Davis)
5.8  $  300 Authorize Scholarship for worthy Maker (Brian Davis)
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$18,872 Total

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Committee Balances
Committee	Balance	Notes
3D Fabrication	$9,651.67
Auto	$4,486.22
Auto Sports	$2,462.28	Trailer ($4,900) & Tires ($350)
Blacksmithing	$7,931.39
Classroom	$1,929.12
Competitive Robotics	$1,000.00
Creative Arts	$15,885.18
Digital Media	$850.50
Electronics	$1,043.81
Finance	$4,060.08
Fired Arts	$2,006.51
Hatchers	$ -111.08
Infrastructure	$31,402.70
Jewelry	$3,012.60
Laser	$-6,960.85	Moar Lazars! 2X @ $14,800 ea. - this is incorrect. It was one charge of $14,800 total for both lasers and shipping. Please correct the error and our committee balance. MGreen
Logistics	$-20,452.29	Chairs, chairs, chairs!
Machine Shop	$7,222.80
Metal Shop	$12,330.40
Public Relations	$9,343.63
Radio Control	$513.74
Science	$512.38
Vector	$48.63
Vintage Computer	$210.32
Wood Shop	$4,080.31
TOTAL	$92,737.52

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 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 Ceiling Tiles in Common Room (Stan Simmons)

Problem: The Common Room ceiling tiles are looking shabby. Some have been replaced and the look is very inconsistent and visitors often comment on it, and other ceiling areas, looking bad. There are several areas in the Common Room where the ceiling tiles look like they have warped and are about to fall out of the grid.

Solution: Replace the Common Room ceiling tiles. The room is roughly 24 x 40 ft, or 960 sq ft. This will take 120 panels, roughly $600 from Home Depot, delivered. The best tiles that are removed could be put in place of the worst tiles in other areas (water damaged areas in the shops for example).

Allocate funds to Logistics in the amount of $600 to purchase tiles, and up to $2000 (waiting on bids, expecting $1,500-2,000) for installation of tiles.

Relevance: Improving the habitability of the common room, and other areas is important for the continuing operation of the space.

Replace Light Bulbs in Committee Areas and Workshop (Luke Strickland)

Problem: All committee areas are lacking in sufficient working light, of the light fixtures we have 116 of those are dim and 35 are completely unlit. The annual Open House is coming up and DMS should be well lit for safety and appearance.

Solution: Order 160 T8 LED 5000K bulbs from a seller. Hire an outside electrician to install LED Direct Wire Bulbs in 40 unlit fixtures. (Bids have come in at $900-$1200).

Allocate funds to Logistics in the amount of $1,400 to purchase the LED replacement bulbs, and up to $1,200 for an electrician to do the installation.

Relevance: Improving the safety and appearance of DMS.

Luke Strickland - New Chair Logistics (Stan Simmons)

Problem: Current Chair, Dan Gallagher, would like to step down from this role.

Solution: Luke Strickland was elected by unanimous vote as replacement chair by Logistics Committee during the September 20th Logistics Meeting.

Relevance: Committee needs to have a Chair per DMS rules.

Luke Strickland - Issued a Procurement card for Logistics (Dan Gallagher)

Problem: Pending Board approval of Luke Strickland as the new Logistics chair, he will need to be issued a procurement card to purchase materials relevant to Logistics responsibilities.

Solution: Board approval of Luke Strickland as Logistics Chairperson and approval of procurement card.

Relevance: Committee Chairperson needs to be able to make necessary purchases.

Disallow any sleeping at the space (Alex Rhodes)

Problem: People are having "extended naps" at the space.

Solution: Create a rule that there should be absolutely no sleeping at the space. Anyone sleeping at the space can be woken up and asked to leave. It is up the the member to plan their time accordingly.

New Science Committee Chair (Ashley Newland)

Problem: Science Committee currently doesn't have a chair.
Solution: Science Committee elected Brian Terry to take over the remainder of my term. Make Brian Terry chair.
Relevance: Science Committee needs a chairperson to be a whole, happy committee.

New Business

Funding for the November LeMons Race (Chuck Graf)

Problem: Presently we are preparing for the LeMons Race in November, and need some funds to cover costs.

Solution: Costs for the November Race at MSR in Houston are outlined below.

LeMons Fees:

1. Team Registration (LeMons Fee) $600
2. Drivers Fees (Not the LeMons Membership Fee) $875
3. Crew (One crew mwmber) $75
4. Camping Fee (For the Track) $50
5. Rent Transponder (Required for race officials to track the car) $50
6. Friday Practice (Fee for the Track to practice on Friday) $150

Additional Costs:

1. Race fuel $120
2. Fuel for the Tow Vehicle $250
3. Harness (almost out of date, plus fits the HANS device) $200
4. Roll Cage – Added Hoop (Safety issue) $150
5. Brake pads + fluid (Additional set, plus fluid change) $152

Total Request $2,672

Relevance: This is a promotional event for the Space, and an oppportunity for some press coverage.

Potential Creation of a "Party Planning Committee" - sub committee of PR (Nicole Franczvai)

Problem: Not so much a problem but an opportunity to further create opportunities for culture building at DMS. If approved, this would be the formation of a sub-committee to help grow the culture of Dallas Makerspace and to the Members as a whole. While I really do like the title of "The Fluffers" for this group I don't believe it really a good reflection of who we are sadly, I'm scrapping that name and currently I haven't figured out something cute. So we need to ask ourselves "What the culture of DMS really boils down to" and "what can we need to promote to new members while furthering the "brand" of DMS". This is an interesting little puzzle to put together and I want to give it a shot. Actually, I want to form a team to give it a shot. I want everyone to know I might have some fumbles along the way but all in all I think it will be a benefit of the space to have something like this in place.

Solution: To form a new committee seems odd to be honest as this is something of just ideas and no true materials - so I think it best to reside under the world of a PR sub-committee. Adam Oas has already said he's ok with it (takes some weight off the PR chair) but I know he's not thinking of running again and Steve is going to pledge his name for Chair (probably with some others). This committee would attempt to manage or at least create order to some of the following events: Member Swap Days (2X a year - next one will be October 14th 6-8p), Monthly new member meet and greets (this will be combined with pot lucks), potlucks, annual picnic and whatever else seems relevant to the cause of bringing DMS members together to help build bonds. First goals would be to identify the needs of new members and think about how we can realistically tackle them. I would like to ask for a $50 a month fund be placed into PR specifically for use at social functions, pot lucks (paper products, plastic wear, table cloths), small snacks for the new member meetings (budget of $2-5 per new member and chairs attending - coffee and cake possibly), cotton candy supplies for events, possibly printing of a yearly social calendar, eventually a popcorn machine, and greet and for some of the potential larger needs of the annual picnic.

Proposed Schedule (currently in my head)- DMS Member Swap Meets - 2X a year (October-ish and June-ish) Pot Lucks - hopefully monthly if not every 5ish weeks New Member meetings - I would like to pair this with the pot lucks before the pot lucks so the new members meet people at the end of the meeting Picnic - 1X a year Cotton Candy - hopefully at weekly tours (but we need a team)

What I would like to do long term- DMS Detroit Soup inspired Shark tank inspired dinner Popcorn Meetings/tours of other makerspaces/makerfaires

Relevance: This will take some of the weight off of PR's shoulders and allow for concentration of efforts to go to already existing members and even if it fails miserably it will be fun trying to build something - right?

Issue with Allowing Alex Rhodes to take lead on updates to Calendar System (Walter Anderson)

Problem:

In the prior Board Minutes it was noted that Alex Rhodes is taking the lead in seeking information/developer(s) to perform updates on our Calendar System software. There are multiple problems with this scenario.
1. Alex has a personal relationship with the prior developer, and could easily, without trace, influence the bidding/proposal process to skew results for/against any of the possible candidates
2. During the last Board approved line item for this Alex failed to produce any of the standard contract papers, including the most important; specifications for the contract.
3. This role more properly belongs to either the Infrastructure Chair or to the Classroom Chair, not to a Board Member.
4. Prior to obtaining/selecting developers, the actual specifications of what we want ought to be developed first. This would include potential rule changes that would impact the software, prioritization of the numerous bugs and issues for the software, any user interface changes, etc. This would be normal business practice, rather then determining a budget and then seeing 'what you can get'... Particularly since said budget mentioned by Alex is likely influenced by his friend, the potential contractor, since Alex does not appear to have any personal experience in this area. The budget should be determined, internally, by the many subject experts we have in house.

Solution:

1. Choose one of the two chairs; Infrastructure or Classroom, to take lead on this issue.
2. Utilize internal experts (ie, Raymond, Denzuko, Bill, Stan, etc...) to produce a proposed specifications document, and estimated budget
3. Only after #2 is completed do we seek Requests for Proposals or Bids to complete the work

Relevance:

Should be obvious, but hear are a few:
Alex's involvement is a violation of ours (and the State's) conflict by law. Given that 'cooking the books' with bids is so easy and determining if it was done is so hard, the conflict issue appears insurmountable.
Following proper industry procedures, you determine the specifications, then the budget, then select the contractors, not the other way around.

Funding the Purchase of a Annealing Machine for Hatcher's (Nick Sainz and Hatcher's Committee)

Problem: Hatcher's would like the board to allocate $1200 for the purchase of an "Annealing Made Perfect" Induction Annealing Machine. The Machine: https://www.creedmoorsports.com/product/3554/case-preparation Video on use: https://youtu.be/Zu9rva9uG6Y

Solution: Allocate $1200 to Hatcher's for the purchase of an "Annealing Made Perfect" Induction Annealing Machine.

Explanation: Hatcher's would like to add Neck Annealing of brass to the reloading offering of the Committee. We as a committee feel this will increase utilization of our space, broaden our appeal to advanced reloader, and increase our opportunities to teach more advanced reloading classes.

So what is neck Annealing for the uninitiated? Neck Annealing is the process of heating the brass in the neck of a cartridge to the point that the brass softens and can be sized or shaped without being brittle and breaking or tearing.

Why Anneal just the neck, can't we get a cheap oven and anneal the whole casing? With ammunition, the different parts of the brass case need to be at different levels of hardness, the base of the brass is work hardened to aid in cycling through the firearm and also maintaining it's shape when fired, while the neck of the case is kept soft to allow it to expand and seal the case to the chamber when fired. This variable hardness works together keeping the firearm from malfunctioning or having the cartridge blow up under pressure.

Why is annealing important in reloading? In reloading we are recycling used brass casings. In the process of firing, sizing brass and reloading brass, the neck and shoulder of the brass are expanded and compressed work hardening them over time. Work hardened brass casings don't form to our molds consistently, meaning that it may be out of tolerance when reloaded causing inaccuracy or malfunction. Also, work hardened brass casings can become brittle causing tears or breaks in the neck of the brass making them unusable. This typically happens after a case has been reloaded 4 to 6 times, where annealed brass can last up to 10 times longer. When you are working with brass that cost you $2 per case, that extended life is amazing in bringing down your cost massively.

How does this help utilization of space in the committee area? The annealing made perfect machine is a self contained and compact unit. The machine is simple and safe to use in our confined committee space and easily fits into our current storage. Other systems like the Giraud induction annealing machine require multiple units and are shaped in a way that they do not easily fit in our current storage solutions.

Are there cheaper and better ways to anneal the necks of brass casings? There are cheaper ways but not better. The most common technique is to use a pan of water and set the brass in it with the water line at the shoulder of the brass. Then turn off the lights and use a gas torch to heat just the necks of the brass case to a dull red. At this point, knock the case over into the water stopping the annealing. We don't have access to water in the shop and the idea of members working with a torch in the dark in a confined room seems pretty unsafe. Plus, the product of this method tends to be inconsistent, often times wasting the effort of doing so. The Annealing Machine would allow us to do this consistently without the need for open flame in a confined area or additional storage of flammable gasses.

How does this broaden our appeal to advanced reloaders? Advanced reloaders already have reloading presses, dies, tumbler, ect. But, they don't tend to have an annealing machine, because of the cost involved in purchasing a machine like we are requesting tend to be higher than an individual reloader can pay for one process. Also, annealing your own cases is a process that many advanced reloaders already do, but they use the inconsistent and difficult way described above with the water bath. As you should anneal competition and high accuracy brass every time you reload, having this capability at DMS means that these advanced reloaders can complete the process of annealing brass in a fraction of the time of the water bath method with more accurate and repeatable results. This may be one of the only consistent draws to Hatcher's for advanced reloaders, as they already own the other tools we offer. Attracting this crowd would add them to the pool of people we attract to DMS and would allow Hatcher's a more capable pool of member to turn towards teaching the skills and techniques used in the committee.

How does the Annealing Machine increase teaching opportunities for Hatcher's? Firstly annealing brass allows the Hatcher's committee the ability to manufacture 300 Blackout brass from the 223 casings we have in abundance of in our committee area. The 300 Blackout Cartridge is a very popular cartridge among AR15 owners, a large group within our current DMS membership. Thurman one of our most active committee members and accomplished 300 Blackout reloader, has already signed on to teach reloading and manufactore of 300 Blackout if we get the annealing machine as it is require in the conversion of the 223 cartridge. Second, the annealing machine increases our reload offering to include precision bottle neck rifle cartridge reloading, like 308, 300 winmag, 6.5BR ect. This style of brass goes through much more sizing than a standard strait walled pistol cartridges work hardening quicker. The annealing process is required to extend the life of this brass and to assure consistent bullet seating tension which effects accuracy of the ammunition.

In conclusion, thank you board for considering our proposal for the annealing machine for Hatcher's. We appreciate your support and are working hard on increasing the committee's offering to the DMS and it's Membership. To update you where we are going, Axel is working on a full pistol reloading curriculum that we hope to turn into a staple of the DMS and will be investing into tools for with the committee funds we are trying to save from honorarium. His first class under this curriculum was held on the 17th and was a great success. We are also working on a curriculum for Bullet casting with our first classes coming this fall, once the weather get a bit cooler. We are actively looking for opportunities outside of DMS to allow members a chance to safely learn gun handling and use, an example of this is the private trips to the gun range that Russel has personally sponsored and run at no cost to DMS. We hope to work this to a point were we can do a committee run shooting event open to much of the DMS. So again, thanks for your continued support of Hatcher's.

Replacement Automotive Tool Cabinet (TLAR)

Problem: The old automotive toolbox is too small, the top drawer is broken (again) and it is too flimsy for the weight of tools that are already in it.

Solution: Replace the toolbox with a larger, commercial grade, heavy duty toolbox with room for expansion and a lifetime warranty. The tool cabinet of choice is: http://www.strictlytoolboxes.com/all-toolbox/all-toolboxes-by-size/all-72-inch-toolboxes/tool-vault-elite-72-tool-cabinet-tool-chest-side-cabinet.html which is $5,745.00. This is the least expensive of three commercial quality tool cabinets.

Other comparable tool cabinets are:

https://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/6228RP-BBG/6S-2BAY-28-TOOLBOX-OUTLAW-GRN/ $10,375.95

https://store.snapon.com/KMP1163-Series-Master-Roll-Cab-72-Masters-Roll-Cab-with-PowerDrawer-and-2-Drawer-Divider-nbsp-Red-P910355.aspx https://store.snapon.com/KRL1018-Series-Docker-Lockers-Docker-Locker-trade-Cart-Storage-Extreme-Green-P645715.aspx https://store.snapon.com/KRL1201-Series-Top-Chests-Top-Chest-Double-Bank-10-Drawers-Extreme-Green-P645658.aspx Total $22590.00

Allocate $6,000 to Automotive to purchase the strictlytoolboxes.com tool cabinet.

Relevance: The broken drawer is dangerous and the new cabinet will last indefinitely.

Replacement Automotive Parts Washer (TLAR)

Problem: The old parts washer is a lease item costing us $350/mo or $10,850 since we started using it in Feb 2015.

Solution: Purchase a better parts washer and service it ourselves. O'Reilly's sells a 50 gallon aqueous commercial parts washer for $3445.99.

Other comparable parts washers are from Northern Tool #SM9600 $9399.99, KleenTech #SM9600SS $11,531.25 and Cuda Parts #2530 $10,880.00

Allocate $3,500 to Automotive to purchase the O'Reilly parts washer. Purchasing this parts washer will pay for itself in 10 months of reduced lease payments.

Relevance: 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 to be completed with a minimum of mess.

Allocate funds to perform estimates needed to complete feasibility study (Brian Davis)

Problem:DMS was approached with a potential opportunity to expand our operations to a second campus in Garland TX. In order to evaluate this, it is necessary to perform an abbreviated study to determine whether the discussed options are even feasible for DMS. The total cost for these estimates and studies is approximately $1200

Solution: Allocate an amount not to exceed $1300 to cover estimate costs.

Authorize Scholarship for worthy Maker (Brian Davis)

Problem:Chandra Washington, long time maker, and busy instructor in the Woodshop, has had to cancel her membership while she searches for career employment, since the limited time available to her doesn't justify membership expenditure.

Solution:Create a six month scholarship, so that Chandra may continue to access DMS when her schedule permits, in recognition of her contributions to our group.

Watch your PORN at home (Walter Anderson)

Problem: Computer cache records, and occasionally walking in on offenders using our computers to Browse porn. Specifically, the computer in Electronics, and the computers in Digital Media, and given the privacy affording I am guessing the CA annex as well. These sites are notorious for infecting computers with viruses, and presumably the biological materials that may be left behind are potential biohazards.

Solution: Empower Infrastructure to monitor for such activity and provide punishment (suggest ban) to any offenders. Suffested language for rule making this an offense.

Rule: No member is allowed to use a DMS computer to browse any site that provides text or pictures of a sexual nature. Failure to follow this rule may result in forfeiture of your Active Directory account for a board determined time or possible ban from the space.

Minutes

Meeting called to order at 2017-09-29 19:13 by Kris Anderson

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IN ATTENDANCE
-Robert Davidson
-Brian Davis
-Kris Anderson
-David Kessinger
-Alex Rhodes

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PRIOR MINUTES
David motions to approve the minutes, Brian seconds.
Motion passes unanimously.

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FINANCE REPORT
Brian:  Interviewing various CPA firms.  Currently interviewing PureTax ($68k to fix the books, tax position, etc.)  Meeting with PSK this week, we have various problems and would like to give them the opportunity to propose a solution.  Also interviewing Salmon Smith and another one specializing in nonprofits.  Hopes to have proposals by the next meeting.  Trying to get proposals from companies that specialize in nonprofits.

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CONSENT AGENDA OVERVIEW

Replace Ceiling Tiles - pull alex
Replace light bulbs (pass, no obj)
New chair (pass)
Issue proc card (pass)
Ban sleeping - pull Kris
New Science committee chair (pass)

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CONSENT AGENDA DISCUSSION (PULLED)

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Replace Ceiling Tiles in Common Room (Stan Simmons) - pulled by Alex Rhodes
Alex:  Where is this covering?
Stan:  Just the Common Room
Alex:  Price seems high
Stan:  Pricing comes form online, labor cost is assumed.  Hoping actual quotes come in less.
Alex:  I would like to volunteer to help
David:  It’s $18/tile to put in.
Stan:  I will not be installing tiles.
Alex:  I will, schedule a day.
Kris:  We should decide between hiring someone or using volunteers.  Our volunteers are relied upon too much.
Brian:  I agree that the tiles need to be replaced.  Also agree with Alex that it’s expensive.  However, I think we can do this with volunteers, however if not successful, we can do it with a services organization.
Stan:  Won’t happen before open house without using a services company.
Brian:  I’ll do it this week.
Alex:  Me too.
Brian:  We should clean the light lenses, too.

Brian motions to allocate $1000 to Logistics for replacing ceiling tiles in the Common Room and to replace any yellowed lenses.
Alex seconded.
Unanimously approved.

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Disallow any sleeping at the space (Alex Rhodes) - Pulled by Kris Anderson

Alex:  This is a big problem, even in the common room.  People have even slept under cars.  People are skirting the current rule by saying they’re napping.
Kris:  I object to this because a medication I have gives me narcoleptic tendencies.  Also on medication to combat that.
Robert:  If you have narcoleptic tendencies, is it safe for you to be here?
Kris:  Not fair to say.  Would be OK with removing the chairs in the front rooms, but 
Corey Swartz:  Not uncommon for people pulling all-nighters to fall asleep at universities.  I have not seen anyone sleeping underneath my cars.
David:  People are actually SLEEPING at tables.  There’s a big difference between napping (15-20 minutes) and sleeping.  People undressing to sleep need to GO.
Alex:  We’ve had this rule for a while but it’s getting worse.  The last 3 times I’ve been here, someone’s been asleep in the front room’s chairs.
David:  Yep, that’s happened.
Tom Tansey:  Simple solution… I’m here very often.  Most chairs look like an ass sponge.  Get rid of the chairs!  This isn’t a place for people to bullshit.  No need for a rule
Nick Sainz:  Are we not enforcing the rules we already have?
Robert: Yes.
Nick:  You should enforce it.  There are cameras, can’t we enforce the CURRENT rule?
Robert:  Yes.
Kris:  You’re a member too, wake them up!  No one should call the BOD to have them come out and wake them up.  Communal enforcement is allowed!  Alex, you’ve been here 108 times so far this year.
Alex:  You’ve counted badges?
Kris:  Yes, I counted the entire Board of Directors.
Alex:  OK.
Kris:  If this is such a big deal, we need to have EVERYONE enforce it.
Brian:  If the chairs are a problem, get rid of them.  How do we enforce it a rule that says “naps are allowed” if everyone just says it’s allowed because they’re “napping.”
Brooks:  Why not just remove the current “nap” caveat from the rule, and just selectively enforce.  Rules lawyers will always exist.  Can’t avoid that.
Kris:  Yes.  We need to just get over the rule avoidance.
Brian:  No one wants to enforce because they’re the bad guy.
Nick:  Put a time limit.
Kris:  They’re not hurting anyone, who cares.
Brian:  Some people have circumstances, yes, but there’s a limit.  There’s no perfect limit.  One answer is to get rid of the chairs, another is that AS A COMMUNITY we need to enforce this better.
David:  LAYING DOWN IS SLEEPING.
Robert:  I’ve been researching UTA’s policy:  “Furniture, equipment, and facilities are to be used in an appropriate manner and as designed. Thus, public restrooms are not to be used as bathing facilities or for doing laundry; the Libraries are not to be used as a place to sleep. Aisles, walk spaces and stairwells are to remain freely passable at all times.”
Kris:  No problem with taking away the chairs and putting a table there.  But we need community-powered enforcement.
David:  Call the limit at 20 minutes.
Devin (CA chair):  The majority of our members are adults, ya?  (crowd:  yes)  Unless someone makes a specific complaint about someone, why can we not just police ourselves?
Brian:  We have to have a rule to enforce.
Ashley Newland:  I have a few comments.  I really think this is a problem that cannot be solved with another rule.  The best way is to just have EVERY MEMBER police this and talk to the person.  We should offer assistance (interpersonally) maybe to refer them to shelters or anything they need.
Dwight Spencer:  To add to what Ashley said, I see this as an opportunity for PR to get the word out to the membership that there are some members that need help and maybe the community can help them.
Steven Martin:  Get rid of the chairs.  Can we put a bench there instead?  It’s not big enough for people to sleep on but people can still sit there when waiting for a tour.
Kris:  Any other questions or comments?  Any motion?

David motions to “the chairs in the lobby be removed from the premises and to define napping as 20 minutes or less and that you are not laying down - that you are sitting in a chair in an upright position.”
Brian seconds.
Unanimously passes.

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NEW BUSINESS

Funding for the November LeMons Race (Chuck Graf)

Jay Johnson:  Chuck isn’t here but I can answer questions.
David:  He wanted to do this because they have the car and they need to get it ready in time for the upcoming season.
Jay:  Second week of November, we have an event in Houston.  We have done this for a few years.
Brian:  How many races do y’all plan on doing?
Jay:  As many as possible, as far as Alabama.  Not committed but would like to.  Two races in a year.
Kris:  I support this group, I like that we have helped put it together.  I just would like to see more PR.
Jay:  It has produced a number of membership signups.
Alex:  Why are y’all asking for driver fees and other “camping” fees?
Robert:  Agreed with the driver fee concern.  It feels like the driver should pay their own way.
Brian:  How many drivers?
Jay:  6 drivers.
David:  But they get a specific benefit from this…?
Jay:  Yes, but if we have no drivers, we can’t build the car.
Kris:  Counterintuitive to have spent money on this just to withhold funding for drivers.  We should give this our full support.  Only a few people here are capable of driving this.
Jay:  Yes!  There is a very high bar.
David:  Have we paid the driver fees in the past?
Kris:  I don’t know the history, but Brandon was very involved and he put a lot of his own money towards this, is my understanding.  Is the issue that all of a sudden DMS is having to pay this and it’s a sticker shock?
Jay:  We paid Brandon back recently.
Mike Kilbossa:  Pretty much everything came from the drivers’ pockets.  Early-on, Brandon requested some funding and was received, but beyond that, everything was paid by the drivers.
Kris:  We have funded and encouraged this to happen… why are we holding back???  We should go all the way with this.
Luke Strickland:  As part of understanding the fee… if you consider the Motor Sports Committee a promotional campaign, you should pay out.  Drivers also pay for hotel rooms and the gas to get down there.  Consider this fee for the bus drivers.  We still pay for our hotel rooms and all.
Kris:  Other comments?
David:  The car is an educational thing.  If we limit this then how is it educational?
Jay:  Chuck has kept an open door for the committee.  He has catered to the most requested things.  The race car is really just another tool at the Dallas Makerspace and that’s why we’re requesting funding.
Kris:  It’s important that we consider this to be an educational tool.  Even though I have no knowledge of cars, I have still been offered several opportunities for involvement.
Jay:  We’re open to anyone.  We also have a need for other supporting members for logistics and related things.
David:  We’re open to that.
Jay:  That is what we’re requesting.
Brett Cott (sp?):  I completely understand the concern, however I’ll drive either way.  I see this as a question of how much of a privilege is this to drive the car.  This is really a precedent-type question.
Brian:  I’m concerned that too much money is funnelled to too few people.  My question is how many classes were taught?
Jay:  Very few if any.  But the most recent interest has been to start that process.  I hope to start teaching soon.
Brian:  Any consideration to other types of racing?  Perhaps cheaper types?
Jay:  Only two of the six drivers have never raced before.
Brett:  We haven’t done much on the car except the last two weeks.  We spent our time elsewhere.
Kris:  I suggest having PR combined with the racing group for brainstorming.  We need to continue to support you, knowing that we’re taking baby steps.  However, we do need to see progress.  The more people we involve, the more education that happens.
David:  Please teach more classes.  You’ve taught ZERO.
Brian: Our mission is not to race, it’s to TEACH.

Kris motions to “approve as written with the understanding that more classes need to be taught.”
Brian seconds with amendment of “require that prior to the payment of fees, trailer to be covered in DMS logo, also two classes MUST be taught before the race.”
MOTION:  “Approve as written, with the requirements that the trailer be endorned with the DMS logo, and also have two classes before the day of the race.”
For:  Robert, Brian, Kris, David
Abstain:  Alex
Motion passes.

====
Potential Creation of a "Party Planning Committee" - sub committee of PR (Nicole Franczvai)

Nicole Franczvai:  This is kind of an experiment of culture and culture building.  I feel that this is needed.  Culture is important, any way that we can gather members at DMS to intermingle would benefit DMS.  A group of us would help with this.
Kris:  I don’t think this needs to come to the BOD.  This should go through PR before the BOD.
Brian:  $50/mo isn’t enough.
Robert:  $200/mo?

Brian motions “increase PR monthly allocation by $150 for the stated purposes”
Robert seconds.
Unanimously passes.

====
Issue with Allowing Alex Rhodes to take lead on updates to Calendar System (Walter Anderson)

Kris:  Is Walter here?  No?  Would anyone like to speak in his place?  I have a problem with you putting an agenda item on here and not showing up.
Alex:  Walter has a vendetta against me.
John Gorman:  The calendar system needs work but I think the Classroom Committee should handle this, not an independent thing of its own.
Stan Simmons:  I’d like to say that it should be under a committee and not under an independent person.  There were some decisions made that were made in a vacuum.  Some stuff needs to be hashed out before being submitted to a developer.
Dwight Spencer:  I can’t speak for this particular item, but I do have an upcoming meeting with Classroom and Infrastructure Committees to discuss development.
Alex:  Please include Finance.
Spencer:  Will do.
Brian:  Alex produced the project and had a successful result.  Why is this a big deal?  He has been a success story.  Speaking as someone that is results-oriented, I tend to think this is a project for someone that has experience, and that is Alex.
Kris:  Everyone has opinions.  Alex has a ton of experience with this.  He also knows who he can talk to and get good feedback.
Alex:  I will attend Dwight’s meeting for feedback.  I oppose rewriting it just to have it in Python.  I don’t have to be the lead on this, but I have worries that these are things that affect income to DMS, things that keep our lights on.  NOT to be taken lightly.
Dwight:  Open to non-Python.  Should be discussed in the meeting.
John Gorman:  I just want to see a system behind it with no loss of knowledge if someone disappears.
David:  One thing to be made clear:  Alex found a developer and was VERY transparent and abstained from voting about it.
Kris:  To the point, this doesn’t need to be at a BOD meeting.

Brian motions to table.
Kris seconds.
Alex abstains, all others in favor.

====
Funding the Purchase of a Annealing Machine for Hatcher's (Nick Sainz and Hatcher's Committee)

Alex:  How hot does it get and does it need venting?
Nick Sainz:  It’s an induction heater.  The kind of annealing that we want to do requires no external cooling.  If it hits a high temp, it shuts off as a safety mechanism.  Needs no ventilation.
Robert:  Training?
Nick:  It’s very simple to understand.  
Robert:  Is training required?
Nick:  We are trying not to require training.  We do not know yet.  We expect it to be simple enough that training will not be required.
Alex:  Yellow tool?
Nick:  Yes.
Brian:  I’m a reloader.  I do all the time.  But I’ve never used an annealer.  I just think this would reach very few people - very limited use-case.  However, I support what you’re doing.  I would prefer you sunk this investment into something that would reach more people.
Steven Martin:  We have discussed increasing the amount of classes in Hatchers.
Nick:  We can’t attract people that already have reloading equipment.  We need this to attract new people because this isn’t something they have at home.  This could help us attract teachers.  This tool has a very high draw to highly skilled reloaders.
Robert:  I’m in favor of this, but I also agree with Brian - I need to see more utilization.  But I understand the argument that it will attract newer people.
Brian:  To be clear - we support you, but we need more classes.

Kris proposes as written.
Alex seconds.
Unanimously approved.

====
Replacement Automotive Tool Cabinet (TLAR)

Tom Tansey:  We need a new toolbox.  We’ve repaired our current one ONCE, and it was made in a less-than-desirable-country.  We need an industrially made toolbox that is very heavy duty.
Alex:  Warranty?  Is it a dispatch tech or a ship-in?
Tom:  You ship the part in and they repair or replace.  But no one that I have seen has had any damage EXCEPT for in shipping which I will pay special attention to.
Luke Strickland:  The automotive toolbox is used more than the Logistics toolbox.  They have more tools than others and it’s all used extremely frequently.

David proposes as written.
Brian seconds.
Unanimously approved.

====
Short break called at 20:44 by Kris Anderson

====
Meeting called back to order at 21:04 by Kris Anderson

====
Replacement Automotive Parts Washer (TLAR)

Tom Tansey:  I would like this to be tabled.
Robert:  What is the status of the current one?
Tom:  We’ve been paying $300 for the current rental with no service.  I plan to discontinue this contract and purchase one.  However, with the feedback currently received, I would like to delay this to continue discussions.

Kris proposes this be tabled.
Brian seconds.
Unanimously tabled.

====
Allocate funds to perform estimates needed to complete feasibility study (Brian Davis)

Brian:  We had roof, fire, building, and HVAC, inspections done and it cost $1200 total (mostly for the roof inspection).  Due to the unique circumstances, we could not wait for the next BOD meeting.  At this time, I request that we allocate funds for this.
Devin:  To be clear, this is a retroactive expense approval?
Brian:  Yes.
Nick Sainz:  To be clear, a majority of the BOD members approved this at the time?
Brian:  Yes.
Kris:  We very much want to follow procedures.  I would like to say that we did NOT have any official meeting on this.  I have a problem with not following the process.
Steven Martin:  What was the $1200 for?
Brian:  For inspections, nothing more.
Alex:  The way this is different is because Robert personally guaranteed this expenditure.  If the board did not approve this, Robert would personally eat the cost.
Luke Strickland:  Why was this personally guaranteed but not the rent?
Brian:  Rent is already approved to be spent by DMS.
Alex:  There are city politics with this.  Nothing was signed.  Nothing is official.
John Gorman:  I fail to understand the urgency.
Alex:  People want to destroy that building to make it a skate park.  We needed to know if we wanted to fight that or not.
John:  This is all speculative and we’re spending money on it?
David:  You can’t even see if it’s feasible without spending money.
Kris:  This is a hot topic.  We need to discuss the approval of this expenditure, NOT the entire Garland location.  I also believe that the BOD members should not discuss behind other BOD members’ back.
Jayson Woods:  Is there a record of the special meeting for this?
Brian:  There wasn’t one…
Kris:  There was a Google Hangout between three BOD members and they left out the other two.

Brian proposes as written, with the addition that it is allocated to the Infrastructure committee.
Alex seconds.
Brian, Kris, Alex in favor.
Robert, David abstain.
Motion passes.

====
Authorize Scholarship for worthy Maker (Brian Davis)

Brian:  Chandra has been around for a long time and is a busy teacher and has taught many things.  She is currently trying to better her career and is currently unemployed.  Unfortunately she has quit DMS due to not being able to afford the dues.  I propose we let her back in the door for six months at our expense.
Nick Silver:  Please note that we do have the $35/mo rate available for her since she is unemployed.
Brian:  This should come from the general fund, not from maker fellowship.
John Gorman:  Chandra is a fantastic asset to the space and I support this.
Alex:  We should use the maker fellowship fund.  We can’t use the general funds.
Steven Martin:  Could we just waive the membership fee?
David:  That’s the same as allocating money.
Brooks:  I don’t think we can legally do this.  Private enurement.
Axeonos Robertson:  I as chairperson of 3Dfab authorize this.
Alex:  Same problem, no go.
Kris:  Hold a quick charity for the maker fellowship fund?
Ken Purcell:  I’m worried about setting a precedent that this is OK.
David:  I don’t know how much is in the maker fellowship fund.  I think we can afford $105 (3 months at starving hacker) out of the maker fellowship fund, though.
Robert:  We should recommend donations to the maker fellowship fund.  I’ll donate $50.  But there’s also a reason we have honorariums for $50.  One class taught is your dues for a month.
Ken:  I will cover a month.
Kris:  We need to figure out the logistics of this.

Kris motions “find out what is in the Maker Fellowship Fund, encourage donations, and award Chandra Washington 3 months of starving hacker membership”
Brian seconds.
Unanimously approved.

====
Watch your PORN at home (Walter Anderson)

David:  Yes, it has happened in Electronics.  This is such a small problem though.  It’s not worth the effort or even discussing.  Not that I’m pro-porn.  It’s just not a problem.
Dwight Spencer:  Infrastructure will be considering implementing a DNS blackhole for well-known porn sites to block them at the network level.  This will be a passive block and network traffic will still not be monitored.
Stan Simmons:  Infrastructure has no plan to do active monitoring.  It’s such a small problem that it needs to be handled at an “HR” level rather than an “IT” level.

Brian motions to table.
Robert seconds.
Unanimously tabled.

====
SAFETY ISSUES?  EMERGENCIES?

Steven Martin:  The back door is not latching again.
Stan:  Part is on order.
Kris:  Open house will be very busy.  We need to have volunteers to direct traffic to keep them out of the neighboring business’ spots.

====
Meeting ended by Kris Anderson at 21:45.

Next BOD meeting 2017-10-20 19:00.

Action Items

Status	Item Description	Responsible Party
[ X ]	Allocate $1,000 to Logistics for replacing ceiling tiles in the Common Room	Finance
[ X ]	Allocate $2,672 to Motorsports for Nov. Race MSR Houston	Finance
[ X ]	Increase PR monthly allocation by $150/month for Party Planning	Finance
[ X ]	Allocate $1,200 to Hatcher's for the purchase of an "Annealing Made Perfect" Induction Annealing Machine	Finance
[ X ]	Allocate $6,000 to Automotive to purchase the strictlytoolboxes.com tool cabinet	Finance
[ X ]	Allocate $1,200 to Infrastructure committee (To reimburse Robert Davidson??)	Finance
[ X ]	Authorize ($105) for Scholarship for worthy maker at Starving Hacker Rate	Finance

QBO Journal Entry: BOD20170929