Minutes:Board Meeting Minutes 20190108
Contents
Agenda for 01-08-2019
Chair: Vivian
Officer Reports
Treasurer
Member dues: | $6,690.00 |
net zone/SIG income: | $431.12 |
net class income: | $74.81 |
donations: | $708.69 |
Total income: | $7,904.62 |
Expenses: | $4,961.70 |
Net for December: | $5,543.68 |
Bank balance | $61,295.26 |
Emergency Fund | ($30,000.00) |
Net | $31,295.26 |
- Still timing issues with electricity bills making things look off.
- Next month, with our new lease, we'll be able to actually list our rent.
Question about buying a building.
- Mel: It's not an option currently with our finances.
- Mark: We expect to be ready for that in ~5 years.
Secretary
- Nothing to report. Anyone want to take these minutes for me?
President
- The UofM group is going to be coming in starting next week and Vivian will be working with on of the students during the day.
Senior Vice President
VP of Activities & Classes
- POTLOCK!!!!! February 23rd. We will be prepping both 1481-A and 1481-B for build-out and moving, pending a lease for 1481-B. Evan to coordinate.
- Liz was here over the holiday and was a whirlwind of class teaching. (Thank you, Liz!)
- New authorization process for the Craft Room for the new sewing/serger/embroidery machines with several new trainers. (Again, thank you, Liz, and also Jen and Greg.)
- Introduction to CNC class was held again and was less-well attended but still nothing but positive comments.
- CNC Zone will begin charging for authorization training to help cover costs. It is the longest, most involved authorization training in the space by far.
- Jan has some upcoming sewing classes. (Basic repair skills and a no-sew tutu class.)
VP of Membership-Onboarding
- Matt waiting on the new CRM, but is still
- Emily: What about the new member orientation slide deck?
- Matt: has looked at it but was planning to meet with Coogle to discuss it more.
VP of Membership-Member Advocate
Old Business
Action Item Review
Summary of Board List/Slack Discussions since last meeting
- Discussion of new leases for A side and B side. We signed the lease for side A.
- Roof leak - repaired by landlord
- Sean did a fire safety and compliance walkthrough
- Discussion of increasing dues
- Board meetings are open to members - please talk to us either personally or at meetings.
- Charlie: has anyone communicated with B. Nektar that some of the stuff they've dumped outside smells really bad?
- No one has, Charlie with send a quick email to Brad.
New Business
Harassment policy doesn't cover bullying
- Charlie: Several people have come to him regarding problems they've had and things the harassment policy is somewhat lacking. Not all bullying is harassment but all bullying is harassment.
Our harassment policy doesn't cover bullying. That is a large oversight.
- Change the name of the policy to "Harassment and Bullying Policy"
- Add after item 5: "i3Detroit does not tolerate bullying behaviors."
- Add after item 7: "Any Director, Officer, or Advocate accused of violating this policy shall lose any special access to records for the investigation they are the subject of."
- Add after item 10: "After issuance of any Warning, suspension, or ban the seretary shall notify the membership of the issuance of said warning, suspension or ban to the member."
- Charlie
- Mark: has an issue that bullying isn't defined in this wording.
- Charlie: it is a specific term.
- Jim: Suggests nonviolent communication workshops
- David: We have held those in the past.
- David: Can we possibly find other spaces that have a similar policy that's worded more clearly?
- Charlie: With bullying, you know it when you see it.
- Mel: Does not like that judgement standard because it's subjective and vulnerable to bias.
- Andy: Part of the problem is you can't tell someone else what should be offensive to them.
- Mark: suggests specific examples in the policy would help.
- Charlie: we currently have a definition of harassment but it is failing with people who feel bullied.
- Jody: Isn't the problem that people aren't willing to come forward with the current policy? Would adding this make them more comfortable.
- Charlie: I think so, because there are different levels of bullying and harassment, so I want our policy to say that any bullying is not OK.
- Jan: I know examples of being bullied from growing up, but I don't know what that would be here.
- Discussion of personal matters
- Discussion on whether the previous section should be removed or redacted
Redact the entire section and hand it off to the member advocates
Moved by Mark, Seconded by Paul?
2 Ayes / 3 Nays
Result: FAIL
Publish this section with the names of both parties redacted
Moved by Matt, Seconded by David
5 Ayes / 1 Nays
Result: PASS
Secretary: After much discussion post meeting, the board reversed that decision so the personal matters mentioned above have been omitted.
Member Dues Increase Proposal
Propose increasing member dues to $59/month.
- Jody: There's been discussion on increasing dues by various amounts, either over time or all at once, and we are thinking about bumping it up by increments of like $10/month when it seems appropriate.
- Our rent is increasing each year.
- Paul: The dues are in the bylaws so this needs to be approved by both the board and the members.
- Charlie: Did we discuss this at a past member meeting? Also we haven't signed the other lease yet? I would like to see how the $59 figure was decided on and what to expect in the future, if this would be yearly or more sporadic.
- Mel: Worked with Roger, and based on estimated inflation, estimated membership levels, and our rent levels, we expect this to work out for 5-8 years. Once our rent can be discussed publicly, we can more transparently share this information. There was an email that went out to the members list about this as well.
- Mark: As is, without raising dues, we'll just have enough money to keep the lights on and not do anything else.
- Jim: suggests a two tier system, make money from hosting workshops
- Jody: We have scholarships, and are discussing partial scholarships.
- Andy: At another space (Maker Works)... something about paying more than required as you can afford it.
- Nate: Thinks the dues increase and expansion authorization should be linked decisions if the dues increase is required to afford expansion.
- Jody: Without the increase, we can afford it.
- Paul proposes seconds: Amend the bylaws to increase the dues from $49 to $59.
- Suggestions on when this should take effect and when it should be approved by the membership.
- We can approve it now and then it can be approved or not by the membership.
Amend the bylaws to increase dues from $49 to $59 per month effective March 1.
Moved by Paul, Seconded by Mark
7 Ayes / 0 Nays
Result: PASS
Discuss 1481B
- Discussion of rentable plots in the short term. Suggestion of 5 foot by 10 foot plots for $100/month in the back corner of the building.
- Discussion of whether the space there is suitable, whether it has appropriate HVAC, should we have a professional inspect the space? Several members are journeyman/master electricians who can take a look at the electrical.
Move-In Timetable
Matt C: There has been some concern that the board is not communicating effectively enough with the membership about the expansion. I propose we create a set of weekly goals for the first month after the lease on the other side begins. This schedule will be shared with the membership as an easily digestible roadmap of what to expect throughout the process. An example is included below - the timing is just for demonstration, the tasks list contains things we should probably do.
EXAMPLE - Not the actual timetable
Completion Target | Task Description | Responsible Party |
---|---|---|
+1 week | Generate building floorplan with dimensions | TBD (you?) |
+1 week | Evaluation of new floor space for compliance with safety codes | TBD (Safety Committee?) |
+2 weeks | Routing of walkways, required space around doors etc. and identification of "space-reserved" areas (supply cabinets, server racks, non-reservable workspaces, temporary zones, etc.) | TBD (you?) |
+2 weeks | Division of remaining unallocated space into reservable workspaces, future zone plots, etc. | TBD (you?) |
+2 weeks | SAMPLE TASK | TBD (you?) |
+2 weeks (or so) | Potlock - Execute on to-dos identified in previous tasks | Everybody! (Potlock Czar?) |
+3 weeks (after Potlock) | Open reservations for members to select work space plots (with expectation that space can claim 'eminent domain' and turn their plot into a zone) | TBD (Storage Committee?) |
+3 weeks | SAMPLE TASK | TBD (you?) |
+1 month | Townhall for status update and general feedback | Everybody! |
Maker Faire Planning
More of an FYI - we are at the halfway point between Maker Faires and this year we are going to get started early! The first planning meeting is this Saturday at noon in the classroom. It was announced at the last member meeting but the mailing lists should probably be alerted as well.
COWBELL
Meeting Metrics
- Time completed: 9:56
- Funds appropriated: $0
- Attendees: 17
Action Item Summary
Action Item | POC |
---|---|
Come up with an expansion schedule to communicate to the membership | Matt C |
Proposal Summary
Proposal | Moved By | Seconded By | Aye | Nay | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amend the bylaws to increase dues from $49 to $59 per month effective March 1. | Paul | Mark | 7 | 0 | PASS |
Redact the entire section and hand it off to the member advocates | Mark | Paul? | 2 | 3 | FAIL |
Publish this section with the names of both parties redacted | Matt | David | 5 | 1 | PASS |
Attendance
- Mike F
- Vivian S
- Mark F
- Evan A
- Jan H
- David H
- Jody R
- Paul L
- Mel G
- Kevin F
- Jim B
- Emily L
- Charlie R
- Brandon B
- Andy
- Nate B
- John C
Previous Meeting | Next Meeting |
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Board Meeting Minutes 20181211 | Board Meeting Minutes 20190122 |