EMSBo DMeeting Minutes021617 Copy

EMS
Board of Directors
Meeting Minutes
Meeting date: 01/19/2017

Call to order:

A Regular meeting of the Board of directors of EMS, was held at 687 Mc Kinley Street, Suite #2; Eugene OR on January 19th, 2017. The meeting convened at 5:57 PM, Clif Cox presiding and Tanda Linde secretary.

Board Members in attendance: Clif, Tanda, Ben, Dean, Jher

Board Members not in attendance: None Quorum present? Yes.

Also Present Were: Kevin at 6:04 pm

<a name="Approve_agenda_44_and_previous_minutes."></a> Approve agenda, and previous minutes.

Agenda:

Call to order
Approve the agenda
Review previous meeting minutes
Officers Reports
1. Champion's (President) Report
2. Treasurer's Report
3. Secretary's Report
Minor Waiver
Discussion on several ways to contact us that are not monitored
Discussion on reasons why people don't come back
Policy on accepting donations
Spring open house
Survey Results
Decision on potential move.
Action Items
Adjournment

Approval of Agenda: Motion was made by Clif and seconded by Ben to approve this meeting's proposed agenda. The Motion carried with unanimous approval.

Approval of Minutes: Motion was made by Ben and seconded by Tanda to approve the minutes of the 1/5/17 meeting. The Motion carried with unanimous approval.

<a name="Officer_39s_reports:"></a> Officer's reports:

<a name="Champion (President)"></a>Champion (President)

Clif followed up with Diane about the upcoming space(s) availability. We are still first on the list for the corner location. She is waiting for Keys and then we can do a walk trough. She is still hopeful for the 23rd.

He has put in a word about the board wanting to do a tour of the Innovation District. They will let us know when the next one will be.

He has a list of some online accounts and their passwords. Expressed frustration at the fact that there are accounts out there with the EMS name and they are not being monitored. To be addressed later.

<a name="Treasurer"></a>Treasurer

Darrell submitted a partial treasurer's report to Clif. He reported that our finances and membership numbers are about the same as usual. As soon as Dean is on the signer list he will had it over to him.

(Part 2) Dean has compiled a list all equipment in the EMS space for the end of 2016. There are 46 pieces of equipment with no tags (considered EMS owned) and 5 with ownership tags.

<a name="Secretary"></a>Secretary

Report on Fix-It Cafes and partnership with the city. Talked to Stephanie Scafa at the City of Eugene Waste Prevention. She is really excited for us to potentially partner with them to host at least one of the Fix-It Cafes this next year. They plan on having 3-4 events Summer-Fall 2017. They are just finishing the initial investigation and are transitioning into creating a model and brand for these events. They will get in contact with us in two to three weeks to schedule a walk through.

Other Officers Reports: Clif reminded the group that there are still two unfilled volunteer positions. Marketing Director and Resource Manager.

<a name="Minor Waiver"></a>Minor Waiver

Clif explains that we currently do not have a copy of the minor release waiver. We have had several parents that would like to have their children use the space. Clif had asked Tanda to search the records. Tanda reported that the minutes showed Rick was the last one to have a copy. Tanda asked Rick if he still had a copy of the minor waiver. He sent the last version he had. Thank you Rick! Clif will look into having that available for those who need it.

Dean suggested looking at the one the Science Factory uses and mimic it. The group discussed other groups with minor waivers.

ACTION ITEM: Clif will get a hold of Nick Spicer at the Science Factory to get a copy of their waiver. Tanda to send Clif a copy of existing Minor Waiver.

Off topic: Grants in the list Dean sent were primarily towards youth activities. Dean asked for other keywords to enter into the search engine. Different words were suggested. Dean will keep searching.

Off topic: Jher made a note that "Maker Space" usually comes up as one word "Makerspace" and for best practices it would be wise to use it to keep with the current nomenclature. Clif expressed concern of changing it in all the governing documents. Jher explained it would only be in the PR side of the group. This would include things like the website, social media, events, etc. Jher explained the new branding logo design. Tree is Eugene, Gear is Maker, and the Cube is Space.

ACTION ITEM: Clif is going to create Word Press account for Jher. Jher is going to update the website.

<a name="Discussion on several ways to contact us that are not monitored"></a> Discussion on several ways to contact us that are not monitored

Clif would like to create a list of all the ways that people can contact us. There are contacts that are not being monitored (like the Google+ phone number).

ACTION ITEM: (Group effort) To create a master list of all the different ways to contact Eugene Makerspace. (Including but not limited to: website, google+, facebook, twitter, email, etc)

Ben suggested that we set each up to point to other ways to contact us. For example have the Google+ Phone tell people that we are not in the space very often, to leave a message and to reach us quicker try this email or finding us on facebook, etc.

Clif expressed concern about us having all these accounts that aren't monitored and missing out on members and possible donations.

Ben moves that we table the discussion on what accounts we have and where are they and how do we monitor them to another meeting once the information has been gathered. Tanda seconded. Passed with unanimous approval.

<a name=" Discussion on reasons why people don't come back"></a> Discussion on reasons why people don't come back

Clif said he has heard many reasons why people do not come back. It's dark, Closed, Cramped. He tries to respond to visitors as welcoming.

Dean has also heard the same reasons. People want to feel secure. Also need to have a good 1st impression. Designated greater at Open Hack.

Tanda expressed having a designated person to be there to open up and do "tours" at Open Hack.

Jher suggested maybe an intern to do the point person at Open Hack.

Suggested to post any further discussion on the board list and to be proactive in seeking ways to counter these impressions.

<a name="Policy on accepting donations"></a> Policy on accepting donations

Clif explains the current process as being organic. We hear through the grape-vine that certain machines like the laser cutter are good machines for a makerspace to have because the get alot of use and others like the vacumm former don't get as much use but are unique and cool to have. There is the question of rotating tooling out of the shop when it is not getting as much use. Should we have a poll for accepting stuff. Probably, but sometimes there is a time element. We are part of a makerspace collective with two other spaces. So why not accept equipment and loan it to one of these other spaces that have more room and people to use it.

Dean would like to see a little placard on this machine belongs to _ and is on loan. This is how you use it. Etc. Then people aren't standing there going "What is it? How do I use it?"

Tanda Suggested having a short intro video on a youtube channel with links in an on-site accessed wiki on each machine.

Dean had to depart and said he's all for an open house after we move next door. That he's on board to move and super excited. He knows a number of families that want to bring their kids to workshops and they can't at the campus space. He feels that reaching out to this group is important. A family night. -Dean left at 6:45p

Jher asked if we had a Patreon(.com) account? It is a place that artists and groups can accept donations. People just give money for no reason.

ACTION ITEM: Ben will investigate the details of getting one set up and will report back.

Ben also suggested that we hold off on accepting large donations until we are settled into the new location for a while.

Jher was in agreement. It is better to set up the new space to have more use-within-use than to have a bunch of tools that are crowded and hard to use. We should come up with a map or layout that describes the space.

Clif voiced that it is hard to tell people "can you hold off on donating that today, but we might want it in the future?" so he accepted a donation and has loaned it to the art barn because Tanda didn't want it. Ben butted in and told him that was highly antagonistic. Jher stated that he would like to see us be as professional as possible and to act like an executive board. Clif tried to rephrase and Jher stopped him. This is not how the board should act. Everyone should have equal say and not be over ridden by someone else or be antagonistic towards others. We are here to work together for the good of the group.

Communication via email should be concise and to the point. If possible truncate the message to include the last reply not the whole thread. It is better to have one longer email than 10 short one liners. Maybe we need to have two lists one of board chatter and one for action items.

Clif went back to donations and stuff going to the Art Barn because we don't have space.

Tanda voiced that there seems to be a "split" in stuff going out to the art barn. There isn't a lot of say in what is being accepted and then stored offsite. It isn't a good community relation to accept a donation and then not use it or store it here, instead it is at a location called an Art Barn where not a lot of people know about it and cant get to it.

Ben asks if there is a way to get a flyer about them and get the word out about others spaces in the community.

Jher brought up the point of tax issues on donations.

<a name="Spring Open House"></a> Spring Open House

Clif wanted to discuss the idea of planting the seed of and Open House shortly after we get set up in the possible new space. Usually takes 6 weeks to get organized. There was consensus to wait and bring up in the near future.

<a name="Survey Results"></a> Survey Results

Tanda explained the survey results found in the discuss list here They were overwhelmingly favorable. Discussed the voices of dissent and points were valid.

<a name="Decision on potential move"></a> Decision on potential move

Ben made the motion and Tanda seconded to authorize Clif to sign the lease after a walk through w/ a consensus from the board. Passed with unanimous approval.

<a name="Action_Items:"></a> Action Items:

Clif:

Get a hold of Nick Spicer at the Science Factory to get a copy of their waiver.
Continue contact with Landlord, Diane on walk through timeline and availability of Corner Space.
To create Word Press account for Jher
Set up another walk through of Innovation District for new Board Members.

Tanda:

Stay in contact City of Eugene on the Fix-It program.
Send Clif a copy of existing Minor Waiver.

Dean:

Darrell and Dean work on equipment ownership list.
Investigate Grant possibilities.

Ben:

Investigate the details of getting one set up and will report back.

Jher:

Work on updating the website.

Group:

(Group effort) To create a master list of all the different ways to contact Eugene Makerspace. (Including but not limited to: website, google+, facebook, twitter, email, etc)

<a name="Adjournment:"></a> Adjournment:

Clif moved for adjournment and was seconded by _. The vote was unanimous and the meeting was adjourned at 7:30 PM.

____________________________ _______________ Secretary Date of approval Eugene Maker Space