EMSBo DMeeting Minutes071515
EMS
Board of Directors
Meeting Minutes
Meeting date: 7/15/2015
Call to order:
A special meeting of the Board of directors of EMS was held online via Google Hangout on July 15, 2015. The meeting convened at 6:08PM, Rick Osgood presiding and Ben Hallert secretary.
Board Members in attendance: Rick, Ben, Kass, Darrell
Board Members not in attendance: Bob
Quorum present? Yes
Approve agenda, and previous minutes.
Agenda:
- Approve the agenda
- Review previous meeting minutes
- Treasurer Report
- Facilities Report - Darrell
Old Business - Kass will research feasibility of Flex Start then write up a summary for the board list
- Kass will reach out to Taper to get a status on the vinyl cutter.
- We will bring in screen to demo at next meeting (Ben and Kass)
- Rick will film an equipment tutorial for the documentation project
- Rick will reply back to SERT to move the conversation forward, possible tour
- We need to market the possible CNC class to the group.
- Darrell will complete the registration with Amazon Smile
- Darrell to ask Clif about requirements to meet physically as opposed to via Hangout
- Ben will find out about if we can get Fusion 360 for free
- Ben will followup e-mail about Amazon Smile with plugin data
- Ben will offer to show people both how to use his Silhouette and why it will make their life better.
- Ben will organize a test hangout in email
New Business - Decide if EMS is paying for CNC class
- Kassandra Inkscape class for vinyl cutters
Approval of Agenda: Motion was made by Rick and seconded by Ben to approve this meeting's proposed agenda.
The Motion carried with unanimous approval.
Approval of minutes: Motion was made by Rick and seconded by Kassandra to approve the minutes of the 7/02 meeting.
The Motion carried with unanimous approval.
Treasurer's report
No change since last report.
Facilities report
No change since last report.
Old business:
Kass will research feasibility of Flex Start then write up a summary for the board
list
It is a vinyl cutter management service. Any cutter can do contour cuts. Their big program is >$4k, Flex Start is the small potatos. In terms of licensing: she couldn't find any information about the licensing for flexstarter itself, but it can be installed in up to 5 computers and control 5 vinyl cutters. It retails for $400, but can be found for ~$100 on eBay.
She couldn't confirmed that the cloud feature that had originally drawn her attention was part of this. Her next thing will be to contact Taper to get a status on the cutter and define next steps.
Kass will reach out to Taper to get a status on the vinyl cutter.
She sent an email to Taper. She hopes to schedule a meeting with him to document the workflow for the cutter and see "what we actually have right now" before we decide to pursue paid software.
ACTION: Kass will reach out to Taper to document the status on the vinyl cutter.
We will bring in screen to demo at next meeting (Ben and Kass)
Ben described the progress he and Kass made with their test screen. It has some issues, but Ben felt that it had validated the basic theory. He would like to just create a working screen for the maker space for use in classes and open hack nights and does not see a need to seek recompense.
Kassie offered a "more optimistic" outlook and noted some changes we could make to improve on our Mk I screen itself.
ACTION: Ben and Kassie will continue to work on the screen and present to the board.
Rick will film an equipment tutorial for the documentation project
Rick just got keys to his new house and will be moving into the house for the next month. He expects his freetime to be consumed with this and does not anticipate getting this done in the near future but asks that we keep this action item alive.
ACTION: Rick will film an equipment tutorial for the documentation project
Rick will reply back to SERT to move the conversation forward, possible tour
Rick contacted Saul and the other guy. We're waiting for a reply; he proposed the structure we had discussed in general but focussed mainly on inviting them in for a tour. FIRST requires two mentors present at all times (which supports the 'just give mentors keys' idea) but Rick feels the key thing may still be in the air because we could give them all keys with rules re: FIRST projects.
ACTION: Rick will follow up with them next week (July 20th timeframe) if he does not hear back.
We need to market the possible CNC class to the group.
We'll talk about this in the new business.
Darrell will complete the registration with Amazon Smile
We are signed up, they have our bank account #. They process the payments 45 days after the end of the quarter.
Darrell to ask Clif about requirements to meet physically as opposed to via Hangout
Rick doesn't think this should be a big problem, at least not on a limited basis.
Kass: Biggest issue may be that this isn't an open meeting allowing public participation.
Rick: We could address this by providing the board URL to interested parties.
Kassie noted that 30 day advance notice may be required.
Rick responded that any board members not present may need to sign a waiver because we didn't file a 30 day notice and continue to do so until we officially change the meeting day to Wednesdays.
Agreeing, Kass suggested we may need 100% participation on all non-Thursday meetings until 30 days have passed from the vote. Until then, Wednesday meetings would be classified
as 'Special meetings'.
ACTION: At the next meeting, we will need to get waivers for today from Bob. We will continue to do this until we pass 30 days. They will all be considered Special Meetings until we pass the 30 day mark from notice given.
ACTION: We will discuss officially changing the day at the next meeting.
Ben will find out about if we can get Fusion 360 for free
There are two options for getting this free: individual license and 501c3 institutional. We may be able to get access to more software by pursuing the non-profit.
Kass was wondering if we have a computer capable of running the software. Ben suggested we assume everyone maintains their own individual copies on their laptops. Kass believes the Fusion360 would not command the mill so we'd need a central machine for actual cutting jobs. Rick and Ben had a different understanding but agreed that there's no reason we can't do both for now.
ACTION: We will discuss the Fusion360 workflow and possible hardware situation after the class.
Ben will followup e-mail about Amazon Smile with plugin data
Ben did not do this.
ACTION: Ben will followup e-mail about Amazon Smile with plugin data
Ben will offer to show people both how to use his Silhouette and why it will make their life better.
Done.
Ben will organize a test hangout in email
Done.
New business:
Decide if EMS is paying for CNC class
Rick argued in favor of EMS paying for the class. Rick's recollection was that Darrell said we can afford it. Kassie suggested requesting donations. Rick suggested wording it very carefully to not prevent people from coming. Rick wants to really sell it to the group that we need people to know how to use it. The $300 is an investment into our community because people have already invested money in the machinery and this would help us realize the benefits of the investment.
Kass: We're not looking for donations for this specific class, but instead to help stock the shop with bits and supplies for the machine.
Darrell suggested setting a $20 price then covering the gap. Ben expressed some reservations about the price, concerned it will create a perceptual barrier to entry that limits the class size.
Kass: How important is it for us to invest in this knowledge-store? Ben argued in favor of it for a community-building aspect.
Rick suggests we pay for it and really sell the community on the benefits and importance of the class.
Darrell: Can we mention that we're cool w/ accepting donations?
Kass: If we are, let's make sure people know this isn't a secret fee to 'get in' to CNC and would just be for supplies and parts.
Darrell: Let's just make it clear that it's completely optional, nobody is required to pay.
Rick will write it up and send it to the board.
Rick suggests members only, Kassie had '$25 charge for non-members, comes with free membership'. Kassie followed up with marketing the 'good deal' aspect.
Rick will have interested parties RSVP by the 5PM 23rd.
MOTION: "EMS will spend $300 for the Ferdilab CNC class for our members."
Ben seconded the motion, it passed passed unanimously.
Kassandra Inkscape class for vinyl cutters
Kass wants to know if we need to set some precedents for how normal classes will be taught. She is interested in putting on a class. There was a light review of the class documentation. Rick wondered if the 60% EMS tariff might scare people away from putting on classes. If nobody signs up or if there are complaints, then we can revisit it. Kassie noted that she was expecting a pricepoint of $30 per student. Rick agreed, his thoughts were that perhaps the skew should be the other way (60/40 instead). Kass noted that the EMS might incur some materials costs and also touched on the member discount.
Rick suggested Kassandra do her class as a trial-run. Kassandra had some thoughts on complications related to payment handling, Rick suggested we check eventjoy.com as that's what Ferdilab uses.
ACTION: Kassandra will put together a class and fill out the forms.
Finally, Rick noted that the Hangout seemed to be a technical success. It appears to be a valid format for holding board meetings and incurred no substantial limitations on the format.
Action Items:
Kassie:
- Kass will reach out to Taper to document the status on the vinyl cutter.
- Ben and Kassie will continue to work on the screen and present to the board.
- Kassandra will put together a class and fill out the forms.
Rick:
- Rick will film an equipment tutorial for the documentation project
- Rick will follow up with SERT next week (July 20th timeframe) if he does not hear back.
Bob:
- At the next meeting, we will need to get waivers for today from Bob. We will continue to do this until we pass 30 days. They will all be considered Special Meetings until we pass the 30 day mark from notice given.
Darrell:
- We will discuss the Fusion360 workflow and possible hardware situation after the class.
Ben:
- Ben will followup e-mail about Amazon Smile with plugin data
- Ben and Kassie will continue to work on the screen and present to the board.
- We will discuss officially changing the day at the next meeting.
Adjournment:
Ben moved for adjournment and was seconded by Darrell.
The vote was unanimous and the meeting was adjourned at 7:25 PM.
____________________________ ___________________
Secretary Date of approval
Eugene Maker Space