Time and Location

7pm ET Virtual Meeting https://meet.google.com/ica-fdvh-jje

Call to Order

Meeting called to order by Jonathan White at 7:05pm.

Consent Agenda

Any Board Member may make a motion in the Consent Agenda.  The purpose of the Consent Agenda is to propose motions that have been discussed by Board Members in advance and/or are expected to pass without objection.  If the item does not fit this description, it should be proposed in New Business. Discussion of Consent Agenda items should be done via Slack prior to the meeting.  Any Board Member present at the meeting may request that an item be moved from the Consent Agenda to New Business.  The motions in the Consent Agenda (after any items are moved to New Business) may be passed as a group if there are no objections.  Any motion that requests spending $250 or more must include a section on "Relevance to our tax exempt purpose".

CA1: Membership Committee Chair (Beverly Murdock)

Issue:  The previous Membership Committee Chair is no longer with Makersmiths.  An existing/active committee member has offered to step up as the chair.

Solution:  Appoint Mark Milsap as the Chair of the Membership Committee

Relevance to Tax Exempt Status:  None

Motion:  Move to appoint Mark Milsap as the Chair of the Membership Committee

CA2: Open Board Position (Beverly Murdock)

Issue:  One of our Directors, Scott Newman, resigned his Director position.  The Board can either:  a) move to hold a special election and fill the seat through the remainder of Scott Newman's term (mid-2024) or b) move to have 6 director seats until the next Annual Meeting of the Membership and use that election to return to 7 directors.  For a special election to take place, notice to Membership is required, and a quorum must be reached for the election to take place.

Solution:  Leverage the voting tools and processes from the 2023 election (as administered by the Secretary) to solicit candidates and provided at least one candidate submits the nomination form, proceed with election.

Relevance to Tax Exempt Status:  None

Motion:  Move to direct the Secretary to manage an election for the recently vacated seat in accordance with Makersmiths Bylaws, including communications with the Membership and setting dates for nominations and voting.

CA4: Funding to Replace Tormach Spindle (Brad Hess)

Issue:  The spindle bearings on the Tormach went bad and started to seize.  A new spindle has been purchased and installed based upon conversations with John and Jessie.  The new spindle was $874.51 and Jessie has said this could come out of the Leesburg operating budget if needed.

Solution:  Allocate and additional $474.51 from the equipment reserve budget to the Leesburg Operating budget to repair the spindle.  The remaining $400 would come from class fees for the new person added to the Titans Class

Relevance to Tax Exempt Status:  None

Motion:  Move to allocate $474.51 from the equipment reserve to Leesburg maintenance budget to cover cost of the replacement

CA5: Emergency Repair to Laser Cutter (John Dubelko)

Issue:  Laser cutting had a critical break down and will require ~$1,300 in repairs

Solution:  Approve an additional $1,300 to the Leesburg Maintenance budget for October.

Relevance to Tax Exempt Status:  None

Motion:  Add an additional $1,300 to the Leesburg Maintenance budget for October.

CA6: Laptop Memory Upgrades (Scott Silvers)

Issue:   The five laptops at Leesburg purchased with the Google grant a couple of years ago have only 8 Gigs of memory, but they will support up to 16G.  Increasing memory will improve performance and these can be used to address short term need for more computers. 

Solution:  Purchase additional RAM through Amazon to upgrade the laptops

Relevance to Tax Exempt Status:  None 

Motion:  Move to add $100 to the IT Budget to purchase additional memory sticks.

Vote for Consent Agenda: Motion to approve Consent Agenda items CA1, 2, 4, 5, 6 is approved by voice vote

Approval of Prior Minutes

2023-08-30 Meeting of the Board of Directors

Vote:  Minutes approved by voice vote

Officer Reports

Chairperson:

• Thank you to those attending informal Board forum. 
• Suggestion for Tool Sharing Channel onto Slack adopted.
• Capital planning

Secretary:

• Dates/plan for election will be posted.  

Treasurer:

President:

• on a Leave of Absence

Committee Reports:

Membership Committee (Mark Millsap)

Marketing Committee (Jason Gilligan)

• No report

Website Committee (Maggie Toth)

• No report

Leesburg Facility Committee (Jessee Maloney)

• Small group held ad hoc planning session to prepare for incoming lasers (if approved) with extra work days planned
• Door/windows leaking, landlord notified and contractor has done a site visit
• Internet capability upgraded to FiOS
• ImageWorks donated chairs, filing cabinets, IT equipment

Purcellville Facility Committee (Dave Painter)

• General To-Do and Wish List created ranging from roof sealing to new tools.  Will be reviewed and prioritized as part of capital budget planning. 
• Update on Multipurpose Craft Room (Ken F/Dawn)
  • Fletcher 3000 working and mounted to the wall
  • Frame chopper functional (Dave will sharpen blades)
  • Obsolete Equipment being donated/removed 

Scheduling Committee (Jennifer Chu)

• No report

Newsletter Committee (Melissa Kowalski)

• No report

IT Committee (Scott Silvers)

• FiOS now installed at Leesburg
• Added additional AP in Electronics to improve WiFi coverage in Leesburg
• Replaced the 2.4GHz network router in Leesburg
• Replaced the network router in Purcellville
• Memory upgrades performed in Leesburg, Purcellville is next
• Donated IT equipment will be evaluated and put into use 

Maintenance Committee (Dave Painter)

• No report

STEM Committee (Diane Painter)

• No report

Standing Rules Committee (Jonathan White)

• No report

New Business

NB1: Laser Capabilities for both Leesburg and Purcellville (John Dubelko, Jessee Maloney, Scott Silvers)

Issue:  Laser cutting is one of the most utilized capabilities at Makersmiths.  The ULS laser at Leesburg is experiencing age related maintenance issues and yet it has a good resale value.  A replacement laser has been identified.  There is also a limited time opportunity to procure the same kind of laser with a smaller footprint for Purcellville that leverages the same software and training so red tool laser training would be common across both locations.

Solution:  Details are outlined in presentation.

Relevance to Tax Exempt Status:  None

Motion:  Move to procure two laser cutters using funds from the Tool Fund in accordance with the plan presented to the Board and attached herein.

Amended Motion:  Move to procure two laser cutters using funds from the Tool Fund in accordance with the plan presented to the Board and attached herein as well as $1400 for an additional rotary cutter to be used in Leesburg for a total not to exceed $25,000.

Amendment Seconded

Vote:  Motion as amended carries by voice vote

Open Discussion

UV Printing and Laser Fees are under review for potential change at next meeting

Classes need to be net positive

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned by Jonathan White at 8:10pm