Member Meeting Minutes for Jan 2, 2019
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Called to Order
- The meeting was called to order at: 7:39 PM
Attendees
- Chad Elish, President
- Becky Zajdel, Secretary (via Google Hangouts)
- Adam Longwill, Board Member (via Google Hangouts)
- Bethany Klick, Treasurer (via Google Hangouts)
- Alex Reasinger
- Brian "Beebo" Esch
- Alan Bachmann
- Cassie Griger
- Phil Garrow
- Geno Soroka
- CW Kreimer
- Steve Owens
- Tom Fetherston
- Josh Smith
- Brenton Galbraith
- Adam Casto (via Google Hangouts)
- Simon Heath (via Google Hangouts)
- Ryan Priore (via Google Hangouts)
- Chris Yohe (via Google Hangouts)
- Joseph Newcomer (in spirit)
New Members
- Jake Spence - Welcome!
Guest Introductions
- There are no guests today.
Quote
“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are.” —John Pierpont “J.P.” Morgan
Past Events
- Tools, training, and lots of fun things!
Future Events
Shop Updates
- Previous Voted Items
- Welcome Bethany Klick to the Board! This past Sunday, the Board unanimously voted her as Treasurer.
- This election was a very close race, but Bethany won by three votes!
- The final tally was: 11 Simon, 11 Rob, 14 Bethany.
- We will re-start the "Treasurer's report" once we get Bethany access to our bank accounts, statements, history and such. Please be patient until then.
- We also held a vote on whether or not to Impeach David Coakley.
- 27 Yes, 7 No, 5 Abstain
- Both Dave and Rob have withdrawn their memberships from HackPGH and we would like to move forward.
- This election was a very close race, but Bethany won by three votes!
- Welcome Bethany Klick to the Board! This past Sunday, the Board unanimously voted her as Treasurer.
- The Board will be sending out the vote regarding bringing Alex Reasinger's kiln to the Shop this week.
- We need to know what the members would like to do about David Coakley's vacant Board seat.
- Should we hold an election now? Wait until his term would have naturally ended (which would be end of February 2019)? Another option?
- Options discussed:
- WHEN TO HOLD ELECTION: run the emergency election now, run it later in February.
- HOW/CONSTITUTION CHANGES: We can also institute ranked voting, and/or have an alternate who would take the winner's place if there is an issue or if they step down.
- Options discussed:
- Should we hold an election now? Wait until his term would have naturally ended (which would be end of February 2019)? Another option?
- The Board would like to create a new membership level. It will be free for people who volunteer at least 5 hours a week. Volunteering could mean anything from tool training to cleaning to building things. This needs to be secret (to the board), and capped at a certain amount of people. We will start by having only two people on this membership level and they will be good for six months.
- This membership level would need to be voted on by the membership.
- Beebo will lead the discussion concerning this new membership level and what requirements it will have
- This membership level would need to be voted on by the membership.
- CONSTITUTION
- We have been listening to members on Slack and in person, and we want to create a more transparent constitution. There are a LOT of rules and issues we know need to be discussed, so in order to both save time and let ALL members have a say, our plan is to present both the current and former constitution, talk about what rules we want to add/grandfather. Starting this evening, we will open a constitution discussion period (and channel), then vote on the issues on the next members meeting.
- One of the things we must discuss is how to deal with lapsed members and what protocol Board Members should take to deal with it.
- Issues for discussion:
- CW wants us to create an editable document with strike-outs and additions so everyone is on the same page
- You can see the old constitution (link here: https://wiki.hackpgh.org/index.php?title=Constitution) and clicking Edit History in the upper-right.
- Clearly defining membership, or how to begin and end a membership. Does a person have to sign a document to end their membership? This could also tie into a Board position and defining those.
- Dues and how they are paid.
- We could shift some duties off of the Board and on to specific Members.
- One of the things we must discuss is how to deal with lapsed members and what protocol Board Members should take to deal with it.
- We have been listening to members on Slack and in person, and we want to create a more transparent constitution. There are a LOT of rules and issues we know need to be discussed, so in order to both save time and let ALL members have a say, our plan is to present both the current and former constitution, talk about what rules we want to add/grandfather. Starting this evening, we will open a constitution discussion period (and channel), then vote on the issues on the next members meeting.
- PSAs
- GET YOUR FLU SHOT!
- Please clean up after yourself.
- Also, please let the board know if we are running low on shop supplies or kitchen items. Becky currently has the flu, but is creating a list so she and Bethany can go shopping next week!
- One of the new rules is that children aged six and under are not welcome at HackPGH. This is a safety and insurance rule - we want to keep children and our members safe! ** We will be sending out an email regarding this rule.
- If you see a child six and under at the shop, you may politely approach the guardian and remind them of the rule, or simply report the issue to a Board Member.
- We are having some issues with Wild Apricot.
- Some members have been suspended without their knowledge. You may not be able to bring your membership up to date alone - PLEASE CONTACT A BOARD MEMBER if this is the case.
- Outreach
- Tustin Tot Lot
- No Updates
- Tustin Tot Lot
- Tools
- Jesse and Jeremy loaned us their 3D printers.
Old Business
- Shop Tours
- We have cancelled three tours and training sessions because of the holidays. We need a volunteer to do tool training on Saturday January 26th. Please contact the Board so we can add you to the calendar.
- Maker Event called "PGH WinterHack" is being organized by Mpac.
- February 23rd
- Please contact Mpac on Slack ASAP if you are interested in participating in the event, especially if you wish to exhibit a project or item. We ask that you try to contact Mpac as soon as possible. If he receives twenty proposals by the 15th he's liable to accept your project straightaway, so please contact him SOON!
- Nur Yildirim is a PhD student at CMU. She is studying Human-Computer Interaction.
- She is on slack, she is interested in how our organization works as part of her PhD.
- She wants to interview Makers here at Hack (for a half-hour, hour max) to see how we use tools and ask how our tools can be improved. You can contact her on Slack if you wish to participate in her study.
- She is on slack, she is interested in how our organization works as part of her PhD.
- Classes
- A bunch of new classes on the way. We want to discuss with the members Akron's policy of splitting the proceeds 50/50 with the teacher as a possible incentive to bring in new classes to HackPGH.
New Business
- New Classes
- We are always on the lookout for new classes!
- Woodshop Build-Out Project Kickoff Meeting on January 12, 2019 from 6-8PM
- We need a person to lead this kickoff meeting. Please contact the Board ASAP.
- We want to get as much involvement upgrading the woodshop!
- CW is going to take this over and message the Board.
Project Updates
- HackPGH received an end-of-year donation of $1500 that will be matched by Google in a few months!
Recognition for AWESOMENESS
- Thank you Sean and Simon for working on the CNC
- Thank you Sean, Jesse, and Jeremy for working on getting the new 3D printers up.
Move to Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at: 9:25 PM
Minutes written by: Becky "The Icebox" Zajdel