September 20 2020 - Quarterly Meeting

AGENDA

Board Members Present

• JaiPal Chauhan, President
• Paula Pankratz, Vice-President
• Patrick Hutchison, Secretary
• Kate Goad, Treasurer
• Doug Wilson, At Large
• Scott Sullivan, At Large
• Terrence Laurendine, At Large
• Tom Bloom, At Large

Absent:

• David Springs, Immediate Past President

Members Present

(List taken mostly from the Participants box on Zoom)

• Anna ?
• Angel Mejia
• Jason S
• Roy Lyon
• Joe Pajor
• Ken Steadman
• Nicholas Clupny
• Steve Owens
• James Lancaster
• Baron Lawrence
• Chris Alden
• Douglas Cash
• Frank Mitchell
• Miriam Robertson
• Daniel ?
• Gene White
• Kim Burton
• Anna DiSalvo
• Joy Robertson
• Gary Titus
• Barbara Davis
• Dominic Canare
• Michael Karpinski
• LaDeana Dockery
• Danielle
• Curt
• Sara Campbell
• Steve Saner
• Jason Kallansrud
• Marti Secondine
• Larry Bumguardner
• Cole
• John Smith
• Tom Cornwell

Agenda and Notes

Link to the Google Slides Presentation on Google Drive for those with a MakeICT email address. Here is the published public link to the slide presentation for everyone else.

Recording was started very late (apologies from Patrick H.) but what was recorded of the end is filed in the folder on the Google Drive for those with a MakeICT email address and there is a public link for folks who were unable to attend (again, many apologies from Patrick H. for not hitting the record button at the start).

• Membership Update
  • Please refer to the slide deck.

• Financial Update
  • Please refer to the slide deck.

• Building Update
  • Please refer to the slide deck.
  • Joy Robertson suggested Gideon’s Source to bid for electrical.

• Opening / Re-Orientation
  • Please refer to the slide deck.
  • Paula - Expect we will have scheduled orientation slots to make sure everyone can get in for orientation.

• Volunteers Needed
  • Please refer to the slide deck.
  • 422 volunteer hours from 28 volunteers in August!

• Committee Opportunities
  • Please refer to the slide deck.

• Rewarding Our Members
  • Please refer to the slide deck.

• Donations Needed
  • Please refer to the slide deck.

• Q&A
• Joy Robertson - Parking lot material discussion, specifically if the city would allow pervious materials.
  • Jai / Paula - The material used can be a couple of types, but the expensive catch is that the finished surface has to meet the fire department's guidelines for a fire access road which limits our choices and increases the cost substantially.

• Roy Lyon - Fire road question about cost of dry hydrant vs fire road cost
  • Jai - We had an engineer look at the option that had previously come up in an early meeting about installing a dry hydrant on the west side of the building, running through the tunnels to get there. The engineer believed it would be prohibitively expensive and it would likely cost more than the fire road and that it would be very difficult to insure that a penetration into the tunnel system could be kept dry / from causing a water ingress problem.

• Frank Mitchell - How do we know about the committees?
  • Patrick - There’s a page on the website and wiki, but it is woefully out of date. We are hoping in the next week or so to get several things on the website updated. In the meantime, we will be sending out a newsletter by the end of next week where we will be listing what the current needs are.

• Kim Burton - Question about HVAC progress from annual meeting, thought we were going to be further along.
  • Jai - Clarified that we have done quite a lot and that we worked with an engineering firm to do a study and perform a set of calculations and make up a bid set for us to use with contractors. We’ve chosen the least expensive option of ‘garage’ heaters for the rooms that need heat since that is all we can afford and the engineering firm is now opening up the bidding process for us. We’ll then move forward with selecting a contractor and starting install.

• Jason S - Will there be AC in the building, if not what areas will not have ac?
  • Jai - There will not be ac because of the cost. We can’t afford it. There are some areas that have existing ac, but that’s all we have and will have.

• Rustin Atkeisson - About the HVAC and the timing for the CO, don’t we have to wait for the city to get the CO after the work is completed? Have we talked to Curt Gridley at Groover Labs about what sorts of things they experienced delays on to get some insights?
  • Jai - Yes, we will have to have an inspection and there will likely be delays. The first inspection will certainly find additional things we have to do. We haven’t talked to Curt. Somebody in the call did volunteer to reach out to him on our behalf and report back.

• Frank Mitchell - About events, like the trunk or treat idea on the forum, can we have outdoor events like that before we have our CO?
  • Frank will call the city and find out for sure.

• Jai - How do folks want us to do an opening?
  • Joy Robertson - Love the soft opening idea for active members and allowing time to get the kinks worked out.
  • Larry Bumguardner - I would recommend a soft opening for Current members of 3-4 weeks, Then to Returning members for 2 weeks, then New Members from that time forward.
  • Dominic Canare - I think the soft opening plan is good.
  • Tom Cornwell - I think it should be for the folks who have volunteered and worked to get the building open to reward them.
  • Kim Burton - I think the soft opening should be even more strict - only members who worked on the building can use tools for personal projects, until we are out of jobs for them to do.
  • Joy Robertson - What about an Authorizations Super Package that was a single thing to get all of the authorizations taken care of?
  • Jason S - Will previous keyed members be required to do a new key form with signatures as well, or just new members?
    • Jai - Assume if membership was continuing, the only thing that would be needed would be coming in for re-orientation then back able to get in the building. Expect we’ll have a different plan for lapsed members. Will try to have an answer for this at the next board meeting. Suggestions to president@makeict.org.
    • Terrence L - The intent isn’t to require new signatures, but to make sure we keep track of who has gone through the new orientation prior to accessing the new building.
    • Dominic - FWIW, the original intent for key form signatures was a poor-man's way of ensuring people with physical access to the building were indeed part of the MakeICT community (they know current members and current members know them).

 Given the significant drop in membership and intention behind the key signatures, I don't think it would be completely unreasonable to expect basically everyone to redo signatures. Terrence (I think) raised a good point about people expecting to attend orientation and gain access the same night, which I agree is a reasonable expectation for people who are already a part of the community, and would probably be easily accomplished.

 I don't think that's a reasonable expectation for someone who is completely new though. Having a key to the building is a lot of trust to put into a stranger.
Sorry for the novel - no mic at the moment
  • Roy Lyon - Where will the people who have been coming in and working but aren’t members fall on the staged opening?
    • Jai - If you’ve been putting in volunteer hours, we’ll fast track those folks.
    • Rusty - Suggest we pay for their November / December dues.
  • Paula - Each of the areas has a need for volunteers to set their areas up. Please reach out to them or to her to find out how you can help. vicepresident@makeict.org.

• Note / Jai: Authorizations and Orientation are two different things. We anticipate authorizations carrying over, but stay tuned some areas may have different requirements. We’re using this as a chance to update rules and procedures.

• Kate Goad - Remind everyone that membership dues paid during the closure can be a charitable dedication. Will have more info in the Newsletter next week.

• Danielle - But people are struggling to make payments without a job. How much sacrifice do you want?
  • Jai / Rusty - We’ve heard from members who have been affected by the pandemic, who’ve been laid off, etc., and we understand that.
  • Jai - It’s a different thing if folks aren’t paying because they can’t use the building, and we need that support to make the building available. The membership voted to buy a new building and we need to do what it takes and what we can to make it happen. We don’t want people to make sacrifices if they can’t, but for those who can please help. Give what you can. (this is paraphrased by Patrick H while typing and listening, hopefully I did a good job.)
  • Paula / Jai - If you don’t have the financial ability to give, please come volunteer. Don’t have to have your dues paid to come volunteer. We do have a scholarship program available to folks who need it.

• Jason S - Will there be a required "give back" as a member? How would you track that?
  • Jai - The board has discussed some options for tracking volunteer hours and ways to give back to members. There is not a required “give back” to be a member.
  • There was a good deal of additional discussion about this topic. No decisions were made, but everyone is encouraged to work with the membership committee to bring up ideas or send them to the board for discussion. The membership is run by the membership, and if the membership wants to do something they get to decide and implement that.

• Ad Hoc Committees / Projects that we need folks to take up and work on:
  • Email president@makeict.org if you are interested in this work.
  • Fire Lane & Parking Lot
    • Kris Robertson volunteered to head up.
    • Mike Barushok has also volunteered.
  • Roof

• Special Board Meeting, October 1st, 6 PM - 7 PM
  • Will be discussing and voting on the bids received for the Electrical and HVAC systems. Stay tuned to the forum and the calendar for updates. Everyone is encouraged to attend.

• The Zoom chat transcript is incorporated herein as part of these minutes.