Committees

Committees

Committees are voluntary groups, formed in order to operate and maintain a new area of the Makerspace, foster growth of a community of interested persons, or accomplish certain needs, subject to the oversight of the Board of Directors. The three types of committees are: Standing Committees which are formed by the Board and are on-going Ad Hoc Committees which are formed by the board to do a specific task and serve for a defined amount of time Specialized Committees are formed by the membership and approved by the Board. The board may approve, modify and approve, or deny the request to form the committee. If approved, the board may assign physical space or other assets, equipment, and a budget to the newly formed committee as it sees fit.

Specialized Committee Formation

1. At least 5 members are required to form a specialized committee, by adding the request to the next monthly Board agenda, that includes:
   • the name of the committee
   • description of what it does
   • names all committee members
   • recommended chair
2. There is no limit to the number of committees a member can serve on.
3. If the number of committee members drops below 5, the committee will have a grace period of 90 days in order to recruit enough members to remain active. Committees initially established by the Board of Directors can only be dissolved by vote of the Board.
4. When a committee is dissolved by a vote of the Board all monetary assets will return to the general fund of the makerspace. Any physical assets of the committee can be requested by another committee in writing prior to the next month’s board meeting, any physical assets not requested by the next month’s board meeting by another committee can be disposed of with the written approval of at least 3 board members.

Committee Leadership

1. Each Committee shall select by vote a recommended Committee Chairperson and shall vote for a Committee Chairperson prior to the September Board Meeting each year, so that the recommendation may be presented to the Board. The Board shall appoint the Chairperson for each Committee, taking into consideration the recommendation of the Committee.
2. The Committee Chair, once appointed by the board, shall appoint a Vice Chair.
3. Duties of the Committee Chair:
   • The principal duty of the Chair is the recruitment of Committee members, and organization of volunteer activities needed to operate and maintain the Committee resources.
   1. Responsible for operations of the Committee, providing reports on the status and activities of the committee at the monthly Board of Directors meeting, and managing the finances of the committee. This will include reviewing financial transactions attributed to their committee and working with the Treasurer or Accountant to correct any errors.
   2. Maintaining the safety of the Committee area, including ensuring the safe operation of all tooling.
   3. Maintaining good order of committee area and resources, ensuring adequate supplies of consumable items are maintained.
   4. Enforcing the rules established by the committee, and of MakeICT within their area.
   5. Maintain an accurate inventory of all tools and equipment, in the format provided by the Board.
4. Duties of the Vice-Chair
   1. Assist the Chair, as determined by the Chair or by the Committee at large.
   2. Provide oversight and supervision of the Committee area when Chair is not present.
   3. Serve as Interim Chair when:
      1. The Chair is not available due to vacation or illness
      2. Has resigned or been removed by the Board

Committee Responsibilities and Rules

1. Committees shall hold meetings each calendar month at minimum. Committee meetings shall be regularly scheduled on either a specific day of the month (for example, the 13th) or a specified day of the week (for example, the second Monday of each month). To be considered a committee member you must attend 75% of the committee meeting, 9 being the minimum.
2. Purchasing
   • The Committee Chair may make purchases of supplies and/or tooling without Committee vote, for purchases in amounts less than $500, or 1/3 of the Committees total fund balance, whichever is smaller.
   • Purchases for items exceeding $500 require a majority vote of the Committee at the next regularly scheduled Committee meeting, or at a duly called emergency meeting, or by a vote of the Board of Directors.
3. Committees are responsible for establishing the rules of the Committee area.
4. The Chair/Vice-Chair shall be empowered to enforce the rules of the Committee, and of MakeICT within the Committee area, and may limit access to the Committee area for a time not to exceed the last day of the subsequent month.
5. The Chair may petition the Security Lead to enforce a longer or more stringent consequence.
6. Committee meetings must be posted on the calendar and announced on the forums. Meetings to select a chair recommendation shall be published a minimum of 5 days in advance.
7. The Chair may hold an emergency Committee meeting with 5 days’ notice on the forums of MakeICT, and on signs conspicuously posted in the committee area, provided a good faith effort to notify all current committee members is performed, and that the time of the meeting is not unreasonably restrictive on the members.
8. Committees may establish other positions as needed to ensure the effective operation of the committee, or to accomplish Committee goals. Ad Hoc positions with spending authority, or administrative access to MakeICT resources, require the approval of the Board.
9. Each committee will need to maintain a page on the wiki with at least the following information:
   • The name of the committee chair
   • A list of all active members
   • A brief statement listing the goals or tasks assigned to the committee.
   • Links to any available owner’s manuals or technical information for all committee equipment.
   • All rules made by the committee for committee areas or covering all committee equipment.
   • Any new rules made by the committee for specific committee equipment.