Date/time and location: 7pm, 10 January 2017 at the Hackspace

• Laser cutter charging: update on current situation and options for future (cash or electronic) (DW/AA)
• Commissioning the Hardinge lathe (JW)
• Clarifying benefits and responsibilities of membership (DW)
• Generic “important information” statement for group activities (TG)
• Arrangements for upcoming AGM (DW)
• Clarification regarding booking space and equipment (JW/DW)

Ian S, Oliver H, John W, Pete N, David S, David W (minute-taker), Nic M, Toby Sc

Apologies: David H

• Laser cutter charging: update on current situation and options for future
  • IS/AA: data on usage has been collected and tallied, currently collating and referencing against pledges - statements will be sent, if members have concerns they can raise that with committee. Even heaviest users aren't paying significant amounts! 11,838 cutting records, total ~£1500 for 2016 ⇒ approx new cutter in 5 years. Large fraction of use from Bristol Braille. £668 for 2015.
  • Future: options around bank-transfer-based or cash payment
  • OH: would like to be sure that there is some flexibility to recognise when card records do not reflect reality. E.g. doing maintenance.
  • To be discussed further when collation is complete
  • NM: would like another card reader for the CNC router ⇒ will talk to AA about this.
  • OH: would like to process logs to find busiest time etc. ⇒ will talk to AA about this.
  • IS: how many laser cutter maintainers are there? Ans: a bit nebulous - NM does small jobs. Some jobs should be done by every user, but some jobs are best kept to more experienced maintainers. Maintainers should be self-regulating. Should maintainers each have their own “maintenance” card? Not a massive issue.
  • Money from laser should be ring-fenced for use related to laser, maintaining it and replacement.
  • AA: can set up automated emails to send statements - may not be appropriate to do so every month because total amounts are small!
• Skillshares, inductions, workshops
  • NM: What are the thoughts on inductors/workshop organisers getting paid to run skillshares, inductions, workshops? E.g. every participant pays £5, inductor takes £10-£15 and rest goes to the Hackspace. IS: currently charges for 3d printer induction - used to take the money, now goes to Hackspace.
  • NM's motivation is to get more people to get interested in doing inductions.
  • AA: In 2016 45 people used the laser cutter enough to be charged.
  • DW: Not aware of money coming in for
  • IS: Two perspectives: in one way would like to be paid for inductions,
  • NM: for workshops, intent is to cover costs - but could charge for your time. JW: Currently make a nominal charge to encourage attendance and then cover materials.
  • Need to encourage skillshares? JW: currently booked up until June, so no shortage of potential hosts.
  • JW: Obligation if charging to cover H&S -
  • IS: so arrange a chargeable workshop
  • OH: maybe people can induct for free, but no one should be embarrassed about charging for time
  • Currnetly no charge for laser cutter inductions
  • JW: £5 at discretion for inductor of giving to space or not - inductor gets max of £15
  • DS: either limit how much inductor gets or on nmber of inductees e.g. 3
  • NM: info for inductors needs to be standardsed - this is already the case for lase rand 3d printer
  • Put forward to AGM or wider membership for discussion
  • DW: thinks members should contribute their time by running inductions - OH: but then burden falls on too few people
  • NM with workshops: booking space? … Use of hackspace resources: pay for consumables, damage, loss
• Clarification regarding booking space and equipment (JW/DW)
  • DW: Discussed at committee meeting ????link. View at that point was that noone can exclude others from the space .
  • AA: communication would help. Hence newsletter. Currently mailing list based on combination of RD membership list, new member emails, etc.
  • Should be on calendar. But noone knows about calendar. Can we promote this?
  • JW: saewfty issue with maintenance weekends, also very frustrting if people want to come in and expect to be able to use a machine. TS: particularly if giving up time for benefit of the space
  • IS: committee view was around hard bookings, excluding others. JW: but if take too far other way poeple won't compromise then w=might not be able to run a skillsare.
  • Not everybody reads calendar, email list, newsletter
  • DS: if there's a public discussion , reasonable effort to inform people, then why not then assume that saces can be booked
  • JW: e.g. BV Studios open day, couldn't do any work then
  • DW: make calendar more visible on website and in Hakcspace?
  • AA: option to migrate Hackspace website to Drupal from Wordpress, give hacspace members an account - volunteering time and skills - more cappable platform than Wordpress
  • If stuff on calendar then booked, make people aware of calendar
  • Calendar: DW: publicly viewable, happy to give specific people write access but not publcly writable. DS: understanding that events on calendar will be publicised.
  • Booking
  • Communica: current newsletter only read by 60 people out of 130 recipients, 3 people unsubscribed. AA: people should have to provide a valid email address that they actually read. JW: people must agree to read newsletter. AA:
  • DW: disadvs of newsletter? Remind people of subsc so they cancel, difficulties
  • IS: about people treating space as community not service
• Commissioning the Hardinge lathe
• Skillshares
• Clarifying benefits and responsibilities of membership
• Generic “important information” statement for group activities
  • TG asked - for organised events for people who might not have been here before
  • Points to include:
    • Fire exit locations
    • What the fire alarm sounds like and point out it does not cal the fire alarm, so someone has to go down to other end
    • Where first aid stuff is
    • Don't touch the stuff
    • Don't use any equipment you haven't been inducted on
  • Action: JW to write up and put on wiki
  • Action: DS to look at getting glow-in-the-dark fire exit signs
  • AA and IS look at changing door lock to make it openable from inside
• Arrangements for upcoming AGM (DW)
  • 14th March
  • Ballot: secret ballot shoudl be done. Shouldn't take too long to count ballots
  • Voting system: want to allow flexibility over number of committee, but also
  • JW: set min max numbers? for committee
  • Action: Committee will propose a voting system at the AGM and attendees will vote on it - by show of hands - action: DW/IS
• Hardinge lathe:
  • JW has provided documetns representing
  • Large decisions:
    • Who wants it?
    • Who is going to maintain it?
    • Power supply - do we want to set up for multiple usages of 3-phase supply?

Who's going to do inductions?

• IS: to find out the answers/information, need a sales pitch and a survey to find out
• JW: has stopped workng until support is forthcoming

IS: large proposed cost cuases issue - TS: not all items needed - JW: noone lese has put in alternative proposal, his is worst case to try to - IS: large cost, for benefit of few members, but all hackspace funds, laser cutter was self funding - perhaps an unequal usae of fungds TS: space pays for basic lathe setup, members pay for add-ons themselves JW: noone's offered to support porposal or to maintain things, or put in alternative proposal TS offers to contribute to maintenance, DS offers to do work on electrical work but doesn't want to do disporporationate amount of maintenance compared with usage - JW: very few people are actually contributing to it but more people are talking about it DS: scope for doing the work ourselves? JW: electrician says it isn't worth it becaue reduces theor profit and gives them more of a problem - haven't JW not prepared to lead it, insists others submit alternatives if they disagree - if noone syas they want it then it goes IS offers to get info together and present at agm