BoardMeeting202402

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Board Meeting:

Time & Location

  • Sunday, February 18, 2024 at 4pm
  • Virtually via Big Blue Button

Attendees

  • Board: Issac M, Billy H, Bryan H, Russell P, Sean S, Jondale S, Sue J, Tracy H
  • Members: Joe H, Andrew M, Larry G, Thia J, Rhubarb R, Daryl H, John N, Amos M

Pre-Board Czar meeting

    • Most recent grant spending went about $200 over but the general fund will cover it rather than make the zone budgets eat it
    • Electrical work coming up - we're on the list to be scheduled!

Meeting minutes

  • Financial Update
    • Nothing particularly interesting this month
    • Sue's been looking for a CPA to do our 990 this year - getting a full review was too expensive
  • Membership update: 355
    • A little down from last month but Tracy is being diligent about culling delinquent members
  • Mary Thom is retiring from Spark but unknown when (sometime this year), nor do we know who will be her successor.
    • We want to make sure we have the same good relations with whoever takes over
    • Andrew has suggested we consult with a lawyer to make sure we fully understand our status with our sub-lease
  • Transforming Western update:
    • Issac met with our contact at KCDC and requested a meeting with Issac alone. Topic - pricing
    • The initial pricing of 'zero' is not on the table any more
    • Their costs have gone up and funding has not come through like they hope, so the cost to us will be more like $5-6/sq foot
      • (about $60k per year, plus utilities)
    • They were very regretful that it is turning out this way but Issac did not immediately shut it down
    • They will be looking for some type of commitment in the next few months
    • In the end, there is no reason for us to say 'no' until they make us say it
    • So we will continue to research and look into our options
  • Andrew has been tasked to look at what it looks like for us to purchase our own building
    • Market, our money and income, interest rates, etc.
    • All this means we can't afford jack squat - by quite a bit - probably years away from finding an appropriate facility
    • We should look at some other angles - further outside city limits, different type of building, etc
    • What a bummer....
    • The locations that Andrew saw that "probably work for us okay" are about 1.5mil
    • If we spent $7000 on a mortgage, we'd be at a $900,000 loan (hint: not enough)
    • Lets hope that interest rate decreases
  • Jondale update on Mayor's Maker Council
    • The last meeting was mostly to introduce the new Director of Maker Initiatives - Anne Templeton
  • And Maker Experience - we have a corner in the main area where we will have a large workshop tent and some spots for demos and classes
    • Knox Makers has 4 people that have submitted
  • Scholarship Program
    • TCAT is super jazzed about this program
    • Next step is the TCAT organizer will bring a group of their instructors to Knox Makers - for a tour and presentation - so they get our vibe
  • Maker Market - May 5th - that is soon!
    • We have tweaked a few things to make it easier for vendor sign up and pay process but mostly we are ready to go!
  • Other maintenance issues?
    • We have permission to repair the hole in the fence so if anyone wants to volunteer to do that....
    • The koi pond drainage system is broken and draining into the parking lot instead of the drain
    • The unhoused population in Knoxville has been increasing so lets be extra vigilant about locking the gate when we are away
  • Next Board Meeting: March 24, 2024 - see you there!


Votes

  • Voted unanimously to hire a CPA to do our 990 and provide accounting support
  • Voted unanimously to pre-authorize the expenditure of a lawyer to look over our lease (probably less than $1000 but un-researched at the moment)