BoardMeeting202402

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)