Time and Location:

7pm ET Virtual Meeting https://meet.google.com/cih-ehxi-wbc

Call to Order:

Meeting Called to Order at 7:04PM by Jonathan White

Meeting called to order by (NAME HERE) at (TIME HERE).

Consent Agenda

Any Board Member may make a motion in the Consent Agenda.  The purpose of the Consent Agenda is to propose motions that have been discussed by Board Members in advance and/or are expected to pass without objection.  If the item does not fit this description, it should be proposed in New Business. Discussion of Consent Agenda items should be done via Slack prior to the meeting.  Any Board Member present at the meeting may request that an item be moved from the Consent Agenda to New Business.  The motions in the Consent Agenda (after any items are moved to New Business) may be passed as a group if there are no objections.  Any motion that requests spending $250 or more must include a section on "Relevance to our tax exempt purpose".

CA1: Appoint Ken Fuentecilla as Membership Committee Chair. (Jim Waldron)

Issue: Membership Committee chair is currently vacant.
Solution: Appoint Ken.
Relevance to Tax Exempt Status: None
Motion: Move to appoint Ken Fuentecilla as Membership Committee Chair.

Vote:  Passed by voice vote

CA2: Appoint Oliver Arend as Electronics Steward. (Jim Waldron)

Issue:  Electronics steward position is vacant.
Solution: Appoint Oliver Arend as Electronics Steward.
Relevance to Tax Exempt Status: None
Motion: Move to appoint Oliver Arend as Electronics Steward.

Vote: Passed by voice vote

CA3: Appoint Oliver Arend as Basement Steward. (Jim Waldron)

Issue:  Basement steward is currently vacant.
Solution:  Appoint Oliver Arend as Basement Steward
Relevance to Tax Exempt Status: None
Motion: Move to appoint Oliver Arend as Basement (a.k.a. "classroom) Steward.

Vote: Passed by voice vote

Approval of Prior Minutes

2024-10-30 Meeting of the Board of Directors

Update CA2 to change "Site Manager" to "Site Steward"

Vote: Passed by voice vote

Officer Reports

Chairperson:

Thank you everyone who has contributed to 2025 budget planning process.

Secretary:

Nothing to report

Treasurer:

President:

Recommendation to remote the STEM Committee as it is no longer active

Committee Reports:

Membership Committee (Ken Fuentecilla)

Marketing Committee (Sally Soles)

Sally will be looking for information on plans for future growth to develop a marketing strategy for the organization.

Website Committee (Vacant)

Leesburg Facility Committee (John Carter)

Build out of the New Classroom and New Electronics Room has commenced with the anticipated new Steward of both, Oliver Arend!

Purcellville Facility Committee (Dave Painter)

Nothing to Report

Scheduling Committee (Jennifer Chu)

Newsletter Committee (Jenna Conn)

IT Committee (Scott Silvers)

Nothing to Report

STEM Committee (Diane Painter)

Standing Rules Committee (Jennifer Chu)

No meeting in November, nothing to report

Finance Committee (Mary Waldron)

Unfinished Business

None

New Business

Link for bylaws in question: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14gzsS8KR-9c9ej5cSGNia6PNreMZUr4qx1r0bHnsjb0/edit?tab=t.0

Results of voting related to bylaws:

3-6, 11-24, 28-39: Vote: passes by voice vote

2: Vote: passes by voice vote

7: Vote: fails by voice vote

8: Vote: passes by voice vote

9: Vote: motion withdrawn

10:

change "immediately following nomination" to "immediately following the announcement of the nominees"; passes by voice vote

change "30 days" to "20 days"; withdrawn

A vacated open position on the Board will be filled by announcement to the membership by the Secretary at the next scheduled Member Meeting.  The Board will accept nominations via the Nomination & Statement of Intent for Director, Board of Directors form for 14 days following the meeting.  Announcement of Candidates will take place at the following Member Meeting.  Nominees will be allowed to present at that meeting. Election for a new Board member(s) will take place via electronic means beginning immediately following the announcement of nominees and will continue for 30 days.  Upon election Board member(s) will be immediately seated on the Board.  Election will generally follow sections 6.7.1.7, 6.7.1.8, and 6.7.1.9.

Vote: passes by voice vote

25: motion withdrawn

26: motion withdrawn

27: motion withdrawn 

NB40: Return Projects Funds (Jim Waldron)

Issue: Projects did not spend all funds.  Projects complete.  Project managers have agreed to return any remaining funds to the funding source.

Solution: Return Funds to Source per this listing:

Relevance to Tax Exempt Status: None

Motion: Move to return the Remaining funds in this listing to their funding source.

Vote: passes by voice vote

NB41: Transfer Remaining project funds (Jim Waldron)

Issue: Project did not spend all funds.  Steward would like to use remaining funds to cover the cost of ink already purchased.

Solution: Transfer funds from these two projects to the MS-L Shop Supplies Operating Budget to cover the cost of ink already purchased.

Relevance to Tax Exempt Status: None

Motion: Move to transfer Remaining funds from these two approved projects funded by the Equipment Reserve Fund to the MS-L Shop Supplies Operating Budget to cover the cost of ink already purchased.

Vote: passes by voice vote

NB42: Transfer Remaining project funds (Jim Waldron)

Issue: Project did not spend all funds.  Steward  would like to transfer remaining funds to cover unspecified items for IT.

Solution: Transfer funds from this project to the IT Operating Budget to cover the cost of unspecified items.

Relevance to Tax Exempt Status: None

Motion: Move to  transfer funds from this project to the IT Operating Budget to cover cost of unspecified items.

Move to amend the language of the motion to "cover the cost of IT related items". Passes by voice vote

Vote: passes by voice vote

NB43: Appoint Mary Waldron as co-steward of the Leesburg Arts, Crafts, and Sewing area (Jennifer Chu)

Issue: Jesse wants to continue as steward of Arts, Crafts, and Sewing area but has accepted Mary Waldron's offer to assist her in keeping the area clean and organized.
Solution: Appoint Mary Waldron as co-steward of the Leesburg Arts, Crafts, and Sewing area.
Relevance to Tax Exempt Status: None
Motion: Move to appoint Mary Waldron as co-steward of the Leesburg Arts, Crafts, and Sewing area.

Vote: passes by voice vote

NB44: Online auction item for Homeward Trails Animal Rescue (501c3) (Jennifer Chu)

Issue: Makersmiths would like to support the fundraising efforts of a local animal rescue to continue their life-saving work.
Solution: A donation of a free class voucher to Homeward Trails Animal Rescue to build brand awareness.
Relevance to Tax Exempt Status: None
Motion: Move to offer a donation of a voucher for one free class to Homeward Trails Animal Rescue. Total cost $40.

Vote: passes by voice vote

NB45: Appoint Lane Waldron and Mary Waldron as co-stewards of the Leesburg Cosplay area. (Jennifer Chu)

Issue: Jason Gilligan and Maggie Gilligan have stepped down as co-stewards of the Leesburg Cosplay area.
Solution: Appoint Lane Waldron and Mary Waldron as co-stewards of the Leesburg Cosplay area.
Relevance to Tax Exempt Status: None
Motion: Move to appoint Lane Waldron and Mary Waldron as co-stewards of the Leesburg Cosplay area.

Vote: passes by voice vote

NB46: Select Firm of Robert Morrow C.P.A. to do our annual 990 Tax preparation and filing. (Jim Waldron)

Issue: Tax firm required to file.
Solution:  Select Firm of Robert Morrow C.P.A.  Funds have been allocated in the 2025 Budget.  Filing deadline is May 15 2025. 
Relevance to Tax Exempt Status: None
Motion: Move to select Firm of Robert Morrow C.P.A. to do our annual 990 Tax preparation and filing.

Vote: passes by voice vote.

NB47: Upgrade Quickbooks Online License (Scott Silvers)

Issue: Our current Quickbooks Online Plus license ($80/yr) covers most of our needs, but upgrading to the Quickbooks Online Advanced license for an additional $90/year ($170/yr) would provide us with additional accounting features, the ability to add up to 20 additional users with custom permissions, and most importantly, give us 24x7 support from Intuit and access to their online training resources.
Solution:  Purchase a 1 year Quickbooks Online Advanced license
Relevance to Tax Exempt Status: None
Motion: Move to add $170 to the IT Budget for the purchase of a 1 year Quickbooks Online Advanced license.

Vote: fails by voice vote

NBX: Increase to the Leesburg Shop Supplies budget (Jennifer Chu)(7 Day Waiver)

Issue: The Leesburg Steward, on the advice of the Treasurer, has requested that the Leesburg Shop Supplies budget be increased by $2000.
This is to offset previous expenditures in the total of $1817.98 related to the Roland printers (LEF 200 & BN2-20) that have recently been added to the Leesburg Shop Supplies Budget.  This increase will allow the Leesburg Site Steward to purchase the necessary consumables for the equipment and facility at large until end of year.
Solution: Add a one-time increase of $2000 to the Leesburg Supplies budget
Relevance to Tax Exempt Status: NA
Motion: Move to add an increase of $2000 to the Leesburg Shop Supplies budget.

Vote: passes by voice vote

Open Discussion

2025 Budget
Attached is a copy of the Preliminary Draft 2025 Budget as prepared with input from the Stewards.
It shows expenses significantly exceeding income for every month except October.  A copy of a modifiable spreadsheet will be provided to each board member at this meeting.  I expect the Board Members to review and comment with suggestions for balancing the budget.  I recommend a working meeting be established by the Board between now and December 4 2024.  All feedback and suggested changes must he submitted by December 9 2024.  A final budget will be presented at the December Board Meeting for ratification by the Board.

Marketing strategy - Can we schedule a time to meet with the marketing chair and develop a plan? Some issues to consider are prioritizing topics like fundraising, community engagement, membership recruitment, etc. Once those are selected, we can set goals and timelines. Breaking up long term goals into smaller tasks is a good way to keep progress moving while not overburdening the volunteers. 

Standing rules update - lets discuss some guidelines regarding slack usage. We may also want to discuss auxiliary access beyond "baseline" membership. Some auxiliary access items include: mailbox access, email account access, wiki editing access, google drive access, camera access, door admin access, and storage bin access, to name a few.

Procedures for class scheduling - There is a complex process for getting all the details figured out for a class. This process involves coordinating with several people and getting approval from several stakeholders including: scheduling committee, treasurer, stewards, etc. I am unable to get new instructors as the ceramics steward because the process is not clear. We have evolved this process over the past year or so and it is probably time to codify it into a formal procedure document. 

Adjournment

Meeting adjourned by NAME at TIME