Xerocraft Board of Directors

Approved Minutes from Monthly Meeting

Sunday, November 12,  2023  in person at Xerocraft

Meeting called to order at 1:01pm

In attendance:  Mike R, Dusty R, Don C, Ben W, Matt R, Jeremy B (guest).   (Alexis L, Geoff S, Robbie L absent)

• Approve Meeting Minutes Sept 10 Board Meeting 

  • Motion by Dusty, 2nd by Don to approve minutes as written

  • Unanimous approval

• President’s Report by Dusty

  • We need to work on procedure for appointing shop managers

    • Are they voted on by members?

    • Do they apply through the volunteer coordinator?

    • Do they need approval from other shop managers?

    • Don will start to write a formal procedure, tabled until next month

  • Board members present agreed to NO Zoom meetings unless emergency

  • Start working on getting new Board members for next election (April)

• Treasurer Report by Ben

  • Still profitable for the year (thru early Nov), last year had loss at this time

  • Honor system for snacks and materials is losing money

    • Jeremy will look into company to handle snacks 

      • All drinks and snacks will be charged at $1.25

      • Company keeps all of machines stocked and keeps profits

      • Snacks and drinks for members are for convenience, not profit but at least we are not losing money

    • Need to develop a system to charge for materials (laser and 3D printers)

      • Donated materials or scraps can be free

      • Large sheets of acrylic or wood can be locked in drawer

      • Started new system to help pay for 3D print filament

      • Possibly a QR code to pay for materials with phone

      • Tabled until next month

  • Motion by Dusty, 2nd by Don to raise general manager pay to $25/hour 

    • Unanimous approval

• Secretary Report by Mike

  • Xerocraft now has a Grainger account.  Acct # 888261344. It is cash or debit card

  • Xerocraft rent is going up in July, 2024.  Rent increase will be 3.2% + $159/month as part of our last signed contract.  Our contract calls for a COLA of 2% or “US Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers” whichever is higher. This year the number is 3.2%

• Operations report by Mike

  • Patrick and Mike now have the donated CNC Plasma cutter working.  The software is on Patrick’s laptop. We will look into how to share software for members.

  • Consequences for breaking tools or leaving things unsafe

    • Remind members to put an “out of order” sign on broken tools

    • Email the staff or shop manager to let them know

    • Jeremy presented signs that can be left on the equipment

    • All members should remind other members about how to do this.

  • Repairing or replacing the Bridgeport mill

    • Geoff presented a plan to fix or repair the mill that could be between $2500-5000.  This is necessary over the next 3 months. 

    • Board agreed that we need to fundraise first, then spend the money

    • Next year we are going to set up a “Capital Expenditure” account so that we can make plans for large repairs or replacements.

    • Geoff presented an earlier proposal that XC be able to buy tools from Geoff’s company. He was concerned about conflict of interest. We had a 2nd shop manager confirm that Geoff’s pricing was in line and he had the tools that XC needed eliminating the conflict interest problem.  Motion by Don, 2nd by Mike to allow XC to purchase tools from Geoff’s company.  Unanimous approval.

  • Fundraising report by Matt

    • Arizona Gives Day — Board decided to not participate in this year’s event. We need to update profile and we don’t have manpower to complete this on time.  Also more fees involved to make it more expensive when compared to total money raised, not cost effective.

    • Mike will send Matt a rendering of a shade structure for the welding/blacksmithing area with a shopping list of materials.  Matt will try to get a Kickstarter started to raise money for this structure. 

    • Mike will send Don a Christmas ornament file that can be cut on the laser cutter.  We will put them at front desk as advertisements or ask for donations.

  • Public Relations by Don

    • Velma is coming back to help out with social media

    • AZ Illustrated is coming by on Nov 27 and 29 to tape a portion of their show highlighting Xerocraft

  • Programming Report Geoff sent email in his absence

    • Wood shop, machine shop (manual and CNC), laser shop, and electronics shop are all working on new classes, some are more advanced. Some may require extra funding.  We’ll know at a later date. We are also working on the website to pay with QR codes, PayPal, Venmo, or CashApp. Bring this up again next month.

    • No Blacksmithing or safety classes in Dec, decided by Ed. Ed continues to be a problem and Geoff is going to ask him to resign. If he doesn’t resign Geoff has Board permission to force his removal.  Gene will become the new Shop Manager, he has been briefed. 

    • Regarding the class cancellation policy:  Motion by Dusty, 2nd by Don  “Do not allow a class to be canceled if even 1 ticket is sold. Drop-ins are still allowed at the instructor's discretion. If no one signs up the class will be canceled and there will be no drop-ins.”   After much discussion unanimous approval.  Instructors will be briefed and website tweaked to reflect this action.

    • Geoff will be needing an assistant soon.  Lisa (volunteer coordinator) is aware. Tabled until next month.

  • Membership Report 

    • Working on new volunteer coordinators Lisa and Stephanie

    • Member SeanLee continues to be a problem. He has been told to track his hours as a work-trader since he is not a paying member. At this he doesn’t do so.  Jeremy will talk to him with a warning before we remove him from the member list. Shop managers will try to keep an eye on him. 

    • Dusty will send the Board a “Public Database of Positions” by next meeting. 

    • Lisa is willing to join the Board as “membership chair”. However she can’t attend Board meetings on the 2nd Sunday.  Motion by Dusty, 2nd by Ben “appoint Lisa G to the Board as Membership Chair until April 2025, at which time she can run for re-election.”  Unanimous approval. 

    • Motion by Dusty, 2nd by Mike “to move Board meetings to 3rd Sunday of the month starting in the month of January.” Unanimous approval.

    • Partnering with UA Robotics – tabled until next month

    • Don has written the new Volunteer policy.  We will forward to shop managers for input.  We hope to start this on Jan 1, 2024. Vote at next Board meeting in Dec. 

• Other business

  • Several members have had their certifications in various shops removed due to mis-use of tools or damaging equipment.  These folks will need to be re-certified by the shop manager before they can use these tools again.  

  • We will confirm with shop managers that they have authority to remove certification if a member is deemed to be unsafe.

Meeting adjourned at 3:08 pm.  Next Board meeting Sunday Dec. 3, 1pm at XC in person.  After Dec. meeting we will start meeting 3rd Sunday of each month.