Regular Member Meeting 2009 03 10

Time and Location

March 10, 2009 Meeting called to order at 7:39 PM by Coordinator in Chief Elliot Williams.

Members Present: Tim C, Ben S, Member 43, Dan B, Martin R, Derek C, Katie B, Tim B, Elliot W, Dave

Quorum determined to be present.

Approval of Previous Meeting's Minutes

Regular Member Meeting Minutes 2009 03 03 were presented and amended as follows

• Derek C allows his real name to be used in the minutes
• Derek C adds his objection to the Robert's Rules Discussion
• Member 43 objected to the Robert's Rules Discussion and asked that the word "concered" be added.

Approval of Minutes as amended carried with no objections.

Consent Agenda

• Robert's Rules of Order Approval was pulled from the consent agenda and put in New Business

• The Meeting Frequency Bylaw change passed, and needs 3/4 of the Member's signatures to go into effect.

Minister Reports

Coordinator in Chief Report

The CiC reported being very pleased with progress on the basement space. He didn't have a chance to speak with the church last week, but will attempt to this week.

Minister of Finance Report

We spent $343.10 on paint.

We're currently running approximately 1 month ahead with cash on hand.

Minister of Information Report

Nothing to report.

Keeper of the MIBS Report

Nothing to report.

Member Reports

Member 43, PR Coordinator

Member 43 visited the NoVA LUG meeting to give a talk on HacDC. 1 person from the DC LUG he gave a talk to previously came to HacDC on Monday. He plans to use Twitter and the Announce mailing list more often to get the word out about events. Asked for member's to alert him to any other email lists or resources he should be on to promote HacDC.

Derek C

Derek reported HacDC had a good event with Dan Kaminsky last week, but pointed out that we can do much more at our events to promote HacDC. Things like promoting the Blabber mailing list and the website prominently would be good.

Tim B

His employer hosted a transparency camp last week where he met Tim O'Reilly and Craig Newmark. He invited both of them to come to HacDC when they're in DC next.

Old Business

Basement Update

On Saturday there was a painting party. It took 3 buckets of Dry-Lok to finish the space. The next step is to pressure wash the floor, then etch it with an acid and apply a garage epoxy to protect it. That should take place over the next 2 weekends and will cost approximately $120.

Ben S moved to approve a $120 budget to finish the floor in the basement space.

Elliot M seconded.

There was no opposition, motion carried.

HacDC Door

Tim is concerned that we have a large number of ex members how have valid keys to the space, and lots of valuable equipment in the space.

We already have a door strike and locks, but we need the go ahead from the church to install them, and plans for how the entry device will work. Member 43 expressed an interest in making sure whatever we did agrees with the lease of our space.

Tim Ball suggested using an RFID reader that can read smart trip cards.

New Business

Election to fill vacant At-Large Seat on the Board of Directors

Martin R nominated himself as a candidate.

Tim B nominated himself as a candidate.

A vote was held, and Marin R was the winner.

HacDC Insurance

A brief discussion was held on liability insurance for HacDC and Board Indemnity Insurance. We currently have liability insurance, although we may need to adjust how much coverage we have. We do not have board insurance, but Ben S offered that it's expensive and has almost never held up in court, so it might be a needless expense.

Consensus was that we should look into the insurance that the group carries.

Hosting

A discussion of HacDC hosting options took place. We seem to have two main options: hosting with a hosting company or hosting with a member. Tim B offered to host at his employer. Tim C also offered to host on his server at a hosting facility.

Everyone in the room was asked to weigh in on whether they preferred a professional hosting company or a less costly, but perhaps less reliable member hosting option. The general consensus seemed to be that paying a hosting company a small fee each month was worthwhile, although there were dissenters.

Derek C moved to approve up to $40 per month for hosting.

Serge Seconded the motion.

Tim C moved to amend the motion to change $40 to "a reasonable monthly fee based on industry standards."

Dan seconded.

Derek C objected to the amendment, wanting a precise dollar amount to be specified.

Ben S expressed support for the "reasonable" language. Tim C also expressed support for his amendment, arguing that no one thought HacDC existed to enrich a hosting company, and he'll make sure we don't pay anything unreasonable.

The amendment to the motion carried.

The motion carried.

Call List

Member 43 expressed interest in posting a list of emergency numbers in the space.

Several members questioned the need for such a list.

Artomatic

Elliot W moved to enter HacDC into Artomatic.

Tim C Seconded.

Elliot explained a bit about how Artomatic works, the costs involved. The Tims pointed out that a small number of volunteers from HacDC would be needed to volunteer during Artomatic.

The motion carried without objection.

Elliot asked people to stay after the meeting if they had ideas for artomatic projects.

Robert's Rules of Order

Ben moved to replace the text of the MIBS Simplified Rules of Coordinated Consensus through Chaos from last year with the text "All meetings shall follow the parliamentary rules of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised."

Tim C. Seconded

Derek C Objected, arguing that the bylaws didn't allow the change.

Ben S had already debunked this myth in the meeting agenda notes, pointing out that the MIBS Rules (AKA standing rules) can be changed at the annual meeting and the bylaws say we have to follow the MIBS rules. So this motion was to change the rules, not replace them.

Member 43 offered an amendment to the motion, requiring that there be a copy of Robert's Rules of Order available for members to read during any meeting. The amendment carried with no objection.

The motion to approve Robert's Rules of Order carried with no objection.

Ben S donated a copy of Robert's Rules of Order to HacDC.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 8:46 PM.