Due to a last minute schedule change we are going to meet at the Riverwalk Hotel at 7:30 and then go as a group over to Brewed Awakenings coffee shop on Hawley Street.

The big news is that we voted and decided to move into the NYPENN space. We may end up outgrowing the space, but for the moment it makes the most sense. The space meets our requirements, has low enough rent that we can save money for tools, renovations, and other stuff. Below is a list of things we will need to move in and secure the space

• Solid door for main entrance – sliding or hinged
• Access control system  $250
• DVR $170
• Uhaul & moving supplies $200

Sorry for the lack of meeting notes from this week and last weeks meeting, everything has been a bit sideways since we moved into the new space, and our note taker has been ill.

The other meeting points were:

Asking everyone to review the Milwaukee Makerspace’s bylaws.http://milwaukeemakerspace.org/about/makerspace-policies/

We would like to build off of these bylaws. This list is very common for MakerSpaces

We are also planning on doing a Kickstarter to raise funds for specific additions to the space. Any suggestions on what we can offer as perks would be great. So far we are planning on offering T-shirts and engraved acrylic thank you plaques.

We would like to raise $5,000 this will allow us to purchase additional items. See below list

• Storage bins
• Utility sink
• Fire extinguishers A,B,C and water
• First aid kits
• Extension cords
• Light fixtures
• Solder stations and exhaust
• Dust collection
• CNC laser machine
• Insurance
• Fridge
• Microwave

Meeting notice for 12-21-2012
This weeks meeting will be held at the Serling room at the Riverwalk Hotel at 7:30PM
This meeting is one that everyone should attend. We will be discussing the bylaws, the space we will be moving into in the short term, and organizational structure.

Meeting notice for 12-14-2012
******Venue Change*****
Due to the diligent efforts of two of our members we will be meeting at the conference room at the Riverwalk Hotel at 7:30PM. Parking is available in either the parking garage next to the hotel or in the lot behind the hotel. The map below shows the layout of the hotel, the conference room is listed as the “Sterling Room”

 Just an update for everyone. I just got an email from the real estate agent and apparently the landlord is now considering putting a second story on the place and turning it into student housing. They aren’t sure this is going to happen, they should know by the end of the month. In light of this, the real estate agent is canceling the walk-throughs.

We will be having two group walk-throughs at the 74.5 Carroll Street location. The first will be this Saturday 12-15 and the second will be on 12-22, both with be at 1:30 PM.

We are requesting that anyone that wants to come to a walk-through come to at least one Friday night meeting, so we can answer any questions you might have beforehand.

December 7th, 2012
Meeting start time: 8:00 PM

Attendance:

Dan, Adam, Turin, Eric, Erik, Drew, Krista, Jim

Updates on spaces since last meeting:

Carroll Street: Letter of intent was given to landlord. First revision was rejected, after some discussion we think we have reached a compromise. We will rent the space with a 1 year lease at $650 a month plus utilities, with first months rent, and a security deposit.  Drew and Erik are going to meet with the real estate agent and landlord Monday. If you have any questions or interest in going to see the space, please send us an email.

NYPENN: We received approval to sublet space, and to install a access control system.

Supplies for space: The laptops we discussed getting were not worth the money, they were all 866Mhz PIII machines.

Access control system: Per the discussion from last week, Erik did some research on the access control system options that would fit our needs. The problem with the commercial solutions were that they either held too few users, were expensive ($1000+), or required subscriptions to expensive services. The best option that was found so far was an open source Arduino based access control system that was made by another hackerspace, called Open Access Control. The system will run about $200 for a basic setup, but has the following advantages:

• Allows usage of RFID and PIN
• Uses 125Khz RFID
• Is Arduino based and open source so the code can be modified to meet our needs
• Holds hundreds of users
• Doesn’t require a subscription

Other concerns: Trash, we may need to get a dumpster for trash, and do some research on getting rid of electronic and chemical waste.

Equipment and supplies for move in: See Google Doc for a list of stuff we have and stuff we want and need.
Check with Jim Stark (no relation to Tony Stark 🙁 ) he might have tools and equipment to donate to the space.

Also check with local scrap yards. Weissman’s gets a lot of old office furniture and computer equipment as does Towanda Scrap

Makerspace meeting this Friday 12-07-2012 at 8:00PM at the Wegmans Cafe.

We are running a contest on our Facebook page. Submit your project or hack for a chance to win one of two 16 GB flash drives.

November 30th, 2012
Meeting start time: 7:50 PM

Attendance:

Erik, Krista, Dan,John,Eric, Mike, Drew, Adam, John, Beth, Cathy Kuzia

Pre-meeting Concerns:

• We need to find an alternate meeting space, Wegmans is getting too small.
• Vestal Public library has rooms that can be reserved
• John – meeting space (s) at the Binghamton Riverwalk

Introductions:

Drew: (see previous meeting notes)
Krista: (see previous meeting notes)
Eric A.: Broadcast Engineer
Mike: Armchair DIY, between things, Communications degree
Adam: (see previous meeting notes)
Dan: (see previous meeting notes)
Kevin: DIY, HAM Radio, tinker
Erik: (see previous meeting notes)
Jun: Bu student (major)
Beth: (see previous meeting notes)
John: (see previous meeting notes)

Actions since last meeting:

• In process of attaining non-profit status
• Insurance- One we are an L.L. C, we can apply for insurance.

Prospective Spaces:

NYPENN TRADE CENTER:

• $300 a month
• Cheapest
• Least likely
• We got an Ok from the landlord to sublet but no OK to install access control or internet.

Susquehanna Street:

• $950 / month
• 16′ Ceilings
• Garage Space-25′ x 69′ space
• No heat in Building
• Attic storage

Carol Street:

• $500 a month (asking $720)
• Behind the KNOW Theater.
• Space has been used for storage so currently no active electrical or sewer connections
• Dedicated Parking
• 2/1/2013 earliest move in date
• Gave letter of intent to real estate agent
• Broome County Cooperative Extension has a lead abatement program.
• Wide Access doors- good for machinery
• Close enough to be on-the art walk
• Mike- Plumbing inspection – should be done before move-in.
• Other notes: Waiting to hear back from the land lord and we may have to go in front of the Community Planning Board as any change to a space is Subject to a review. But in this case since there are no zoning or exterior building changes we can most likley file for and receive an exception.

Other Space Ideas:
Outlying areas, cons:

• Public Transit
• Ease of Access

Mike: Find out about grant money from the Susquehanna Gateway Project

Requirements at physical space:

• Asset tracking for items. There will also be different levels of ownership. If you have an item you want to donate to the space it can either be a straight up donation where you surrender ownership or it can be on loan, where you still own it and if you leave the space you can take the item with you. Each item will be tagged and noted as to it’s ownership status

• Items that need to be fixed, but that are to be donated to the space: 55″ LCD TV, 27″ LCD TV, 11 x 17 Epson Inkjet printer, various laser printers. Also on the TC Makerspace Reddit there is a list of available resources.

• Physical Access Control. We need to decide if we want to build something off the shelf or roll our own solution. Most likely implementation will be RFID card and PIN.

• Internet: Looking into a Wideband link from TWC. Eric suggested looking into fiber from Sprint, Verizon or TWC. Wireless ISP was also discussed but the bandwidth is poor and the latency very high.

Other possible locations:

• Fayette Street- used to be legal aid Another possible space.
• Spool Factory– Possible free accommodations on a temporary basis (still waiting to hear back from.
• Tech Works– Water Street (also still waiting to hear back from)
• Kmart Plaza
• Fat Cat Books old building
• Renaissance Florist in J.C. is Moving 277 main street in J.C.

Funding:

• Artists in Residence -Allow local artists to have smaller spaces in the makerspace that they would pay rent on.
• Grants-  Mike-Corning glass- have a program to have an artist in residence
• Laptops- There is a large lot of laptops available. Possibility to buy the lot and have a weekend hack-a-thon rebuilding them and then sell them on eBay with the profits going to the space.
• Talk to Roberson Museum,Kopernic, BCC, and BU (there are a lot of professors who have a community outreach component written into their employment contract) about possible funding
• Possible funding from tool/equipment manufacturers.

Internal Structure:

• We plan to be an LLC, and Drew will be talking to a lawyer this week about getting this done.
• Membership rate:Tentative plan is to have a normal rate, a reduced income rate, a weekly pass membership, and also sweat equity. Sweat equity would involve a memeber doing work at the space to reduce their membership dues, all taks would have to be voted on and assigned a value. Tasks could include repairing broken equipment, running Ethernet, etc. However the rate structure and sweat equity work there needs to be enough money coming from membership to pay for rent, utilities, and insurance.

Action Items:

John- Talk to the hotel about using their meeting room.