Annual Meeting

[minnemaker]

Dear Twin Cities Maker Members,
4 or 5 members who don't to go to board meetings have said they are
going to try to derail our 501 3 C application at the annual meeting.
They claim they how to run a business, and what we want. Our board
took us from zero to one of the top 5 hackerspaces in the USA in under
a year and a half and got one of the top law firms in Minnesota to
help write the bylaws. I think they have a clue how to make us
rock.

Two of the angry members had drafts of the bylaws for over four months
and didn't speak up until last week when it was too late. They think
they were "played" because they didn't ask soon enough how to make
changes. We are a doocracy. They didn't and blame the board for it.
Now, they're asking what rules govern our shareholders meeting so they
can play politics. That is a dick move.

The only things changed in the new bylaws will get more members
involved. Don't micromanage our board, let them do their jobs running
the business so we can do ours of making cool stuff. Vote yes.

I'm a dick for not signing, but I'm not going to spend hours being
yelled at by them like Mike and Brandon do. I'm going to make
something.

[Pete McKenna]

Hmmm,

 

I'm not on the board, but have been very involved in conversations about bylaws for months. I have never heard anyone express an interest in derailing 5013c status efforts. I have heard mostly calm calls to slow down and consider member input as we redraft our bylaws. There are elements of the current bylaws that trouble me, and I'd like an opportunity to discuss them with my fellow members, many of whom have just joined us in the last few months.

 

As the unknown author eludes too, some members who requested copies of the work in progress bylaws have had them for months. However, it was recently discovered that the bylaws recieved were not the current version being worked on, but a much older version, which contained less items to which I object. My understanding is that this mix up was a clerical error, and I'm willing to accept that, regardless of the reason, I don't believe the bylaws have been available long enough to allow for sufficient member scrutiny, and I see no reason to not have an open echange about the rules before them become the bylaws by which the group is governed.

 

This is Pete McKenna BTW, and I try not to be a dick, as a general rule. I'd be happy to talk with anyone interested about my take on the proposed bylaws anytime. I'll be in earlyish tonight for certain.

 

Thanks

 

 

Pete

--
Pete McKenna
pete.m...@gmail.com

[Paul Sobczak]

This message seems a bit strange, who are you minnemaker?

If the 4 or 5 of us that you are referring to are the people that have publicly spoken up on the board, I don't think your statements are quite in order, or perhaps you misunderstand what our intentions are.

If indeed you we are talking about the same group, I can speak for myself by saying I don't have any intentions of de-railing the 501c(3) process. I would like it to be done in an orderly manner and have it allow for input from the membership at large. Out of the whole group of people who have recently spoken up about the 501c(3) process, I am unaware of anyone who does not see value in 501c(3).

As the members of the board can attest to the bylaws have changed quite a bit over time. Having a copy 4 month ago does not give much insight to copy that was signed by the board on the May 11th, and indeed when the copy was signed by the board it was still being changed. I was present at that meeting, and think that I have done my job keeping up on the goings on of the space, there was no call for membership to review and solicit input, I think that was wrong.

As this 501c(3) is a legal document that pretty much defines our group, I think it is worth the extra time and effort to ask the group for input, and have them consider it by proposing amendments.

-Paul Sobczak

On Wed, Jun 8, 2011 at 2:03 PM, minnemaker <minne...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Riley]

I'm going to try and keep this short, but expect I'll fail.

This is me as an individual, not representing the board.

I've been involved in a lot of these conversation both in person, on the forums, via email, and via pm's.

I have not heard a single person say anything about derailing the  501(c)3 application.

Nobody, at any time.

People have talked about voting not to adopt the proposed bylaws, by way of allowing more time to discuss them and get member input on the content.

Talking about that is allowed.

Voting to not adopt the bylaws is allowed.

Neither of these constitutes derailing the application process.

I like the proposed bylaws as they stand. I think they'll work just fine.

The suggested changes make logical sense. To be honest, I think they'd work just fine too.

I have some issues with HOW some of these conversations have happened, with tone, choice of words, uncivil accusations, and whatnot.

I DON'T have issues with people speaking up, asking the board to be accountable, and asking for information.


There are some things that could happen at the meeting tonight.

One possibility is, during discussion, we could decide as a group to wait on voting on the new bylaws, and create a forum for discussion, and make sure we're getting input from all the people who matter, namely, us, the members.

That doesn't derail anything, to my knowledge.

Another possibility is, the proposed bylaws could get voted down.

This means we'd take time, talk, change them, and vote again at another meeting down the road, much like above.

Last, the proposed bylaws as they stand now could be voted on and approved.

I promise that if that happens, people will want to talk about amending them.

This will involve meetings, discussions, and eventually, a vote, very much like above.

No matter what, we're going to be talking about this stuff, and none of this will derail the application process.

If I'm wrong, let me know.

I look forward to seeing all of you tonight.

I'm signing this, and am still a dick at times.

William Riley Harrison III
rileyh...@gmail.com
orkraider on the tcmaker forums

[David M. N. Bryan]

As it goes right now, if we do not approve the proposed by-laws set fourth, we will then fall back on the current by-laws, which have been informally adopted and do not allow us to apply for federal tax exempt status (501(3)c).  If we do adopt the by-laws as of right now, we can then set in motion the tax exempt status process, and ratify the by-laws at a later date.  Passing these are a critical piece so that we can apply.  The application process can take as much as 6 months to approve, and our goal is for the group to get the exempt status this year.

We are attempting to do the most good for the majority of the people.  Please do not take this as a way to exempt or exclude members, this has been primarily a formality to support our efforts to submit for tax exempt status.  Voting for either option is OK, and I'm most certainly not going to tell anyone how they should vote.  However, I my opinion, approving the items, and following up with changes at a later date would be the better option so the overall organization can continue to progress. 

As with all things, this is a work in progress, and not a finished product.  We will work out the details of the by-laws later on, but as of right now these by-laws are the hold-up.  I know that going forward we will have a committee to update and maintain the by-laws that will be made up primarily of the community members, and at least one board member, and these will be volunteers from the community- not board appointed.

The amount of energy put forth by all of the board members is amazing, and everyone should realize that and thank them for their outstanding service, for without them and the community (our members!!!) we would be just meeting the quota on making a community.  People must remember that these are volunteer positions, and as such anyone can leave at anytime.  A space, organization, or group can not grow with out making changes, and being able to trust their leaders, and sometimes a few eggs need to be broken to make an amazing breakfast.

And I too want to return to making things.

-David Bryan
TC Maker / Hack Factory President

---

[zranger]

While there has been much discussion on several topics, both in person and on the boards.

I think every member wants 501c status, and the protections / benefits it offers, I have yet to have heard a single voice appose it.

Now as far as the finer points of what we have, yes there is a chance that it may get voted down to make changes, that is why we are going tonight, but I really think that the couple of people who are very apposed to it are fighting an up hill battle.  While I may not agree with everything so far, I am like many of those whom I talked too, I chose to let others work on these rules, and baring anything to extreme, I am willing to start with them and go forward.

Everybody gets a vote, that is why you pay your dues, and you show up.  But you do have to understand that there are 60 some different opinions on each topic, and nobody is going to get exactly what they want, a consensus of what we all want is what should and I hope will happen.

Brad Aka Booka

[otto_pjm]

Just to update the thread and to encourage everyone to participate. A
committee to review and the bylaws, and the process of creating and
changing the bylaws is being formed. Details are in this thread on the
forums,

http://tcmaker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1344

You can reply there or to me directly, if you prefer.

Thanks

Pete