Meeting called to order 9:00 a.m. by President Rod Flack. Board members present: James Chitwood, Dave Price, Don Mellum, Gary Konop, Lee Schwartz, Larry Myers, Wendi Boos – Pat Frantz was absent. No guests were present.
A motion was made by Don and seconded by Dave to approve the March 6, 2020 Board minutes – all were in favor.
Treasurer’s Report: James reviewed the status of club accounts and asked if any purchases were planned. Lee reminded the group that the Board had approved the purchase of (2) new welders not to exceed $6,000 including trade-in of the existing welders. The Board unanimously approved this purchase at the March 6, 2020 Board Meeting and planned to present it at the General Membership meeting sched-uled for March 13, 2020. James confirmed that funds are available for this purchase.
James and other Board members expressed concern that the March 13th meeting was canceled without Board approval. Rod described the tight timeframe to close the shop on March 13th set by the Rec Center, but said in hindsight, the Board should have been consulted. Due to the Rec Center cancellation of the Sept. 10th General Membership Meeting, an email will be sent to all club members (per Rec Center guidelines issued Sept. 3, 2020) requesting approval for the purchase of (2) new welders. A motion was made to accept the Treasurer Report by Gary, seconded by Don; all were in favor.
Facility Update: Rod stated that there are no new drawings from the architect for the building project. The compressor room will be relocated outside. Rod asked for Board members to staff a Building Committee to oversee this project. James made a motion for the Building Committee to consist of Gary, Lee, and Dave. Input from members will be included as needed. Don seconded the motion; all were in favor.
Laguna & Blaze Machine Update: Joe Faraone and Alan Green will oversee maintenance on the Laguna; Ken Booth will join them when he is back in town. Ken Weaver will handle maintenance issues for the Blaze.
Questions about the Laguna warranty period were raised. The Laguna was delivered in December 2019; training was conducted January 2020. We will confirm the warranty period.
Don questioned why the club moved to VCarve rather than staying with Plasma/Sheet Cam which was easier to use. (*Following the meeting, Sheet Cam installation on the Laguna is proceeding this week).
Club Operating Items:
New Members: We will begin accepting new members immediately; Orientation
sessions will begin October 1st; Dave will prepare a schedule for 2 new
members at each session.
Fall Classes: Instructors who are available and comfortable teaching classes
will begin October 1st. An email will be sent to Instructors to confirm
their plans for fall classes.
Dec. Craft Fair: Rec Center has canceled Metal Club Craft Fair. James had
concerns about asking members to work as cashiers if they were not comfortable
interacting with the public.
Work Orders: Begin full operation to the public effective Oct. 1st.
Mailbox Assembly: Rod will talk to Tom Griesel re: his plans to restock
mailbox inventory with assembly work sessions.
Coffee Service: Rec Center ok'd coffee service in the club.
Holiday Luncheon: Dec. 18th Holiday Lunch has been canceled.
Board Meetings: Will be moved to first Saturday of month at 9 a.m. held at
Metal Club until further notice.
Maintenance/Purchasing Contacts: Gary raised an issue he experienced when contacting Laguna a few weeks ago about the fan and warranty period. He did not receive a return phone call from Laguna despite several messages. He was told by Rod initially that he did not need to contact Laguna. Lee and others stated that Gary as head of maintenance needs access to all equipment manufacturers and after further discussion, Rod agreed. This situation was not handled well, better communication will be expected going forward.
Policy & Procedures: James raised questions with how the Laguna/Blaze sign-up system went from a week-ahead sign up to the current daily sign-up system without notification to the Board. Rod said the weekly sign-up was a trial system. We can move forward with a 7-day system. James also stated that the Powder Coater should be on a weekly sign-up system due to increased demand as members return after the summer months. The Board agreed.
James asked why there is a lock on the electrical box near the cutting machines. Rod explained there had been issues with the breaker when other areas used this electrical outlet. (*Following the meeting, the lock was removed).
James had a question about Board vacancies in the Club By-Laws. Rod stated that the Rec Center approved current Board positions continuing until the next Metal Club election.
Metal Club Board Election: Rod reviewed the Rec Center proposal dated Sept. 3, 2020, to con-duct Board elections via email as General Membership Meetings are being canceled due to Covid-19 concerns. Rod proposed soliciting nominations for Board positions to begin in October / November with an email election to be held in December 2020. There are 22 members without email who would receive paper ballots via mail. Board positions would be effective January 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022 (15-month term) for this year only as an exception due to the Covid-19 situation. Nominees would submit a short paragraph to include with these emails sent to club members.
Lee made a motion to proceed with this election schedule described above; Gary seconded the motion; all were in favor. Draft emails for elections will be reviewed by the Board prior to distribution to all club members.
Roundtable: Gary said the Maintenance Team performs their duties on Thursday afternoons; Tom Griesel reported Cleaning/Sweeping team will work Saturday mornings. Don had a question about the term ‘at the request of the President’ in the Club By-Laws for Board member duties. Rod said this is intended to be a request to Board Members when additional duties are needed in the Club. Larry thanked Gary’s team for a great job getting the club re-opened with plexiglass screens, etc.
It was moved to adjourn the meeting by Gary, seconded by Dave. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 10:05 a.m.
Next Board Meeting:
Saturday, October 3, 2020
9:00 a.m. at the Metal Club
Submitted by Wendi Boos, Secretary
Sept. 9, 2020