Minutes:Board Meeting Minutes 20260421
Minutes for 2026-04-21
Meeting Location
Meeting was Called to Order At: 19:33
i3 Detroit 1481A Wordsworth St. Ferndale, MI 48220
Or
Virtual
Pre-Meeting Preparation
- If you'd like to be included in the attendance, please add your name to the thread in the #meetings slack channel.
- Check mailbox for mail (bills, letters, etc.)
Virtual Meeting Etiquette
- Be excellent.
- Attendance and voting can be found in the #meetings slack channel.
- Please show up early if you are concerned about your audio.
- If there is no one waiting to speak feel free to do so at the next opportunity.
- If there is someone waiting to speak, please say that you are raising your hand in the google call chat. (This will be demonstrated)
- Please refrain from other side conversations, these can be distracting for the rest of the meeting and make it difficult for the chair to keep track of what's going on.
Officer Reports
Treasurer & Budget
| Bank balance EOM | (includes $25,000 Grant in April 24, 2024) |
| Mar 2025 | $30,289.94 Net $20,769.46. |
| Apr 2025 | $30,915.44 Net $21,394.96. |
| May 2025 | $31,492.38 Net $21,971.90. |
| June 2025 | $22,114.92 |
| July 2025 | $21,805.41 |
| August 2025 | $25,082.21 |
| September 2025 | $31,970.90 |
| October 2025 | $39,729.55 |
| November 2025 | $42,168.38 |
| December 2025 | $48,878.84 |
| January 2026 | $51,716.40 |
| February 2026 | $44,971.22 |
| March 2026 | $48,493.88 |
| Savings Balance | $19,577.91 |
| COD due 10Apr2026 | $46,058.53 |
- 1st Quarter 2026 Financial Report
- 2025 Tax Return filed
- 1Q26 Zone funds updated (actually through April 10 to include several large donations)
- Historical financial reports have been added to Financial Records section of Wiki.
Secretary
Vacant. Sent out an email to membership seeking volunteers.
President
No report
Senior Vice President
Vacant
VP of Membership
206 total active members as of 04/21/26 with 178 in Hello Club and 28 still in the legacy CRM system. Current membership pipeline has ~7 members actively moving through the process between phase 1 and final memberfication.
We seem to have some attrition. Do we know why people stop their membership? It'd be great to have this info.
VPAC / Upcoming Events
- Volunteers to host upcoming Friday tours? We always need more!
- Open call for classes
- Quick reminder that non-members need to be signed in! Even on Fridays, there should be a member sponsoring them. There have been a few cases of non-members visiting and walking around all night, and no one ever signed them in
- Upcoming Events Calendar
- Please come help set up Friday for robot combat Saturday
- Thomas would love some help publicizing events
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21 May 2026 Board Meeting
25 Apr 2026 Intro to Paper Marbling (Classroom)
25 Apr 2026 Expansion buildout day
27 Apr 2026 6:00PM- 9:00PM Intro to Photography- i3 Members Only
1 May 2026 In-Person Friday Night Tours!
1 May 2026 Astral Codex Ten Blog Meetup
2 May 2026 Expansion buildout day
2 May 2026 4:00PM- 5:00PM Story Hour / The Watercooler / Social Milieu
5 May 2026 Member Meeting
8 May 2026 In-Person Friday Night Tours!
8 May 2026 Leather Lounge Fridays
9 May2026 12:00PM- 4:00PM Gear Up for Summer! Bicycle Tune-up at i3 - Tool Crib
15 May 2026 In-Person Friday Night Tours!
16 May 2026 Expansion buildout day
22 May 2026 In-Person Friday Night Tours!
23 May 2026 Expansion buildout day
Member Advocate
In regular contact with the board
Pulse Check
This is a reminder to check if any officer provided no report in three consecutive board meetings. If so, at this point in the Board meeting, we add an item to the subsequent Member Meeting agenda, to call for nominations or volunteers for the Board to appoint to that office at next month's Board meeting.
Committee Reports
No update.
Reports only expected in July.
Old Business
Prior Minutes
- Motion:
Motion to approve last months minutes
Moved by Daniel; Seconded by Paul
6 Ayes / 0 Nays
Result: PASS
Camera Review Review
There was a request but didn't do it.
Summary of Board List/Slack Discussions since last meeting
Slack has been quiet!
Outstanding action items
Bylaws update: progress has been slow. Have something online for people to review. Will set up a recurring meeting. Perhaps Wednesday at 7? Two lawyers have looked at it informally and seemed to be ok with it. We can either pay a lawyer to do to or we could not. If we want to, we'd need to appropriate funds for this. Lawyers usually bill an hourly rate. Mixed reactions on whether we should engage a lawyer, but many people think it's fine. If we could find a lawyer less than ~$400, then maybe we would.
Action item: Jeremy will ask around and see if he can find lawyers to reach out to.
Insurance update: Nobody will write us a policy until the expansion is done. We may be able to get D&O insurance though. We need to touch base with the people involved in the expansion and let them know they need to finish as soon as possible so we can get an insurance policy
New Business
Business Cards
(Added by Aj)
I've attended a few events now where having a business card to give people would have been helpful (stuff with Mayor, NCECA). If we don't want to use i3 budget for this, I can make and pay for my own, but I think it's definitely worth considering. I'm bringing it up in the Board meeting because I would be using i3Detroit's name and speaking on i3Detroit's behalf when I give out these business cards.
We could create our own business cards on the fiber laser! Taht way we don't ahem to order any.
National Craft Open Studios Weekend
"On July 18–19, 2026, the American Craft Council will launch National Craft Open Studios Weekend—a first-of-its-kind, nationwide celebration inviting the public into the creative spaces of craft artists across the country. This two-day event will offer guests a rare glimpse into the processes, tools, and inspiration that shape how handmade works are made, and provide artists critical support in their sales season. Open to all skill levels and mediums, the weekend aims to increase awareness of craft as a living art form and highlight the importance of supporting artists.
National Craft Open Studios Weekend is presented by the American Craft Council and launches as part of Craft in America’s Handwork 2026 initiative. Similar to what Record Store Day or Independent Bookstore Day do for their creative ecosystems, National Craft Open Studios Weekend will provide support for artists and makers, and strengthen the national craft community through shared storytelling."
We should take this as an opportunity to do an open house and show off i3Detroit!
- July 18-19th, application due April 30th
- $50 to apply as a "shared studio building"
- All participating studios will be added to an online map and receive a printable sign for on-site visibility
- Marketing: 8,000 national press contacts, 10,000 members, 90,000 subscribers, and 100,000 social media followers
- Participants will be asked to collect information about visitor numbers and sales during the event to help measure program impact
- Application requires 3 images: a portrait (artist at work in their studio, in front of their studio or with completed artwork), 2 images of artwork
This is on the Board agenda to see if we can use i3 budget for the application fee, because I would be applying using i3Detroit's name and representing our space, and because this has the potential to be a big event for us. I have already been talking in the #event-planning Slack channel and have sent an email out about it. So far, Nate, Roger, and Alex are willing to help that weekend, and we have a pending member (Margaret) who's interested in helping as well (she actually brought it to our attention in the first place). I am willing to organize things, with the caveat that I have never organized an event before and would like help.
The application deadline is also before our next member meeting, so this is the only time we have to discuss it live. I also think this would be a cool opportunity to show off some of our members who sell what they make -- would we be ok with them selling things this weekend? (They'd be responsible for their own sales and any sales would be under their name)
Proposal Text:
Appropriate $50 for the application fee.
Moved by Frank, Seconded by Tim
5 Ayes / 0 Nays
Result: PASS
Additional Flammables Cabinet
(Added by Roger S) Proposal to allocate up to $500 (i.e., NTE $500) for reimbursement of purchase of used flammables cabinet. I snagged one of these at the auction in Midland last week: https://www.justrite.com/sure-grip-ex-flammable-safety-cabinet-cap-90-gallons-2-shelves-2-self-close-doors-yellow-899020 Bid was $350, so I expect final cost will be about $433.
There is not allocated budget for Fire Safety, and there is no Zone Coordinator. Welding and Auto Zone have expressed support for moving the smaller of the two currently in Paint Zone over to B-side, and this would replace that in Paint Zone. Paint Zone would then have two large ones and B-side would have one medium sized one.
Proposal Text:
Appropriate $433 for Roger to purchase this flammables cabinet above.
Moved by Frank, Seconded by AJ
6 Ayes / 0 Nays
Result: PASS
Infrastructure hardac replacment budget request
UPDATE: Shortly after making this request some of the hardware broke(see thread in #it-cabal), so either table this request till we work out if we need more hardware, or add 300 to the request.
Proposal Text:
Allocate 616 dollars to infrastructure for hardac upgrades
Context
It's old and stuff isn't running great, and we need to rebuild in parallel instead of reinstalling in place just so we can migrate one at a time, and set them up better so this shouldn't be required again
parts list
Author: Mara F
Result: TABLED
"Allocate 616 dollars to infrastructure for hardac upgrades"
Best approach is to wait until a more detailed request is made and an email proposal can be shared with the board then.
COWBELL
Action Item Summary
| Action Item | POC |
|---|---|
| copy tabled proposal to next month's agenda for "Allocate 616 dollars to infrastructure for hardac upgrades" | Secretary |
Proposal Summary
| Proposal | Moved By | Seconded By | Aye | Nay | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appropriate $50 for the application fee. | Frank | Tim | 5 | 0 | PASS |
| Appropriate $433 for Roger to purchase this flammables cabinet above. | Frank | AJ | 6 | 0 | PASS |
Meeting Metrics
- Time completed:20:28
- Funds appropriated: $458
- Attendees:8
Attendance
- Chair: Jeremy
- Secretary: Daniel
- AJ
- Frank A
- Tim C
- Paul A
- Jan H
- David H
| Previous Meeting | Next Meeting |
|---|---|
| Board Meeting Minutes 20260317 | Board Meeting Minutes 20260519 |