board_minutes_02_2025
Board Meeting Minutes Summary: February 25th
Relocation and Facility Needs
- Lease Overlap: The organization prefers not to pay two leases for extended periods, ideally for no more than two months of overlap, with one month needed for moving.
- Location Preference: The preference is to stay in Richardson, ideally within the Innovation Quarter (IQ) area (roughly 75 to Jupiter and Campbell, back to Apollo), due to a good relationship with the city and accessibility to public transit and members from Plano.
- Space Requirements:
- The current space is a little over 3,000 sq ft, but the organization doesn't necessarily need that much.
- The possibility of expanding the footprint over time is ideal; it's better to secure more space upfront than to relocate again for expansion.
- The layout and usability of the space are crucial.
- Classroom/Meeting Space: The organization needs a highly functional classroom space that can also accommodate tools along one wall when not in use for classes.
- Currently, there are two “half spaces” (the main room and atrium) that can be used for classes, but neither is ideal, and they duplicate square footage without being used concurrently. A single, larger, functional space is preferred.
Financial and Operational Considerations for Relocation
- Rent and Costs: The organization needs to understand the rent per square foot for potential new spaces.
- Utilities: Information on electricity and water costs for potential spaces is needed.
- Internet: Fiber internet access is a requirement, and the cost should be clarified.
- Roll-up Door: A roll-up door is a preferred amenity.
- Sublease Options: Inquire if the new landlord offers subleasing options.
- Contact Persons: [email protected], Jordan's phone number, and the contact for the new rental are suggested contacts.
- Electronic Signatures: Electronic signatures (DocuSign) are preferred.
Electronics Area and Classes
- Mechatronics: The electronics area has been renamed “Mechatronics” to better reflect its scope, which includes hobby-grade robots and microcontrollers.
- Electronics Classes: There is an emphasis on offering electronics classes, acknowledging that this area is essential for a makerspace but has lacked an active area host for a long time. The goal is to provide accessible, “project of the week/month” style classes that help beginners learn fundamental concepts, such as attaching components or understanding angles.
- Skill Sharing: Experienced members are encouraged to share their skill sets, even if it's not their primary area of expertise.
EPICS Program and Access Control
- Student Team Performance: The EPICS student team has performed well this semester.
- Access Control System: The new class is focusing on the access control system due to previous COVID-related disruptions.
- A custom access control board is being designed using RS485 communication, allowing up to 32 endpoints on a single pair of wires.
- This system will support various authentication methods, including NFC, 125kHz chips, fingerprint readers, and phone-based access.
- The integration between the software and hardware components seems robust, with the back-end system (likely Jordan's work) being well-configured to communicate with the access points.
- The system should be able to integrate with existing badging (USB readers) and appears largely ready for deployment with some manual work required.
Digital Displays and Information Systems
- Kiosks: The student-developed kiosks are functional.
- External Feed Integration: The kiosks can point to any photo source and subscribe to multiple RSS feeds (currently up to five) for displaying information.
board_minutes_02_2025.txt · Last modified: 2025/06/16 02:26 by 01299ac6-5733-b5a3-d774-265fbfe8396b