Thank you to all the members who came to the meeting yesterday! It was a great discussion and below we’ve supplied the meeting minutes that were taken.

However, first we  need to address something very serious. ENTS is a member supported organization and as such we need members to pay their dues. We have had a slow take-off as the place was under renovations for a while but now we’re ready to rock. The space is fully useable and we have keys available for members to get 24/7 access. If you have not paid your November dues please do so, we need them in order to pay rent or else we risk seeing ENTS close down before it can become everything we dream it to be. We accept cash, cheques, and PayPal (see http://ents.ca).

Something really cool that you should check out is the various tutourials and talks we’re having at the space in the near future. Check out http://ev.ents.ca for a list of the upcoming nights. They are also mentioned below in the minutes.

Remember, ENTS is what you make it!
Thanks for reading, see you around!

October 18, 2009

Called to order at 2:09pm. Minutes taker was Eric Warnke.

20 people attending:  Rob Davy (vice president), Stephen Olesen (president, aka slepp), Matt Mercer (director), Eric Warnke (director), Graham Batty (director), Chris Simmons (secretary/treasurer), Grant Bowering (director, events committee head), Craig MacRoski, Brent Coglin, Jenn Rain, Doran Douglas, Toby Weingardener, Ben Zitlow, Eugene Chen, Michael Brown, Linda Mahony, Devin Serink, Nathan Baxter, Matt Freisen, Brad Hanes (aka renderman).

Rob Davy leading the meeting

• Elections
  • There was one nomination for the vacant director spot.
  • No further nominations
  • Grant Bowering was elected, all-in-favour
• Fees and dues
  • We NEED to have all members pay their November dues!
  • Keys are available for any members in good standing. If you pay, you have 24/7 access to the space.
  • ENTS will not survive if we do not have members supporting it. You can pay by cash, cheque, or online via PayPal. Please see http://ents.ca and click Pay Dues to pay online.
  • You can do a recurring subscription through PayPal so you don’t have to worry about paying each month.
• Keys, status of keycard access project
  • We have 30 keys available for members in good standing.
  • Keycard swipe program is a future project that will be tasked to certain people who are interested. Talk to Stephen Olesen about volunteering for this.
• Status of space renovations
  • We have a metal bin coming on Tuesday. Feel free to bring scrap from home to throw out.
    • We need HELP on Tuesday/Wednesday evening to move the metal from the back space in the bin.
    • Once the back space has been cleared out we start using it for events and things.
  • The utility room will become to “dirty room”. We need to confirm it’s suitable for air flow first.
  • The back room will be used for presentations and group gatherings once the metal is out.
• Equipment policy discussion
  • Grant Bowering to send out an email about how to treat other people’s stuff and policies involved.
  • In short, feel free to bring your stuff to the space, we expect everyone to respect it.
  • We do not want to space to become a “dump”.
    • A “garage sale” on a semi-regular basis was suggested. The idea needs exploration and a dedicated organizer.
  • Consumables are a big issue.
    • Michael Kulpa volunteered oversee collecting money for consumable items like solder, vinyl, Coke, etc.
  • If anyone wants something to be done, just do it, unless you expect to be paid back by ENTS or it fundamentally changes something (removing a wall for example). You don’t need permission to move a table or set up equipment, but the membership can’t expect the directors to do it for them.
  • If you donate something to ENTS and it becomes ENTS’ property we need to insure it, and to do that we need to know it’s value (and serial numbers if it’s new).
• Planning events
  • Grant spoke about various events we can host here.
    • Potentially host an iPhone app development seminar that is coming to town, and many other conferences here.
    • It was agreed that we should charge for space rental on a case-by-case basis. If someone is making money on their conference, then we should as well if we facilitate it.
  • User groups should be encouraged to use the space.
    • User groups and meetups should be free as long as what they do is in line with ENTS core values.
    • A user group is encouraged to donate money or make their users members if they have funding or can afford it.
  • A very big tech conference at the SHAW called the ICE Conference. We will have a table there on Nov 2-4th.
    • Brad Hanes (renderman) has more info for anyone interested.
    • We need volunteers for the table, but we are unsure if we get free passes.
  • Events by ENTS:
    • We need to have our own events hosted! Bring us your events!
    • Upcoming events
      • October:
        • Rock Band tournament – Thursday Oct. 22nd @ 7:00pm hosted by Grant Bowering
        • Introduction to Linux – Friday Oct. 23rd @ 6:30pm by Chris Simmons
        • Tutourial on vinyl cutting and sign making – Monday Oct. 26th @ 6:30pm by Eric Warnke and Rob Davy
        • Into VoIP – Wednesday Oct. 28th @ 6:30pm by Stephen Olesen
        • Introduction to Linux – Wednesday Oct. 28rd @ 6:30pm by Chris Simmons
        • Rocketry – Thursday Oct. 29th @ 6:30pm by Craig MacRocket
      • November:
        • General discussion on security (wireless, etc.) – Friday, Nov. 6th @ 6:30pm by Brad Hanes (Renderman).
        • Basic web design and development – Saturday Nov. 7th @ 6:30pm by Chris Simmons
        • Intro to .Net and the Microsoft Surface – Tuesday, Nov 2nd @ 7:00pm by Grant Bowering
        • Intro to electronic microcontrollers – Friday, Nov. 20th @ 6:30pm by Michael Brown
• Bylaws
  • Grant Bowering has updated the bylaws. He will finish his drafts and we will mail them to the members in the future.
• Other business
  • Donations by companies should be recognized with a letter.
  • Eugene (from Firenest, one of our tenants) is here everyday. He says they see a few people come in and ask general questions or are looking for services.
    • Director Chris Simmons is working on a job board for the ENTS website.
    • We will put a big white board in the front entrance for people to leave messages on.
  • Alcohol in the space: ENTS can’t provide alcohol for members but members can bring their own alcohol. Be responsible and don’t go overboard, but drinking beer and playing Xbox is fine

Meeting closed at 3:57pm.