Community council meeting agenda 02/19/2012

Here are some of the items we'll talk about at the next meeting.

Please read recent discussions at  http://groups.google.com/group/freegeekchicago-talk. Once you're there, join the group. And once you've joined the group, join the conversation! Please feel free to add to any of the discussions, or start a new one.

The agenda for the previous meeting is at http://codex.freegeekchicago.org/wiki/MeetingAgenda/2012-01-22 (Yes, it's four whole weeks. The last meeting was canceled in favor of watching the Superb Owl.). The notes for the previous meeting are at  https://groups.google.com/group/freegeekchicago-talk/t/3468d244a5dbcc34.

The short version of this agenda is at http://codex.freegeekchicago.org/wiki/MeetingAgenda/2012-02-19-short.

Introduce yourself (standing item)

• (Everybody, say your name)

• (Who's taking the minutes?)

• (Who are the eligible voters?)

Add agenda items (standing item)

(Besides the things later in the agenda, what else should we talk about?)

• ...
• ...

CC streamlining (meta item)

We need to keep meetings short and on-topic, otherwise they will drag on and on and on. Changes to take place are:

• We'll try to hold all CC meetings to around an hour in length.
• The agenda will be shortened to a 1-page bullet-list.
• Each bullet will be a two-minute announcement from a staff member.
• We'll go around the room getting short opinions from everybody on a given topic.
• Adding new agenda items during the meeting is OK. But try to avoid digressions that aren't helpful for the whole group to hear.
• Each meeting will have a note-taker, an MC, and a facilitator. The MC runs the meeting, the note-taker,take notes and the facilitator keeps order. Janet is the MC, Alex takes notes, and Dave or Terri is the facilitator.

Announcements (standing item)

(Any announcements that don't require action or discussion can go here.)

• Standing reminder: there will be a 10-minute time limit to all topic discussions. If by then no solution is found, the topic will be tabled until the next meeting.

• Reminder: FreeGeek Chicago will have a table at the Logan Square Market on the second Sunday of each month for the next few months. The next one is March 11th.

• Alex, James, Ky, Beth and some other members of FreeGeek are starting a study group for the Linux Professional Institute's LPI certification. They're holding study groups on Tuesday nights at 6:00PM.

• New location for our staff meeting was at DePaul cafeteria, Jackson and State, on the 11th floor.

• Date for the Spring retreat: May 5th, Cinco De Mayo, at the Bucktown Public Library.

• Date for the constitutional convention: moved to the 24th of March at Free Geek, in the classroom.

• Code For America members will visit FreeGeek in coming weeks and ask questions about Chicago's 311 system (part of a project they are working on).

• A staff member from Alderman Moreno's office has expressed interest in FreeGeek. She may visit the space, or attend a Community Council meeting soon.

• WOW! FreeGeek comes up first in a search for "Chicago Computer Recycling" on Google!

Reports (standing items)

staff meeting recap

• Basically covered in body of the agenda.

money report

• We $9,644, including our cash and our PayPal account. Over the last two weeks, we sold $1296 worth of equipment. Mo-money, mo-money!

laptop report

• Aaron sez, a Lenovo laptop disappeared last Sunday during build. Please keep the laptop room closed whenever possible. There are no laptops for sale!

education team report

• Susan is still seeking teachers for "freeform classes" being held on Sundays from 3-4:30PM during Open Build. Submit your outline to Susan via email, anytime!
• Upcoming classes will be posted on Google-talk list.

Townsquare/web report

• Aaron updated the Drupal packages on freegeekchicago.org, and added Google Analytics (which tracks the number of vistors we get on our website, and what they do there).
• Alex will log into Google Analytics and give a report to the Community Council about any trends he notices.
• Dave/Alex will add some filters to Google Analytics so that anyone accessing freegeekchicago.org from FreeGeek Chicago itself is not counted in our stats.
• FreeGeek's new web application Townsquare is going places! George Mason University uses it. A technology consultant in Boston is recomending Townsquare to his customers.
• If you have a IOS or Android device, please try out Townsquare with it. We need to know how well it supports mobile devices.

video report

• There are no recent updates from the video team, Charles & Russel.

space/facilities report

• We are connected to the call box at the Diversey entrance to the building. Press 555 to be connected to FreeGeek's phone line.
• We are still waiting on Comonwealth Edison to set up our new meter.
• We bought 20 pallets on Wednesday, items in the back area are all palletized, and can be moved around more easily.
• Burrows Moving Company (where Alex works in Rogers Park) generously gave FreeGeek some desks and chairs.
• Ricardo says that he will install a paper hand towel dispenser in the bathroom. But, wouldn't it be better if we had a Dyson Airblade hand dryer instead? An Airblade costs around $1500, but maybe if we all asked nicely, Dyson's charitable foundation could donate one to FreeGeek (in exchange for some good PR).
• Toilets by the classroom don't take #2 reliably. Joe needs to fix them so they do. But, do your part, flush after use!

EPA registration (old item)

James has compiled a list of the EPA regulations covering recycling and refurbishing equipment at FreeGeek. He will register us (which costs $505 per year) when we are in compliance with these regulations.

Return policy (old item)

Staff has come to a consensus on a new return and warranty policy for all items sold at FreeGeek. Please read it over and comment.

• All returned items will receive store credit (and not cash). Customers get a card with a staff signature, their name, and the amount of their credit. Cards that have been tampered with lose their credit. Staff will keep a record of who has store credit coming to them. Eventually this will be done by Townsquare.
• There is a 14 day return period for credit. After that, items can be repaired or replaced if they are under warranty.
• Desktops and laptops have a 90-day warranty. LCD monitors have a 30-day warranty. All other items are as-is.
• If you pay $40, you can extend your warranty to 365 days / 1 year. Build-A-Box credit can be used toward a warranty on equipment.

Staff has created a much more restrictive return / warranty policy here, but we want to offset this by offering more Linux / computer casics education to our volunteers. Hopefully, we can become the "Apple Store for poor people", as Dave put it.

Mobile Citizen (old item)

Staff will discuss it in detail at their next meeting.

Outreach (old item)

WZRD FM 88.9 has offered to make a 30-second PSA for us, and play it on their station (which is in Indiana and covers most of the Northwest side). The Community Council needs to come up with a paragraph for them to work with.

Annual non-profit report (new item)

• We're turning in the paperwork to the Secretary of State late this year, so we paid $13 (instead of the regular $10).
• Dave, Alex and Janet are listed as the officers of the organization, Dave's the Treasurer, Janet is the President, and Alex is the Secretary.

Added agenda items (standing item)

(Don't forget the items that were added at the beginning of the meeting.)

• ...

• ...

• ...

Date of next meeting (standing item)

March 4, 2012

Shout-outs (standing item)

("What's Good" and "Damn the Man")

• Janet shouts out to Jae for cleaning up the laptop room.
• Janet shouts to Bob Stein for rackin' up sales!

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Comments

Comment by Scott Lewis on Wed Feb 29 23:48:36 2012

Meeting notes:  https://groups.google.com/group/freegeekchicago-talk/browse_thread/thread/6ba818d4e5ea676c.

Next agenda: http://codex.freegeekchicago.org/wiki/MeetingAgenda/2012-03-04.

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