The Inspiration Labs Board met yesterday to hold a workshop, do some priority setting, and discuss the state of affairs as we move towards establishing the first permanent community hackerspace in the Tampa Bay area. Nothing was voted on (by intent). I will be posting the complete minutes from the meeting when time permits. We plan to reconvene in two weeks time to approve bylaws and a membership plan.

Following is a summary of our current direction and status:

Bylaws
We are reviewing the bylaws of the former non-profit, bylaws from other local organizations that are similar in nature, and bylaws from a variety of other hackerspaces that represent what we consider the best practices. Most of the bylaws from well established hackerspaces are available to read and download from hackerspaces.org. I will post a draft for comment within a week. Please understand that it will only cover the minimum items necessary to maintain our non-profit. It won’t include rules for specific hackerspaces we may open nor will it include membership plans. We don’t want to restrict future boards by putting in a crazy amount of detail that is hard to change.

Budget
Our intent is to use funds from membership and other fundraising efforts to first cover necessary overhead expenses including obtaining 501c(3) status. Remaining funds will being placed equally into reserves to fund spaces and for contingencies. At some time in the future, when we have operating costs associated with managing spaces, the budget will be amended as necessary.

Membership
As soon as we have established our bylaws and approved a budget, we intend to begin membership registration. Our expenses are low and we intend to keep membership fees low until such time as we have our own dedicated space that needs to be funded. The current proposal is $20/month or $200/year for a basic membership. We’ll clearly identify the membership benefits as part of the registration.

Spaces
Our current best candidate for space is collocating in MOSI’s IdeaZone. If you haven’t been there, or even if you have, you may not realize they have a nice workshop behind the open, kid area that includes two 3D printers, a laser cutter, a small wood shop, big worktables, and more. We already have a working relationship with them and have access to the space beyond what is available to typical MOSI visitors. We’re currently in the process of negotiating a memorandum of understanding to give us even more privileges.

I met with a contractor yesterday in South Tampa and have a tentative meeting with a second today. SLUG member Mul Duran also joined me and had a look around.

The first estimate came in at less than half what I expected! I’ll post more details once I have estimates from enough contractors to make a plan of action. The good news – the house has entirely new electrical and plenty of room to add capacity in the breaker box. The bad news – I haven’t found any yet!

Here is my tentative list of things that need to be done to get us moved in and opened up. To expedite opening our doors, my intention is to prepare the two main rooms of the house first and make them nice and usable. Once that is done, we’ll get the rest of the rooms done as quickly as time and money permits.

1. Clean out party – we need to empty the house of anything that doesn’t belong or that was left behind by contractors. 4-6 industrious volunteers could do this in half a day. Cost: Refreshments for crew. Hauling fee if we don’t have a volunteer with a truck. Things the owner would like to keep can be temporarily relocated to the garage.

2. Resurface the walls and ceiling and put down a base coat of primer. The drywall and plaster are in great shape structurally (no holes, etc.) but you can tell it was worked on by a series of people with varying levels of skill. I’d like to make sure the walls and ceiling look consistently textured and even – we need a nice canvas for painting.

3. Case three doors. Three interior doorways need casings.

4. Finish bathroom. Install toilet and sink. Remove or replace a row of broken tile.

5. Hang doors (stored in the garage).

6. Put down anti-static flooring to protect the existing wood floors. I’m thinking either commercial linoleum tile or that rubberized flooring you see in some workplaces.

7. Replace front and rear doors. They are glass and potentially a problem if someone bangs them too hard with project materials or equipment. Plus, I think we need more secure entry/exit portals.

8. Install basic security.

9. Install Wi-Fi and high speed Internet. I can donate a router and Brighthouse already has a box on the house.

10. Repair broken window at the front of the house.

11. Clear out critters from the crawlspace. Seal crawlspace and attic.

12. Move saws, tools, and furnaces from Jill Silver’s house to the space (we need someone with a truck!).

13. Paint the walls in the rooms we’re using immediately. (Cost: $50-$100 for materials plus snacks for volunteers).

14. Find someone to paint a mural on one wall of the main room.

Priorities after move-in (in no particular order)

1. Upgrade security with RFID keycards, cameras and a notification protocol.

2. Build out kitchen (it’s bare walls right now).

3. Build access ramp to the front door.

4. Make parking more usable. I see potential parking in the front for up to ten cars plus limited street parking. I also believe we could make friends with tenants in the little office building across the street and the automotive shop next door for plenty of after hours parking.

5. Clean up the yard.

6. Expand into four additional rooms and garage.

7. Install storage lockers for member project storage.

Potential Issues

The biggest potential issues I see are zoning and ADA compliance. I don’t have a clear understanding about whether rezoning would be required or if the existing zoning meets with our intended use. It’s not a business so I’m just not sure. If we have to rezone, the filing fee is $2,185 and it takes four months assuming the process moves along perfectly without delays. I don’t know if this can be done without an attorney.

For ADA compliance, I’m told that as long as we aren’t making changes that require a permit from the county or city, we don’t have to worry about this. However, I think the ramp in front is necessary regardless. The ramp also helps members who are wheeling in heavy items or for deliveries with hand trucks. With that said, I need an official opinion to be sure we are ok here as well.

I spent a fair amount of time yesterday flipping through the collected bylaws of some of the more prominent Hackerspaces on the website http://hackerspaces.org (a phenomenal resource btw for up and coming spaces). I am struggling with defining a couple of terms.

1. What is the difference between a hackerspace and a makerspace? Is one more experimental while the other is geared more towards satisfying hobbyists and hardware startups?

2. What defines a public versus a private space? If regular, ongoing access is restricted by membership but the space offers public classes and events open to the public, is it public or private?

Finances and corporate stuff

There a number of administrative and financial issues that need to be addressed in the very short term. I’ve identified experts I need to consult with each item. Since we have no money, I’m looking for some pro bono help to get things off the ground. Please use your network of contacts if you know people to help me clarify these issues.

1. Budget. I’m working on a budget for the organization to plan cash flow, startup costs, fixed and variable expenses, and revenue sources. Although I’ve owned and operated small businesses for many years, I’m not an accountant and would love to have someone to collaborate with me on this.

2. Corporation. The current corporation needs to be addressed. The current officers that I’ve spoken to are prepared to hand it off but I would like to have other people besides myself listed as officers of the corporation. This is a LONG TERM commitment and not a decision to be made lightly. The 2013 annual report and fees have not yet been filed and paid. We could just form a new corporation but I do like the name and we would have to use a different name if we started over. The current corp is a non-profit corp in the state of Florida but not a Federally recognized non-profit. Any attorneys willing to help with this?

3. Non-profit status. I need to learn about how donations and taxes work for corporations who are non-profit at the state level but lacking federal non-profit status. Assuming we are able to get 501c(3) status, it still takes a while to go through the process. Until that happens, I’ve talked to Tm Willingham about riding her coattails financially for any donations that we may receive. She is looking into how that would work. This may be an issue with the South Tampa space since the owner would likely receive a tax benefit from allowing the use of her space. I need a CPA familiar with non-profits to advise us on this.

4. Finances. Knowing that there will be startup costs before we can open our doors, I was considering whether it would be acceptable to take deposits for memberships. To keep things above board and reduce the risk that members could be swindled of their hard earned dollars, I was thinking of options to escrow the money until we actually sign a lease or begin actual build out of a space. One option is to use a third party like LI4E to hold the funds until such time as they are needed. Another is to do a kickstarter campaign where the money is only committed if the startup is completely funded. I would like a lot of discussion on this so that people are comfortable and confident moving forward. I’ll post more about this once we have some clarity on the space decision and have a budget drafted. I’ll post separately about the kickstarter momentarily.

Location update

I visited two spaces yesterday – The Roosevelt in Ybor and a 3 BR house in South Tampa that is adjacent to commercial property and immediately available. Both sites had issues but none of them were insurmountable.

The Roosevelt
Pluses: Nice vibe with lots of creative types around. Space could be occupied almost immediately once we have an agreement with them. There is already a lot of makerish activity and DIY things going on so it has the potential to be a good fit. We could have space for some equipment and take advantage of the larger facility for classes and workshops. Location is very central for residents of Hillsborough County.

Minuses: For projects involving loud equipment (saws, etc.), access would be restricted to a schedule that works around other events and times when their store and cafe are open. The equipment space upstairs is only about 200 square feet and it is WIDE OPEN. As in, no security, no way to effectively restrict access, no way to keep stuff from walking out the door. I think there may also be some risk in coming to agreement with the landlord. I’ve heard a lot of different perspectives but my sense is that they are looking for more ways to use the space but aren’t sure of their own mission and need to attend to basic realities like paying the rent. I plan to bring them a specific proposal and an abbreviated timeline in which to respond. After a year of discussions, it is time for our group to make a decision. Location isn’t great for people in surrounding counties.

South Tampa
Pluses: This is a three bedroom house that, with some cleanup, could be occupied fairly quickly. The owner is really nice and very enthusiastic about using it for some kind of community space. It really looks like a great spot that would offer us several workshop areas, a classroom/meeting space, and an isolated area for loud equipment (the garage). It is air conditioned but the plumbing hasn’t been hooked up inside the house although it is connected to city water and sewer afaik. It is adjacent to commercial property and no more than a 30 minute drive from Pinellas, Odessa, Apollo Beach, Lutz, etc. It is extremely conveniently located. Structurally, the building is in great shape. There is room to park 8-10 cars in front plus street parking is available for classes and workshop attendees. There is a great yard out back where someone could garden and we could locate the aluminum furnaces (assuming they aren’t meant to be used indoors).

Minuses: Before we move in, the plumbing needs to be addressed. Additionally, we may have to deal with zoning and ADA compliance. I’m talking to an attorney this week to get some clarification. Because the space is largely unfinished, it needs cleanup. I see the main living area and the garage as the first spaces to open and plan get the rest done after we’ve started using the space. We would need to have the electrical checked out to be sure it can handle the equipment. There are wood floors that I think we need to cover with non-static linoleum tile or rubberized flooring to protect the owner’s investment. We need to invest in a security system. The attic and crawlspace below the house are wide open to varmints. I know that there are a lot of cats living under the house right now. They would need to be trapped and handled in a humane way and the spaces need to be sealed off from future intrusion.

If you have skills or contacts who can help with sorting out details on the spaces, please put them in touch with me. In particular, I wouldn’t mind having a second opinion on the legal stuff and getting an electrician and plumber in to assess those items for the south tampa space. Also, what to do with the poor, possibly soon to be homeless kitties?

Kickstarter campaign

Ryan Holmes joined me yesterday at The Roosevelt. We looked at the space together and talked about a Kickstarter campaign to fund a 3D printer and memberships. He and I are both very enthusiastic about this avenue for funding. Ryan has a videographer lined up to make the video and we’re both researching the premium levels and working out the details to get this up and running ASAP. It would be great to get someone with previous experience running a successful Kickstarter campaign to advise us on this effort.