General Assembly 15

General assembly
, 18:00
@ HSBXL

Price: membership

This event is part of series 'GA'
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GA 19/12/20 18:00 hsbxl

=> https://jitsi.belnet.be/ga_hsbxl

Presence

  • Askarel
  • Anita
  • Wouter
  • Jonny
  • Nino
  • Ugo
  • Jurgen
  • Beachyhead
  • Mowzes
  • Kai

Review

Finances

START 2019 - 3120 END 2020 - 3988 END 2020 - 6669

  • warranty account never opened because of covid (1300 euro to be substracted still)
  • covid measure by entrakt, temporary
  • intermediate payment was 52 euro (no big bill, YAY)
  • bytenight 2400 profit

info jonny

A dedicated page is being worked on here: https://pad.libre.brussels/khlMBX4tRUSOSgjZb38FBQ#

It will include aggregated statistics of key areas.

Democratising Excess Budget

proposal 01
tldr: excess budget < propositions?

> policies are for small expenses: Tuesday meeting > Bigger expenses through mailinglist or other channel which has enough members involved (and perhaps chipping in)

justification

Jonny feels that HSBXL would benefit from a greater clarity of what the excess - including:

  • Non maintenance finances of the physical operation of the space
  • Clarification regarding what is regular /casual/ income (including excluding big events in sustainability)

Jonny asserts that if HSBXL were capable of operating with no income for 9 months that any additional-cash in the finances (rounded down) would be classed as an open-budget. This open-budget could be used for hacking/hackerspace related improvements; initiatives; and projects.

The sum of the open-budget could be available to both members and affiliates and be selected by members based upon a voting procedure.

Through ongoing benchmarking of our financial sustainability we should be able to clarify our ability to invest in tooling and facilitate activity related to our diverse (but interrelated) goals.

More information regarding benchmarks can be found in pad-section: Finances / items for consideration

Jonny asserts that such an approach can:

  • Focus attention on HSBXL financial sustainability
  • Benefit from using surplus finances effectively
  • Encourage accountability with the membership
  • Encourage financial support with the membership
  • Encourage projects with the membership
  • Increase our tooling assets

items for consideration

  • How to we participate while remaining safe?

members evolution

  • 25% less member revenue or members?
    • Average income supposedly went up per capita, in part since 2 members are paying “enterpise” membership (which is more and deductable from their taxes)
  • more open to e.g. children / disabled people
    • Jurgen had his kids workshops which were great
  • wheelchair accessibility should be important

Board (re-)election

Current board

  • Betz
  • Askarel
  • Wouter
  • Vincent

Up for (re-)election

  • Askarel
  • Wouter
  • Jurgen
  • Jonny

Entrakt relation?

  • June 2023 they start demolishment

  • More run as a business with new employee that’s now our contact (Peter < might get re-assigned)

  • Storage space in the basement, have to close ourselves the area (Jurgen has a key)

  • Report last meeting: https://pad.libre.brussels/1-XWmxhzT6ighJttii9LuA

  • Whatsapp / facebook relay?

    • Wouter/Jurgen Keep the lock codes up to date in the ldap
      • Anyone can do it > ask askarel
        • Write access to the subtree need to be granted individually
    • The rest we can’t really follow up

New Location

microfactory possibility

=========> notes from a previous email

=========

http://www.circularium.be/fr/le-site/#les%20batiments

In terms of independence, I think we shouldn’t care how we’re sold to circularium as long as we can remain independent from the microfactory and their decision making. And members have 24/7 access + public events and bytenight are possible.

For those who don’t know, the lead of Citygate (at Entrakt) and the lead of https://www.see-u.brussels/ (forgot the name of the enterprise) have the enterprise Makettt (1) and started circularium as per getting the deal for managing this site for Dieteren (car importer/reseller/repair center).

<========

Visit notes

  • Contact person is Omar
  • Address is Rue Heyvaert 140 (back entrance)
  • Their membership model is weekend access = 60 EUR, in between is weekend + 1 day in the week and all days access is 150 EUR per month.
    • they would want to lower their base membership
    • hsbxl members wouldn’t all need to become member
    • nothing is yet set in stone, it will be a discussion
  • 4.5 EUR per m^2 they pay (all in)
  • 24/7 access supposedly possible (verify this)
  • Smaller space but can rent communal space for workshops
    • e.g. ends 2025
  • heating okay
Evaluation of proposition

some thoughts / discussion:

  • Lack of ethics in makerspace
  • Productivity difference
  • Deal about using their tools
  • Sonoric insulation problematic
  • Could Hackerspace and makerspace could?
Must have
  • 24/7 access
  • Autonomy (maintain our own membership system)
  • Higher membership price = no
  • Sell drinks / have a bar
  • bytenight and similar events (with preavis)
  • Common area availability?
  • Recieve Guests in our space only (techtue or events)
  • Written clear contract
  • +- 100 meters square
Would be nice
  • Access to their machines (reduced membership fee - both ways?)
General proposition
  • multiple price-levels for drinks:
    • members
    • members of the microfactory
    • for external?
  • Difficulty to calculate profitmargin
  • Vending machine (cooled)?
  • Ours still needs its electronics redone
Hackerspace initiation thing
  • Do we want to be dragged in their way of thinking; productive; etc
Relation to the rest of the project

Immo D'ieteren rents to makett (created circularium project) > rents to microfactory > rents to us

Other possibilities?

  • coop has not got back to us
  • iMAL has renovated their space
    • Might be some space for rent
    • Ugo will ask them (available space and price)
  • Kai might have a piste

new location decision making

Schedule

  • Mid January feedback about both places ** Give feedback to members ** Set up a meeting (on jitsi for now) to discuss the new info and make decisions

Elevator

See point above: Entrakt relation

  • own solution (Entrakt won’t fix)

basement storage

  • proposition of Wouter to use ‘chicken wire’, because we trust other users of the basement and such for not stealing drinks stock, it’s just a demarcation issue
  • key will be together with the serverroom-key for a short period, so if you want a copy, you can take it (or take multiple and take money from the fridge+receipt so others can buy one)

No Bytenight this coming year (2021)

  • No physical Fosdem
  • Perhaps an online one? sending out baskets

Disappearing Tools

missing items

  • Hard corner

    • The glue gun is missing for a while
    • Jurgen bought some small tools a few months ago (decent pliers; screwdrivers; etc). These are gone too.

  • We will brand our tools

    • Members should label their objects too or put them in their membership-drawer

  • The policy is if you want to take something ->

    • send a mail on the members mailinglist:

  • Kitchen

    • Many objects have gone from there over time

Events

rC3

https://events.ccc.de/2020/09/04/rc3-remote-chaos-experience/#english

This year, CCC hosts the Remote Chaos Experience, #rC3. It will be a variety of distributed small local events (in hackspaces), with a joint program of:

MCH2021

Hacker camp in the Netherlands next summer: https://mch2021.org/

  • Going with two buses !
  • Tickets start sales on 2020-12-20 (with full refund if canceled due to covid)

Networking

varia

  • matrix instance coming up (dendrite so beta), with ldap integration for all members
  • mRNA is cool
  • Update statutes Wouter/Jurgen
  • Jurgen might post the paper for passing by the space on the homepage

˅ Page changelog 📖

[Edit this page]

Contact us

For any questions you can reach out to us over Matrix at #hsbxl:matrix.org.