Annual General Meeting 2025
Meeting Information
Meeting Date/Time: 2025-09-24, 19:00
Meeting Purpose: annual general meeting
Meeting Location: Hackspace
Attendees
20 People attended.
Agenda Items
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Board Member Updates | • Year in Review (JC) • Treasurer’s Report (RJ) • Update on Reach Fund work (JC) • Classes & Events Discussion (JC) • Proposed changes to ACs (HA) • Elections - opportunity for candidates to speak (JC) |
| Discussion Items | • Formalising teams and their role in Hackspace - (AW) • Granting teams small annual budgets - proposed vote - see below - (AW) • Formalising meeting voting matters - (PR) • CCTV Implementation - (CR) |
Discussion
Overall Review of Year & Upcoming Plans
- Significant progress has been made this year across funding, classes, social events, and construction projects. Updates were provided on relevant paperwork and data, including the Holt town rejuvenation. A call for volunteer support was made, acknowledging the strong contributions of existing board members and volunteers. The hackspace is looking forward and planning for continued growth.
Financial Report & Fundraising
- The hackspace maintains a healthy and stable financial position, remaining on track to meet its April 2027 goals despite rising costs. The board aims to increase monthly revenue from £6.2k to £8k. Savings are projected to reach £50k by April 2027, with healthy investments being reinvested into infrastructure improvements.
- Reach Fund: £14,000 has been secured from the NatWest REACH charity, led by Joe and Rob.
Classes, Events & Activities
- Upcoming Events: Planned events include HTSD, mini HTSD, and a Christmas party. The newsletter is consistently published.
- Calendar Usability: Efforts are underway to improve the calendar's usability. Action: Castheghost will investigate.
- Supermassive Tour: A group tour for Supermassive above Freight Island was discussed as a potential activity.
- Mental Health Class: There is interest in running a mental health class in November. Discussion occurred around potentially offering smaller, potentially paid classes, but no decision was made. A mini-vote was conducted to gauge interest in paid professional classes.
Area Coordinator (AC) Update & Team Structure
- AC Role: Discussion centred on a shift to elected Area Coordinators, formalizing their responsibilities, and establishing minimum standards for each area (including the provision of information boards). Considerations included one or two ACs per area and potential election requirements.
- Teams: Teams are active within each area, and guidelines for their operation are being developed.
- Voting Process Conflict: A voting process was discussed and decision was contested following a 50/50 split. This decision resulted in strong negative responses. Membership was given a month to revisit this and vote again or it will pass.
Meetings & Procedures * MMM Meetings: Benjamin will run monthly meetings.
Operational Matters * CCTV: The privacy policy has been updated, and signage regarding CCTV awareness is being implemented around the space. Other questions were answered on implementation details.
Elections - Board of Directors * Members were prompted to suggest candidates for director positions and encourage wider involvement in the election process.
Voting
Recognisation of teams - 12 For, 12 Against, 5 Abstain
Granting Annual Budgets - 23 For, 2 Against, 4 Abstain
Annual Budget Amount - 20 £300, 1 £200, 8 Abstain
Actions
- A members meeting to decide if teams should be formed, no later than end of October otherwise teams will be approved
- Create a public calendar that people can subscribe to for hackspace events
- Articles of Association rewrite
- Confirm rules for adding members to teams
- Plan members meetings at a regular interval