2020 Fall
Town Hall - November 24th, 2020
Welcome and Opening Statements
Town Hall Agenda
SOTU
New Staff
New Member Services
Space and Tool Upgrades
Education Updates
Residency Programs
Policy Updates
Lightning Talks
Q&A
SOTU (State of the Union)
First virtual town hall - not going to be perfect but we will do what we can to make it work
Questions can be submitted to the hosts (MakerLabs) privately to be answered during the Q&A
Ensuring that we can continue keeping the doors open to our members during the ongoing pandemic
COVID-19 Policies
Everyone to complete a COVID-19 screening before entering each day. The form is digital - you can bookmark it/add to your phone's homescreens for future. If you cannot get it set up/working, you can ask a front desk staff member to screen and log for you. The form can be found on the wiki's home screen and here: https://airtable.com/shrHcScsiXuV6ohjD
Kindly asking that all members wear their masks while in the common areas and to avoid interacting in close proximity of others if not wearing one
Respecting the 6ft/2m distance
Old habits are hard to forget, but Tools behind the front desk are no longer self serve, they must ask for them and we will bring them out.
Tools must also be sanitized prior to being returned, and workspaces cleared/sanitized for the next person.We have sanitation supplies up at the front desk if needed and will be setting up small stations around MakerLabs in the common spaces.
Please do not congregate or socialize in groups. We know it's difficult but being less of a community right now will let us continue to operate.
New Staff
Alejandra - Former TFW member and now Fabricator
Eamon is returning, will be doing a mix of Tool maintenance / Fabrication / Community Coordinator
Juan -New Fabricator
Zoey - Front Desk Associate and Community Coordinator
Marc is shifting from Community Management to Fabrication Coordinating. He will be spending less time at the front and will often redirect you to the community team (Thanh and Zoey)
Member Services
Self-reporting systems
Tools/spaces that need attention can be reported at anytime using our online reporting form: https://airtable.com/shr4W8WiSiLaZZCsX
Purchases of less than $5 can be reported and invoiced altogether at the end of the member's billing month. (Invoice must still be at least $5 or we will charge a fee to cover the difference) https://airtable.com/shrfxUcOFhcqHIW4d
Community Phone Book
Members can be listed on our Member Directory!
Less middleman work to get each other's contact.
Directory can be found here: https://www.makerlabs.com/member-directory
Space and Tools Upgrades
TextileLab is looking great (shout out to Maddy for all of her help in making it happen)
Loading Bay is cleared and will be maintained as a workspace, not long term storage area
Education
CNC embroidery
Woodworking with Epoxy
Cutting Board Workshops
Sewing Classes
Knitting Class
Painting Classes
Christmas Classes
Submit a workshop - link to submit can be found on www.makerlabs.com/classes
Program Updates
TFW - application for January, February and March cohorts are now open. Deadline to apply is November 30th.
CTech - currently paused
Electronics Slack channel available for those who are interested. Ask Marc to be added
Policy Changes
Conducting an electrical audit
As requested of LowTide, community staff will be entering members' space just to look at what each person has in terms of power set up.
If there are any changes to be recommended/made, we will connect with the members directly to discuss alternative arrangements before taking action
Reiterating the egregious mess policy introduced last fall; excessive messes may result in a penalty of $50/hour for staff to clean up after the member
New Welding: hourly rate to $5, and in the new year there will be an increase once we've had a chance to reassess the amount of gas use
Loading Bay fees for Van Conversions will be increasing starting Dec 1.
$20/day for outside, $30/day for indoor usage.
Non-vehicle related, temporary work will still be free of charge to members.
Grandfathered memberships will be seeing an increase to current rates starting April 1st, 2021 from $125 to $150 (24 hour members who pay $125 will keep their access at $150)
Currently grandfathered first floor/WoodLab studio fees will be brought up to $3.75 starting April 1st, 2021. WoodLab studios will be further increased to the current $4.50 starting October 1st, 2021
Base memberships will also increase to $160/month starting April 1st, 2020. This only applies to members who join that date onwards, not existing members.
Lightning Talks - Bethany, Zoey, Scott
*With permission from the speakers, we may upload a recording of their lightning talk. Stay tuned for that.
Bethany - Building a Community
Zoey - Silicon Prosthetics and Mouldings
Scott - STEM Cafe and Mentoring, and open source DNA
Q&A
Q: Will there be 7am access available in the near future?
A: not at this time with the limited staffing, it may be something we look at when things are more stable
Q: Better lighting for the drill press/table router?
A: adding that to our maintenance requests. Any other spaces that requires improved lighting can also be submitted as a maintenance request.
Q: 24hr/9am members unable to use the WoodLab in the mornings on the weekend and it feels unfair that they pay for the access but can't use it. Possibility to teach the hand tool components outside the WoodLab to reduce the amount of time the class spends in the WoodLab?
A: Yes. We are looking at modifying the curriculum to have the stationary tools to be taught at the start of the class, and bringing the hand tool component out to the freshly vacated loading bay. Hopefully that eases some concerns about the number of ppl in the WoodLab as well as the need to be mindful of our volume.
Q: Could we get a dozen more bleach dispensers and paper towel left around the building? I've seen people use the ones close at hand so they are valuable.
A: Absolutely we can set up some more bottles and provide more paper towels.
Q: Is there an ETA on cleaning out the Co-op Work Space upstairs? This could be a really nice work/meeting/teaching space if we could dispose of (or even pare down) items that are realistically never going to be used. There is currently one free table, and even that has plastic bins underneath.
A: We have been on a de-cluttering spree lately so we're planning on keeping that momentum going and hopefully the electronics lab will be tackled soon as well. It will not be reorganized by the end of the year.
Q: Is there a plan to install cameras or a monitor for the side door? It's a safety concern.
A: This is on our priority projects list. We are working on a way of setting up a digital porthole/camera to allow members to see outside the door prior to leaving late at night.
Q: You said in the last town hall that you would hire someone for tool maintenance. The tools are always broken.
A: We hired someone for this specifically last month and he was here for two days. We have Eamon coming back later this week and part of his responsibility will be tool maintenance and repairs.
Q: The rates are going up and and we're not getting anything extra.
A: Correct. The rent and all the other costs associated with running MakerLabs have increased and therefore we need to increase studio fees to cover all the increased expenses.
Q: More zoom gatherings? Like a weekly coffee session?
A: This can definitely be something that can happen, and it doesn't necessarily need to be hosted/facilitated by MakerLabs staff. If anyone would like to set up a weekly session where members can tune in for a lightning talk and open discussion, that is okay in our books.
Q: Parking is difficult and scarce. Is there a way we can ensure that only members are using the lot? Such as period plate audits?
A: This is absolutely something that we can do. Although it may not sound very busy in the building, we can assure members that vehicles in the lot are accounted for. With about 200 individuals with active memberships in the main building, it can be a challenge to find parking. Aside from the immediate street parking, people may also find parking in the Strathcona neighbourhoods nearby.
We are discouraging individuals from parking in the Industries lot however if direly needed, please ask.
Suggestion from members: parking passes and stickers? Dated passes for guests?
A video of the Q&A/open discussions can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HC8fqAfxOTVUbgCVfaYqGhQXyA67piga/view?usp=sharing