I had a bit of a ‘my heart grew 3 sizes’ moment today.
In the process of researching grants, I was feeling a bit like we were being selfish in what we were asking for. A bit of suzie hoping for her wiz bang doodle and Clyde wishing for a clap bang stroller…. But looking at who our community serves was that heart warming moment… we’re not just Susie and Clyde making a new thing-a-ma-jig, we’re a community of Norman’s and Susan’s making memories and restoring hopes and dreams thru learning something new or providing for someone without.
We make knowledge and learning more accessible not just through our pricing but also through our small class sizes and open community of makers willing to help and guide at the most awkward of hours.
Unfortunately, our funding and membership dues don’t exactly make it easy to make the building easily accessible for those in a wheelchair or other disabilities. So a few of us are refocusing our efforts on grants to help make the building more accessible with:
More handicap parking along drullinger
ADA compliant exterior doors
Automatic door openers for interior doors (like for classrooms, bathrooms, textiles, and ceramics)
Tools and equipment that enables people with different physical needs
We are working on grants to support these efforts, but people are welcome to donate through the web page or through remittance forms at the entrance as well.
Below is a bit of a concept rendering of what the drullinger side of MakeICT could look like after it’s made more ADA compliant.
There’s been talk, but i don’t recall if parts are on hand. I vaguely remember somebody talking about having a soldering party to build all the circuit boards.
I am open to even 4 handicap parking stalls by the doors, but it comes down to funding at this point.
I’d like to avoid pulling money out of MakeICT’s bank account at all costs since the primary goal is still to payoff the loan on the building. That forces funding to either come from individuals or grants. I kinda feel like we’re at the end of the spring grant writing season, but I’ll keep digging for more grants.
Parking off the south end is definitely going to be more expensive in regards to the amount of concrete needed.
The blue blocks are all the same size and represent a 25ft x 60ft area of concrete thick enough to park a vehicle on. Green is a 30ft x 25ft area.
I’m a bit surprised to see that there is an easement (orange) near the east entrance, and a bunch of setbacks (purple) near the south entrance. We’d have to check with the city if that means that we cannot put parking in those areas.
I understand, my thinking though is pointed towards phasing in a full parking lot, yes, we can build accessible spaces there but we should do it as an initial step in a larger plan if we’re going to put them along Mt. Vernon since we have a large open space there with two curb cuts, it changes the project possibilities. The location along Drollinger is more finite in its scope as it pretty much uses all the available space. I think that Drollinger is ideal over the South end because we already have our entry infrastructure located there.
On another note, I understand the preoccupation with paying off the mortgage, but I worry that it would restrict our ability to improve the space and our offerings in the meantime. Interest is a pain to pay but if we deplete our reserves then what is the timeline to being able to undertake infrastructure improvements. How long does it take for the amount saved on the monthly mortgage payment to bring our operating reserve back to the level it is at? Is that worth the savings in interest? Is it not better to split the load and pay back the mortgage at an accelerated rate but still retain enough in our savings that infrastructure projects are possible, especially if we’re matching or supplementing grant money? I suppose that’s a question to be brought up at Finance committee, I can just never make the meetings.
As I recall, the “setbacks” are from the old platting and would have been either alley utility easements or actual setbacks to the front of any structures built along where streets were laid out. The orange easement might actually be extra street right of way in case a vehicular bridge was to be built where the pedestrian bridge crosses Gypsum creek. The two diagonal easements are drainage easements, one in the northwest part of the property for the creek and embankment and one in the southeast is part of a long, 60 foot wide drainage easement that may have been set aside for running a portion of Gypsum creek in buried conduit(s).
In any case setting up a meeting, possibly by phone, with the city planning department would be advised.
That document is typically for very different purposes than what we are contemplating. A typical minor street privilege permit would be for outdoor seating in front of a restaurant within the street right of way, or to surface a buried roof drain at the curb or an elevated walkway over a street or a tunnel under a street.
Editing to add that they have an annual fee once approved.
