What can we do to improve the space we are in? Discussion Monday 6pm

There are a number of folks who are interested what can be done to improve the current makerspace. Monday at 6pm at the co-working tables we will conduct a discussion about what are the problems we have with the current space, how they could be solved and what the solutions would cost.

The things I see that are problems that will be hard to solve are space, electrical and parking. I would like other people’s opinions of what they think the problems are and what are some creative ways to solve them.

I know this is short notice, so if you have an idea… pop it down below. If I get enough interest, I will have more than one of these meetings to collect ideas.

Parking is a huge issue. Let’s try and get poorman to leave and take over his parking lot (kidding).

If we need attention from Douglas, let’s get permission to paint the building. I have a magnum pro sprayer that can make magic in minutes, if someone can buy some paint. Or we could just throw some really cool looking graffiti art on it, either way.

The classroom needs air.

If we need electrical help let me know!

Are you an electrician delaney?

My father is. I just took him on a tour of the place on Friday. I can get you his information if needed! I’m sure he’d be happy to help out.

Were there ever any other ideas thrown around for Ceramics space? That’s the area I am most concerned about, we can’t even put ceramics nights on facebook because it becomes standing room only :frowning:

Another thing to keep in mind… our lease has extension options through June 2020. Then we face the unknown. We could have our rent doubled, we could be homeless. It sounds like a nice long way off, 1 year and 9 months! But time flies. I love our building and totally support making it better all the time, just… glance at the clock? This was never a 10 year lease like you hear about with some commercial deals.

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There requirements make it hard for them to move inside the space, I think… Patrick is coming to the meeting

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I’ll be there. I’m looking forward to what folks have to contribute to the conversation.

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I am sick therefore I am not going to be at the meeting. Sorry.

Jewelry is currently in what is basically a large closet. Now that we are able to do casting in precious metals, I expect that Jewelry will end up with a lot more traffic. And since their space is so small, even small ring castings have to be made either in the alley, on the sidewalk, or in the metal shop bay.

Perhaps the fundamental problem with the space, and the issues we see in administration, stem from how we organized the space.

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I dunno. Ive thought about how the space could be maximized, and short of completely remodeling the interior it’s hard to come up with any way that’s worth doing. Even remodeling it from the ground up with the most efficient floorplan imaginable doesn’t really give us much more usable square footage.

Could you elaborate?

These are my notes from last nights discussion. The discussion revolved around what do we think needs to be done / fixed / repaired / etc. in each of the areas of the current building if we were going to stay here for several years. It’s important that we understand the cost of staying as we consider the cost of going.

If you have things to contribute, change, etc. please share and I’ll update. We didn’t have representation from every area, so we certainly need more work here.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to come out and discuss.

1500 E Douglas - Things That Need Done to Stay - Sheet1.pdf (83.4 KB)

Just a note on exterior lighting. We purchased 2 or 3 LED exterior security lights to be installed at the same time as the exterior cameras. They are likely on the shelves by the back door. The cameras also need to be installed. When I was Security Lead, the plan was to put a camera at the corner of the sidewalk and alley, on a boom, with a constantly rotating mount, so the camera would sweep from a view of the alley to a view that looked south along the sidewalk. The other exterior camera was to be mounted on a boom with a similar sweep, but would be located at the southwest corner (where the sign wraps around) so that it could sweep from a view to the north up the sidewalk to a view looking east along the front of the building. The booms were planned to set the cameras away from the building so that they would have a clear view, without being blocked by any signage or façades.

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