[hackerspaces] And now for something completely different...

[B F]

Many many years ago, I joined a co-op garage.  Great idea.  But even there,
the rules got abused.  Rules must be clear and strictly enforced.

I left the group when I was called to task for doing something that I was
told was perfectly legit when I joined -- parking my car outside and
borrowing a couple tools from their stock to do a very simple repair, one
that did not require a bay.  (I don't recall what job -- something like
changing a spark plug back in the day when you didn't need to pull the
engine to do that!)  It seems that SOMEbody thought I should have pulled
the car  in and paid extra for use of the bay.  That was NOT what I'd been
told when I joined.

Nonetheless, the idea of a co-op garage is excellent, but I would suggest
it be a separate space from a general hackerspace.  I think it would
probably be best to make it a sister organization, with no legal connection
to the hackerspace other than overlapping memberships, directors, etc.
Designing and developing new cars or modifying old ones could well be
considered hacking, but keeping your old clunker running is really a
different thing.  Yes, I know people repair computers and monitors in a
hackerspace, but that's usually incidental to using those for hackerspace
projects.

Judging by the space use/mess problems reported here, these could be a real
issue for a garage.  A car is a rather big object to leave in the way.  And
the mess that can be made with a disassembled car would be hard to simulate
with "normal" hackerspace projects.

If I were starting a co-op garage, the rules I'd set would be very much
like those of a commercial garage:  Keys given to attendant so he can move
the car; explicit understanding that cars left on the premises will be
charged storage fees, and that cars left beyond X-many days may be hauled
off at owner's expense.  (There are lots of towing/impoundment facilities
around here that delight in doing this -- legal or otherwise!)

And unlike most hackerspaces there would have to be a mechanic on duty at
least some of the time.  Possibly this could be one or more volunteer
members who have extensive knowledge of cars, but it might be well to pay
someone to be there -- maybe minimum wage for being on site, with
additional earning opportunities possible, up to and including full wage
for his doing the job himself.  This same mechanic could administer the
rules, move the cars in and out of bays as necessary, and could be called
upon to clean up a mess left behind by a user of the space -- with the
co-op paying for this work and billing the negligent user.  He might also
deal with municipal inspectors, etc., handle disposal of oil and other
wastes, and so forth.

Just my 2c.

On Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 6:56 PM, Bob Bownes <bownes at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> As a firefighter, I'll second the notion of calling and asking questions.
> It also doesn't hurt to let the fire marshal know if you have a firefighter
> and/or EMTs on site, even occasionally.
>
> It works with the building code inspector and electricians as well.
>
> Bob
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 6:32 PM, Sam Ley <sam.ley at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Never hurts to ask your local fire marshal. Some can be dicks, but my
>> experience (working with 5 or 6 in different areas) is that most of them
>> are reasonable people who just want everyone to be safe, and they very much
>> appreciate it when people call with questions rather than wait for
>> violation notices. We've gotten a lot of variances approved with our
>> current fire marshal just by being proactive and working with him on
>> creative solutions that might not meet the letter of the law, but achieve a
>> safe working space.
>>
>> -Sam
>>
>> On Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 2:39 PM, Arclight <arclight at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Good point - Some jurisdictions appear to call this sort of thing out
>>> explicitly while others don't if your area is zoned for it.
>>>
>>>
>>> Arclight
>>>
>>> On Mon, Feb 23, 2015 at 1:36 PM, Ron Bean
>>> <makerspace at rbean.users.panix.com> wrote:
>>> >>I think the fuel issues aren't as much an issue when your space has an
>>> >>industrial roll-up door with parking lot on one side and concrete on
>>> >>the other.
>>> >
>>> > It depends on the local laws.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > _______________________________________________
>>> > Discuss mailing list
>>> > Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
>>> > http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
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>>>
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>
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>
>


-- 
- BF
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