These are the policies that we operate under. Guests must follow by these guidelines, even if they are unknown - they will be made aware of any mistakes, and if they refuse to abide by them they will be asked to leave. Members agree to follow these rules at all times upon signing the Membership Form. These policies may be modified by the Board at any point through due process.
It is the responsibility of the members to come to amicable agreements of disputes over tools, space or other shop resources.
No sleeping / living in the space. (Naps are okay.)
Members must be at least 16 years of age. Members under 18 years of age must have parent/guardian consent.
In order to keep things civil and respectful, the Board of Directors has adopted the following guidelines for discussions on Slack, the email lists, and social media:
Harassment should be reported to the Board via board@thebodgery.org. People wishing to report anonymously are encouraged to use an anonymous remailer like http://sendanonymousemail.net/ or https://anonymousemail.me/
Safety is the top responsibility of every member and guest.
Any guest must be hosted by a member, whether this is a personal guest or random visitor. If the hosting member needs to leave, they must pass off their responsibility as host to another member, or ask the guest(s) to leave. No member is under obligation to host guests. Any member may host up to ten guests in the space. Two or more members may host an unlimited number of guests. The woodshop area has a limit of one guest per member.
Children (under 16) are welcome – see Frequently Asked Questions for additional information.
In all cases, the member(s) hosting one or more guests are responsible for:
If any of the following are true, the person is not allowed in the space and must leave:
5.1 Bringing Property to The Bodgery
5.2 Handling Abandoned Property at The Bodgery
Because The Bodgery must actively defend itself from clutter and unwanted property, abandoned property is treated as though the owner places no value on it and will not return to claim it. In the interest of the members of The Bodgery and their need for a clean, safe workshop, the Board of Directors will thus use or dispose of the abandoned property however it sees fit. Property is considered abandoned if it meets at least one of the following criteria:
The following may or may not occur, at the discretion of the board and if volunteer time and Bodgery space is available:
Abandoned property will first be offered to area captains and then either donated, recycled or thrown in the trash.
Note: It is wise to label with your name anything personal you bring to and use in the space. Accidents happen and everyone forgets things occasionally. To maintain ownership of your property, please label appropriately, in a way that will not easily wear off or fall off.
5.3 Donated property
Definition: The property is brought to The Bodgery by a member or guest who wants The Bodgery to become the new owner of the property. Process: Contact the Board and receive approval (PRIOR to bringing it).
5.4 Shared property
Definition: The property is brought to The Bodgery by a member (not a guest) who wants to share its usage, but not ownership of the property. The member retains ownership of the property. Process: Contact the Board and receive approval (PRIOR to bringing it). Ensure item has been documented on the Lender Log. Members removing their personally-owned shared property from The Bodgery are highly encouraged to notify the member mailing list that the property is being removed. This is both a courtesy to others and a safeguard against apparent theft.
6.1 Safe Storage All property at The Bodgery must be stored in a way that is safe and shows respect for members and guests in the space. Property that meets any of the following criteria will not be considered safely stored.
6.2 Member Storage
Each member is entitled to one “plot” in member storage, which is a defined, limited space for keeping his or her private property, typically an allotment of member shelving. Each member must label their plot with their name and telephone number in case they need to be contacted.
Each member must keep their private property in only one plot and not exceed the physical dimensions of that plot. The only exceptions are for property tagged with a Parking Permit (see 6.3) or in the outdoor back parking area (see 6.1).
Member property that is not stored safely, not properly labeled or not in an appropriate area is both dangerous and disrespectful and is considered abandoned (see 5.2).
A properly labeled but empty member storage plot (shelf) may be reclaimed for use by other members if it remains empty two weeks after the Bodgery Operations Manager or designee places a notice of non-use on the plot/shelf.
6.3 Parking Permits
If a member has a personal project that is difficult to transport back and forth from home and won't fit in their member storage plot, they may fill out a “Parking Permit” (found in a holder in the main project parking area). The project can be stored in a designated shared project parking area for up to 14 days with an option for a 14 day extension. This is to allow for paint/glue drying, time required to acquire sustenance, or taking short breaks between working on it. Space at the Bodgery is a valuable and limited resource, so please be considerate of others and do not store items for extended periods of time.
The stored item must have a completed “Parking Permit” physically attached to it in a visible location. The parking permit must be filled out with the owner's name, contact phone/email and the date the permit expires. When the Parking Permit expires, the member must either extend the permit by updating the expiration date or immediately remove the property from the Bodgery.
Items that have been stored more than 30 days, have expired permits, are not stored safely, not properly labeled or not in an appropriate area are both dangerous and disrespectful and will be considered abandoned (see 5.2).
Each member is responsible for maintaining the security of his or her own keycard or fob (access credentials). If you suspect that your card or fob has been copied, please see the Board of Directors about replacing or changing it.
Access credentials may be temporarily entrusted to another person (trustee) for limited purposes, such as picking up or dropping off items or people at the space.
Such trustees are not considered members and are not allowed to use tools, host guests, store their personal property at The Bodgery, or exercise other benefits of membership simply for possessing access. Sharing or loaning access outside these limits is grounds for revocation.
A member or guest who behaves inappropriately (including but not limited to violation of these rules or the bylaws) may be asked to leave the space by another member. In case of a dispute in the matter, any board member may mediate.
8.1 Signatories
Signatory responsibility for the Bodgery’s bank accounts resides in the President and Treasurer of the Board. Checks and purchase cards for the Bodgery’s financial accounts shall be issued only to the President and Treasurer of the Board for their exclusive use, and will be surrendered to the Board or destroyed upon their leaving office.
8.2 Purchase Authority
The Board may delegate purchase authority to any member, ad-hoc group of members, or committee on a case-by-case basis in order to expedite necessary expenditures or ensure proper upkeep of the Bodgery and its facilities.
The nature and amount of the purchase, the member or members to whom the purchase authority is delegated as an “assigned agent”, and the time frame for the purchase or expenditure must be approved by a majority vote of the board.
Purchases and expenditures made on behalf of the Bodgery may be made within the scope defined by the Board, the Treasurer must be notified after purchase, and obtain require approval in the manner of the first qualifying line:
8.3 Reimbursements
Any member requiring reimbursement for a purchase or expenditure should send an email to treasurer@thebodgery.org with their full name, the amount requested, the date of the purchase, their desired means of reimbursement, and an attached copy of the receipt.
Upon receipt of the email, the Treasurer shall confirm that the purchase was made according to the procedures outlined above. Upon confirmation, the treasurer shall issue a reimbursement to the requesting member.
8.4 Financial transparency
The Treasurer must provide the Board with a complete and accurate financial picture of the Bodgery’s accounts at least once a month.
The Treasurer must provide the Bodgery’s membership with an up-to-date financial report at least once per calendar year. This report must include:
8.5 Transition process
After election of a new Board, or upon the resignation of the Treasurer or President, the Board shall pass a corporate resolution transferring signatory authority for the Bodgery’s accounts to the new President and Treasurer. This resolution must be signed by all members of the Board.
The outgoing President and/or Treasurer, President-elect, and Treasurer-elect must then take the signed corporate resolution and a copy of the meeting minutes from the meeting at which the resolution was passed to any and all institutions at which the Bodgery maintains accounts in order to complete the transfer of signatory authority.
Until this transition is complete, the outgoing President and Treasurer shall maintain responsibility for financial concerns, but are required to inform the new officers and the Board of all transactions that take place and their outcome.
9.1 Shop Budgets
Shop budgets are defined as a monthly allowance of funds taken from the Bodgery’s general available funds to be used towards maintenance, repair, and improvement of a specific area of the shop and may be spent by specific allowed Authorized Agents.
Budget amounts will be distributed on the 1st of every month.
Budgets will be funded from the Bodgery’s preceding month’s income after all other expenses or reserves (insurance savings, e.g.). If income is less than zero, no distribution will be made. If the income is not greater than the sum amount of budgets to be distributed, then the amount available will be distributed proportionally among the allocated budget amounts. An exception to this rule may be made if a single month had a disproportionately large one-time expense; treasurer will identify an exception of this nature in the monthly report.
Budgets can be created or modified by a two-thirds vote of the board. The amount and structure of a budget will be determined by the board’s best judgement, which may include but is not limited to historical repair/maintenance costs, frequency of space utilization, availability of funds, and fairness of distribution.
Budget balances (not tracked balances) not spent before the end of the month in which they were distributed will will roll over into the area’s tracked balance.
9.2 Purchase Requests
Assigned Agents (this includes but is not limited to Board Members and Area Captains) may make purchases, or bring requests for purchases to the board.
Members with purchase requests/suggestions should first bring the topic to the appropriate Area Captain(s), or Assigned Agent(s) if it doesn’t fall under a shop area’s purview.
If members disagree with their Area Captain(s) or Assigned Agent(s) regarding the necessity of a requested purchase, they may bring the request directly to the board during the ‘member comments’ section. In addition to the above purchasing guidelines, the Board will consider the request on the additional guidelines of sufficient member support, and should seek input from the Area Captain(s) or Assigned Agents(s) as to why they initially declined to pursue the purchase.
The board may terminate membership immediately if a member:
If a member violates a Bodgery rule, including the Bodgery’s first rule (“Don’t be a jerk”), and the board believes the event rises to the level of a serious infraction, the “Three Strikes” process can be initiated or continued.
A board member should communicate with the member about what happened to get their side of the story. Ideally, this happens in person, but it may also happen over the phone, by video chat, or as a last resort by email or Slack DM. The conversation is relayed back to the full board, who then vote on whether to issue a Strike 1. If a strike is issued, it should be documented in a Google doc on the board-only section of the shared drive, and the member notified of the decision.
After Strike 1, and upon the occurrence of another event that the Board determines could warrants a strike, the member can be provided the option of pursuing either:
If a third event occurs, a board member would reach out to the member, get their side of the story, and relay that back to the full board. The board then votes. A Strike 3 vote passing results in member termination and also gets documented and communicated to the member.
Strikes expiring:
If a membership is terminated, the member should have 72 hours to collect their personal items if doing so does not endanger people or property. No refund of unused membership dues will be refunded, except by vote of the board.
All board votes in this process require a simple majority to pass.
This policy in a Google doc: LINK
If necessary, any member, though preferably with the assistance of a board member or area captain, may temporarily eject a member from the space in order to resolve any immediate health, safety, or harassment issues.
The board may vote to temporarily or permanently ban from the Bodgery's premises and mailing lists any person who:
The board must define the term of the ban in its discussion and vote. The board may ban any person regardless of membership status with a 2/3rds majority vote.
All banned people shall be listed on the Bodgery Wiki with their name, picture, reason for their ban, the date their ban went into effect, and the timeframe of their ban. This wiki page will also be printed and posted next to the membership board in the Bodgery shop. Any member that encounters a banned person should report it to the Bodgery board immediately. The board reserves the right to refer any banned persons on the premises to law enforcement.
This document has been approved by The Bodgery Board of Directors.