September’s monthly meeting and cover for the woodshed
I arrived late for the start of the sheds monthly meeting due to work commitments. I put in my apologies as I arrived. Below is an outline of the issues raised at meeting.
Tool wish list and maintenance: I has told me that one of the regular agenda items is to look at tool maintenance and consider which tools and equipment are required. It arose a number of issues around the development of the shed and how members viewed the purpose of the shed. At this meeting members noted that the shed has a number of duplicate tools, ‘more than is needed’, one member stated. A number agreed that with the donation of tools during the sheds first year of set up and the willingness of the shed to take all and any donations there was now an oversupply of tools, many of which required maintenance and were of poor quality. Two members commented the tools should be thinned out and that elected members should judge how many are required and whether we need to buy or look for better quality. This raised discussions that the committee should revisits past notions of having elected members who oversee the woodwork shed, the machine shed, and the welding shed. This was noted as being a potential AGM agenda item. A number of the members commented that the shed had developed very quickly with community projects coming in from the very beginning. Comparison was made this the Kings shed who had approx 12 months to plan and fit out their shed. Those who had been to the Kings shed spoke about the organization of their spaces being more purpose/project focused where as this shed had developed as members renovated spaces and set up areas as they went working around community projects.
The discussion then shifted to the balance between individual and community project. A number of the members openly talked about the focus on community projects being at the expense of their own projects. Members did not appear anti community projects but a number appeared to have more time on their own work. It was noted by I as the meeting chair that a lot of the shed development and community project were coming to an end and there may well be time for more individual projects in the near future. The discussion came to a close then but it is a theme that I intend to follow up in discussions with members and in individual interviews.
Ongoing cost and funding application: This was the first time I seen BB at the shed who was my original contact for the shed and founding member. BB struck me as being very opinionated in the meeting discussion around funding applications and invitations to join the Men’s Shed association. M one of the newer member with a job history in project management and planning offered suggestions around planning application for funding based on project and equipment requirements. BB was reasonable short in his response that this was under control at present. This to mean seemed like a lost opportunity as M indicated he would be willing to help with funding.
BB and I indicated that they had again been approached to join the Men’s Shed movement but had declined and were dismissive of the idea. Although, as previously stated a number of members have been reasonable negative towards joining this association I do want to check this is a prevailing view with all members
I introduced myself to BB once the meeting had concluded but did not manage to have a long talk.
Bunning’s Equipment Auction: the shed had been donated another load of ‘as is’ equipment from Bunnings. There was a good deal of discussion about how this equipment could be sold to make money for the shed. Two members noted to general agreement from the majority of members that if goods are to be sold again this needs to involve more than just the shed members. It was suggested by M that TradeMe is an option but this was discounted as the responsibility of selling goods through Trademe would fall on individual members and not the shed as a whole. A decision was made after discussion to invite King Shed members, The Areo Club and Partners of Shed members.
Smoko
After the meeting conclusion we had smoko and I talked with I about my impression of the meeting. I stated that I was pleased to see so many members engaged in the conversation. My other impressions not shared with I were that along with many members being involved in the discussion it was also interesting to see members passionate about the topics discussed and willing to share opinions. My opinion here is that this indicates strength of this community as members care about the shed operations.
Shed cover and talk with J
After smoko I meet with J who had not been at the meeting to discuss continued work on the wood shed. J seemed agitated at first with organizing other members I overheard him talking about members ‘wasting his time’. I’m unsure what this comment was about. We got talking about the cover I’d brought in last week and how to best use it. Jim was impressed by the quality of the cover and we both wanted to make sure it wasn’t wasted. We spent a lot of time discussing ideas for covering the end of the shed with a blind that could be rolled up (this can be seen in photos). In the end we tacked it to the end of the shed uncut. The plan being to look at cutting the sheet next week and re attaching the remaining material to the front side of the shed. This was how the project was left at the end of the day.
I also had a long talk with J after he asked me about my study and my time at the shed. After explaining the structure of the study J made the following comments about why he comes to the shed.
• He was not wanting to be part of committee organization just wanting to do and help out. He stated that he’d had enough management of people in his previous jobs and didn’t need the hassle. He was happy to provide planning advice and guidance but not wanting to take on the responsibility of a leadership role. He see it as the shed responsibility to make do, keeping cost down and not taking short cuts by buying materials and taking the easy way out. He talk about showing M how to fuse PVC piping for the woodshed spouting a skill he had learnt from a fellow worker and was proud to pass on.He was also concerned about the tidiness of the outside area, a current focus. He noted that the cover over should improve the look here.
Finished at 12.30 with a plan to attend this coming Saturday to work on the cover
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