This email was sent to all members on 2020/05/31
Hi everyone,
There’s a lot of news to go over, let’s get to it:
Opening
As you may be aware, The Exec Team has been advised a few hours ago that community groups and clubs are able to legally open as of the 1st of June, however, looking at the checklists and necessary preparation required for reopening, we ask that we be allowed the time to put those preparations in place. We will confirm on Friday the 5th of June when general members will be able to use the HSBNE onsite facilities.
We are not resuming Open Nights/days, classes or our Guest Policy. This means no guests allowed onsite, new members will be by appointment with the Exec Team for tours or inductions.
The measures we plan to put in place are:
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A member’s kiosk that will serve as a record in case of contact tracing
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Professional cleaning service to perform a deep clean of the site, and twice-weekly cleans thereafter
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Rearranging/removing furniture to allow for distancing
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Providing sanitation stations throughout the site
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Providing disposable drinking cups
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Boneyard will continue to be closed, any suitable item donations still need to go through the donations page
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Site clear-up and disposal of items, pending green/red ticketing follow-up
We have prepared our policy for when we re-open:
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Members must maintain a minimum 1.5m distance and minimise physical contact
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Members must use provided sanitizing equipment before and after tool use
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Maximum 20 members onsite at any time
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Room occupancy limits
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Members must not come to HSBNE if:
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They present with any illness or symptoms
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Have been in contact with anyone who has tested positive to COVID-19
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Have been overseas or interstate within the last 14 days
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Members must regularly wash their hands on entering site, after eating, coughing or sneezing, after using the toilet, after changing tasks, after smoking or changing bins
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Members must have showered and have clean clothes when coming onsite
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No food preparation onsite (We will place kitchen items into storage for now)
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In the event of Emergency, maintain social distancing as much as practically possible
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Exec will update the COVID-19 policy as needed to match that of business and public guidelines
Lastly, wearing a mask is not required, but it is encouraged.
Membership fees
HSBNE membership fees will resume on the 1st of July. Invoices will go out on the 15th of June. Any members that have credit outstanding will have that applied to July’s fees.
Meetings
Our Cause and General Meetings will continue to be held online via Discord. We are planning to call the Annual General Meeting on the 14 of July in person, restrictions permitting.
Other news
We have still been working on grant applications, we have applied for a second round of the Gambling Community Benefit Fund, for funds to purchase a hydraulic press for the Forge, and an improved table saw for Woodshop. We have also applied to the Lord Mayor’s Community Fund for funds to purchase a pantorouter joinery system for Woodshop, CRZ dual filament 3D printers for Digifab, digital microscopes for Electronics, and a Brother PE800 embroidery Machine for Craftpunk.
Metalshop have had a dropsaw donated, and it is now onsite.
The Exec Team has also been informed that EDQ are revising their plans for the site, but we haven’t had any details or an update on their expected timeline. We are continuing to liaise with CBRE on the site reopening, this issue, and others as they occur.
What you can do next
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Check your details are up to date on the Portal, as we will be using those details in the event of contact tracing.
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Fill out the HSBNE 2020 Member’s Survey, as this will be guiding the Exec as we move forward
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If you are able to help with poster design, or with site preparations, Exec will be doing this on Tuesday the 2nd of June. Please reply to this email or message us on Discord to let us know what you’d be willing to help with.
Thank you all for your patience, please, if there’s any questions we haven’t thought of, please reply to this email and I’ll get back to you asap.
Happy Making!
Emily
Secretary for HSBNE