Plans have been sent by the architect to the city! While we’re still waiting for the city to approve the plans for the wall construction and change in building occupancy, we’ve been trying to keep construction moving in the makerspace.  The following has happened in the last two weeks:

• Boiler replacement has begun: The old boiler was from the 60s and seemed to be put in place before the walls in the offices were built.  PMG has spent the last couple days just cutting out the old boiler so newer boilers can be installed.  This project, covered by the building owner, will make sure we have reliable heat throughout the makerspace.  We expect it to be completed around November 12th
• Continued Prep in Offices and Coworking: The offices and coworking space are continuing to get some simple repairs, paint, and fixes to the lights and drop ceiling.  Since we can’t work on walls in the other studios, this is good work for us to get done while we wait for the permits.
• Wall Supplies Ordered: Last Friday, Mark ordered $7,500 in construction supplies from Menards, including 495 metal studs and nearly a mile worth of insulation for the internal studio walls.  We’re organizing a partial donation of drywall from Simonson Lumber, and trying to find an affordable supplier for the metal doors.
• Window Plan Formulated: Between board member Garrick Holey and community member Molly Brown, we now have a plan for repairing the south facing windows and preparing some internal studio windows.  The southern facing windows were replaced with acrylic plastic at some point, have numerous holes, and are poorly tinted – replacing those panes will make a big difference to the Fabric Arts, Ceramics, Glass, and other studios.  Watch for a few “Window Repair” volunteer sessions later in the month, where we’ll train you how to repair the windows with us.
• More Tool and Equipment Donations: We finished up our scheduled Fall Tool Drive, but the donations keep coming in!  Today, we received donations from member Rob Brault of some great woodworking equipment, as well as donations from community member Jon Mauser of a 20w laser cutter, grinder, and more.  We also received a large donation of office supplies, including a microwave and PA system, from Engage Winona.  THANK YOU to everyone who’s made donations to our space!

As an all-volunteer organization, we do still need help with preparing the space and writing some grants.  The jobs are a wide range of tasks, that fit whatever skills you might have. You can view the list of available shifts, or fill out a volunteer form with your interests and availability.