@ve7det I dug up this list of questions that we posed to the Woodworkers Guild, to see if holding their meetings at VHS would be a good fit (they ended up being a very good fit, as far as I know). Maybe you could consider and answer these questions too?
Q1: All VHS visitors must sign a VHS waiver, so with VECTOR is that a problem?
Q2: VECTOR would not have exclusive space access (as our members have 24 hour access ) although meeting/workshops take priority at VHS. Is that an issue?
Q3. How many people are usually at a VECTOR meeting/workshop and how long are meetings?
Q4. Would you require access to the electronics benches or any other equipment?
Q5. Would you need storage? Would you need any permanent space?
Q6: What fees do you have associated with VECTOR meetings/workshops? Would VHS members who attend be required to pay the full amount?
Q7: Would you need wifi, kitchenette access, projector use, etc?
These questions will help everyone understand expectations. But honestly everything is pretty flexible and it sounds like there is general support for this idea.
Our next monthly member meeting is on 2020-07-08. I’ll raise this there and at the July board meeting on 2020-07-22.
Unless you suggest otherwise, I’ll interpret that VHS needs to only share the details of the Woodworkers-VHS agreement between members. So, I’ll focus on the questions above.
I don’t think there is or was any official agreement. The questions above were in the members-only section of this forum, but I don’t think they are in any way sensitive, so I’ve reposted them here. These are not strict “conditions” - they are just some questions so we can understand your needs and expectations.
Another approach would be to just pick an event and do it. You only really need one existing keyholder member to be the “bottom liner” for the event. They will be responsible to opening up and then locking up the building afterwards, etc. If you wanted to organize a ham radio demo evening some time, I would be willing to be the bottom liner. We could probably convince @Rob_MacKenzie to come too. To observe physical distancing we can all sit 5m apart and only talk through our radios.
We have a small cadre of members interested in a free-form talk-and-show around our current grab-and-go kit prototypes. What kind of time box and timing would you suggest we aim for?
The grab-and-go-kits are station kits to allow quick setup in the 3 key ways VECTOR currently uses in our operating framework.
The link below becomes more important for our long-term planning. As organizations, I believe we need to address the risk of acquired liability.
Generally speaking, we require all visitors to sign a waiver indemnifying VHS against liability for injuries etc… Presumably a director of a partner organization could sign on behalf of the organization?
VECTOR is a non-profit organization and a charity. We are just now learning about “acquired liability” and what that’s supposed to mean.
I imagine VHS and VECTOR will be able to find a way to partner and address that risk. Currently, the VECTOR board and membership still needs to dialogue about whether activities VHS and VECTOR would do together can create “acquired liability”.
Seems like using some of your larger tools might do it. Yet, going to a member’s home workshop might do it, too.
Referring back to the free-form talk-and-show night, I believe we will get further ahead once members of VHS and members of VECTOR can spend time together imagining what both communities want to do together.
Would a demonstration and dialogue night be free from acquired liability? Perhaps.
Would the members of each community be able to come up with a way to prevent acquired liability? Lot’s of creativity and knowledge on both sides.
Late to the party here but I think the only kind of “partnership” that VHS would be offering is an informal one such as the one we have with PWWG. i.e. There is no legal partnership document to be signed by the VHS BOD with Vector.
A search of the Better_Together_2015.pdf shows no mention of Liability or Aquired Liability.
Any VHS liability issues are taken care of by all visitors signing a VHS Liablitiy waiver.
VECTOR may have its own members sign a liability waiver as required however this does not mean that there is any actual or shared liability.
Given that this topic has been raised I have to ask what forms of liability does VECTOR forsee and what are the risks that VHS would be named a liability suit?
We have been unsure of how formal to make the partnership between VHS and VECTOR. We were concerned about taking on liability for injuries (VECTOR or VHS) and damage to VHS tools.
In the intervening weeks, we have consulted with people we know in insurance and learned that when groups like ours stay as separate entities we won’t acquire liability.
The small cadre of volunteers who came forward are still interested in holding that initial radio night to bring one or two of our newer grab and go kit prototypes to VHS to talk about. Though, the folks involved are all in the over-50 group.
Slow response again. I surveyed members without getting any responses.
A1. VECTOR supports using appropriate waivers.
A2. VECTOR members would support working with and around others.
A3. At work activities, between 2 and 10 people attend. At larger meetings, we can have between 15 and 50 people attend. (Our partnerships with Vancouver Recreation, Vancouver Emergency Management and VFRS allow us to use City meeting rooms. )
A4. We are looking for a workshop to do some wiring, electronics, front panels, wood or aluminum mounting panels, and glue work.
A5. We may need to store in-progress projects. We currently see this as temporary space needs.
A6. We charge annual membership dues and fees for our Basic Radio Certification course. Only members who go through an application process need to pay dues.
A7. Unnecessary, yet nice to have: wifi, kitchenette, projector.
That entire document seems to address the context of strategic “mergers” or partnerships, where organizations are contractually engaged on the organizational level. For BC the topic of Amalgamation also comes up.
Acquired liability seems to be related to the impact of a transaction.
As @Majicj mentioned, in the case of VHS and PWWG, the liability is specifically limited by the fact that outside of keeping the event on the calendar, VHS has no real commitments (VHS keyholders are required for every meeting).
VECTOR would simply be a group visiting a location that requires a liability waiver. Just as any other location with dangerous/hazardous tools.
If acquired liability becomes a concern, then we’ll need to have a completely different conversation, because this would be beyond the scope of merely hosting meetings (which is the baseline arrangement we’ve had with PWWG).
IMO (not an official board position) we don’t need a formal partnership, as long as there’s broad consensus among the membership that this is a good thing, and at least one existing keyholder (ideally more!) will bottom-line the meetings and take responsibility to ensure compliance with COVID guidelines.
Imo if there is internal interest in this at vhs then it should be a QGM proposal brought forward by a VHS member who is willing to champion this, onboard this group, and also let this group in the space on their meetings night. That is of course, if anyone has interest in doing this, and also pending voting yay/nay by the membership. This is a non-trivial decision about space and tool use by people who are not vhs members, so it should be properly defined/vetted and voted on by the membership through the usual QGM process.
I like the security that a liaison and QGM support give. I am confused about whether to ask all the VHS ARC to liaise with us or to ask a specific person, or to ask someone who’s a member of both VECTOR and VHS.
What follows describes how big this is currently.
A small group of 3 to 8 people are working on assembling or repairing equipment. This team wishes for a dedicated workshop. Part of that team wish to come into the VHS space to connect with the VHS ARC or to get work done. (Our meetings and courses use official City rooms. I did take the question about meeting size too literally in my answers before. )
Also, since VECTOR is a mission-centred organization, some VECTOR members are looking for a Vancouver-based radio club atmosphere to connect with.
