Hi CCL and Sudo,
Forwarded below is my update to consensus list on the present status of
omni's various furnaces / heaters, including those situated within
CCL/Sudo. I encourage all to read through it, and I wanted to extend my
gratitude to everyone who allowed the safety of the furnace and space
heater to be assessed on 9/23.
In addition to that update, based on feedback from folks in the lab at the
time, *I also wanted to develop a better protocol for the scheduled
maintenance of these fixtures and for infrastructure issues generally with
CCL and Sudo, in particular CCL*.
To this end I had the following questions for CCL:
1. I was told there was a Lab Manager -- I believe whose name is Dave? May
I have this person's contact info?
As moving forward, it would be great to ensure this person is directly
apprised of any maintenance work which may affect CCL.
2. During the work, a CCL'er demanded that the HVAC person present their
Certificate of Insurance (COI). I wanted to respectfully ask that in the
future, if such questions be directed at me or whomever is coordinating the
maintenance for omni, rather than of the tech performing the maintenance.
As I don't believe this is the sort of paperwork that tradesfolk carry
around with them on their person while on ladders etc., and it can feel
vaguely threatening, whereas I am happy to provide this if this is
required.
(Parenthetically on this topic - I also was hoping CCL might provide their
annual COI to me or to the finance WG, to aid the pursuit of re-applying
for cheaper building/fire insurance for the whole building.. I've been
meaning to gather all these)
3. Per my update to consensus, I would like (w/ zero pressure) to ask if
CCL might consider voluntarily safely undertaking a cleaning of the furnace
platform upon which there is a layer of dust (such as wiping down with wet
wipes i imagine, or some other manner involving a minimum of air
disturbance). This way, the furnace could be occasionally serviced or
accessed in an emergency with a minimum chance of dust disturbing CCL areas
below.
I ask since I was informed there are special cleaning and associated
protective procedures in use within CCL, which it was made clear to me,
neither myself as a lay-person nor other non-CCL omninoms may be familiar.
So, I recognize that CCL is itself probably better equipped to do the best
job possible of this.
If that sounds reasonable to CCL, it would be great if this task could be
undertaken sometime in the next week, ie before an HVAC person is scheduled
to return.
See the forwarded message below with regards updates about specific HVAV
fixtures.
Thank you so much CCL & Sudo! and have a great weekend :)
Best,
David
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: David Keenan <dkeenan44(a)gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Sep 24, 2021 at 3:12 PM
Subject: Omni HVAC status 9/24
To: consensus <consensus(a)lists.omnicommons.org>
Cc: building <building(a)lists.omnicommons.org>, <
finance(a)lists.omnicommons.org> <finance(a)lists.omnicommons.org>
Hi,
The HVAC tech came out on Thursday 9/23 and completed an assessment of the
two fixtures mounted halfway up CCL's north wall, being (a) gas furnace
serving the adjacent disco room and (b) gas space heater serving CCL /
Sudo's room. In addition, I discovered (c) a small modification we need to
make to the furnace serving the ballroom.
*A. Space heater serving CCL/Sudo*:
*This unit was found to be safe & 100% functional; it can be turned on by
activating the switch in the BSL room that has the brown cover plate* (mounted
a bit high up on the wall, but still reachable from a standing position).
In the tech's professional opinion the unit is appropriately sized for the
room and will adequately heat / take the chill out of the room.
Therefore in my own opinion, CCL might consider giving the space heater a
try as an alternative to multiple small electric space heaters that I have
heard have been used in lieu during colder months, due to the increased
life-safety hazard and energy use imposed by multiple small electric units,
and because omni's electrical budget (total available amps) is limited
whereas gas is barely utilized. If the space heater is found to be
effective, I would propose CCL consider stopping the use of multiple
electric heaters.
That said, by design the unit is not attached to a thermostat -- and so
once it is on, it will stay on until it is turned off. This isn't a safety
issue per se, but if left on accidentally, it could lead to energy waste.
Therefore I am recommending the following modest improvements be made:
1. The on/off switch controlling the unit be converted to a timer switch
(e.g, a 30-min-max dial).
This way, the unit will not be accidentally left on, and a timer switch is
an easier / cheaper improvement than adding a thermostat.
2. Lower the switch box a couple feet to a more accessible height (as a
person in a wheelchair cannot reach the present switch location.).
2. The unit's gas valve be lowered to an accessible height, so gas service
to the unit can be easily turned off should the pilot light become
extinguished. At present, a ladder is needed to reach this gas valve.
3. Off-the-shelf CO/explosive gas sensor & a smoke sensor (w/ 10-year
batteries) are mounted to the wall the code-required distance above the
both the space heater and furnace. For the safety of folks working in this
room, imo this should probably have been done a long time ago.
The above suggested improvements would not involve a significant
disturbance of dust, are inexpensive, and are projected to take <2h.
*B. Furnace serving the disco room*:
- It was determined that the blower in this unit needs replacement (keeps
blowing fuses); we are waiting on a cost estimate for this. This fix would
have to be effected by the HVAC tech.
- It was also previously recommended that a separate, small water pump be
installed adjacent to the unit to push condensation down the existing
flexible drip line running to the floor drain. The flexible drip line was
not run at a consistent downward slope, which led to water backing up into
the furnace unit, in turn rusting the bottom of the unit and causing water
damage to the platform visible from below (which presumably, dripped down
onto CCL's workspace). It appears this can be self-installed, and is
anticipated as a low cost improvement.
- The water damage to the platform holding the furnace needs to be assessed
a bit more to see if any structural reinforcement is necessary. Due to the
relatively small quantity of water produced during condensation, I don't
anticipate that the water damage will be all that bad, but we don't want
the platform failing at some point in the future and hurting anyone
beneath. The need for any reinforcement here is TBD.
- I would like CCL to consider whether they as a group might (?) prefer to
take on cleaning this furnace area of accumulated dust (such as wiping it
down etc) prior to additional servicing of the furnace.
The reasons are:
-- The furnace must be able to be accessible for occasional maintenance or
in an emergency, preferably without creating any potential dust headaches
for CCL work going on underneath.
-- I have been informed that there are lab standards for cleaning, with
which lay people / non-CCL volunteers may not be familiar.
-- Although the furnace does not serve CCL, the furnace is in CCL's space,
and it makes sense to me that CCL would participate in the upkeep of
building infrastructure within its space in the interest of collectively
maintaining the building.
*C. Ballroom furnace*:
The ballroom furnace works well, but in the process of trying to assess /
replace the old filters for all these units, I discovered that the filters
are not presently accessible for the ballroom furnace.
The reason is: Studs for the west wall separating the furnace area from the
kitchen were placed literally right up against the filter door. Therefore,
a simple access panel needs to be created in the perpendicular side of the
filter housing, to allow for filter replacement. This fix represents some
light sheet metal work and is not perceived to be a major expense. We are
awaiting an estimate for this.
Having decent air filters in place is of increasing importance due to COVID
and the worsening air quality in CA. We plan to replace with MERV-13
filters to make the omni less friendly to COVID spread for any time when a
furnaces may be in use (MERV 13 isn't HEPA, but does block sneeze-size
droplets along with bacteria etc).
Best,
David
Hi,
Apologies for the late notice, but HVAC professionals from AAPH will be
returning Thursday sometime in the afternoon to further test the large
hanging space heater and the disco room furnace, both of which are adjacent
to CCL’s north wall. In broad terms this assessment is being undertaken in
order to:
a) lower Omni’s monthly insurance costs;
b) assess if the large gas-powered space heater is a safer and more
efficient solution than multiple smaller electric space heaters;
c) restore heat to the disco room if reasonably possible, in order to aid
rentability.
This work will require placing a large ladder beneath these items. *Dust
from these high-up areas may be disturbed, and so we ask that anything
potentially affected at ground-floor level be secured.*
As always, please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you,
David
Hi sudoers!
Let's try to have an in-person meeting tonight at 6 pm.
We had hardware hacknight last night and I'm excited to get sudo room
re-activated :D
If you have ideas for what you want post-covid sudo room to look like or
just want to see some hackers in person then come on by!
Masks and vaccines required but no proof of vaccine necessary.
We're limiting total number of people in sudo room and CCL to 24.
Hope to see you tonight!
--
marc/juul
tonight some sudoroom memberds will convene in sudoroom to repopulate the space
and discuss interesting projects, brainstorm ideas for moving forward, improve
internet and airflow infrastructure, and etcetera.
This is not a call for more people to show up, because i'm more worried about
having too many people rather than not enough. But I wanted to send out the
email to let people know that it's happening.
i still think that sudoroom members should make use of the space outside of
normal scheduled times, rather than at organized times, in order to avoid too
many people meeting in the space at the same time.
That said, I think it's time to start using the space again, and people will be
wearing masks of course, and we'll be running the new ventilation fan as well
as the fan near the laser cutter.
Hopefully CCL doesn't have a meeting scheduled for tonight as well.
-jake
Dear Sudo Room,
Here's your invoice! We appreciate your prompt payment.
Thank you for stewarding the commons.
Love and solidarity,
Omni Commons
---------------------------------- Invoice ---------------------------------
4799 Shattuck Ave
Oakland, CA 94609 US
https://omnicommons.org
Invoice #: 2420
Date: 10/01/2021
Due Date: 10/25/2021
Terms: Net 25
Amount Due: $22,000.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill To:
Sudo Room
4799 Shattuck Ave
Oakland, CA 94607
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
****************************** Account Summary *****************************
09/01/2021 Balance Forward $20,000.00
Other payments and credits after 09/01/2021 0.00
New charges (details below) 2,000.00
Total Amount Due (activity through 10/01/202 22,000.00
****************************************************************************
<u> Date </u><u> Activity </u><u> Qty </u><u> Rate </u><u> Amount </u>
10/01/2021 Furnishing Fa 1 2,000.00 2,000.00
____________________________________________________________________________
--------------------------------------
Total Of New Charges: $2,000.00
Total Amount Due: $22,000.00
Greetings Sudo Room!
This is your monthly donation invoice. Thank you for stewarding the
commons!
Love and solidarity,
Omni Commons Finance Working Group
Hi.. I think I’m still a sudoer? So:
I would like to propose that Sudo consense to place a permanent electrical
receptacle near the bottom stair landing (that leads up to ballroom) near
the fridge, to be used by the fridge.
IMO this would be superior to the prior ‘50ft extension cord through the
wall up to another room’ solution that has been used in the past, which
transgresses code and therefore poses recurring headaches during annual
fire inspections.
I expect this work would take appx 2-3h at most, possibly less.
Paying an electrician to do it will I ballpark cost ~$200-$300.
As it happens we presently have an electrician this week conducting minor
repairs around omni, so this would be an opportune time to do this scope of
work as well.
Is there by chance a sudo budget for this sort of thing? let me know if
this task is copacetic with sudo?
Best,
David
Hi all,
Tomorrow 9/16, I hope folks can show up for moving omni’s library (per
Silver’s message below) out of the ballroom mezzanine, and into the
entrance hall mezzanine.
This will help provide a more accessible library as well as facilitate more
professional rentals of the ballroom.
Please come if you can! Xo!
David
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Natasha Zahn <natashazahn27(a)gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Sep 7, 2021 at 22:23
Subject: [omni-building] 9.15 Omni Commons Library Re-location!
To: consensus <consensus(a)lists.omnicommons.org>, building <
building(a)lists.omnicommons.org>
Hey Lovelies!
We are looking to improve Omni constantly and plan to have a work party
moving our current Library (2nd floor ballroom) to the entrance hall
mezzanine. It will happen September 15th from 3pm to 6pm If you can help
support that day please sign up with this link! <3
Volunteer Sign Up Form
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSezKQre4aGHY9Nu3GO6vKCFv6Qz2PH49Rg…>
Sweet Regards,
Silver
[image: Volunteer with Omni Commons (2).jpg]
_______________________________________________
building mailing list
building(a)lists.omnicommons.org
https://omnicommons.org/lists/listinfo/building
Hi Sudo Room!
I hope you're well. I would like to ask y'all for a favor: Helen, Sarah and
I are wanting to revamp Omni's safer space, conflict resolution, and bans
policies to make omni a safer, saner place to come to work on community
projects. We want to hear about problems related to these policies, and
about what in your view, would make them better.
We are embarking on what we anticipate to be a roughly 3-month process to
improve these policies, and we hoped to start by hearing direct and frank
feedback from all member groups and individuals about how they feel working
in omni with respect to the above policies, and for their opinions on what
about them could be improved.
(You can read about our proposed workshop-style process of engagement on
this wiki page <https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Revisioning>, which also lists
suggested prompts
<https://omnicommons.org/wiki/Revisioning#Round_1_Discussion_Prompts_.28prop…:>
for
a first discussion.)
*Therefore, we were very much hoping we could be agendized into one of your
group meetings* - or, set up with a separate meeting, if that is better -
to begin to explore these issues and start to gather your frank feedback.
We can meet over zoom/google-meet, or in person (with masks) if that is
better for you. Note that in-person meetings do not need to take place at
omni, and in any of our discussions, any feedback given can anonymized at
your request before it gets aggregated into a bigger omni-wide feedback
document.
Finally, because we want to make this process as inclusive as we can, we
were hoping to hear in particular from voices who do not typically chime in
on omni mailing lists or omni meetings.. (which is to say, a majority of
omninoms!) If your group has someone tasked with communicating with
delegates / rest of omni, we definitely want to hear from them too -- but
ideally, also from others in your collective.
If you are agreeable, can you please let us know at your earliest
opportunity when might be a good time to discuss these issues with us?
Thank you so much for your time, and if possible, please reply-all to at
least helen, sarah and me if you can.
Best,
David
Have any of you checked out https://tildeverse.org? It seems like there would be a lot of overlap between “pubnix” community and hacker space communities.
Eric
