Recently, Hive13 leadership suspended the membership of Coy Paeltz for 72 hours. This is a serious action for the Hive13 leadership to take, and is rare enough that we did not have a documented procedure. Hindsight reveals that we should have reported the suspension and reasoning to the general membership at large.
For full transparency, the letter sent to Coy when his membership was suspended is copied below in full. Coy agreed to the terms, the suspension expired, and he is now a member in good standing.
-Hive13 leadership
Hive13 leadership have received multiple member complaints, which we have verified to be valid, that your usage of Hive13 violates our policies. The reported and confirmed transgressions include:
- Allowing non-member guests unattended access to Hive13, including a minor (See Membership Agreement section on guests),
- Unattended operation of the CNC router after multiple reminders that this is unsafe and against our training and policy for the machine (See CNC Router Class Handout),
- Failure to clean/maintain the space, leaving work areas in a condition which prevents other member’s usage of the space (See Code of Conduct section on cleanup)
- Excessive production usage of Hive13 facilities, inhibiting the equitable use of the space by other members (Membership was informed at the October 19, 2021 meeting, in which you were in attendance and spoken to individually, that IRS law forbids 501c3 corporations such as Hive13 from being the de facto production facility of a for profit business)
On July 30, two members of leadership discussed the 1st and 3rd of those items with you, with the understanding that you would cease the behaviors. On August 10, you again violated the rules. This behavior is not consistent with what is expected of Hive13 members, much less Wardens, and as such, we have determined that we must revoke your status as a warden, effective immediately.
Your continued membership to Hive13 will require that, going forward, you comply with the following:
- Do not allow unattended guests into Hive13 for any reason. If you do bring guests into Hive13, you must remain with them, and you are responsible for ensuring they comply with all tool usage and safety guidelines for the space.
- Do not run the CNC, or any other machines for which it is unsafe, unattended. You must remain in the room with the CNC any time it is running one of your projects.
- Clean up and put away all materials, waste, dust, and tools in the areas you use when you are done each day, or any time you will be taking a significant break from using them.
- Cease usage of Hive13 facilities for your business production projects. Hive13 is not intended to be a regular production facility for any member’s repeat work. Your production has outgrown the purpose of Hive13, and has begun to significantly impact other member’s usage of the facilities. You may continue to use Hive13 for prototyping, personal projects, etc. but your business production must cease.
Failure to agree to and maintain these changes in your conduct, or failure to comply with the Hive13 Membership agreement and other Hive13 policies, will result in termination of your membership. You will receive no further warnings.
Please acknowledge receipt of this email, and acceptance of these terms in order for your membership in Hive13 to continue. The terms are not open to negotiation. A new keyfob will be issued for activation at the expiration of your suspension if you agree to these conditions.
Respectfully,
Hive13 Leadership