06-22-2012, 01:13 PM
quote:
Originally posted by coppercoin40
There was a co-op on the rural north end here for awhile, I never went but always thought it an excellent idea. The members all had card keys for 24 hr access. I thought that was a great idea as it gives people who are shift workers a place that they could use that fit their time schedules.
From the posts on this thread I would bet there would be a good interest in a start up. Considerations: Where would be the best centralized location. How much is commercial space rent. Would liability insurance be needed.
coppercoin:
All those are relevant considerations and there are many more as well. When we first began kicking around the idea of a co-op, the initial thought process was heavy on the informal aspect and light on such details as liability, agreements and what type of entity to create.
This is Puna and we still would like to keep it simple stupid - that last part not directed at anyone. It's what we keep telling ourselves in our co-op discussions.
We have noticed that the most favorable facilities are located within the Shipman Business Park. Warehouse type open spaces. Not exactly in the heart of Puna, but still a better drive and more parking than downtown Hilo.
Donated spaces would be preferable by far.
What we are focusing on at the moment is gauging how much local support is out there, majority-driven preferred locations and most important: are there enough folk willing to give some of their time, energy and a bit of their dinero for a small and, what hopes to be, efficiently run work out space.
If you manage to come across info on how the co-op you referenced was run, I would love to hear more about it.
When we are confident that we have covered the initial groundwork and have well reasoned info to pass on to potential members, we plan on holding some informal sessions about what we envision as well as soliciting input (lots!) from interested parties.
If you peruse this thread and are interested in what we are trying to do - please join in or use my profile's email link to contact me.
Thanks in advance,
Mike in HPP