In my ideal vision of the hackerspace, the decisionmaking would be highly decentralized. This would require a few hundred members, which would undoubtedly take time. As an example, I would like to see a Donor's Choose style approach to ongoing purchasing, where a portion of member dues is pre-allocated to buying common goods.

Thanks for pointing out the FabLab. I'm familiar with the concept, but had never read their complete inventory. Very helpful.