I think that the "brutally waitlisted" part could be addressed. Or you could cap membership until you can actually accommodate the new members. But both those options reduce short term cash inflow.
Given that this was about a waitlist for the "how to use a laser cutter" class, getting another tool probably wasn't going to be economically possible.
The TechShop in my area (Phoenix/Chandler) had six (!) laser cutters - all ULS 60 watt machines (I'm not sure what they had before they closed; I haven't been back in a long while). ULS is based in Scottsdale, so maybe they got a discount on the equipment or something - but regardless, those machines aren't cheap. They are quality machines (heck, the software alone is pretty amazing), and have a cost that reflects it.