“If we start paying the Riders that have been volunteers a competitive wage, how many can we get to move here as a permanent force, Dek?”
“I am just guessing Madd, but if we can supply decent interim housing for their families I would think 20 to 25, some of them younger men and some that have established family groups.”
“Fine, start talking to them. I will contact our guys at the container housing factory and have them set up crews to turn out four man wet CHU’s for the new workers and have them start on 40’ family CHU’s for the Riders and their dependents,” said Madd.
“That brings up another pay and housing issue, Madd. The group that ended their training with the family instructors just after you left, were 17 at that time. They graduated high school a few weeks after that. They either need to get jobs or go to work on relatives’ ranches/farms. I got them to hold off making any firm commitments until I could talk to you.”
“I take it you want to give them jobs on our projects?” said Madd.
“Exactly. We have to have more help, there is no way around it. We all knew this was a big undertaking but we never understood the scope of it. The logistics of supplying our operation with material alone is a nightmare. They need jobs and we need help; seems the best option for all of us. To give you some perspective we are going to need close to a hundred people from the Riders to pull security and to hold down sensitive jobs.”
“Ok Dek, they are good men, and I am sure willing workers, but how many of them have construction skills?”
“Growing up on a ranch has given them some skills, but we can use them in a lot of other ways. They have the training that will allow them to integrate with the security force, for one thing. In short order they can probably take that over and release more experienced men for other jobs. If nothing else they can drive, and you cannot imagine how many times someone needs to drive here or there to pick this or that up. Let’s all remember that the construction site is four to five hours from our hidden exit behind the container facility.”
“A lot of them have the experience we need to get the fields and pastures ready. How to run farm equipment. They know how to string fencing, set posts and how to make gates, how to cross fence a pasture. How to handle and care for farm animals. Again, it can release men from those jobs that have expertise in other fields.”
“How many are we talking about, Dek?”
"Thirty seven that are not already committed in one way or another to something else. But as I said, they won’t be enough. We are going to have to lure men away from jobs outside our community if we are to have any hope of completing this massive project in a reasonable amount of time!”
“All of them on the payroll and needing housing I assume, Dek?”
“The way I see it Ivan, they will have to be paid, and also housed on site. Commuting on a daily basis just isn’t practical, it’s too time consuming and our dirt road is already becoming a problem. We really don’t need to add to the traffic. That brings up another issue concerning payroll, but let’s let that go for the time being,” said Dek.
“OK, put them on the payroll, but I am not sure we can get that much more housing on such short notice.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem Madd, the young single guys and gals are used to roughing it. We can house them in tents for a short time until we can come up with something else. I know I brought this up, but this is going to run into significant money, guys. I agree we need to take this step; we either slow down construction and acquisition, or we have to have more help. I just want everyone to understand it is going to cost like crazy,” said Dek.
Ivan said, “We understand Dek, but what is the cost of having the SHTF with no BOL?”
“Point taken,” said Dek.
“Number 7. You all heard what Tommy had to say about finances. In rough terms, we have already spent 5.1 million so far on our projects, and he is releasing another million today. That million is going to pay incoming bills. With Tommy’s help we were able to set up a line of credit for the LLC. From that we received corporate credit cards. Things we use the credit cards to purchase are paid off at the end of each billing cycle, so we are always current. Most of our suppliers for building materials, most notably, electrical wire, copper plumping pipe, and fresh air ducting require 100% payment before shipping. Since we have a good credit history and a line of credit, we only pay 30% down and the balance on delivery. That’s just a thumbnail. I am sure you don’t want to know any more about billing or purchasing than that.
“What you do need to know is that of that 5.1 million, 1.5 was spent on the first truckloads of supplies I just mentioned. The price of all things made of copper can turn your hair white. I would say we have used thousands of feet of copper wire alone, but it seems more like miles of the stuff. At any rate, that was just the first purchase to get us going. I won’t even get into the miles of conduit to run electrical through or the number of sinks, toilets, tubes and showers needed. The one bright spot is that we have a fair amount of the total materials needed to finish the new home place stockpiled. However, in less than 45 days I will have to have Tommy release another 1 million and maybe 1.5 million. Sounds like a lot I know, but it won’t be enough. We have to have an infusion of capital ASAP.”
“How much more are we talking about, in ballpark figures Dek?” Madd asked.
“Ball park? I don’t even know how to compute a ballpark estimate.”
After considering for a few minutes he said, “At least another 8 to 10 million I would guess.”
Dek could see a lot of slumped shoulders from those present.
“More than once today I mentioned manpower. Here are some realities. To begin construction we needed certified electricians, plumbers, carpenters and HVAC installers. It would have been a problem to do that when building a secret instillation, if arrangements hadn’t been set in motion years before. Madd started the ball rolling with his speech to the council when he was eight. He made the council really take stock and think about what professions they would need in the future.
“He particularly impressed Uncle Roy. The council carefully selected family that were either already in the professions we would need or encouraged those interested to learn the needed trades. In some cases they even paid for their education. All we needed to do was contact those members and activate them. Uncle Roy made sure they were all kept up to date about the current state of the world for the last eleven years. As a matter of fact, most of them have been coming home for holidays and vacations for years, but you guys were either too young or too busy to know what their professions were.
“They already believed a SHTF situation was getting more and more likely so they were quickly on board. Our electrician, plumber and carpenter were in business for themselves in Denver and surrounding cities. They were also the uncles that we have been using for years for all the family farms, houses and businesses. Each of them made sure they had sons working with them in their family businesses so that gave us a basis to start from. Best of all, the carpenter and plumber were also licensed contractors, which made my life much easier. I could never have done all that was need if I had to oversee the day to day construction. HVAC didn’t work out quite as easily. The family member who had gone to school for that, moved to California and started a business there. Uncle Roy kept in touch with him, but after a few years Uncle Roy no longer trusted him with family secrets so we were unable to use him. We had to make other arrangements.
“Since the uncles were already on board with the idea of prepping and building a family BOL, it didn’t take long to get them here and involved in the project. They were all very surprised at the size of the project. They were expecting a less ambitious one, to say the least. Eventually they all either sold their businesses, or hired managers to run them. Basically, they all have moved here to be onsite. They had their own RVs, so housing wasn’t a big deal. After 10 to 11 months, I imagine they are tired of living out of an RV and we should try and get them some better acc
ommodations.
“When the first group of construction guys came up from South America, the uncles interviewed them and found ones that had the most experience back home. The uncles and their sons trained helpers and that gave us several plumbing, electrical and carpentry crews. They used their sons as a basis for the crews they put together. That left the uncles free to work with their own crews or to just oversee what the other crews were doing. The HVAC is a whole different story; I won’t go into it now, but it got done.”
“It sounds like you have had a doozy of a time keeping up the level of work that has been going on,” Ivan said.
“You have no idea Ivan, no idea at all,” Dek told him.
“The point in me telling you guys all this is that even though the uncles and their families were willing to take on the commitment they still had to live, so we had to come to a financial agreement with them. After all, if the SHTF didn’t happen by the time the project was done they were going to need money in the bank to start over again. No matter what arrangements they made for their businesses, they still own houses and need to pay upkeep and taxes. There is no need to nitpick, but there have been some serious financial ramifications to all this," said Dek.
“We have had an ongoing payroll to pay: plumbers, electricians, and carpenters. I had to hire family to drive trucks, pay the full time security staff, pay technicians to oversee all the cameras and security setup, and pay the full time farm/ranch hands. That is just the tip of the iceberg, really. There are so many positions that have to be paid it is unbelievable.
“Let me give you one example of positions we had to pay for that I would never have thought of before all this started. To get supplies here in a clandestine manner, we use the buildings and facilities that house the container refurbishing business and the adjacent sawmill. Both facilities are manned entirely by family. Anything that comes in that is not on a truck driven by a family member/truck driver, is delivered to the front docks at the warehouse located on the container property. There is a forklift driver and helper involved in that to unload and stack the supplies in the warehouse. We have a river of supplies delivered every day so those two positions are a full time job.
“Later, one of our trucks, with a family member, comes to the loading docks behind the warehouse. The forklift driver and his helper load the truck out the back doors. Those trucks and the ones that come in on trucks driven by our guys pull behind the warehouse, where they can’t be seen from the road or the surrounding area.
“The old logging road used by the original logging company is a little over a mile away through heavy timber. We made sure over the years that the old entrance and the part that you used to be able to see has become overgrown and unusable. Basically, it has disappeared into the forest. The end of the warehouse has a privacy gate and fence so no unauthorized people can get behind the warehouse. Or see behind it, for that matter. We put what appears to be a gravel parking lot behind the warehouse. A nondescript gate is in the back chain-link fencing. That’s two gates. For security and to open and close the gates in a timely fashion there has to be a security guard. Again, it has to be a family member. Driver, forklift operator, helper and guard. As deliveries pick up we will need more forklift operators and other personnel. That is four or five paid positions I would never have considered before,” said Dek.
“That means you had to cut some type of a road through the property belonging to the container operation to hit the old logging road?” asked Real.
“Yes, we did, and that is another story all by itself,” said Dek.
“I am beginning to sense a trend here. Your point is that with the positions we already have to pay for and additional construction workers and 50+ family members, our payroll is going to dramatically increase?” asked Madd.
“I think the word I would use is skyrocket, but yes.”
“I can see that our base number of 300 family members may have been overly optimistic. It is beginning to look like the housing and building program may have to be revised upward,” Mad said.
“I have to agree, Madd, but that is going to throw all the other calculations like food and farming out of whack too.”
No one present could disagree with either statement.
“What will this do to how many housing units are available in the main structure?” asked Ivan.
Dek took a minute to decide how to answer that.
“It shouldn’t affect it much. We had blueprints and plans based on 200 all the way to 600 family groups. One of the last instructions Madd gave me was to err on the side of too much, too big, too many. The contractors and I, while assembling the workforce to dig out the subbasements, clear the land and form the footings, looked at the large number of men needed for the project. Since everyone, with the exception of the South Americans, were family and would need to be housed in a SHTF situation, it became obvious from the sheer number of workmen needed that we would need a lot more housing than any of us thought.
“Keep in mind that when we decided to use the blueprints for the 600 housing units, everything else was expanded too. Not only did the footprint for the main structure expand to intimidating dimensions, all the interior facilities had to be upgraded. Take something as simple as a cafeteria. One designed around a 200 family facility suddenly needed to be 3 times as large, ditto the kitchen serving the cafeteria. Long term food and supply storage for 200 meant a basement and a subbasement. Suddenly there had to be a basement and five subbasements.
“Now you can start to get an idea of why I am going bald and why we need an infusion of wealth soon.”
“I had no idea when I gave you those instructions that it would cause that much chaos,” said Madd.
“Don’t feel bad about it, Madd. Actually, it was a good thing. Had you not told me that, I might have missed the fact that our 200 family unit facility was woefully shortsighted,” Dek assured him.
“Dek, the thirty seven graduates you mentioned. As I recall they are mostly younger brothers of our current Riders roster.”
“Yes they are, I looked at that when I was deciding to see if we could bring them on as a new work force, Madd.”
“This is for all of us to consider, but I think we are going to have to fold them into the current Riders and make them full members. We need them committed to our cause. That way their brothers can help keep an eye on them, train them and give them good advice. Anyone object?” asked Madd.
Ivan spoke up. “No objections Madd, I think we need a show of hands to make sure everyone is on board with it. Everyone in favor, raise your hand.”
Everyone voted for it, so it was a done deal.
“Dek, what can the guys and I do to take some of the weight off of you? What areas do you need us to take over to give you breathing room to get your priority projects done?”
“I don’t even know where to start, Madd. We are way behind in so many areas. Itsy has stepped up and taken over a lot of the ordering and purchasing. She took over a large outbuilding behind Roy’s he no longer uses since he stopped actively farming. She has turned it into a giant office complex with a bank of phones and multiple internet connections via satellite. She has something like 12 computers hooked up to the internet, with her crew working every day. They answer phone inquiries from suppliers and place orders as well. It’s impressive to say the least. I send copies of what I need ordered. One of my girls coordinates with Itsy and her crew to iron out any wrinkles. She is very impressed with what Itsy’s done.
“Members of the Riders’ families have been cooperating with her to help get things done. I think she needs the council to make her work official so she can get a more regulated work force going. Right now she has plenty of volunteers but that is based on friendships, not a decision by the council. She had a little bit of a slow start waiting on me to get her the means to go shopping for office furniture and all that is needed to set up a modern office operation. Once I got that handled she took off running. Her crew has been working hard and getting a
lot done, but there are a lot of things they just don’t know enough about to be able to handle.
“Things like vehicle purchasing. Parts, simple things like oil and filters for oil changes, all the things on the mechanical side of ranching/farming she just isn’t that familiar with. I have seen her change the oil filter and oil on a tractor before but that doesn’t mean she knows all there is to know about the mechanical side of all our equipment. Or how many different mechanized units to purchase for. If you guys could step in and make things official, that would help. If you can look into all things mechanical, and make lists of what is needed her crew can do all the ordering and purchasing; they are whizzes at that. Ordering and logistics are their meat.
“If you guys could also help set up more security, that would be a big help too. We need someone to help oversee the finishing process inside the new facility. Not just know what should go where, but someone who can make sure the fit and finish is up to our standards. If we have 100 plus guys working inside, there are going to be way too many for our contractor to personally oversee.”
“OK, Dek we’ll step up and hit the ground running on all the things you mentioned. Anything else we need to discuss right now?” asked Madd.
What Do You Mean Its Still Tuesday Page 7
