What Do You Mean Its Still Tuesday

by Billy Bob Richardson

  “Never fear Tommy, your place will be ready when you need to use it.”

  “One thing Madd, perhaps more of an observation than financial advice. You guys down here have more of a handle on what is needed and how to proceed than I do. My business is wealth acquisition and wealth management. If you were one of my business clients I would be telling you that you are bleeding money. At the rate you are spending wealth you are going to be broke, and soon. I know you guys have to do what you have to do, but I just needed to point out that the pool of money at our disposal is limited. If we don’t slow down or acquire a large infusion of capital, things are going to get bleak and fast.”

  That gave all assembled something to really consider.

  “You’re up Dek, tell us what has been happening and where we stand on our projects. Before you start, though, I want to make one comment,” said Madd. “We need someplace better than here to meet. People can wander in anytime and we just don’t need that. Knowing we were going to need someplace big enough to hold the main core of the Riders for bigger meetings, apparently Itsy has provided us a space. As soon as we are done here we can all go by and see what she has for us. The floor is now yours, Dek.”

  “Before I dive in the mare’s nest of our construction projects, I should tell you that I’ve seen what Itsy has created and it is quite the facility. She set up office space for her purchasing team, as well as a meeting space and offices for the Riders.”

  “I have been thinking on how to present things and I want to start with the big ticket items that have been accomplished or are absorbing the most time and resources. It’s been eleven months since you guys left and gave me a blueprint of what you wanted worked on while you were gone.

  “Number one was the gas well. You already know what it cost the family so I will forgo the little details, just recap for everyone. Leaving out the issues and problems, this is where we stand. The gas well is drilled and has been equipped with pressure valves and all the gauges and controls are in place. All signs of the drilling process have been cleaned up and are invisible. The valve and the attendant controls have all been camouflaged so well you could walk within 10’ and still not be able to see them. We have gas lines run to various buildings like the old bunkhouse. Other structures that were placed or built also have gas lines. They are all hooked up for heat and cooking purposes. Additionally, we have four 500kw natural gas operated generators hooked up in parallel. That gives us 2MW of power. At normal times only one generator is running and as demand goes up, other units cut in to keep up with demand. We have a smaller version of a gas fired electrical generating plant on order to generate the forecasted total of MW for the entire community. It is just a scaled down version of a gas fired plant you would see being used to generate power for a city. It will be delivered sometime within the next 6 months.

  “Number 2. We have contracted with two of the long term food storage producers as we all agreed on before you left. One is supplying significantly more to us than the other. We did some picking and choosing on our second choice of a provider, since some of their production doesn’t suit our needs. This year’s harvest has been completed and is in the process of being shipped to us. A wide variety of food in quantities enough to keep 300 people fed for three years was what we were finally able to purchase. That was the best we could do for this year.

  “They will need more lead time next year. Plus, they will need our commitment to purchase significant amounts in the future. They are going to need additional equipment and to hire more employees if they are to ramp up production. By next year they will be able to supply significantly more product than this year’s amounts.

  “Itsy and her crew recommended some other choices of certain products of preferred foods and their suppliers. We have contacted them and will be purchasing from them in the future.

  “We also managed to become a licensed distributor for one of our suppliers. Additionally, we have a plan to send trucks to purchase on the ‘spot’ loads from other manufacturers that can provide quality foods. Unfortunately, that list is rather small. We have removed from consideration any manufacturer who uses food or packaging from China. Over the last several years there have been too many examples of bad, if not criminal management of their quality control. The trucks will start rolling out in the next two days.”

  “Not to interrupt, Dek, but you are saying that in approximately 12 months we will have enough food to feed 300 people for 7 to 8 years or more?”

  “If everything goes to plan then that is correct, Madd. Next year we have orders placed for enough food to feed 300 for at least 4 additional years, as their capacity will have increased due to our pre-orders. Added to what is on its way to us that brings us to the 7 to 8 year mark. With our spot purchase trucks we hope to increase this year’s purchase by 12 percent.”

  Dek finished up with, “Not that I am comfortable with those figures, but for long term storage that’s where we are at. I should point out that is a best case scenario. There is no way to predict what those companies will actually be able to deliver to us a year I the future.”

  “Me either, Dek. I don’t like being stuck right now at the three year mark. Before we leave today’s meeting let’s all examine our second choices and see if we can cherry pick items we feel good about from them. Let’s see if we can’t significantly increase that three years ASAP. I didn’t mean to hijack the meeting, continue on with your presentation,” said Madd.

  “Number 3. Through the suppliers we have for the farm store we have contracted for 5 years of service-sized canned goods, capable of feeding 300 people. I used lists made up by Itsy and her crew for what to order, as they know more about what it actually takes to feed large groups. I have no clue, so their input was invaluable. It was quite extensive. Everything from soup to nuts, you might say. We had an easier time on that one as the big canned food suppliers have a lot more stockpile and more extra capacity than the long term storage guys do. We have already received quite a few deliveries and get truckloads in about twice a week or more.

  “We have already submitted our orders for the next harvest year. The canned goods were beginning to fill up the co-op warehouse; luckily the warehouse right next to our farm store was available so I leased it for storage. You would have to check with Andy at the co-op store for exact data on the status of food deliveries. He has been a big help in receiving deliveries of all the food items, as well as in finding the space to stockpile. He has also been overseeing the grain deliveries and the storage facilities.

  “As far as rice and all other grains are concerned, Itsy made trips to various grain elevators as far away as Kansas and Nebraska. Somehow she found suppliers for all sorts of dried beans and ordered tons and tons of them. She made a deal for rice from a dealer somewhere out towards California. She sent me requests to hire independent grain haulers to bring in truckloads of her purchases. We moved and refurbished the grain elevators at the old Johnson place to hold the grain as it comes in and located them behind the newly leased location. We might have to augment those, though. With the deliveries scheduled we are going to run out of grain storage soon.

  “Itsy requested a Nitrogen setup so that she could process the grains into food service-grade storage buckets. I had a Nitrogen tank set up outside the loading docks of the new warehouse space. We leased used equipment when we could, including stainless steel tables and all the equipment needed to Nitrogen pack service- grade long term storage buckets.

  “The grain hoppers can hold 2 truckloads of grain at a time. A simple suction device shoots the grain up to several dispensers suspended above the tables. There are two filling stations to process the grain. A bucket is placed on rollers, and when a handle is pulled an overhead nozzle fills each bucket. When four buckets are filled, they are pushed along a conveyer, where they slide through a rubber flap that seals airtight onto a see-through box that is then pressurized with nitrogen. A worker is standing there with arms inserted into long sleeved gloves made into the de
vice so that the box stays airtight.

  “When the buckets are centered in front of the worker, a long tube is inserted down through the grain to the bottom of the bucket and nitrogen gas evacuates the air from the grain, forcing the air/nitrogen mixture out through a one way valve. Since the box is airtight it segregates the bucket from the outside air as the enclosure is purged by the gas coming out of the bucket. A container of desiccant packs is already in the enclosure. Packets are added to the bucket then an airtight lid is applied and the buckets slide to the right through another flap, where they are picked up and checked, then loaded on pallets.

  Each pallet is then shrink wrapped and moved to the storage area with the aid of jacks. They can fill and process the buckets faster than you might think. Unlike the prepared foods, Itsy had no problem in purchasing enough grain from grain elevators to fulfill our ten year requirement. You will have to check with her on the progress of that operation. One thing you should know is that Itsy made all the deals herself and pulled it all together on her own. From what I can determine, she worked some pretty sweet deals for us.”

  “I know that Itsy has had her friends, along with households of the Riders working with her on various projects Dek, but why do you keep calling them her crew?”

  “Because I don’t know what else to call them, I suppose, Madd. Right after you left she contacted all the girls that were in relationships with the Riders. With their help, she organized a work force comprised of those women. The size of her crew varies anywhere from 12 to as many as 50 depending on the project. Let’s say for the sake of argument that one girl who is regularly on Itsy’s crew is unavailable. That girl is exchanged for someone else in the household. If none of them are available that household makes arrangements for someone from another household to swap shifts or days to meet the required work load.”

  “I see, I think,” said Madd.

  “Number 4. The plan was to reclaim 300 to 400 acres of farmland and have it seeded with clover or other groundcover to enrich the soil. Another 300 to 400 acres of pastureland was to be reclaimed, and was to be reconditioned. In addition it was to have any noxious weeds, trees and bushes removed, and be reseeded with grasses and perennials deemed advisable to return it to pastureland.

  “I think everyone here has followed various blogs and sites dedicated to SHTF scenarios. On survivalistboards.com one of the members made a very helpful post suggesting turning goats and hogs loose in overgrown fields to clear them. The suggestion was that the goats would remove the brush and the hogs would dig up the roots. It was very helpful and certainly cut down on costs. We also got a bumper crop of goats and hogs out of the deal.

  “At this time we have reclaimed about 200 acres of the farm land, and 250 acres of the pasturage. Now that the crews have been working together for a while the process may speed up, but as with so many projects we are suffering a manpower shortage. Our bumper crop of animals is going to really help us in the next stage of clearing and conditioning. We need more help by the end of next month with the new fencing, if possible. It looks like we will finish all of our goals and be ready to move on to reclaiming more land sooner than we thought. Fences and corrals have been going up at the same time on the reclaimed land, but only about 40 percent of the fencing is up. It doesn’t sound like we have done that much in eleven months but as I pointed out, we have a manpower problem,” said Dek.

  “What we have accomplished so far, with land clearing, fencing and warehousing supplies, has been done with either a small paid core or with volunteers. Unless we want to pay a competitive wage so that more Riders can resign their present employment, we are going to stay shorthanded. All of them are willing but they have families to support and bills to pay. They understand the need, but they still have to support their families.”

  “Nonsense Dek, you guys have been working miracles,” said Ivan.

  Everyone gave nods of agreement to that statement. The sincere praise made Dek smile.

  “Number 5. Water and waste handling is the next thing I have to tell you about. As far as waste goes, the plant we had planned is in full operation. The gas well has eliminated the biggest obstacle in the handling of human waste. We have a plant the uses steam and heat to sterilize the waste installed and up to speed. It is big enough to handle 5 times the projected load.

  “Water isn’t in such good shape. We have capped the artesian wells and we have it plumbed in for what we are currently using. They will never supply enough water for housing, irrigation and stock on their own. The stream diversion and the creation of multiple ponds or small lakes much closer to where we need the water is going to have to get some attention soon.

  “Number 6. The old mine that was where we wanted the new house built has been totally dug out and concrete reinforced. All the concrete used has been reinforced with 5/8ths rebar. As per our plans the floors, various walls and rooms below grade are poured concrete. The floor is 18” of reinforced concrete. The ceilings are 14’ high made from 18’’ of reinforced concrete, and steel trusses. The height will also allow for the use of appropriate steel shelving and forklifts. To accelerate the process we ran dehumidifiers and heaters in the enclosed space to help the drying times. All the exterior walls in the underground storage are poured reinforced concrete, 30” thick. The rebar from these walls extends up and is incorporated into the foundation of the main building. Footers are 3’ thick with poured concrete walls also 3’ thick extending to the main structure. All exterior walls for the building have been poured and the roof has been dried in.

  “All floors in the main building have radiant heat installed. All the walls, floors and ceilings in the apartments were designed to be concrete; they are being poured as we speak. All the electrical and plumbing that ran through the concrete already poured has been finished. That’s as far as we have gotten. As far as concrete goes we have dozens of pads poured for outbuildings, but few of the structures are up yet. The specialty-built bullet resistant windows and armored shutters are still on order. All the conventional interior walls and fixtures still need to be installed along with the facilities on the main floor. Basically, the entire interior still needs to be installed,” said Dek.

  “Wow, Dek, you guys have really been hitting if for the last eleven months.”

  “Madd, if you hadn’t contracted with our friend south of the border for all the skilled workers we wouldn’t even have a quarter of that done right now. His crews have been working hard. Sixty men working six days a week, ten hours a day can get a lot done in eleven months,” pointed out Dek.

  “How has that all worked out security wise?” asked Madd.

  “We have had continuous surveillance via cameras and a 12 man security team. We have the workers’ housing and mess hall segregated with a fence, so that makes it a little easier to keep track of them when they are not working.”

  “How are they taking that?”

  “We told them that all the precautions are for their security. We let them think that they are here working on bogus work visas. None of them want to spoil a good thing so we have had minimal problems in that regard. They are making considerably more working for us than they could ever make back home. So, none of the workers seem to mind. They have good living conditions and good food. As soon as the first crew rotated home and got all their pay at the agreed rate with a bonus for good craftsmanship they were more than anxious to come back.

  “We have been suffering under a manpower shortage, Madd. Now that there is so much finish work to do in the main structure and the slow progress on the fields, we could use another 30 or 40 skilled workers. The new place is massive with endless projects to start, to say nothing of finishing. Setting sinks, toilets and kitchen fixtures and the endless small jobs needed for completion is time consuming. The walls between apartments are poured concrete, but the interior walls for each apartment are regular walls covered in drywall. The only difference between what we are doing and regular interior wall construction is that we decided to soundpro
of some of the interior walls in the apartments. There are going to be miles of insulation to install and miles of drywall to hang and finish. The main building isn’t my only concern. We have all the outbuildings and barns to construct. All and all, there may be more construction time spent on outbuildings and roadways than the main structure took. We need manpower in the worst way.”

  “Have you discussed the possibility of getting more help with our friend?”

  “I have, Madd, and he has been lining up help for the last few weeks. Four months ago he sent us an additional 52 workers so that we could expand the number or crews we had working. When the next rotation happens he can send us another 40 or so, along with the regular crew of 60. He has been a real help in getting us good workers. Once the first crew got here we could see that we needed someone who could cook traditional meals so he recruited a cooking crew of 7, but they are barely keeping up. With this new influx we are going to have to make sure that he hires more cooking and cleaning crews along with general kitchen help. We are going to need more manual laborers as well. We are running staggered shifts, call it a shift and a half, but we really need to start two shifts per day on all the buildings especially in finishing the interiors.

  “So far we have been using surplus Army tents and kitchens, but we are going to have to expand that as well. We will have some serious housing problems as soon as our larger crew gets here. Not only for the construction workers, but for some of our own people. I will get to them in a minute. With that many more workers we will also need a larger security force and more cameras set up for perimeter security,” said Dek.