[Robotgroup] A Permanent Place (Note 2)

[Ed Xavier Gonzalez]

A Permanent Place

As has been discussed, prior to 2005 the RG members were fortunate to have a
semi-permanent place to meet, work and do stuff.  It was affectionately 
called the
'RoboHut' among other names and was graciously offered by a very limited 
set of patrons
with little if any strings initially attached.

The original intent of the lease was to store a trailer-truckload full of 
donated
electronic goodies that were to be disassembled, used, recycled and 
possibly sold to fund
any of the projects that the RG was involved in.

At the time the patrons made the decision to fund this commercial lease 
space, there was a
boom in software and hardware business in Austin, with the result being 
lots of 'beer
money' available to spend on a monthly lease to store a bunch of surplus 
electronic parts.

They boldly stepped forward and assumed quite a bit of personal liability, 
knowing full
well that they might have to make a painful break with an individual or 
even the RG if
things got nasty.

The side benefit of this neat place was to permit members of the RG to meet 
there and hang
out, maybe so some cool projects could be completed and also have a place 
to get away from
the girlfriend, spouse or BOTH.

This was fine for many years, until the boom went bust, and the beer money 
started to
become their own personal rent money, and NOT for the 'Hut' either.  Not 
only the monthly
rent was being consumed by this nondescript door near South Central 
Austin.  There was
electric and water, insurance, repairs, property taxes and so on.  It 
wasn't cheap!

This caused quite a bit of friction between those that just showed up for 
the Thursday
evenings, and those that paid the bills on a monthly basis.  To delay the 
inevitable, a
few generous people stepped forward and began to commit to the lessee that 
they'd put a
bunch of money together to offset the use of the space by the members of 
the RG.  It
wasn't enough to cover the whole monthly liability, but it helped for a bit.

That didn't last long enough, nor did it have a significant enough of an 
impact to the
people that were responsible for the space to remain available to people 
that showed up
and took advantage of the generosity of a very few.  Glenn's 5%/95% rule 
applies here.
It actually was more like 2%/98%.

A major frustration that finally brought the demise of the Hut was the 
general feeling
that there was no longer any commitment on the part of those that met there 
on Thursday
evenings.  Those that had been tossing in a few greenbacks when possible 
began to lose
interest as well, because they no longer had a place to work or any room to 
conduct the
weekly meetings, since every horizontal surface was eventually covered with 
somebody
else's personal stuff.  Those that were willing to dole out their own funds 
to help
support the Hut began to lose interest, because they saw less and less bang 
for their
donated buck.

The same was most likely felt by the leaseholders, because the Hut was 
finally closed down
since there wasn't enough financial support by the RG and its many guests 
to offset the
increasing rent due at the end of the month.

What's the point here?

A $5000 60ft x 100ft metal building that's up for sale on Craigslist.

First, $5k may sound like a good deal for that size of a metal building, 
but is it really?

Sure, the total outlay to purchase the materials isn't that much, but what 
about all the
other costs?  Again, others have very eloquently described what will be 
required to bring
this off, so my going into more excruciating detail may not sit well.  Just 
hang on as see
if it helps to clarify some details.

During the breakdown of the building, will there be any significant damage 
to the exterior
of the building so when it's put back up, it's still weather tight?  What 
about damages to
the structural components and loss of any supporting fixtures like the 
bolts that hold the
thing together?  How much more will it cost to replace that stuff?

Who's going to keep track of where everything was originally installed 
during removal so
it can be put back in some form of logical order?  Logistics is a science 
unto itself, and
isn't one to be taken on lightly.  A few people will recognize my 
familiarity with being
able to organize and think about what might be required to bring something 
to fruition, so
thinking about someone standing around during the demolition process 
holding a clipboard
and a can of paint so they can mark the major components and keep track of 
where they go
isn't something I'm likely to overlook.

In the unlikely event of the death or injury of a worker during the 
demolition of the
building, who will be held responsible and financially accountable?  The 
family of that
worker will certainly want to levee some form or financial burden for the 
loss or the
injury of their loved one and family member, to the owner/buyer of the 
building.

What about the licensing and permitting fees to transport the building 
components from the
old location to a storage or assembly location?  They're big and 
heavy!  Then there are
the fees associated with the actual loading, strapping and unloading of all 
this very
weighty stuff and the trucks to haul it from one spot to another.

Also consider that a building that is 60ft x 100ft isn't something that a 
few handy guys
and gals can wrangle around on their own on a long weekend.  Even an entire 
catalog of
high resolution photographs of Anna Nicole Smith and Angelina Jolie in 
their birthday
suits isn't gonna get it up any faster (I'm referring to the erection of 
the structural
components).  Large cranes are going to be required to hoist it, and the 
skilled and
insured operators of those cranes to go along with them.

Consider that just to stick that metal building to the ground on a level 
surface, the slab
and foundation alone will cost between 2 - 5 times the cost of the initial 
metal building.
Then there's wiring, electrical appliances, insulation, plumbing, fixtures, 
interior
walls, doors, windows, possibly some form of security, and so very much more.

Yes, there are a few people that have graciously offered their personal 
property to set
this building on, given a few caveats, I'm sure.  The land that the 
building will sit on
MIGHT be affordable enough for the RG on a monthly basis, as long as the 
agreement between
the landowner and the buyer of the building and construction supplies is 
amicable for a
long enough period of time.

Using a very recent unfortunate circumstance to help in making my point, 
look what has
happened to the hard work of many people when we lost access to the 3D-Mill 
when our dear
friend and colleague, Tom Morin Jr.  passed away unexpectedly and his 
family whisked all
of that hard work away to locales unknown.

What if the landowner that holds the deed to the property where the RG 
building sits on
unexpectedly dies too?

Will the owner be willing to write a stipulation in their will that the 
building and the
property that it sits on will be deeded free and clear to the RG 
Corporation?  What will
their family do when they find out that their ancestor granted what should 
have gone to a
member of that family went to a bunch of dweebs and nerds?  Does everyone 
think it will be
a smooth transition?

Okay!  So let's say by some feat of magic, the building is disassembled 
without incident,
gets transported to a piece of property that someone is willing to give up 
for the rest
of their lives and their family accepts that they will lose any rights to 
it when the
owner passes away at 105 years of age, all the metal components are still 
functional and
safe and the city/county building inspector approves of its siting and 
placement, that
the thing goes up without any extra expense and the paint is donated by a 
very supportive
home building supplies company somewhere nearby.

All that said (and boy what a mouthful), what about the ongoing expense of 
providing
electric service, water and wastewater, insurance, property taxes, DSL 
and/or cable, phone
service and so on?  Consider what the original patrons of the Hut had to go 
through when
things started getting tough financially.  Who's gonna step up and fund a 
multi year annuity
so a minimum of expenses just to keep the building safe and powered will be 
provided for
at least ten years?

I know it's a bit much to take in all at once, but these are only a FEW of 
the facts that
must be considered when 'we' collectively talk about putting together a 
place for the RG
to meet on a permanent basis.  I know I've left out a whole shelf of books 
related to the
ongoing operation of a building for a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, but 
I'll be the
first to admit that my knowledge of that aspect of business escapes me.

One alternate source of income to offset the monthly expenses might be 
storage space for
the members and even non-members of the RG so they can keep stuff that's 
currently
cluttering their own garages and extra bedrooms.

Gee!  What a neat idea!

What happens if things get tight and the money to store somebody's stuff 
dries up like the
shoreline of Lake Travis?  Is it possible that they consider cutting their 
losses and just
take off, leaving the RG or the landowner with a storage box full of crap 
and a monthly bill
that will go unpaid until that space is made available to someone else?  Is 
that even a
remote possibility?

I've spoken to a few people quite a while back about forming a private LLC 
to put a
building on the ground so the RG could subsidize part of it for their 
meetings and work,
and also have adequate space around/behind it so people could rent a 
storage box or just
part of one.  At the time I sought input and support for such a bold idea, 
I was politely
told my sights were a bit ambitious.  In more direct terms, I was told my 
idea was f***ing
looney.

It's quite possible attitudes have changed over the years since the loss of 
the Hut, so if
anyone is genuinely interested in taking on a private venture for a 
building that could be
rented out on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, where any number of civic 
organizations could
spend some money to have their weekly and monthly meetings, utilize various 
techo-cool
facilities while there, with an added benefit that rentable storage space 
is available
right out back, then let's talk.

I want it to be perfectly clear that I'm talking about a PRIVATELY funded 
building, that
will be owned and deeded to a set of investors whose mission is to rent it 
out to anyone
willing to fork over the cash.  There are many ways to make money doing 
this, including
renting desk and office space to people on a weekly/monthly basis, offer 
administrative
support, telephone, computer and internet access, and even provide people a 
business
presence where they can conduct professional activities outside of their 
home without
having to commit their own resources for more than a week or a month at a time.

What makes this slightly different than similar concepts recently 
discussed, is the VERY
real possibility that a leased space that is subleased has the same risk if 
the sole owner
of a piece of critical technology dying unexpectedly, a la the 3D-Mill.

Admittedly, these last two sections were slightly off subject, but it was a 
convenient way
to try to convince anyone that's still reading this far that I'm not afraid 
to consider
putting in some serious work for a good opportunity and a chance to make 
some honest
money.

Like a few of the members of the RG, I own my own business outright and had 
to buck-up
and take a chance by working for myself rather than for somebody else.  I 
know what it
takes to own and run a business, so I'm just as qualified to fail 
financially as anyone
else.  I've just got a better historical basis than somebody holding a 
cardboard sign
on the corner of Congress and 1st begging for money to buy fuel for their 
Lear Jet (I
liked that sign the best so far - I didn't give him any money, but I liked 
the sign).

Let me make one very important point that a dear friend will expect me to 
offer.

Just because it looks daunting, the idea of privately owning our own 
building shouldn't be
dismissed outright.  I've been told a few times about and reminded often 
that thinking in
small terms financially won't get the RG very far, very fast.  If the RG 
wants to do
something, it has the might and the power to do it, and often has.

Just look at what we've accomplished (and I don't mean any of the hundreds 
of robot
projects that I've been working on and have shown off at our meetings) in 
the last few
years.  In spite of the loss of the mill project, it still is something to 
be proud of and
should be considered a success.  Then, the Babbling Head, Sisyphus, EyeBot, 
EggBot,
SpinArt machines, Therepings, WideTrack, BlackKnight, Catherine the 
Creative . . . there
are LOTS more that I'm forgetting that are just as important and impressive.

The point is, where there's ambition and commitment, there's 
progress.  Let's just be
honest with ourselves about HOW much commitment exists before considering 
taking on a
permanent location.

Remember than nothing says we have to build robots and make cool stuff.  WE 
say we want to
do that in our Charter and any other related 501(c)3 documents, that WE 
setup and agreed
on.  We can change that Charter and discontinue our claim and the tax 
liability that we're
a non-profit corporation.  Nothing says that can't be a social group that 
likes to meet
every week and talk about our own personal accomplishments and share what 
we've learned
with others.

If we decide that having a place is important, then we'll eventually figure 
out a way
to make that happen, even if it means making some aggressive commitments 
and possibly
some risky compromises.

<The right to Free Speech does not diminish the value of remaining silent>

Ed Xavier Gonzalez
Oak Hill Laser
ohlaser at swbell.net
(512) 288-5243