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| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 220 responses total. |
steve
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response 28 of 220:
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Jan 30 02:26 UTC 1999 |
It wouldn't be the end of the world but it would hurt Grex. The last
two of three times I've gone to the Pumpkin to fix Grex was bwtween 12 and
6AM.
The New center isn't supposed to be a permenent place. Given that, I'd
be very wary of moving there considering that we're going to wind up spending
$1000 to move after everything is considered.
Also, this is to state that I hope Grex can't get in there, in
that M-Net should stay there.
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krj
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response 29 of 220:
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Jan 30 03:17 UTC 1999 |
A cursory reading of the most recent financial reports indicate
that Grex pays $63 in Pumpkin room rent plus an additional $66 in
electricity, while M-net pays $180 for New Center rent, which I am
going to guess includes the electricity.
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kaplan
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response 30 of 220:
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Jan 30 12:09 UTC 1999 |
STeve, how do you figure $1000? How much would it cost to get Ameritech to
move the phone lines? What are the other expenses? How much would the
phone wires cost? I guess we can't just rip phone wires out of the Pumpkin
the day of the move. I suppose if the $1000 includes the value of volunteer
labor (which grex benefits from but does not have to pay cash for) then the
figure is conservative....
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steve
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response 31 of 220:
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Jan 30 17:48 UTC 1999 |
With 12 normal phone lines that will cost $504 to transfer somewhere,
plus at least $154 to move the ISDN line--perhaps more. Mark likely has
the exact cost of our ISDN install charges somewhere. That takes us to
$650. Given that we have a lot to move and set up in any new place I can
see several hundred spent there.
$1000 is a pessamistic amount, but I'd like us to think of that amount
and be pleasently surprised at spending less, rather than the other way
around.
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aruba
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response 32 of 220:
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Jan 30 19:22 UTC 1999 |
The total cost for installation of our ISDN lines was $329.27 per line. (We
really got boned.) If we move I'd want to get an estimate from Ameritech in
writing for how much it would cost. In fact I'll try to remember to call them
on Monday and ask for that.
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i
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response 33 of 220:
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Jan 30 19:54 UTC 1999 |
Having two places (with a full set of bills for each) while Ameritech
screws around could eat up the $$$ mighty fast.
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scg
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response 34 of 220:
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Jan 30 22:02 UTC 1999 |
Installing a non-Centrex business ISDN line cost $140 last I checked, but it
may have gone down. If we were moving and paying the install charge again,
there would be no reason to go Centrex for the ISDN line.
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rtg
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response 35 of 220:
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Jan 31 06:51 UTC 1999 |
At one time business ISDN lines were charged by the minute for even
local calls. Having both ISDN lines as part of the same centrex makes
this an 'intercom' call, and is therefore not time-charged.
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scg
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response 36 of 220:
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Jan 31 15:58 UTC 1999 |
That's not the case anymore, though.
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steve
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response 37 of 220:
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Jan 31 17:48 UTC 1999 |
Right, that was changed about a year ago. Whichever way the ISDN
line is installed, its expensive.
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krj
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response 38 of 220:
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Jan 31 17:51 UTC 1999 |
re resp:1 :: we *still* need a rest-of-the-story report!!
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scg
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response 39 of 220:
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Jan 31 19:08 UTC 1999 |
I'm really hoping one of the people with first hand knowledge of the rest of
the story will enter it very soon. If it hasn't bene entered by sometime
tomorrow I'll enter my recollection of what was said at the board meeting,
which probably won't be entirely accurate, but will be better than nothing.
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aruba
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response 40 of 220:
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Jan 31 19:16 UTC 1999 |
Jan and Valerie have been busy with paying work, but I will bug them again.
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janc
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response 41 of 220:
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Jan 31 23:25 UTC 1999 |
Sorry, we've been tied up.
I'm not sure how much "the rest of the story" improves things.
Valerie put in a call to Marcia VanFossen, telling the story to the
answering machine.
Unfortunately, when Marcia called back, Valerie wasn't around, so I
talked to her. This is unfortunate, because I hadn't really been
thinking things through and didn't really know what I wanted to say or
wanted from Marcia.
First, I got the idea that Marcia and the rest of the VanFossen estate
had only partial control over the doings of Flying Dutchman. Pretty
much the lawyers choose Flying Dutchman. I got the impression from
Marcia that this isn't the first time that she's heard from people
having trouble with Flying Dutchman.
She assured us that she wanted very much to keep us as tenants. I think
this is only sensible - my guess is that the folks from Flying Dutchman
have no idea what kind of space it is that we are renting, and may have
delusions about what they can get for it from anyone else.
Her suggestion was that we should call Flying Dutchman back in about a
week and talk things over. If they didn't want to act sanely, we should
ask Flying Dutchman to talk to Marcia (ie, she wanted us to have them
contact her).
She also mentioned in passing that Flying Dutchman doesn't have the
power to terminate a lease without the approval of the VanFossen estate
(in this case, her son).
My general expectation is that we will have to negotiate a lease with
Flying Dutchman, but that with Marcia's backing we should be able to get
workable terms.
I think our negotiating position would be significantly strengthened if
we had an alternative location. It would be worth looking around to see
what else we can find. I don't really expect to have to move, but it is
possible that we can find a significantly better deal somewhere else now
that we are 501(c)3. It'd have to be pretty darn good though to justify
the cost of moving.
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scg
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response 42 of 220:
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Jan 31 23:47 UTC 1999 |
Thanks, Jan.
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valerie
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response 43 of 220:
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Feb 1 00:01 UTC 1999 |
This response has been erased.
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steve
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response 44 of 220:
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Feb 1 00:32 UTC 1999 |
I'm dismayed at the latest happenings too, but I have better feelings
about this than Jan does. Maybe not a lot, but a little. It isn't clear
to me that we have to sign a new agreement, either. It may be the case
that we'll have to, but I'm not certain that we'll have to. FD is in
a maintenance capacity here, not that of ownership.
Still, we need to do some looking around.
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krj
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response 45 of 220:
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Feb 1 05:24 UTC 1999 |
(thanks for the report, jan & valerie... I understand about the
parental duty thing....)
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mdw
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response 46 of 220:
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Feb 1 08:57 UTC 1999 |
It sounds to me like Susan Watrous probably didn't have the right to
terminate the lease, but that's an issue between her the VanFossen
estate. It might be interesting for us to sit down and talk with the
lawyers of the VanFossen estate (who seem to have the real say here),
but only to make sure they understand that their management firm has
gone feral, and is driving tenants out.
I don't think we have any business signing Susan Watrous's lease. The
fact our treasurer's hands shake after talking with her is reason
enough, I think, to find a new Susan-free home. I might not be
disturbed at no numbers on the lease, if I had a reasonable definite
idea what those numbers "should" be - but if Flying Dutchman can't
commit to any definite figure until we agree to sign it, then that's
just real shady and crooked business. We're better off moving than
dealing with that.
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davel
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response 47 of 220:
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Feb 1 13:42 UTC 1999 |
What Marcus said. I'd especially add that Mark is a pretty mild-mannered type
normally, and if he boils over dealing with her we're likely to have trouble
finding someone who won't, I think.
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rcurl
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response 48 of 220:
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Feb 1 16:31 UTC 1999 |
I don't think it is legal for them to offer a lease with terms undefined.
When do the blanks get filled - after it is signed, and they fill them?
Good grief.
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valerie
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response 49 of 220:
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Feb 1 16:34 UTC 1999 |
This response has been erased.
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rcurl
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response 50 of 220:
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Feb 1 16:47 UTC 1999 |
Inform them - formally - that you cannot consider signing another lease
until you are told what will be the terms of the lease, and ask that
those terms be provided immediately. [I suspect but am not sure that if
they are offering to renew the lease, the four month advance notice
of termination cannot begin until they provide the terms of the new lease -
ask an attorney on that one.]
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dpc
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response 51 of 220:
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Feb 1 18:45 UTC 1999 |
I *really* think we *really* need to move. The issue of who is authorized
to sign a lease is enough to give me a rash. We're getting conflicting
signals from the owner (or at least one of the owners) and the agent
for the owner(s). We can't afford to get into a three- or four-way
dispute over authority.
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aruba
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response 52 of 220:
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Feb 1 20:13 UTC 1999 |
Re #50: I hope you're right, Rane, that they need to give us 4 months notice
of the new terms. If Valerie doesn't get a satisfactory answer to a request
for terms, I think consulting a lawyer is the next step.
I'd like to see someone else take a crack at communicating with Susan Watrous
just in case there's some weird interference pattern between me and her that
causes her to go ballistic, or in case I severely misunderstood her attitude.
I don't think that's the case; I am fairly sure she was not being reasonable.
But I'd rather not have us move on just my say-so, and I know there must be
people who are better equipped to deal with her than I am.
I was surprised by her offer to let us meter our own electricity; that didn't
agree with what she said on the phone. So maybe she is malleable, or maybe
she has a different idea of how that metering will work than I do.
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