Humor
Fun Fact
At the last One Marshall County meeting, in the introductions, we were asked to give one “Fun Fact” about ourselves. I generally hate these things and default to the Christian Easterday story. For some reason that didn’t seem appropriate to this group. I had some time to think about it and decided on this:
I was a general contractor until Culver was having trouble finding an affordable housing/workforce housing developer and I stepped up to fulfill that role. So far I have created 120 housing units in Marshall County with another 14 planned for this year… so I guess I’m a developer!
Honestly, I hadn’t thought about that and it sunk in a bit when I said it. I’ve created 120 homes in Marshall County in the last 7 years! Mayor Listenberger said, you might as well embrace it, you’re a developer. So… I guess I am!
Met another Lurker…
It always comes as a bit of a surprise when I meet a Lurker in real life (IRL): “So, I’ve been meaning to ask, are you the one that writes the Easterday Construction Blog?” Why yes I am!
So few people actually comment, I generally assume I’m talking to myself. This was the second one in the last few months that said they ran across my blog and ended up going down the rabbit hole of Culver commentaries I’ve posted. So far, all of them have been complimentary of my insight and my writing. Since I’m often sitting here banging something out that I have bit my tongue about in some meeting… that’s positive! I think they even used the term “thoughtful analysis” too. That’s flattering and makes sense. That’s often why I don’t say it at the meeting, i.e. I’m more organized in writing and definitely able to put thoughts together better if I have time to let them simmer. For this reason, I don’t think I ever could be a successful politician. It’s not that I can’t think on my feet, it’s more that I have so many thoughts that pulling together a cogent response takes some time. Whatever comes out of my mouth, spur of the moment, probably isn’t the best answer and definitely isn’t properly fleshed out.
It was good to get some feedback and have a back and forth discussion on some things. Culver politics, Esmie, One Marshall County and, of course, The Dunes, where the main topics of conversation. I learned some things from another perspective and shared a few things that I know better than to put in writing! Ha!
Along with this Lurker/new friend, I was talking to some old friends and they were quizzing me about The Dunes. I was a little surprised about some of the misinformation they had. As a follow up, I sent them a couple of blog links. They obviously went down the rabbit hole as well, since they responded back that Culver should hire me for the Czar position. What’s funny about that is I would (and occasionally do) do that for free. But Culver often doesn’t use the resources it has. There are lots of talented and knowledgeable people in the Culver Community that are not residents. I served on the Culver Chamber of Commerce board for years and it was a joke that of the 10 board members at that time, only 3 of them could actually vote in a Town election. The same thing could be said for a large portion of the Chamber membership in those years. Yet we were people with a passion for moving Culver forward. (During that time, the Chamber spearheaded the Charrette, a new Comp Plan and spawned the Second Century Committee.)
Non-resident Culver talent has been called to participate in things like Culver Crossroads and the Comprehensive Plan Committee. These are great uses of that talent and knowledge, but most of those people that stepped up for those one-time committees, are just a phone call away when Culver is looking at the one-off projects too. The one-offs often have large impacts. Sometimes it seems we fall into the fallacy that you have to be located at least an hour away to be an expert. Culver has paid good money to out-of-town consultants, mostly with good results, but they rarely have the whole picture. They are called in for the one-off project without much understanding of how that project will weave into Culver’s tapestry of history, culture and goals for the future.
Winning an election is a form of a popularity contest. The ability to get elected doesn’t make you an expert in all the things you’ll need to make important decisions on as an elected official. But as a politician, you have shown a talent for rallying people. I would suggest that council members put that political talent to work and surround themselves with a cadre of people that fill the gaps in their expertise. If all the council members pooled their individual cadre of human capital resources, their individual advisory committees so to speak, there would be a standing taskforce of diverse talents that could be called on to help the council move Culver forward. But then, I’m mostly talking to myself…
Knox Boxes
One of my lurkers saw my instagram post about meeting the LaPaz Fire Department at LaPaz Commons Apartments last week. We always offer the local fire department the opportunity to walk through once the framing is in place. This gives them a better understanding of the structure in that worst case scenario of fighting a fire there. One of the things we discussed with the firemen was the location of the Knox Box. My Lurker sent me this picture of a Knox Box he had seen in Grand Rapids, MI. (See right)
Yes, that’s a Knox Box somewhere around 12′ above the ground above the awning. Pretty much inaccessible… I’m guessing this is a case where the City required a Knox Box, but didn’t include location specifications and the building owner didn’t want one and put it there out of spite. But I’m just projecting that scenario. Who knows?
Most communities set up standards for placement of Knox Boxes. These have to be carefully considered so they have some flexibility. All buildings are different. But as much as possible, you want the box placed in a location that is immediately recognizable and found by emergency personnel, else its intention is defeated. Firefighters in particularly are notorious for bringing their universal key (fire axe) and not hesitating to use it.
Easterday Construction Co., Inc. was responsible for introducing and writing the Key Box requirement in Culver’s Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 6, Section 100. Enforcement has been pretty limited though. We haven’t actually seen one installed on any projects completed by others. (That doesn’t mean there aren’t some out there.) Even with a pretty clear definition, we ended up getting cross-ways with the building commissioner on a project where he chose to interpret the requirements differently than they were written. (He lost. We don’t argue unless we’re right.)
There is more than one benefit to these systems, i.e. 1) limiting property damage from emergency personnel accessing the building by any means possible, 2) speeding up access when the building is extremely secure and 3) giving emergency personnel a place to find pertinent information such as building plans, electrical shutoffs, among others. But the system has to be set up for the municipality to make the Knox Box keying universal and the program must be understood by the emergency personnel it benefits.
We have promoted the use of these systems, but with limited success. We’ll continue to sing their praises, as they are a benefit to public safety.
Guest Posts
It’s interesting having a blog and the interactions it generates. I am contacted often about people wanting to do guest posts. Most I ignore out of hand, since the email solicitation is full of spelling and grammar errors. A few I have responded to that looked decent and I’ve spent as much time editing and cleaning them up as if I would have if I’d written them myself. Then there is the occasional one that is a bit amusing like this:
Message: Hey,
I was researching about adult toys this afternoon and stumbled upon your blog – a great collection of high-quality articles.
I am reaching out to you because I’d love to contribute a guest post to your blog.
I promise to fill the piece with solid points and actionable tips. I contribute regularly to blogs .
Here are some topics:
[Why do people like to use sex toys?]
[How do I introduce my wife to sex toys?]
[Sex Bloggers name their favorite Sex Toys]
Let me know and I’ll be sending you the draft as soon as possible.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Adutoys Team
Hmmmm… what did they read in my “great collection of high-quality articles” made them think this was my audience? Or do they know something I don’t? Ha!
I found it amusing and thought it was worth sharing. No links here though… I’ll let you search for Adutoys on your own if you’re so inclined. Solid Points and Actionable Tips are yours for the asking…
<Image from: https://www.memesmonkey.com/>
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July 30, 2024
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Working on a project and needed some prices for a unisex restroom sign. I ran across the one to the right. I thought this was a amusing illustration of how ridiculous things have gotten. Just please wash your hands!
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