Going Concerns Unlimited

Ògetting concerns going since 1976Ó

(970) 215-4710

 

March 23th, 2010

 

Hello,

 

Allow me to introduce myself. My name is John Cruickshank, a Permaculture Design Consultant, working and demonstrating the art and science of living systems since 1976.  IÕm the inventor of the Sunny John Moldering toilet, clearinghouse for development of the Subterranean Heating and Cooling System for Solar Heated and Cooled Greenhouse and owner operator of Going Concerns Unlimited and HobbitHouse Productions.  I fill my days providing guidance and support to like-minded clients developing autonomous solutions harmonizing their presence on the land.

 

I hope this current proposal reaches you at a time that promises an opportunity for collaboration amongst you, your closest partners and my clients.

 

RE: Millet Wash Project

 

I am looking for some design assistance, master planning and vision input with regards to a new Arizona project IÕve the pleasure of introducing.  I will attempt to outline a broad stroke picture of the vision, scope and resources at hand as far as I am privy to them at the moment.  Following that, some opening game plan issues available for your immediate input and consideration. 

 

As far as gathering the concerned parties, we are looking at a face to face soon after an introductory voice conference call with at least two of the three developers on board - Mr. Andy DÕArrigo and Mr. Eric Ritz and yourself (plus at least one from your company in a scheduling and logistics role - someone with the capacity to field questions about your costing and billing, someone who could offer some initial idea of the dollar scale of a range of services we may be interested in).... more on what the project entails follows.  Till we meet, conference calls are always an option.

 

First up – a Face to Face:

 

I am suggesting our initial meet up at your location.  IÕm hoping you could host me with Mr. Andy DÕArrigo and Mr. Eric Ritz (the primary partners of three funding developers that weÕre engaged with now) and possibly one or two others on our team. We will be available to be with your design team anytime within a week or so of your demonstrating an interest.

 

For the initial meeting weÕd be sharing some aerial mapping weÕre having created, some engineering input coming to us, and our broad stroke vision of the project - itÕs hardscape, landscape and financial models weÕve an interest in exploring with you.  Till then, I'll be maintaining and populating an online web enabled file folder populated with relevant material all parties involved will have access to - pictures, video, mapping, CAD, reports - as much visual presentation material as is appropriate for collaboration. If you are interested, email in the affirmative to the address provided below.  If you wouldnÕt mind, IÕd appreciate some feedback in your subsequent replies with regards to your experience with the link I provide and as to your capacity to take advantage of web-centric tools – Skype (audio and video), email, web etc. The density of the data important to convey will grow - IÕm here to accommodate itÕs distribution in a manner we are all comfortable with.

 

The Project:

 

Officially unnamed for now, the project involves the development of a single ½ section of land, a mile long and ½ mile wide tract of dryland juniper grassland with two large seasonal flows currently tearing it up.  It sits on the last unregulated, but soon to be regulated, aquifer in Arizona necessitating a 1st phase design that will define the commissioned placement of several wells, ponds and roads needing to be in place as soon as possible.

 

The property is currently mapped on USGS, Google Earth and Google Maps as the ÔMillet WashÕ feeding into the ÔMillet Wash SwaleÕ just east of the town of Taylor north of Show Low and Pinedale.  ItÕs situated on the downstream end of a confluence of a number of washes that all flow into the town of Taylor's ÔmanagedÕ watershed called Millet Swale.  Millet Swale is a basin on a 3/4 section tract currently silting/silted in, and in need of renovation.  The developers on board now are looking at a land use plan accommodating somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 high end private court yard lots complete with a rural farming operation integral to the design (more of the scope of that follows.)

 

On an aside, the town is considering excavating some of the seasonal flood plainÕs overburden collecting in Millet Wash Swale for relocation somewhere near by.  Depending on the soundness of design submissions to the town, there are indications that they would be open to relocating that fill back into the disturbed areas the wash has been creating on the property in mind - assuming we can outline a comprehensive and attractive long term hydrological solution.  We are hoping for a win-win - they use the dry wash and our roads for access into and out of our two adjacent properties, they empty the wash burden out of their basin and we use that overburden for reclamation and management of all existing flows well into the next decades and centuries.

 

The property itself is a single ½ section. ItÕs a rectangular plot 1 mile long east to west and a ½ mile north to south. It is just east of another ½ section owned by the developers. Their property is adjoining the south side of the townÕs Millet Swale basin.  It all sits on the southern edge of the largest sweet water aquifer in Arizona, currently unregulated but soon to be regulated. Potential for access to unlimited groundwater (> 600gal/min) is possible should those wells be in place and commissioned ASAP.  To attest to the quantity, there is a functioning, ¾ mile diameter center pivot operation just north of the project. ItÕs a clearly visible marker on our Google Maps link to the site. Our solar power partner, Matt, is attesting to the quality as he has his own well into the same aquifer and has already provided numerous solar pumping solutions for off-grid properties established in the same aquifer. The site is penciled in and annoted on Google Maps here and more thoroughly mapped at another location online I can provide should you be interested (more on the larger repository below.)

 

There are two significant washes eroding soil with annual monsoon weather tearing through the property.  ThereÕs the ÔNorth WashÕ that starts in an adjacent privately owned ½ section home site to the north (a solar power client of MattÕs.)  That wash joins the major east to west wash (Millet Wash) draining several sections of public and private land that make up part of the Little Colorado headwaters. Millet Wash itself traverses the property from the South East quadrant, exiting out the North West quadrant.  From there it traverses part of one of our adjoining properties and then into the ÔMillet Wash SwaleÕ.

 

The scale and scope of a water management design submission:

 

 

 

For now, the projectÕs hydrological solution will be proceeding with just the 'small' solution involving just the wash coming from the north certainly including the solar wells with their surface storage and adjacent NW field systems. 

 

Both the large and small wash development ideas would involve 3rd and possibly 4th party involvement of course, but the north wash issues could be manageable with all it's working elements contained within the boundaries of the property - and it may be possible with no other partyÕs participation.  Whatever the scope of work, Millet Swale will gain protection from some silting impacting the TownÕs facility.  It all depends on how the officials involved see the consequences with regard to any surface and sub-surface impact.

 

Now is the time to bring in the professionals such as yourselves to assess the scale and consequences of some of these possibilities.

 

Indications from my initial review of the site and some of the topoÕs since acquired:

 

 

Initial hydrology ideas considered:

 

 

Architectural Picture:

 

Mr. Andy DÕArrigo, is particularly interested in taking the project beyond the typically stark Ôbunch of homes with a view of the hillsÕ, wishing that we first design and put in place a thriving and capable home construction and field cropping facility on site – essentially a would-be wood products and farming center providing concentrated employees housed to build and then to later maintain the property.  He's considering a small hamlet of perhaps 4 or 5 long term players/employees/families with a 5-10 person seasonal worker facility for the needed live-in workforce commissioned to build up the infrastructure, homes, fields and orchards.  This would be modeled to gracefully transition into a permanent long-term service facility for the property. Once the property has been established to little more than maintenance level, itÕs envisioned it would be re-purposed into an artisan merchant center for rural sourced value added goods using the propertyÕs surpluses and regional trade - a small multi-purposed 'backyard' center servicing the large lot residencies and a resident employee facility.

 

As far as the architecture throughout, we are particularly keen to see traditional and indigenous timber framing with earthen structured heirloom homes of a high end, hand sculpted artisan style and quality - with use of rammed earth, adobe, natural local materials and local labor force - with self contained water and power systems for the homes sites - all this surrounded in a rapidly returning greenscape of high canopy perennial plantings and productive field cropping. 

 

With growing concern that economic issues might turn unstable, they would like the design of the project to accommodate a shift from typical mainstream approaches (imported power & food supporting families using discrete employee services) to one of an off-grid self-sustaining community of fully integrated residents, residences and facilities - could easily move from an initial public and regionally controlled grid tie operation to being it's own independent grid providing distributed water and electric power systems to the homes, onto fields and terraced ag zones using seasonal flows and wells, moving from normal fuels to it's own syngas distribution system sourced from wood and itÕs own ag product waste, sequestering carbon credits back into the land. It would turn from cafeterias initially serving construction crews into food service centers for the residents and their guests - then, should things take a turn for the worst, it could all be transformed into common shared facilities serving as a safe, isolated and self sufficient village scale ÔlifeboatÕ unto itself.

 

For this vision of Mr. DÕArrigoÕs to fly, it must be outlined in practical, do-able phases and directions, each with clear and significant levels of probable outcome and all levels of consideration must be presentable through a number of media formats each with a number of levels of detail, direction and density of content.

 

First Up:

 

I am seeing an immediate need for a broad picture brainstorm capable of convincing the parties currently involved that you are their design, planning, and presentation team.  The production would have to have some solid graphics and data focused initially with just the pumped water facility the developers must have in place soon asap.  That will clearly have to be a plan the developer and the town can commit to within a few months.  This would mesh with a larger picture sufficiently detailed to convey and accommodate our future wishes as to housing density and use plan. 

 

Next Up:

 

Main road and utility services approved and on paper such that that kind of engineering and earthwork can be proceeding within the year.  

 

End game:

 

After those required initial design issues are in motion comes the fun partÉ all the in depth paper presentation material to attract further interest in the large custom home sites, all of which will be fine regional examples of heirloom quality earthen architecture with solid Permaculture design applied for long term comfort, safety and energy sustainability.

 

To date, it looks like two large home sites are on the table in conjunction with the development of the first roads and agricultural scale solar pumped well, pond and irrigation system.  With the well water, a road and 1st phase power infrastructure in place, the home sites will follow closely.  There is already enough interest in Mr. DÕArrigoÕs family that more residences could be included soon after there is something of an attractive design of roads, lots and power in place. The plan ultimately includes about 30 such private residences.

 

I think that as a team we can take this project all the way - from tired and scarred desert to a forested foodscape of plain & hills set around a core service center servicing private court yarded and heirloom quality handcrafted homes lightly planted in the perimeter hills.  There is enough water to get it done and enough potential for it to be there forever, there is the will and funding in Mr. DÕArrigo and Mr. Ritz to flesh out the project far beyond the first few engineering phases, with two of the developers, Mr. Ritz and his project partner, already respected and successful entrepreneurs in the business, political and social affairs of the town.  The project works well with the properties down stream, the local politics and groupÕs funding.  It promises to attract broader regional support leading ultimately to a management scheme for the entire upstream regionÕs private and state managed watersheds.

 

The Region:

 

This is the first flat land arid region north of Show Low Arizona at about 5600', a play ground of the rich & famous and rapidly growing with overflow from the White Mountain recreation industry as prime real estate development opportunities spread north. 

 

To the south of Show Low, we have the Apache Indian Reservation lands, all manicured ponderosa pine forests up high (6000' +) and pinon, juniper further down to the south and west.  The mountains to the south limit the ocean influence through much of the year, yielding to that influence late in the year with the ÔmonsoonÕ weather of June – August with only 11 inches of annual rainfall falling pretty much in just those months.  There is endless sunshine, a consistent wind direction and velocity, and far too little vegetation for any wild land fire concerns.  ItÕs essentially a blank slateÉ

 

I am thinking a single specialty crop, perhaps rice, and orchards in managed seasonal flood basins and the rest as conventional irrigated farm field cropping and ditch watered and terraced orchard and vineyard.  I am seeing a need for a long range development plan for Millet Wash as a Ôrestored and set asideÕ riparian and hydrological restoration project with possible 3rd party public involvement at the state and/or federal level.  If interest is there, a plan for managing it all the way to complete repair could be included in the scope of work.

 

As far as the village/hamlet of indigenous work force and facilities, I am seeing a need for getting to the bottom of the logistics and legality of multiple unrelated adults in denser commercial space, all while temporarily housing all in close proximity on site.  Is it reasonable to expect that that would be possible as a development option here?  Are we looking at setting up multiple types of zoning for the property? Can we do it in a manner that noise, view, and other issues mesh well with the projected residency immediately and into the future? 

 

That all said, I hope these are enough starting points for your consideration. 

 

Logistics for Now:

 

For facilitating the relay of information, IÕve created the Millet Wash Project folder available online and can invite you there via an encrypted link.  The email will explain how to access and share the contents.  You should be able to work with the files on that folder online in a secure and straightforward manner, adding to, viewing and extracting from it from your usual web browser of choice, almost like a local folder, simply and in full sync with additional content shared there by everyone else who has access.  Access for now has been left open only to email invitees, and IÕve only uploaded a few minutes of RAW media, video with some editing done for important PANS and PIX of the landscape.  It will be closed for access as other better methods present themselves.  IÕll be working with this repository, hopefully arranging, annoting and editing for easier online viewing, downloading and uploading.   FYI, the RAW CUTS sub-folder of the MEDIA folder has all the unedited raw audio/video/stills laid out in a strict shooting date folder structure: Year/Month/yyyy_mm_dd.  We will be preserving it all for an accurate historical pictography of the project. If you have content to provide yourself, feel free to let me know. I can provide access or upload it for you, managing the placement of your input.

 

IÕll be posting and notifying anyone onboard digitally as time moves on.  Hopefully IÕll be able to do more in the coming days to give a broader, more streamlined understanding of what we are looking at on the ground there now. 

 

Mr. DÕArrigo and Mr. Ritz will be loosening up their schedules for the next few weeks, hoping for a good time to be with your design team É hope to meet you face-to-face. 

 

That all said, IÕll leave this with you, looking forward to you and your teamÕs participation in the future.

 

Stay tuned for any developments from my office of value in the design process.

 

John Cruickshank Certified PDC

(970) 215-4710

johnhobbit@gmail.com

 

ÒLifeÕs too short to hurryÉÓ

 

 

encl:

 

Google Earth Overlay Map