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<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=281432400-15052008>After
speaking with Ameline, who has facilitated some of the past repairs, she seems
to feel what we have may still be salvageable. Past attempts to reinforce the
seams have done so, but the process of stitching in
the reinforcement, in and of itself, weakens the integrity of the
surrounding material...so, the seam holds, but the area immediately adjacent to
the repair tends to rip out next. It seems to me that rather than trying to
patch little isolated areas, we could adhere a heavy duty liner (of sorts) to
the four "corners" where the bulk of the stress gets concentrated. Not just the
seams and grommets, but a much larger panel. Another possibility might be to
construct a custom support frame for the high stress areas. Say a pole or strut
that connects an outer center pole, down to the top of a regular wall-side pole
(at the four corner points). Or perhaps even something a more substantial, but
with the goal of allowing the top to be thrown over it all, with little or
no tension on the top itself. (sort of like a cover for a
cooler)</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=281432400-15052008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=281432400-15052008>Ameline
also brought up the fact that most really large tents, (circus tents and the
like) are sectional, with the sections in effect getting laced together. (I
think Ramone had a BFT like that). Sliced into three sections, the top would be
easier to handle (though it might be more tedious getting it all together) If
done with care, we could end up with a versatile pavilion that could be scaled
down to use subsets of the pieces, like taking out a leaf in a
table.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=281432400-15052008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=281432400-15052008>Not sure
how practical any of that might be, but ....hey....at least I'm not afraid of
sounding like an idiot. :-)</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
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class=281432400-15052008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
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class=281432400-15052008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=281432400-15052008>-=A=- (The A is for
anonymous)</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
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color=#0000ff size=2></FONT><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT><BR>
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<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> Betsy Marshall<BR></FONT></DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I feel compelled to
point out that the poles, ropes and stakes are all great- most of the walls are
still in excellent condition- (maybe a few nibble holes hither and yon?) so what
we really need is just a new top; in white or white and yellow would still go
with the baronial color scheme, and I wonder if might it be possible to
incorporate the “porch roof” section into a new top? Just a few thoughts off the
top of my head.. Pyro.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
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style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Greetings!</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Well to get the ball rolling, these
are the first things that popped into my pea brain....I'm not advocating
anything in particular though.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">1. What did we originally pay for it
(approximately) and how much (approximately) have we spent repairing it so far?
Roughly speaking, how many times have we used it? </SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">With those questions answered, what
has it cost us per use? Have we gotten our money's worth, and if not, is it
reasonable to think we ever will? Especially if we continue to need repairs
after each use?</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">(I suggest also considering the less
tangible costs of dealing with Big Blue, it takes time from "someone's" schedule
to either do minor repairs or transport it to a place that can do them, the
hassle of setup/teardown, loading and unloading, etc. some of which will exist
with any pavilion, but the size sometimes makes it onerous if there are too few
folks to help.)</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">2. What are the benefits that might
justify the "costs"? It may be a source of pride for some, as it is
fairly impressive looking. Does it help attract prospects and other folks at
demos and events? Does it help us appear more credible at say "Highland Games"
than a series of small pavilions would?</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">3. With cost per use established, we
have a benchmark to compare the cost/benefit or return-on-investment of any
proposed replacement.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">4. If we choose to retire it, what
will replace it? And what is our budget for such? Does it "need" to be
replaced?</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">5. If retired, could we make use of
it for other purposes? (ie, cut up into banners, signage, mundanity covers for
use by the populace, maybe use the walls to mask/hide parking areas at events,
etc.)</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">6. Would it be more cost effective
to simply try and sell it "as-is"?</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I'm sure there are lots of ways to
approach this, but that's all I've got time for at the moment. I'm very pleased
to see the leadership in addressing the situation. EVERYONE should be able to
contribute to some degree and be part of this process. NOW is the time to help
out by speaking up.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Just my initial
thoughts.</SPAN></FONT><o:p></o:p></P>
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style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">-=Armand=-</SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>