Dave says: So - last year was fun and an amazing experience, but Haley and I are not planning to do it again the same way. It was fun having a town that had minimal requirements and minimal rules. I enjoyed it, and I'm not upset with anyone - but it's alot of work to run a town and to keep it together (which didn't even happen quite the way I wanted). The fact is that this year Dave and Haley (and the Robots) would rather stay in a small town with a few people then to have to work that hard to stay in a town without a tight community. But that doesn't mean we can't have a town! It just means that things will be different this year. If you feel like we're being too much of a buzzkill by implementing all these rules and requirements, then we can help you find another place to camp and we hope you come join us for at least a dinner some night. :) If you *are* interested in sticking with USDA another year, then here's what we've figured out: General consensus on what people want ------------------------------------- One community. One hangout area. Willing to work during the BM week, but not the whole time. 75% were for group meals, Dana may lead. Many were interested in Esplanade, some considered an annex possibility. Most were *not* interested in having subtowns in the town. Dave was skeptical that >15 people could maintain a community without exclusion and (problematic) fragmentation, but everyone else felt this was possible. Dave was also concerned that >15 people would also not be able to move as a pack except on foot, and travelling on foot was only good on occasion - but Haley's light suggestion may fix that. Most we're interested in actually spending some time on the projects that we didn't even get to do last year, instead of doing a massive town project. Mission Statement: Evidently we should put one of these together. Current Plans ------------- We will apply for theme camp status again. We will run the robots, as well as do our Random Patrol gigs, but we will probably not have any large town projects, unless someone wants to take the lead on this and inspire everyone. If we don't get Esplanade, we'll grab some good land in the closeup area and we probably won't run the robots. Dave's Requirements ------------------- No more unknown people joining our town at the playa. To be clear - if anyone shows up with extra people in tow this year that are not already on the town list, they WILL be tossed. No more unknown people who use our town as a camping spot. If you're not part of the town, you're not in the town. There will be only one hangout/eating/cooking area. All citizens must agree to not setup their own areas, even cooking, etc.. If you want your own cooking area inside your tent, fine, or if you want to just pull out a burner and cook some food, fine, but no tables and chairs and spaces setup for hanging out outside the communal dome (we will have a large communal space this year). Reply to emails I try to minimize the emails I send to the town. Previously they would go unread and things wouldn't get done and people wouldn't know what they needed to know. If I ask for responses from people and don't get a response from you, then you will be taken off the town roster! If you don't have easy email access, you will need to get an email 'sponsor' Citizens generally for full week Except in rare circumstance, I would like U.S.D.A. members to be able to stay for most of the week. No late arrivals and preferably no leaving early. (Perhaps Tue-Sun?). If you can't make it because of school or somesuch, let me know (or just drop out of school ;). Town Dues We will be collecting town dues this year. They won't be enormous, but they also won't be optional this year. Exemptions/reductions can be considered for people who are otherwise making massive town contributions or are short on funds. Funds will go towards things such as town projects (such as the Dome, below) and possibly a storage space in Reno. Jobs In 2006 we decided that it was unreasonable to have job requirements for people since we had so many newbies. Unfortunately this put too much work on some people's shoulders, and I had to spend lots of time looking for volunteers. People will have to take main jobs for running the town, such as setup, cleanup, running robots, etc.. Once those jobs are gone, I'd like to see people come up with things they can assign themselves beforehand that will add to USDA or to BRC. (One possibility, enhance our already awesome town frontage?) Cleanup I appreciate everyone's work towards cleaning up the town last year, but unfortunately it was NOT enough. The Big Red Bus was last to leave, and the five of us did a complete line sweep of our town space twice around and found more trash than you would possibly imagine. It seems that it would be easy to see things on the monocolor playa floor, but this is not the case. The last people to leave shouldn't have to do this job. Cleanup will be everyone's job, and we'll have assigned cleanup managers as well. No dance floor The dance floor was great, but it came at a cost. I would like to have a town with no scheduled dances and no dance floor this year. No bus hauling The bus will be transporting ONLY: - Dave and Haley - Danny and Michelle (who have been grandfathered in at this point :) - Our gear - Town supplies (frontage, etc..) I will not be taking up people's supplies - it is too much of a hassle for all involved, and is partly what slowed us down last year. I will consider things that can't otherwise be brought up, such as long poles and the like, but you'll have to discuss that with me. Bus Arrival Speaking of the bus, I won't need to build an electrical system right beforehand this time, so the bus will be up earlier. The "no hauling" rule is all part of the bus being prepped way ahead of time to ensure the arrival time. Town Layout The town layout will be as specific as possible (given that we don't know what space we'll have until we arrive). Dave's Strong Suggestions ------------------------- More Scooters in the town! Electric is better from a noise perspective when we start talking about many scooters we want. You can find scooters for about $200, and they are a *wonderful* way to travel around the playa. The bus has full electrical now and people will be able to plug scooters in to recharge. If you want to get a scooter, check on ebay and then *contact* Dave or Romeo - there are lots of crap scooters out there that you do NOT want to buy. (Ask Romeo :) Haley's Bicycle/Scooter Blinkers This is for helping large bike groups to stay together. All bikes/scooters should have blinking lights on poles, we'll come up with a pair of colors at some point (blinking orange? :) More radio ownership/usage [[with vibrating alert!]] If you can afford the expense, please pick up some two way radios that have vibrating alert (preferably GMRS) - someone needs to do some research into this regarding good prices and whether or not we need to all get the same model or not (such as Motorola T6550R). Too many times people were trying to call others and couldn't connect because it's rare to hear a call signal at Burning Man. (Rechargeable radios can plug in at the bus). We'll also probably use "Radio Buddies" for when someone needs to be temporarily separated. Communal Kitchen There will be a cooking area in the communal dome, if you have cooking supplies, please bring them to share (but no communal dishes/pots/cleaning!). I don't want to see dirty dishes left around the communal kitchen. More Thoughts ------------- A few people have mentioned a shower. Since Danny has been the main instigator of this issue, I'll put him in charge of the shower, if you'd like to build one, please contact Danny. Dome: There is talk of a dome (construction manager Cooper and interior manager Jeanie). There would likely be work parties towards this. Cooper would like use of it outside of Burning Man, but we need to make actual ownership of the dome very clear. Dave suggested that we help pay and help construct (and possibly store) and then USDA is given guaranteed use of the dome during BM. This needs to be decided upon. Dinnertime: Every night the town will have a dinner (whether it's group food or not remains to be seen). It's fine if you bring in non-townies, and it's fine if you're not there, but the intent is that the whole town has dinner together. Message Board: We might keep one in the communal area so people know what's up. GPS Transmitters: I wonder - are GPS radios that can also transmit location available and reasonable priced?? Cooper: $150? http://www.tigergps.com/2waycom.html Rino 110/120/130 (120 has VIBRATION! mode, American maps, 130 has more maps, compass, altimeter) Rino 520 (color,5W->14mi,routing,etc..), Rino 530 does weather + vibration mode (get throat mic or ear-only mic as well?) If the town is too large, there's the possibility of having an Annex camp - Kermit was in favor (perhaps run by Kermit as well??)