Tons of work to do

There is a ton of work to do to get this place going. Two main areas, each with a long list of needs, require attention. First is to get the yard ready for cabins and/or RVs. We need to relocate the Septic tank away from the water well and then we need to level this place in preparation for trenches for electric, water, and sewage lines. Then we bring in caliche and pack it down to provide a surface for structures and driving. There is a lot of dirt to move so we are praying to find a backhoe to use.

Inside the building there is drywall and plaster

repair work to do in preparation for painting. I need to cut a hole in the ceiling and install one of those drop down stair things so we can get up there to rewire this building. The future electric needs exceed the wiring in place. We plan on installing a commercial kitchen along with large coolers for soft drinks and stuff.

One of my previous companies, "Corporate Liquidation" introduced me to the advantages of purchasing at auctions. I called it "Stealing legally" because I could purchase things for pennies on the dollar value of each item. Cutting costs effectively is a foundation of building a business so when the time comes we hope to find things like coolers and commercial kitchen items at auction. For that I need a cash source and my source for all things is God through lots of prayer. So pray with us folks that He bring the right people into our lives to help us get this ministry together. Considering the huge amount of work that needs to be done requiring a backhoe and dump truck I will be looking to find a steal of a deal on one at auction. It is not just the store location but the 50 or so acres we plan to develop on the farm. Plus I can see a business side of owning the dump truck and backhoe because there is a huge demand for such items and an operator of them in this oil boom. Shoot there are business opportunities all around us here.

Speaking of that we are looking at something called "papercrete" as a building material. Currently the newspapers around here have to pay to dispose their leftover newspaper in the landfill every week. Come to find out it can be converted into a type of brick and formable plaster like building material that is strong and durable, along with being lightweight. I can get the newspaper for free or may even be paid to haul it off and add a little Portland concrete and I have a low cost building material that enables me to build our cabins at a great price. Still have some studying to do on that.

Here is where I started digging the hole needed for the septic tank by hand. I don't sit around waiting  for miracles, I work as we pray for help.

I am also studying aerobic septic systems for the Oasis. These cost a little bit more than standard septic systems but the advantages are well worth it. I am a firm believer in spending a little bit more now to spend less in the future. With the aerobic system the water is reclaimed and can be used to water plants, grass, or anything else. Water is like gold out here in the desert and we need to be wise with its use.

Wow, this is happening

We now have control of the store.

                There are lots of things happening these days so I thought it would be wise to give you all an update on the progress made and thoughts on the directions we plan on going. I resigned my position as manager of A-1 Office Furniture effective the last day of April. This will free me up to focus on the needs of the Oasis project.

                There are two aspects of this project. One is to create a place of ministry and the other is to create a business that will address many needs that exist in this area. Having two separate goals might cause some concern with those involved or considering becoming involved with the Oasis Project. There are some who say you should not mix business with religion so it will be important to make sure things are clear regarding this.

                I am not “mixing” religion and business, these will be operated as separate entities. But you have to understand I graduated from Bible college and was ordained into the ministry in 1980. A precept I try to live by says “Whatever you do, in words or deeds, do all to the glory of God”. God is first and foremost in my life. Does that mean I can’t be a successful businessman? Of course not. God has blessed many in the Bible with great wealth and success but with that comes equally great responsibility, along with a danger. That danger has pride at its core and with pride comes many problems. Jesus said to “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and all these other things will be added to you” regarding material things.

                Let me explain what I have in mind when it comes to ministry. There is a great need in Martin County for a bible based alcohol and drug recovery group, kind of like AA. I hope to use part of the Oasis store building to hold these weekly meetings in. Then there will be the spiritual needs of the hundreds of people coming to the area and using our facilities for housing. For them I hope to hold bible studies, provide a pathway to God, and help them get involved in local churches.  There are always times when people need some spiritual counseling or just someone to talk to and that is ministry. That’s it. That is what I am thinking when I use the term “ministry”. No big fancy plans, just helping people out. What may eventually grow from that I can’t say and won’t worry about. This is God’s project.

                Now we will talk about the business end of things and I will outline a basic plan of action. The application for being registered as a limited liability company has been filled out and sent in to Austin. I have no idea how long it takes for that to be approved and sent back so we are waiting now. When it does get approved then we can apply for a federal ID number, resale certificate, and then open a bank account in the LLC’s name. The official name we applied for is Martin County Oasis. When I checked that name was still available. Once we are a legal entity with the proper documentation we can start getting serious. We will need to create and establish credit for the Oasis that will be needed to purchase material and commodities required to build the business. Some of that credit can be established based on the credit history of the owners and investors of the LLC.

                The current assets of The Oasis consists of the property on I-20, which includes nearly a half acre of land and an 1800 sq. foot brick building, a 2004 Ford F150 pickup I purchased at auction, some tools bought for refurbishing the building, and about $13,000 in cash. Future assets can include up to fifty acres of my land to be developed. I have had several people contact me about the possibility of investing in this project and will carefully consider that after consultation with the current investors. The type of LLC we are registering is called a Series LLC. We did this with future investors in mind. With a Series LLC the Martin County Oasis LLC will be the parent company under which we can create as many other LLCs as we need. With this arrangement we will be able to segregate an investor or group of investors to the particular area they are interested in. For instance a group of investors may only be interested in financing the cost of putting in ten cabins. We will establish an LLC specifically for that group and those ten cabins will be their project. There are other advantages to this arrangement that I can cover at a later time.

                There will be two types of investors, long term and short term. The short term investors will have a set amount of cash and desire a quick turn around time for their investment, something like five or so years where they get their investment back with a profit. The long term investors are more interested in providing a source of income for the years to come, where their investment sits intact and they reap the benefits through dividends paid as long as the funds remain in the investment vehicle. We intend to be able to facilitate both types of investors.

                Here is the plan. First we want to prepare the half acre store site for cabins and/or RV spaces. This will require leveling out the area and to do that right I need to rent or find a backhoe but till then I will use a back blade on my farm tractor. There is a spot where a house used to be that has the remnants of the old cesspool that is caving in. This will take some work as it is concrete and won’t be easy to break up. Hopefully a backhoe can do the job.

                Once leveled then I need to dig trenches for water, sewage, and electric lines. Much of that may need to be done by hand because of the underground fiber optic cable that runs near the fence line. Then we will install the water, sewage and electric lines with access points for each of the ten spaces where they can be hooked up to the cabins or RVs. The septic tank needs to be pulled out of the ground and moved to a new spot at the corner of the property farthest from the water well. Another job for a backhoe or some serious use of muscle. I think we would be wise to but a catch tank at the top corner of the property to hold the sewage from the five spaces on the back fence line. It will then be directed to the relocated septic tank.

                When all that is done then we can hook up the electricity and put on the correct connections. We are hoping to bring in caliche to create a good surface for vehicles to drive on and RVs or cabins to rest on. Right now the best price I’ve found is about ten grand but I am sure we can find a better price and do a lot of the leveling and compacting ourselves. We have ordered a bigger transformer to be installed that will be capable of supplying the electricity needs of these cabins, RVs, and the store. Our desire is to be able to have cabins and/or RVs on the property as soon as possible for that will start generating cash flow.

                You notice I say cabins and/or RVs a lot. My research clearly shows that cabins will generate a much higher revenue stream than RVs. We visited an RV park and man camp Sunday. It is only a month old under the new owners. The man camp is in the process of being built now with about eight mobile homes visible. Despite only being open a month all 150 RV spots were full with a waiting list. This park is getting $500 a month for each RV spot if contracted for three months. The monthly rental is $600. That means they are generating $75,000 every month and that works out to $900,000 a year. Not bad cash flow.

                But how does that compare to cabins? Right down the interstate from the store, just a few miles on the way to Midland, is a new enterprise called “Horseshoe Lodge”. It currently has 34 small cabins, that look like storage sheds and are only 300 sq feet each. They are set up as hotel rooms with a bed, bathroom, and a kitchenette. His sign says the rooms rent for $99 a night but what I heard is that he rents monthly at $89 a night. That works out to $2670 a month and with 34 units $90,780 a month or 1,089,360 a year. Over a million a year is not bad for 34 cabins.

                What I plan on doing is to get cabins twice the size of those little sheds down the road. We have been doing a lot of research and have found several possible options. One of the best values we found is Hawk Buildings out of Clyde Texas (near Abilene) and a 16 x 38 steel cabin will run around $23,000. We need to get good mattresses, a television, and other amenities. I am a long term planner and what we know is that there is a huge building surge as companies rush to meet the needs of this oil boom. Hotels are flying up as quick as they can be built along with RV Parks, apartments, and houses. What will eventually happen is that there will be a saturation point where there will be more housing available than needed. When that occurs these people, who are making good money, will have more options, choices, and can be pickier regarding where they stay. That is why I want to invest now in higher quality structures that will help us stand out in the crowd.

                The cabins that will be placed at the interstate property will be highly visible and a form of advertising to the 30 plus thousand  people who will drive past daily. It will be important to make a good impression there. Understand that the interstate property is just the start, the seed if you will, of our long term development plans. I have 50 acres that I plan to make available for this. We can easily fit 100 cabins and 150 RV spaces on that property, along with a community center, supply store, restaurant, swimming pool, and recreation facility in that area. And we can do it in a way that is roomier and not at all crowded like many of the facilities I have seen. The initial need is for worker housing but what will happen is that as these people come here from all parts of the nation and find the jobs they seek they will start bringing family here. Then they will be looking for better housing and a community they can fit in with. We will keep that in mind and as the Lord wills and makes possible we hope to be able to meet those needs too. 100 cabins renting at $2000 a month will bring in 2.4 million dollars a year. That is a price lower than current rates. I don’t desire to gouge and would rather offer prices that are lower and fairer than the competition. Greed is not a good thing and flexibility is advisable.

                Now to the store building. By itself the potential of that store is tremendous. Its placement at exit 151 on the interstate makes it a prime real estate property simply because of the traffic flow. We can sell ice, water, soft drinks, and candy and do good. But we can do much better with a little work. There is a lot of work to do to bring it up to speed. Right now it is a brick building with a steel roof that needs a lot. The windows in the front were boarded up decades ago and some of the wood sills are rotted. The exposed wood surfaces on the roof are also in bad shape and need to be replaced or repaired. Inside there is a lot of cosmetic repair work to be done. Plaster walls to be patched and holes in drywall to be fixed. The wiring is old and not up to our plans so that must be attended to. Both bathrooms need updating. Currently the building is plumbed for propane. I personally am inclined to go all electric but it may be smart to retain some of the propane for a possible commercial kitchen or winter heat. I don’t know enough about that to decide so am welcoming suggestions and ideas regarding this. For that matter I would greatly appreciate any feedback regarding any aspect of this venture because I am just smart enough to know I don’t know as much as I would like.

                We want to make the front room the convenience store area, with coolers, shelves, and all that kind of stuff. The room behind it will be a place to sit down and eat a sandwich or burrito but also where we will hold recovery group meetings and bible studies. The third room at the back of the building is where the kitchen will be. In addition there is a side area that was a porch that has been roughly enclosed. This area is where we plan to put the washers and dryers that we will have available for the renters of cabins or RV spots. Eventually we plan to have a commercial kitchen that can provide food to go for the many workers in the area. I see supplying worker needs as a huge market and foresee a line of trucks stocking up for the day early every morning, getting ice, water, food, and lots of hot coffee. And they will hear about Jesus in the process too.

                So that’s where we are at today. This is something I have prayed years about and we can see the hand of God as things happen we thought could not. I have been called a fool and laughed at for dreaming big. We appreciate your prayers and invite all who feel inclined to consider getting involved. Thanks for the encouragement and prayers.

Bob and Cherie Westbrook