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ROWLETT RAMBLINGS

Looks are deceiving

2/28/2015

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Robertson Park should be coming soon.  This event is probably the most important event to ever happen to Rowlett over it's entire history.  In one fell swoop, Rowlett suddenly becomes visible to the entire Interstate system.  It will no longer be a backwater burg.  The highways will no longer go around Rowlett.  The interstate system will go right thru Rowlett.

Everything in life is a compromise.  There is going to be a measurable population in Rowlett  that would prefer to keep Rowlett much as it is today, and in fact would probably like to turn the clock back 20 years, or so.  I understand their position, and I kinda respect it.  I like charm.  Traffic and noise detracts somewhat from charm.  Growth and prosperity most often brings traffic and noise..........but it doesn't have to be that way.  Rowlett is beautifully positioned to have both charm and success.  It took some luck, and frankly, some hard work of some long past  individuals.  However, the opportunity finally seems to have arrived.  Rowlett hasn't had such a good "break" since the first cotton gin. 

First, let's talk about the Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex.   What a great place for business growth!!  D/FW is one of the top markets in the United States for almost anything you want to do.  This economic energy includes all of North Central Texas.  This is where the jobs are.  Jobs are why you are here.  Of course, that broad based economic vigor includes Rowlett.  Whether you like it, or not, Rowlett is part of a vigorous economic climate.   Because you need a job, and the jobs are here, is why DFW is destined to grow.   As such, Rowlett is going to grow, too.  Some growth is inevitable.  It would require no special ointment applied by Rowlett "officialdom."   Some Rowlett growth is caused simply by Dallas "spillover."  For any of "officialdom" to take credit for this type of growth is at least disingenuous; certainly a lie.

We don't need leaders like that.  What Rowlett is beautifully positioned to do is take advantage of a poker hand that has been dealt.  It has been a good hand.  It's kinda late in the game, but this hand was enough to win the whole evening.  Our five cards dealt to us this time were:

1.  Robertson Park
2.  DART
3.  George Bush Toll Way
4.  Lake Ray Hubbard
5. Shallow water

We keep four cards and throw away one.  We throw away Shallow water and get another called "small craft and waterfront parks."  Think kayaks, canoes, Paddle boats, small shallow draft, dagger board sailboats, and john boats.  Well, probably ought to add bass boats.   To add to the small craft image, throw some Spanish Moss into the tree limbs.  Buy a whole box car full of the stuff.

Now, you want the best card players you can find to play your hand.  From this p0int forward, its how you play the hand that's been dealt.

I've taken a little bit of a circuitous route to get you to the point I want to make.  That point is that we desperately need good leaders to play that hand.  We need leaders that understand the game and know how to play it.  These leaders WILL NOT be the prettiest players in town.  They WILL NOT be the glad handers, they WILL NOT lead the parades.  They WILL NOT impose grandiose images of themselves.  They will be in the back of the parade, or the end of the dais, or in the audience of the self congratulatory special events.  They're not much into giving speeches or getting in the front of someone else's parade, and leading it down the street.  They will be thinking about the hand that is dealt.......not themselves.  They will have the courage to speak their mind.  But, most importantly, they will vote based on knowledge, not politics.  That's a tall order.

The good guys won't try to con you.  The bad guys will.  It will not be the "pretty" candidates that are the best card players.  It will be the "ugly" candidates,  some might think, that will study the situation and negotiate to  place Rowlett in the best possible position to improve it's lot.  It's imperative that voters learn to tell the difference.  This is our chance to catapult Rowlett to the front.   You must select your next leaders very wisely. 

Now, everybody knows who the "Ugly American" is, don't you?  It the greedy businessman doing business out of the USA.  It's the American tourist that has a floppy flowery shirt with two cameras around his neck, with a pork pie hat on.  This "Ugly American" is also very obnoxious in foreign restaurants.  We all know who they are......right?  Greedy, rich, insensitive morons, right?

Well, you're wrong.  You're probably in the 90% of the
American public that is wrong.  Most Americans are wrong about the "Ugly American" because at one time you were "in" and a "sophisticate" when you read certain books.  A lot of people said they read the book.......but didn't.  They created the wrong image because they concocted an image based on the title of the book.  It proved to be wrong.  The image was created by ignorance.  I read the book.

When I was in college, the Viet Nam war was a very prominent thought of mine. I was focused on the country of Viet Nam and the political situation.  I knew I was going to have to serve in the military, and I was okay with that.  However, I was smart enough to know that something was desperately wrong over there.  I could not see how the USA suffered so many disappointments.

I read a book.  The name of the book was "The Ugly American."  It profoundly changed my opinion of politicians.  I also saw the movie.  The movie was terrible and did not even remotely tell the story of the book.  If you saw the movie, you wasted your money.  However, the book was extraordinary.  What I learned was who the "ugly American" really was.  In fact, if one was brain dead, there was still a chapter named "the ugly American" that told the reader exactly who he was.  If the ignorant had just read that one chapter, they would have known who the "ugly American" was.  The errant social parties continued with everyone discussing the books of the day.......and building the wrong image.

It was the "pretty American" that was losing Viet Nam with their lousy political decisions and profound ignorance.  The "Ugly American" was the only American in the book that was worth a damn.  Google "The Ugly American."

Folks, below is the "ugly American."
____________________________________________________________
Homer Atkins

Homer Atkins, the "ugly American" of the book's title, is ugly in physical appearance, not in character. A tough, blunt-spoken man, he is a highly successful retired engineer who is worth $3 million. The U.S. government consults him about building dams and military roads in Southeast Asia, but he insists that what is really needed are things that the local people can manufacture and use for themselves. His advice is ignored, but Ambassador MacWhite is impressed by him and invites him to Sarkhan. In that country, Atkins, in collaboration with a Sarkhanese man named Jeepo, invents a water pump that proves to be an immense labor-saving device for the local people. Atkins sets himself up in business with Jeepo and twelve local workers, and his enterprise is a big success.

Dr. Hans Barre
_____________________________________________________________

Be assured, it's not the pretty Rowlett politician that is going to get things done to catapult Rowlett into the life style that is possible.  It will be the hard working politician that thinks about Rowlett more than they think of  themselves.  We need a Homer Atkins, and any like him.  It is your job to find them and get them to run for office, then it becomes your job to elect them. 

Some might say what we need are the "ugly politicians."


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Put head in gear, before mouth

2/26/2015

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The hot news of the day is the potential annexation of Robertson Park into the city limits of Rowlett.  There is a lot of blog writing and general shooting off of the mouth by people that aren't qualified to comment. It's okay to have an opinion, but you should know the facts, first.

Even the Dallas Morning News isn't reporting the transaction as accurately as they should.  They are writing that the City of Rowlett is buying Robertson Park from the City of Dallas.  That is only technically correct.  The real answer is a little more complicated than that.   Actually, there will be (if it gets that far) a simultaneous closing.  The DMN is technically correct for about 10 seconds.  Amongst other closing documents, there will be a deed.  Immediately after Dallas signs the deed conveying title to Rowlett, Rowlett will sign another deed conveying title to an entity of Kent Donahue, a Dallas area developer.  Kent Donahue will also sign a Deed of Trust and a note to secure his lenders at the same closing.  The closing title company will then hand the City of Dallas a check for $31,800.000.00, written on an escrow account created by Donahue's lenders.  Rowlett only owned the property for about 10 seconds.  Rowlett did not pay anyone any money.  Rowlett did not guarantee any loans incurred by Donahue.  The only thing Rowlett has promised to do was to annex the property...........and that, ladies and gentlemen, is the best thing to ever happen to Rowlett.  As a further enticement to Dallas to enter into this agreement, Rowlett is allowing the City of Dallas to participate in some of the ad valorem taxes after 21 years.  Dallas will not participate in the sales taxes from retail sales. 

It's a long way from $32 million of raw land to 257 acres of high dollar development, totaling maybe $1 Billion, but the ride will be fun for Rowlett.  We should now become the town we deserve to be.  Most assuredly there will continue to be negotiations with the developer.  There will be discussions about relief from impact fees, tax abatements, availability of utilities, and at least one bridge to be built.  Assuming  we don't lose our municipal head, the income derived from this new development will provide excellent investment opportunities for Rowlett. 

There are some stories circulating around Rowlett that are totally false.  Rowlett is not putting any money into the acquisition of Robertson Park.  Neither is Rowlett closing any pools.  Rowlett will not own the land.

As evidenced elsewhere in this blog, I have been campaigning for the acquisition of Robertson Park for eight years.  I have long felt that Rowlett's opportunities lay to the south.  Recent new developments have enhanced Rowlett's opportunities to the north along the toll way.........if we ever get our heads back out into the sunshine.  North Shore is zoned wrong.  If we blossom on the south with commercial devleopment, then blossom on the north with high dollar residential, it will be fun in Rowlett.  Everybody will make money on their houses........and it would be really fun to live in Rowlett.

Hopefully, there will be much more to discuss about this event.

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A little history

2/25/2015

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Rather than re-invent the wheel, below are some writings of mine some time ago about Robertson Park.   Each will scroll down to be able to read the whole article.  Also, if the print is too small, hold down the Control Button while clicking the + button, and the print will enlarge.  To make is smaller, just hold the Control button and click the - (minus) button .
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A little help from a friend

2/25/2015

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Many Thanks to Larry Beckham.  He sent me the link to the newspaper's blog article regarding Robertson Park.  It is below.

http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/2015/02/dallas-and-rowlett-cut-a-31-8-million-deal-for-257-acres-of-park-land-on-lake-ray-hubbard.html/?utm_content=bufferd9e98&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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Robertson Park

2/24/2015

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I just read an early release of the Dallas Morning News whereby the acquisition of Robertson Park by developers that have partnered up with Rowlett are nearing fruition.  I have been pushing for this event for many years.

I first started writing about this event when I was writing  a few columns for DMN in 2007 as a "Community Voices" writer.  That's eight years, folks.  I've been pushing for this event for that long.

It's still not a done deal, but much closer.  This event, if successfully closed, will be the most important event to ever happen to Rowlett.  Rowlett will be catapulted from a backwater suburban crossroads to a high visibility, high dollar, high recognition corner of the world.  If done right, I can envision hotels, exclusive office parks, upscale retail, very high end condos, waterfront developments, and superb restaurants.  All will be highly visible from Interstate 30.......because I-30 goes right thru it.

If properly developed, I can envision this part of Rowlett becoming some of the most visible and inviting areas in the DFW metroplex.  It will most definitely become a destination area. 

All of Rowlett's real estate values should raise, and the tax rate should be okay for quite some time.

.................But, it has to close, first...................... .
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It just doesn't stop

2/21/2015

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As if there haven't been enough announcements of new developments along the tollway,  20 minutes up the road from Rowlett,  comes another......even closer.

In Thursday's Dallas Morning News, a new development was announced immediately east of the State Farm project on the tollway and North Central.  The project's name is BC Station.

BC Station is side by side with the State Farm development, with a DART station in-between.  How cool is that?!  The City Line project (State Farm) will be worth $1.5 Billion when completed.  The new BC Station will add another $500 Million to the development.  The DMN goes on to say that the two developments will add "thousands of jobs and a flood of residents along North Central Expressway."  I agree about the jobs.  I disagree about the "flood of residents."  There is no residential land along NC Expressway.  There may be some residential land  off the beaten path, but it is far too expensive for any housing except high dollar apartments and condos. 

However, just 20 minutes of commute time down GWBT, lies superb high dollar residential land.  We, in Rowlett, call it North Shore.  However, our illustrious city leadership thinks it is Office and Warehouse land.  They have denied two excellent residential developments that would currently be contributing $700K a week to our tax base.  The boneheaded analysts that caused this to happen are gone.......but some of their disciples still remain.  There are several posts in this blog that contain math supporting the best real estate investment that Rowlett never made.  Rowlett "leadership" snapped defeat right out of the jaws of victory.  Check my post of two posts ago, "It's Been a Year," 2/16/15.

I talked to the two developers right after they were denied zoning by City Council.  Be assured, they did not love Rowlett..........after investing maybe $100K each in planning and engineering on their projects.  Some of the meatheads that were "planning" Rowlett at the time must think that these two prestigious developers (and they were some of the best) must not talk to anyone.  Be assured, these developers all talk to one another.  They know the good guys and the bad guys.  So......do you think only two residential developers think badly of Rowlett?  You might ought to guess again.  I'm sure we're on many developer dart boards. How many sophisticated residential developers have approached Rowlett recently?   By sophisticated, I mean someone with the savvy and financial wherewithal to produce a 250 lot subdivision with all the amenities.  A subdivision in which the lots would cost $70,000 to $80,000 each.  This type of development is not for Fred and Ethyl's Land Development Company and Sheet Metal Shop. 

The data being reported by the DMN is pretty plebeian information.  It is hardly sophisticated.  Anybody has access to it and it doesn't cost $8,000 a year that some lenders pay for more professional real estate data.   However, the DMN is just hammering the public with excellent market information.  It is beating Rowlett leaders over the head with an 8 lb. sledge hammer.  There are tens of thousands of jobs being created 20-30 minutes of non-stop driving up the tollway from Rowlett.    There is more vacant land north of Rowlett, but it is probably  inclined to go commercial because of it's close proximity to existing commercial and rail served.  It will be 30 years, if ever, for North Shore to be ripe for any of the development envisioned by previous leadership.  Do you know how much money Rowlett would lose by that time?  Do you think $36 million might be close?  It is......probably understated.  With the proverbial tax increases, over $40 million is not an exaggeration.  So, you don't think nurturing the tax base isn't as important as how much you pay for a fire truck?

I drove thru Rowlett's two existing subdivsions and the one under development.  A very unscientific guess is that we have lot inventory in the two active subdivisions for two or three years.  The residential subdivision underway won't even produce a production house for about a year......four months to complete the land development, four months to build a model, and four months to produce the first pre-sold unit.  The subdivision underway is an unproven product.  It is "urbanized" and has form base codes.  That means it is substantially designed by Rowlett Planning Department.  What a scary thought.

If we don't get our act together, I fear what lies ahead with our efforts in visulizing the golden opportunity provided by Robertson Park.

You need to start researching the meatheads in our midst that have zero real estate development acumen.  They still exist.   Get them out of office.  If not, get out your checkbook.  You'll need it.  You can go get them back when fire trucks become more important than tax base.
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One year

2/18/2015

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One year ago today, I started this blog.  I had all kind of plans to have a really good post to send up today.  Unfortunately, making a living got in the way.  I'm busier now than I was when I was a young man.  I am going to try to get a little un-busy.  I can't do anything about getting un-old.

I have some things to write regarding the bond election and the free flow of information between Rowlett's "officialdom" and the taxpayers.  Both are important.  Actually, there are many things that are especially important to Rowlett at this point in it's development.    We need to re-think some things.  What has Rowlett 2020 really done for us?    Do we really think warehouses are a possibility on the toll way?  Why?  What has form base codes done for us?  Our only "form base code subdivision" is only half complete.  It will need at least another 4 months before models will be built.  Only then will we see market acceptance.....or not.  What is our future plan for water front developments?   How's the Robertson Park negotiations going?  These are all important.  They all have a direct bearing on our tax base and our lifestyle. 

I'll try to keep my material fresh and informative......as often as I can. 

Please bear with me.  I really appreciate your interest in the blog.  So long as the reader count stays, I will too. 

Thanks.
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Toyoto on the way

2/17/2015

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Yesterday I met the second  Toyoto couple that had driven right thru Rowlett to purchase a house in Rockwall.  This makes four people I have met that are vanguards of Toyoto.  The four bought two houses in Rockwall.  In fact, one couple said they didn't even know they were driving thru Rowlett for quite some time.  There is no exit sign on the tollway that announces entry into Rowlett.  There is a sign announcing "Main Street, but doesn't say what town.  There are 27 Main Streets in the metroplex. 

One couple shopped for housing in Rowlett, but couldn't find what they wanted.  They said the selection was limited in Rowlett.  Obviously they don't know very much.  Our previous city manager and the past head of Rowlett's zoning department (now gone) said Rowlett had all the housing they needed.  In fact, they said Rowlett was "over built" with single family detached houses.  "Officialdom" worked in conjunction with our consultants to produce "urbanized" housing.  Our first "urbanized" residential subdivision is now under development up on Liberty Grove Road, west of Waterview.  It is still unproven in the marketplace, however there are two good builders that are to build in there. 

I viewed the two Rowlett subdivisions yesterday.  They are both nice.  The Lennar subdivision on the lake is very upscale.  It's $300K Plus product.  The other behind Home Depot is only slightly lower price.  Neither particularly cater to the tollway and commuter traffic to Plano.  Both subdivisions are a bit cumbersome to get to from GBTW. 

That's it, folks.  If you want a supermarket of housing, Rowlett ain't the place.  We're saving Rowlett for Offices, Warehouses, and urbanized housing.  We'll be asaving for a long time.  Our P&Z, staff, and City Council seems to think 30 years is okay to wait for the markets to develop.  I probably disagree.
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It's been a year

2/16/2015

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In a couple of days, it will have been a year since I wrote my first post on this blog.  It has been interesting.  I think it's appropriate to revisit the introduction to my first post.  My whole focus has been on nurturing tax base.  A healthy tax base is what will keep our tax rate in check.
_____________________________________
"Welcome to a brand new blog site. It is hoped you can take away some thoughts about Rowlett, Texas, and the Lake Ray Hubbard area. It is further hoped that you can contribute to discussions about our area. This blog site should provide an additional opportunity to discuss our town. Rowlett can be a really great place to live, but it needs some help from its citizens. That’s you. Every town or city reflects the personality of its citizens and their elected officials. It all starts with you and your thoughts that are forwarded to the people you elect to office. Pretty simple, huh?

Well, maybe not so simple. There are approximately 37,000 registered voters in Rowlett. I think about 1400 persons voted in the last local election. That’s about 3.7% of the voters. Stated another way, each person that voted controlled the future of 26 other voters. That hardly seems fair, but only your involvement can change the ratio, and have a more meaningful and representative say in Rowlett’s future. Over the years, I have served on many committees and one term as City Councilman. Involvement in city affairs gave me some insight into the Rowlett’s citizenry and its participation in the city’s blood flow. The launching of this blog site hopes to provide an informal place to discuss our town. My unabashed goal is to coax, embarrass, or argue, in hopes of convincing citizens of Rowlett to take a greater interest in city matters. It’s not important that you agree with me. It’s only important to know why you agree or disagree."

________________________________________
There's been some "action" since I first started writing.  Unfortunately, there's been some "inaction," too.

Four years ago, Rowlett 2020 was the word.  Everything revolved around Rowlett 2020.  The jury is still out, but I don't think Rowlett 2020 has lived up to it's hype.  I think a lot of that hype was designed to convince you that you were a major player in designing Rowlett's future.  I think that was a con.  I think Rowlett 2020 was designed to give our previous city manager what she wanted.  I would not have minded it quite so much if she knew what the hell she was doing.  IMO she didn't.

But, it wasn't a total loss.  I think The Villages of Rowlett, the proposed downtown apartment project, is a direct result of Rowlett 2020 and will add to the town's charm and "marketability."  I like the project, however I side with Debby Bobbit.  "It costs too much."  I don't mean the developer.  I mean we  taxpayers gave away way too much money.    Much of the success of this project (and it will be) is a result of DART.  Those plans were made a very long time ago.  The staff needs a severe tongue lashing for telling P&Z, City Council, and the citizens that Rowlett was only going to invest $6 million in the project.  P&Z and City  Council needs a severe tongue lashing for not questioning Staff's numbers.  I am at $11 million, and still counting.  There is a post in this blog that backs up those numbers.  There is more to come. 

People, that is lying, misdirection, manipulation, or conniving; maybe all four.  Somebody should get fired over that.  It will take us 58 years to get our $11 million back. There is absolutely no excuse for that behavior.......even if it means taxpayers will get riled up.

We're getting some pretty good development along Highway 66 (Lakeshore Pkwy).  Most of that growth is a result of Rowlett just growing because of Dallas and the economic buzz of North Central Texas. 

We are also getting a couple of apartment projects in addition to the Villages.  One looks pretty upscale.......starting at $1,150 per month for a one bedroom.  That ain't for the welfare crowd.  I don't know much about the other one, except it is being built on pretty expensive land and that suggests it ain't gonna be cheap either.  We needed the apartments.

We still need some retirement developments.  There were a couple being discussed, but I don't know where they went......probably lost in the canyons of Rowlett's engineering department. 

The saddest events were a direct result of the very poor logic of our previous city manager, and what became her personal consulting firm.  Two very upscale residential developments were denied zoning all in the interest of preserving the new zoning criteria of Rowlett 2020.  These two developments were specifically designed to take advantage of the new tollway and all the new jobs being created in Plano.  Plano is experiencing unbelievable growth and can not house everybody that will be working there.  Rowlett's most suitable land for providing this upscale housing (over $300 K per house), was soundly defeated by "officialdom" that had the real estate underwriting experience of a doorknob. 

I have written this before, but it's good review.  These brain dead "officials" blocked the best thing ever to happen to Rowlett.........and nothing has exceeded the benefits to Rowlett since.  These two subdivisions were located on each side of the tollway.  There was very easy access to the tollway and all the employment centers in Plano.  There was (and is) marketing information that each of these subdivisions would sell one house a week.  Average sales prices would be about $360-370 K.  There were about 250 lots in each subdivision.   Here's what that arithmetic means:

Two houses a week at $350 K each = $700 K on the tax roles each week!!........and there is no tax abatement!!

When built out, the 250 houses per subdivision would produce 500 houses at $350 K each, or (grab your seat, people) a total of $175 million on the tax roles
.  All of that would now be going on the tax base.  People......no deal has even come close to equaling those numbers. 

If you vote for anyone again that voted to deny zoning for either of  the above projects, you need your oil checked, too.  Or, you're not getting enough air.  These two developments were entry level real estate thinking.

There isn't going to be anyone riding a white horse come into town to work on Rowlett's real estate tax base. 


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Some background

2/6/2015

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Long before I ever heard of Agenda 21, some Rowlett residents were already looking at it.    There was a comment left by one of these Rowlett residents on the previous post.  In the comment, there was a link to another website that did not copy thru on the comment.  That link is below:

http://rowletttexasteaparty.com/?p=320,

Whether you agree with material on the link, or not, at least you would be researching the issue.  From there on, you're on your own.  As I've written before, I am not a big conspiracy theorist.  Some  theories set out by the UN Agenda 21 advocates seem to me to be a bit of a stretch.  Some do not.  However, as a friend of mine once said, "If it walks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and looks like a duck, by gosh, it just might be a duck!"

Some of the thoughts reflected on the attached might be a conspiracy, but on the other hand, it might be an expanding academic theory.  But, regardless of the semantics used to  describe the issue, there seems to be a danger that property rights might  be under assault.

The link above is a first hand report on one Rowlett resident's observation of  a Rowlett 2020 charrette.  I appreciate the input for all to share.

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