The Raise a Tiki At Tiki Gardens Thread - Beyond Tiki

CY chris y Member Joined: Oct 22, 2002 Posts: 14	CY chris y Posted posted on Sat, Nov 9, 2002 5:16 AM Hi, this is chris y from tikigardens.com. I contacted tikigardener early last week just after the tribune article came out, and told him a memorial was a good idea, that we had also been considering one (albeit not real seriously) for some time, and maybe the article could provide the catalyst to actually get this done. (I also told him I was sorry he thought the quote about doing it himself came out sounding like a dig, I didn't mean it that way, but that's a different story). I suggested we join forces to that end, but haven't heard back from him yet or seen any posts on the subject, so I thought I'd throw out my ideas here on tikicentral. First, the original Tiki Gardens tikis were designed and built by Gordon Keith. Gordon is now retired, and his son runs his business. The Keiths were longtime friends of the Byars, staying with them when they came to Florida, vacationing together in North Carolina, and then visiting them there when they retired to the mountains. We had been in contact with his son for the past year, I called him on Wednesday and asked if he'd be interested in coming on board for this, he said hold on a second, and the next thing I hear is, 'Hi, this is Gordon Keith'. I told him what we were trying to do, he thought about it for a second, and said, 'I'll do it'. He has offered to design and build an exact replica of the tiki god of our choice(lono or kahuna, to be determined), have it shipped down, and then fly in for the dedication ceremony to boot. The man himself is a god; he regaled me with stories like how when Frank asked if he could convert a two car garage into an oriental shop, he drew out the plans for the Signal House (including the oval doorway) on the back of a grocery bag (maybe that's the origin of the 'jo drawing up plans for TG on the back of a piece of butcher paper' legend!) Or how he looked out the back door of the signal house one day and saw a bathtub (?) with plants in it and said to Frank, why don't you put some gardens in back here? Or when he told Frank to buy himself a panama hat and call himself Trader Frank. Anyways, my point is this is a coup of historic proportions to have the man who designed and built the original tikis offer to come out of retirement and build one last statue in memory of TG and his close friends the Byars (can you imagine the media interest in that angle?) I know Wayne has been contacted about the project, but he's an artist (and a heck of a nice guy as well if you haven't met him), I don't think he'd be offended in the slghtest if we told him the original artist wanted to be involved in the project. I also told tikigardener I have the cash flow to fund this project upfront, so that while pledges and fundraisers are great, the permitting process is going to take long enough on its own, we need to hire Gordon Keith and get him working on this project- NOW. And while we're on the subject, $2500 is a good starting point, but that does not include shipping, materials and labor to erect the statue, a plaque designed, printed and mounted, a lobbyist if we have to go before the commissioners, permits and all those incidentals that always pop up. Aah, yes- the permitting process... Tiki Gardens is a county park; while the Indian Shores mayor might be all for a memorial, unless it is located off the park property, he pretty much has no authority to sign off on it. We met with the county yesterday; if anyone has ever dealt with government bidding or purchasing, it's going to be just that arduous. You must present technical plans including dimensions, materials types and characteristics, architectural renderings, schematics, mounting plans, first, second and third location choices, dates, contractors' names, addresses, and previous projects, plaque verbage, materials and dimensions, and I think you get the picture. After that, the parks director can either approve the project or kick it up to the parks board, who can- you guessed it- either approve it or kick it up to the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners. Whoever ends up approving it, a presentation is probably going to have to be made by the group or a representative of the group (if it has to go before the county commissioners, we may well have to hire a lobbyist). So while this project is absolutely doable, there is a considerable amount of work and paperwork to be done. We've started the paperwork, including the initial filings with the county, Greg Keith will have all technical drawings to me some time next week, so we could have a formal submission ready to go by end of next week. (the official from the county did say the fact that the man who designed the original tikis is offering to design this one was a big plus in our favor). Of course, this is all completely contingent on everybody who's posted here or pledged here or even just expressed interest in the project coming to a consensus. This idea has been languishing for a couple years, it would be nice to take matters into our own hands and get this started as soon as possible. Anyways, what I thought I could bring to the table was having the statue built by the man who without question should be our first choice to build it, and the ability to get the ball rolling financially. Thanks for your time, chris y [email protected]

Hi, this is chris y from tikigardens.com.

I contacted tikigardener early last week just after the tribune article came out, and told him a memorial was a good idea, that we had also been considering one (albeit not real seriously) for some time, and maybe the article could provide the catalyst to actually get this done. (I also told him I was sorry he thought the quote about doing it himself came out sounding like a dig, I didn't mean it that way, but that's a different story). I suggested we join forces to that end, but haven't heard back from him yet or seen any posts on the subject, so I thought I'd throw out my ideas here on tikicentral.
First, the original Tiki Gardens tikis were designed and built by Gordon Keith. Gordon is now retired, and his son runs his business. The Keiths were longtime friends of the Byars, staying with them when they came to Florida, vacationing together in North Carolina, and then visiting them there when they retired to the mountains. We had been in contact with his son for the past year, I called him on Wednesday and asked if he'd be interested in coming on board for this, he said hold on a second, and the next thing I hear is, 'Hi, this is Gordon Keith'. I told him what we were trying to do, he thought about it for a second, and said, 'I'll do it'. He has offered to design and build an exact replica of the tiki god of our choice(lono or kahuna, to be determined), have it shipped down, and then fly in for the dedication ceremony to boot. The man himself is a god; he regaled me with stories like how when Frank asked if he could convert a two car garage into an oriental shop, he drew out the plans for the Signal House (including the oval doorway) on the back of a grocery bag (maybe that's the origin of the 'jo drawing up plans for TG on the back of a piece of butcher paper' legend!) Or how he looked out the back door of the signal house one day and saw a bathtub (?) with plants in it and said to Frank, why don't you put some gardens in back here? Or when he told Frank to buy himself a panama hat and call himself Trader Frank. Anyways, my point is this is a coup of historic proportions to have the man who designed and built the original tikis offer to come out of retirement and build one last statue in memory of TG and his close friends the Byars (can you imagine the media interest in that angle?) I know Wayne has been contacted about the project, but he's an artist (and a heck of a nice guy as well if you haven't met him), I don't think he'd be offended in the slghtest if we told him the original artist wanted to be involved in the project. I also told tikigardener I have the cash flow to fund this project upfront, so that while pledges and fundraisers are great, the permitting process is going to take long enough on its own, we need to hire Gordon Keith and get him working on this project- NOW. And while we're on the subject, $2500 is a good starting point, but that does not include shipping, materials and labor to erect the statue, a plaque designed, printed and mounted, a lobbyist if we have to go before the commissioners, permits and all those incidentals that always pop up. Aah, yes- the permitting process...
Tiki Gardens is a county park; while the Indian Shores mayor might be all for a memorial, unless it is located off the park property, he pretty much has no authority to sign off on it. We met with the county yesterday; if anyone has ever dealt with government bidding or purchasing, it's going to be just that arduous. You must present technical plans including dimensions, materials types and characteristics, architectural renderings, schematics, mounting plans, first, second and third location choices, dates, contractors' names, addresses, and previous projects, plaque verbage, materials and dimensions, and I think you get the picture. After that, the parks director can either approve the project or kick it up to the parks board, who can- you guessed it- either approve it or kick it up to the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners. Whoever ends up approving it, a presentation is probably going to have to be made by the group or a representative of the group (if it has to go before the county commissioners, we may well have to hire a lobbyist). So while this project is absolutely doable, there is a considerable amount of work and paperwork to be done.
We've started the paperwork, including the initial filings with the county, Greg Keith will have all technical drawings to me some time next week, so we could have a formal submission ready to go by end of next week. (the official from the county did say the fact that the man who designed the original tikis is offering to design this one was a big plus in our favor). Of course, this is all completely contingent on everybody who's posted here or pledged here or even just expressed interest in the project coming to a consensus. This idea has been languishing for a couple years, it would be nice to take matters into our own hands and get this started as soon as possible. Anyways, what I thought I could bring to the table was having the statue built by the man who without question should be our first choice to build it, and the ability to get the ball rolling financially. Thanks for your time, chris y [email protected]

Post #13228 by chris y on Sat, Nov 9, 2002 5:16 AM