EFTA01024158.pdf

From: Richard Kahn To: "Jeffrey E." <jeevacation@gmail.com> Subject: Fwd: Groundworks Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2018 21:18:43 +0000 Attachments: Proposal_GW00P56876.pdf; Palm_Measurement_Chart-FNGA.doc; Proposal_GW00P56877_(1).pdf Inline-Images: 12.5'.JPG; 021.JPG; GWORICS-30-Year-Logo.jpg; 20CT (2).JPG daphne and i spoke with melissa who installed the Zahidi Date Palms 25+ years ago on LSJ melissa is very knowledgeable and provided the following information: Sylvester Palms - best match we will ever obtain is 70% as they all have slightly different trunks and styles..then will all grow at different heights - also mentioned concern is bringing disease from FL to STT.. - these are sourced from her 2 nurseries in FL and cost for 18' Cleared Trunk is $2,790 Medjool Palms - match will be 99.8% and they will all grow the same - features: trunks across measure 16-17" frond (leaves) are silver green and length is 12-13' - time to receive will be 7-10 days as these are sourced from CA and Arizona and cost for 18' Cleared Trunk is $3,350 before shipping, watering, straps and mulch - melissa supplied City Place with 20+ Medjools - melissa recommends these for LSJ as they have a nice sexy tropical feminine feel Zahidi Palms - match will be 99.8% and they will all grow the same - features: trunks across measure 22-24" frond (leaves) are silver blue and length is 15' - time to receive will be 7-10 days as these are sourced from CA and Arizona and cost for 18' Cleared Trunk is $5,700 before shipping, watering, straps and mulch - melissa said these can be viewed in Ball Harbor via Google Earth - melissa does not like these for LSJ as she feels they have a stiff arch and are very formal looking please advise which of the Palms above you would like a formal quote on along with quantity (4?) and cleared trunk (18? 20? 22'?) thank you Richard Kahn HBRK Associates Inc. 575 Lexington Avenue 4th Floor New York, NY 10022 tel fa EFTA01024158 Begin forwarded message: From: Richard Kahn ca) Subject: Fwd: Groundworks Date: September 6, 2018 at 3:26:15 PM EDT To: Daphne Wallace lets discuss Richard Kahn HBRK Associates Inc. 575 Lexington Avenue 4th Floor 2 to fa ce Begin forwarded message: From: Daphne Wallace Subject: Fwd: Groundworks Date: January 4, 2016 at 2:12:15 PM EST To: Jeffrey Epstein <jeevacation@gnnail.com> Cc: ann rodriquez < fr", Rich Kahn Greetings Sir, Groundworks Palms sells the Canary Island Date Palms, 12 foot ct, 20-25 feet overall height for $7,200 each. Below for your review are a couple of photos of their stock as well as detailed information on how they harvest the palms, recommendations, cautions and after-care. Melissa lived on St. John, so she is familiar with LSJ: Palms: = 10 @ $7,200 = $ 72,000 Flat racks each 2 palms = 5 @ $5,518 = $ 27,590 Phyto certificate: = 2 @ $ 75 = $ 150 Tarps (flat racks) = 5@$ 100 =$500 Excise fees = 5 @ $ 100 = $ 500 Broker fees: =2@$ 75= $150 Trucking: = 5 @ $ 390 = $1,950 Tractor Head rental: 2 days = 2 @ $ 650 = $1,300 Island Tropical Estimated Costs: $104,140.00 Respectfully submitted, Daphne Forwarded message From: Of Groundworks - Melissa ©< > EFTA01024159 Date: Mon, Jan 4, 2016 at 10:18 AM Subject: Groundworks To: Good morning Daphne, I appreciate your reaching out to us regarding the need for some new Canary Island Date Palms on Little St James. You may recall my telling you that I lived on St. John for 6 years; during that time I became associated with Groundworks which at the time also operated a nursery and landscape company on Tortola. We actually supplied and helped to install the Zahidi Date palms that are growing on the island. The last time George and I were there all of palms looked good but that was 8 or 10 years ago and I would love to get down that way to see them again. Your initial interest in Canariensis is understandable; the species provides the ultimate in aesthetics and stature but the cultural conditions on Little St. James make achieving a fully successful transplant problematic. The issues center on the species capacity to process excess airborne chlorides in a relatively low moisture environment and on the palms capacity to resume conduction after installation. I apologize in advance for the rather long winded discussion to follow but the maintenance of our integrity and professionalism requires that I give you enough information to make an informed decision. Whether I fill your order or am passed over for another vender, our 3 decades of experience handling shipments such as yours have taught us a lot and I need to share some of that experience with you. The Palms Canariensis of this maturity (you had inquired about (10) Canariensis at 12' Clear Trunk, 20 to 25' in overall height) are approximately 25 years old. This inventory cannot be sourced from a commercial nursery and must instead be located and then collected from existing landscapes where the palms were planted many years ago. There are just a handful of companies that locate a harvest mature Canariensis in Florida and universally, when an order such as yours is received the palms will be located, harvested and loaded for shipment to the island. These are known to us as being "Unprepared" palms and it is far less costly for us to fill orders using this method. On average, your provider will have invested roughly 48 man hours in acquiring, harvesting and loading each palm but more importantly (to the provider) all of the risk of transplant/shipping related loss is assumed by the client with no recourse of any kind nor with any additional steps taken to mitigate the risk of transplant losses. This is the least costly method of filling the order and this method is often utilized for palms being located and then shipped to sites in Florida. Most commonly, with these domestic transplants of otherwise unprepared inventory we see a transplant loss rate of between 10 to 20%. That is a calculation derived from a grouping average of many deliveries over an extended time frame but it is not to say that domestic losses cap at 20%; in truth and practice, on some orders no losses at all are suffered and on others we have seen as many as 50% of the palms die before establishing on site. That is domestically but where the palms are located then are harvested Et loaded for export down island; the 10 days or so out of the ground (best case) exasperates the loss rates. In the case of an export order such as yours, our experiences have taught us that loading out unprepared inventory is not good business and we make every effort to inform our clients of the outsized risks being adopted in exchange for a savings up front. We will bid providing the palms both way (prepared and unprepared) and are happy to fill it either way provided that our client understands the limitations and risks involved. Risky Business EFTA01024160 It is important to understand that these palms are being located from older neighborhoods and are purchased from property owners who are willing to sell them off. That base lack of regard for the palm(s) usually means that we are harvesting palms that have not had benefit of regular irrigation or much (if any?) fertilization over the years. We know going in that it is likely that there is very little in the way of stored carbohydrates to service root regeneration and there is no capillary root system in place to maintain moisture levels that are vital to a successful transplant. When the palm is dug for transplant the primary root system is cut; the cut roots die back and the primary root system is temporarily eliminated as a means of servicing the palm. The natural reaction to the cutting of the primary root system is the initiation a regeneration of what is known as a capillary root system. The initiation of the capillary system is absolutely essential to the transplant and where it does not occur, the palm has not survived transplant. Low levels of carbohydrates Et moisture disable the palms capacity to initiate a capillary root system often results in failed conduction which equals a dead palm tree. Post-harvest Nurturing During our decades transplanting this species, we have developed unique, proprietary therapies that act to restock the level of carbohydrates in the conductive tissue, initiate a capillary root system (that the palm can utilize to maintain moisture levels immediately after its arrival on site) and affect a pH match insuring that no pH imbalance interferes with functionality and acclimation to the new site. When palms are ordered "Prepared", we utilize palms that have been in nurturing at our nurseries and all that remains to be done is to adjust the pH of the moisture within the palm to the pH of the site's irrigation water. This comparison and adjustment is vitally important to achieving full functionality and we understand how to initiate it during the 45 days after the initial harvest. In total, this work acts to substantially mitigate the risk of transplant/shipping related losses and it substantially improves the palms performance during the initial period (first 6 months on site). Obviously, these enhanced performance characteristics dramatically improve the client's chances of achieving a fully successful transplant. After our many years working in the Virgin Islands we know first-hand what it means to lose big expensive palms on an island setting that requires huge investments to replace and our Prepared palms are the only ones we would ever plant in that kind of scenario. At our nurturing facilities we maintain in excess of 100 mature Canariensis in stock undergoing various stages of preparation. We harvest the palms and ship them to our facilities. A number of these will not survive the initial move and we absorb those that fail outright at our nursery (as opposed to seeing it happen on site) and all of those that survive the initial move are put through nurturing. When ready, this inventory ships with all of the benefits of post-transplant nurturing and it is from this inventory that we pull "Prepared" orders. I believe that ours is the largest collection of located Canariensis palms in holding at any facility or nursery in the United States and perhaps in the entire world. Our competition isn't willing to make the investments we do to maintain these extensive inventories of Specimen Canariensis but when we fill orders with a 3% or less loss rate we, and our clients, are reminded of exactly why we do what we do. As just one example of the client benefits, I am proud to tell you of a fairly recent shipment of 60 prepared 14/15' clear trunk Canariensis that we shipped from our Houston facility to Montenegro with a zero loss rate. These shipments averaged 47 days each on the ocean and our client did not have any losses. The preparation our Canariensis received is the reason why. Your needs You had inquired about (10) 12' clear trunk Canariensis. These palms will be shipped into a high pH/ high soluble chloride environment and must endure the rigors of ocean shipping and then on island handling. The palms will weigh approximately 13 to 14,000 pounds each when loaded and each palm will utilize 26' linear feet of deck space so you can expect to fit 2 palms on each 40' flat rack. There will be room on each flat rack for other smaller materials and we can help you EFTA01024161 with any or all of that but getting a 3rd palm on each trailer would mean causing damage to the nuts (The thicker area of aged petiole at the top of the trunk and just below the live fronds) and may cause the trailers to be overweight. The visual/aesthetic match rate on this order will be roughly 80%.The palms will all be collected from different properties and will be slightly different seedling variations of Canariensis. The various cultural and environmental circumstances under which the palms have individually grown result in aesthetic variations that disable the ability to get a super clean match but it will be pretty close. Provided you order the palms "Prepared" from Groundworks, you will have the ability to visit our nurturing facility and hand select all of the palms before loading/shipping and every palm will have the pH match initiated and be otherwise fully prepared to ship. If you choose to ship "Unprepared", we will do our very best to insure that you have a good experience but the only way to inspect the palms is to go to each location where they are growing. I wish I could honestly tell you otherwise but this method confers outsized risks that are unavoidable. It would not be truthful for me to assert that you won't have losses but you will save some money up front. As I said at the start, that was rather long winded but if you found the time to read it through, you are now fully informed and I am sending along proposals for Prepared and Unprepared inventory. Please let me know what questions you have and /or if there is any other information I can provide for you. I am doubly interested in serving your needs; not just for the business it represents but because I would be contributing to the beauty of a place that was a very important part of our lives and we would love to have a good reason to visit the VI. Presented with my compliments Et best wishes for the New Year; Ms. Melissa C. Nottingham Senior Vice President Groundworks of Palm Beach County Inc. Begin forwarded message: From: Ann Rodriquez < Subject: Fwd: Groundworks PROPOSAL #GW00P56876 Date: June 27, 2018 at 9:55:16 AM EDT To: jeevacation@gmail.com EFTA01024162 Cc: , Rich Kahn < Info from Chris spoke with Melissa and she will send us more pictures of 20ft. and 25ft. Palms as well as pictures of 100gal. Seagrape trees Ann R. Begin forwarded message: From: Melissa Nottingham Date: June 27, 2018 at 9:48:47 AM AST To: Subject: Groundworks PROPOSAL #GW00P56876 Reply-To: Melissa Nottingham Good morning Ann, Please see attached proposals. I have done 1 for the 12'ct and 1 for the 20'ct. Al;so included is a measurement chart and some pictures of both sizes. Both proposals also include straps and tarps for shipping - phtyo for importing as well as the palmsaver and mulch that we recommend for the planting. The only thing missing is the staking and we are happy to add the lumber if need be. Chat soon, Melissa * * * PALM SAVER - PHC PALM SAVER 6-3-6 (42LB PAIL) * * * PALM SAVER is used in establishing or maintaining palms and tropical plants. It contains a blend of VA endomycorrhizal fungal spores, beneficial rhizosphere bacteria, 6-3-6 biofertilizer, organic amendments and a comprehensive selection of micronutrients. PHC Palm Saver is designed to restore soil fertility and address the mineral requirements common to tropical plants. Requires approximately 12oz. per foot of planting hole diameter. *** CABLESAFE STAKING *** • Fast and simple installation • Allows tree to naturally establish itself • Aesthetically pleasing • Reduced trip hazard - anchoring is underground • Deters vandals - no sign that tree is newly planted • Can be installed using gas powered drive rod or manually • Available in ready-to-use kits. *** FERTILIZER 8-2-12 WITH MINORS - UNIVERSITY PALM BLEND *** An ideal fertilization schematic for palms calls for a formula that substantially differs from a product that might work well with landscape plants. Palms require higher levels of minor and macro elements to perform at their best and a focus on those needs benefits the aesthetics and, with species that have a degree of naturally inherent disease resistance, will insure that whatever degree of disease resistance is native to the EFTA01024163 palm is functioning at the peak of its capacity. One very important criteria to look for when selecting a palm fertilizer is to insure that at least 50% of the Nitrogen, Potassium, Magnesium, and Manganese in the mix is a slow release formulation. This type of formulation will initiate & maintain near term and mid-term feeds as opposed to fertilizer products that do not contain slow release elements that will be *there then gone* in a relatively short time frame. The soluble faster release elements in the blend will sustain a near term feed and then the slow release elements will break down and become available to the root system over time thereby insuring that your fertilization remains effective for 3-4 months until the next application. Slow release forms of Nitrogen include sulfur-coated urea, resin-coated urea, resin-coated ammonium salts and urea-formaldehyde. An effective slow release form of Potassium is known as sulfur-coated Potassium Sulfate and an effective slow release form of Magnesium is known as prilled Kieserite. Effective Palm fertilizers will also contain other micro-nutrients as well. Micro-nutrients are available in small percentages but are just as important as macro-nutrients. Essential micro-nutrients include iron (Fe), boron (B) copper (Cu) and Sulfur (S). If you are having a difficult time finding a high quality Palm fertilizer, please contact us and we will sell you one or more 50 pound bags of the mix we us eon our farms and out in the field. EFTA01024164