The "To Keep Up" Wiki

The email address we can add neighbors to is: neighbors@toku.us
They can subscribe to the list by sending an email to: neighbors-join@toku.us or they can ask us to add them.
It's there but not ready for release yet so I don't know if we should include this in the letter. The web page will be: https://wiki.toku.us/doku.php?id=oil_provider_research_2022

Hello neighbors,

You may recall, we met you on our neighborhood streets and chatted recently, and you gave us your name/contact information for all of us in the group to communicate and exchange information.

My husband, Steve, and I had a jaw-dropping moment, when we saw the home fuel oil bill from our current supplier after our recent fill-up. Because of the rising prices, we started doing some research on the oil suppliers in the area who would deliver to Lexington residents, and found at least 11. I have been calling each one to get the pricing and services information and I'm collecting data into a chart for ourselves and to share.

During this process, 2-3 of the oil providers mentioned the possibility of our getting a group rate. I began to talk to a few neighbors about the neighborhood group rate concept. It's no surprise that the rising oil prices are everyone's concern! We're trying to pull together enough interest to make it worthwhile for an oil provider to give us, as a group of individuals, better prices and/or service.

Your inputs are most welcome. Below are my plans right now:

• Look into oil providers. Collect data. See which would offer a special something to our neighborhood,
• Set up a simple web page with the information we collect including plus/minus for each oil provider,
• Set up a group email list for us to talk amongst ourselves
  • joining the maillist is optional; no adverts; restricted to neighbors only; no oil providers or advertisers will have access
• After we complete our investigation, we expect to suggest 1 or 2 oil provider offers for the group to see and consider,
• Hopefully arrive at one “winner”,
• We will submit names and contact information, with your permission, to the “winning” provider, to obtain a group rate status,

Once the list is submitted to the chosen company, you would establish your own business relationship with the company. We would be only maintaining the group email list and the information web page.

Disclaimers.
Note that any decision to switch to this “winning” company, or any oil company, is your own decision and any relationship you choose to have with this or any oil company will be strictly between you and them. In part this is because your usage and service needs may be different than others in the neighborhood.
There is no cost to you or any of the neighbors for this research and the information we are providing. Our benefit will be the same lower group rate and/or increased service that you would get.

So far we have contacted 9 households (including yours) on our street and neighboring streets (Ross, Oxbow, Constitution, Revolutionary, and Paul Revere) who are interested. We still have more neighbors to discuss this with, so we are currently early in the process. Our time frame is aiming in time to affect deliveries later this summer or fall. The oil price may also be coming down a bit in the next few weeks too.

Please ask your neighbors if they are interested in this concept, please give them our name/contact information so we can discuss our plans. The more the better, it gives us more negotiation power!

We are looking forward to finding a good price/service oil provider for us and others!

Thank you for your interest, and it was nice chatting with you!
Evie (781-258-7743) and Steve (781-258-7741)
9 Ross Road
both@toku.us