# DIANE / MONTANA REBUILDING CENTER SCOUT REPORT (S1522, 2026-08-18, read-only)

*Banked verbatim from the S1522 collection fleet. First read for the Diane window (W03) — AFTER `sessions/SESSION_1518_FAILURE_REGISTER.md`.*

## (a) WHO / WHAT

**Diane = Diane Anders** — Carter's personal friend, the **Helper** on the project (`planning/diane-helena-warehouse/THE_PLAN.md`). "Helena" in the folder name is the city. **The project:** Stephen Banker (Joshua Tree Cabinetry) moving his cabinetry shop into the historic 1880s stone warehouse at **1316 Bozeman Ave, Helena, MT** (owner of record John Horne). Diane is writing the application asking the **City of Helena Railroad URD TIF program** to match up to 50% of exterior restoration (windows, wells, doors, masonry, gutters, ADA). Carter: *"I told my friend I would fucking goddamn help with the application"* (S1510) · *"I forgot that I have to get that to Diane, and I want to really blow her mind to do something special"* (S1518).

**"Montana Rebuilding Center" is Carter's phrase from TONIGHT (S1522)** — appears exactly once in the estate (`planning/carter-verbatim/CARTER_VERBATIM_S1522.md`). No document by that name exists. It is his name tonight for this work (project / center / brand — HIS to say; one narrow question in the session).

## (b) THE BINDING CORRECTIONS (verbatim source: `sessions/SESSION_1518_FAILURE_REGISTER.md` — "FAILURE. Every deliverable... None of it is argued.")

- **C1:** The command center is UNDESIGNED. Never author a version again. Ask him to say or sketch it, build ONE section, show it, wait for his eye, then the next. No finished guesses, ever.
- **C2:** His words first, always — extract and read his raw words from transcripts + ledgers before ANY build. Building before reading = already failed.
- **C3:** His money is the constraint. One ask at a time. Cheap models. NO unordered breadth/research/audits/fleets — show cost before anything wide.
- **C4:** ADD, never redo — every surface change starts from the existing file, backed up, additive. A new file requires his explicit word.
- **C5:** Caller-facing words built WITH him, one line at a time.
- **C6:** When he says something exists — find it. Lead with the number/artifact. When wrong about intent: ONE narrow question.
- **C7:** The board first — pull the Plane project at wake (project: "Joshua Tree — Helena Warehouse", 12 items).
- **C8:** Everything he sees = an HTML board, opened for him. No markdown, no paths, no walls.
- **C9:** Never claim done. Present. His eye is the only verdict.
- **C10:** Collaborate — reflect his goal in one sentence, propose in one, ask the one question that matters, build small, show.
- **Standing override:** *"I don't prefer any of them"* — he prefers NONE of the existing command centers including the Aug-16 "preferred" file; that theory is VOID.

## (c) REJECTED (never reopen uninvited)

`planning/diane-helena-warehouse/THE_DASHBOARD_S1518.html` (+ Desktop copies) — rejected on sight (*"you didn't do anything I goddamn said"*) · `COMMAND_CENTER_S1518.html` — "a pile of shit" · the preferred-file theory — VOID · APPLICATION_FILLED_S1518.html, board.html elevation, MONEY_MAP_S1518, THE_WHOLE_PLAN_S1518 — blanket FAILURE, content preserved for reuse only if HE says so · every S1510 home/command-center page (root cause: skipped startup + skipped DESIGN_LAW).

## (d) SOLID GROUND

1. **Her 3 USE files** — `~/Desktop/JOSHUA TREE/Diane Historic Home/`: `SB  Replacement and Restoration Costs USE.xlsx` (her new bid numbers) · `SB  JTC Application  USE.docx` (her 187-line narrative) · `SB  7 15 4288 Montana Code Annotated 2025.docx` (the TIF statute).
2. **The extraction brief** — `reports/s1518/diane/EXTRACTION_BRIEF.md`: her USE files verbatim, the 26-row old-vs-new delta, graded surface inventory, asset map, the 11-point "what a dashboard must not get wrong" list. Headline deltas: cost worksheet blank → ~80% priced (17/20 lines; extractor arithmetic — NOT her number — $63,326–$68,631) · $250K home-equity line answers the private-investment blank · end of 2027 completion · overhead doors $19,220 approved Jul 21, **deposit $11,532 due 09/08** · masonry $6,300 (Karson Klass) · mural $2,500 with Horne's blessing · her narrative upgrades Stephen to "new lessee and future owner" · her admitted gap in 2.k answered by the already-built `application/MCA_7-15-4288_MAP.md`.
3. **His words** — `planning/carter-verbatim/CARTER_VERBATIM_S1518.md` · `reports/s1518/diane/HIS_WORDS_RAW_EXTRACT.md` (132K chars) · the 14 S1510 directives in `planning/diane-helena-warehouse/THE_COMPLETE_COMPILATION.md` (+ corrected facts: TIF is LIVE, Nash-Finch VERIFIED, the three money lanes, the only blanks, the locked design law, the full asset inventory).
4. **The canonical estate** — `planning/diane-helena-warehouse/` (application/, cost worksheet, MCA map, narrative, owner letter template, property record, Stephen dossier, RESEARCH_BRIEF, grants/GRANT_STACK) mirrored to `~/Desktop/JOSHUA TREE/` (141+ files, 89 photos). Gaps: the two biggest vendor quotes exist only as text inside her docx (no PDFs) · 15 handwritten-page photos (IMG_9953–9968) un-OCR'd · 89 photos untagged/unmatched to her narrative.

## (e) MAY vs MUST-NOT (for the prep window)

**MAY:** read register + his raw words first · pull + reconcile the Plane project · per-topic collection on cheap models · stage the session-table raw materials (OCR the handwritten pages, extract the docx-embedded quotes to standalone files, photo-to-narrative match index) · flag sync gaps as staged proposals.
**MUST NOT:** author any command center/dashboard/page/version (C1) · redo/replace surfaces (C4 — new file needs his word) · reopen the rejected dashboard · claim done (C9) · markdown/paths at his face (C8) · present a "total project cost" as HER number · send/file/pay anything (TIF hard rule: costs incurred before funding approval can't be matched).

## (f) THE SESSION TABLE (what the with-Carter session needs ready)

1. Care first, then ignition (self-harm-adjacent language on prior Diane nights — 988 was given).
2. THE ONE OPEN QUESTION he never answered (S1510 compilation §0.4): which file is THE command center + what exact sections — HIS to say or sketch. Plus: what does "Montana Rebuilding Center" name?
3. Her USE-file numbers ready to drop in additively (biggest win: cost worksheet/application ~20% → ~85% priced), her arithmetic vs extractor arithmetic separated.
4. The still-open blanks: Horne phone/email + signed permission letter (template ready) · the lease · headcount · basement use (drives egress) · eligibility call (406) 447-8490 · committed-investment figure · final TIF ask ≤50% · missing bids (ADA ramp, man doors, gutters, disposal, graffiti).
5. The deadline clock: door deposit $11,532 due 09/08 · window quotes expire Aug 27 / Sep 5 · HURTIF cadence (2nd Tuesday 1:30pm — confirm with staff).
6. `prompts/DESIGN_LAW.md` loaded before any page is touched (skipping it = the S1510 named root cause).
7. His fresh-tokens pattern: the Diane session should be its own clean session, board pulled, brief in hand, nothing pre-built.