Steering Committee Updates

August 12, 2011:  There are now new entrances to our renovated facilities from the parking lots. The main entrance from the north parking (original lot behind the church) is now the new Atrium door rather than through L-6. You will be pleased to see the new Atrium and newly renovated Middle Wing when you enter there. There are directional signs posted inside this entrance that will indicate how to reach key locations on the Ground Floor and Main Floor (second floor) of the building. The two new elevators which serve the four floors of the new facilities are now in operation.  New restrooms are also in operation except for a water pressure problem that is being addressed on the third and fourth floors.

Our staff has now moved into the middle wing, with some offices on the Ground Floor and others on the Main Floor.   Some are in temporary offices until their regular offices have been completed in the new east office wing next year. Also, some of the furniture was moved from storage for use in various portions of the renovated facilities.

By entering the new Atrium door from the parking lot and taking the walkway just inside the door to the left, you can access the offices, the elevators, and can get on the elevators to the sanctuary up to the Main Floor. Also, you can go up the stairs inside this door to the new dining room, the kitchen, the gymnasium/lecture hall, and on to the sanctuary from there.

There is another entrance from the new west parking through the west door into the hallway behind the chapel. From there you also will have access to the same areas mentioned above, which are described as accessible from the Atrium door.

Note that in addition to the driveway from Jordan between the CE Building and the Main Church Building, the new driveway on the west side of the property is now open. This new driveway has two lanes for traffic, with one to the north from Jordan Street and the other to the south from the main north parking lot through the new west parking lot. Follow the newly posted signs and directional arrows.

Please be patient as we transition to using these new facilities, entrances, driveways, and parking lots. You will find these new facilities exciting and convenient as you become accustomed to using them.

 

August 11, 2011:  There will be changes in how you enter the church beginning this Sunday, August 14.  The office/L-6 wing has been closed for renovations, so you will no longer be able to enter the church through the door under the awning at the rear of the church.  Instead, if you park in the back parking lot, you will enter the church through the Atrium, which is the new construction between the gym and the PW Suite.  Look for volunteers to direct you to the new entrance and then follow the signs.

You can also park in the new parking area to the west of the chapel and enter through the west doors.  The new west driveway will be open, and the combined new and old driveways will permit us to have traffic going both ways on the west side of the building.  You can enter the new west parking area through the old driveway on Jordan and exit onto Jordan through the new driveway.   Look for the signs.  Lots of new things to learn in what seems like a completely new building….Pretty exciting!

July 26, 2011:  Crossing over into the atrium and into the west wing, there is the new Outreach Center on the ground floor.  The gymnasium and lecture hall is on the main floor adjacent to the kitchen with new appliances.  West wing floors above the main level on the third and fourth floors contain rooms for the youth activities, including the youth commons area.  The adjacent dining and dining extension in the atrium are on the main floor next to the kitchen and gymnasium, and below the dining areas is a children’s playroom.

Two elevators allow access to all four levels of the middle wing as well as the floors of the west wing.  From the north parking lot the main access will be through the north atrium door at ground level while the work is underway on the east (office) wing.  Part of the completed new gathering area is in the middle wing.  Next year when the office wing has been renovated and the new library is completed, then the main north entrance will be through the courtyard into the new area by the elevators.

As we begin to occupy these new facilities described above, there are still details to be worked out, so please be patient while we transition to these renovated areas.  The most recent issue being worked on is a city water pressure problem from the water main along Jordan Street, which we hope to have resolved before long.  This renovation project is especially exciting as we see so much of the renovated facilities nearing their final appearance.  Thanks be to God!

 

June 16, 2011: Work continues in the Middle Wing (PW Suite/offices/choir/classrooms) and the West Wing (Gym/Youth/Outreach/Dining), all pointing toward a completion of the work in late July. During August, the pastors and office staff will transition into temporary (or permanent in a few cases) offices in the completed Middle Wing so that we can begin renovation work in the Office Wing as we enter the homestretch of the Fulfilling the Vision project. The review of the current status of the work by McInnis Brothers is HERE.

A sense of security is an important part of making our renovated church usable to the fullest extent possible by members of the church and the community at a variety of times during the week. Mindful of the importance of security, the steering committee has finalized a security system plan with Guardian Alarm Systems that will have four cameras strategically located and controlled access points to the buildings after hours and during the week. Controlled access will be at the following doors: CE Elevator, New Main Entrance, CE Building Foyer, East Side Sanctuary, Atrium, and Outreach.  

In the next few weeks, the steering committee will be looking at proposals for the video system for the sanctuary that will enable us to video the Sunday morning services and stream them over the website. We will also be finalizing the projector and television monitor locations in the various classrooms and other points in the church.

In May, the church made the first draw on the line of credit that was established with Chase Bank before the project began to help finance the construction. It is remarkable and a testament to the good stewardship of our church members that we were able to get this far into the project without having to borrow any money. Regular payments of pledges and pre-payments of pledges will reduce or postpone the amount we have to borrow and thereby reduce the overall cost of the project. Thank you for remaining faithful to Fulfilling the Vision.

 

June 2, 2011:  IT’S SUMMER!!  School’s out; families take vacations; the pace of our lives slows down some…everywhere, it seems, except with the Fulfilling the Vision project where there is more going on than ever.  Summer is the time to change out the chiller in the CE Building while the First Presbyterian Day School is not in session and to start the foundation prep work for the bridge that will tie the CE Building to the main building later in the project.  Summer means taking advantage of the good weather to finish the scraping, sanding and repainting of the stained glass framing in the sanctuary (check it out; it really looks good).   Summer gives some added impetus to working out the kinks in the HVAC system (we think the problem with air conditioning in the sanctuary that showed up Memorial Day weekend has been fixed; new systems always have kinks to be worked out).   The only place summer seems to have slowed the project down is on planning for the cleared property on the west part of the campus—it’s simply too hot and dry to grow grass or anything else there right now.  Other work on the project continues, and you can read McInnis Brothers’ report HERE.  The steering committee reviewed several proposals at its regular meeting, one covering the security system for the buildings and another covering the televisions, monitors and projectors for various rooms and locations in the facilities.  Final decisions on those matters will be coming up shortly.  The new windows are starting to arrive, and you should start to see them being installed shortly.   Be sure to check out the new brick work in the rear of the buildings and the new cast stone arches on the rear of the building that resonate with the stone arches in the existing architecture.  
 

May 5, 2011:  The bi-weekly meeting of the steering committee received an update on the status of the McInnis Brothers work which can be read HERE.   The sound in the sanctuary continues to improve. The acoustical wrap applied to the air conditioning units on the roof appears to have solved the noise and vibration we were experiencing as the units cycled on and off. The quality of the sound from the new speaker system in the sanctuary is also improving as our vendor continues to tweak the system. You may notice that the lower set of speakers have been tilted away from the wall slightly. The system had been designed to have the lower set of speakers flush with the floor, but we were unable to mount them there due to the wainscoting. Raising the speakers above the wainscoting resulted in the sound being projected over the heads of most of the people in the sanctuary. Tilting the speakers down helps to achieve the original design for the system and has improved the performance of the sound system considerably. The microphones for Pen, Bryan and Sarah continue to be modified for their particular voices and speaking styles. 

 

April 7, 2011:  The big news on April 7 was the concrete pour for the west parking addition and new driveway.  It was a long day for all those working on the pour.  By the way, there are usually between 35-45 construction workers on site each day as the work continues all over the campus.  The report on McInnis Brothers’ work can be read HERE.  The valves have all been installed in the HVAC system in the Children’s Building, and the final calibration of the thermostats will be done when we have some really warm days, which by the time you read this, has probably happened. 

The steering committee continued to work on the background noise in the sanctuary.  The architect, mechanical and electrical contractor, and the vendor of the air conditioning equipment continue to work on possible solutions to the problem.  The vendor of the equipment will wrap the roof top units with an acoustical wrap that will absorb sound from these units and also place the wrap beneath the units on top of the roof deck.  If this doesn’t cure the problem, other approaches will be tried until a solution is found.

The sound system in the sanctuary continues to be worked on.  The vendor of the sound system continues to fine tune the microphones for the voices of Sarah and Bryan.   Problems with hearing the children’s sermons and lay speakers at the pulpit will continue to be worked on.  Some instruction to individuals who use the system may help with some of the problems.  

The brick selection for the new facades across the back of the church was approved.  McInnis Brothers has ordered the brick which may take 8 or more weeks to be delivered.

March 24, 2011:  Have you seen the overgrown lot on the west side of the campus lately? Overgrown no longer, it looks great…full of possibilities for all manner of outdoor activities from Easter egg hunts and picnics to worship services to flower or vegetable gardens to spots of quiet contemplation.  

McInnis Brothers gave its update on the work at the church to the steering committee. See the report HERE. The fine tuning of the HVAC system in the CE Building is almost complete, and the regulation of the temperature there is much better now.   In consultation with our architect, the sound system vendor, and the HVAC contractor, we continue to work on the sound in the sanctuary. We are experimenting with changes in the blower speed, registers in the air vents, acoustical wraps for the air conditioning compressors, covering outside louvers to the attic area above the sanctuary and other changes to reduce sound problems in the sanctuary as much as possible.  

We reviewed the request for proposals to be sent out to potential vendors of the new security system for the church. We are looking at additional possible brick selections for the work on the rear of the buildings. There’s a lot going on. 

 

We are continuing to work on fine-tuning the sound system in the sanctuary and addressing other vibration noises that have surfaced.  Some of you may have noticed problems with the sound on the Sunday Dr. Shelton preached.  In addition to the sound system, we think those vibration problems may have come from several sources:  noise and vibration from the new compressors on the roof; the vents for the air conditioning and the volume of air passing through those vents; the return-air grates; etc.  Several different contractors and professionals are working to alleviate these problems.  The sound system quality itself continues to be tweaked by the vendor of the sound equipment.  We also are experimenting with the placement of additional speakers in the choir loft for the benefit of the choir.  

 

We will be receiving proposals for the security system shortly.  The current plan envisions that the building entrances will be secured during times other than Sunday mornings or in connection with other services just as it is now.  Primary entry to the building at times other than Sunday mornings and for other services will be at the rear of the facility through the new main visitor entrance.  
Partial clearing of the lot to the west of the church should begin shortly.  Once the lot has been cleared of brush and some small trees only and we can see what we’ve got, further decisions will be made concerning the improvements to that property.

 

February 10, 2011: HVAC problems in the CE Building continued to be the main topic of discussion for the Steering Committee.   The newest problem involved freezing of some pipes during the recent cold snap.  McInnis Brothers has been very helpful in responding to the immediate HVAC problems.  Mark Williamson is continuing to work with the project engineering firm for long term solutions to the overall HVAC problems.    Mark Williamson is assembling proposals for phone and security systems to present to the Steering Committee.  You have noticed, no doubt, that the trees have been removed from the garden in the back to make way for the new entry.  We hated to lose the trees, but there was no way around it.  McInnis Brothers’ outline of work as of February 10, 2011, can be seen HERE.