|
First Presbyterian Church
|
GO TO: Home | Publications | Minutes | Staff | Beliefs | Missions | Music | Education | Fellowship | Officers | Links |
Building and Grounds Minutes
September 11, 2012
Jerry
Grandle opened the meeting with a prayer at 7:03 p.m. Committee members
present were: Jerry Grandle, Janet Loman, Roger Sellers, Eddie Armendariz,
Dennis Thomas and Bruce Pearson. Pastor Norm Story dropped by briefly during
our meeting.
Old
Business
Jerry
reported that thanks to Dennis Thomas, the three classrooms on the north
side of Branigan have now been repainted. Because we still have enough
leftover paint, we will also be able to repaint the north side bathroom and
the other three rooms on the south side. Jerry and Dennis will coordinate
the timing of this work with Salt and Light.
Jerry
recommended that he contract a professional painter to repaint the cabinets
in Jones. The Committee agreed.
The
chair in the ladies' room in Reeves Hall has been reupholstered, but we
still must repaint the bathroom prior to the women's retreat in October.
Jerry
advised that he will present our recommendations regarding use of the
handicap-equipped van to the Session this month.
We
expect the new carpet for the two-room fellowship area of Jones Hall to
arrive circa 20 September.
For
some time, our church has been without a cross on the front lawn, facing
Boutz. At Rev. Story's request, B and G is now considering whether and how
to modify the old cross, which is now on the ground behind the garage. It
would take a lot of work to remove the existing wood from the exterior and
then to refinish the rusty steel which forms the core elements of the cross.
We are also considering whether to incorporate an electric sign with the
final version of the cross, or whether the electric sign should be
completely independent from the cross. Each B and G member is to personally
examine the old cross prior to our next meeting in October, in order to be
able to make an informed judgment.
Also
at Rev. Story's request, Jerry asked each B and G member to send him a list
of the five most important things which we believe our Committee should be
doing. Jerry will present our final list to the Session.
New
Business
We
spent considerable time discussing various maintenance issues we must
address fairly soon. Dennis said the basic problem is that our church
facilities are now 50 years old, and these issues will snowball and become
progressively worse if we don't tackle them soon. He specifically mentioned
the following:
--
Reeves/Watkins Hall is settling in one corner. The overhanging soffit above
the main entrance is sagging and could eventually collapse, seriously
injuring or perhaps even killing anyone who happened to be underneath it at
the time.
-- Our
church has a critical shortage of storage space. As a result, the garage is
crammed with miscellaneous items which people have put there over the years,
in no particular order. Moreover, we built the garage on the only vacant
land we had, which happens to be in a low spot with poor drainage, so it
floods during heavy rains. Jerry observed that our Committee is not
responsible for the use or contents of the garage; we don't know who, or
which committee, is responsible. He added that B and G could build a
separate storage facility in the garage area, but we would have to make sure
to use pallets for the flooring, to prevent flooding.
--
Janet suggested that we inventory all the various items which have
accumulated over the years in the garage and in other areas of the church.
The person doing the inventory should document it by taking a photo of each
item with a digital camera. We would then attempt to identify the owners of
each item (e.g., individuals or church committees or other organizations who
originally stored the items) and ascertain which items are still needed and
which are not. We could then hold a work day to move the unneeded items out
and sell them or otherwise dispose of them. Janet is going to put a notice
in "Good News", asking for someone to volunteer to conduct the inventory.
--
Jerry reminded the Committee of the realities of our budget; there is not
enough money to do all the things we should do. Therefore, we must
prioritize, and do the most important things first. The Committee agreed
that the Vision 2012 Project, to improve our sanctuary, should be our top
priority.
-- Our
general consensus is that church handyman Marc Ortiz is trying to do what we
hired him to do. However, there is a problem in his supervision. As a
part-timer, Marc simply does not have enough time to do all the things he is
supposed to do, let alone the various miscellaneous tasks which come his way
and which are not in his job description. At our October meeting, we will
review the draft of our handyman job description and attempt to clarify
Marc's chain of command and his duties.
Bruce
advised that he will resume trimming the church's trees now that the weather
has cooled down somewhat.
Roger
adjourned the meeting with a prayer at 8:45 p.m..
Respectfully submitted by Bruce Pearson
Return to home page
Send comments, suggestions, and requests to
Alex. F. Burr or send e-mail to aburr @ aol.com.
Technical assistance and net access provided by
zianet.com .
Last update
2012-09-19 12:36:50