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