Board Acts & Parking Lot in the Works!
At the July Board meeting we approved an additional $20-30 thousand dollars in expenditures to cover the cost of parking lot reconstruction. Many thanks to Tim Wagner for the exhaustive, and, I’m sure sometimes exhausting, work he has done over the last sixteen months to research the pros and cons of every possible option for a long term fix for our crumbling parking lot. In the interest of providing a safe parking lot for people coming into our building this winter and locking in the price quotes that would surely increase next year, the board approved moving forward on this project.
The first week of August saw the beginning excavation needed to clear the storm water ditch adjacent to the route 10 right of way. Swales, shallow grassy channels, will guide water from our parking lot toward the ditch and into the city storm water system. This drainage solution is approximately $100,000 cheaper than the other option of running a drainage pipe to Jefferson.
There will be periods between now and completion in October when we will have a gravel parking lot, but we have been assured parking will be available to us on Sunday mornings throughout the construction process. Please avoid contact with the heavy equipment and observe signs directing you to safe parking areas.
Reconstruction of the parking lot is the first step in the strategic plan adopted by the congregation at the October 2016 annual meeting. In the process of discussing final approval of the parking lot proposal, board members made very clear that they are committed to proceeding with the second stage of the plan. The second stage calls for an in depth analysis of the congregation’s building needs followed be a determination of whether the current building can meet our needs.
In addition, the Board approved a draft budget which incorporates the anticipated expenses of the ministerial search and relocation process, plus additional hours for our office professional which will enable her to provide more support to our ministry teams. Additional staff support was requested by our ministry teams during our strategic planning process. A 2019 budget incorporating the results of our stewardship campaign will be presented to the congregation for approval at the October annual meeting.
The next Fellowship Board meeting will be on August 28 from 7-8:30 pm. All board meetings are open to any member of the Fellowship.
Faithfully yours, Sara Clavez, President