On the Drawing Board

   Last Thursday (Sept. 20th), the Wayside Project Team met with representatives of HHJ, our design/build firm. We went over the drawings they have done and presented our thoughts about aspects of the layout and things that definitely need to be included. HHJ has brought a new architect on board to work with Chee Tung on the project. At the end of the meeting, they were confident they had everything they need to complete the drawings and take them to the City of Federal Way to begin the permitting process. If all goes well, actual construction might begin around December.

   I just heard from our insurance company this morning and we have reached a final settlement on the damage created by vandalism back in March of 2011. The insurance company has been cooperating with us all along our process. We just needed to wait for the Chapel skylight to be replaced and get the official invoices back to our insurance agent. It looks like they will cover the costs, minus a bit for depreciation and our deductable.

   Please remember that we are in the midst of a "Stepping Ahead Matching Gift" program!! Any new gifts or extensions of original pledges will be matched dollar for dollar, up to $75,000. In this manner, we hope to eliminate or greatly reduce the extra $150,000 we will have to borrow to complete the project in the manner we want. If you haven't received a "Matching Gift" commitment card, please contact the church office.

   No pictures, but we are a couple of steps closer to our goal. Our loan papers with the UCC Cornerstone Fund have been signed as well as the Deed of Trust. Everything was in order, so they gave us the go-ahead to record the Deed of Trust with King County, which I did this afternoon. Proof of the recording has been sent along to Cleveland, so now we wait for the final OK. That will open our access to our loan and we can move ahead with final drawings.

   I know there was a lot of excitement as we wrapped up our Stepping Ahead Capital Campaign on Easter. There was more excitement when we voted to take a further step ahead and borrow extra money to complete the project the way we wanted. This summer has been busy behind the scenes with getting all of the paperwork in order. I want to thank Norris P. for all of his work on the loan document. Our Office Manager, Tricia G. and our historian, Myrna H. helped track down information as well. A big thank you to Bob D. who did the legal work for our "Opinion of Counsel", a necessary part of the closing process.

   We still need to be patient, because there will not be any physical work done until the building permits are approved and HHJ bids the project. That could be 2-3 months. We don't need a Fellowship Hall for Christmas anyway, right? Mary, Joseph and Jesus got shoved into a stable, so I'm sure we can make do with the Chapel.

August 14, 2012

   We are still waiting for our loan to close, but in the meantime, the Chapel skylight replacement has begun. Today, Bill Joy and a co-worker came out to remove the old skylight and tarp the hole. Now that they have precise measurements, the new skylight will be fabricated. The old one was a translucent fiberglass. The new one will be clear glass with a tinted film. Right now, there is a blue-hue in the Chapel. That should make for interesting comments on Sunday.

OK, so things have slowed down a bit. Paitence is a much over-rated virtue. Our loan forms were completed and sent back to the UCC Cornerstone Fund, Inc. They notified us that our loan was approved and sent us papers to sign. Those papers were signed and returned. Now we just need to wait for the loan to close. We received word on July 6th that if all goes well, the loan may close by the end of July. Wait, wait, wait.

Once the loan officially closes and we know we can draw on the funds, the architect, Chee Tung, will be "released" to finish the final drawings that will be used to obtain the proper permits from the City of Federal Way. The permitting process will be another time of waiting. Realistically, it will be into the Fall before we see any actual physical work being done, but don't worry, it will happen!

   Remember that yellow fire hydrant (see picture below)? Well it passed muster! In an emergency, heaven forbid, it would pump out the required amount of water. This means as we move forward with our Stepping Ahead Renovation Project (SARP), we will not have to install a sprinkler system in the building. That would be a good safety feature, but not one that we can afford right now.
   The next step is to secure the loan from the UCC Cornerstone Fund, Inc. The application should be in the mail by Thursday (6/7).

   No picture today, but at least an up-date. The Project Team had one more meeting with HHJ to make sure we are all on the same page. They are clear we plan to use steel beams which eliminates the need to use posts in our useable space. They are putting together a final estimate and will get that back to us this week.

   In the meantime, work is moving ahead on our loan application to the UCC Cornerstone Fund. Details, details, details. We planned a 5% contingency into our construction project. At least according to their criteria, Cornerstone requires 10%. We will see how that goes.

   Stay tuned for more up-dates as we move along.
  

   As we work on the Stepping Ahead renovation program of restrooms / kitchen / Fellowship Hall, things are looking up in the Chapel as well. You might remember that a year ago (March 2011) there was extensive vandalism to the roof of Wayside. We were able to move ahead with repairing the tile and getting the roof cleaned, but things have moved more slowly with our skylight. We have finally been able to coordinate communication with our insurance company, the skylight people and a company that will be able to do more roof-tile work for us.
   Fortunately, our old skylight was double-layered. The hole you see in the skylight above is only the outerlayer. Soon, all of that will be history. Pray for a week of no rain.

   OK, so what does a fire hydrant have to do with building renovation? Well let me tell you. If this hydrant puts out at least 2,000 gallons/minute, we do not need to install a sprinkler system as part of our up-dating. If it is less, guess what?

   Our water supplier is Lakehaven Utility District, so they can tell us the flow of the hydrant. Except, they can't. They don't have the information on this yellow metal thing. We get to pay $180 to have a "Water Hydraulic Model Analysis Report" done. I'll let you know what we find out.

   By the way-I told you I would figure out how to down load pictures. Wait until you see the one I took of the men's restroom.

As I look at this site, our original post dates back to 2007. Never let it be said that we rushed into this decision. The exciting news is that at our annual meeting (May 20, 2012) the membership of Wayside voted for "Option 3", which will expand our restrooms and bring them up to ADA standards, expand our kitchen and expand and renovate our Fellowship Hall. The price tag on this project is $650,000 and we will secure a construction loan / mortgage from the United Church of Christ Cornerstone Fund, Inc.
Our capital campaign raised $500,000 in commitments over the next three years, so we have some more fund-raising to do, but we are confident that we have made the right decision.

Part of my goal is to become more "blog savy", so I can post up-dates and photos as things progress. We are working with HHJ Construction (Fife, WA) which is a design/build firm. Once the loan is secured, the permitting process will begin. In the meantime, our Project Team, HHJ and members of the congregation will be refining our plans so they turn into working documents. Once construction begins, I will keep you posted at least weekly, with photos and up-dates.