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.