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The Gathering Place
On November 16, 2008 the congregation of the Unitarian Fellowship of Elkhart voted to approve the budget for the building expansion.
Please take the time to view:
UUFE Finishing Task Force
As Outlined By
Board President Ron Gill
The Finishing Task Force is an ad hoc committee with the mission to lead in the integration process of the Gathering Place with the other physical structures of UUFE starting at the moment of occupancy and continuing through one calendar year or until such a time as the board of trustees chooses to dissolve the committee.
The chair of the Finishing Task Force will be responsible to report directly to the board of trustees or to a board liaison if one is ap-pointed. The chair, in consultation with the board, will also be responsible for enlisting other task force members representing vari-ous demographics from within the congregation.
The board authorized the following action on May 19, 2010. Ron Gill, outgoing President of the Board of Trustees, Greg Koehler, incoming President of the Board of Trustees, and Amy DeBeck, as minister, will appoint a chairperson for this important position as well as write up a committee task description by the June board meeting.
From the Building Committee
The Gathering Place
Progress Report
March 26, 2010
ABOVE ALL, AN OUTSTANDING ROOF–WITH CUPOLA, TWO!
Since the last progress report in February, much has hanged at The Gathering Place
construction site. For starters, the visage of winter has melted steadily into a spring
seemingly on schedule. So much so, the weather has been unseasonably ideal if not
downright over-reasonably cooperative during the past two weeks of uninterrupted
roof building activities. As a result, the progress of the construction on our new
building addition is equally apparent and quite impressive especially when viewed
from the west parking lot across from Garden Street.
Obviously, as s major integral structural component to our new Fellowship space and
growth, the superbly engineered and pre-assembled roofing system when first
unloaded on our parking lot in front UUFE appeared proportionally to be a huge
puzzle of extremely large parts. After taking the massive bundle apart the pieces were
put back together again with the lead contractor using his keen eyes and skilled,
steady attention to manipulate a Hy-Lift boom to gingerly position 26 huge free-span
trusses onto the previously erected new perimeter walls. Meanwhile carpenters
standing on scaffolding on the inside and on the tops of walls assisted with guiding
the trusses in to the exact locations on the walls while busily hammering in nails to
help steady the placement of the trusses. Then, 27 multidirectional inner connecting
trusses and a gable built onsite which ties the south-end upper wall of The Gathering
Place, were positioned with the same deftness to form a continuos 53-piece truss
system unit. At the end of the assembly all the pieces fit perfectly, just like a well
designed puzzle should.
With the trusses up, the heavy 4ft x 8ft roof sheathing was put in place next followed
by the 30-year architectural design shingles matching the newly shingled roof of our
existing building, seamlessly connecting what is now a completed new roof over The
Gathering Place. Topping off our new roof is the piece de resistance of a twin cupola
aesthetically echoing our current cupola above our foyer and ‘Those who came before
us.’
To borrow from construction jargon; we are under roof. With this accomplished
interior construction continues in earnest with the framing of closets on the southeast
and southwest corners, framing of bathrooms at the north end and framing of the
waist-high walls surrounding the landing of the open stairway which has been
installed from the street level to the garden level. The plumber, heating, ventilating,
and air conditioning contractors are busy as well roughing in techanical
requirements.
The exterior of The Gathering Place has been completely weather-wrapped with under
siding TYVEK. The new windows on the east side of the addition have been installed
and window installation is also underway the along the west side on Garden Street.
Interior paint colors have been chosen along with the selection of carpeting and
lighting fixtures which have been approved and ordered from the architect.
The Gathering Place Landscaping Task Force has been established with Doris Stickel
serving as its chair. Under Doris’ guidance, The Troyer Group’s previously planned
landscaping blueprint approved by the City of Elkhart for our new addition, will rely
on UUFE volunteers who will be responsible for executing the landscaping plan.
As more information is available about the construction progress, it will appear
regularly in Ron Gill’s UUFE Update email, on our Web site,and continue to be published monthly in the Fellowship Focus.
Information will also be posted on the UUFE Web site under the blog, HERE WE
GROW! Additionally, hard copy will be placed on bulletin boards inside of UUFE.
C. T. F. Communications Director
William T. Becker
The Gathering Place
Progress Report
February 4, 2010
In less than a week the construction progress on UUFE’s new building addition since our first UUFE Town Hall Meeting on The Gathering Place, Sunday, January 24, is moving steadily ahead.
To date, the sill plates for the top of the foundation walls have been anchored. The main steel horizontal support beam with vertical steel post along with the preassembled floor joists have been installed, to which the sub flooring underlayment for the top level of the building has been attached. All the main wall framing is nearly completed except for the front wall (street side), which will be finished once the concrete contractor has poured and finished the front stoop. All the walls are now upright and securely in place creating the main- floor room of the Gathering Place. Meanwhile the electrical contractor is continuing with the work of roughing in the all the new wiring.
After discussion and further consultation with the architect, it was decided the single 1,800 gallon dry well previously planned for an area just northwest of our existing building should be redirected. It has been installed between the main building and the Children’s House, as two 900 gallon dry wells, so the dry wells would fit in the new location. The required capacity remains unchanged and within the building code. The new dry well location eliminated the need to run a pipe from the downspout on the northeast corner of the existing building all the way around to the previously planned dry well location. This change means the trenching equipment will not be used along the east side or across the north yard, which might have possibly jeopardized the plantings there, the playground setup and the sanitary sewer. This move has also reduced the excavators job by eliminating 160 foot of trench digging and 160 feet of eight inch pipe which as a result of the move, will no longer be required.
Backfilling along the exterior of all three of the foundation walls (west, south and east) is done. A task force had selected the new shingle for both re-shingling our current building, which will then continue to shingle the roof of the new addition. In a meeting with the Architect, the C. T. F was advised the shingles if ordered, would not be available in time to stay within the current construction schedule. Furthermore, the 25-year shingle selection type, (3-tab) is fast on its way to becoming an obsolete product. A popular and readily available architectural shake-style asphalt shingle would be a preferred solution because, beside its immediate availability, it’s a thicker shingle with a 30 year rating instead of a 25 year rating. The task force for selecting the shingle color will have to meet again and decide on a color, if the Board approves this shingle change, because this shingle does cost more than the 3-tab shingle with its limited color selection, which is also hard to find in stock and consequently, order.
At the same time the Board is meeting with some members of the C. T. F. to discuss the roofing shingle option, the Board will also be reviewing two other options. First, to add the heating ducts now for the garden level of The Gathering Place for hooking up eventually to a furnace, or to retrofit the duct installation at such time a furnace is installed in the future, for heating the garden level. The second option to be discussed by the Board with the C. T. F. will be to use a UUFE volunteer task force for the landscaping around The Gathering Place, or to leave it the responsibility of The Troyer Group as originally specified but subsequently pared from Troyer’s total cost for the project due to being over the cost of the approved UUFE budget for The Gathering Place. At issue, is the possibility of adding the cost for landscaping by The Troyer Group back to the original project cost, or leaving the landscaping responsibility to that of UUFE volunteers. In either situation, to get a Certificate of Occupancy from the City of Elkhart, the landscaping must conform completely to the City of Elkhart’s previously approved blueprint from The Troyer Group which designated the landscaping specifications. Then too, If UUFE volunteers undertake the responsibility of landscaping for The Gathering Place, there will still be a need for an additional budget approval by the Board, for the cost of the necessary landscaping content, tools, equipment, et cetera.
As more information is available about the construction progress, it will appear regularly in Ron Gill’s UUFE Update email, on our Web site, http://uufe.org/html/Building/index.html and continue to be published monthly in the Fellowship Focus, also appearing on UUFE Web site under the blog, HERE WE GROW! as well as being posted on bulletin boards inside of UUFE.
C. T. F. Communications Director
William T. Becker
January 27, 2010
Our first, UUFE Town Hall Meeting, was conducted on Sunday, January 24, at noon. Its focus was on accentuating the positive aspects of the progress to date on The Gathering Place, while diffusing any misinformation or negative communication about UUFE’s new building addition.
After Reverend DeBeck, the meeting’s moderator, read the agenda to the congregation, Shari Mellin opened the meeting by reading Jenny Bartlett’s (formerly cochair of the previous Building Committee) original letter of purpose for the planned new building. Reverend DeBeck then followed with some basic information on the content of the meeting, rules regarding the use of microphones, and stating again, an important reminder to every one of the absolute necessity of staying clear of the construction zone. She said, “It’s strictly off limits.”
Shari Mellin continued with the meeting by presenting a summary of the current construction progress since the start of excavation on December 28, and mentioning the importance of UUFE and The Troyer Group remaining mutually supportive of each other during this business alliance. Shari also used the meeting to introduce the fact, what had previously been a larger Building Committee, has now undergone a transition to a streamlined, Construction Task Force (C. T. F.). Members of the new Construction Task Force are, Shari Mellin, Project Manager, Rich Hackel, Assistant Project Manager, Jim Victor, Construction Site Superintendent, William Becker, Assistant Construction Site Superintendent and Communications Director, and Reverend DeBeck, Manager of UUFE’s construction blog, HERE WE GROW!. Shari indicated the C.T. F will soon be informing us of opportunities for UUFE volunteers to participate in certain aspects of The Gathering Place with how, when and where they can be of help.
Jim Barnes provided a financial summary with details among other things of how much money to date has been spent and collected. His presentation was followed by a question and answer period on the full scope of the building project including an open exchange of comments between the C.T. F and Town Hall Meeting audience.
As more information is available about the construction progress, it will appear in Ron Gill’s UUFE Update email, continue to be published monthly in the Fellowship Focus, appear on the blog HERE WE GROW! and posted on bulletin Boards at UUFE.
C. T. F. Communications Director
William T. Becker
January 14, 2010
The forms surrounding the 10-inch reinforced concrete walls of what will eventually be the Garden Level of UUFE’s new, The Gathering Place, were removed yesterday morning by the construction crew. Steam was impressively streaming skyward from the newly exposed walls which now rise out of the “hole” above street level. There’s no denying it, growth at UUFE is manifest.
Speaking of growth, here is some more exciting news. Reverend Amy, along with Greg Kohler and other e-contributors have just launched a new UUFE blog, under the banner of: HERE WE GROW! You can check it out by going to: www.uuelkhart.blogspot.com <http://www.uuelkhart.blogspot.com> or going to www.uufe.org <http://www.uufe.org> Web site and clicking on the white box under the, Latest News..., header on the home page.
Here’s one more important piece of information for putting on your January calendar. Something brand new for our congregation, we will have our first, UUFE Town Hall Meeting, on Sunday, January 24, beginning at noon, after the regularly scheduled service. As you might imagine, the first UUFE Town Hall meeting will be focused solely on The Gathering Place, including the present status of its progress, updates and other pertinent information from Shari Mellin, Building Committee Chair, who will be conducting the meeting. The intent of the meeting will be for the open exchange of giving and sharing information on the various positive aspects currently unfolding with the construction of The Gathering Place. This, as part of an ongoing communications process, will hopefully keep all concerned participants in UUFE life in the know and to serve as a further measure in avoiding any potential misinformation regarding The Gathering Place. In typical town hall meeting style, there will also be a portion of time for questions and answers.
As more information is available about the building progress, it will appear in Ron Gill’s UUFE Update, email, and will continue to be published monthly in the Fellowship Focus, and now, for the whole word to see and read, the UUFE blog: HERE WE GROW!
Building Committee Communicator,
William T. Becker
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May 2010
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