An Update From the Somers Congregational Church

This information was published in the restoration news center:

The Church Council took some significant action at their meeting on Tuesday, January 17. In an important step towards moving the re-building process along, they voted unanimously to hire an Estimator to help determine the value of the building prior to the fire. The role of the Estimator is to quantify the material and labor needed to complete construction. In determining specific values of items the Estimator has available appraisers and a broad knowledge of construction costs.

The Council also voted to hire a Public Adjustor (PA) to address the contents portion of our claim with the insurance company. The role of the PA is to be our advocate in appraising and negotiating the insurance claim. The PA will prepare an estimate of the value of our lost contents and prepare necessary claim documentation to be given to the insurance company. Our PA will work with the insurance company's adjuster to determine the amount of the final settlement for our loss. Members of the church will need to prepare lists of what has been lost so that values can be determined.

In further business, the Council appointed Sue Jandreau and Dorian Jones to an Appreciation Committee, to send appropriate thanks yous to contributors. An artifacts committee will be responsible for dealing with questions about the bell, use of wood left from the fire, and other possible items recovered and needing restoration. The artifacts committee will be Janice Morton, Ailene Henry, Deb Juzba and Sharon Renzoni. Ailene is our Church Historian and she and Deb Pero have already created a display about our meeting house which can be seen at the Somers Public Library. An Organ Committee, made up of Laurie White, Heather Loupe, Rob Trusch, Jackie Nappi, Bill Kirkpatrick and Malcolm and Joanne Chadbourne was also appointed. They will be looking into the replacement of our pipe organ.

The has found space to use at the and is relocating there for the rest of the school year. The Thursday AA Group is meeting at Sun Valley and the Sunday group has found space at the .

Several businesses and groups beyond the church have planned and had or will have various fund raisers on behalf of the church. Announcements of these events will be posted on the website and the Facebook page and will be listed in the upcoming issues of Highlights.

Although renovations are nearly completed at 603 Main Street, our tenants have decided to move to another location so the house will be empty and available for rent after February 1. We are grateful to the many people in the church and beyond who have contributed to the various organizations that have helped replace fire damaged items for the family.

We will worship on January 22 at the auditorium. In addition to worship, the 285th Annual Meeting of the Church will also be held in the auditorium that day, followed by the annual Board and Committee Organizational Meeting. Beginning on January 29 worship and Sunday School will be held at the Community Education Building on the campus of Johnson Memorial Hospital on Chestnut Hill.

Watch this space for further information about that.