Restoration of Bugbee and Office Wings Virtually Completed

This information was published in the Somers Congregational Church restoration news center on Feb. 7, 2013:

Rev. Dr. Barry Cass

There was some excitement at the church this week because the storage trailer which has been parked in the back of the parking lot and was filled with items destroyed by the fire was finally removed.  Very early on in the clean-up, items had to be decontaminated and then put in the trailer until the insurance company could determine their value.  This was completed in the early summer and now the trailer has been removed.

Although restoration of the Bugbee and Office wings is virtually completed, there are still a few items on the “punch list” to be completed before we can sign off on the project.  Green Construction and Restoration (GC&R) is responsible to make sure the work they have done is acceptable and complete.  There are several doors they installed that do not close correctly, there are holes left in walls and ceilings from the phone and alarm system installation they were supposed to have repaired and molding they installed in room 204 needs to be replaced because it is the wrong kind.  There is also a problem with the temporary heating system which we told GC&R about several weeks ago, but has not yet been addressed.  To complete the punch list we are hoping that the project manager from GC&R will be on site to do a walk-through with the Restoration Committee next week.

The company that is fabricating the steel has run into a problem which will cause a delay in delivery from February 15 to March 1.  We have been assured that the time lost will be made up during the steel erection process so that the project will remain on schedule.  The exterior walls of the Meeting House are scheduled to be up by April 1.

There are about a dozen bid packages that have been sent to various contractors so they can submit proposals.  These bid packages describe the scope of work, time, financial and other requirements a contractor must meet. The contractors put together a bid in response to the package, submit it to Petra Construction who reviews and rates the proposals and then recommends a contractor to the Building Committee.  The Building Committee makes a decision based on Petra’s recommendation and the contract is awarded by Petra.  All construction bids are handled this way.

The Building Committee is making final decisions about furniture for the various rooms in the Meeting House.  We have received and reviewed recommendations from the Design team at CHK architects, and done some research as well.  We are committed to furnishing the new Meeting House with sturdy, long-lasting, style-appropriate pieces.  Thought has been given to storage and ease of movement for the furniture that will not be in a permanent location, such as tables and chairs in the dining room.  Members of the committee and church who have had experience setting up and putting away tables and chairs in the old church have had great advice and ideas for us as new furniture has been chosen.

The Building Committee had hoped to be able to meet every other week rather than every week starting in February, but there are some important discussions coming up with the acoustician and decisions to be made about audio/visual and technological components to be made in the very near future, so the committee is holding to a weekly schedule.