Somers Congregational Church Weathers Storm

This information was published in the Somers Congregational Church restoration news center on Oct. 31, 2012 and Oct. 25, 2012:

Rev. Dr. Barry Cass

We weathered to storm this week, though it did mean no work on Monday or Tuesday either in the office wing or on the Meeting House.  Wednesday morning saw everything back in full swing.  Site work and preparation for the concrete work to come continued on the Meeting House site and we are in the final stages of cleaning and last details in the office wing.  It has been great to be back in the offices, but a little discombobulated with work still being done and boxes needing to be unpacked. 

On Wednesday, the office trailer was taken away.  The Petra Corp’s construction trailer will be relocated to the side of the parking lot where the office trailer has been, making more room for material and equipment storage.  Entry to the Church Office is through the Main Door, as it was before the fire.  Everyone is urged to use special caution in the parking lot and entering and leaving the building.  Petra Corp has made the site as safe as possible, but we are aware of the fact that it is a working construction site.

The storm caused the cancellation of the weekly Tuesday meeting, but the Building Committee will meet on Thursday morning, November 1.  The committee will continue to review the Meeting House plan and make decisions as needed.  Our representatives from CHK Architects and Petra Construction are continuing to work with material received from the insurance company in the effort to reach a settlement. 

The Church Council has moved ahead with plans to seek approval from the congregation for a Capital Campaign to raise needed funds for the Meeting House.  An information sheet is being prepared by the Council and will be available to members in plenty of time for the meeting on November 18.

Update – October 25, 2012

Rev. Dr. Barry Cass

If you have been by the church this week you have probably noticed that there is a pretty deep hole being created.  This is the “cellar hole” for the new Meeting house.  It is deep enough for the footings that will hold the whole structure above it.  Once the footings have been put in you will see forms in place for the concrete walls of the foundation.  It is going to start looking like a building in the very near future.

This has also been moving week.  Everything has been removed from the office trailer and put back into the office wing.  The phones and internet will be up and operational by the end of the week.  If you have called the office you should have been able to leave a message, but we have not been able to retrieve them for a couple of days.  This should have been remedied by the end of the day on the 25th.   There are a few things that still need to be finished on the first floor, but on the whole things are ready to go.

Access to the offices is through the Main Door, and the construction fence is positioned so that you can walk between it and the building in order to get in. 

Painting is being completed on the second floor of the office wing, and the carpet will be installed there early next week.  The heat is on for the first floor and should be working on the second floor sometime next week.  The elevator passed the state inspection this morning.

Plans for the new Meeting House should be ready to submit to the Building Inspector by the 26th.  These plans will also be used by Petra Construction to determine the cost of the new building so they can give us a “Guaranteed Maximum Cost.”  Once we have this and the figure for the settlement from the insurance company, we will know exactly where we stand and what funds will need to be raised to complete construction.   As we have stated previously, the Church Council is preparing information for the membership to help determine the best way to proceed in raising the necessary funds.

Remember that any questions you have about the building project can be directed to the Building Committee at build@somerscongregational.org, or to any member of the Building Committee.  Detailed information about costs and necessary fund raising will be shared as soon as it becomes available.