Dear Church Family,
Before 2020 is gone, which for many will be a fond farewell, I wanted to share with you a report on our BUILDING 4 GENERATIONS TO COME Worship Center Renovation.
I will update you on the four major areas: WORSHIP CENTER INTERIOR, WORSHIP CENTER EXTERIOR, NEW PORTICO, MOVING OF OFFICES TO D BUILDING.
1. WORSHIP CENTER INTERIOR
Within a couple of weeks after the church approval of our Building Conceptual Plans and Budget, we were able to finalize the contract with COSCO & Associates to do the Systems Engineering and detailed Architectural Design Drawings for the Worship Center, Mall, and Senior Adult Education Space. They began the work the following week and are already making progress.
The Building Team shared many of the comments and suggestions from our Town Hall conversations about the restrooms in the Mall, and our architect found a way to expand the capacity and improve the layout of those facilities. When we have new plans reflecting those changes, we will share them with you. I think you will be very pleased.
2. WORSHIP CENTER EXTERIOR
You may remember that during some of our scheduled meetings to consider the Conceptual Design, we experienced exceedingly strong wind and rain from the edge of Hurricane Sally. I was in the office on that day and walked into the Worship Center and witnessed water being blown into the building from nearly every direction. Afterward, we sought help from water intrusion specialists to determine how and where the water entered, so that we could be certain that we did not have a problem later that could damage the new refinishing we would be doing inside.
A close examination and testing showed us two things.
After considering a number of options, some exceeding $100,000, we found a contractor and product that we believe was the very best. We have entered a contract to have all of the mortar joints that show any damage to be repaired, and for two coats of a high quality water proofing sealer to be applied to the entire exterior. This sealer will be clear, and when completed, will not change the appearance of the brick. This product and process is being used for the same purpose on numerous public buildings in Panama City.
We will receive a ten year warranty on this product. Our cost is around $50,000, and while that is a lot of money, it is far less than we anticipated it might be.
3. NEW PORTICO
We have also signed the contract for the new Portico on the north side of the Mall, servicing the north parking lot by Highway 98. This addition is going to be beautiful and will quickly give our buildings an updated appearance. Construction will start in January.
4. OFFICES IN D BUILDING
As we moved to finalize the contract for construction of offices in D Building so we can vacate the present office space to make senior adult classrooms, we discovered a fire code issue that had to be addressed, because we were changing the use of part of D building. We have been exploring the alternatives to address this issue, and in so doing learned that the Building Code was going to change January 1, 2021.
It is possible that the change may work in our favor, so while we have studied the alternatives, we do not want to make a decision until the new code is in effect. We will then choose the best way to comply with the code and put it in the plans. We still believe that we will be able to finalize the contract by the end of January, and our contractor has said that he remains confident that he will still be able to finish the work in time for us to vacate the present offices before COSCO is ready to begin physical construction.
IN SUMMARY
Things always move a little slower than you had hoped, but in this case not much. Even with the surprises of the water and the fire code, these changes have not impacted our completion date because these things can all still be done during the time necessary for COSCO to produce the Architectural Drawings for the Worship Center Interior.
Please join our Building Team in thanking the Lord for His gracious working on our behalf to move us forward. We will continue to keep you informed of both progress and challenges that face us.
Happy New Year, and God bless you,
Bro. Mike
BUILDING 4 GENERATIONS TO COME BUILDING TEAM
Terry Morris
Tim Barnard
Bethany Boggs
Bruce Kuhnel
John Skaggs
Wayne Vickers
Rick Mitchell
Before 2020 is gone, which for many will be a fond farewell, I wanted to share with you a report on our BUILDING 4 GENERATIONS TO COME Worship Center Renovation.
I will update you on the four major areas: WORSHIP CENTER INTERIOR, WORSHIP CENTER EXTERIOR, NEW PORTICO, MOVING OF OFFICES TO D BUILDING.
1. WORSHIP CENTER INTERIOR
Within a couple of weeks after the church approval of our Building Conceptual Plans and Budget, we were able to finalize the contract with COSCO & Associates to do the Systems Engineering and detailed Architectural Design Drawings for the Worship Center, Mall, and Senior Adult Education Space. They began the work the following week and are already making progress.
The Building Team shared many of the comments and suggestions from our Town Hall conversations about the restrooms in the Mall, and our architect found a way to expand the capacity and improve the layout of those facilities. When we have new plans reflecting those changes, we will share them with you. I think you will be very pleased.
2. WORSHIP CENTER EXTERIOR
You may remember that during some of our scheduled meetings to consider the Conceptual Design, we experienced exceedingly strong wind and rain from the edge of Hurricane Sally. I was in the office on that day and walked into the Worship Center and witnessed water being blown into the building from nearly every direction. Afterward, we sought help from water intrusion specialists to determine how and where the water entered, so that we could be certain that we did not have a problem later that could damage the new refinishing we would be doing inside.
A close examination and testing showed us two things.
- First, our new roof was not leaking! (Praise the Lord!)
- Second, water was entering from high on the brick walls of the Worship Center where the mortar had deteriorated in places, leaving small holes between some of the bricks.
After considering a number of options, some exceeding $100,000, we found a contractor and product that we believe was the very best. We have entered a contract to have all of the mortar joints that show any damage to be repaired, and for two coats of a high quality water proofing sealer to be applied to the entire exterior. This sealer will be clear, and when completed, will not change the appearance of the brick. This product and process is being used for the same purpose on numerous public buildings in Panama City.
We will receive a ten year warranty on this product. Our cost is around $50,000, and while that is a lot of money, it is far less than we anticipated it might be.
3. NEW PORTICO
We have also signed the contract for the new Portico on the north side of the Mall, servicing the north parking lot by Highway 98. This addition is going to be beautiful and will quickly give our buildings an updated appearance. Construction will start in January.
4. OFFICES IN D BUILDING
As we moved to finalize the contract for construction of offices in D Building so we can vacate the present office space to make senior adult classrooms, we discovered a fire code issue that had to be addressed, because we were changing the use of part of D building. We have been exploring the alternatives to address this issue, and in so doing learned that the Building Code was going to change January 1, 2021.
It is possible that the change may work in our favor, so while we have studied the alternatives, we do not want to make a decision until the new code is in effect. We will then choose the best way to comply with the code and put it in the plans. We still believe that we will be able to finalize the contract by the end of January, and our contractor has said that he remains confident that he will still be able to finish the work in time for us to vacate the present offices before COSCO is ready to begin physical construction.
IN SUMMARY
Things always move a little slower than you had hoped, but in this case not much. Even with the surprises of the water and the fire code, these changes have not impacted our completion date because these things can all still be done during the time necessary for COSCO to produce the Architectural Drawings for the Worship Center Interior.
Please join our Building Team in thanking the Lord for His gracious working on our behalf to move us forward. We will continue to keep you informed of both progress and challenges that face us.
Happy New Year, and God bless you,
Bro. Mike
BUILDING 4 GENERATIONS TO COME BUILDING TEAM
Terry Morris
Tim Barnard
Bethany Boggs
Bruce Kuhnel
John Skaggs
Wayne Vickers
Rick Mitchell
Those attending the two Special Church Conferences on Tuesday, September 22, unanimously joined the Building Team in recommending that the church approve all seven of the recommendations in the BUILDING 4 GENERATIONS TO COME REPORT.
