The congregation voted to grant the Building Expansion Team (BET) two more months at the annual meeting last Sunday, in order to more fully answer the questions and concerns that were brought up at the town hall on May 13. We will vote on whether to proceed with the project on July 29. The main concerns have to do with project financing and additional bidding, to bring down the cost of the project so as not to have a large loan.

The BET, along with current and future Board members, met Wednesday evening, June 6, to discuss some options. Our independent architect, Steve Dorsett, attended the meeting and gave us his insight into asking for additional bids from contractors. He said that going out for bids won’t save us anything. In the current climate of construction, contractors are really busy, not looking for work right now, and will not give us a firm number to compare with our current contractor’s estimate, just time and materials cost, plus basis. He said we should work with our current contractor, continue to build trust, and try to lower costs.

Plus, Steve said that in order to go out to request additional bids, we will have to have a bid package, which needs to include completed construction drawings, which will cost $16,000 to complete. So the BET is asking the Board to consider hiring an independent estimator to verify our contractor’s estimate. We hope to have a price for that by the end of this week.

So, as you can see, this process is very complicated and expensive. The BET is working hard for you! We would like to ask for your patience, support, and trust while we try to do what the congregation has voted for, several times in the past three years. There are a lot of moving parts and complications, and we are really working hard to make it come together in a timely and cost efficient manner.