The Congregation passed a motion to allocate Cay Peirce’s $11k bequest to the Building and Grounds Renewal Project.

The Congregation passed a motion to authorize the Renewal Projects Working Group to engage an architect to assist in the design of the bathroom and foyer remodel and to prepare drawings for city and state approval processes, providing that the architect’s fee not exceed 12.5% of the final cost of the project. It further authorized the Working Group to solicit bids based on the architectural design and to report back to the congregation for final approval of the design and bids before signing a contract.

Background: the capital campaign in support of the Project raised $248K in pledges of which we have collected $210k and expect to collect another $27K. With the addition of Cay Peirce’s bequest we have approximately $88K left. Our budget dictates that we work within our existing footprint and focus on the foyer and bathrooms, but the architect would be charged with creating a design that does not get in the way of future expansion. Hiring an architect with hands-on construction experience to develop detailed drawings and specifications would help insure that the city approves our plan and that we can get accurate bids from contractors. The Team expects the result to be a foyer that’s more inviting, expresses the personality of our Congregation, and makes the best use of the small space we have available, as well as bathrooms that are more practical and contemporary.

The Congregation passed a motion to endorse Back from the Brink: a Call to Prevent Nuclear War, a statement written by Physicians for Social Responsibility.