Report of the program manager June 2009
At a Congregational Meeting held on Sunday, May 17, we voted to reallocate some
of the money originally set aside for the parsonage to the Fellowship Hall
kitchen project and to the air conditioning of the church school wing. After
consultation with the Parsonage Task Force, under the leadership of John
Morrison, it was determined that the parsonage renovation can be completed under
the estimated budget. This is in part due to the efforts of our dedicated
volunteers, "Morrison's Miracle Workers," who work every Tuesday morning at the
parsonage.
Since the estimates for the completion of the kitchen and the air conditioning
projects came in higher than previously thought, we voted to increase those
budgets, while decreasing the parsonage budget. The kitchen budget will now be
$75,000 instead of $50,000, and the air conditioning project (which will now
include individual controls for each room and will have the ability to
supplement the heating system for greater efficiency) will now be an amount not
to exceed $85,000 instead of $40,000. This will keep the total money allotted
for all four projects at $525,000 which was approved by the congregation.
It is wonderful to hear our restored and enhanced organ each Sunday and to know
that one of the campaign projects is finished. The concert celebrating the
completion of the organ was magnificent. Besides playing a variety of music
which showcased what our organ is now able to do, Ron Ebrecht demonstrated the
new sounds our organ can make as well as explaining which pipes and sounds are
original to the organ.
This summer should bring substantial progress on the other projects. An Open
House Hospitality Time after church is planned for a Sunday at the end of June
so that the congregation will have an opportunity to tour the parsonage and see
the work being done there. Everyone driving by the parsonage is impressed with
how the outside looks and now we’ll be able to see the inside.
Dave Goral, Project Manager
250th Anniversary Campaign
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Our Organ –
As Jen said a few weeks ago “How do you like what we’ve done with the
place?” Some of you may feel that the Meetinghouse looks strange with the facade pipes removed, while others are enjoying the opportunity to see the
workings of our organ as well as the green wall with the stenciling which is
normally not visible. Regardless of how you feel, this is a sign of great progress. The organ re-builders from Austin have been hard at work. Multiple new
windchests have been installed to handle the many new pipes. Pipes are being mounted to
every solid surface available. Did you see the wooden flute pipes hanging on the side
wall? When all of the pipes are in there will be very little available space behind the facade.
The entire main windchest is being re-wired and all of the felt stops are being replaced.
When work is completed, we may have a few stuck notes once in a while, and we shouldn't
blame Toni. We’ve been warned that this is typical until everything gets settled in a little. The
work has gone on much longer than expected, but the Austin workers are being very thorough
in making sure that everything is carefully restored. Final voicing for our space and for our
particular set of 781 organ pipes plus electronic stops will take place in January.
Yours faithfully,
Dave Goral, Program Manager
What a joy it is to report to the congregation that during the six months since the solicitation portion of the campaign ended, much progress has been made. The projects are proceeding under the guidance of Dave Goral and his team of project managers.
A great deal of the work on the organ is being done in Hartford before the onsite work begins. The Austin Organ Company is working with us to minimize the impact on our worship services.
Plans for the air conditioning of the Church School wing are being drawn up and our hope is that air conditioning will be working by this summer.
A committee is researching exactly how best to improve our Fellowship Hall kitchen. They are hoping to have the actual work done during the summer of 2009.
Obviously the parsonage is the most complicated of the four projects, but much work is being done behind the scenes. The committee is trying to put in balance the needs of the church and the responsibility we have as owners of the beautiful historical home.
As of the middle of March, we are thrilled to report that over 46% of the money pledged to the campaign has already been collected. It is important that money is gathered in a timely fashion so that work on all the projects can continue. The congregation’s response to the 250th Anniversary Campaign was amazing. How exciting it is to see the work being done as a result!
Thank you for your continuing support and commitment.
Faithfully Yours,
Nancy Vodra, Chair of the 250th Anniversary Campaign
Dave Goral, Campaign Projects Manager
Walt Fisher, Communications Chair
Report of the program manager March 2008
Parsonage
The parsonage committee has met a number of times to put together a proposal for the outside renovations of the building. The purpose of this proposal is to bring it for review and approval with the Brookfield Historical Society. The application for review was submitted to the Historical Society in February in order to have it on the agenda for discussion in March.
While the planning for the outside work has been taking place, a workgroup has been busy in the basement shoring up the structure. Temporary supports that had been in place for a number of years have been replaced with permanent lally columns to stiffen and level the first floor.
Air Conditioning
Review of how to implement this project has occurred, and they are in the process of obtaining quotes. The goal of this project is to complete it for summer of 2008. The intent is to air condition all of the classrooms in the school wing as well as the spaces downstairs in Fellowship Hall.
Fellowship Hall Kitchen
This committee has just begun discussions on their project. Based of the balance of funding between projects, the goal of this group is to have a detailed plan created by the end of summer of 2008, with implementation and construction occurring in summer of 2009. The intent of this plan is that once the work begins, it will all be completed as quickly as possible to minimize the unavailability of the kitchen.
Organ
Work continues on site at Austin Organs in Hartford rebuilding the console that will replace ours, as well as the new pipe construction. When the actual work in our Church begins in early summer, changes will take place over a period of time. There will be times when some ranks of the organ will not work but the rest of the organ will remain playable. Austin is trying to minimize the amount of time that the organ can not be played at all. The project is expected to be completed this summer.
Yours faithfully,
Dave Goral, Program Manager
_______________________________________________________________________________
250th Anniversary Campaign - For All the Saints February 2008
We are overjoyed at our campaign pledged amount of $605,065.26!!!
Now we are on to the implementation phase of the campaign. A group of church members has been appointed to provide oversight to the four major projects. They will review project specifications; implement and complete
projects in a professional, efficient, and cost-effective manner; and keep the congregation informed about progress and schedules. This group is called the Project Implementation Advisory Group, with the following members:
Tom Eaker, Moderator
Dave Goral, Program Manager (reporting to Church Council)
Bob Lambert
Mike Matson
Rev. Bryn Smallwood-Garcia, Pastor
Dennis Stone
Rev. Jennifer Whipple, Associate Pastor
In addition to this group, there will be four project managers reporting to
Dave Goral, Program Manager:
Air Conditioning – Mike Marron
Kitchen Renovation – Robin Murphy
Organ – Virginia Van Horne
Parsonage – John Morrison
In the past few months, there have been reports in CrossWays about some of our project developments. The parsonage group is working closely with the Brookfield Historic Commission to ensure that all work meets guidelines. The Austin Organ Company in Hartford is re-building the necessary manual console and new organ pipes are being handcrafted. Updates will be provided for the kitchen and air-conditioning projects as design specifications are completed.
We want to thank all those who are participating on the Advisory Group and project teams. The projects cannot be completed without their dedication. Thank you for doing your part in fulfilling pledge commitments, so all phases of the campaign can move forward.
Walt Fisher
Report of the program manager January 2008
Pledges from our generous membership are still being received, the total crossing the six-hundred thousand mark. The total pledge amount is now $600,015 and of course twenty six cents! Here are project updates on the parsonage and organ.
Parsonage:
The parsonage group continues to work with the Brookfield Historic Commission to ensure that all work completed on the exterior meets the historic commission guidelines. This presents a significant challenge for the group to find materials that can maintain the historic character of the house but hopefully be more energy efficient and lower maintenance. The group is currently preparing drawings of the exterior elevations and a proposed materials list to present to the historic commission early next year.
Organ:
In late November a meeting was held at Austin Organs in Hartford for the purpose of reviewing the design of the console and pipe layout. With a few minor changes a design was approved which allows Austin to begin construction of various secondary windchests to accommodate the additional pipes. A review was also made of the construction progress to date. The three manual console which will eventually replace our two manual is in the process of being rebuilt. The internal key switches have been rebuilt, and at the time of the meeting, an Austin worker was carefully adjusting the touch of each key. The console is also being prepared to receive the electronic switching mechanisms that will replace the old mechanical switches. The electronics will probably not be installed for a few months. Work has also begun on building the pneumatic actuators that control all of the actions in the windchest. Since Austin Organs still maintains the same design for these actuators as they did in 1916 when our organ was built, they can make a direct swap for these devices in our instrument. One of the most exciting things seen in the review was the racks of new pipes that had just been hand fabricated for our organ. The pipes still need to go through the “voicing” process to get their sound perfect. The tour of the Austin Factory gave me a great appreciation of the artisans who are involved in the renovation of our pipe organ.
Yours faithfully,
Dave Goral, Program Manager
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