Board authorizes south wall projects

LAST NIGHT, the board of directors approved an enabling resolution stating that two related B&G projects should be undertaken as reserve funds become available. 

• Repair and waterproof the exterior south wall of the sanctuary
• Repair the damaged pilaster base on that wall

Expenditures of up to a certain stated amount* were authorized, provided that the usual procurement procedures are followed. Due to the uncertain nature of working on poorly maintained older buildings, an allowance for contingency was included.

Already the funds equal to the authorized amount are either in the Capital Improvements Fund, or verbally committed by donors specifically for these projects.

So the ball is now back in the court of the B&G Committee, for the execution of these projects.

*I prefer not to post the total authorized amount online until our vendor negotiations are completed.

 

Enabling motions: Status report

THIS IS A FOLLOW-UP to yesterday’s post about the importance of enabling motions. This post documents the actual authorizations and the resulting spending to date.

• For a summary table of the 16 project categories approved so far, click/tap HERE.

• For a bar chart that compares the $$ amount authorized with the amount spent, click/tap HERE. (The image above is a detail from the bar chart.)

• For a fuller status report on what has been done, and what remains to be done, category by category, click/tap HERE.

Enabling motions: The key to restoring our facilities

WHEN IT COMES TO the repairs and restoration of our facility, we seldom know in advance what a project’s final cost will be. Unforeseen circumstances — otherwise known as surprises — are so common in poorly maintained older buildings. Consequently, it is not practical to ask the board of directors to authorize a precise amount (as would fit the purchase of a commodity item). That approach would probably result in halting the project in midstream, in order to get a reauthorization. And that requirement, in turn, would risk not only the success of the project, but also alienating our hard-working vendors.

So how can the board carry out its fiduciary (stewardship) responsibility to maintain the facility in good order? Find out below the jump.…

Safety Improvement Made This Week

BACK IN DECEMBER, the board had voted to approve the installation of 2 seismic gas shut-off valves: one for the school, and the other for the sanctuary. I’m pleased to announce that the first one was installed today! (Hopefully the second one will be done tomorrow.) This is a capital improvement, in that it has resulted in a betterment to the facility: a safer synagogue. Thus it’s to be paid for from our Capital Improvements Fund.

The new inlet pipe downstream from the meter
features a bright red earthquake valve.

This post treats the history of this issue and its resolution.…

The Most Urgent Maintenance and Capital Improvement Expenditures

OUR LIST OF SPECIAL PROJECTS is growing: non-routine maintenance-related or restoration-related expenses that are warranted in the near term. This post is intended to inform the board, the membership, and prospective donors about those needs, so that we can now work together to raise the necessary funds. (These tasks are not among the restoration projects that the board has previously approved, conditional on the availability of funds.)

5781: “Building & Grounds” Updates in the Messenger

(Weekly posts from July–August 2021)

 

Compiled in one handy location: 

Now you can binge-read the entire series… 😉

 

 

9.  Reckoning with Hole-iness as the Year Turns

An unexpected underground void turns up between our building and our neighbor’s

 

8.  The Season for Going Beneath the Surface 

Surprising challenges that must be faced while restoring the front patio

 

7.  How is This Hole Like My Life?

On dealing with a void that opened up in the “solid” concrete pavement

6.  Donating to Support Our Buildings' Restoration 

About the newly created Capital Improvements Fund

 

5.  Farewell to Termites

How we found and dealt with these voracious critters

4.  How Your Dues Helped Preserve Our Facilities

Tabulation and categorization of expenditures during the 2020–2021 fiscal year

 

3.  Board Plans Facilities Restoration

Defines “restoration” and describes the board’s forthright approach to it

 

2.  Restoring the Building Means Solving Puzzles!

Challenges in dealing with stormwater drainage, given the absence of records

 

1.  Restoration Project Underway: Flagstone on Main Street

Why this project had been undertaken, and its goals