Prospects for collaboration with Adamah’s Climate Action Fund (Speculation)

THE CLIMATE ACTION FUND of Adamah, the leading Jewish environmental organization, provides 50% matching grants (up to $20K) and 5-year interest-free loans (up to $250K) for projects that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

In our case, such reductions could result from three possible efforts:

• Improving energy efficiency;
• Converting stoves/ovens and water heaters from gas to electric power; and/or
• Installing solar panels. 

Below the jump, I explore the prospects for our participation in their program.…

Water alarms installed in basement rooms (Activity Report)

BECAUSE OUR SANCTUARY BUILDING is empty most of the time, a sudden plumbling leak or backup might easily cause a lot of damage before anyone knows about it.

Happily, our synagogue’s insurance company (Church Mutual) has provided us—at no cost—with a small, continuous monitoring and alarm system. 

When one of its sensors detects wetness, the system not only beeps every second (much like a rather quiet smoke alarm), but also sends out an ALERT text message—to me, Fleming, and Ruben. That way, we have the opportunity to act quickly to prevent a small issue from becoming a big problem.

Below the jump, this post shows the location of the sensor units and the base station.…

FAQ: Tenting & fumigation at end of December (Background Report)

WE ARE ALMOST READY for the tenting and fumigation of our premises at the very end of this month. 

Although this was discussed and previously approved by the board in 2022, it turned out not to be feasible at the time. Many interlocking pieces needed to fall into place, but a few of them did not do so then. Same thing in 2024. However, this time around, it just might work—given the cooperation of our neighbors, the promised participation of many volunteers, and the preparations by our staff that I have already seen.

Below the jump, this post offers an FAQ about what is happening.…

Plenum at play in the main-floor Ladies Lounge (Background Report)

ALTHOUGH SELDOM NOTICED, a plenum (shaft) runs from floor to ceiling through the lobby-level “Ladies Lounge.” (It continues through the mezzanine, too.) It’s behind the wall that is straight across from the door to the lounge from the lobby. What is it doing there?

Below the jump, this post discloses what’s inside that plenum—and why.

Ventilating the restrooms: A possible approach for air intake (Speculation)

OUR PROSPECTIVE CONSULTANT, a mechanical engineer, has observed that our restrooms have exhaust fans yet no clear way to replace the exhausted air. He believes that in order to approve our permit for expansion restrooms, the City might well require a dedicated source for intake air. (HVAC people call it make-up air, presumably because it “makes up” for the lost air that the exhaust fan is removing from the room.)

A typical restroom exhaust fan

This raises the question: What is the best way to supply make-up air to our restrooms?

This question will eventually apply also to the basement restrooms, since they are likewise slated for eventual expansion. So let’s think about a comprehensive solution that will work for them, as well.

Below the jump, I offer a couple of cautions about one option that the architect has mentioned as being fairly normal. Then I outline a custom alternative that takes advantage of our building’s unique configuration [revised 9/10].…

Existing kitchen vent system (Condition Report)

WHAT IS ABOVE the exhaust grilles in the ceiling of our kitchen? The answer is important, as we move toward the necessary improvements to meet the current mechanical code for exhausting air from the room.

Below the jump, this post documents the existing exhaust system, with 7 photos (some with circles and arrows) and a diagram.…

Report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Capital Priorities, as submitted 2/3/25 (Activity Report)

THE COMMITTEE WAS ASKED to provide the Board a list of priorities for the use of funds currently held in the Mishkon Tephilo Capital Improvements Fund (at Morgan Stanley). The committee was informed that approximately $400,000 was deposited into this fund from proceeds of the sale of the Powerhouse property and the bequest of Larry Kasdon.

(So begins the report. Below the jump, the remainder is given verbatim.…)

Hidden structural steel in the basement (Condition Record)

YESTERDAY, I discovered a steel post downstairs—like the covered columns in the Social Hall but in an unexpected place. 

This one came to light as I was taking photos of the lower portion of opened-up walls that had been damaged in June 2023 by a flood caused by a faulty sprinkler head. (That story is HERE.) I noticed that one vertical member looked more like metal than like wood.

Below the jump, I show annotated photos of our normally hidden post.…

Asbestos/lead report after June 2023 basement flood (Condition Record)

ON OCTOBER 15, Mishkon received a copy of the report from a Limited Asbestos and Lead Assessment Survey that was conducted on June 23, 2023. (If we had received this report previously, it got waylaid due to our staff turnover shortly thereafter.) The testing was done by TRUST Environmental Solutions in Camarillo, as engaged by Tri-Tech Restoration, which cleaned up the basement flood.

This post discusses the report. Apparently for the first time, the kitchen flooring was sampled. Overall, the results were unsurprising.

A new guess as to why a sprinkler head suddenly failed last June

LAST JUNE, a sprinkler head in the kitchen downstairs suddenly broke open, flooding the area with water — even though no significant heat was present in the vicinity, let alone an actual fire — as reported in this post. At the time, I speculated that the head had deteriorated over time, until it just failed catastrophically.

Since then, I and others (especially the insurance company, so I hear) have struggled to explain why that particular sprinkler head would have been the one to burst. Below the jump, I discuss a factor that recently occurred to me, which I don’t think has previously been considered.…

Kitchen vent hood(s) in our future

MISHKON REPORTEDLY OWNS a huge kitchen vent hood that is presently sitting upstairs in the Powerhouse building. Hopefully, we may soon be striving to get rid of it, as part of concluding the sale of that building. 

This is a long shot, but that hood might have some trade-in value (at a restaurant supply outfit) for the hoods that we ourselves need to procure. We need at least one of them — arguably two — as part of reviving our Social Hall as a space that we can productively use and perhaps even rent out.

This post briefly our hood-related needs, as they were outlined in the 2003 Historic Structure Report. 

A fluke and a flood downstairs

RUBEN TELLS ME that yesterday, he and a plumber were in the process of restoring gas service to the sanctuary building. (Why the gas had been off for a month is a story for another time.) They were in the downstairs kitchen’s closet, bleeding air from the gas line to the water heater. Suddenly, they heard a loud pop and a whoosh. 

Sprinkler shutoff valve
(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

This post describes what happened next, and its import.…

Another pass at ventilation in the Social Hall

TODAY I took another look at a key section of the Historic Structure Report (HSR), namely its comprehensive analysis of the mechanical (air handling) system in the Social Hall, as of 20 years ago. Potentially good news there, with regard to our being able to provide decent ventilation in the era of covid-19, at least when the weather is mild. It may be practical for us to safely use the room, after all!

(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

What I hadn’t realized before is that even though the Social Hall’s furnace no longer works, the supply fan might still be able to provide ventilation to the hall and kitchen. 

Air Purification in the Main Kitchen

TO APPLY THE APPROACH to air purification that we used in the Chapel also to the kitchen, how many units would be needed, and where would they be placed? 

This post documents a study of the situation.…