Archive for September 9th, 2008
Informational Meetings
The Renovation Oversight Committee will hold informational sessions for the community on Sunday, September 14th from 9:30 –11:00am, and on Tuesday, September 16th from 7:00-8:30pm, and post updated information on the sanctuary renovation website.
At the next Board of Trustees meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, September 24th @ 7:30pm, Board members will be voting on the renovation plan with which we will proceed. As always, any congregant is welcome to attend meetings of the Board of Trustees.
Special Board Meeting August 24
The following was sent to the Board of Trustee prior to the August 24th Board meeting:
As most of you are aware the Oversight Committee has been working with the firm of Robert Luchetti and Associates for many years. We initially asked the architect to do a feasibility study and then after the initial efforts by the Capital Campaign to design to our budget. Last October we came to the Board of Trustees and asked for direction on the general scope and budget of the renovation. The Board of Trustees voted to support moving forward with what we called at that time as Scheme B – which kept our basic footprint, but slope the floor. At that point we felt that we could afford this level of renovation with the addition of approximately $200,000 – $250,000 in loans. The general budget for Scheme B at that time was $950,000-$1,000,000. At that time we thought hard construction costs would be around $750,000 and that furniture, audio other non-construction related items would be around $200,000.
Design
The Oversight committee worked with Bob Luchetti and his associates through-out the spring to develop the best design we felt would serve the needs of the community. Our renovation goals were to:
· Improve sightlines
· Improve acoustics
· Improve lighting
· Add flexibility
· Incorporate better accessibility
Beyond that from the committee and their own interviews the architects developed their own set of design goals that included:
· Accommodation of groups of various sizes and different kinds of services
· Optimizing lines-of-sight and comfort of seating
· Preserving the warm feel of the existing sanctuary
· Making the Bimah accessible to those of diverse age and physical condition; better lighting; better acoustics
· Introducing natural light without compromise to the Stained Glass Windows
· Creating a space that enhances community and spirituality, participation not performance
Bidding
In late May we bid the documents to seven contractors and at the beginning of July four contractors submitted bids. There were many reasons why contractors ultimately decided not to bid that included inability to meet our schedule or feeling that they could not be competitive. Of the four contractors that submitted bids – three of them were extremely close and the fourth was nearly a million dollars more. It was our sense that we could work with any of the three and interviewed them. Since all of the three submitted bids significantly over our budget, our goal was to find a contractor we felt could work with us to get within budget. The Oversight Committee unanimously voted to work with Hamilton Construction. Since we have notified them, Hamilton Construction has worked with Bob Luchetti on various cost cutting and budgetary schemes. As a result of this process, we are now at a project budget of $1,100,000 for a scope very much like “Scheme B.” This is about $100,000 over the board’s approved budget, and does not include $130,000 to be put aside for furniture and other items. Deeper cost cuts will result in a scope quite different from “Scheme B”, the project we were authorized to pursue. Thus, we are approaching the Board for guidance at this crossroads.
Budget
Many of you will be asking why the bids were so high and why we appear to be so much over budget. The reality is that from the $1.2 million that the capital campaign raised many costs have been taken out. Attached is a spread sheet that explains some of these costs. In simple terms there are three categories of costs in our budget:
1. Soft costs
- Cost of the Capital campaign – consultants, printing and events
- Cost of the design – architect, hazardous materials testing, surveyor
2. Hard costs
- Contractor costs for the renovation
- Items we are buying directly – Chairs, pews, audio system, signage, misc furniture (torah table)
3. Projected Costs
- Bad debt
- cost of the loan
The reality is not one factor is the cause of our current shortfall, it is a combination of factors including, inflation, scope creep (the design grew from the last estimate to the final bids), we underestimated the cost of the loan and the bad debt.
Choices
The Oversight Committee has looked at the budgets prepared for us by Hamilton Construction and the design options done by Bob Luchetti and feel that we need the Board of Trustees’ guidance. Essentially, we feel that the best design to meet the renovation goals approved by the Board. The Oversight Committee feels strongly that this is our community’s only opportunity to renovate the sanctuary and it is unlikely we will revisit any changes to the Sanctuary for the next fifty years. Even after significant budget cutting and work with the contractor at the extremes we can look at things in two ways:
The full vision – even pared down this still includes the most of the elements of the original vision:
§ Two level enlarged bimah
§ A skylight over the bimah and new clerestory windows at the sides
§ Structurally move columns to improve sightlines and enlarge the bimah
§ Slope the fixed seating area to a lower flat seating area
§ Warm wood through-out the sanctuary
§ Improved lighting and acoustics
§ New chairs and pews
Currently affordable version
§ Single level bima – will be slightly larger than our current and at a similar height
§ Possibly a skylight over the bema but probably not the side clerestory windows
§ Columns in their existing position, but exposed.
§ The floor level will remain flat and some of the sightlines will be similar to what we have but will be compromised when the clergy perform services from the flexible seating area.
§ Warm wood in some parts of the sanctuary but not throughout
§ Improved lighting and acoustics
§ New Ark
§ New chairs and pews
There may be a middle position between these two extremes but we felt that the Board should understand the differences.
Schedule
At this point the earliest we could start would be in at the beginning of October (basically we need six weeks once we have a clear direction from the Board). After the BOT gives us direction the Oversight committee will work with Bob Luchetti and the contractor to tighten up the sub-contractor bids so we can have a hard contract. This process will take approximately three weeks. Depending on the final scope of work construction will take between four to six months. There are some strategic decisions to make regarding schedule. If the congregation feels it is best we can delay the project until next spring. However, there may be costs to this delay.
Attached is a spreadsheet that summarizes the basic budget for the renovation. The finance sub-committee of the Oversight committee has worked with the Temple’s finance committee. This is an ongoing process that will continue in response to the Trustees’ discussions. It is important that the Board understand that every decision we make has a different financial consequences. Our conversation is about the direction we will feel good about and not have regrets. It is about taking a stand and then empowering the Oversight Committee to make sure that vision can be achieved.
We appreciate everyone’s patience as we try to make these hard decisions.
Mike
Construction Delay
Dear Beth El Community,
Many of you have been asking why our sanctuary renovation hasn’t yet started. The purpose of this letter is to provide a brief overview of where things stand and why. The Oversight Committee has been working so hard to see this process through. We have spent many hours reviewing designs, attending meetings, going over budgets, attending more meetings, communicating with B’nai Mitzvah families, reworking designs, more meetings, scanning drawings, sitting in chairs, looking at wood finishes, interviewing contractors, reviewing bids, and preparing for construction to begin. We have even prepared Zonis Auditorium as a temporary site for our services.
So what happened?
When the actual construction bids came in, they all were more than 50% higher than we expected (based on earlier cost estimates we’d been given) and almost double what we actually have to spend on construction! Despite the incredible job that our Capital Campaign Committee did raising $1.25 million dollars, when we subtract all of the ‘soft’ costs associated with the project, our actual construction budget is significantly reduced. These soft costs include expenditures like architectural fees, costs associated with our fundraising consultants, permitting fees, surveying and hazardous materials testing. Then, we also have to deduct an allowance for potential, uncollected debt (pledges that aren’t fulfilled), loan servicing, and the 15% set aside for contingency (a kind of financial safety net for unanticipated costs that could emerge during construction) as well as the money we need to leave aside for items that are not part of the actual construction – new pews, chairs, the ark and bimah furniture.
Even so, the committee began talking with the contractor that we felt would be best suited for the job and with whom we felt we could work well. This contractor and our architect were willing to work with us to get closer to a construction budget that our congregation could afford. We know that it is often the case in construction that through a combination of fine tuning numbers, cutting some line items, and reductions in the scope of a project, some compromise can be reached and a project can proceed.
In the case of our sanctuary renovation, in partnership with the architect and contractor, the committee began scaling down the project, and cutting out design elements. As various, large elements of the project began to get cut, our spirits and enthusiasm waned. More importantly, many of us no longer felt sure that we had a design that meets our original goals. In addition,
some of the central elements that were being cut due to cost (such as the sloped floor and moving two, large structural columns in order to widen the bimah) are not purely aesthetic design elements; they were included in the plan to improve sight lines. If we couldn’t keep those elements in the renovation, we could potentially make sight lines in the sanctuary worse as a result of this work!
In sum, we are no longer sure that we can achieve our minimum goals with regard to sight lines, lighting, acoustics, warmth, comfort, accessibility and flexibility with the funds that are available to us and with the resulting, reduced design. We will, therefore, be gathering the Board of Trustees at a special meeting to ask for guidance about how to proceed.
The Board could choose to direct the committee, despite our misgivings, to continue with construction according to the reduced design. The Board could direct us to postpone the renovation indefinitely, concluding that it is simply not the right time for us to do this work in the sanctuary. Or, the Board could direct us to postpone the construction temporarily in order to identify additional sources of revenue that would permit us to accomplish our basic goals.
The Oversight Committee is trying to be responsible to our congregation and do the right thing—both fiscally and in terms of the sanctuary renovation. So many of us have committed so much time, energy, and money to this project that we want to be sure that we get it right. We are as disappointed as anyone that we are so far from the schedule that we planned. But we also wanted everyone to understand why this is the case.
We are working with the architect to create a design that fits a budget which could be considered realistic for our congregation and still fulfills our basic priorities for the renovation. He is working towards that goal, and the committee is working with him.
The Board of Trustees will continue to advise the Oversight Committee on the best way for our community to proceed. To that end, there will be a special meeting of the Board of Trustees on Thursday, August 28th at 7:30pm, during which, these issues will be discussed. As with any meeting of the Board of Trustees, Temple members are welcome to attend. Going forward, we anticipate that this issue will be discussed further at the regularly scheduled Board of Trustees meeting in September, and shortly thereafter, we will have a more definite plan to move ahead (or not). A Temple-wide meeting also will be held sometime in September. In the meantime, we will still be able to use our sanctuary and Zonis as usual.
Please note that while it’s clear the sanctuary renovation will not begin before the High Holy Days and our services now will be held in the sanctuary, we still will be following the schedule for double High Holy Day services as planned. A separate communication explaining this decision will follow.
We thank you for your patience and understanding. With your continued support and help, we believe we still can fulfill our dreams for this holy place.
Elyse Shuster & Mike Wolfson
On behalf of the Renovation Oversight Committee
