FLOOD RENOVATION

April 18, 2024

Dear Congregation,
Many are wondering what may be happening with the renovations after this winter’s water damage so it’s time for a brief update.
Several contractors have toured the building, along with all their subcontractors, and are perusing the renovation plans to provide their best estimates for the cost of putting it all back together. 
In the meantime, the insurance adjuster is also working on estimating what the insurance company thinks it should cost to put it all back together.
After we receive estimates for all those parties, the Leadership Team will review these estimates and plans and negotiate with our insurance provider for the best reimbursement possible.
Once we have decided how best to proceed, per Section 6.9 of our Bylaws, we will need to hold a brief congregational meeting to approve that course of action and vote on allowing the Leadership Team to enter into a contract with a specific contractor to complete that work.
As always, if you have any questions about the specifics of what is happening in this process, please don’t hesitate to bring those questions to myself, any other member of the Leadership Team, Bob Erickson, or Oleg Radshichin. All of us are working together as best we can to get this done as quickly as possible so we do appreciate your patience.
Thanks,
Jerry Gard
Chair, Leadership Team

March 6, 2024

March 6, 2024

It’s been a few weeks since the pipes burst and even though it might appear like nothing is happening, now is the time when all the pre-construction planning is happening that we normally don’t see when we build stuff. So, here’s a few things that have happened, a few things that are happening now, and what to expect to happen in the future.

Up to this point, a few obvious and a few not so obvious things have been accomplished:

  • A fabulous cleanup crew spontaneously arrived onsite within hours to get the water and damaged materials cleaned up to prevent further damage from occurring.
  • The insurance adjuster arrived within a few days to review the damage.
  • An insurance claim filing was initiated with our insurance provider.
  • ServPro sent a crew from Eugene, Oregon to finish cleaning up the water damage and dispose of the debris.
  • Marilee Erickson reviewed our insurance policy to determine the best course of action to maximize our insurance benefits and set expectations about what we can expect from the insurance company if we pursue alternatives.
  • The Leadership Team and staff have engaged Tim Goodman to help determine what changes, if any, could help restore the damaged spaces to better serve both the staff and the congregation.
  • Contractors have walked through the damaged spaces to examine firsthand what the damage looks like prior to generating estimates.

You might be asking, “Why haven’t we put it all back together, yet?” That’s a good question and the answer is not straightforward. But the easiest answer is that with so many different parties involved, a great deal of communication has been taking place and at this time we’re waiting on one piece of critical information that will enable us all to move forward. That information will enable the insurance provider to estimate the overall cost of the damages and the contractors to estimate the cost of materials needed to restore the building as it was.

  • Once we have that information and those parties can complete their calculations, here’s what you can expect before we can begin the restoration:
  • Contractors who have expressed interest in performing the job will generate estimates that will be submitted to the insurance provider.
  • The insurance provider will review the estimates and develop an initial settlement proposal.
  • Members of the Leadership Team, and Adam Dietz in particular, will facilitate a negotiation between the insurance provider and restoration contractor to derive a final estimate that the insurance provider will use as the basis for reimbursement for the work that has been done already (cleanup and plumbing) and the work remaining (restoration of drywall, insulation, flooring and trim).
  • The Leadership Team will review the final estimate and determine how to best pay for any shortfall between the insurance settlement and the actual cost of the work.
  • The Leadership Team will review and approve a contract with the contractor to perform the restoration work.
  • The contractor will schedule the job to complete the work.

Hopefully, this information is helpful to understand just how much work has been happening and how much remains to be done before a hammer is lifted or a nail driven. Many thanks to all those who have dedicated so much of their time to get us this far along!

–Jerry Gard, Church Chair