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December 23, 2009: All I Want for Christmas . . .

We had our application for payment meeting today and we met at the property. It is the first time I've been there in two months since the last two months have literally been rained out creating an unmanageable muddy mess. I thought that we'd have the same thing today, but fortunately we were able to meet there allowing us to see things firsthand.

While we were there, the cement truck arrived to continuing pouring. Dwayne showed us this diagram which shows just what they are doing at this point. They are concentrating on the basement walls and footings. The blue highlighted area shows where cement has already been poured and the pink area is what will be completed as of today. It is actually pretty amazing that they are doing work at all due to the weather conditions, but they are anxious to move forward as much, if not more, than we are.

The photos show the cement being poured with the aid of a bucket. The bucket is used for those hard to reach places. In this case, they are pouring the footers beneath the basement. I was impressed with the size of the room--plenty of storage space! I would propose we think of naming the basement in honor of Montgomery County Park and Planning since it was born out of their requirement that the building be moved so far back that it was either have a basement or pay for dirt to be hauled in. See there is blessing in some of the angst we went through for so long!















I stood there today watching the cement being poured, Ernie and Junior walking around inspecting the walls, Dwayne giving instructions, Melvin driving the bulldozer, and felt this pretty incredible feeling of amazement. How many Christmases have I thought, prayed, and wondered if the coming year would be "our" year? Well, it has happened. We are building! We are making progress! We have walls! We have a basement! I mean, really, what better Christmas present could there be?

I know I've said it before, but I again want to thank each of you for all you have done for this project. Thank you for giving, for praying, for patience. God has truly blessed us abundantly. As you celebrate this Christmas season, please remember to praise and thank Him for His indescrible gifts to our church this year. Truly we are a blessed people!

Merry Christmas Spencerville!
 

December 18, 2009: Walls!

If you are a follower of this blog, you should probably be starting to detect a pattern. I either write in spurts or not for my full two weeks and most of the time it is on Fridays. I can give you another detail which you probably wouldn't be able to figure out--it is not only on Fridays, but just within about 30 minutes of sundown. That's not because I like to live on the edge, but mostly because my weeks are so frantic that it is all the time I have left. My apologies to those looking for the photos I showed last Sabbath. But here they are now.

Yes, we have walls! How cool is that? The pictures you see here show the concrete forms being set up for pouring. These are the walls for the basement. The foundations have been poured and little by little each wall was erected. Work proceeds slowly due to the heavy amount of rain we've had lately. By the way, don't be thrown off by the grass--in Montgomery County if you do not move dirt for two weeks, you must seed it. Since we haven't been moving any dirt around for awhile, this grass is growing where our classrooms will be! (Not like it hasn't had enough rain--look how green it is!)

This past week was sunny and no rain which was a good thing. But Bob tells me that these warmer December days bring all the moisture up from the ground and makes things very muddy. Ernie called me yesterday and told me he had stopped by the site for a quick review of how work was progressing and reported that the site was very, very muddy.

















I just got this written report from Dwayne Nitz this afternoon as to what they were able to accomplish this week. I'll list it just as he wrote it:

"Yesterday we poured half of the basement concrete walls (the south wall and 1/2 each of the west and east walls). This was a 90 cubic yard pour. We will strip the forms next week, provided we have footings to move them to on the north wall. It has been so wet and cold that the ground is frozen with heavy moisture--not a good condition fr installing footings. Nonetheless, the wall pour was a big step and we look forward to the second pour as soon as weather permits. We also have received much steel onto the site and the plumber has delivered some of his early-need pipe materials as well."

















So you can see we are making progress. I go to the property this coming week and will try and get some more pictures. Right now I'm depending on Dwayne to send them to me and there have been some technial snafoos. They are calling for the biggest snowstorm in a very long time here in our area, so I'm guessing that may cause some delay into next week. Keep up your prayers for the necessary weather to make progress. We need them!

Enjoy your Sabbath. Be safe, warm, and dry. 

December 5, 2009: Concrete Information

Can you believe all the rain? As you know, we secured our building permit last Monday and of the possible working days to do any building they have all been rain with the exception of this past Wednesday and today. It makes building just a bit challenging. I did hear from Bob Nitz yesterday though with the news that they had excavated 70 percent of the basement perimeter footing that day and hoped to pour concrete today. I told them to take some pictures which they promised to do.

Rain has also affected paving and asphalting. There has to be dry conditions and correct temperatures to make this happen and we have been in poor supply of both. I would ask you to pray for the ideal conditions that we will need to help get this building underway and undercover before we really get hit with winter conditions. From the weather it sounds like we see our first snow tomorrow.

On another note, I wanted to remind you of how this building project works relative to cost/expense. There are actually three areas of expense. First, there is site work. This portion of the project has been ongoing since we broke ground in April. This contract is for $2.1 M and includes the things you've seen and heard already: grading, utilities, curbs, sewer, etc.

The second portion is for the building itself. That contract is for $13.5 M and includes what will now commence--things related to the building itself. Then there is the third portion--owner costs.

We have mentioned this throughout the project, but owner costs are what most people either forget about or just don't understand. These costs include the architect, engineers, third-party inspectors, furnishings, and permit fees just to name a few. These are costs which we have some control on. I say some because we obviously are required to have an architect (but we get to pick which one). We have to have engineers, but again we decide who. But we also have to pay permit fees and we have no choice as to how much. Right now, we have paid close to $1 M in owner costs since we began this journey (several years back, not just this past year) which, remember, are in addition to the contracted costs I explained in the preceding paragraph. The good news is that we're totally caught up on these costs and there is still money in the bank. The so-so news is that they do escalate the cost of the project and we sometimes forget about them (well, I don't since I'm managing the bills, but you get what I mean).

Be assured that I, Pastor Lutz, the building committee, and Nitz Development do everything we can do to keep these costs under control. There has been thousands of dollars negotiated throughout the life of this project thus far always looking toward the goal of using our dollars wisely and effectively. You will be hearing more about these owner costs as we move forward with the project. It is absolutely our intention to be the best stewards of the money given by this congregation as well as to do and give our best to God in this project. I would encourage your continued prayers and contributions as we move forward.

As soon as I get some pictures I'll post them, but for now, my words will have to suffice!
 

November 23, 2009: A Red Letter Day!

I have to be honest and tell you I'm cheating a bit. Today is actually the 24th, but yesterday was the momentus day and I wanted to make sure it was recorded here for history's sake. Brian Kittleson, our principal, told me he tells people who ask about the project to come here because it is the best way to track all that is happening. I'd never really thought of it that way. He's got a good point, so thus the date above.

So, what's the big news? Why the special red color applied (isn't that cool--I just figured out how to do that!)? I won't keep you in suspense. WE HAVE OUR BUILDING PERMIT!!!!! And for those of you who have to see to believe (think Thomas, the disciple) I've included a picture (see right).

Now for those of you who would like "the rest of the story," keep reading. You know nothing comes easy with Montgomery County. In fact, I think sometimes the Lord just sends this stuff in my direction to remind me that this isn't about us, it's about Him. I had another one of those moments just last week.

We believed that the only thing between us and this permit was a sign-off by the structural reviewer. We got that on Thursday, last week. Thursday afternoon, Bob Nitz discovers that the county believes we need a special hearing about our Adequate Public Facilities (APF). This is something that includes a number of things, but specifically this had to do with a traffic study we had done for the third time last June (that's another story). We passed with flying colors, but now they said we'd have to have a public hearing prior to receiving a permit. Bob knew that was incorrect and stayed late at the office compiling the back-up documents to show them their error. Friday morning he goes to Park and Planning armed with his defense and Dwayne goes to DPS.

Dwayne arrives and finds out there is a land dispute having to do with the driveway and State Highway. Bob finds out that not only is this traffic study in question, but Candy (remember her?) had put a note on the computer regarding impervious surface calculations that would block the permit. So, here we were, on a Friday thinking that we were home free and had three significant obstacles in our path. Meanwhile, I was in contact with Mark Griffin, our church treasurer, about securing our permit fee because they would also not release it without payment. Hold onto your seat when you read this number: $252,960.15! My request sent Mark scrambling on a Friday to move money from CURF into our account to cover the check.

I sent a quick e-mail to our building committee and called Pastor Lutz asking them to join me in praying between 1:00 and 5:00 p.m. Friday for God to intervene on our behalf. Then I waited for Bob to call.

The first call told me the land issue had been cleared. It was a misunderstanding and didn't apply to our situation. The second call told me that Candy had been contacted and immediately cleared her issue off the computer (truly God at work!). The final contact came just a few minutes before sundown--they had accepted Bob's defense and our APF was cleared requiring one signature. The individual was not in that day, but would sign it first thing Monday morning. We decided not to announce anything on Sabbath because we didn't have paper in hand, but I felt truly blessed as I went into the Sabbath for God surely answered our prayers.

On Monday, Mark left his work to come over to the church to cut the check (thank you!). It was picked up by Dwayne Nitz and taken to DPS where he received the permit at 4:30 p.m. Yeah! What a great Thanksgiving treat!

It was just one year ago almost to the day that we received our site work permit and we announced it on Thanksgiving Sabbath. This year we will do it again. And who knows what we will be saying one year from now? But I know a good part of it will be praise to God who has guided us to and through these moments.

I am thankful for this church family who gives so much of themselves. You all really make this job easy. I'm thankful for those unknown donors who have contributed of their own success to make this project a reality. I'm thankful for our building committee who gives of their time and energy to make what are sometimes hard decisions. I'm thankful for our pastoral staff and specifically our senior pastor who gives me so much support and who I have learned so much from. My goal has been for us, as a church family, to walk together toward this goal. We have just crossed an important threshhold. I can't wait to see what God has in store! 

If you can't have a wonderful Thanksgiving after reading this . . . well, then, I'm not sure what we can do for you!
 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

November 22, 2009: It's Been Awhile

Yes, Rick Blondo, this message is for you. I've exceeded my two-week limit and blog I must. I have a good excuse, well, sort of. I've been anticipating news--building permit news or paving news or some other kind of big news--and it just hasn't happen. Each day, I'm like, "today, I will update the blog" and then nothing happens. So, when Rick told me he was going through withdrawal, I decided to go ahead and feed him (and the rest of you--there are more of you, right?) something. So, here's what I know:

There has been some paving. They completed the paving on the south side of Route 198. That was a process because of all the rain. The fall rains have been problematic because it takes so long to dry things out. Did you know that the way they test whether you can asphalt a road or not is to take a loaded dump truck and drive it over the prepared surface? If the truck leaves ruts, too bad for you. You fix it and wait some more time. And then do it again. I've even found out that what they will do is turn the stone over to help dry the underside by exposing it to the air.

While they haven't paved the driveway or parking lot, they did put down crushed stone that has a powder mixed in with it. When it rains, this powder which contains concrete dust gets wet and then hardens giving you a pretty tough surface which is almost like having it paved. That has helped a lot with moving the large trucks in and out.

The building permit continues to elude us, but God is working. I hope to have news for you this coming week--really, I do! I am tempted to write it now, but why ruin a good post for this coming week? Enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday and remember to give thanks to Him who makes it all happen!

November 4, 2009: Good News, Bad News?

Sorry to start with such a gloomy sounding title, but it isn't what I wanted to write at this point in November. As you know we had hoped to have a building permit by November 2. The good news is that all the drawings/plans/etc. which reflect the change in the structural support for the roof were turned in as planned last week. It took two vehicles to get all the drawings to Montgomery County Department of Permit Services. They are now on the desk of the county reviewer. The "bad" news is that she believes it will take two weeks to review them thus delaying any permit until mid-November. It really isn't bad news, just disappointing. It means waiting yet another two weeks which is hard when weather is as rainy and unpredictable as it has been the last couple weeks. We really want to start pouring the foundation on the building and get moving! Please continue to keep the project in your prayers and that God allow them to move efficiently and effectively toward granting our permit by next week.

October 23, 2009: Lights, Camera, Action!

I had a surprise call yesterday that led to a major re-organization of my Friday morning. I discovered that the Columbia Union was creating a video and wanted to feature our building project along with other building projects within the Columbia Union. They had lined up a film crew to be on-site to film our project as well as to feature how CURF (Columbia Union Revolving Fund) is helping us make it happen. Yesterday they met with Brian Kittleson and had taped an interview.

I met them at the site at 8:30 a.m. and met the director/producer, Pierre. He got so excited about what was happening there, he decided to change plans and bring Dave Weigley, union president, to the site to film several sequences. So what I thought was a short appointment turned out to be a morning full of filming. And, I ended up getting interviewed as well, which was a bit disconcerting since I hadn't prepared in any way for that! If I'd known I'd have worn my SAA sweatshirt!

They shot three sequences. First was an opening introduction by Dave to a video about the Columbia Union. Next was a seque to be used during the video and last was a wrap-up/appeal also with Dave. There was plenty of action as bulldozers drove by. Dave was filmed in a bulldozer, as well as using a machine that packs down dirt while wearing a hard hat and toolbelt. He fit right in!

It was nice to chat with Dave again, who I found very supportive of our project and interested in how our congregation and conference was making it happen. We tend to forget that we are unique within the North American Division because we are the only single church attempting to provide a complete new facility for their students. It speaks volumes about the support of the Chesapeake Conference, the generosity of our congregation, and the passion we hold for Adventist education. It was easy to brag on you and I was proud to be a part of this vibrant and growing congregation!

If you haven't pat yourself on the back for a job well done lately, do so now! And then, remember in your prayers to thank the One who has made all this possible. We are His hands! Let's continue to praise God for the many blessings He affords this congregation.

Also remember the weather and building permit in your prayers. We are very close and if the rain would let up, we could make some real progress before the winter sets in.

October 22, 2009: Curb Appeal!

Sometimes there are small things that don't seem like they'd be important, but they end up making you feel really excited. That's where I am when I went over to the site and saw curbs. How cool is that? These curbs and gutters define our parking lot and outline the driveway that extends behind the building. The beautiful weather this week has allowed them to prepare the driveway and parking lot so that it may be asphalted hopefully, weather allowing, this coming week. Truckloads of stone were rolling in and dumping their loads so that the stone could be spread and pressed in preparation for base paving. The paving will help clean up the site a bit since the rain and the dirt together create quite a muddy site.

October 21, 2009: It's All About Sewer?

Well, I used to talk about dirt, dirt, and more dirt. But we've progressed! Now it is water, water, and more water. Next time you turn on the faucet, take a minute to think of how it's getting into your home. It's all about pipes, sewer, and fire hydrants. Since talking about such things isn't my area of expertise, I thought I'd let our construction project manager, Dwayne Nitz, do it for me. Here is some of an e-mail he sent this week along with plenty of pictures of the infrastructure just beneath the surface.

"Progress from mid-September to mid-October includes completion of the onsite water, sanitary sewer, and storm drain systems. This includes trenching, installation, inspection, and compacted backfill. Additionally, off-site pressure sewer manholes have been installed along Route 198 and pressure sewer pipe installation has begun, including tunneling under Route 198. All utilities (Verizon, Comcast, and BG&E) have now relocated their services to accomodate our widening of Route 198. Road widening has recently been surveyed and work is expected to begin later in October to the south lane. Curb and gutter has been installed to 99% completion onsite, and the aggregate sub-base for paving is approximately 40% complete. We have begun to backfill curb and gutter as well. 

"On the near horizon are completion of aggregate sub-base and placement of base paving on the entire site, installation of primary and secondary power transmission lines and the permanent power transformer, widening of the south side of Route 198, completion of the pressure sewer pipe run along Route 198, completion of the offsite waterline spur and wet-tap, grading and seeding of the ballfield, and miscellaneous site power and communication undergrounds lines.

"The photos primarily cover water line installation (black pipe and black plastic wrapping), sanitary sewer (green pipe, gravel, grinder pump basin, and concrete structures), storm drain (black corrugated pipe and concrete structures), and BG&E overhead cable work."



Couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks Dwayne! You can see that things are moving along nicely underground. I'm hoping to have some other pictures for you soon. Not sure if you caught what Dwayne said, but we have curbs on the property. I think that's pretty cool, but you gotta see it in pictures. Soon as they are here, I'll post them!

One last photo that is kind of neat to look at (see left). Verizon brought out 5 trucks to move the wires and poles. They did it all at the same time. Dwayne described it as a kind of "bucket ballet" as the trucks did their work.

Some of you have told me your reading--thank you! Makes it all worthwhile!

 

October 15, 2009: Building Committee Meeting

Our building committee met today for our second regularly scheduled meeting. While we've had a building committee for some time now, our meetings have been fairly sporatic as we waited for the county to make their decisions, architects, engineers, and the like. Now that the site work has actually commenced we have reason to meet at least monthly. Our first meeting was last month and we actually had to convene a quick meeting in between. It's exciting to actually have a reason to meet and to meet often.

You can see our committe at work in the photo to the right: From left to right: Pastor Lutz, our pastoral advisor, Silas "Junior" Sines, Eugene Korff, Ernie Sines, Judy Brockett, Brian Kittleson (mostly hidden) and Bob Nitz, our general contractor. In this photo, we are looking at the plans to determine the type of interior wall we think might look and work best. Dwayne Nitz was also present, but he is completely hidden behind Junior.

Today we cleared up some business that had been carried over from last month. Bob and Dwayne Nitz don't normally join us, but did this month since we spent some time reviewing exterior color choices and finishes. But before getting to that, let me update you a bit on the property. I will do more later since I'm expecting a number of photos of the site soon. But curbs and gutters are completed for the driveway and parking lot, the base paving of the driveway and parking lot will be completed this coming week (assuming weather holds), and base paving will begin for the extra lane on Route 198. We still are on track for our building permit by November 1. Please continue to keep this in your prayers.

Exterior color choices were selected for the building quite some time ago. You have seen them in the artistic rendering of the building as well as the model in the foyer. Today we again saw the samples and affirmed our choices for the field stone color, accent color, and stone facade. If you remember, the stone in the front of the building will be like the church's exterior. We took some time with this and went from inside to outside as we compared colors since outdoor lighting makes things look very different. Of course, we picked one of the coldest days of the month with rain so we were just a bit numb as we stood outside under the canopy. I've included a picture (right) so you can get an idea of what we were doing as we arranged and rearranged samples. Fun stuff!

But I will add that while all this makes things real and tangible, it reminds me of choosing wallpaper or paint. I'm mean, really, it is tough enough to imagine a whole wall of some wallpaper--try imagining an entire building from a small stone! I'm glad we've got some great building committee members who do this stuff all the time.

By the way, I should add that we had scheduled a fieldtrip to the property today, but the rain created such a mud mess there, we didn't attempt it. I'm looking out the window today (Sunday) and it is our fourth day of rain. Let's pray that things dry up a bit, we have a beautiful Indian summer and lots of work can move forwarded this coming week with the paving and infrastructure work. Thanks for reading and come back later this week. Assuming the pictures arrive this week, I'll post them in a couple days.

October 1, 2009: Stuff’s happening!

My apologies for taking more than my two weeks to update this blog. And, thanks to those of you who have asked "How come there's been no update?" It's nice to know someone's reading! I have to be honest it isn't because things aren't happening, but I keep forgetting my camera. I like being able to post pictures and I either forget my camera or they do things so fast, I can't get a picture before it is already completed! Anyway, here's what I know:

We have our WSSC permit--in fact, we got it about three weeks ago. This is good news because it means the sewer work can begin, pipes put in underground, etc. The original decision was to work from the road toward the property, but because of the lateness of the permit, weather, and other things, they are working in reverse. Pipes are going in on the property, fire hydrants located, etc. They will begin work on the pressurized sewer system soon, but probably wait until Spring to do the sewer work required for Peach Orchard Road.

Road widening is another thing on the list which will be done soon. Part of the delay has been waiting for Verizon to move the telephone poles. They added the new poles, but only recently have been moving the wires. The State Highway Administration (SHA) gave the directions/approval to shut down one lane of Route 198 to do the necessary roadwork. You all know what a busy stretch of highway that is so this isn't going to be pretty. Nitz Development had an idea that they ran by SHA--why not let us add the additional lane first which will not require shutting down the road? Then when it is completed divert the traffic onto the new lane so we always have two lanes open? SHA was pretty impressed--thought it was a good idea so that's the way it will be. Makes for a lot less drivers angry with Spencerville! And they also have to watch for colder weather since asphalting can only be done at certain temperatures.

BGE are also in the process of beginning to lay down electrical and phone wires. These will be in core trenches that go up to the building pad. You'll also notice that they've seeded the ball field as well as the large mound of dirt in the back of the property. I've learned that if you don't move dirt for two weeks in Mongtomgery County you have to seed it. Since the ballfield is at grade and the dirt in the back is for backfill for the basement, they aren't being touched, thus the seeding. Why not note the piles of construction dirt you see as you drive down any number of roads in the county? When you see grass seed growing on them you can pat yourself on the back for that extra piece of knowlege you now have--they haven't moved their dirt for two weeks!

You are probably wondering about the status of our building permit. It is being held up by some changes that must be made with the metal building structures. Montgomery County strikes again as our engineers discover that the roof load for snow is set at standards that exceed Buffalo, NY! It has required that some of the metal building be redrawn. These plans should be available in the next 10 days. They then require 1-3 weeks of review at DPS. We're hoping that we have permit in hand by November 1. DPS has assured us that they will process things quickly. In the meantime there is still much site work to continue.

Continue to pray for our project. The Lord has led in a mighty way and I know will continue to lead us as we move closer to our goal of a new school for educating our students for the kingdom.

September 11, 2009: It's all About Infrastructure . . .

I sit here looking out my window at the pouring rain and I'm reminded that we are slowly moving into the fall and winter season. Obviously no work is happening at the site today, but I'm grateful that finally work has begun and things are going well. We've actually not lost too much time to rain and for that we are blessed.

I'm going to include a series of photos taken at the site in the first part of September. These were taken by Dwayne Nitz, our project manager, and center around stormwater management, sediment control, and roadwork--otherwise known as infrastructure. I won't speak directly as to what is happening because constructionese is a language I'm only just now learning and am not fluent in, but I think for the most part the pictures speak for themselves.

You probably never really think too much about all that is underneath your home, place of work, church, or car that allows you to do what you do. But before anything is built it takes lots of grading and leveling of dirt, packing it down to make it a firm foundation, digging of trenches, or putting in large drainage or sewer pipes. That's what is happening at the site right now. The stormwater management in Montgomery County is huge. They spend hours, weeks, months, (in our case years) making sure that everything is executed so that rainwater absorbs, drains, or rolls the right direction. It has given me a whole new perspective on rain. When you have a moment to just watch rain, pay attention to where it goes once it has landed. You will be amazed at how everything is designed in such a way to take the water just where it needs to go. In our case, it is all about protecting the streams, creekbeds, Pautuxent River, and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.

I spoke with Bob Nitz yesterday as to where we go next. I know some of you have been asking me about our building permit. Here's the latest: First, the building permit is granted when we have passed all the reviewers at the Department of Permitting Services (DPS). We have passed all, but one, the structural review. That one came back with comments pertaining to the ability of the roof to carry a specific weightload of snow. The requirements had changed since the original drawings were submitted. Dwayne Nitz went to North Carolina this week to meet with our architect and metal building engineers to review their updated changes. It is hoped that those plans will be resubmitted to DPS either today or early next week. Assuming we get no comments back, the building permit should be allowed within the next several weeks.

While we work and wait on that, there is still much to do. Road widening of Route 198 will begin soon. It is important to make sure that we do the road work before the end of the asphalt paving season. We will be moving telephone poles on both sides of the road as well as putting in a acceleration/deceleration lane. Also the entrance of the driveway will begin. Sewer work is also just around the corner. We have received our WSSC permit, but cannot begin until they assign us a reviewer which should happen soon. The sewer line will go down Route 198 opposite the school and then take a left onto Peach Orchard. One of the permits for roadwork arrived this week. Maybe some of you were driving by the school this past week when they had shut down a lane for some beginning roadwork. There will be more of that to come, so if you are someone who travels Route 198, plan some extra commute time. And be patient as you wait since it's for a good cause.

September 3, 2009: Home of the Hornets?

August 20, 2009: It's That Time Again . . .

If you've been a faithful blog follower, you'll remember that we meet each month to review the work that has been completed, see the invoicing, and agree to pay some bills. Today our team of Ernie Sines, Eugene Korff, and myself met with Dwayne Nitz. We were joined this time by Pastor Lutz, which was a nice addition. The beginning of the meeting involves going line by line through the various parts of the site work construction. We see what percentage has been completed and the amount of billing for each. After some questions and clarifications, we walk the property to see the work. Once we are satisfied that the paper matches the work completed, we go back and sign some agreements.

I had just been to the property on Monday and I could see changes just a few days later. They are still moving dirt. Much of the top soil stockpiled near Route 198 is being spread over the ballfield area (see photo at left). There has been a very large pile of dirt placed on the building pad waiting to backfill the basement once the walls are poured.

The word on the building permit is good. We have cleared all the hurdles in Department of Permit Services with the exception of the structural component. The County has decided to increase the steel structural support to handle the potential snowload on the roof. The metal builders are reworking the plans and will resubmit soon. I am assured that it should clear the county rapidly. I'm hoping for a building permit in the next couple weeks. In the meantime, they continue with the sitework as scheduled.

We are also working on bonds for the utility work. Eugene Korff has been invaluable to me as he has had a crash course on bonding. He has worked closely with the conference, Nitz Development, and the bonding company to pull things together. I believe he should have things ready for submission next week. The bonds take about a week and then we can have the permit from WSSC to begin the sewer construction.

I want to say again how blessed we have been through this project. Yesterday I had a problem to resolve relating to this project and I really didn't know how or where the solution would come from. But I've had long years of experience in watching God work through any type of obstacle having to do with this project. So I decided to pray, give it over to God and watch Him work. Today, the answer came in a surprising and unexpected way. I continue to be overwhelmed with gratitude to how God is providing for our project. Don't forget to give praise and thanks for all He has done!

August 17, 2009: Field Trip!

First, I need to say, "I'm back!" You may have wondered why there have been no updates, but I left for a nice, long two week vacation. I'm now back, rested, and ready to take on the project again. It truly is amazing to see the progress. It did look different upon my return.

There still is a lot of moving of dirt. Dwayne Nitz was telling me this week that while this is one of the biggest projects he's worked on, it is also one of the smallest--meaning that there isn't any room to stockpile dirt. Normally you'd take a mound of dirt that you want to save for later and stockpile it somewhere on the property until you need it. Our property has no "extra" room, so it means moving piles of dirt from one place to another so you can get things done. Some of the changes you see on a daily basis is the growing mounds from one place to another.

I did take another shot at the ballfield (see picture at right). Remember I talked about that earlier. They are in the process of grading it and today, you could see one corner of it at grade. This will then be covered with layers of top soil which will come from that very large mound of dirt you see closest to Route 198.

Something I haven't shown you before are the sea-containers that sit on the property closest to Cedar Ridge. They hold all the construction equipment for the site. While in and of themselves they are not important, where they are sitting is. Use your imagination to see a really nice playground for grades PK-2. This whole area will be mulched, fenced in, and have a variety of play equipment and swings especially designed for this age group.

But what made today extra special was that our teachers were invited to have a walking tour of the property. Dwayne met us at the front of the driveway and gave a wonderful tour of the property. Our teachers got to stand "in" the building, Mr. Kerbs got to "see" his band room, Mrs. Lanning got to "see" her auditorium, and everyone got to oooh and aaah at the very large basement for storage. I believe it was was pretty exciting for them to stand in the spot where there would soon be new classrooms. This is certainly been a dream of theirs for a long time. Several of our teachers have been with us as long as we've been planning and dreaming about this project. I can't wait to see the ribbon cut and watch them walk through the door to see their new rooms. What a great day that will be!

I think Mr.Silie (see picture at left) gets the prize for the best question to our project manager, Dwayne Nitz. Dwayne was pointing out the gymnasium and talking about all its qualities: room divider, basketball hoops, stage, volleyball nets, etc. Mr. Silie asked how high the ceiling was. Dwayne assured him it was a regulation gymnasium and would handle the necessary sports like volleyball. To which Richie replied, "Well, what I was thinking about more was throwing people . . ." I think that took Dwayne by surprise until we explain that, no, this was not a new form of discipline, but that Richie Silie was our gymnastics coach!

At the end of our tour I got the group together for a photo-op. Maybe we can do the same thing on opening day! In case you are unfamiliar with our faculty and staff, here's a guide for the group below:

Front row (l to r): Richie Silie (Spanish/PE/gymnastics), Dawn Thompson (registrar), Kathy Young (3rd), Becky Koeppen (4th), Bev Waln (2nd), Michelle Kittleson (K), Amuda Mulliken (6-8), Carrie Hess (English/VP), Kari Banks (nurse), Mindi Nix (6-8), Amber Mayer (PK)

Back row (l to r): Darlene Rackley (computers), Ken Cooper (business manager), DeWayne Boyer (Bible), Paty Serrano (Science), Rod Kerbs (Band), Jessica Nichols (History), Nathan Hess (Science), Jane Lanning (Music/Bells), Linda McEowen (Guidance/Bible), Ken Roe (Plant services) 

July 30, 2009: Play Ball!

Well, we're not quite ready to play ball, but we've made a good start! Let me fill you in. The site work has progressed to the point of grading the ballfield. You may not know that the ballfield is actually in FRONT of the property, not behind it. The building is set back close to the trees giving us a very large space to have a ballfield and soccer field. I invited several of our members to meet with Nitz Development Company at the property site to review the plans for the ballfield.

In the picture at the right you'll see our "baseball experts." From left to right: Stephen Faehner, Bob Nitz (our general contractor), Marty Cooksey, athletic director at SAA, Jeff Juneau, and Kevin Davidson. I learned today that Jeff Juneau is one of the original co-founders of the Spencerville Adventist Baseball League (SABL). This group has a real passion for kids and baseball. It is a ministry that allows our Adventist kids (not just Spencerville members) to play league ball without Sabbath conflicts. It is a great witness to our community as there are non-Adventist families that join and provides a great social climate for the summer months to keep our growing families in touch and connected. Jeff was telling me that a game can have as many as 200 people playing, coaching, and cheering on the teams. Great stuff! Kevin Davidson has had a lot to do with growing SABL, but has moved on to high school baseball, along with Marty.Tthis is one of those many "invisble" ministries going on at Spencerville Church--quietly making a big difference, but not something you normally see on a Sabbath morning.

I was pretty excited this morning to see that we were joined by Kyle Juneau who came along with his dad. Kyle is going into the 6th grade at Spencerville Adventist Academy and he has the privilege of being the first SAA student to be on the new property. More on Kyle in a bit.

I have the interesting privilege of being the only female in most of the meetings that have anything to do with the new school. So I get to hear lots of "guy talk." I hear lots of stuff about construction tools, equipment, cars, motorcycles . . . and so forth. I'm getting a pretty good education! Well, today it was baseball. I know baseball, but these guys KNOW baseball, love it, and live it. They've got all the scoop on the distances, the measurements, the arcs, the backstops, the players, the stats and on and on. Dwayne Nitz, our project manager, who I recently found out has been an award-winning actor also played on a championship baseball team. So between our guys and Nitz Development--we had it covered! The meeting went for about an hour and I think everyone left feeling good about the future of baseball at SAA.

After the meeting was over, I asked Dwayne to give Kyle a real quick tour of the site and I tagged along. The property is really changing. While it is still all about site work, if you use your imagination you can start seeing the building emerge. First, we have a real driveway--well, real might be a stretch, but it is no longer dirt and dust, but pressed gravel. But probably what I found the most exciting is that we could actually SEE the outline shape of the building. The building pad is just about 100% complete so it is built up a bit higher than when I was there last. They had one section that they were still compacting over to the left, but let me try and help you with words and pictures see what I saw.

First put yourself on the property standing with your back to Route 198. Now imagine a "U" shape where the broad bottom edge is closest to you. There is one "arm of the "U" on the left and the other on the right. The gap in the middle is the hole for the basement. The picture to the right is the right "arm of the U." That, my friends is the outline of the gymnasium. You can see the edge of the basement next to it. For a point of reference, the basement sits UNDER the cafeteria/multi-purpose room.

Jeff Juneau, Kyle, Dwayne, and I were able to stand "inside" the building. The picture of Kyle on the left shows him standing at the edge of the basement. If you use your imagination he's actually in the hallway just outside the multi-purpose room or possibly near the music rooms since they are also in that same vicinity. I thought that was pretty cool--he did too!

This last picture on the right shows the left "arm of the U" where the audiorium will sit. You can just make out the edge of the basement and the flat portion that is the base of the auditorium. It doesn't look quite as wide as it should because of the digging I referred to earlier where they needed to move some better compacting dirt into that area. I can't tell you how satisfying it was to stand "in" the building that we have dreamed, planned, and prayed about for so long. The added bonus were the blue skies, bright sunshine, and no humidity that made it just about as perfect a day that God can make!
 

July 19, 2009: Town Hall Meeting

Today was our Town Hall meeting at the church. This was a meeting that I know that I and Pastor Lutz as well as the building committee were all anxiously waiting for. Why? Because we would finally have a chance to tell you about the final project cost for the building project.

About a week ago, Bob Nitz came and did a Powerpoint presentation to the building committee outlining the cost projection for the building portion of the project. We already had the site number in hand--$2.1 M--and with the addition of this second number we would know the final cost. Bob's presentation was done in a style to build anticipation and he did it so well that some of the the building committee members were so stunned they were literally speechless--some of them for over an hour.

I was presenting a very similar Powerpoint to you tonight and I decided to use that same style of anticipation. Have you ever ridden a roller coaster? Remember the first big hill? That feeling you get while you continue to go up and up and you're staring at the sky as you get closer to the top and you're thinking maybe this wasn't the best idea? Well, that's kind of what I did for those who attended. And it wasn't hard to do. Here's why:

In 2005 the project was estimated at $12.5 M. By April 2008, the cost estimate had increased to $17.5 M due to increased industry costs and changes from Montgomery County. This number of $17.5 M is the one you are most familiar with and the one that the finance committee has based all budgeting upon. What you were not aware of was that in April 2009, one year later, the cost estimate had increased again. This time it was because of Montgomery County (no surprise there), needs of SAA which were unavoidable, and things required by the Department of Permit Services. There were 60 items totaling $1.35 M added to the cost estimate of our project bringing a grand total of $18.85 M.

I explained all of this to our group who attended tonight. Knowing the site cost number was firm ($2.1 M), this would bring an expected number of about $16 M for the building. See why the ride to the top of the first hill of this roller coaster would bring a bit of bad butterflies to your stomach? Well, it was time to push that coaster over the top--I presented them with the final cost projection of the building given to us by Nitz Development. It was now their turn to be stunned because the number presented was $13 M! Bringing a total project cost to $15.2 M (not including owner costs or land purchase)! God is good!

Now that last sentence is the real deal and where we should be spending lots of time. God has been so incredibly awesome during this project. He's been a constant guide and has blessed this congregation immensely. Pastor Lutz spoke about this very thing after my presentation (but did a much better job because he is a preacher, after all).I hope you will join us in praise, thanksgiving, prayer, and worship to God for this incredible gift.

To top it all off, we then enjoyed some brownies made by Jane Morrison and vanilla ice cream which was a delicious way to celebrate (it happens to be my favorite dessert). AND it was my birthday as well. What a way to celebrate!
 

July 15, 2009: Time to Pay!

Our first application for payment meeting occurred today. Each month our church team will meet with Nitz Development Company to assess the progress of the project as well as sign off on a monthly invoice. We only pay for work that is completed so billing is always 30 days behind the work.

Our team consists of Chip Flowers and Ernie Sines who are acting as construction supervisors to assess that work is being done well and as planned. Eugene Korff is acting as a clerk for all business transactions. He will assess that all the numbers add up and nothing is being overlooked, double billed, etc. I, as the owner representative, will be signing the invoices once Chip/Ernie and Eugene approve that they are accurate. Dwayne Nitz is the project manager for Nitz Development Company. This photo (right) shows Dwayne, Chip, and Eugene during their first meeting.


Part of the meeting entails walking the site to see the work that has been completed. I made what seemed like a logical decision at the time and wore sandals to the site (I know, I know, it seems silly now). Let me tell you, it brought the meaning of footwashing to a whole new level. With no rain for two weeks, powdery dust was everywhere especially every time that John Deere went by (right). Before going back to work, I had to go home, completely change and shower! Trust me, I'll be smarter next month!


Just as we started our walk-about, the guy arrived to test the compactness of the dirt. Remember I told you it is all about moving, rolling, packing, and repeating. Well, someone arrives just about every day to take measurements of the compaction. Here you see Dwayne, Chip, and the ECS guy waiting for the meter to read the compaction. In this case, it was about 4% away from perfection, so they called in the roller to do it again. If you click on the photo to make it a tad bigger, you can see the little gizmo that does the readings. Apparently it uses radioactive elements--everyone had to step back while it was doing its thing.

Another major piece of work that is really taking shape is the weir wall for the permanent ponding basin. As a reminder, this is a dry basin meaning it will have grass in it most of the time but whenever we have a lot of rain causing runoff (think June 2009) it will collect the rain, filter it and slowly let it out to the stream in the back woods. The weir wall is a cement wall that holds the water in the pond. You can see it taking formation here (see left) as well as one of the workers smoothing a trench in the cement (see right). It looks a bit like a mini-dam. Actually a lot of this wall will not even be seen since it will be underground.

My apologies for my lack of construction knowlege. I'm guessing a few of you are wincing at my basic descriptions, but hopefully the rest of you are getting just enough to have an idea that what's going on here is really exciting and impressive stuff!
 

July 10, 2009: Dirt, Dirt, and More Dirt

We've had a real streak of wonderful building weather which has allowed us to continue making progress. To be honest, from a layperson's point of view, it still seems to be a lot of dirt moving from one end to the other. The large John Deere tractor with the scraper pan is in perpetural motion hauling dirt from one end to another. After it completes its rounds, a roller comes through compacting the soil. This part is pretty serious business as a engineering company sends an individual out to test the compaction of the dirt. It has to be a specific level of compaction before they are able to move more dirt to that location. Slowly but surely they are building up the pad where the building will be placed. Right now it is about 55-60% complete.


In the past two weeks they have stripped all the top-soil and stockpiled it toward the back of the property for futre use. There is a permanent sediment basin in the rear of the property closest to Cedar Ridge. This will be a dry stormwater basin, again for the principal purpose of filtering rainwater run-off. The picture you see at the right is the beginning of the building pad. The John Deere adds the dirt and the roller compacts it. Add dirt, compact it. Again. And again. And again. See what I mean about it all being about moving dirt?



For all you baseball and SABL fans out there, we will soon begin the grading of the baseball field which will sit in front of the property. Here is a look at it now (photo at left)--doesn't look like much, but for now you can close your eyes and try to imagine it as your "field of dreams." To get oriented, you are looking at Route 198 as if you are standing in the parking lot (the pinker colored dirt) with the potential field directly in front of you. We'll soon be bringing together our SABL leaders to make sure that it is just right for playing great ball.



One notable sight at the property is the excavation of the basement. While it currently looks like the place of the swimming pool the kids are all hoping for (hint, hint: there isn't one planned), it actually is the beginning of the basement portion. The addition of this basement came pretty late into the plans due to Montgomery County moving the building backwards on the property. To be honest, I think it may be one of the best things the County ever did for us--we're going love this extra storage space!

 

June 15, 2009: Finally!

Welcome! We have finally figured out a way to get you up-to-date information about our on-going building project. You've seen the pictures of the groundbreaking, but now you will be able to see what is happening on the property itself. I (Merle Poirier, building committee chair) will be posting news and pictures of the progress of the building project. Right now, you will probably see updates about every two weeks, but as the building progresses, we hope to have more for you as we record the changes that occur.

If you've driven by the property you've seen the changes that have taken place in the landscape. Unfortunately a lot of what is happening is in the far back part of the property and can't be seen from the road. Hopefully these photos will help you see that things are really taking shape.

Some photos taken on June 15 show the beginning of the site work. To be honest, most of what is happening involves moving dirt. Back in June was our rainy season. If you remember it rained just about every day in the month of June. Amazingly this did not deter our progress, but it did mean moving a lot of dirt from one end of the property to the other just to dry it out.

Our site is called a "balanced" site in that we do not need to bring dirt to our site nor do we need to haul it away. They are simply moving it from one place to another. A pretty neat very large John Deere tractor with a scraper pan attached collects the dirt from one end of the property and moves it to the other.




What you see here (left) is the stormwater management pond at the rear of the property. This pond makes sure that the water running off of the site is properly filtered before it is released into the ground protecting the stream which is directly behind it. With all the rain we had, it looks like a first-class, but very muddy, swimming pool.



The front of the property has also had work done to prepare for water drainage. Directly under the driveway is a twin culvert system (see photo right) to take the flow of rainwater from the Cedar Ridge side of the property and direct it down the front of the property. In these pictures you can see the twin pipe system (right) plus the grassy swale (below) they are building to accept the rainwater and direct it down Route 198.

When you spend any time at all on the property you realize how much time and effort goes into all the infrastructure just to protect the environment. Moving dirt, directing rainwater, filtering runoff, making the land curve in just the right places--all to protect the Pautuxent River and the Chesapeake Bay. Remember that next time you visit either of these waterways to fish or boat. Spencerville is doing its part to make a clean environment!