Greetings and salutations to all friends of First Baptist Church. I wanted to provide everyone an update on how things have been progressing with the trustees lately. As many of you are already aware, you recently approved the replacement of our boiler system. The project is now underway, and we look forward to seeing great energy savings and better reliability this winter. As part of the preparation for the installation of our new boiler, it was imperative that the boiler room be cleared out of as much clutter as humanly possible. Bob Klimko and a trusty band of volunteers worked together to completely clear out that room. Additionally, we procured a dumpster rental for quick disposal. While having the dumpster on site, Bob and his merry band of volunteers were also able to do significant decluttering and removal of junk out of the garage. About 2 months ago, we also cleaned out all of the clutter from the Royal Red Theatre classroom and donated many materials to the rummage sale. As a result of these efforts, we have now been cured of our hoarding. There is still some more work ahead to continue to fine-tune our cleanliness, but the road ahead is clutter-free. It is the commitment of all trustees to prevent the build-up of miscellaneous materials and clutter in the future. This has been a big undertaking and one that we do not wish to repeat anytime soon.
Our hallway lighting has been upgraded. We have seen some fixtures start to fail recently (ballasts, bulbs, etc.). Thanks to some inventive thinking, a contractor was brought on site to retrofit existing fixtures with T8 bulbs and ballasts. This was a much more economical solution than purchasing new LED lighting, and we will see immediate energy savings with payoff in just 2 or 3 years. “And God said let there be light, and there was light”.
With financial help from the ABW, Memorial Committee, and Wednesday night dinner crew, the kitchen has a brand new look to it. Stop by and check it out. All damaged plaster has been repaired, all surfaces have been sanitized, and the whole kitchen is decked out in a new bright white paint job. Thanks to an anonymous donor, the kitchen lighting also got an upgrade just like the hallways.
Additionally, some of you have inquired about “The Haunted Sanctuary.” We do seem to have lights that will randomly go off during church service and then come back on a few minutes later. The design of the bulbs has changed in recent times to meet the newest UL standards. As a result, if the light fixture builds up too much temperature, the bulb will turn off until the temperature level comes back down. The only way to resolve this would be to investigate complete replacement of those light fixtures. Since we are currently investing large funds in other projects within the church, this has not been deemed as a viable project to pursue at this time. In the meantime, please continue to welcome our guest ghost (The Holy Ghost that is) during our Sunday morning services.
Respectfully,
Timothy S. Austin