Council
Mesage from Knox Council - May 2011
Isn’t it lovely to see the sun shining! As you may know at our recent Congregational Meeting of May 1st we decided to table the motions to begin the preliminary stages of the renovations to our building while we await further assessment on our drainage systems, building structure, and heating system. We have heard gratitude that we are not in a hurry to “scrap” our existing building along with relief that we are taking the time needed to assess the situation so that when the time comes people can make a more informed decision regarding the options that were presented in the letter dated April 20, 2011, which were:
- Do we proceed with the development of the engineered drawings, etc., for the installation of lifts and the redevelopment of the west entrance?
- Do we slow down the development of the engineered drawings for the retrofit of the current building and hire a structural engineer to determine the extent of the repairs that will need to be made to the building in the next 5 to 10 years?
- Do we investigate a new building?
To summarize, at that meeting we decided to follow option #2 and then to schedule a further Congregational Meeting once we have a report from the engineers.
We also decided to pursue the construction of one barrier-free washroom on the basement level in consultation with our architect. We are now looking at renovating our current downstairs washrooms hoping to have one unisex barrier-free washroom and one smaller washroom.
Please do keep thinking about what YOU would like to see happen – we are yet in the early stages and are open to new ideas, but more than that we are facing huge decisions in the life and work of this congregation and we NEED to hear from you!
On another matter, the Foyer Furnishing Sub-committee has more plans for our foyer – another coffee table, chesterfield table, bench and some small chairs for meetings or gatherings are on our ‘wish list’ but we are planning at staying within our budget.
The Gardening Sub-committee will very soon be hard at work and we look forward to seeing the cheerful arrival of fresh flowers and welcome greenery.
Wishing you a glorious summer,
Knox Council