I just want to thank you for all the effort you put forth to make the Yard Sale a success this year. Our net income from the sale was $2,000.60. I'm guessing the 60 cents was a tip Rich Clark received. 

I want to share one note: Friday afternoon Bill Towler and I moved very nice bedroom outfit from Bill and Kay's home to Beacon for the sale. That evening the outfit was sold and we delivered it just two houses down from Bill and Kay's. B&B Moving provides good service but our logistics could use some work!

Barry Brenneman

Yard Sale Coordinator Extraordinaire (News Editor's note)

The congregation voted to grant the Building Expansion Team (BET) two more months at the annual meeting last Sunday, in order to more fully answer the questions and concerns that were brought up at the town hall on May 13.  We will vote on whether to proceed with the project on July 29. The main concerns have to do with project financing and additional bidding, to bring down the cost of the project so as not to have a large loan.

The BET, along with current and future Board members, met Wednesday evening, June 6, to discuss some options.  Our independent architect, Steve Dorsett, attended the meeting and gave us his insight into asking for additional bids from contractors.  He said that going out for bids won't save us anything. In the current climate of construction, contractors are really busy, not looking for work right now, and will not give us a firm number to compare with our current contractor's estimate, just time and materials cost, plus basis.  He said we should work with our current contractor, continue to build trust, and try to lower costs.

Plus, Steve said that in order to go out to request additional bids, we will have to have a bid package, which needs to include completed construction drawings, which will cost $16,000 to complete.  So the BET is asking the Board to consider hiring an independent estimator to verify our contractor's estimate. We hope to have a price for that by the end of this week.

So, as you can see, this process is very complicated and expensive.  The BET is working hard for you! We would like to ask for your patience, support, and trust while we try to do what the congregation has voted for, several times in the past three years.  There are a lot of moving parts and complications, and we are really working hard to make it come together in a timely and cost efficient manner.

Theresa deBoer

Building Expansion Team Project Manager

Beacon has a standard process for requesting budgeted funds and reimbursing members who make purchases. Please contact the office for instructions if needed. Anyone with access to the Beacon Directory and knowledge of who is on the Board can try to scam Beacon members by pretending to be a Board member. This is called "spoofing" in the information security profession. When asked for money by email, never respond without verification. There are actions you can take to report these acts if you are the person who received the scam email.

Contact Dennis Spurlin if you have any questions.

Recognition of Gratitude  to Rich Clark, Steve Zeldes, and all visiting stewards for their work on Stewardship; to Roz Clark for facilitating at the Town Hall; and to the Building Expansion Team members for their ongoing efforts.