November 13, 2005: With the floor complete, and the simpson tiedowns cast every 30" into the concrete and steel, framers have descended upon the jobsite rapidly constructing the buildings framework.  By Sunday 11/13, the framewrok was complete, and the sheathing has begun.  A massive load of Custom Trusses has just been delivered, and await their craning this new week!!!

November 6th, 2005: The floor has been poured, again using the long-reach concrete boom pump.  Workers worked until pitch dark trowelling the finish floor.  Rain delayed progress following the pour, and the masons had to return the following morning to trowell some more until the floor was deemed perfect. 

October 23rd, 2005: The Plumbing and Electrical Contractor have been laying the pipework for Water, Sewer, Electrical and Heating/Air Conditioning.  This work will be inspected this week. Following inspection, concrete workers will pour and finish the new floor.  Framing will begin immediately after. 

September 31, 2005: The Foundation Footings are poured.  The block masons have constructed the Foundation Walls! Steps are now in place.  This crew has really put 110% into this job.  All concrete has been poured into a 4-foot-thick compacted limerock base, and has been vibrated to rid it of air bubbles & pockets. Steel has been bent and shaped in all directions.  This foundation will not fail us! This week, the crews will be back-filling the stemwalls, and laying in place the plumbing and electrical work prior to the slab pour.

September 20th, 2005: Men began pouring the concrete footers at 5:30 am. A long-reach concrete pumping truck craned concrete to the farthest points in the site.  Crews used vibrators to thoroughly eliminate  air-pockets and honeycombing for maximum foundational strength   

September 17th, 2005: Crews have been working feverishly on filling, and compacting the limerock base.  Immediately following compaction, they have moved into digging of the footers.  With all the footers dug, or picked out of the compacted rock, they have laid the heavy-duty #5 rebars in to place, tying and positioning the array of six parallel bars into each and every footer trench. A Footer Pour will be scheduled soon. 

Friday, September 2nd, 2005: It seems we have hit our first construction snag- in the middle of foundational work, several parties are haggling over the best approach to ensure the maximum solidity of a base upon which to build.  General Contractor, Tom Cottingham, Architect, Gene Davis, Universal Engineering, and Site Contractor, Andrews Paving have found that the limestone infill is testing as too wet to achieve the desired compaction.  Presently, the building boom has pulled down supplies at the rock mines.  Rock mines are loading rock that has just been mined from below water, resulting in a wetter-than-usual product.  Our stockpile of limerock sits in the church yard while the dozers rest.  It is expected that the pile will drain sufficiently while sitting in this pile, and that this will correct the moisture readings.  

Thursday, August 11-21, 2005: Andrews Paving company is currently escavating the problematic clay substrate that so doomed the foundation of the previous building. While their sitework is a major disruption to parking in the churchyard, it will soon be through.  General construction will not occupy so much of the surrounding space. They will be backfilling in the footprint with clean sand and limestone in the coming days. 

Monday, August 8th, 2005: The old fellowship hall was taken down today in preparation for construction of the new one. Concrete Recycling of Gainesville will process the rubble into new paving and building material, down to the last piece of rebar. As you know, the building was quite thoroughly stripped prior, leaving essentially a concrete shell. Even the palm trees, Crepe Myrtles, and shrubbery were moved and planted around the playground and McCormick Hall. By intention, very little will go to waste during this renovation!

Sunday, July 17th, 2005: Pastor Conti announced plans today for a GROUNDBREAKING Service to be held on the grounds during Sunday worship August 7th, 2005.  This is a time of great celebration and thanksgiving!  The oh-so-long-awaited process has finally run its course, and crews will begin the challenging task of working in and around our buildings and grounds for the next six months. 

Thursday, July 14th, 2005: The Finance Committee has received word from the Presbyterian Investment and Loan that we are scheduled to close on the loan August 1st, 2005.  A Congregational Meeting will have been held 7/31/05 for the purpose of adjusting Kanapaha's Articles of Incorporation which contain wording which place an arbitrary limit on our church's property value. Gene Davis, Architect is producing a revised design of the Fire Wall to be erected at the back corner of the sanctuary in order to receive the Building Permit.  The Buildings and Grounds committee is beginning the process of liquidating surplus furniture and used building components for the benefit of the New Building Fund.  Cabinetry and Appliances will be placed into storage upon receipt of the Loan Commitment letter.  A new water line will be routed beneath the church building to supply water to the Sanctuary, McCormick Hall, and the Garden, given that our existing water pipe will be abandoned upon groundbreaking.     

Thursday, June 30th, 2005: The Finance Committee is pressing for a closing on the loan package.  The paperwork is in the hands of our Attorney, Ramona Chance, and a tentative closing date has been placed between July 18th, and July 30th. Much of the delays have been blamed on title search backlogs.  Upon closing of the loan, and receipt of the BUILDING PERMIT we will proceed with the dismantling of Kokomoor and with the New Construction. 

Monday, June 27th, 2005: We are still awaiting the building permit from Alachua County.  It has been withheld at the behest of the fire inspector, who is concerned that the steel door at the end of the concrete sidewalk which spans the 30 foot  distance between the two buildings, will not hold up to three hours of blazing fire.  Of course, all the buildings at Kanapaha are made of wood, so whether the steel door remains standing after a ravaging fire is neither here nor there... Nevertheless, the General Contractor and the Architect have met with this fellow to discuss his odd fixation, and have considered appealing his decision to the State Fire Inspector.  It is the consensus of the GC and the Architect that the State process might take unreasonably long, and so they are making every reasonable effort to accommodate the local fire inspector's concern by nearly doubling the thickness of the concrete wall placed against the church building, AND layering two heavy steel doors, one upon the other. The General Contractor is now in possession of the Site Plan Permit, which is required to begin sitework. 

Saturday, May 28th, 2005, With the loan package approved by the Presbytery of St. Augustine, we have informed General Contractor, Jim Cottingham that all is clear for the process to begin.  The General Contractor is currently trying to acquire a copy of the Site Plan Permit from the County, so that he can provide a Site Plan Permit to the County (no, this isn't a typo..). As of Saturday, May 28th, the Engineers have placed the orange barricading around the trees not to be disturbed, and the Buildings and Grounds Committee has scheduled a meeting for May 31st for the purpose of delegating the various facets of dismantling the Kokomoor Building, to place useful items into storage, to sell off all surplus materials, and to relocate all greenery and trees such that they can be re-used in the new landscaping scheme.  The last scheduled event for Kokomoor Hall is June 12th, 2005.

Thursday, May 26th, 2005, The Rancourt family has pledged to purchase the furnishings for the Main Hall, as well as one of the classrooms, so as not to encumber the New Building Committee with this considerable contingency expense.  This relieves a good deal of pressure from the budget, since there are always unforseen costs that can inflate your contract price.

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2005, Clerk of the Session will have provided the decisions of the Session and the Congregation of Kanapaha Church to Paul Hooker of the Presbytery of St. Augustine, for final approval.  Given the approval of the presbytery, the Session of Kanapaha will sign contracts with the Builder and with the Lender. Construction will likely begin within one month, provided we receive our permit from Alachua County.  

Sunday, May 1st, 2005, Session Meeting scheduled prior to Sunday service to vote to approve entering into a mortgage with the Presbyterian Investment and Loan Program.   Finance and Treasurer chair delivered a well-prepared analysis and report.  Elders present voted in favor.  Congregational Meeting scheduled following Sunday Service for the same purpose.  New Building Committee chair reiterated the basic tenets of the building project, and Finance chair presented the financial plan to secure a construction loan (mortgage).  There was no discussion offered prior to the written vote.  The motion carried by a majority.

Thursday, April 28th, 2005 at 7:30 pm, the New Building Committee met at the Parker Road Baptist Church.  This congregation also contracted with Builder, Jim Cottingham, and Architect, Gene Davis to complete their latest building additions.  The purpose of this meeting was to gain a concrete understanding of how the church's tax exempt status could help us to realize substantial savings on our own project.  Kanapaha's finance committee forecasts that we will be able to save between $7000 and $9000 by purchasing the project materials as a tax-exempt organization. 

Monday, April 4th, 2005 at 7:30 pm, the New Building Committee will discuss the facts relating to our meetings with each of the builders, consider and vote on the cost-saving options presented us, and potentially decide upon a contractor to construct the new Kanapaha Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall. Session approval will be required prior to the signing of any contract. 

Monday & Tuesday, March 28 and 29 at 7:30 pm, the New Building Committee will meet with each builder to discuss ways to reduce the proposed construction costs in order to minimize long-term debt.  

Monday, March 21, 2005 at 7:30 pm, the New Building Committee received two bids, from Sherer Construction and North Florida Construction.  These were the first intensive cost calculations to be produced, based on a complete set of architectural and engineering drawings.  The figures were somewhat higher than the committee would prefer.  The committee decided to leave the plans essentially intact, and seek significant cost savings through adjustments to foundation wall finish, roof finish, and elimination of ceramic tile work.  The Truss Engineering component of the plans is to be finished on Friday, 3/25/05 and this quote has come in $5000 less than originally estimated.  The Committee decided to Apply for Permit by Friday, 3/25/05, which will exempt Kanapaha from the Alachua County Impact Fee, scheduled to go into effect Monday 3/28/05, saving Kanapaha between $2000 and $4000 in fees. 

Monday, March15th, 2005 at 7:30 pm, the New Building Committee will hold a pre-bid conference with four General Contracting firms at Kokomoor Hall, together with our Architect.  It is our expressed desire to apply for permit prior to the week of March 28th, when a burdensome new county impact fee will go into effect.