Kickoff Message

July 1, 2021
(Please keep reading to hear from Jason Reiner, our Project Manager)
 
The kickoff date for our Pavilion project has arrived, and we are excited to see how God will use our property and our people to reveal His glory, and increase our trust and dependence on Him.

As a brief recap, the Elders had the opportunity to consider a number of capital projects.  Of the possible projects, we elected to build a multi-use pavilion, and God has shown his blessing by stirring the hearts of His people to provide the necessary funds to begin this project.  Preparations for construction continue, and we are on track to have a contractor on site by mid to late July.  Final design and securing the necessary permits from the City of Marietta are ongoing and expected to be completed very soon.

Once construction begins in earnest you will see rapid changes in the landscape on the north side of our building.  We want you to be aware of these changes and know that we will communicate regularly as progress is made or when additional disruptions occur.

As we begin this project, the pavilion team had a heart felt calling to try and maintain as much of the existing landscape as possible, while balancing the long-term goal of improving the drainage on the north side of the building and expanding the usable footprint to include the new pavilion.  After all options were considered, we will unfortunately need to remove all bushes, trees, and sidewalks on the north side of the building.  This includes our beautiful and much loved (and climbed in) flowering cherry tree and memorial flowering dogwood. The driving factors for this decision are:

• We are nearing the end of the useful life of the trees (expected life for each is an additional 5 to 7 years)
• Drainage issues next to the building and root damage to foundation walls need to be remediated
• Drainage for the broader footprint will be run directly under the existing sidewalk and encroach on the existing root plate for both trees
• Grading of the area to meet ADA accessibility guidelines will require 5 to 20 inches of dirt to be added to this area
• The likelihood the trees would survive this invasive project is less than 10%

Our plans include collaborating with the aesthetics team to replant foundation shrubs and determine an appropriate location and species for a new memorial tree.

Since the north side of the building will be a construction zone for several months, we should anticipate access to the kitchen and foyer from that north side of the property to be impacted for some time.  This will most impact those who rely on our handicap access.  We will mitigate that inconvenience as best we can by keeping the north foyer door accessible as much as possible and by providing streaming downstairs when access must be closed.  We believe communication is critical to success of this project, and we will give as much notice as possible so we all can stay connected and aware of changes.

Jason Reiner (our project manager) provides additional detail in a following note, but is it important for all of us to keep in the mind our mission and the goal of this temporary disruption. We desire to bring glory to God and the spread the good news of Jesus to all people.

Sincerely,

~The Elders of Grace Community Church

It is a distinct honor to be asked to serve as project manager on the Pavilion construction project.  My family and I have attended Grace for 23 years and are thankful for the teaching and support we have received here.  I am thankful to be able to serve the body in this way.  It is important to note that I do not serve alone on this project.  There are a number of heroes, sung and unsung, who have gotten us to this point and will continue to provide critical support, advice and direction as we move forward.  God is gracious to have provided our body with such breadth of experience and knowledge.

While the goal of the project is to continue to improve our utilization of the wonderful property God has provided by constructing a multi-purpose pavilion, it is necessary to say that it won’t be completed in a day or without mess.  Please know that there will be dust, mud, detours and disruptions as we clear and prepare the property for construction of the pavilion.  This project will be the most disruptive we have initiated since the building was first constructed, and it will be done while the building continues to be used for worship and ministry.  Following is an inexhaustive list of some of the changes you will see once construction begins.

• Silt fence will be installed around the perimeter of the work area (it is important to help our children understand the importance of staying outside the fenced area)
• Our wonderful outside worship area will become a construction zone (Plans are being made to temporarily relocate this to another area, so stay tuned)
• Our handicap parking area will serve as the site construction entrance
• All shrubbery and trees on the north side of the building will be removed
• All sidewalks, including the front entrance walk and the back steps, will be removed
• A storm drain will be installed to carry water from our field and lawn areas into the back ditch
• Truckloads of fill dirt will be brought onto the site and placed to level the ground and prepare for the concrete slab and foundations
• New sidewalks and back steps will be installed
• A pavilion will arise!
• New landscaping will be installed

 At the end of the dust and mud (targeted completion is Thanksgiving), we will have a wonderful pavilion, new and better sidewalks, improved handicap access and a much more useful lawn area between the building and the playground/soccer field.  This facility and space will improve our ability to host outside events like fresh air worship, Kids Camp, Sunday School classes, Care Group activities, weddings, church and family picnics.

The church staff will provide regular updates on progress as well as disruptions and alternate access points.  I know you may have questions now and as the project progresses.  Please feel free to reach out to me any time. Please pray for me and for all those involved in this project.  We want to honor our great God by being good and wise stewards of His gifts to us and by doing all that we do to His glory alone.  Please pray that workers who come on our property will see that we treat them with love and respect and deal honestly with them, and give glory to God.

Please pray that God will bless this work lest we build in vain.

~Jason Reiner