Meeting for worship with students from New Garden Friends School
Walter Morris described the current period as a shake-down cruise where we learn about the ways in which we use the building and how to take care of it. I expect to be learning how to make the coffee, how to use the dishwasher, the stove, and what the weekly routine will be. It is wonderful to have a functioning dishwasher, especially when we have guests in for a meal.
I have started weeding garden beds and watering areas of lawn, along with others in the meeting. Bud Brennan gave the lawn its first mowing this month. The care of our newly planted landscaping is a bigger job than I had imagined.
In a meander around the wild areas of the lot, I found some striking-looking flowers. I brought a sample home and Bill and I used a fat book with an organized list of characteristics forming a key to Florida plants, a laminated card with an illustrated glossary to help understand the words used in the descriptions of the characteristics, and multiple searches on Google to find out that the flowers are parrot lilies.
Karen Arrington pointed out low-growing sensitive plants mixed into the
lawns of our neighbors and growing on the right-of-way near the first-day
schoolroom. Each one grows a pretty pink pom-pom of a flower. One time,
as I looked around the parking lot, I saw dragonflies darting every which
way. Another time I watched a butterfly sampling nectar from flowers along
the rim of the front retention pond. Spend some quiet time looking and
listening and you may see an interesting flower or bird or caterpillar.
More of us are learning how to make coffee with the new appliance.
We are still hoping that the dishwasher will be in working order one
of these days. We do not have final completion. We do have an insurance
policy in hand, but the mortgage is still in the works.
At the last meeting for business, a minute was passed that food and drink be enjoyed in the non-carpeted parts of the building. The minute was introduced to minimize the frequency of cleaning in the meeting room since the thick pad that makes such a difference to the acoustics of the meeting room also means that we must use a chemical dry-cleaning process -- a steam cleaner would not be able to pull the water back up from the pad.
It will take us awhile to learn how to properly maintain the building and its grounds. Phil Buskirk had observed that the oaks had finished their spring leaf and flower drop, and blew the loose litter off the grass. When a goodly rain came, we noted a spill of sand on the drive below a corner of the roof and a slumping of the grass right under the corner. Eventually we realized that the gutters were full, leading the water to overflow there during the rainstorm. So I had my first taste of gutter cleaning.
The flow of water from the roof of the meeting room into the back retention pond is substantial, but the path for it makes a sharp turn at a recently constructed spillway. We have added some sand bags to guide the water into that spillway, and are monitoring the situation. Please leave the bags in place, and drive around them when using the turnaround. We have also constructed a treated lumber edge along part of the drive to encourage the water to avoid the place where a slump of the bank into the pond occurred.
John Burton, Phil Buskirk, Bill Mitchell, Betty Odum, Connie Ray, and I cleaned up the section of the Royal Park Creek and its watershed on April 22 as part of the Great American Cleanup. We collected around 180 pounds of trash including one cement coated rusted metal post, 4 bags of wild taro from a pond area, and 4 bags of miscellaneous trash that was largely cans, bottles, cups, and balls, but included some air potatoes and an athletic shoe.
By the middle of May, if the rains keep up, the grassy parking areas that were sodded should be ready for use. When you do park your vehicle on them, try to park a bit differently each time so the wear is spread out instead of always using the same track. Some of the seed is coming up nicely in the front, and we have spread another round to see if we can encourage it to grow over a wider range.
At the April Native Plant sale, we purchased some silver palmettos
for the natural area in the northeast corner and some blue flag iris
for the front retention basin. They have been blooming and looking
ever so nice.
It is a great pleasure to be writing this month about being in the new meeting house. We are just beginning to find out how to use the wonderful new space which accommodated two groups for First Day School in our third meeting.
We held our first gathering on March 12 with just the new chairs and a few simple furnishings. On March 26, the Hospitality Committee treated us to an after meeting meal that filled the social room (and library and first day room) with lively conversation and smiles of satisfaction.
On March 19, we held the dedication, welcoming Friends to our new place. We received greetings from as far away as Marsden Monthly Meeting in England. Early in our process we consulted with Friends from Tallahassee and were pleased to see them represented on this day. Mimi McAdoo, who who shared wisdom from the building project in Sarasota, was on hand as well. The Stones, Louise, Janee and Don, were able to attend, and reminded me of messages they had shared on the slow but steady process of building a new meeting house.
Annie McPherson represented American Friends Service Committee; she is working with the South East Regional Office. Karen and Lou Putney, and Don Smith represented Friends Committee on National Legislation. Phil Buskirk stood up Quaker Earthcare Witness. Phoebe Anderson spoke for Friends United Meeting, and Bruce Birchard was joined by the Andersens and Woods for Friends General Conference.
Bruce Birchard asked those who participated in the meeting house project in various ways to stand, eventually having essentially all of us rise. His remarks were brief but moving, ending with a Naylor sonnet by Kenneth Boulding.
The Hospitality Committee served a substantial tea in a room that seemed decorated with food and floors. Sharing serving duties was Brad Thompson, who used a handsome samovar. The social room was filled with a wide variety offood: the offerings ranged from pecans, chocolate dipped strawberries and petite fours to small sandwiches with various fillings, a cheese plate and a salmon mousse in the shape of a fish. Thanks to all who contributed their time, their dainty plates, substantial platters and tasty treats.
The Quaker Market dinners continue in April with a sushi dinner to be prepared
by Dick Beardsley. These fund raising events have become very special to
our meeting community.
[Pictures by Caroline Lanker and Bill Mitchell]
We are looking forward to the dedication of the new meetinghouse on March 19. The certificate of occupancy is expected any day now as I write. At the same time, I notice how much I have been enjoying meeting at the home of the Chalmers, who have been graciously hosting so many of our meetings. Last first day, noticing the cat nonchalantly joining our meeting for worship there, I felt a special peace related to the calm I have observed in many cats over many years.
Inside, the meeting house looks nearly ready to move in. The doors are in place, the bathrooms work, there are stove and dishwasher in the kitchen and we are beginning to accumulate the waste baskets, paper towel holders, and other small items that make the place functional. I am mindful that the details remaining are manifold and take time to resolve.
Bud Brennan, clerk of the moving committee, is poised to oversee the move, coordinating the move of the new chairs from our neighbors, Temple Shir Shalom, with the move of the materials stored from our previous incarnation on NW 2nd Avenue at the home of the Beardsleys.
We are continuing the Quaker Market dinners, with this month being a sushi dinner featuring Dick Beardsley as cook on March 11. These dinners are a special treat in my household, and I enjoy being exposed to different cuisines, and seeing new sides of my meeting friends as they pitch in to help with these dinners.
It is a
pleasure to see the new landscaping take shape, with healthy
looking bald cypress specimens. I hear that the wax myrtles
planted for us near the front retention pond are a magnet for
birds and other wildlife with their safe cover close to a source
of water and their berries for food, so we are beginning to reach
out to our neighbors.
We are looking forward to the dedication of the new meetinghouse on March 19. The certificate of occupancy is expected any day now as I write. At the same time, I notice how much I have been enjoying meeting at the home of the Chalmers, who have been graciously hosting so many of our meetings. Last first day, noticing the cat nonchalantly joining our meeting for worship there, I felt a special peace related to the calm I have observed in many cats over many years.
Inside, the meeting house looks nearly ready to move in. The doors are in place, the bathrooms work, there are stove and dishwasher in the kitchen and we are beginning to accumulate the waste baskets, paper towel holders, and other small items that make the place functional. I am mindful that the details remaining are manifold and take time to resolve. Bud Brennan, clerk of the moving committee, is poised to oversee the move, coordinating the move of the new chairs from our neighbors, Temple Shir Shalom, with the move of the materials stored from our previous incarnation on NW 2nd Avenue at the home of the Beardsleys.
We are continuing the Quaker Market dinners, with this month being a sushi dinner featuring Dick Beardsley as cook on March 11. These dinners are a special treat in my household, and I enjoy being exposed to different cuisines, and seeing new sides of my meeting friends as they pitch in to help with these dinners.
It is a pleasure to see the new landscaping take shape, with healthy looking bald cypress specimens. I hear that the wax myrtles planted for us near the front retention pond are a magnet for birds and other wildlife with their safe cover close to a source of water and their berries for food, so we are beginning to reach out to our neighbors.
The new meetinghouse is almost done. The heat pumps are functional, the lights are working, the parking lot is paved, the cabinets are installed, a refrigerator is in place. A stove and dishwasher will soon be purchased. Note the pavement the car is parked on. Yes, the parking lot is paved! Also, note the bright light glowing from the ceiling of the photo on the right. There are many possibilities for light in a Quaker meetinghouse, but this one is simple: the electricity is on!
On Saturday,
January 28, we were a site for the Great Air Potato Roundup, with
two Girl Scout troops helping to pick up the aerial tubers of
this invasive plant. Karen Arrington picked a bag full of
Coral Ardesia berries, helping us lower the concentration of this
invasive plant. Walter and Mona Morris registered participants
and handed out tickets for T-shirts and the raffle. Phil Buskirk
brought his chain saw, and we cleared part of a trail through the
floodway so one can make a loop down the drive, head toward the
creek, come back to the grandfather oak near the pond area, and
come out by the garden shed near the southeast corner of the lot.
We saw some violets blooming when we were walking the
property, and commented on the beauty of the bright red new
leaves on the red maples.
We collected one large garbage can,
one small garbage can, and an additional three bags of air potato
tubers, along with a few bags of trash, including an old
tricycle. One of the Girl Scout troops found a small animal
skull, which was passed around to great interest.
The meetinghouse was open for informal tours. Â Some of us were treated to an impromptu concert with Bud Brennan singing his way around the meeting room. A sample chair from the ones we are buying was on display together with some carpet samples about which people were encouraged to express preferences.
Many more people from the meeting participated in this event, and I want to thank everyone for making this event a big success.
The Millard Fillmore
Birthday Party was a delightful success. Jim and Laura hosted
with paella and vegetarian lasagna. Connie was master of
ceremonies for a trivia game in which each of us was given a page
with something related to Millard Fillmore and we were to guess
the connection to him. We learned about the era and President
Fillmore's life, especially those of us like me, who guessed
wrong about our item.
Hannah and Lex blew out the birthday candles on the cake after a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday, and Bill Mitchell cut the cake. These Quaker Market Dinners, with quiet dinner table conversations, are a real highlight each month. Thanks to all of you whose donations, pledges and fund-raising efforts have made this progress possible.
December 2005 was a month in which many visible things happened to the new meetinghouse: doors were installed, the outside walls were painted, forms for sidewalks leading from the area for the handicap parking were laid. Inside, much of the tile for the bathrooms was installed, the walls were painted and some of the light fixtures are in. More work has been done on the parking lot, roadway and eastern drainage pond. Bill commented that when he walks on the roadbed, he no longer leaves footprints. The meeting has purchased 80 chairs from Temple Shir Shalom, one of our neighbors to the north, now that they have purchased new chairs. At the Meeting for Business in December when the purchase was discussed, we decided we wanted stackable chairs with arm rests, which these are. These chairs have blue seats and backs. They will be used in the meeting room, while the chairs we already had will be used in the social room, library and first day room.
I have been gone for most of December, so when Bill and I went out to the lot on the last Saturday of December, I only had indirect evidence that a substantial amount of rain came down in December. The ditch that passes by the east border of Shir Shalom was running with water, which it only does after a rain. They was litter washed several feet from the banks of the ditch. They overflow area where water spills through along the south boundary of the lot has fresh channels scoured in the sand and there are new trees down with their shallow root systems sticking up in the air.
We gathered air potatoes in the ongoing effort to control them. Please join us on Saturday, January 28 at 9:00 am during the Great Air Potato Roundup sponsored by the city to help in this effort.
It is a pleasure to see the windows set in their places in the new meetinghouse. Now we are waiting to see the exterior doors put in their frames to enclose the space. Originally we had expected substantial completion by November 10, but now we are expecting substantial completion by January 15, 2006 with final completion by February 15. We may be able to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy around the time of substantial completion.
At the November meeting for Business, we selected colors for the new meetinghouse. We chose a lighter gray for the main exterior walls, with a darker gray for a strip along the foundation. We decided to have the exterior trim match this foundation strip. We choose a creamy off-white color for the interior walls, with a slightly darker shade for the ceilings in the social room and the meeting room. The other ceilings will have acoustical tile. We choose red for the color of the floors throughout the building. We picked a speckled Formica for the counters in the kitchen and the First Day room. The cabinets in the kitchen are maple, and we chose blue for the cabinets in the First Day room.
Special thanks to the Quaker Market for all the fun activities they plan to raise money for the meetinghouse. A Latin dinner (cooked by Patricia Ulrey) was the delicious November fare, hosted gracefully by Jean and John Burton.
Many of the flowering plants are putting out seeds at this
time. A delicate white flower in clusters has been on display
this month. It reminds me of a flower my sister called pearly
ever lasting
. Bill spotted a bright green tree frog the other
day, and John Burton commented on the mosquito eating fish.
Spending time on the lot gives me a sense of being rooted in this
place, in this time.
The shape of the building is now visible, with plywood sheathing on the roof covered with tarpaper and awaiting the asphalt shingles. Walking around inside, one can see the beginnings of the partitions for the first day room, library, bathrooms and kitchen. Foam insulation in the walls will help keep the heating and cooling costs down.
Bill Mitchell and I continue our work removing exotic invasive plants. A few weeks ago we focused on skunk vine, whose leaves, when crushed, give off a characteristic fetid odor. Another time we wandered through the area where the excess water flows when it rains enough to overfill the creek and dug up Japanese climbing fern. By scouting in the vicinity of known past infestations, we found new locations of which we had not been aware. We continue to dig air potato tubers and are now plucking the aerial tubers from the vines as well.
The open space cleared by the construction had a blanket of bindweed with purple flowers that attracted attention from butterflies. It is a real pleasure to spend time on the land, hearing the woodpeckers, catching the flickers of motion from the lizards, and occasionally encountering a tree frog on a palm leaf.
The wonderful Quaker market dinners continue. In September the theme is French Canadian. Thanks to all of you who keep on supporting the fund raising efforts that make building the meetinghouse a reality.
The air potatoes did not take time off this summer -they are setting air potatoes all over. Bill has been digging them and going after some of the other exotic invasives, like skunk vine, that threaten to make our property less comfortable for the frogs, turtles, fish, birds, and other creatures that currently call it home. It has been drier for the last couple of months, so there are no more pools in the ditch coming down by Shir Shalom. On one visit I saw what looked like a small catfish with whiskers in one of the deeper places before the main fork of the creek leaves our property on the south boundary. Butterflies dart about, and lizards leap. Jean Larson
The left photo is looking through a window.
This mockingbird is apparently celebrating the fact that the section of wall he (or she) is on has reached its full height. --Photos by Bill Mitchell
A woodpecker has been visiting our land, pecking away at some of the standing dead trunks and gobbling insects that are feeding on them. The pools that housed tadpoles in the upper reaches of the ditch that goes by Shir Shalom are gone now, but may return with the expected increase in rainfall associated with fall hurricanes. Butterflies flit by visiting the variety of flowers blooming including Spanish needles, a member of the daisy family.
More pictures . . .
Over the past month, the parking lot has taken shape, and one can now see where we will be parking. Raising the floor may improve our view from the social room, since we will look out over the parking area. Progress has been slower than I expected; I am looking forward to seeing the walls go up.
June was an especially wet month, which may have slowed down the construction. After a trip out of the country, I returned in July to visit the ditch that runs along Shir Shalom. I was pleased to see that the Fakahatchee grass Bill and I planted was thriving, with the older plants blooming and the newly planted bunches looking like they had been there all along. In the ditch the water was running steadily, and I could see two pools with tadpoles of different generations/sizes, so the water had been running there for some time. The bottom of the back retention pond was a bit damp, but otherwise there was no standing water in the construction area. Jean Larson
More pictures . . .
The front retention pond is basically in place and now some top soil from the back of the lot is being used to build up the area beyond the parking lot, so it can grow some nice plants and help send the water into the retention pond.
At these early stages, the change from week to week is dramatic. Soon, I expect, the slab will be poured; then concrete block walls will rise. Anglin reports that the specially ordered blocks (made in Ocala) have already arrived.
The Quaker Market dinner in May was a resounding success! The chief cook was Connie Ray, who planned a menu of Pennsylvania Dutch specialties. I especially liked the scrapple and the red cabbage. She was aided in the food preparation by several of the people at in the Quaker Market subcommittee. Karen and Jim Porter served as hosts and had people filling room upon room. There were some lively and interesting conversations about past military service, among other topics. If you have not yet attended a Quaker Market dinner, I highly recommend them, both for excellent food and wonderful fellowship (and for a small donation to the meeting fund).
Special thanks to those who came out for the Royal Park cleanup. I enjoyed spending quiet time in the woods (and, well, with a few cups and bottles and such) with some special friends. One pointed out a box turtle to us, another spotted raccoon footprints.
on her left, Karl Thorne. On the right are Mick Richmond and his
wife.
Bill Mitchell and I took a walk around the property recently to see what progress had been made. We enjoyed the flurries of mint flowers. I saw a pileated woodpecker on one of the dead trees. The walk through the area where the water runs during high-flow times is a bit different than it was before the hurricanes came through loosening the roots of several trees that have fallen in the subsequent months: paths that used to be clear now require wandering around the crowns of trees that have fallen to the ground.
Karl Thorne and Mick Richmond of Karl Thorne Associates, architects, planners, and Gary Anglin of Anglin Construction joined us at the ground breaking held at the March. It was a pleasure to see so many of us turning a shovelful of dirt. In the background was the sound of the young people at Shir Shalom at what appeared to be a celebration. As David Chalmers remarked, it was a "joyful sound".
Our fund-raising group remains active with an Irish theme dinner planned for March. Every dollar we raise is one we do not need to borrow.
At the air potato round-up, we were joined by a family with two children, a graduate student who picked coral Ardesia berries and a girl scout troop. One of the girl scouts picked up some trash and wondered how anybody could thrown it down in such a lovely place. We filled two large garbage cans with air potatoes, collected 3 bags of trash together with a car door dug out by Connie Ray, and a quarter bag of Coral Ardesia berries, which is a lot, since they have a 90% germination rate. Thanks to everyone who participated.
If sufficient private funds become available, we will request a change order to have a cupola with lightwell. We will not have a metal roof or solar panels, leaving them to be considered again in 15 years or so, when the roof needs to be redone, but we will have maple cabinets installed by the same person who did the lovely kitchen cabinets in the Buskirk home.
We are participating in the Great Air Potato Round-up again on January 29, 2005, starting at 9:00 a.m. on the land.
The red maples have been blooming in January, and the leaf canopy is still thin enough that the winter light streams though nicely.
At Meeting for Business in December, our meeting reaffirmed its commitment to build the utilitarian part of the new building and the foundation and slab only for the meeting room. There will be French doors from the lobby to the concrete slab where the meeting room will eventually be built, and we will be able to hold meeting for worship outside there during clement weather.
The planned social space is approximately the same square footage as our present T-shaped worship space, but the rectangular layout of the social space should accommodate us until we are financially able to continue with the second phase of our project and build the meeting room.
With our scaled back expectations, we are considering which if any upgrades we can afford now. Our priorities are (a) split face block; (b) quality cabinetry; (c) solar panels; (d) metal roof; (e) linoleum on floors in the utilitarian part other than the bathrooms, which will be tiled.
Also in December, Gainesville Monthly Meeting directed the Building Committee, in the person of Morrie Trimmer, to determine which contractor we will use and to negotiate the details of the contract for the new meetinghouse.
We will continue to meet in the current meetinghouse until February 6. Then we will start meeting at Hillel. Jean Chalmers and Gene Beardsley of the Moving Committee are looking into the details.
On December 11, Bud Brennan, Phil Buskirk, Tak Hayakawa, Bill Mitchell and Burton Shank moved the garden shed on the lot to a new location away from the building site. Here are some pictures.
Jean Larson and Bill Mitchell continue their efforts to lower the load of exotic invasive plants on the lot. This month, in addition to air potato removal, some mimosa trees were cut down and some coral Ardesia was uprooted.
The November Quaker Market was lots of fun and people came up with all sorts of wonderful items to share. The cookbook by Sybil Brennan sold many copies. Thanks to everyone who participated with items for sale and/or purchases made. Our Building Finance Committee has new items for us in addition to the perennial beans, including Susan B. Anthony buttons, available for a small donation in the meetinghouse.
The
children attended first day school a little ways off from the
circle where we gathered for worship. There was lots of food to
snack on after meeting, even if there was no hot coffee. The
weather was beautiful and enhanced this special meeting! Here are
some pictures from the meeting by
Patricia Urey.
The construction documents are now in the hands of the two contractors who bid on the previous version of the meetinghouse. We expect to hear from them early in December and we expect to make our choices at a meeting for business in December (solar panels, metal roof or asphalt shingles, cupola or plain roof on the meeting room, painted concrete floors or wood in the meeting room/vinyl in the social space, broken block exterior or plain painted block). Prior the meeting for business, the building committee will meet to prepare for these important decisions.
At meeting for business in November we decided to stay in the current meetinghouse during the month of January when it is cold. Jean Chalmers has renegotiated the contract to have a closing date of January 10, 2005 with the understanding that we will be out by February 6. The buyer is prepared to make a charitable contribution for the rent until that time.
We are thinking of holding meeting for worship outside or in a tent at the Beardsleys during the time from February until we move into the new meetinghouse. Bud Brennan will let us use a trailer he has to store furniture and other items from the meeting at the Beardsleys. Dick is clerking the Moving Administration Committee, which is looking into buying a tent and overseeing the move out of the meetinghouse. Also on the committee are Bud Brennan, Annie McPherson and Betty Odum. If you have any concerns about the plan to worship at the Beardsleys, please let Jean Larson or Don Smith know before our next meeting for business.
This month we heard that the beans project has brought in a total of nearly $400. We had a wonderful birthday for the meeting on November 21 with a potluck dinner and Quaker market with silent auction. Many wonderful homemade items and services were offered, including a canoe trip with food included and the recipe books that Sybil Brennan has compiled and illustrated. Hats off to our building finance committee for their creative ideas and the fun times they have organized for all of us.
The ageratum with its misty blue purple flowers planted near NW 38th Street by Judy Shea has finished blooming and is likely reseeding itself. Some of the air potato vines are turning yellow and dying back. The beauty berry is in its prettiest time with clusters of purple berries on the stems. As leaves drop from some of the trees, the light is enhanced in the woods.
Jean Larson and Morrie Trimmer
A new site plan with accompanying landscaping plan, parking lot lighting, drainage basins has been submitted to the city and was approved by the planning board with some conditions on October 21. We will need to build a shadow box fence along the northern boundary between our property and the two houses on the other side of the easement over Shir Shalom property. The entrance to the property will be a bit further to the south, leading first to a paved parking area and then past the building to the grassy parking. The access to the grassy parking will be over recycled material such as crushed concrete.
The architect is preparing documents so we can put it out to bid again with the two contractors who bid the last time around. We will be asking for essentially the same basic items with the same options as last time, so that we can bring the figures to meeting for final decisions on the details of what we build.
As part of our fund raising efforts, we had a great New England dinner on October 16, with clam chowder, brown bread, Boston baked beans, salad, and Boston cream pie for dessert. Corn chowder provided an extra treat. The meetinghouse was very festive with table decorations featuring gourds. Hats off to our talented host, Betty Odum, and to Laura, who came up with games for us to play.
On October 24, Bud brought his riding mower over and after meeting went to the lot to clear the path. Brandon chopped small limbs with his hatchet, Sybil and Jean picked up sticks, Bud mowed, and Bill went after climbing fern (a very persistent weed) and air potatoes.
The regular fall cleanup of the Royal Park creek was scheduled for October 30. Items of note included a tire and a cooler missing its top.
In November, we celebrate the birthday of the meeting, and our energetic fund-raising committee is planning a Quaker market.
Please join us on the land November 7 (weather permitting) for meeting for worship. Bring your own chair, and be prepared for some sun and possible mosquitoes. We will gather in an open area around a tree down the path. Meeting will start at our usual time of 11:00 a.m. Come soak up the serenity that comes with being in a beautiful place in nature during meeting for worship.
On Friday, September 10, Morrie Trimmer met with the architect and received our new floor plan: it straightens the connection between the meeting room and the rest of the building since it no longer needs to bend around the wetlands. The entry hall with restrooms now opens on a covered entry.  There is a bit more room, more privacy for entering the restrooms, and the new configuration of all but the meetinghouse and a small connector fits under a simple roof, which may help keep costs down.
Our site engineer submitted our materials (and our application fee) on September 13 to restart the process of seeking a site development permit. We expect to have the meeting with the city some time in October.Â
Hurricane Frances visited Gainesville over the Labor Day weekend, bringing lots of rain and significant winds. Bill Mitchell and Jean Larson visited soon after, seeing the drainage ditch by Shir Shalom rushing with water, where is it usually dry, squishing a bit on the road in an attempt to approach the creek by the dirt road, and taking note of the downed trees (mostly long dead) and branches and flattened shrubs. Near the front it has a more park-like look, with less dense foliage. They saw a brightly colored frog about four inches long near the pond area, and then watched a sodden limb fall and splat heavily nearby. The gate at the entry road came down when one of the posts rotted out completely, but the otherwise the proposed areas for the front parking lot and the meetinghouse are in fine shape.
We want to thank the Building Finance Committee for all their fine work raising funds to make this project possible. Recently they held a yard sale held over two weekends, to which many of you contributed time and items for sale. And this committee is creating good times for many of us with their special dinners!
Jean Larson and Morrie Trimmer
A called meeting for business after meeting for worship on August 30 discussed the state of plans for the new meetinghouse and approved money to be spent for a revised site plan and a new site permit.
We put our plans out to bid and received two bids back, both quite close to one another, but more than $100,000 over budget without any of our potential add-ons.
We met with the architect, then talked with the two bidders about possible ways to cut costs, including shifting from split face block to smooth block, from linoleum on some floors to stain concrete, from asphalt to part of the paving being crushed concrete, but these ideas combined were insufficient to bring the price down to our budget.
To get additional savings, we contacted the site engineer and have started the process for a new site plan with the building along northern boundary. There the foundation will be simpler and less costly since it will not require a large amount of excavation and the building of a substantial retaining wall to keep the wetlands buffer pristine.
Thanks to all those who participated in these meetings with us: Bud Brennan, Jean and David Chalmers, and Bill Mitchell.
The tentative proposal straightens the connection between the the meeting room and the rectangular building and sites the revised combination along the northern boundary of the lot. The meeting room is at the end away from the street and looks down at the grandfather oak near the edge of the pond area. The rectangular part of the building is closer to the street, with social area looking down toward the wetlands and the kitchen looking north toward the neighbors. The first day school room and library are closest to the street. The paved parking is at the front of the lot and the grassy parking is at the back as before. The paved parking is at the front of the lot towards 38th st. and the grassy parking is at the back, to the west, as before.
Changes to site plans based on information about the site gathered in the development phase are not that unusual. We found clay close enough to the surface and to the wetlands buffer line that to leave the building in the original site would be too costly.
The changes mean that we need to secure a new site permit. Our site engineer is already working on the new site plan and our architect on the necessary changes to the plans. Our meeting with the neighbors will take place on September 3. We will need additional borings to check the soil in the vicinity of the proposed new site. We will again have a hearing before the planning board and will need to get a permit from the St. Johns water management district. We also need to get a building permit. The site engineer estimates that the middle of November is the earliest that we would be able to break ground, and that we cannot expect to move in before the end of May or some time in June.
At a recent creek cleanup, Connie Ray spotted a Rose of Sharon blooming on the creek bank. Bill Mitchell reports that some of the air potatoes are starting to grow aerial tubers. There are clusters of translucent mushrooms that look like pearls and bright orange fungi in interesting shapes. It was a great pleasure after all my travels in the first half of this year to wander though the land looking at the flowers on the Joe Pye weed, seeing lots of green berries clustering on the stems of the beauty berry bushes, spotting bright green tree frogs on palm leaves and inconspicuous toads on the ground that attracted attention only when they hopped away.
Jean Larson and Morrie Trimmer
We need items for the student yard sale to be held as a fund raiser at the meetinghouse on Saturday August 14.
Construction Finance Committee member Jean Chalmers announces that we have a binding contract for the sale of our Meetinghouse to our next door neighbor for $145,000, as is. The buyer is willing to close at our convenience with a rent back of $500 per month. Together with $150,000 in savings and pledges we have about $300,000 on hand. Jean recommends that we spend down the savings first, then the proceeds from the house and finally obtain a mortgage for the remaining money. Morrie Trimmer, Clerk of the Building Committee, has put our completed plans out for bids. These plans include certain alternates that we have discussed so that we will have a good basis for price comparison. We will have this information for our business meeting in August. We are nearing countdown to LIFT-OFF!
| June 12th | Latino dinner | Hostess: Patricia Ulrey |
| July 17th | An All American Celebration | Hostess: Jeannie Buskirk |
| Aug 14th | Student Sale: Household and study items | Start saving items now |
| Sept 11th | Indonesian Dinner | Hostess: Gene Beardsley |
| Oct 9th | New England Regional Dinner | Hostess: Betty Odum |
| Nov 13th | Quaker Market and Potluck Dinner | Handcrafted items for sale make great gifts |
We are in the process of writing letters to SEYM Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups, to Friends and attenders in the SEYM Directory, and others we hope will be interested in helping us. We plan to have a Quaker Market, probably in the fall. If anyone is interested in writing a two-page autobiography we could put these into a notebook and offer them for a contribution.
The Building Finance Committee is searching for more ideas and suggestions on fund raising, on who to contact, and anything else that might help us make our plans for the meetinghouse into a reality. Please contact any committee member: Bud Brennan, Betty Odum, Judy Shea, Adrian Timmers, Laura Winefordner, and Patricia Ulrey.
Laura Winefordner, Clerk of the Finance Committee
construction in about six months, the finance committee has
become active. They are making bean soup fixings available for a
suggested donation of $3 to keep us aware that this project needs
funding. Some of us are making monthly commitments that form the
foundation for a mortgage. We are just starting down this path,
but I am confident that way will open, and I invite all of us to
think creatively about what we can contribute, about how this
project can be made real.
With colder temperatures flowing into Gainesville, the deciduous trees have dropped their leaves. The light filtering through is wonderful. Bill Mitchell has plotted invasive plant hot spots on his Global Positioning System, during this time when connection with the relevant satellites is possible. We worked on the Northeast corner, eliminating Coral Ardesia, which is especially noticeable at this time of year with its bright red berries. The Northeast section is a pine flatwoods with Hophornbeam featuring its hop-like seeds at this time of year. It is a place where one can see a magnolia growing with small cabbage palms, near the banks of a stream that has cut its banks down and meanders with graceful curves.
Near the front of the property, I spotted a small bird checking out a newly available site in a tree that had collapsed. It is a joy to see the full cycle expressed of new life building on old. The Hearts a'Bustin is nearly done with its pretty display of heart-shaped seed pods.
The Great Air Potato Roundup will be held January 31, 2003. We will be cleaning up trash in the Royal Park Creek as well as picking up air potatoes. Our own production of air potatoes is less this year, I am pleased to report. In addition to cleaning air potatoes and trash from our site, we should offer to serve as a collection site for the neighborhood as well.
- - Jean Larson - -