By Randy Ruchotzke

[email protected] 

Fessenden Hall Gets a Refresh!

The building and grounds team (with assistance from Henri S.) have painted the ceiling and are in the process of patching the walls and getting them ready to paint. Thanks to Heidi Shaffer for doing a color consultation.  If you are an experienced painter and you wish to help, let me know.

(Please remember to avoid using regular tape on any of our painted walls! Only use blue painter’s tape or Command strips.)

Back Driveway Drainage Issues Addressed

We have had significant drainage issues this year, especially with heavy rain events. What used to be an occasional problem became chronic this spring/summer.   We’ve had several instances where water pools in the parking lot adjacent to Hobbs, then rushes toward the historic church building, spilling into the kitchen through the back door.  

Thanks to Julie Swango, who documented a previous flooding event in video, we were able to observe and address some of the issues. 

• We enlarged and lowered the intake to the runoff drain located near the rear entrance into the kitchen.  While excavating for this project, we uncovered a second drain inlet that had been buried under the gravel and was blocked.  We lowered the intake level on that drain as well. 
• On Saturday, July 18, I was able to observe the effects following the storm (see video). The new configuration performed well and the kitchen remained dry.  
• There is some additional landscaping work to do that will divert some of the water from the Hobbs parking lot down the driveway between our church and the township hall and away from the back of the historic church.  I will work in conjunction with the School Board (which owns the lot) to make those changes.

Results from Hobbs Hall HVAC Update

The work by our new contractor to correct the wiring on the Hobbs HVAC was completed in mid-April.

The most recent bill from Ohio Edison reflects significant savings:

• The bill for the period 05/11 to 06/09 shows a usage of 767 kWh from the grid, the lowest in the history of the building by 39%.
• The bill for that period showed a credit of $110, since we generated more electricity than we used.  This was the best financial performance ever, thanks to our solar panels.  
• During the same time period last year, we used 1760kWh and the cost was $123.

We got even better news for the most recent bill:  

• The usage from 06/10 to 07/13 was 1460 kWh, a reduction of 45% over our previous low over a similar time period from any previous year.  
• Again, we produced more energy than we used and had a bill with a credit of $40, compared with last year’s bill of $774.  
• If the energy savings continue this trend, I foresee little expenditure on electricity for Hobbs Hall until the mid-November to mid-December time period.

HVAC Comfort Levels

Continuing with the HVAC theme, we set the temperature for the service to 73० on 05/17 and surveyed the congregation afterward regarding the comfort of the room. The vast majority thought it was “just right”.

There is just a bit of fine-tuning, scheduled to happen on 7/22:  

• Adjusting the fins on the registers in the ceiling so that the air disperses better.  This will help keep the people sitting directly under them from getting chilly
• Adjusting the fins on the registers over the tech team area so they get as much cool air as possible to counter the heat created by the equipment in their area.