The Kitchen Renovation began in July, 2012 with a fundraising appeal to the congregation. After planning, most of the work was done in the summer of 2013. The dedication was held in 2014. In the end the church had renovated its kitchen, providing for the additional demands on its use through the Community Dinner and Table Ministries and also created a substantial sum to reduce the debt from the Nave Renovation. The latter debt was paid before the end of 2014 (August).
The appeal to the congregation was as follows
“Our church kitchen has always been a vital part of the mission of St. George’s. However, use of the kitchen has dramatically increased in the past few years. For example, this year our kitchen is serving approximately 200 meals every Monday night. These meals are sponsored by St. George’s and by two other area churches. They are prepared, served and cleaned up in our kitchen. In addition to the Community Dinners, the kitchen is used every Tuesday morning as a prep area for The Table, our market-style food pantry. This is all in addition to the many fellowship events that center on our kitchen area.
“The current kitchen dates back to 1992. This includes the appliances as well as the cabinets and countertops. Although the kitchen has served us very well over the past 20 years, it is beginning to show it’s age. The cabinet doors are falling off, the appliances are in need of repair/replacement and the stove especially cannot keep up with our current demands. The Building and Grounds Commission, in response to the concerns and request of those who use the kitchen most, decided to develop a plan for a kitchen update.
“A local kitchen designer agreed to provide free design assistance. Frequent users of the kitchen were asked to contribute a list of suggestions and a kitchen team was formed”
The fundraising was successful. In Feb., 2013 it was decided to transfer the amount from the kitchen account to the Nave Renovation Give to Grow Account. This account was both for renovating the kitchen and paying down the debt. Total transferred was $202,276.44. The kitchen was renovated between July and October, 2013
By the end of the project, they had raised $236,760.14 and spent $115,847. Thus $120,913 was left over with much going to reducing the Nave renovation debt. It was realized the kitchen project could have been part of Nave Renovation.
Vestry member Dick Juergens who worked with the project said to the Vestry in June, 2014 that $200K was a general number for the cost of the kitchen but not a budget number. He credited the work of Alex Sigler who acted as a general contractor, Anthony Perron and Nancy Schwartz to come with cost savings. It came out well under $200K. There was an additional large donation for the kitchen from a parishioner.
5 vendors comprised $88,539 of the $115,847 in costs:
1 $51,257 of the cost went to Winchester Restaurant Company
Refrigerator – Continental Model No. 2r
Freezer – Continental Refrigerator Model No 1F
Gas Range -60” – Garland US Range
Dishwasher Insinger
Exhaust Hood – Captive Aire
Ansul Fire System
2 The cabinets were designed by Accent Millwork – $11,612
3 Plumbing by David Light was $9,841
4 Electrical by Craig Horton was $8,578
5. Countertops by Turqouis Inc – $7,251
Other major costs
6. Roy Price flooring $1,56
7. Wiring of the kitchen hood – Simplex Grinnel $2,32
8. Repipe gas line for new range – Robert B Payne, $3,787