Building Meeting Update

January 30, 2008

The following article deals with the history of Fellowship Chapel’s attempt to erect a church building in Howell, NJ. Prior to 2004, the point at which this narrative begins, Fellowship Chapel had begun the process twice, once on the same 10 acres referred to herein and once in Wall Township.  

Fellowship Chapel began this third attempt to obtain the needed approvals to build on our property in Howell Township in early 2004.  We received preliminary site approval from the Howell planning board in February 2005. At this point we entered into what is known as “conflict resolution”. This a tedious process which dragged on for months.

 While the process of conflict resolution was going on we were informed by our builder, Prestructured Building Systems that the cost of our project had raised dramatically. We were in a time period when the cost of raw materials was rising rapidly. The new estimate was for one million dollars more than that the original price. Jim McCombs and I met with 2 gentlemen from Prestructured. We also visited other churches that they had built. The end result was new plans for a building that met our requirements for footage and also stayed within our original $2 million dollar budget. The cost savings were realized by changing the design from 2 floors to 1 and by reducing the overall square footage.  

During this same time period, we received word that the Old Guard was looking to sell their building and property. We met with members of the leadership of the Old Guard on two separate occasions and they seemed ready to move forward. However, after our second meeting, we never heard from them again. We made phone calls, sent letters, and even visited the facility, all to no avail.      

The process of conflict resolution was being handled primarily by our site engineer, Robert Burdick. Each item raised by the various agencies in Howell and Monmouth County had to be addressed for us to move forward. Unfortunately, all of the items which may be in conflict are not raised at one time. And, while most of the items cited by the governing boards were minor in nature, we did face two major hurdles. We needed to resolve the cost of replacing the trees which would be removed for the construction of our building and we needed to obtain approval from Monmouth County for our septic system.  

Some time in the past we had received an estimate from Howell Township on the replacement costs for the trees that we were removing to construct our church building. Mr. Burdick and Mr. Fred Niemann, our attorney, both agreed that the estimate, which was in excess of one million dollars, was way beyond anything that was reasonable. To resolve this issue we all met with the tree expert from Howell Township. Both Jim and Cliff were also present at this meeting, which took place in the early fall of 2006. We were promised an updated cost and were told that we would receive this new price in November of 2006. Several attempts were made by both me and our attorneys to obtain this report. Finally, in February of 2007, I sent an e-mail to the mayor of Howell Township requesting this document. We had our new cost within a week of that e-mail. The price given was $12,500 and we were excited that one major roadblock had been removed. 

The second major issue for us was obtaining the approval from Monmouth County for our septic system. In the fall of 2006 we sent an application to the Monmouth County Health Department. There were repeated delays, which included the MCHD losing our first application. The second application, which I hand, carried to their office in Freehold, and which was also misplaced, was finally put into the hands of the official who is responsible for giving the proper stamp of approval. That approval never came.  

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) allows for 2000 gallon per day in sewage for a septic system. The amount of sewage a building will produce is calculated by using a formula. According to the MCHD we were over the 2000 gallon limit. Bob Burdick refused to believe this and fought with the MCHD. What is at issue here is how the DEP and the MCHD interpret the regulations and formulas. Monmouth County saw them in one way and our engineer saw them in another light. He had a precedent on his side but the MCHD refused to budge.  

This brings us to the fall of 2007. At an elder board meeting Cliff asked each of us if we thought that it was time to abandon the Howell project. The overwhelming answer was yes. However, the answer was not unanimous. We decided to pray and fast as the Lord led for the next month. It was also agreed that we would not spend any more money. A day or so after our meeting our builder called me and asked how we were doing. I told him that we were on the verge of abandoning the project. He asked for permission to have his engineer speak with the MCHD and DEP. Since he was willing to do this service at no charge to us I told him to proceed. 

The first report that we had back from this engineer was very encouraging.  She was told, by the MCHD that we could install a meter in our system. Then, if we used more than the 2000 gallons per day, we would be billed for the excess. The engineer wanted to confirm this directly with DEP. It took a month or more, but she did finally reach the correct person and she was told just the opposite. The DEP, she was told, is interpreting the regulations and formulas in the strictest possible terms. And, they would not allow a meter. We had to design a building which did not exceed the 2000 gallon limit or obtain a Federal 208 permit. We now had the following options: 

1.       Remove 131 seats from our sanctuary reducing capacity from 500 to 369.This limited amount of seating would not meet our needs.

2.       Obtain the proper permit. This process takes 12-24 months. The added cost of the increased septic system was estimated to be $100,000 to $200,000.

3.       Check to see if Howell Township would allow us to connect to their sewer system. They would not.

4.       File a lawsuit. This option was discarded immediately due to cost and the fact that we could spend much time and money and still lose. 

Therefore, the board, after a final review, has unanimously agreed to drop the Howell building project.   

As you can surmise from the above history there were times of great joy and times of great disappointment during this entire process. We learned much during this time period.  Through all of the ups and downs, we never wavered in our desire to see God’s will done in the building of our church. We know that God could have changed government rulings instantly. He did not. We are convinced that it is not His will for us to build on the property in Howell and we are excited to see where He will now lead us.   

Respectfully submitted for the board of elders  

John J. Boyle

Church Administrator