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Issue 2, Fall 2004 Fire Code Compliance I am pleased to say that our final inspection was held August 9, 2004 and we are in total compliance with the R.I. State Fire Codes. We, as a community, deserve a big round of applause for raising over $17,000 which was needed to make this happen. The building has an occupancy rated for 149 people. This cannot be raised because of the new Rhode Island law stating that all common places of gathering with more than 150 must have a sprinkler system. All our events can still continue, as they have in the past, but with only 149 seated in the building at a time. We put this into effect this past season all seemed to go well. Now is the time to move forward and return to regular building improvements as well as upgrades. Water Damage to the PIA Hall Unfortunately, this past winter and spring, rain and wet conditions resulted in major water leakage into the newly renovated kitchen and storage room on the north side of the building. This has been an ongoing problem in the building, but worsened this year since water is damaging the new walls installed during the fire code update. After some research, the Directors contacted Pioneer Basement Systems to provide an assessment and solution to the problem. An engineer visited the building in May and provided a solution with price assessment. The proposed plan calls for installation of a 172 foot wall of water guard and ducts to drain water to the lower slab of the floor and eventually to a sump pump for external discharge through the north wall. In addition, a 580 square foot of a bright wall vapor barrier will seal the foundation. A polycaulk will repair and seal the damaged walls. The total cost of the system and installation (excluding travel to and from the island) is $9,229. Three islanders have pledged $500 each for this project. A grant application was submitted to the Mary Dexter Chafee Foundation for $2,500 towards the purchase of this system. The PIA Directors will submit other grant applications, as well as solicit potential donors to obtain the remaining funds. If anyone is interested in donating to this fund, please contact Pat Rossi. BINGO scheduled for June, 2005 This event is still in the setting up stage, but with preliminaries done, it looks to be a go starting in June. We are planning to run this on Friday nights from 7 to 11 pm, and we’d like to hear from those who think they would attend or are interested in more information. Volunteers will be needed also. Please contact Melanie at MelGeno@aol.com and let us know what you think. General News The PIA Board is pleased to announce that Richard Kenerson has accepted the job of maintenance person and Rosemary Marmaras has accepted the job of event coordinator for the upcoming season the Prudence Improvement Association. We have been listening to our membership and to those who have used our building usage forms during the past season. So we have redone our form for the upcoming 2005 season with the hopes of clearing up any grey areas and to make it as "user friendly" as possible. Groups or organizations requesting the use of the main hall who have no financial means will not be charge a usage fee. Forms may be obtained from Rosemary Marmaras. PYO This year first in awhile that the PYO was active. Seventeen youths between the ages of 10 and 18 attended the first meeting to elect the following officers. President Ethan Rossi Vice President Lilly Ferreira Secretary Kit Marshall Treasurer Michael Rossi During July and August, we ran a snack shack during movie and rec nights, the Craft Fair and at 2 dances. The total of these events was $710.77. We will make a pledge towards the basketball resurfacing project and continue to save for recreation equipment like a ping pong table and pool table. On August 7th the PYO sponsored a youth basketball tournament for fifteen participants and served hotdogs, chips and a drink afterwards. The biggest news was installation of outside basketball court lights. Come and join the PYO next summer. Chowder Cook-off Over 120 islanders came to taste the chowder for the First Annual Chowder Cook-Off – making it a great success!! With eight different chowder to choose from, everyone took their task of voting for the best chowder seriously. Jack Marmaras and Dave Cooley came in first place with a white chowder that was described as "heavenly." Mary Bennett came in second with her "family secret" recipe for a red chowder, followed by Alan Zox and his "zesty" chourico red chowder. Plans are already being made to continue this even with hopes of making it more successful and fun for the whole family. If you are interested in entering the cook-off or if you have an y ideas or suggestions, please contact Melanie at melgeno@aol.com. Sign-up sheets will be available in the spring. A Big Thank You to our Volunteers Summer Solstice helpers, Chicken Bar B.Q. helpers, the Cornells for painting the flag pole, Knute Malm for donating the flag, Vinny Pezza for donating the paint, Ziggy Bachini for painting the storage room, Barbara Pezza for washing all the windows. Lilly Ferreira for 8 hours of community service for her honors program. Rick Brooks and crew for forming the apron, and Allan Bearse and crew for the cement outside the new egress. And, to all our members for your continuing support. Remember, if you have an extra hour here or there we could really use your help!! We have many small and large jobs still on our "to do" list, from painting the men’s room to trimming some brush, and more. The list and supplies are posted in the supply room at the Hall. To obtain the key or for more information, please see Richard Kenerson, Leo McDevitt or Pat Rossi. Painting Party – October 23 at 9:00 am The north wall is in desperate need of painting. Many hands will make this job go faster, so if you can give an hour or more please stop by. Halloween Pot Luck Dinner The pot luck will be held at the PIA on Saturday, October 30, 2004 from 6 pm to 9 pm. Prizes will be given for – Most original costume, pumpkin carving, apple dunking, pie eating contest and musical chairs. Volunteers are needed to help haunt and decorate the PIA Hall. Give Pat a call. Basketball Court Resurfacing Project As most of you are aware, the PIA recently completed a number of building upgrades to meet the current fire code regulations. These upgrades were made possible through fund raising and private donations. Although the cost was substantial, the community rose to the occasion and the hall remains open. Unfortunately, many less glamorous building upgrade projects still remain to be done. Perhaps the greatest immediate need is the installation of a drain system to remove water flowing into the building through the walls. A second project that demands immediate attention is the repair of the building’s apron (the concrete pad on the east side). These two projects alone will stretch the resources of the PIA in regard to both available funds (as the first project will be very expensive) and in volunteer labor (as the second project will be labor intensive). However, I would like to stretch the community’s resources to include an additional special project, namely, resurfacing the basketball court. Most people in the community recognize that this court is frequently in use and represents a tremendous community asset. Sadly, the court is aging and the concrete requires some attention before its conditions deteriorates beyond our ability to repair it. There are a number of resurfacing options that would be appropriate which vary in both cost and effectiveness. The least expensive option would be to apply court paint at a cost of approximately $500. This would function to seal the court temporarily and prevent further deterioration. A more expensive option would be the application of multiple layers or acrylic emulsion paint (with fibers of rubber bit embedded) at a cost of approximately $3,500. The advantage of this option is an improvement of the playing surface by both leveling the court and creating a slight cushion effect. At the recent Thirteenth Annual 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament which took place on Labor Day Weekend, the participants pledged over $1,200 toward this resurfacing project. Although arguably it may be possible to solicit additional funds through grant applications and/or municipal youth program monies, this type of funding source generally takes a long time to procure. Given the funds that have already been pledged, and the enthusiasm for this project that these pledges imply, the court will be resurfaced in 2005 using volunteer labor. The type of resurfacing will be dependent on the total amount of pledged funds available. We will simply do the best that we can with the available funds. If you would like to make a pledge or volunteer your labor, please mail the enclosed form. Also note that money pledges would need to be paid between May 7 through May 30, 2005. ****************************************************************************** Prudence Improvement Officers Pat Rossi, President Leo McDevitt, Vice President Melanie Curley, Secretary Pat Armitage, Treasurer Judy Foster, Executive Committee Carol Graves, Executive Committee Robin Weber, Executive Committee Rosemary Marmaras, Event Coordinator |
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