06/04/2017
An update on PBC's Save the Lake is below and attached.
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First and foremost, thank you. On behalf of the PBC Board, we’d like to thank you for all you’ve done to help PBC continue to grow and help Save the Lake. As you may be aware, it’s been some time since the Board released an official update to you about our Save the Lake campaign. This update serves to give you a summary of the basics, how you can help, and specific details for those interested in the full scope of the project.
Summary
In September of 2013, the lake dam was damaged from heavy rains. We have raised $264,065.81 to Save the Lake since the inception of this campaign, which is a great feat. To plan for repairs and maintain the lake until we can fully repair the dam, we encountered several fees, repairs, and special maintenance totaling $56,172.35. We have old repair estimates (work remaining to be done) that are upwards of $275,000. We fully expect the cost to make the repairs to be higher than those estimates. Doing the math, you can quickly see that we need at least $68,000 to be able to repair the dam. As with any project of this magnitude, it is best practice to have additional funding available for the unexpected and unknown. It would be best if we were able to raise $100,000 more before we get a contractor started with the repairs.
The next section talks about how you can help Save the Lake! If you’re interested in the specific details about the full scope of this project and why we haven’t actively communicated our fundraising efforts over the last year, please read “The Specific Details” section below.
How Can You Help?
It begins with prayer. We request that you start with your prayers to God to provide the wisdom necessary for the Palmetto Bible Camp Board of Directors to make the right decisions and to connect us with a reliable, cost-effective contractor that can perform the repairs correctly and quickly. Second, we need your help financially and physically. You may have donated to the Save the Lake campaign or this may be your very first time reading about it. If you’ve donated in the past, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generous donation and hope that you’ll be able to continue to help make a difference. If you haven’t donated before, we hope that you’ll consider helping us maintain this beautiful haven that we call home, Palmetto Bible Camp. It truly is a place that makes a difference in the lives of children and adults and has been for over 50 years. Here’s how you can help:
1. Make sure to PRAY.
2. Financially Assist:
a. Send a check to: PBC Bookkeeper, 126 Chatham Cir, Madison, AL 35758 (Memo: “Save the Lake”).
b. Donate via our website at http://www.pbc.camp/make-a-difference/, click on the DONATE link.
3. Physically:
a. Spread the word of our need. We ask that you tell your family, friends, and congregations about how close we are and how important this is to the camp experience. Your passion for PBC means a lot to us and especially those who are closest to you.
The Specific Details
This Past Year – After a little over two years of fund raising, working with our engineer, and getting closer to our goal of $300,000, we reached out to our engineer, Joe Barron, for some information. After not receiving a response for a couple of months, we were informed that he had incurred a sudden illness and passed away in early 2016. Our sympathies are still offered to the family of Mr. Barron. Immediately our focus had to shift to find a new engineer. It is extremely important to have an engineer on board with you for a dam repair because of the laws and requirements of the state of South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control (DHEC) regarding earthen dams like the one at Palmetto Bible Camp.
After a brief search, we were blessed to find a new engineer well versed in dams and with connections at DHEC. It took some time to get this person up to speed on what the previous engineer had accomplished over the previous two years, what methods the various contractors had proposed for the repair of the dam, and other repair related activities.
We were about to make a final push for our fund raising and needed some information from our new engineer, but we were met with silence again when we reached out for her. Once again, we tried making contact for several months but received no response. To this day, we are unaware of her status but are hopeful that she is alive and well. Over the past year or so, there have been a couple of major rain events in South Carolina that have caused engineers and contractors to be overwhelmed with work. We are hoping she is caught up with that and while our dam needs repairs, its repair may not be as urgent as other dams in the state. So, we had no choice other than to get back on the trail of finding a new engineer.
It took a little longer this time, but we finally connected with a new engineer out of Spartanburg. Immediately, DHEC requested a special report and plan regarding our dam, which we immediately put our new engineer to work on. The engineer has completed this request.
All the events above pulled the attention away from fundraising and making sure that we had a comprehensive and well thought out plan. With the glut of work for contractors related to the major rain events in South Carolina, it may have been a providential delay. When contractors are busy, cost are higher. Now that their work is declining, we may be in a better position to get good pricing on the dam repair.
Why Does It Cost So Much? This question has come up several times. First, this project is a dirt and big pipe project. If you’ve ever had to hire a contractor for a backhoe or front-end loader, you were probably shocked by their estimate for the job. Now, you can imagine the size of this job in comparison.
1. We have to build a dam in front of the dam (coffer dam) to dry out the area where the work is to occur. The cost of that alone is tens of thousands of dollars.
2. The standpipe, which was damaged by the heavy rains in 2013 must be replaced with a new large aluminum standpipe built to withstand the forces of water from heavy rains as the lake spills into it.
3. The 140 feet long, 48-inch diameter pipe that runs horizontally through the dam is over 50 years old and needs repair. While we have the coffer dam in place, this is a perfect time to repair this pipe as well. The repair of this pipe is approximately $150,000 alone due to the special way this pipe must be repaired.
4. Add to all of that the cost of improved road access for all the heavy equipment, changes to the siphon system or addition of temporary large pumps to keep the lake from spilling over the coffer dam, etc. and you have a project (the work that remains to be done) that quickly approaches the $275,000 mark.
Why Do We Have a Lake this Summer? Each summer when you arrive to camp, everything looks normal. The lake is at its normal level and our campers are on the paddle boats and canoes, swimming in the swimming area, or just enjoying the beauty of God’s creation at PBC. This might be a bit confusing since the dam hasn’t been repaired yet. To have a lake during the first summer after the dam was damaged in September of 2013, we were determined we could temporarily repair the top portion of the standpipe allowing it to perform its normal function of maintaining the lake height/depth and providing an outlet for storm waters. This temporary repair was allowed by permission from DHEC. Each year, our engineer must inspect the dam and request permission from DHEC to raise the level of the lake to its normal level during the summer months. DHEC has kindly granted us permission to raise the lake for the summer while we have been fundraising for the permanent repairs. This has been a true blessing from God! There is no guarantee we will receive DHEC’s permission next year to have a lake for the summer, so we pray continually that we will receive all the funds we need for the repairs as soon as possible.
On behalf of the board, I want to personally thank you for taking the time to read this summary and details. I truly appreciate your patience with the PBC Board as we work diligently to do our best serving God and serving PBC. If you have any questions, please reach out to any of our board members.
THANK YOU!
Mark Kelly, Chairman, Palmetto Bible Camp
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