Submitted by Charlie Valan – Vice President of Administration

The administration end of B’nai Tikvah has had an extremely busy first half of this fiscal year.  But ultimately, all of these challenges were met head on, and we are happy to report that progress, improvement, and solidification have been accomplished.

Building and House & Grounds

We have had a very intense period here in regards to the Building and Grounds themself

  1. The number one item of concern finally came to a point of significant issue.  That begin the entire parking lot storm drain system at CBT
    1. While drainage had always been slow in hard rains, in September, the system had what we could call a significant failure where no drainage was occurring at all and our parking lot completely flooded with no run off
    2. We were able to contract with a company, Water Management of North Brunswick, who through sharing well detailed photographs of the inside of the structure, identified major failure, disconnects, and flaws that needed to be addressed and corrected
    3. Through conversations with them and members that are trained professionals in the engineering area, we ensured that the recommendations were justified and absolutely necessary to not only alleviate the problem, but ensure the future and eliminate a reoccurrence of an issue that has been plaguing our parking lot for years (Mikvah Tikvah)
    4. The work was completed within all the timing guidelines proposed and thanks to excellent negotiating by our Administrator Lesley Lewkowicz, came in under the proposed budget
    5. Water Management will be contracted to do all our future yearly cleaning’s of the system to ensure its consistently in working order for many years to follow
    6. Special thanks goes to Scott Kessler who identified this organization as well as Mitch Frumkin who on a daily bases inspected and secured our confidence across the project
  2. We have begun the process of upgrading our computer systems with machines that will interface better with today’s technology
    1. Our efforts to become more electronic and less paper driven has led to further recognize the importance of equipment that can better interact with an advancing field of platforms
    2. Advanced equipment not only has the software, but components and structure that better meets our demand for consistency
    3. While we want to be more electronically driven, we will never lose sight that some of our members still want everything or most communications or billing in paper.  We will cater to everyone’s needs
  3. Our sanctuary lighting system is starting to show its age and some of the lights have failed
    1. When current system was installed many years ago, it did feature LED technology that while state of the art at the time, does not allow the flexibility of bulb replacement that today’s technology now offers with ease
    2. We are investigating the most cost and extended future options so we can continue to enjoy a full, bright environment, while only having to replace failed units.
    3. Once we identify the correct and most adoptable option, we will make this a periodical replacement model when failed units need to be upgraded
    4. The goal is to only install technology that will always allow for the change in times
  4. Thanks to our own Sisterhood making a major contribution, a donor (The Estate of Paul Glasser), and our own Classical Caterers, we have replaced our old, beaten up, cracked outside sign with a beautiful new LED, State of The Art Board
    1. We have many guarantees on the functionality of the board to ensure its continued working order
    2. The vendor agreement calls for them to provide us with graphic translations of logos, and items at a rate of five pieces per month for the first year.  We are taking full advantage of this
    3. This board is Wifi programmed from any computer (with a code and password that only Lesley knows), meaning that at any moment we can change the message, add a message, or address any need of immediacy from anywhere

Administration

  1. Our COVID protocol policies continue as we forge ahead and while we have had a few concerns, please be ensured they will continue to be addressed and updated as information becomes available and we adhere to mirroring the most current guidelines in order to protect all our members and employees
    1. The Chabad School has also been mandated to follow these guidelines and have also produced a document outlining their own guidelines.  Please note that CBT takes the safety and security very seriously and as we observe violations, we remind all of the importance and are prepared to take any and all necessary steps if it is felt we can’t ensure as safe of a situation, that most importantly protects all our occupants
    2. Our own Classical Caterers fall under the guidelines provided to all restaurant and entertainment businesses in The State of NJ
    3. At the conclusion of any event that takes place in this building, a significant process of cleaning and sterilizing is always adhered to in order to ensure further safety protocols
  2. We sadly saw our Clergy and Administrative Assistant Meryl Harris retire after many year of devoted dedication to B’nai Tikvah
    1. Lesley is still conducting a search for a replacement
    2. We have current members who have graciously volunteered their time as we go through this transition period
    3. Please reach out to Lesley if you have any interest in helping and she’ll let you know when she’s in need and if it can be coordinated
    4. Your help is much appreciated