Year-End 2022/2023

Building, Equipment, House & Grounds

  • Parking Lot – Repairs to cracks and pot hole in the parking lot will be made by the end of July
  • Sanctuary Lights – Replaced lights in the sanctuary (except over the bimas) with brighter and more energy efficient LED lights.
  • Social Hall Ceiling – Replaced all the ceiling tiles in the Social Hall as there were significant issues with the ceiling tiles to the point where tiles were falling down. While those were being replaced, we also replaced all the lights with brighter, energy-efficiant LED light bulbs. Evan also paid to replace the existing light switches with new dimmer switches.
  • Fire Inspection – Annual inspection occurred in late fall. Our tennants were issued summonses for violations which were quickly resolved. Additionally, the ventilation systems in both CBT kitchens need to be brought up to code to meet commercial standards. We have challenged this ruling since neither of these kitchens are used for commercial cooking.
  • Hornets/Wasps/Bees nests out back and in the shed – There was significant hornets/wasps/nee issue around the back near the shed. Exterminator resolved the issue and all unneeded “junk” (e.g. kiddie pools, old class flooring, wood, old & broken sukkah covering, etc.) were thrown out.
  • Eruv – The Eruv surrounding the property was broken and had to be fixed to meet religious requirements. Thank you to Gary Bergman and the Men’s Club fixing it over the course of 2 weekends in early spring.

Administration

  • Office Assistant – After an extensive and  unsuccessful search for a full-time replacement, we decided to hire Marci Abschutz on a part-time basis to assist Lesley, the Rabbi and the Cantor. The savings from this part-time position helped offset some othe rincreased costs.
  • Hakol – Thank you to Gary Bergman for all of his hard work and dedication in putting Hakol together for the past several years (decade?). Gary had been trying, unsuccessfully,  to hand it off to someone else and finally realized the only way out was to move to Florida. Thank you also to Lesley Lewkowicz and Scott Kessler took over for Gary this year when he was not available, as well as introducing the electronic version this year. Lesley and Scott will be taking over responsibility of Hakol starting this summer.
  • ShalomCloud – Lesley and Marci are in the process of converting to the new platform with full transition targeted to be completed September 2023, including 2 months of running on both platforms (ShalomCLoud and Chaverware)

Security

  • Security Committee – There were multiple security threats to both the local and regional Jewish community this year. In all cases, Lesley, Marty Zweig and the rest of the committee coordinated with the NB police to increase police presence and communicated steps to secure our premises to the congregation as appropriate. Security members attended a session on Emergency operations Planning facilitated by Homeland Security at the Rutgers Hillel. This training session provided a good foundation and set of tools to build clearer plans for our shul.
  • NB Police – Have had a few separate occasions where police failed to meet their commitments. We will work with NB Police to understand challenges and how to resolve as well as look into private security firms as backup security options.
  • Security Grant – We were not awarded a Homeland Security grant this year. We did not do anything wrong or incomplete. Rather, priority this year was given to organizations which did not receive a grant previously (we received one last year). We will be applying again next year.
  • Due Dilligance – This is a reminder that all members play a role in temple security.If you see something or someone suspicious, say something. Reach out to Lesley (during office hours) or Marc, Charlie or Marty Zweig outside office hours. If you see suspicious activity outside our building, please contact the North Brunswick police then inform temple leadership.  With anti-semitic incidents on the rise, we can never be too careful these days.

Upcoming In 2nd Half

  • Security Training: We looking for North Brundswick Police to faciliate security training sessions, first for religious school and office staff, then open to the rest of the congregation. Marty Zweig will be developing an initial plan for religious school using panic buttons and walkie-talkies by the end of this month. In addition, a few security team members will be attending an workshop on Emergency Operations Planning on December 6..
  • Security – We plan to enhance our security system by adding additional Key FOB sensors, expanding video coverage of our entire property through addition of more surveillance cameras, shutting down door sensors at all doors per Homeland Security recommendations. Will need to press the button in order to exit the building.
  • Storage Areas – We will be looking to improve our need and utilization of storage in the building. This includes inventorying all current storage space and currently stored items and working with appropriate groups to reduce storage need. As part of this, we will look to sell any items which we no longer need. Dave Kozodoy has agreed to help figure out how to do this via the temple Facebook page.
  • Repairs – Multiple repairs will be addressed including replacing both broken faucets in the Main kitchen, fixing toilets and faucets in rest rooms,  repairing HVAC systems and other items in school wing due to normal wear and tear on building.