BMCC representatives met with city of Walla Walla building officials to discuss Sturm Street and fire suppression requirements. Since the city’s plans for Sturm Street have yet to be finalized, they have agreed to not require any street improvements for this phase of our church expansion. They did state that as future additions or renovations are planned, improvements to Sturm Street would be required.

Tim Thompson, fire inspector for the city, then explained to us that there is insufficient water available for fire suppression on our church campus. The existing line to our property is too small. He gave us two options to consider which would allow the new wing to be built.

          1: To pay to have a new 8” water line brought in from Wilbur Street or

          2: To install sprinklers in all of our current buildings except the main
              sanctuary.

It was agreed that installation of sprinklers in the required areas was in our best interest as that would afford us better protection in the event of a fire.

Tim recommended three contractors whom he has worked with in this area for obtaining bids on installing the sprinkler systems. All have been contacted and each will be providing us with a quote for the work. That information will then be presented to the building committee and Board of Elders for their review, and then presented to the congregation. No estimate of the cost for this added requirement is available at this time.