Calvary Baptist Church

[politically incorrect]

I read an article the other day in the HA about how the city of Petal was giving a hard time to Calvary Baptist Church on Hwy 42 over building codes in their temporary worship center. I will post a link below so you can read the story, but it made me angry that the city will not be more cooperative with a church for crying out loud! It's like the city of Petal is suddenly under the control of the KGB - bent on enforcing the letter of the law on anyone and everyone - freedom be damned! I know that is over the top, but, hey, I got carried away.

Anyway, our city fathers and mothers need to realize that compassion is a necessary part of governing - especially in a small town like Petal. A hurricane destroys a sanctuary and the city is making it more difficult and expensive for the church to use their remaining building for worship. And the story mentions how the city wants to buy the church property, which leads to a possible extortion attempt by the city to force the church off the land at a lower price than they want for the site.

I just would like Petal to be a place where people in need can expect help and the bending of the rules now and then.

[aaron]

I ride by there every now and then on my way to my parent's house. Why haven't they fixed it?

[Blondie]

I saw the WDAM story tonight at 6:00 and being someone who lives in the Friendly City, I am getting tired of our city passing all of these new rules. One of my friends who lived in a mobile home that was smashed by trees was told she could not replace her home due to a city ordinance the Board passed right after Katrina. I am all for making our city a better place, but how about let's do it a little bit at a time.

I was wondering why Calvary had not rebuilt, and I am really sorry the city is giving them a hard time. I thought the preacher handled it really well.

[politically incorrect]

Sorry, but I could not find the link on the HA site. I thought the story was online just a day or two ago, but no luck. Maybe someone else can find it.

[politically incorrect]

I ride by there every now and then on my way to my parent's house. Why haven't they fixed it?

The church has apparently been dealing with their insurance agency. I can't imagine what took so long. It was very obvious the church was no longer fit to use.

[Tully Mars]

The real issue is that when the multi-use building was constructed it was not inside the city limits and not subject to any building codes. Now it is in the city limits and part of the code requirements for the work that they want to do requires installation of a sprinkler system which tends to be pretty expensive. This is not some new regulation, it is simply being applied to a new part of the city.

I don't really have a problem with it considering the consequences of a fire in that building during a large gathering with no sprinkler system. The cities regulations, in this case, are designed to protect the users of the building.

You will notice in the article that the city is in the process of discussing the issue with the church and is trying to come up with a solution that both parties can agree to. This does not seem to me to be a heavy handed tactic at all but more like an effort to enforce the laws in a reasonable and fair manner.

[selmore]

Someone's been dragging their a**. It takes less time to build a new one. That place is an eyesore.
The gestation time for a human is only 38 weeks for crying out loud. We should be able to fix a building in less time than that.
If they need to haggle w/ the insurance co., get the work done and go to court.
What happens if the insurance co wins?? Does that mean we get to keep the crap building?
Finally, doesn't God bless that church? Is he taking their calls? Does God have caller I.D.?
I say they need to straighten up and fly right.

[kevin]

I just heard where the Church and the City Reached a Compromise leaving the church able to Worship as they have until the sanctuary is Rebuilt without having to spend thousands on sprinkler systems.

[politically incorrect]

The real issue is that when the multi-use building was constructed it was not inside the city limits and not subject to any building codes. Now it is in the city limits and part of the code requirements for the work that they want to do requires installation of a sprinkler system which tends to be pretty expensive. This is not some new regulation, it is simply being applied to a new part of the city.

I don't really have a problem with it considering the consequences of a fire in that building during a large gathering with no sprinkler system. The cities regulations, in this case, are designed to protect the users of the building.


And the people outside the city limits seem to make it ok without all of the regulations and codes designed to "protect" the public. Good Lord, we don't need the city of Petal to loom over us at every turn for our "protection."

My beef was that the city wanted to buy the property and seemed to be making it difficult for the church to continue to use that property. The building inspector was quoted as saying the church was trying to use a "loop-hole" in the law. Well, what's the matter with that? The city should use loop-holes to help the church out. I guarantee the city, county and state all use loop-holes when it comes to helping out someone with connections. (ie; find out whose property was not included in the Petal annexation a few years ago)

[Tully Mars]

And the people outside the city limits seem to make it ok without all of the regulations and codes designed to "protect" the public. Good Lord, we don't need the city of Petal to loom over us at every turn for our "protection."

My beef was that the city wanted to buy the property and seemed to be making it difficult for the church to continue to use that property. The building inspector was quoted as saying the church was trying to use a "loop-hole" in the law. Well, what's the matter with that? The city should use loop-holes to help the church out. I guarantee the city, county and state all use loop-holes when it comes to helping out someone with connections. (ie; find out whose property was not included in the Petal annexation a few years ago)

The City of Petal is not doing anything that any other city does when new properties are annexed. And yes, the city did consider buying the property (as did the school district) and is no longer interested at any price, so the arguement that they are trying to make it difficult for them to repair so they will sell at a cheaper price doesn't wash.

And yes, I do know exactly who was excluded from annexation and why. That supports my arguement that previous administrations were too politically timid and points to my assertion that the political boldness of this administration is good for Petal in the long run. If that annexation were being attempted today and with this administration, I would venture to say that those who were excluded for political reasons would not be under this administration.

[wilebill]

It's hard to tell how many disasters have been averted because there's been a code in place to help prevent them.

I don't know if this is the case or not, but maybe if the church had been built to a particular code it wouldn't have been damaged so much by Katrina and this wouldn't be under discussion. :smt102

[Conveyor Belt]

As a former member of a church, I don't understand why the members haven't gotten their hands dirty on Saturday and fixed this building. Surely, among the members, there's at least one or two brick masons, or a contractor or two who could donate their time to the church to help rebuild. The church I attended in my youth was built, brick by brick, by the members on their off time.

Anybody can learn to lay shingles in a few minutes, and surely, among the members, are experienced shingle layers. Could they not lay shingles in this time?

It's easy for me to sit here and point and say, hey, buddy, it's been over a year. I just find it hard to believe that in a Baptist church, there are no blue collar construction workers who could help out on their off time. I thought that's part of what church was all about.

[James Moore]

Just for clarification, the city was approached by the church regarding the possible sale of the property, the city did not approach the church.

The city made a rather quick determination that a similar facility could be built on existing city property for far less than the church needed for their building and land.

The desire to enforce the code was in no way tempered by any desire or lack of desire to purchase the property.

Lastly, I'd like to commend the church members and their leadership displayed in Mr. and Mrs. Jack Ezelle for the respectful and cooperative tone of the meeting with the city board Tuesday. Both sides earnestly sought an equitable solution and it was that spirit that resulted in a successful resolution. James Moore

[politically incorrect]

It's hard to tell how many disasters have been averted because there's been a code in place to help prevent them.

I don't know if this is the case or not, but maybe if the church had been built to a particular code it wouldn't have been damaged so much by Katrina and this wouldn't be under discussion. :smt102

There were a lot of blue roofs inside the city limits, too. What about the facade on that building in downtown Hattiesburg that collapsed? What about the roof on the Crescent City Grill that blew off? Lack of building codes, or just a mighty powerful hurricane?

[Conveyor Belt]

Crescent city was opened a few weeks after. It'll soon be a year and a half, and outside of the damaged bricks being moved, Galgary still looks the same today as it did on Aug 30th.

[politically incorrect]

And yes, I do know exactly who was excluded from annexation and why. That supports my arguement that previous administrations were too politically timid and points to my assertion that the political boldness of this administration is good for Petal in the long run.

Political boldness or power trip?

[kevin]

There are all kinds of problems in the City Of Petal especially with Rental properties.I had a 2 bed room apartment and due to faulty wiring my Electric bill was 800 dollars one month.I left and I still owe that Bill and hell will freeze before I do pay it.I know the Inspector isn't able to see to the whole city but the job just hasn't been getting done.It's time the city starts showing a differance with these dangerous buildings not talking about how much they have done.

[wilebill]

There were a lot of blue roofs inside the city limits, too. What about the facade on that building in downtown Hattiesburg that collapsed? What about the roof on the Crescent City Grill that blew off? Lack of building codes, or just a mighty powerful hurricane?Old buildings, and the Crescent City thing was just a fake facade.

But if you want to compare, let's compare apples to apples. How many churches of similar style and size suffered the same sort of damage as Calvary?

Sure it could have just been that there were some higher gusts in the area of Calvary than there were in other places. Or the landscape around Calvary was more conducive to allowing the winds to damage the building. There's a lot of variables. But it also could have been the church was not constructed as well as similar buildings. It just seems odd that similar buildings of similar size and age did not have that sort of damage.

I know a lot about codes, more than I care to tell. Codes are there to protect the building owners, the users of the building, the neighbors around that building, and the community as a whole. You can also look for more and more places to adopt stricter codes, if they haven't already done so. Look at the coast and see what they're doing, especially Harrison County.

Heck, let's look at Poplarville where a whole block of buildings burned down. Maybe an automatic sprinkler could have saved those buildings. I don't know. But there are lots of instances where sprinklers have been life savers. What about that club where 100 people died in a fire? There were numerous code violations there. If the codes were followed 100 people would still be alive. Schools have stricter codes than most places. Think of all the schools that's been hit by tornadoes with kids inside, and I think most, if not all, lived. How many times have you heard about buildings just collapsing in foreign countries and killing scores of people?

Alright, rant over.

[aaron]

I'm with CB, I don't understand why they don't just all take a week out of their schedule and donate the time to fix it. I know we must just not know the whole story.

[aaron]

The Lamar Times has a picture and article up about this:

http://www.thetimeswire.com/index.php?ID=499

[politically incorrect]

[quote=wilebill;150908Heck, let's look at Poplarville where a whole block of buildings burned down. Maybe an automatic sprinkler could have saved those buildings. I don't know. But there are lots of instances where sprinklers have been life savers. What about that club where 100 people died in a fire? There were numerous code violations there. If the codes were followed 100 people would still be alive. Schools have stricter codes than most places. Think of all the schools that's been hit by tornadoes with kids inside, and I think most, if not all, lived. How many times have you heard about buildings just collapsing in foreign countries and killing scores of people?
[/quote]

I'm not saying that buildings should not be built properly, for crying out loud. It's just not necessary for the building to be "under code" to accomplish this. The people paying for construction of the building need to hire competent contractors and private building inspectors to make sure they are getting quality work.

Most of the buildings - private homes and otherwise - inside the present city limits of Petal were built before Petal was even a city, or they were built and then annexed by the city. Are none of these buildings safe? Are they all a fire hazard?

I am just tired of hearing how one must live by the wisdom and decrees of the almighty city of Petal board of aldermen in order to have a quality life and happiness.

[Pine Belt Girl]

First Baptist Church Petal has been in a bad financial fix for several years. They've built a huge shell of a building on Hwy. 42 and can't finish it. Maybe Calvary and FBC could merge, finish the building and become Petal's first MEGACHURCH????

[Imapepper]

How do you define "temporary"? First Baptist has had a sign out front for ??how many years now??, that says "Temporarily worshipping at Petal Family Y"!

I wonder how many members are still there?:smt102

[carsalesguy]

i always wondered what happened to that church....

i thought petal harvey was petal's megachurch?

[selmore]

My son went to the Y to work out on a Sun morning...they rudely turned him away without even an invite to enter and see what was going on in there.
Like mom always said, "if it'd been a snake, it's have bit them."
It's not easy finding a church.

[politically incorrect]

i always wondered what happened to that church....

i thought petal harvey was petal's megachurch?

I think Carterville and PH are about the same in terms of membership. If PH does not find a pastor soon - it's been over a year - they might start to have the problems FBC in Petal has had with declining membership.

[carsalesguy]

i thought they had a pastor over there after that other one left......so who has been preaching and running that church over there?

[politically incorrect]

i thought they had a pastor over there after that other one left......so who has been preaching and running that church over there?

A mixture of different pastors, including their youth minister and education minister. They just hired an interim pastor this month, so they must not be too close to finding a permanent one. I don't know what is taking so long. A year is plenty of time to find someone, I would think.

[Pop]

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070124/NEWS01/70124011/1002


Storm-damaged Petal church finally coming down
By Nancy Kaffer
American Staff Writer

It’s been a long time coming, but for members of Petal’s Calvary Baptist Church, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.

Demolition of the storm-wracked structure should begin around Feb. 5, said Rev. Terrell Stringer, the church’s pastor.

The news follows a long year and a half of wrangling with insurance companies, and prolonged negotiations with city officials about what work could be done at the site. “We’re just excited about getting it down,” Stringer said...

[CircusRide]

Another mention of the city in regards to doing anything in Petal. If you live in Petal, you can't sneeze without negotiating with, paying, etc. the City of Petal.

[proudtobefrompetal]

I drove past Calvary yesterday and it's been demolished... Just wondering if they're going to rebuild? I read in an previous post that they may sell??? That's a new one.