UUCC Building Task Force

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January 26, 2020 – Building Task Force Feedback Session

After worship on Jan. 26, 2020, the Building Task Force held a session to explain the current status of planning for facilities improvements and receive feedback from congregants. The slideshow below shows what was discussed. Current thinking is that all improvements will be done in one phase, and the architects will be asked to revise plans accordingly. See a compilation of congregational feedback generated at the Jan. 26 session.

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Download PDF of slideshow

January 2020 – Final Next Steps Weekend Report

Our Building Task Force has received a detailed final report from consultant Rachel Maxwell on the Next Steps Weekend conducted on Dec. 6 and 7, 2019. Read the final report here.

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Download PDF of final Next Steps Weekend Report

December 2019 – Preliminary Next Steps Weekend Report

On Dec. 6 and 7, 2019, consultant Rachel Maxwell met with about 35 UUCC leaders, other congregants and staff members to gather information about our congregation’s readiness to engage in a capital campaign to raise funds for building improvements and renovations.

After worship on Dec. 8, Rachel presented a Powerpoint slideshow report on her findings. She found that we are in a good place to begin planning for a capital campaign and suggested a timeline. Her presentation can be viewed below the following photo.

Congregants listened as consultant Rachel Maxwell, standing at right, presented her report on Dec. 8, 2019.
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Download PDF of report


December 2019 – Next Steps Weekend Preview

Our Building Task Force has arranged a “Next Steps Weekend” with a UUA consultant Dec. 6-8, 2019 to help determine our congregation’s readiness to move forward with a Capital Campaign. Email Patty Daus if you would like to participate.

As our congregation has grown in size and in commitment to social justice over the last few years, we have become more aware of the critical role our building plays in our mission.

How can we be about radical welcome when our space is not fully accessible? How can we meet the diverse needs of all the ministries in the church – from children’s religious education to sheltering the homeless – even as our numbers and ministries are growing? How can we maintain a focus on justice when energy and resources are constantly diverted to building repair and maintenance?

To address these questions, the Board of Trustees formed a Building Needs Task Force (BNTF) to gather ideas, evaluate options, and lay a foundation for Elevating Our Mission.

Biggest Needs:

  • A building with accessibility for everyone who shares in our mission;
  • More dedicated program/meeting space so that we can meet the needs of our own ministries and those of outside groups using our space to educate and organize in line with our mission;
  • More office and storage space to meet the particular needs of the staff and ministries that smooth and level the ways that lead us towards fulfilling our mission;
  • A low-maintenance, highly energy-efficient space that will allow us more time and money to spend on our mission.

Options:

Based on a careful consideration of our options – to move somewhere else or stay and renovate – the task force determined staying and renovating is the most responsible use of our resources. The task force also determined that the project should be split into 2 Phases.

Phase 1 Projects (in order of priority):

  1. An ELEVATOR!
  2. More dedicated program/meeting space
  3. More office and storage space
  4. Upgrades to the siding, the parking lot, flooring, and energy systems

Phase 2 Projects:

  1. New sanctuary
  2. Convert old sanctuary to Fellowship Hall

Timeline:

  • November 2017 – The board convenes the BNTF.
  • Spring/Fall 2018 – BNTF articulates needs, evaluates options.
  • Winter 2018-2019 – Simon Oswald Architecture (SOA) hired.
  • Spring/Fall 2019 – SOA develops a master plan for the building and BNTF becomes the Building Task Force (BTF).
  • December 6-8 2019 – “Next Steps Weekend” with UUA consultant to help determine the congregation’s readiness to move forward with Capital Campaign to support Phase 1. Email Patty Daus if you would like to participate.
  • 2020 – Capital Campaign Decision.
  • 2021 and Beyond – Capital Campaign and Building Project

We welcome your input!

The BTF welcomes your ideas and questions as the project moves forward. As it proceeds, the number of things for which changes can be considered will decrease, so the earlier you are involved, the better! To share your input, email Patty Daus or visit with any of the BTF members you run into: Matthew Bossaller, Patty Daus, Kevin Fritsche, Rosann Geiser, Lawrence Lile, and Barbara Rupp.

Read or listen to Rev. Molly’s sermon about our process so far and a vision for the future of our Beloved Community.

Read the 15-page report compiled by the Building Needs Task Force (BNTF) in 2018 for more detail about our needs.

“Next Steps Weekend” Dec. 6-8, 2019

Email Patty Daus to participate


May 2019 – Prioritization of Building Needs

As part of our continuing discernment of facilities needs, there was a workshop as part of our May 5, 2019 annual congregational meeting during which congregants had an opportunity to help prioritize needs. The workshop was conducted by Simon Oswald Architects (SOA), the firm retained by the Board of Trustees to help with facilities planning.

The discernment process actually started at the May 2018 annual congregational meeting when the Building Needs Task Force presented its preliminary report. The report was then refined and expanded and presented at additional gatherings in November 2018. After that the task force continued gathering input from the congregation, leading to a consensus that moving to another location is financially beyond our means and that our needs would best be served by improving our current facilities.

No final decisions have been made regarding either a master plan or or aesthetic design. SOA will continue to gather information and work with the board, and the congregation will have an opportunity in fall 2019 to review SOA’s recommendations for a master plan.

In the meantime, to strengthen communications with the congregation, the board will increase the size of the task force and ask the task force to prepare visual charts to show where we are at all stages of the process.

For further background, the updated November 2018 task force report is available as a PDF by clicking the following button:

November 2018 Building Needs Task Force Report