MONTMORENCI UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

BUILDING RENOVATIONS COMMITTEE

Report to the Congregation

January 21, 2007

This report is to update the congregation on the work of this committee and on the current status of our handicap accessibility construction/renovation plans. There is obvious and understandable impatience with the fact that we have not yet started construction on a plan adopted by the church conference back in early Fall of last year. Please understand that no one is more frustrated by this delay than members of this committee who have spent the last two years attending countless meetings, compiling data from our various church committees and users of our facilities to develop a master long-term plan (our wish list), prioritizing and re-prioritizing that plan, meeting with an architect and builders on numerous occasions to develop conceptual drawings and estimated costs for achieving that plan, revising those plans to give due consideration to every new idea that has been expressed along the way, interpreting the plan at question and answer sessions and church meetings, and yet never really having the time to fully convey to the congregation all that has been involved in this process and every bridge we have had to build and cross along the way. Each additional day that a member or visitor has to struggle with steps or with level parking that is just too far away in order to worship with us is an unacceptable delay.

If we all want to do something, and do it now, then what is the problem? The problem has essentially been two-fold: First, simply doing something is not a plan – we had to decide what to do; the second has always been, in a word, money. While it is clear that handicap accessibility is our universally accepted objective, there have been numerous, and very different ideas on where to dig dirt, cut holes, and lay brick to achieve that objective. Our first challenge as a committee was to facilitate the congregation reaching, as much as possible, a consensus regarding an actual plan to meet our overall objective. We have done that through an exhaustive process of subjecting every idea to a thorough cost/benefits analysis.

You will recall that the congregation finally adopted Phase I of Option III in our church conference last Fall. That plan, in a nutshell, was to: re-design our front entrance to eliminate the steps (which would require construction of an elevator in the bell tower); create adjacent, level handicap parking; eliminate elevation differences in the lower level; construct two new exterior entrances to that level; and, replace storage that would be lost by conversion of the bell tower. The estimated cost was $350,000. We were authorized to pursue funding of that plan in our combined capital campaign which was completed in November of last year. Our goal was to raise the $350,000 in cash and pledges payable over a 40 month period.

We have always agreed that a successful building renovation plan would require ownership of the plan by the congregation. This would be evidenced not only by consensus on a plan, but of equal importance, willingness to actually fund the plan. Herein lies our problem and the reason for the current delay. Our capital improvement campaign resulted in just under $140,000 in gifts and pledges to be paid over 40 months. Cash on hand in various building fund, capital improvement, and handicap accessibility accounts totaled about $40,000 at the close of the campaign. We are, therefore, far short of our goal and have not demonstrated the willingness to fund Phase I as adopted. Moreover, the estimated monthly income based on the pledges of about $2,000 would not be sufficient to make payments on a mortgage for this goal, even if amortized over 15 years.

There is hope. The Building Renovations Committee has met twice since the campaign results were in, including a meeting with our architect, Richard Worley, on January 11, 2007. As a result of those meetings and new information obtained from Asheville Elevator, a cost-cutting revision to the Phase I plan is being developed that we believe is doable and may save as much as $150,000. At a call meeting last Sunday, the Ad Council authorized the committee to contract with Mr. Worley to prepare design-development drawings of this revised plan. The revision is essentially this: to replace the elevator with a three-stop interior lift system (this is not the exterior lift we explored two years ago). This would eliminate extensive and costly construction in the bell tower and further eliminate the need to construct new storage, since use of the bell tower for that purpose would be retained. All other components of the plan will remain the same, i.e., new ground-level entrance and level parking, new exterior entrances to the lower level and the elimination of elevation differences in the lower level. We will have to sacrifice handicap accessibility to the third floor as a result of this revision.

We should be able to make rapid progress on this revised plan. Mr. Worley will be able to build on work he has already done for us so that nothing has been in vain. Construction time should be substantially reduced by elimination of the bell tower work. Design-development plans will enable us to see what the entrance and floor plan will actually look like, an is a necessary part of the construction plans which can be completed with little additional work if we are satisfied.

Members of the committee will be glad to answer any questions you have. Thank you for your continued patience with a very demanding and detailed process.

Lane Mallonee, Chair

Building Renovations Committee