Capital Campaign: Our Future is Now

Case Statement

First Unitarian is a magnet for those who want to live our liberal values. Wherever you find liberal causes in this town, you find UU’s—civil rights, gay marriage, abortion, immigration, homelessness, Trans issues, environmental causes, etc. Now, more than ever, we need an appealing place to welcome those who are like-minded and looking for community.

Our mission, to love radically, to grow ethically and spiritually, and to serve justly, calls us to be good stewards to each other as a loving community and to those seeking such a community, to our building as a caring gathering space, and to our woods and creek through responsible environmental practices.  To fulfill this mission for years to come, we need to take a closer look at our building and grounds which need some love and attention.  It has been 19 years since our last capital campaign and for those seeking a community like ours, it is time to view our church property through fresh eyes.

How do we make our place hospitable to newcomers and more functional for our own members? We need a facelift but still maintain the beauty of our mid-century modern look! Our building and grounds need TLC with special attention to:

Accessibility—an elevator that can transport more than one person at a time and heavy equipment, wheelchair access to the stage, a more gradual slope on the east walkway, AV equipment that improves viewing and sound, seating in the Auditorium that offers more personal space and arms to assist with standing, better lighting, a patio floor that is even with a safe surface.

The Environment—replacement of single pane windows with those that are energy efficient.  Attention to rainwater run-off from parking lots and to the creek’s erosion so we are not sending our soil to Gray’s Lake.

We dare you to dream

  • That our church can attract a minister to serve our congregation because we are a community that loves our building and grounds and are committed to improving them.
  • That our children can grow up with warm, vibrant classrooms and a playground and woods that are safe and inviting in which to explore.
  • That our creek and woods not only provide an inner-city sanctuary for birds and animals but also a place where we can be rejuvenated through a deep sense of community with nature.
  • Of a welcoming auditorium sanctuary that is well-lit, comfortable, attractive, and accessible to all where words of hope, love, encouragement, solace, joy and peace are shared.
  • Of a church campus with updated infrastructure to maintain the comfort and safety of all who attend: resurfaced parking lots, energy-efficient furnaces and air conditioning extended to the large activity and childcare rooms and new windows in Griffin Hall and the Gathering Area.
  • That we can achieve all this and leave the church debt free to the next generation.

The Board of Trustees endorsed our looking into a Capital Campaign in August 2024 to take care of a multitude of projects in many areas of our church life. Since that time a Steering Committee has overseen subcommittees studying various aspects of the building and grounds and has brought in the congregation’s ideas via tours, a survey and two forums.

Project Timeline

January – March: Dana Sorenson, BNIM architect and a member of this congregation, was hired to provide high-level cost projections for the top four most expensive projects:  parking lots, east entrance walkway, woods and creek management, an elevator on the southside of the building.  The Steering Committee will evaluate the options and fill in estimates for the remaining projects.

April: The Steering Committee will prepare a final concept with costs and seek Board approval to take it to a congregational vote.

June 1: The congregation will vote on the project. If the congregation and Board successfully select options and determine how to fund the project, we can hire an architect to do more in-depth design development and provide project oversight.

Construction will roll out over the following three years.

The Project Steering Committee

Ann Mowery, Co-Chair/Fundraising, Communications, Board Member

Karen Kraemer, Co-Chair/Upper Level, Fundraising, Communications

Liz Bredeson, Woods and Creek

Heidi Lackmann, Lower Level, Fundraising

Mary Ellen Miller, Fundraising

Kent Ohms, Infrastructure

Al Powers, Infrastructure

Elizabeth Williams, Communications

Katherine Lyons, Communications, Fundraising

James Williams, Lower Level/Board Member

Auditorium, Griffin Hall, and Gathering Space

The upper-level floor was expanded in 2006 to build a new “wing” of staff offices, which created what is now commonly called the gathering space. Much of the remaining sections of the upper level are original to the building in 1957.

Auditorium – Our auditorium sanctuary has the original seats which sit too low, are worn out and uncomfortable for some members. The stage curtain is stained and rotted. The entire room has never been renovated since it was originally designed to house the Drama Theater Workshop and a separate Mary Safford room in the back. The bulkhead in the back originally supported a dividing wall which currently serves no useful purpose and instead, creates a feeling of separation between the seating in the back of the auditorium and the rest of the room. The “theater-style” woodwork which frames the stage absorbs unamplified live music performed onstage due to the 3 high baffled ceiling sections above it. The baffled ceiling prevents more pleasing “cathedral-style” acoustics from occurring and reaching the rest of the auditorium when choirs or instrumental musicians sing and play on the stage. The stage is completely inaccessible to mobility-challenged members and visitors. The woodwork is worn and requires remediation. There are gaps in adequate lighting onstage.

Gathering Space and Griffin Hall – Original single pane windows are not energy-efficient. Both areas are used frequently each week by many members and yet do not have updated A/V equipment, room darkening capability, or much needed acoustical treatment to support the ease of group conversation between speakers and audience during forums and events. Carpeting is dirty and stained from frequent use. Lighting is not updated or adequate in the upper floor hallways.       

Foyer and main entrance – The greeting desk is not inviting or in good shape. The single west doors blow in leaves and cold air. Originally, a second set of doors which were removed in 2006, supplied an energy-efficient air-locked entrance.

The Parking Lots, Driveway, and the East Walkway

The current parking lots and on-street parking do not allow everyone a parking place. A few people park across the street. More people need to be able to park closer to the building because of mobility issues.

East Parking Lot. The asphalt in the east parking lot is broken up so that it is no longer flat or smooth making it a trip hazard and difficult for anyone attempting snow removal and painting lines for parking cars.

Our current method of parking at right angles to the traffic flow has resulted in many complaints. The lot could be rearranged to allow for easier parking, but 7 parking slots would be lost and would require expansion of the lot to recoup them.

Storm water run-off now goes directly into the creek when it rains contributing to flooding and dirtier water getting into our creek and Gray’s Lake.

South Parking. The cracked asphalt surface of this parking lot is a trip hazard.

West Handicapped Driveway. The asphalt driveway surface is breaking up and needs to be re-paved from the existing concrete to Bell Avenue.

The East Walkway

The walkway over the creek is on top of a culvert. When we have heavy rain the water rushes over the walkway. This most recently occurred in Summer 2023. Erosion is occurring around the culvert. Work is needed to stabilize the creek and walkway.

The stairs up to the east entry of the church require many steps and an odd gait. People with mobility or breathing issues find this approach challenging. The walkway over the creek lacks handrails because they were washed away.

The Woods and Creek

The Woods. Many adult members in our congregation love to spend time in the woods and now our youth have asked for fun activity stations to be added there for them to explore too. People are enamored with the birds and animals that live on or utilize our property. However, the woods are replete with invasive species, e.g., poison ivy and honeysuckle, making it difficult to keep up trails and to have the “good” trees survive.

In recent years we have experienced a greater loss of trees on our property due to beavers and trees falling into the creek. The large cottonwood where the east parking lot and walkway intersect has been severely damaged and dropped a large branch last year. The white pines in the Memorial Garden near the building are prone to dropping debris on the roof and losing limbs in snowstorms. The plantings around the building are non-natives and thus prone to drought and heat stress; these need to be replaced with natives that need far less care and will attract insects and birds. While bio-retention may help with rainwater runoff from the parking lot and additional parking may assist our parking problem, these solutions will also eliminate trees.

The woods and creek are a treasure that the church could use to integrate into youth activities, but work is needed to address the shortcomings, only some of which can be addressed by a capital campaign.

 

The Creek. The unnamed creek that goes through the Church’s property (4.469 acres) drains from the golf course at Wakonda Club to Gray’s Lake. Over the years the creek has experienced ever-worsening erosion from the increasingly larger rain events. In places on each bank of the creek there is erosion that is 10-12 feet high. That means that heavy rains are carving out our soil and sending it downstream to Gray’s Lake. At the same time, the erosion eats away at the root structure of nearby trees causing them to fall into the creek. Erosion is now working away below one of the trails, making some areas unsafe to walk on.

This erosion threatens the long-term integrity of the current walkway that leads from the east parking lot to the church. Another large storm event could wash out the culvert or cause the collapse of the walkway. That would mean 40 additional cars would have to park on the street or in overflow parking across Bell Avenue from the church.

Mitigation efforts must be put in place to control the erosion and ensure the integrity of the walkway. This may involve widening the creek bed and placing rocks in or along the creek.  The culvert at the walkway may be redesigned, or it may be removed and replaced with a bridge to facilitate widening of the creek bed at that location.

Lower-Level, Classrooms, Patio, Elevator and Playground

The lower-level of the church has functioned well for many years supporting lively, engaging and active programs for our children and youth. It is beloved by those who have grown up in the church and deserves a little TLC by refreshing and renovating its spaces due to its poor lighting, worn carpeting and old mismatched furniture. The purpose for this facelift is to give it new life and make it bright and inviting not only for our children and youth but also to encourage all members of our congregation to meet in this welcoming level.

Hallways and library space – Walls and current light fixtures need updating, and the carpeting is torn and dirty. The lack of design or interest throughout the lower level makes the entire floor feel ignored and lifeless. The library area is frequently used as a gathering place but its worn mismatched furniture is not warm or welcoming.

Faith-Formation Classrooms – Dirty and torn carpeting, a limited number of outside windows, and old stained tables and chairs describe the condition of these lower-level rooms. There is no private area for nursing mothers during church events. The doors to the rooms are old, damaged and broken in some places. The large activity room serves partially as a storage room for items not currently in use and the cabinets and utility sink do not contribute to the room’s function as a larger gathering space for groups and events. It is also not currently air-conditioned which makes it too hot to use in summer months.

Full-sized elevator – Our lower level is only accessible through the two-person lift on the north end of the building for mobility-challenged persons. While the lift is critical to access all four levels of the church, it is inadequate for transporting families with children and strollers, or larger or heavier objects and equipment. The playground and childcare room are both located closer to the south end of the ground floor. Because the south entrance serves the handicapped parking lot, members with mobility issues are much less inclined to attend activities or meetings scheduled on the lower level due to the difficulty in accessing that floor easily. Outside activities held in the patio and playground area are only ADA handicapped-accessible by going inside the building first.

Patio and Playground – The patio has not been used much in several years due to its current condition. The brick surface is very uneven and unsafe, there is limited outdoor lighting, it’s often dirty and not maintained for general use. The playground area next to the patio also has an unlevel surface and has a wooden play structure with limited activity-types. The structure causes splinters, needs painting and does not meet basic industry safety standards. There is no official public doorway to and from the outside patio or playground to the building except through a classroom or a commercial-type external hallway door.