Dear New Life,
We’ve been working hard on our plans for the building! It’s time for an update.
Starting a few months ago, we’ve focused on investigating three primary areas of work: the sanctuary, deferred maintenance, and the combination of elevator and entrance. Thank you to the willing and varied New Lifers participating in these discussions. Here’s a quick summary:
- The sanctuary. We’ve considered three primary options, including removing the drop ceiling, as according to our original plan. That idea, however, carries some drawbacks, including the unknowns of total cost and acoustics. Because of this, two more options are also being considered, namely, a replacement of the ceiling, as well as the least expensive option, repair and repaint.
- Deferred maintenance. We’ve made progress on estimating and prioritizing these items. The largest unknown has been the cost of improving our electrical system, and we are now awaiting that estimate currently after a recent inspection.
- Elevator and entrance. These are related items. We could have an elevator near the Sunday morning triple door entrance to building, even though the lack of Mon-Sat usefulness is a drawback. It is possible to move the elevator down the KidsLife hallway, somewhere near the old Sr High room (currently B12), as long as this elevator can be accessed easily. Then it might be used Sun-Sat. Or, lastly, if the elevator is near that location, an entirely new main entrance to the building may be worthwhile also, at the “seam” of the Fellowship Hall and Sanctuary buildings. We have been investigating these various options. The last one in particular — the “seam entrance” — is requiring much thought and expertise to design it well and estimate pricing.
Our elders set a goal in January to have all of you vote your preference among several proposals, probably three, in September. At least one of these proposals will entail no long-term debt, using only the funds pledged during last year’s capital campaign. We want to get these proposals to you as soon as possible, each with a thorough description of the pros and cons, wanting the congregation to have plenty of time to pray and understand the options before them.
Stay tuned for another update soon!
– Pastor Mark
