St. Paul's United Church

Ad Hoc Building Committee / Ad Hoc St. Paul's Committee

Report to Congregation - May 31, 2009

MEMBERS: Grant Brooker, Dwight Lander, Vivien Querney, Fern Falkiner, Bruce Falkiner, Lorne Reid, Joia Edwards, Judy Norman, Airie Kloss,

Ellen Gerow-Boyd (until March 16/09), Catherine Stevenson (until

April 13/09), Alan Kelley (St. Pauls Place only)

PROBLEM AREAS IDENTIFIED:

a) Congregational expenses exceed congregational income

b) Physical building space far exceeds current needs according to attendance

c) Physical condition of buildings in need of major repairs

d) Parking is always an issue

ST. PAUL'S PLACE

Recommendation: SELL THE PROPERTY

Rationale:

-The congregation no longer uses it

- St. Paul’s Place has its own roll number, therefore a costly severance is not required, only a lot line adjustment.

- Extra parking spaces will be made available at rear of property

- The Salvation Army Food Bank can be rented space in the church building

Plan:

-The garage must be demolished as it straddles the proposed lot line

- Professional survey must be done

- Apply to County of Brant for lot line adjustment

- To be listed and sold “as is”

- Net proceeds to be used for a) church building upgrades, b) build up reserves for future.

- Salvation Army Food Bank to be rented space in church building

CHURCH BUILDING

Recommendation: REMAIN IN CURRENT FACILITY

- Actively make premises available for long term relationships with groups for renting space in addition to those already using the facility, e.g. community centre, theatre and concerts, seniors’ centre, youth activities, before/after school programs, meeting rooms, office space etc.

- Renovate space for Salvation Army Food Bank, probably Margaret Broomfield Room

- Close the balcony and make structural adjustments to the front of the sanctuary for visibility purposes, i.e. a raised stage possibly to pulpit level which could be permanent or made in sections for removal and storage.

- Upgrade electrical circuits so that we can attract theatrical performances

- Review rental rates charged by other facilities for theatrical use and charge accordingly

- Hire/appoint an administrator when appropriate as contact for all rental enquiries and bookings

- Investigate the future of our congregation - who we are, where we are now, where would we like to be and how to pursue the plan.

Rationale:

- We want to remain a viable congregation

- The facility is adequate to accommodate the congregation for many years in the future

- The church facility operates at a much lower cost than a rental facility, i.e. approx. $2.50 per sq.ft vs $10-12.00 per sq.ft.

- The cost of land and building a new church would far outweigh the monies received from sale of the church

- Cost of major alterations to any section of the building is prohibitive

- No opportunity seems to exist to share facilities locally with another congregation

- Our building has excellent acoustics and is highly valued by theatrical groups and choirs. With some modifications we could attract more. Grants could also be pursued for this purpose.

- Additional parking spaces behind St. Paul's Place provide some added opportunity

Plan:

- Obtain fee proposals from a professional consultant for building renovations to house Salvation Army and/or other commercial tenants.

- Provide a storage facility on north side of building to replace the garage - the existing door can access it.

- Construct new parking spaces on south side

- Accrue information re: going rates for renting to theatrical groups

- Assess plans and costs for modifying the front of the sanctuary

- Assess electrical needs to upgrade the circuits

- Pursue all grant opportunities