New Building Design - Part 2
Earlier in the year, we received a building plan done by Peter Norgren of the MIF-ELCA. This is a free service. Copies of the plan were distributed to each committee. Now that we have had time to study the plan, your Church Council decided to explain a piece of the building plan in each month's newsletter throughout the summer. Last month, we explained the proposed parking lot re-design. This month we are presenting the handicap accessibility changes for general flow and use of the building. Next month, we will explain the proposed changes to the Sanctuary and Narthex areas. These explanations and the entire plan will be posted in August. The entire plan is large and encompasses change based on a "Wish List" compiled by Council over a two year period in consultation with every committee. This plan is meant to initiate discussion and is NOT a final plan.
The book Holy Spaces by DeMott, Shapira and Bill, begins with "Buildings communicate…What they say can either reinforce a congregation's mission or detract from it". We want our building to say loud and clear that we welcome all peoples regardless of abilities. The following changes are meant to send this message.
Courtyard Walkway: In 2007, the Property committee began examining our building with an eye to making it more welcoming to all people. They, along with Council, determined that our building had some serious issues regarding handicap accessibility. With an aging membership, this problem clearly needed to be addressed.
A major problem was the need to provide a pathway without steps from the Sanctuary to the Multi-purpose room and rear exit. They, the Property Committee, designed a plan to put an enclosure around the existing walkway through the courtyard. This would have the additional benefits of making the nursery easier for a parent to access from the Sanctuary and making the kitchen accessible for coffee receptions in the Narthex.
Our architect, Peter Norgren, liked the idea as sketched and added it to the plans. Updated bids for this project are currently being gathered. And monies from a large bequest may be used to do this construction soon.
Elevator: The second discussion on handicap accessibility centered on the limited number of rooms available for meetings and gatherings. To facilitate use of the rooms in our basement that are currently used for Sunday School classes only, an elevator was proposed. Mr. Norgren worked with the current Building and Grounds Committee to get exact measurements for its location. It, too, was added to the drawing.
The cost for the elevator as given in a written bid, was $52,000. A Designated Fund has been established to collect money for this additional handicap accessibility feature. If you wish to donate to this fund, please make a notation on your check for elevator. In addition, we are looking for grants that may be applicable. Please let us know if you know of any grant monies for handicap accessibility.
We look forward to the day, when anyone who visits or worships with us has easy accessibility to all events and all parts of the building. We want the building to reinforce our mission to serve God's people.
