What’s all the CoMotion about???

On Sunday, February 12, 2012, our architect, Jeff Gold will be presenting what we hope is the completed version of the Master Plan at a congregational meeting after the second service (12:45).

The congregation will be asked to vote on two motions:

Motion 1: “The congregation adopts the 50 Year Building and Grounds Master Plan which includes guidelines and elements previously endorsed in principle by the congregation and summarized in the document “Building and Grounds Master Plan for the UUSS Campus, 2012 – 2062” and also detailed on our website at http://uuss.org/Groups/UUMPF/The_Completed_Master_Plan.php

Motion 2: “The congregation begin the Implementation Phase of the 50 Year Building and Grounds Master Plan by hiring a consultant to conduct a feasibility study to help us accurately estimate the budget and scope of the first phase of construction and prepare for a capital campaign. Funds for hiring the consultant will come from unused funds previously approved by the congregation for creation of the Master Plan.”

Come to a Question and Answer Session on Sunday, February 5^th in the Fahs room (one after each service – at  10:45, another at 12:45) for discussion, or check out the website link above!

- Barbara Gardner

Problems Sleeping???

Do you stay awake at night

-       worrying about blowing another fuse in our kitchen?

-       thinking about how nice it would be to have new – capacious and soundproof – bathrooms near the sanctuary?

-       wondering about your next meeting with Roger  – and if you’ll both fit into his office at the same time?

-       quizzical about how we’ll ever manage to build out our newly created Master Plan?

If so, perhaps you’d like to attend a master planning question and answer/dialogue session on Sunday, February 5^th after each service (10:45 and 12:45) in the Fahs room.  We’ll give you an update, answer questions (and probably raise others!), and engage in dialogue about the process of transforming our emerging master plan into a 3-dimensional place of beauty…

….. to be followed by…..

Dreams Coming True(!)

At a congregational meeting the following Sunday, February 12^th, after the second service

-       our architect, Jeff Gold, will make a formal presentation to the congregation of our completed Master Plan

-       any additional questions will be answered and discussed

-       we will vote on

• approving the completion of the Master Plan
• beginning the Implementation Phase of our Master Plan

-       …and maybe sing a round of ‘Hallelujah’ (as so moved…)

- brought to you, with pleasure, by UUMPF and the master planning oversight group

 

- Barbara

So near and yet so far -

Q – Well, Jeff Gold’s detailed drawings (he’s our architect, in case you don’t know…) of our new and ‘revisioned’ campus look wonderful!  The master plan looks great, but – how do we get from here to there?

A – Slowly, step by step, and with intention(!)

As we speak, Jeff is working to fine tune the plans and come up with a more accurate and detailed cost estimate of the project.  And, part of his ‘next step’ is to break down the project into bite sized pieces so that (barring us winning the lottery) we can complete the plan in phases.

Each phase will have to result in a fully functional campus.  The magnitude of each phase will of course be significantly dependent on the funds we are able to raise.

And – our ability to start a capital campaign is predicated on a healthy financial base.  We have to be fully funding all of our current financial responsibilities before we can expand into new ones.  (Ahem! – this will be important to remember during our next stewardship campaign – please don’t be shy!  We don’t want people to ‘hold back’ on their pledges because they are ‘saving’ their money for the capital campaign…)  We can’t begin a capital campaign until our current financial house is in order.

Our forbearers successfully went through this process 50 years ago.  Our fellow/sister UU congregation in Davis is successfully going through this process right now, despite the bad economy.  And we will be successful, too!  We have the vision, and with that, we have the will to make it happen.  The future is getting closer all the time.

-          Barbara

Master Planning Crescendo Builds!

Wow – it seems like all of a sudden there is a lot going on
in master planning.  Constantly updated drawings and plans are everywhere!  With collaborative input from much of the congregation our architect, Jeff Gold, has made great headway in visualizing a ‘new improved UUSS’.

The main areas of development in this plan are:

- Sanctuary/Social Hall – increasing seating capacity, comprehensive remodeling including a new heating and air conditioning  system, substantive remodeling of the kitchen, structurally reinforcing the  building to current codes, a fire sprinkler system, and adding support spaces  (storage, bathrooms, etc.)

-  Offices – adding and consolidating office space that includes a reception/greeting area

-  RE – remodeling and expansion

-  Parking – reconfiguration and renovation of the entire parking/vehicle circulation area

-  Grounds and Garden – new landscaping and upgrades for the grounds and streetside appearance (includes a shade cover for the patio, a labyrinth, new entry courtyard, and covered walkway between RE and the Social Hall)

-  New multi-purpose room with seating capacity for 125 and a new ‘welcome hall’ joined to existing Social Hall

-  Using ‘green’ sustainable building principles

-  Compliance with current codes for the entire campus

You are invited to attend as Jeff gives a presentation of the plan on October 2^nd after the second service.  Childcare and food will be available.

A handout of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers will be available at the meeting as well as on the preceding Sunday (and on our website).

This will be a great opportunity for discussion, and will provide
an informational foundation for the Congregational Meeting on October 16^th,
when we will be asking the congregation for a formal ‘vote of confidence’ about
the direction the master plan is taking, and for approval to make a lot line
adjustment.

Additional information is available on our website.

- Barbara Gardner

Preview of Planning Progress

Today UUMPF and the Master Planning Oversight Committee hosted a preview of proposals and drawings from architect Jeff Gold in preparation for his presentation to the congregation on Sunday , October 2^nd.  This will be a formal presentation in the main hall, with ample opportunity for members of the congregation to ask questions of Jeff and the members of your master planning committees.

If you are wishing to preview any of the documents and drawings that have been produced to date, please visit the UUSS website Master Planning Pages and page through the menu on the right side of the page.

We are still gathering data and input from members so it is not too late for your ideas to make it to the table!  On the same UUMPF page you will find a link to email the chair of Master Planning to make your ideas known to us.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to check on the progress of master planning and offer their thoughts today.  While we will all be grateful to see the product of the labors of many, the process continues to bring out the best of the UUSS community, and we are all privileged to be a part of it.

Surveys Needed!

As we all look forward to the completion of the UUSS Master Planning process, we’ve reached the stage in which to go forward with the greatest intelligence and care, we need to hear from all of our members via the survey that has been distributed.

Architect Jeff Gold is in the process of meeting with the constituent groups of UUSS to gather data regarding their needs, but the individuals of those groups also need to voice their needs and observations separate from their group.  If you have taken part in the focus groups or met with Jeff, we still need to hear from you as an individual member.

Surveys have been distributed by email and in hard copy.  If you have not received your copy by either means, please call the UUSS office and they will make certain you get one.  If you think you don’t have time, please know the survey can be completed in just a few minutes if you are in a crunch, though we do hope you take some time to think about the many issues we need to consider as we prepare for the future of the congregation.

The more members who contribute via survey, the more likely it is we will go forward together on an illuminated path.

-Bill Storm

More Focused Input From Groups & From All

 We have had forums, congregational conversations, and all-congregational visioning meetings in the last several years.

Now the Oversight and UUMP Committees are planning with Jeff Gold to get more focused input from various groups and all who want to voice (or write) their views.  (And you can always post them here!)

First, we will email and snail mail a questionnaire to get a feel for where the congregation is on some larger issues, for what things are priorities for the congregation.

 Then, Jeff will be having detailed conversations with focus groups, such as Kitchen Users and RE Parents & Teachers.  There will be will be ongoing dialogue with the congregation, or various subsets of the congregation as this master planning process unfolds.                      - Ginger Enrico

Our geothermal future?

Following is a guest post by UUSS member John Hingtgen, who is also an renewable energy professional with a public energy agency in Sacramento.  If you have questions regarding geothermal energy after reading this post and visiting the resource websites given below, he invites you to call, email, or chat him up at UUSS!

In reviewing the recommendations about the facilities on our website, I noted the item on evaluating solar energy for the the UUSS buildings.  While I support this idea, I recommend that other renewable energy sources also be evaluated and compared.

Specifically, a ground-source heat pump (GSHP) system allowing heating and cooling is a mature technology that would be likely to offer benefits to UUSS.  Listed below are a few web sites with more information.  The benefits would be both in long-term economic savings and in reducing contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.  The initial higher expense than conventional HVAC would be offset by long-term savings.  GSHP systems typically work with conventional systems, so each part supplements operation of the other.

The  expansive property at UUSS offers an attractive opportunity to install the in-ground heating/cooling loops that would be used.  With proper installation methods and a good contractor, there could be fairly little surface disturbance.  Because of the many trees that could shade any solar system on the property, it may turn out that a GSHP system is a better option or one that should take up the bulk of the renewable energy supply for the property.  Further analysis of the buildings and grounds could help to resolve this.  The feasibility of the system would depend on suitable properties of the soil and any rock below.  We talked about soil testing, and soils should be tested for a GSHP system as the planning process moves forward.

Resources:

• Consumer Energy Center – Ground Source Heat Pumps
• GeoExchange
• Oregon Institute of Technology – Geo-Heat Center
• Energy Star – Geothermal Heat Pumps

Congregation Approves Funding For Last Stage of Master Plan!

On Sunday, February 6, over 100 UUSS members met between the second service and the Super Bowl to consider funding the last stage of the Master Planning Process.  Oversight committee members Margaret Wilcox and Bill Storm presented the progress made since this process started in 2002, and they outlined the proposed final master planning step.  This last step is a one year project with a price tag of $100,000.

Individual members had already contributed over $20,000, and the congregation voted to allocate bequest money for the remainder. (And donations to further reduce the amount taken from bequests will be gratefully accepted!)

We are in the final stretch of planning for the next 50 years!

This last year of master planning will further assess the needs and wishes of the congregation and staff.

This last year of Master Planning will include detailed analysis of the condition, challenges, and possibilities of the buildings and grounds. What kind of soil do we have?  What are the engineering details of the sanctuary?  What earthquake retrofits does it require?  What about drainage and flooding patterns?  What are the renovation necessities and possibilities of the buildings, parking lot, electrical, HVAC, and sewage systems?  (Bill likened it to a patient going to a doctor for a check-up for the first time in 50 years!)

What about our open space? What about green technology? What will it cost if we renovate vs. re-do one thing or another?

The last year of Master Planning will include a pre-application process with the County planning department to confirm detailed requirements for campus renovation and development.

Finally, the Master Plan will lay out a program of phased priorities for renovation and building, with cost estimates for each phase of the plan.

The next stage would be a capital campaign to finance the first phase of renovation or construction.

Ginger Enrico

Be There or Be Square

If you’re at all curious about or interested in or desiring to influence the future of UUSS, then you should be at church at 12:30 PM (i.e., immediately after the 11:15 service) this Sunday, February 6th. That’s when we will have a special congregational meeting to vote to complete our master plan, the one that will guide this place for the next 50 years.

Sunday’s meeting will continue several years of effort that have included congregation-wide discussions and workshops. At this meeting, we can authorize funding to complete the planning phase of our master plan. This is the last stage before we draw up blueprints, pull a permit, raise the capital, and build something new or rehabilitate something already here. Come weigh in.

Completing the planning phase will take about one year and cost about $100,000, over $20,000 of which members have already donated for this purpose.

Hope you are there in the hexagon, and not elsewhere, on Sunday. 

 Carrie Cornwell