Listening Session

5/22/2023

Person 1: was on board and surveyed the state of the building. There is a
third question if the church and the BoT did the maintenance to keep the
building going. IF we did repairs what would be your choice? Without the third
question, might bring people to a different opinion.  How do we keep the
building up?

Person 2: I want a third option I don’t intend to make a decision I don’t
think we have enough information to answer the questions. We need to make an
educated choice pursue both options until we know more.

Person 3:  Roughly 20 years ago we went looking for a new building
because we had the same problems. Furnace and A/C, looked at a church for sale
in the west end, bigger up to date, we came back from that realizing that the
expense to move was more than the expense to fix. Many of them were just
general maintenance. We’ve paid the mortgage off. 

Person 4: We need to get resources about what options might cost. How many
churches are for sale? How much would a slate roof be? We need more info to
make a rational decision.  We need to stay where we are, it is a better
location for our mission. Having said that we shouldn’t just throw some paint
on it and get a new elevette. Tear it down and expand.  Really do it.

Person 5: I would love to see ideas or options for if there were a
relocation. It’s very hard to evaluate this and make a decision without being
able to compare is to something slightly more concrete. What are the cost
estimates (even in vague terms) for each option. What kind of capital campaign
would be needed for each? I would like to keep our current location, but is
that going to limit our basic operating budget in the future, etc. Food for
thought… the Redeemers Church a couple block away was recently sold to a new
Presbyterian congregation and they needed to pay for a new roof for the
building before the buyers would consider it.

 Person 2: What we can do with the land we have, there were
restrictions 6 or 7 years ago. Lots size ratio for to square footage. Utilities
easement, those could have changed.

Person 1: Parking we would not get additional spaces reprioritize who can
park in the lot

Person 6: But have you given us any new information to make someone get
“out” of that 20%? I ask that as a serious question, not
antagonistically. (I honestly don’t remember how I answered the question.)

Person 4: When saying pouring money into makes it sound like wasting money.
Big beautiful structures that, it’s harder to get to for people that are maybe
lower income and using public transportation and that’s what I think really still
comes down to is if we had a fairy wand and we weren’t thinking about the money
where would we prefer to be where are we and maybe we haven’t emphasized this
enough what’s going to help us fulfill our mission and I’ll shut up because I
could go on forever.

Person 1: I’ve been involved in a lot of surveys, on the receiving end of a
lot of surveys and of course it depends a lot on how you ask question and in
particular with this question of the 50% it’s one thing to say there are things
I would like to do that I can’t do that can’t be done in the building as we
currently have it and as we’ve had it successfully for the last 40 years I’ve
been here and it’s another thing to say that therefore we ought to tear the
building down right which is sort of what’s gonna happen if we you know decide
not to do payments not immediately I don’t have anybody and on that I don’t
know if anybody’s actually stuck their head in the roof underneath the roof
from a cup that it is worth doing because it’s not my view might think of like
your own roof because this this light is sort of loosely stacked on top of
things which are fairly accessible from the inside much more so than a regular
roof I actually lived in London with 100 year old slate roof for quite some
time so it doesn’t mean uh and the same thing with the siding I mean it’s you
know on the fellowship hall there are things you can do to keep it from getting
worse without spending $100,000 to replace it all right and so there is an
option of if we if it’s gonna take five or ten years maybe to do a major
capital campaign and get ready to go it doesn’t mean that we can’t do it, we
have to all do it tomorrow or the whole thing is going to fall apart but there
are ways within a reasonable property budget um to make sure that there’s no
additional damage done to building and that’s why I think this the 50% of the
people think no we’re not happy with what we do, that’s 50% of the people would
like it to be better that’s hardly surprising right, doesn’t mean that 50% of
the people think that we shouldn’t take care of it.

Person 10: I know that’s where my heart is but I also wanna know could be
either way and if we move out to the hinterlands of the cornfields I will be
dead set against that. I just think that would be a terrible mistake so it’s
really hard to make a decision because I know where my heart is but I also
wanna make it tactical decision, you know puts the best use of our time, I
think that’s probably where a lot of us are just guessing so my two cents.

Pat: yeah I agree with Person 10 but I also just want to say that I don’t
think we should just automatically assume that new location would be a long way
away you know we don’t we don’t know that you know other these things that come
up for sale lots that no camera no sound so I just don’t know but I if it’s
going to be you know people away from where we are now for me another and so
that’s another huge unknown and I don’t know how they resolve that but that’s
OK good be a major break for people but we would just need to know what options
might exist.

Person 4: I have a theoretical question which is, would people be willing if
a suitable property became available in downtown Champaign? Would people feel
differently about moving? I’m just wondering how much Urbana is important to
the decision versus downtown versus edge of town, no one has to answer that but
I just wondering.

Person 11: um I’m with Person 7 on this I grew up in 100 year old house I
have no sentimental attachment to old buildings that constantly need work and
as far as I’m concerned we could do everything and we still have the parking
problem I would like to start fresh whether that’s a repurposed building um and
I live in Urbana and it’s super convenient for me but you know all those people
in Savoy and Champaign they’ve been coming all the way over this part of the
town if we have to relocate to that part of town you know talk to some of the
people who’ve been coming in from you know Mohammed and Ogden and places so
lots of people have had to take longer commutes than those people in Urbana,
knowing that we can bring the glass and the organ or whatever sentimental
things that’s fine. The building is not the church the people of the church,
the minister is not the church, the people of the church so I’m not super
attached to the building it’s a nice sanctuary and all that but I think we
could do a lot of other things a lot of creative ideas so I’m offered

Person 5: it is very difficult to be confined by a residential house size
footprint even if it’s a few houses

I think that’s referring to our current location and like Tim I’ve been
looking around and there’s a there’s a lot for a lot less than that old Windsor
swim club lot that it’s it’s on Colorado Ave. It’s for sale right now and it’s
probably big enough it’s it’s just West of Prairie wins wins yeah Kerry wins
it’s between Prairie winds and the Funeral Home South side of Colorado and I’m
not suggesting that because we’re not at all and I don’t have and I’m not going
to you know I I want I am glad to hear what everybody’s saying because it’s
important for us to hear this and that’s the whole purpose of this session and
I agree with Person 1 we’re probably not gonna get a resolution from this but
it’s a start so just Person 6 Person 6

Person 6: Yeah I mean I put my earlier comments in there and I guess I’m
having trouble with the whole idea of the survey itself rather than this this
conversation is wonderful and I love all the ideas I’m my brain is resisting to
you telling me to imagine having a magic wand I don’t that’s not how I list my
life and I’m I’m quote from my heart question I want more informed so I don’t
know honestly I couldn’t tell you how I answered that question on the survey
because uh you’re different question like if I said you are those are church to
meet our needs no you clearly shown up but I don’t feel like I until I know
some actual um I don’t think I so I just wanted to raise that it’s possible you
will end up with more than 20% of us that that will will not answer the
question and I think that we just have to be open to that and and see how that
goes but I wanna say that I am concerned about the financial aspect of either
option just knowing how tight our budget is I would like to know more
information about how we would plan to finance either option I you know capital
campaign is a great word but I don’t really understand how we plan to magic
wand up all this money so that’s my other thought thank you Laura appreciate it
Person 3 go ahead please

Person 3: I just want to emphasize again the accessibility issue um I think
I was reading on the side here while you were talking but I think I saw that if
we got a very suitable and 10 you’re gonna speak to this elevator it will cost
$75,000 is that correct? I guess what my head is thinking is that doesn’t seem
like a lot of money for us to put out and this has been an issue like 30 plus
years in this church and it’s been an issue the entire time.

Person 7: Sinai temple it was located downtown Champaign from like the early
1900s to 1973 this ramshackle 2 story building with giant concrete steps to get
in had an electrical fire in 1973 they needed to be somewhere. They bought a
piece of land on Windsor and Duncan there was absolutely nothing at all out
where they built a building it’s all one story it’s a big piece of land there’s
lots of parking there’s lots of outdoor space for party services all that kind
of stuff and their memberships never been stronger so I’m just throwing that
out that those kind of things are possible.

Person 9: well I’ve been sort of the sentimental type and I love that
building but I, like Person 11 worry about the parking for example and there’s
not a thing that can be done to change that and like some other devoting upper
down or yes or no because that survey doesn’t do it for me because I don’t know
enough.

Person 5: I’ve tried to provide vote multiple times I simply don’t feel like
I have enough info something needs to be more concrete than Laura reacted to
that that sounds sad and she said I would also like to echo Person 1s earliest
comment about how it would be helpful to know what we are planning to do
regardless of whether we stay or go and then

Person 5: wish I could see a scatter plot of where every member lives

Person 6: have you talked to other churches or buildings that are actual
users of that type of platform list I’m curious because I know first Mennonite
church is a similar sounding system and it sounds like it’s not without its own
problems

Person 2: and one thing I wanted to bring up because I don’t think we’ve
talked about it was pre pandemic is probably most people remember like we were
busting at the scenes and in terms of fitting into the sanctuary so in addition
to parking issues you know if we do get back in person to the degree that we
were in 2019 say um regardless of maintenance or wherever else we’re still
gonna have trouble fitting and they’re in a would like to believe that we will
that lots of people will come back so that’s another thing to think about thank
you appreciate that

Person 8: so it’s just a question of the heart hey where we are I mean if if
we weren’t if we weren’t immediately drawn into asking questions of practical
where and what and how and you really just answer your question of what’s your
heart say I know that answer um and and I heard somebody talk about the other
day about the tremendous amount of work it would take to come up and say moving
to this location would be this number of dollars and doing it all the existing
church building would be forgetting the parking would be this number of dollars
that’s a major multiyear research project and so I think the whole all of this
exercise is to think we really wanna do if they were exactly the same price and
so then you don’t worry about what the prices for me that’s how are you have
hit that nail on the head that’s exactly what we’re trying to get to, exactly
that, what’s the heart say despite cost or if  all parts being equal