For the last two weeks, we have announced in worship that there will be a brief congregational meeting after church this coming Sunday. It is to approve an expense that is not in our 2022 budget, as we need to improve access to the Sanctuary building as we look ahead to the start of construction early next year. It is expected that this will be a very brief meeting.
The Joint Venture Ministry Team has been thinking about how we will get access to the Social Hall for deliveries and the like once the west side of our property is a construction zone. You might be surprised by the frequency and amount of food and clothing and other supplies that get dropped off at Old First. We know that we will lose access to the most common way we enter the Social Hall, through the west-side door. Currently, we are already using the east-side door to the Social Hall for weekday entrance to the church office and building. We’re also aware that, when construction begins, we’ll lose the back parking lot, which is typically used for drop-offs, deliveries, donations, etc.
We have applied for a temporary loading zone area on Race Street (pending approval from the city), that will leave open the space right along the curb directly in front of the church at certain hours. But that is a busy street, and it’s still some distance from the Social Hall and kitchen. So, in addition to that loading area, the JVMT wants to improve the access from Orianna, into the backdoor of the Sanctuary building and thereby to the Social Hall. Orianna St. will allow folks’ cars to stand for a longer time and unload more safely as they bring deliveries in. And, the entrance offers the closest and easiest entrance to the Social Hall and kitchen.
Essentially, we are proposing replacing a treacherous (slippery) wooden ramp with a wider and less steep concrete sidewalk ramp, and then sidewalk from the top of the ramp to the back door of the Sanctuary building. The cost of this excavation and concrete work will be $8,900. Most of you don’t know this corner of the property because you have never been there. But here are some photos of the proposed concrete project:
