St. Luke United Methodist 1621 Superior Street  Lincoln, NE 68521 (402) 477-2032 -

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Questions and Answers about the Proposed Building Expansion

Q: What is the history of the expansion project?

A: The Trustees committee began exploring the idea of expanding the building in January of 2006. In 2007, discussions with every committee in St. Luke identified a number of issues and concerns that can be partially addressed by the expansion. The UMC requires three votes at congregational conferences to approve a building project, as well as approval at the district level. The first congregational vote was taken on December 2nd, 2007 to determine if there was interest in proceeding with the proposal, which passed by an overwhelming majority (37 yes, 1 no). Between the first vote and second vote, an architect was retained to take the identified issues and turn them into preliminary architectural plans and a rough cost estimate. These plans were presented on April 6th, 2008 at a congregational conference. A second vote was held on that day, with 58 in favor, 8 opposed.

Q: Now that we've passed the second vote, what happens next?

A: Planning will continue. Details of the expansion will be firmed up, the architect will draw up final plans, and a general contractor will be hired to provide more exact cost estimates. A committee will be formed to start a fund-raising compaign. The district building committee has also approved the building proposal.

Q: Will this mean that the expansion will go ahead no matter what?

A: No. A third vote will be held later this year after the final plans are done, the cost estimate has been made, and the fund raising plan has been put in place. Not a shovel-full of dirt will be moved until after this third vote. The expansion can be stopped (or postponed) at the 3rd vote if the majority of the congregation votes "No."

Q: How will the fund-raising be handled?

A: The exact details will be determined by the Building Fund committee. It has already been agreed that there will be a pledge period before the third vote. Pledges will be taken for one-time gifts, or gifts to be given over a 3-year period. The goal of the pledge drive will be to raise enough money that we will have little or none that needs to be borrowed. The pledge period will begin after the 3rd vote.

Q: So why do we need an expansion, anyway?

A: The major issue that the expansion will address is tied to the slogan of the United Methodist Church: "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors." We have come to realize that our hearts and doors are not open wide enough...figuratively and literally! We know already that we have lost some elderly members who no longer attend because of these issues. We also know that we are not presenting ourselves in the best way as an open-hearted congregation for potential new members who may have disabilities.

The Issues:

• Most people enter the church from the East side door, since that is closest to most of the parking. However, that leads into a tiny landing, narrow staircases, and traffic jams.
• For people with wheelchairs or walkers, it is difficult to get to the sanctuary because of the stairs from the East entrance, or the slope of the sidewalk to the North entrance. To get from the sanctuary to the Fellowship hall, a wheelchair-bound person has to leave the building via the North entrance and go all the way around the outside of the building to the South entrance.
• The bathrooms off of the Narthex are not ADA-compliant (Americans with Disabilities Act). A wheelchair cannot access the bathroom stalls. This is a legal liability.
• In addition, the Narthex gets very crowded after services with poor traffic flow, and the low ceiling gives that area a rather claustrophic feel.
• The balcony is rarely used, and seats relatively few people.

The Solutions:

• The expansion will increase the size and visibility of the East side entrance, making it a much more inviting main entrance.
• The sidewalks on the East and North sides will be regraded to make wheelchair access easier.
• An elevator will be installed to move people from the East entrance up to the sanctuary level, and down to the Fellowship Hall level.
• The bathrooms off of the Narthex will be totally redone for wheelchair access.
• The Narthex will be expanded, about double the current size, and the balcony removed so that the ceiling will be vaulted like the sanctuary.
• The current wall between the Sanctuary and Narthex will be turned into a glass wall, so that everyone entering the Narthex can admire the stained glass windows (both North and South).

There are additional issues that will be taken care of at the same time, 'bonuses' if you will.

• The nursery will be moved to be right off the Narthex, which will make more sense for young families.
• The office area will be expanded, which needs to be done as our membership grows.
• Overflow seating can be accomodated in the Narthex, since the sound system speakers will be expanded into the Narthex (and the glass wall will make visibility possible).
• There will still be doors on the North side, wide enough for funerals and weddings.
• In the basement, the kitchen will be expanded, and much needed storage areas added.
• The awkward arrangement of the door to the kitchen being right by the door to the staircase will be eliminated, providing much easier (and safer!) traffic flow.
• The current side rooms off of the Fellowship hall (nursery, classrooms) will be remodeled to provide overflow seating for large events, as well as classroom space.
• A sprinkler system will be added to the entire building. A new water main will be installed to provide enough water flow for the sprinkler system.
• The North side of the building will be relandscaped, with a patio and low wall. The hillside will be regraded so that the church will be more visible from Superior street.
• The siding of the Sanctuary will be redone (the small parts that are not going to be affected by the construction). A few windows will be replaced at the same time so that they are more energy-efficient. The shingles on the roof over the Sanctuary may be replaced as well.
• The heating/cooling system is not working efficiently because there are no cold air returns from the Sanctuary. The cold air returns will be added to help the heating/cooling system. Additional electrical panels may need to be added to provide electrical outlets in the new areas.

To sum it up: We know that we are in an area of Lincoln that is growing, which is evidenced by our membership which has been growing steadily over the last few years. But we know that if we can put our 'best foot forward,' we can better serve our congregation and our community.

Q: So what won't change?

A: We'll try to salvage as much as possible to keep expenses down. The existing stained glass windows will be carefully removed and put into the new construction. The doors on the North side are practically brand new, and will be reused. The new Prayer Garden will be untouched by the regrading. The appliances in the kitchen will be kept, although moved to new positions in some cases. The current heating/cooling system should be adequate for the new square footage.

Q: Does this solve all of our problems?

A: Many more issues were identified in our initial round of taking suggestions from the congregation and the committees. To address ALL of the issues was felt to be overwhelming, both in cost and in trying to work around the construction mess. As we grow, we will have to take a look at possible further expansions...but those will be years down the road. There have also been several short-term and relatively inexpensive fixes identified that we can look into in the near future, such as expanding the parking lot and adding more seating in the Sanctuary. Two possible future phases have been identified: 1. Expanding the sanctuary to the south (to about where the sidewalk is) and 2. Adding a Family Life center with a basketball court.

Q: So what are the down sides?

A: The kitchen will lose its only window.

Seriously, the worst part about it will be living with the construction process. Because of the mess and fire safety issues, once the construction gets to the point of closing off the back of the sanctuary, we will have to move the church services to the Fellowship Hall. We may temporarily lose a few members who don't want to attend during the construction process, and some potential members may be put off by the mess. However, history shows that churches that have expanded always see a positive bump in membership after the construction is done. It shows to the outside world that exciting things are happening at St. Luke!

Additional concerns were raised at the second congregational meeting. Because the balcony would be removed, alternate methods of videotaping the services or special events will have to be considered. As it turns out, the services have not been taped for about a year because no one has been requesting the tapes. Another concern is that the additional groups using our facilities will be inconvenienced or stopped. The Trustees have contacted every group that uses our building during the week. Every group has been made aware that some accomodations will have to be made in the midst of construction. NO ONE has been asked to stop using our facilities. Some groups have been asked to consolidate their activities to a single day so that our facilities can also be used for new programs.

Q: What's the bottom line? How much is this going to cost?

A: The preliminary estimate is $450,000 to $525,000. Yep, we know that seems like an overwhelming number. We think it is a bit high, because the architect uses a per-square-foot estimate and we are not going to be using the most high-end finishes. We also have a few members who will be donating their time and expertise in the building process. However, we are going to be contracting out almost all of the construction. Long-time members remember the building of the Learning Center which relied heavily on volunteers helping with the construction. That had its good points and bad points, but the type of construction that we are proposing does not lend itself to volunteer labor. We'll know more about the exact costs before the third vote.

Q: Where's the money going to come from?

A: We have approximately $60,000 in a building fund already. There is also the money from the sale of the parsonage (about $140,000), which it is possible that we can tap into that money. We will be having a pledge drive which we hope will provide the balance needed. We can also borrow money, but we would rather avoid that if possible.

Q: But I thought we couldn't touch the parsonage money?

A: At the time we sold the parsonage at Pastor Schmidt's retirement, we agreed that the money would be invested, and the interest would provide a housing allowance for the next pastor. As it turned out, Pastor Safarik's housing allowance has been able to be met through the usual budget, so that interest has been building up in the account. When the agreement was drawn up, it clearly stated the intention of the housing clause, but it also specified that the principal and interest could be used in other ways if the congregation agreed to it. The additional congregational vote on April 6th approved using the parsonage money for the building project but only if we were unable to raise enough pledges to meet construction costs. The ideal situation would be to raise so much money that we won't need to touch the parsonage fund. (The tally of votes at the April 6th meeting was 41 yes, 21 no). If we do not use the parsonage money for this round of construction, it will remain in the fund earning interest, and could potentially be used down the road for the additional phases of construction described above. Or we could hang on to indefinitely for a 'rainy day.'

More questions? Contact any member of the trustees or building committee!

Contact the church office to find out the members of these committees. All committee meetings are open to the congregation; the office can inform you when the next meetings are going to be held.

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