Preservation and Space Planning Update
By Harry Voorhees
For December 2003 issue of Steepletalk
Much progress has been made towards developing a space and preservation plan for North Parish, as authorized at the Special Parish Meeting in October. Architect Paul Minor has met regularly with the Space Planning Team and our staff to turn our space wishes into possible floor plans. Team members have been visiting other churches that recently completed additions and renovations to learn lessons from their projects and get ideas for what might work best at North Parish. Photos from some of these site visits are posted online at www.pbase.com/northparish. It is encouraging to see many examples of functional and attractive additions to historic meetinghouses in other towns.
One issue currently being clarified is our own properly boundaries. Did you know that our meetinghouse was originally bounded by streets on both sides? Until the 1890’s Essex Street ran between the church and the Stevens house, and cut across what is now the common. Our Board of Trustees recently hired an engineering firm to survey our lot and to confirm whether our property extends to our neighbor’s stone wall or only to the center of former Essex St. The survey will also provide a topographic map, which is equally necessary to plan any future building on our sloped site.
For preservation needs, a thorough building inspection was performed, and a structural engineer (John Wathne of Salem, MA) inspected the meetinghouse frame and steeple. A newly formed Preservation Planning Team will be joining Kim Adami and the architect to review their findings and develop a preservation plan. A structural study of North Parish completed 23 years ago will provide a baseline for comparison. Paul Minor had lunch with his colleague (architect Allen Charles Hill) who delivered that study, and we found video evidence of current North Parish members who were involved in that effort, back in 1980, and who can help us recollect those findings!
Looking ahead to a capital campaign, the Finance Committee and other volunteers met with UUA fundraising consultant Jerry King. Recall that Jerry will conduct a fundraising feasibility study this spring, assuming that preliminary space and preservation plans are approved by the Parish. Jerry will also help the Finance Committee train volunteers for next year’s annual canvas, helping to lay the groundwork for a successful capital campaign. Although an official capital campaign team is yet to be formed, Gary Adams has kindly stepped up to serve as Publicity Chair. Successful canvases, annual or capital, require many volunteers – please consider this when asked to get involved.
If you would like to find out more about these efforts, please contact one of us!
Space Planning Team:
Carl Mellin, chair
David Amiralian
Cathy Bakkensen
Rev. Lee Bluemel
Gail Forsyth-Vail
Kurt Julinek
Paul Minor, architect
Marty Sinacore
Donna Spanos
Harry Voorhees
Leslie Young-Lemire
Preservation Team:
Kim Adami
Mark Knebush
Clem Karl
Carl Mellin
Paul Minor, architect
Phila and Dick Slade
Harry Voorhees
Ad hoc Capital Campaign Planning Team:
Gary Adams, publicity chair
Cathy Bakkensen
Rev. Lee Bluemel
Pat Edmonds
Reg Elwell
Steve Hartell
Jerry King, consultant
Carl Mellin
Harry Voorhees
Bob Weldin
Keith Wentzel
Preservation and New Space Initiative