Unitarian House Demands Attention!

For over a year, your Starr King Church Board of Trustees has been aware of serious structural problems with the little house on our hill known as Unitarian House. It serves as our church office, among other uses. Volunteers have worked hard to correct some of the most pressing problems, but the long-term prognosis for the building is not good.

We are working now to develop a plan to present at our Congregational Meeting next year. Comprehensive corrective action will have a long-term impact on church finances Dick Albert, Chair of our Building Committee, first reported in November last year on the poor state of this over-100 yearold house. Dick, Collin Carrell, Frank Satterwhite, Joaquin Dominguez, Bobby Robinson and others worked to correct the most pressing problems. An infestation of vermin was banished. The abandoned fireplace had an ancient chimney threatening to crash down come the next earthquake; that was removed. Failing floor joists were supported and hot water is now available in the tiny bathroom.

It is clear that the building needs either to be replaced or to undergo major renovations. Permeability of the foundation, floors and windows continues to cause problems. The Board of Trustees is carefully considering a course of action that may include demolishing the old structure and replacing it with either stick built construction or a prefabricated building of approximately the same size on the same site.

Several years ago, church leaders developed a plan for expanding our sanctuary and adding office and RE classrooms to the area below the office where we now hold our services. Approximately $70,000 was raised at that time, but it was not enough money to proceed with all of those plans.

As Garald Mosher was much involved in that planning process, he became aware of all of the hoops and hurdles it will be necessary to get through to have any building or renovation plan approved by the County of Alameda . Garald has been helpful to the Board in laying out possible alternatives we might choose and advising on all of the use planning and environmental issues that the County will want us to resolve. Garald is recommending that we make a decision this spring and start work during the dry summer months. Delaying will only make matters worse. In addition to added deterioration of the building, construction costs have been increasing by about 10 percent per year. Each year that passes sees new regulations. Due to our location near a creek and in an Urban Wildlife Zone, there are additional requirements we will have to satisfy that we did not face when we considered our earlier expansion plans. We recently hired a geotechnical engineering firm to do an assessment of the site. Our member Julie Wellings has volunteered to do an asbestos assessment of the current building.

Bill Schwab has investigated financing options for a new building. The UUA has a mortgage function where we might be able to obtain a mortgage. We could make a down payment with the $70,000 in our building fund and be able to afford the mortgage payments by drawing on the earnings of our endowment fund without drawing down its principal. This would leave little money for property maintenanc, for which we often use those earnings. It would also mean a long-term financial obligation lasting several years. It is clear that we cannot ignore these problems. It is not fair to our staff or others who use the building; they must be addressed. We realize that this is a decision that the whole congregation needs to participate in, because it will affect us for many years to come. Expect a full report and recommendation at our annual meeting on May 20. ~Bob

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