Thanks to all of you who participated in the congregational conversation after the worship service on May 26. The question we asked was “What is the next thing we need to do in order to make the best use of our wonderful property — auditorium, meeting spaces, and parking lot / land?” Here is what you said:
1. Partner with groups for using the sanctuary for the arts in a way that they can take some “ownership” themselves. This could even extend to partners outside of Prince Edward County.
· This step would begin with individual conversations with potential partners in the arts community, possibly followed by an invitation for all interested stakeholders to gather for a conversation about possibilities. The word “ownership” above refers to partners having a sense of equal partnership in the initiative, not necessarily to legal ownership of the property itself.
· One potential partner named was Graham Abbey (with Festival Player, formerly with Stratford)
· People following through on this next step are: Mary Butt, David Colwell, Nancy Lockyer, Gail Greer and Rosemary Moore.
2. Partner with an event promoter/producer
· This may be a step that can be included in #1 above – to invite known event promoters to meet with us to see if there is interest in using our property for events brought to the PEC
3. Explore options for monetizing the use of the parking lot
· The primary direction for this next step is to partner with the county. Pat Bentley has begun this discussion which includes adding a ticketing system and painting lines. Revenue for parking would be shared between the congregation and the county. Allowances would be made to provide either spaces or vouchers for church sponsored events (including open parking for regular church times, like Sunday worship).
4. Talk with developers about how our property might be redeveloped for affordable or mixed housing
· This next step involves seeking out potential developers who work with government granting programs to develop affordable housing projects. The goal is to explore whether the asset of our property could support the congregation’s missional desire to increase the availability of affordable housing in Picton. “Affordable housing” is distinct from what in the past has been called “low-income housing.” Affordable housing includes individual homes and rental units that, when combined with commuting expenses, are priced to require no more than 45% of household income.
· How the property might best support this initiative is what we need to discover. There is a broad spectrum of possibilities, including using some of our existing building structure, new building on existing land, or simply using the revenue from other property use (eg. #1 above) to fund an affordable housing initiative.
· People following through on this next step are: Sandra Norval, Tanis Crowe, Phyllis Mabee and Joan Nelson.
5. Follow through on the renovation projects already begun or considered for Centennial Hall (insulating, air conditioning, lighting, etc)
· Some initiatives to upgrade Centennial Hall have been undertaken by a task group chaired by Tim McGInnis. Prices have been secured for insulation and air conditioning being added to the Hall to make it more accessible for groups using it during the summer tourist months. The next step is for the task group to bring forward a motion to the Executive of the Board to proceed with the plans.
6. Talk with developers about the options for developing the property for the whole spectrum of possibilities (arts centre, housing, offices spaces, etc)
· This next step is to talk to a variety of developers who might have an interest in exploring either the purchase or partnership development of the church property. This exploration would be open to development of the property for any type of use. This step is exploratory only and could result in proposals coming forward that were previously not conceived.
7. Consult with General Council Office about the new program to partner with congregations as developers and enable congregation to redevelop their property for new ministry initiatives.
· The General Council has a new program in the works to act as property developers, partnering with congregations as trustees of properties and helping fund and develop properties for new social ministry initiatives. This is a very new program and we need further information and clarification.
Thanks to everyone who participated in this very worthwhile conversation. If you are interested in adding your name to any of the next steps above, please contact the church office at 613-476-6050 or send an email to office@pictonunitedchurch.ca.
