All Saints-by-the-Sea Holds Town Hall; Seismic Challenges Addressed

Senior Warden Tom Mack welcomed all in attendance and the Rev. Aimee Eyer-Delevett opened the meeting by reminding parishioners that the Sanctuary is our spiritual home.  “It is where we are washed in the waters of baptisms and are marked as Christ’s own forever,” she noted.  “We are fed at the altar each week . . . and it is also at this Church where we find hope and healing.  We must preserve our Church for the generations to come.”

Chip Nichols, chair of the Project Facilities Committee, explained the genesis of the project. In 2008, the All Saints-by-the-Sea Vestry undertook a comprehensive analysis of our entire campus to ensure we were proactively maintaining our Church home. Conducted by a professional building inspector, the list of needs of our 10 buildings was exhaustive. We made hundreds of repairs and addressed all of our facility needs except those associated with the very foundation of our 115-year-old Sanctuary. Due to the numerous structural deficiencies and other needs identified within our Sanctuary it became clear that a holistic look at the needs of this historic building was in order.

Chip then introduced Bob Easton, AIA as the project architect and Richard Thorne as All Saints’ project manager. Bob presented the results of a top-to-bottom engineering study conducted by Parker-Resnick that not only confirmed the instability of the Bell Tower, but established that the old foundations under the west end of the

Sanctuary are in even worse condition than thought, and these vertical seismic weaknesses are only part of our problem – in addition, the Sanctuary is not properly braced to withstand lateral seismic forces.

Bob also presented a slide show showing poor or missing support under the nave floor and along the perimeter walls.  Needless to say, it’s very scary down there.

The Rev. Aimée then described the importance of this project to the mission and ministry of All Saints. (Click here to read her comments)  She also highlighted the theological underpinnings of the various project elements. She stressed that our Sanctuary requires our full attention and care if it is to be not just the ongoing physical space in which we worship but also the backdrop upon which we carry out God’s call to serve those in need and build up members of the body of Christ.

Chip then presented the results of a project cost analysis conducted by respected local builder R. J. Spann. Estimated costs have increased to $11.6 million largely due to the significant additional seismic reinforcement required in the foundations, floor, walls and roof of the Sanctuary as called for by the Parker-Resnick engineering study. The project cost increase also reflects the greater design detail provided by the architect’s work, increases in construction contingencies recommended by the architect, and material and

labor cost inflation.

After our capital campaign Co-Chair Ed Birch provided a report about campaign plans and our clear capacity to fund the preservation and readiness of our Sanctuary, the meeting wrapped up with a Q&A from parishioners who raised questions about the organ, communion rail, stairs, acoustics, lighting, the Memorial and Seaside chapels, and much more.