And Then There Were Two

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by Kate Bejune, Clerk, Board of Management

The Rev. Aaron Payson, left, addresses the attendees at the Special Congregational meeting on Oct. 24, 2021. Board President Sheri Linn looks on from the pulpit. Votes were taken on the gift of land across the street as well as the change of address. Both items passed. (photo by Betty Jenewin)

This past Sunday, UUCW Members and Friends gathered with the Board of Management for a Special Congregational Meeting in the sanctuary and on Zoom to vote on three proposals:

  1. To gift to the City of Worcester parcels of land across Shore Drive owned by the church in order to further the city’s plans to install an alum dosing station.
  2. To work with City of Worcester processes to change the church address from Holden Street to Shore Drive.
  3. To authorize spending from the sale of land to the City, not to exceed $160,000, in order to begin three high-need projects: HVAC system replacement, Fire Alarm system upgrades, and a new outdoor sign for the church.

Items 1 and 2 passed with broad support. Gifting the small, unbuildable parcel of land across the street will relieve us of snow removal responsibilities on that side of Shore Drive. Changing our address from Holden Street to Shore Drive will help GPS users find our parking lot and main entrance more easily, as well as differentiate us from First Unitarian Church (whose address is 90 Main St, easily confused with our current address of 90 Holden St).

Item number 3 was not to be. Days before the meeting, we received an HVAC quote that nearly tripled our estimated costs for that project alone. If that figure holds, Fire Alarm Code would require us to install a sprinkler system, an expense we had not anticipated.

As such, the Board recommended tabling the matter of allocating funds toward our large, much needed, improvement projects until we can more fully explore our options.

If you have input, suggestions, and/or would like to be involved in the planning for any of these high need projects, please contact Sheri Linn, President, or any member of the Board of Management. We would love to hear from you.