This is a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document for the Central
Lutheran School building feasibility study. It is provided by
the Leadership Team to help interested parties better understand the
proposed project, including the timetable, the building layout, the
process, the cost, and who is involved.
USES AND CHALLENGES
Q1:
How is the gym used today?
Q2: What are the gym challenges?
Q3: What are the challenges with the kitchen?
TIMING
Q1: Why now?
Q2: How was the need for a building project
established, and how were these plans selected?
Q3: What exactly did the 2006 feasibility
study do?
Q4: Where can I find additional or updated
information on the feasibility study or the building project?Q5:
When are you building?
Q6: If the primary congregations approve a
building plan, when will the building start?
FINANCIALS, PLEDGES AND GIFTS
Q1: What do you estimate this project will
cost?
Q2: How was the cost of the proposed project
calculated?
Q3: Will you still want to collect the money
from the pledges if there is not enough money raised to complete the
project?
Q4: What will happen if the full amount of
necessary funds is not raised?
Q5: What about ongoing expenses?
Q6: When we make a pledge or gift to this
project will it be confidential?
Q7: Will tuition be increased if there is a
building project?
Q8: Will a larger school affect the operating
budget?
PLANS
Q1: What will happen to the portables?
Q2: Is there a separate concession stand area
included in the plan?
Q3: Is there space for two full-sized
volleyball courts?
Q4: Are there any storage areas included?
Q5: What would the additional cost be for a
full-sized gym?
Q6: What will be the seating capacity?
Q7: Is additional parking addressed with the
proposed design?
Q8: What would happen to the current
gymnasium?
USES AND CHALLENGES
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Q1: How is the gym used
today?
The existing gym is more than an athletic facility
for Central. It’s also used for the lunch room, chapel, activities
room, adult and Benton youth basketball, Boy Scouts, Lions Club,
concerts, family events and much more.
Q2: What
are the gym challenges?
There are significant space and scheduling limitations for gym class
and recess (when inside). We have to use Benton Community
facilities for Christmas and Spring concerts, and we are renting the
Blairstown Community facilities for basketball games due to safety
issues, attendance, and concessions.
Q3: What are the challenges with the kitchen?
There are significant space limitations within the
kitchen for food preparation, serving and storage. We currently
utilize several locations to store food and prepare meals for 130
people every day. The expansion of the kitchen would not only
alleviate many of these concerns, but provide a better means of
serving concessions.
TIMING
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Q1: Why now?
It’s a great time to build with material and labor
costs dramatically lower than in recent years. We have a great
opportunity to utilize volunteer labor in many aspects of this
project, which will save thousands of dollars, as we learned from
our classroom expansion.
Q2: How was the need for a building project established, and how
were these plans selected?
For many years, the school board has received input on building
needs both formally and informally from many people. Many of these
needs have become obvious by their impact on the school’s operation.
Due to a sizeable estate bequest, a building committee was
established in November 2004, which began putting together a project
to determine feasibility. Since that time, the building committee
and school board held several forums to seek feedback on the initial
plans. Architects and builders were then further consulted, and
plans were developed. The classroom addition was completed in 2008
and this is the remainder of the project.
Q3: What exactly did the 2006 feasibility study do?
Capital Funding Services (CFS), the capital fundraising arm of the
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, helped Central conduct a feasibility
study designed to accomplish several things: communicate current
ministry opportunities, convey future ministry needs and the limited
ability of the current facilities, clarify and share information
about a proposed expansion plan with others, and help school
leadership understand the level of project support, including
financial support.
Q4: Where can I find additional or updated
information on the feasibility study or the building project?
You can continue to access information on the school website (www.CentralLutheranSchool.org)
You can also contact the school at 319-223-5271, or a
school
board member.
Q5: When are
you building?
The
answer to this question depends upon the time frame in which it
takes us to raise the funds. Our hope is to build as soon as
possible, thus taking advantage of lower steel and other
construction material costs.
Q6: If the primary congregations approve a building plan, when will
the building start?
No definitive
timetable has been set. However, the building process would most
likely begin soon after approval is given.
FINANCIALS, PLEDGES AND GIFTS
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Q1:
What do you estimate this project will cost?
Current figures put the estimates at approximately
$750,000. We have approximately $50,000 in the gym fund currently,
so an additional $700,000 is needed. However, if it takes 2 to 3
years to raise funds for this project, costs could be substantially
higher.
Q2: How was the cost of the proposed project
calculated?
Various architects and planners, construction companies, and
industry experts within the school and congregations assisted in
putting together the project cost estimate.
Q3: Will you still want to collect the money from the pledges if
there is not enough money raised to complete the project?
Yes. While the final decision hasn’t been made,
given the funds we have raised to date and the funds we anticipate
raising thru this pledge process, we anticipate proceeding with at
least some portion of the building structure if the necessary
approvals are received. We would then continue raising money to
complete the structure with all of the necessary amenities.
Q4: What will happen if the full amount of necessary
funds is not raised?
We haven’t come to a final decision but the current thinking is to
build the shell for the gym and complete the gym floor portion. The
locker rooms, new stage and bleachers may have to wait.
Q5: What
about ongoing expenses?
Many wonderful ideas have already surfaced on how to maintain the
facility without putting additional burden on the supporting
congregations - such as holding volleyball and basketball
tournaments, continuing food concessions for local youth soccer.
Q6: When we make a pledge or gift to this project
will it be confidential?
Yes - absolutely! Confidentiality is very important to the
Leadership Team; every effort will be made to keep every gift and
every pledge private. It will start with the gift/pledge giving
process and continue with how that information is processed and
managed. Alexis Jacobsen is the Fulfillment Coordinator. She is
responsible for receiving and tracking progress on giving/pledges.
Any information that is shared publicly will be summarized
information only (i.e. total pledges equal, percentage of pledges on
track, total pledges to be received).
Q7: Will tuition be increased if there is a building project?
Tuition is designed only to offset expenditures for the general
budget, not to pay for any building expansion.
Q8: Will a larger school affect the operating budget?
Additional kitchen and gymnasium space will require a higher overall
budget due to such things as utility expense. There is a renewed
focus on things like the Endowment Fund in order to aid the general
budget on an ongoing, long-term basis through the generation of
interest.
PLANS
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Q1: What will happen to the portables?
No decision has been made on the portables. If the build-out were
to be completed as discussed and per the architect’s drawings, we
should not need them for storage (concessions or otherwise) or
classrooms, so they could be removed and hopefully sold.
Q2: Is there a separate concession stand area
included in the plan?
A concessions area has been included as part of the kitchen
expansion plan. Our current plans are to expand the kitchen and make
the concession area in what is now the NE corner of the existing
gym. While the concessions area may not be completely “separate”
from the kitchen, as the kitchen layout is developed, needs that are
specific to concessions will be considered, just as needs that are
common to both the kitchen and concessions will be (i.e. sinks,
stoves, ovens).
However, since the plan has not been finalized, it is possible the
final design may be different.
Q3: Is there space for two full-sized volleyball
courts?
The actual layout is still being finalized, however, the original
architectural drawings allow us to have the space to host volleyball
tournaments and have two games played simultaneously.
Q4: Are there any storage areas included?
Yes, our intent is to ensure that additional storage is available.
As plans are finalized, we will be able to more clearly state where
that storage will be.
Q5: What would the additional cost be for a
full-sized gym?
The information we have is an elementary school-sized basketball court measures 35’ x 52
and a
middle school-sized court is 42’ x 74’. The proposed gym that we’re
planning will be 90’ x 120’ which would accommodate a middle
school-sized court with roughly 8’
beyond each end line of the basketball court. Given we are a
preschool, elementary and middle school, a high school-sized
gym would be more than we need.
However, since the plan has not been finalized, it is possible the
final design may be different.
Q6: What will be
the seating capacity?
The seating capacity is based on what we purchase for bleachers and
whether we decide to extend bleachers above the entrance and lobby
areas. We are targeting a minimum bleacher capacity of 200-300, not
to mention the ability to put hundreds of chairs on the gym floor to
get people closer to the new stage for events like our Christmas and
Spring concerts.
Q7: Is additional parking addressed with the
proposed design?
A
parking lot upgrade, including additional spaces, is part of the
cost estimate for the project.
Q8: What would happen to the current gymnasium?
